Fate Changer (The Lost Witch Trilogy #3) (19 page)

Gretchen gasped and shook her head in shock at Sarah. “
Sarah!
Of course he wouldn’t poison you. What a thing to say.”

Agnes’s eyes went round and she moved around Race to stand by Sarah’s side. Zane stared at the soup and then at Race, his eyes turning dark and metallic.

“I know my body pretty well. I also know that with Zane’s energy I was able to heal everything which means that I should feel pretty good today.
I don’t
. I feel weak. As if someone was draining my power from me,” she said, carefully studying her father’s face.

Zane was joined by Lash who stood behind her and patted her shoulder gently, just letting her know he was there and had her back. Sarah smiled for a moment and then rubbed her hand across her sweaty, cold forehead. She felt nauseous and shaky and she knew she was right. Her father was up to no good.

Race raised his eyebrow in derision and looked at everyone surrounding Sarah. “That’s pretty ironic considering I was the one who saved your life Sarah. I was able to heal quite a bit,” he said, his face turning hard and cold.

Sarah shook her head and looked back, unflinchingly. “Nothing was healed in my body but my kidneys and liver. Everything else was broken. You hadn’t even attempted to stop the bleeding on my brain. You were giving everyone the impression that you were trying, but you weren’t. You might have postponed my death, but you weren’t trying to save my life.”

Gretchen’s mouth fell open and she turned to stare at Race in confusion. “Wait, I thought you were a healer.
Race?
”

Race glanced at her briefly and then ignored her. “You were completely out of it Sarah. You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Zane shook his head. “Since Sarah had to use my power to heal, I was with her every step of the way. I was with her, healing every bone. I felt the damage and I saw it with my energy in a way I’ve never been able to before. I’m not a healer, but she is and I was with her for over three hours, fixing everything you could have fixed three days ago but chose not to. You didn’t mend even one bone.”

Sarah reached out and grasped Zane’s hand before he could move towards her father. “No Zane. There’s more. We need to get it all out,” she said, before turning back to Race who stood completely alone now on his side of the counter, staring at them with a strange disappointment on his face.

Sarah sighed tiredly, but knew she had to finish this. “I want to know the truth. About what you’ve been doing to me and what you planned to do, but I also want to know why you hurt Agnes,” she said, wishing she had a something to drink.

Zane moved immediately to the fridge and grabbed a Coke and popped the lid before handing it to her. She smiled in gratitude and took a sip.

Race shook his head in irritation. “We all know Charles is the one who hurt Agnes. What are you talking about? You must have damaged your mind when you fell. Falling from three stories and having your head smashed into pieces can cause episodes of dementia and paranoia. This is ridiculous. I suggest you eat something. If not the soup, then something else and then return to bed. Hopefully tomorrow you’ll be thinking more rationally,” he said in a very authoritarian way that had her grinding her teeth in irritation.

Agnes looked back and forth between Race and Sarah, looking doubtful. “Sarah, we all assumed it was Charles who hurt my mind.”

Sarah nodded her head and took another sip before answering. “That’s right Agnes, we all assumed it was Charles, but it wasn’t. He wasn’t in the picture yet was he? And when I fixed Teresa’s mind, I was pulled into a deep darkness. Charles used some dark magic to go in and wipe her out. I felt the same thing with Zane. I went in to his mind and was pulled in so deep and so hard, I couldn’t get out and he couldn’t get out until it was almost too late. But Agnes, when I went in to your mind, it was different. It was as if someone had just gone in and slashed around angrily. I wasn’t pulled into darkness, I just had to pull the edges of your mind back together. It wasn’t Charles who hurt your mind Agnes,” she said quietly, watching as her father’s face turned red and angry.

Agnes’s face turned white and she bit her lip and raised a hand to the side of her head. She then turned and looked at Race in accusation. “Race?” she said quietly.

Sarah nodded her head. “I remember what you said to me, right after you came back to yourself, you said, I had to leave immediately and that if Race found out that you had talked to me that he’d be furious. Do you remember that?”

Gretchen looked down at her clenched hands and then at her mom. “I remember Mom. She’s right. You were so upset that she was in our home that I made her leave because you were scared of Race.”

Race had stayed silent but he finally shrugged. “It was me. I’d warned you and warned you that I didn’t want you talking to Sarah. I didn’t want her to have any contact with witches. But you didn’t listen. That day when you came to me and threatened to call the authorities on Lena, I lost my temper. I was tired of your meddling,” he said in irritation.

Agnes shook her head in hurt and dismay. “
Race
, she came to the store every day, miserable and scared. I told you what Lena was doing. She came to me for comfort and help and for
that
, you took my mind and my life from me,” she whispered in horror.

Sarah swallowed and closed her eyes in pain for a moment before opening to see her father studying her with a frown. “
You knew?
Agnes told you what Lena was up to with Drake. You knew they were going to bind me and take my power and you were going to let that happen? And when Agnes tried to stick up for me, you slashed her mind?
Why?
” she demanded, her voice rising with anger.

Race crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes turning dangerously dark. “Because I
wanted
her to take your power. I’m the one who fed the information on how to do it to Drake. Our plan was working perfectly but Agnes couldn’t mind her own business.”

