Not only were our guys severely outnumbered, but they’d ended up on the opposite end of the chamber, separated from us by a live wall of voracious serpents. Despite the danger, they held their own, so I tried to focus on the source of the threat. If I could thwart the witch, the victory would hopefully put an end to her monstrous worms as well.
My head swiveled to find Addie lounging against the wall behind us, reveling in her work. I glanced at the seemingly lifeless ring on my finger. I’d used it in defense, but I’d no idea how I’d done it or how to activate its magic again.
Pushing off the wall, the witch strode toward us at a leisurely pace. “You girls think yer so smart. Yer just like them.” She raised her angular chin to indicate Fergus and the MacCrae brothers. “So predictable. So easy ta control. Just like that feeble-minded captain of the guard—so afraid of the evil Witch o’ Doon, and yet he fell instantly under my spell. My merest suggestion had him committing murder.”
Although I didn’t exactly care for Gideon, that didn’t mean I approved of Addie using him like a hand puppet—I knew the feeling of being played all too well.
Kenna let go of my arm and faced the witch. “You’re pretty proud of yourself … for someone who used a rent-a-cop to do her dirty work. Can’t handle things on your own?”
Addie chuckled and advanced like a hungry wolf stalking its prey. Suddenly, she stopped and shook her head. Her edges blurred once again. Long blonde tresses wound about her shoulders as the effects of twenty years of aging reversed. “I used you lasses too. And ye did everythin’ perfectly. Thanks ta the two o’ you, my plans are nearly complete.”
“Ally?” Kenna gasped, stumbling back a step.
She was showing off, performing her tricks for my best friend. But why? Was she trying to distract us? Maybe if I could keep her talking, she’d give me a clue. “Why, Addie? Doon was your home once. Why would you want to destroy it?”
“Silly girl. ’Tis more than destroying Doon that I want. When Doon was … blessed, I became cursed. As long as the kingdom thrives, my magic is unstable.”
As if to underscore her point, she morphed back into her forty-something self. “But there’s power in Doon. Once the kingdom has vanished, the enchantments it contains will be mine for the taking.”
She turned to regard a mirror that I hadn’t noticed before. Her reflection was the stuff of demented nightmares—cadaverous gray skin stretched too tightly over sharp bones; brittle yellow-white hair hung around her skeletal face in uneven tufts; thin, flaking white lips pulled back to reveal rotting brown teeth. Only her violet eyes remained unchanged.
Goose bumps prickled the back of my neck as Addie looked away from the hideous image. Hatred for her true appearance burned in her false, attractive face. “When Doon is destroyed, I’ll finally be free. I’ll take the kingdom’s power and recover my true beauty. Once I’m restored, I’ll rebuild my coven and the modern world will worship me.”
Outrage poured through me. This hideous creature sought to gain power at the expense of hundreds of innocent souls. I stepped toward her. “People will never worship you.”
The witch chuckled, an icy sound like claws scratching my brain. “We shall see, little queen.”
Before I could react, Kenna shrieked and swung her duffel bag at Addie’s head.
“Mackenna!” Duncan yelled in warning. The bag stopped mid swing, falling out of Kenna’s stunned fingers and dropping to the floor.
Addie arched her perfect brows and flicked her hand in Kenna’s direction. My best friend froze in place, unable to move a muscle—except, apparently, those around her mouth. She let go a string of profanities and threats that under any other circumstances would’ve been inspiring.