“Crap! That’s—”
“Broken. Yeah. But right now, I’m playing without pain. Help me strap it up. I can do something out there.” Regardless of Aegis promising he wouldn’t use my help, I was determined to be part of this battle. And if I didn’t ask, he couldn’t stop me.
Without a word, Delia leaned down and pulled a first-aid kit from beneath the front seat of her SUV. She opened it up and poked around. “The best I can do is strap it with an elastic bandage.”
“Then do it.” I held out the wrist, watching as she wrapped the bandage tightly around and over the wrist and fingers. It wasn’t as good as a splint, but it would do the trick for now.
As soon as she finished, I hopped out of the car and stepped over to Essie’s side. Ahead of us, Aegis and Rachel were rolling in the snow, snarling like wild animals. Aegis was trying to throttle Rachel as she aimed a well-placed kick to his balls. He groaned, but kept hold of her throat. Apparently, a kick in the nads wasn’t nearly as painful once you were turned.
The others were into the thick of it. Nobody was toast yet, but it wouldn’t be long before somebody struck a lucky blow and dusted their opponent.
Essie glanced at me. “What are you doing?”
“What I would have done earlier if I hadn’t been so startled.” I closed my eyes and reached deep inside. There it was—the tiny flame, flickering with a pale ghostly light. I coaxed it brighter, feeding it my frustration, feeding my anger at Rachel, feeding it the pain of losing Tom and every other angst I could summon up. The fire grew quickly and I readied my hands, holding them out in front of me.
“Fire, attend me.” The whisper was almost so soft I wasn’t sure if I had actually spoken or if it had been my thoughts, but then a brilliant ball of orange roared to life, hovering over my palms. I focused on Rachel, on the trajectory between her and me, and with a soft puff, blew the fireball off my hand. It sailed, gaining momentum as it grew to the size of a bowling ball.
Rachel turned, staring at the fire that was on a collision course with her. She darted to one side. But the fireball shifted course with her. She raced off, blurring her speed, but the flame sped up and—like a missile tracking its target—it enveloped her, setting her dress alight.
She fell face first in the snow, screaming as the flames licked at her body. Aegis took one look at me, then darted toward her and for a moment I was afraid he was going to try to save her—the look in his eye had been frightening and feral. But as he loomed over her, she turned, dousing the flames in the snow, screaming for him to help her. He watched her for a moment, then brought out a thin sliver of wood about a foot long.
Rachel must have seen it because she scrambled to her feet, her skin blackened and charred. Aegis paused for one brief second, and then plunged the stake into her chest. There was silence as all the vamps stopped to watch, and then in a puff of smoke and ash, Rachel vanished into a cloud of charcoal and bone. The wind rose at that moment, and howling, it blew her away as it raced through the meadow.
Chapter 17
AFTER THAT, THE fight was as good as over. Rachel’s goons tried to vanish into the trees but Essie waved her hand and her men were on them without another word. I said nothing, watching as the vampires staked their own with all too much glee. They returned to her side, eyes sparkling with the hunt.
Essie turned to us. “Thank you. My reign is secure for the moment.”
I tried to think of what to say, given Essie was most likely the one responsible for Rose’s death. A death that had been targeted at me. Our eyes met and her lips tipped in a faint smile.
“Détente?” She held out her hand.
I stared at it, but was smart enough not to make a show. As I took her fingers—cold to the bone—I inclined my head.
“You do realize that I’m now the head of the Moonrise Coven. We will have to meet and discuss new terms. Things are going to change around Bedlam now that I’m in power. I’m not Linda, and I don’t have a daughter.” I spoke softly, so that only Essie could hear me, but my words were firm. “However, there’s room on Bedlam for everyone, if we all cooperate. And if nobody develops any delusions of grandeur.” I figured she might as well know that I understood what she had been up to.
Essie held my fingers in hers, tightening her grip. Then, slowly, she relinquished them. “The future’s always a wildcard, Maudlin. That’s one thing you can count on. Nothing is ever set in stone.” Then, with a throaty laugh, she added, “I think we could be friends of a sort. You and I are much alike, even though you don’t know it yet. So, Mad Maudlin has come to rule Bedlam. I suppose it’s only fitting.” She pointed to my broken wrist. “You’d best go have that set, and have the rest of your bruises and bumps tended to. You can’t put off the pain forever, you know. Sometimes, it hits when you least expect it. Both pains from the present and from long, long past.”
I started to say something but she turned away, motioning to her men. Before I could say another word, they vanished into a blur, back toward Delia’s car, where they climbed in. Looking terrified, Delia edged out of the parking lot. As they vanished from sight, my stomach knotted. We hadn’t seen the last of Essie. In fact, I had the feeling that our power struggle had only just begun.
AEGIS CARRIED OUT another bowl of potato chips. We were rocking the Winter Solstice, celebrating that the longest night was about to begin. In the cold frozen north, the Holly King and the Oak King were gearing up for their biennial battle. Over on the mainland, Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa were being celebrated. And here, we were lighting every candle in the Bewitching Bedlam. The band members and their families were chowing down on a spread that had filled every tabletop around. Tonight their music was all for us.
“So, tell me again why didn’t you call me when you were in trouble?” Sandy looped her arm through mine, taking care to avoid my splint. My wrist was broken in two places, but they were clean breaks and I would be fully up and running in a few weeks.
“Because I had thought…hoped…that chapter of our lives was done and over.” I motioned for her to follow me up the stairs into one of the back rooms. “I have something to show you.”
As we climbed the steps, Sandy said, “Oh, by the way, I gave Lihi the Herkimer, even though we didn’t need her to find the tunnels.”
“That’s sweet.”
“Eh, it’s the holidays.” But she smiled as she said it. “What are you going to do about your mother’s visit?”
I groaned. “I’m not even thinking about it till after the holidays are over. Then, I guess I’ll either capitulate or write and tell her that I don’t want her here. I haven’t decided which yet. Here we are.”
There were several small storage rooms on the top floor that were no bigger than large walk-in closets. And in one of them, I had hidden a trunk. I knelt beside it and opened the lid. Inside was a silver dagger sitting on top of a silver stake. I stared at them, then slowly lifted the dagger and held it up.
“I haven’t seen those since in a long, long time.” Sandy drifted off, her eyes widening. “I thought you swore never to touch them again.”
I swallowed. Hard. “Essie isn’t going to make it easy on me. And you’d better watch your back too. She knows who I am, so she’s going to figure out that you were Cassandra.”
“Yeah, it’s not that big of a leap from Sandy to Cassandra, I guess.”