Sarah stood up on shaking legs, shaking from weakness, but hurt and shock too. “It had nothing to do with Agnes! I hated the evil. I hated what Lena and Drake were trying to do to me. I went to the book store to feel safe, but Agnes never once even brought up the subject of witchcraft. All she ever did was give me cookies and a warm place to read.
How could you
?” she asked shaking her head back and forth.

Zane moved to stand closer to her, wrapping her in his power as Lash stood on her other side. Charlie who had remained silent through everything went to stand by Gretchen. Agnes’s face was gray with horror and she turned and walked over to the table and sat down heavily.

Race ignored everyone but Sarah. “I promised myself when your mother died that I’d never let magic harm my family again. I intend to keep that promise. If that means you have to lose your power, then so be it.”

Sarah hugged herself and looked at her feet. “No matter what the cost? And what about now? You were going to just let me fade away into death without doing anything to stop it.”

Race shrugged and studied his hand for a moment. “You make it sound heartless, but I realized it was the perfect solution for everyone. If you died, then Charles would go away. He wouldn’t get your power and we’d all be free to go on with our lives. And in the end, you wouldn’t know the pain of being forced to be with Charles. You would never know what it’s like to be tortured or used or murdered.”

Sarah opened her mouth to say something but Zane stopped her. “You’re wrong Race. She’d know exactly what it’s like to be murdered. You would have murdered her by refusing to save her. There is no difference.”

Sarah shut her mouth. He had a point. Race stared at Zane with intense dislike and shook his head. “So says the person who threw her out of a three story house onto her head.”

Zane winced and closed his eyes in pain. Sarah frowned and touched his arm soothingly. “There’s one difference,” Sarah said. “Zane didn’t know what he was doing. You do. And you’re determined to destroy me. Tell me why you went through the whole charade of acting like you wanted to be my father. Why did you let me care for you?” she whispered sadly.

Race’s face softened and he looked lost for a moment. “I wanted to know what it would have been like. I wanted to know what it was like to be a dad and to have a daughter love me. And it was wonderful. I was the happiest I’ve ever been in my whole life. But some things are worth more than happiness. And the safety and protection of others
has
to come first Sarah. Please stop being selfish. Your life means nothing in comparison to the destruction that Charles will bring upon this world if you fall into his hands.”

Lash growled low in his throat and he moved around the counter lethally. Race’s eyes went wide and he stepped back.

“I told you once already I wouldn’t stand for that crap. Answer one question before I throw you out and you better tell me the truth, because as you know I like witches blood now and I’d love to have all of yours. Tell us how you got through the lines.
What did you do?
Because we all just heard it clearly. You mean Sarah harm.”

Race took another step back and Lash loomed over him, flexing the muscles in his arms and clenching his hands into fists.

“When Charles had Zane, we forced him to retract his lines. We couldn’t take down Sarah’s though. But it did allow me in again,” he said quickly, glancing at the door behind Lash and then at the windows by the table.

“Don’t bother Race. You’re not getting out of here until I want you to leave,” Lash said, stepping closer.

Sarah bit her lip and looked at Zane questioningly and then at Gretchen and Agnes. Agnes was still sitting at the table, but she looked furious now instead of tragic. Gretchen’s eyes were blazing with wrath and Zane was completely surrounded by energy now, pulsing with power.

“Well, I think we found out what we needed to. Now what do we do about him?” Sarah asked wearily, going to sit by Agnes at the table.

Race looked disbelievingly at the group of people staring at him in disgust. “
Are you kidding me?
Have you not heard a thing I’ve said? Make the right choice. All she has to do is finish the soup and this is all over,” he yelled, right before Lash jumped on him and put him in a headlock while covering his mouth with his other hand. Race struggled mightily and tried to use his power to burst free, but Lash had Charlie’s and Sarah’s blood in him and it had no effect on him. There was nothing Race could do against that kind of strength.

Zane nodded approvingly at Lash and then turned to his mom, grandmother and Sarah. “What a loser,” he muttered.

Agnes sniffed and nodded and then looked at Sarah. “What should we do honey? We’ll have to form new lines to keep him out now, but he is your father.”

Charlie snorted. “Like that even means anything. Look at my dear old dad.”

Sarah winced and nodded. “I don’t know,” she said with a small shrug of her shoulders. All of the emotion and the questioning had worn her out and she still hadn’t eaten. She laid her head tiredly on the table and was content to let everyone else figure it out.

“I know what to do,” Gretchen said, seething in anger. “This man used me, stood by while my son was tortured and seems to think killing daughters is socially acceptable. I say we let Lash have him. Drain him Lash.”

Sarah raised her head and looked at Lash. Lash raised an eyebrow and shook his head slightly as he winked at her. Lash was picky enough to not want Race’s blood. She smiled and lowered her head.

“We could let Zane stop his heart. That way he wouldn’t have to witness us trying to save his daughter. It would be the kind thing to do since he hates the idea so much,” Agnes offered conversationally.

Zane nodded his head thoughtfully. “So tempting,” he said with a quick smile at Sarah.

Charlie sighed, sounding bored. “It’s so easy. Hand him over to that guy Drake and Sarah’s aunt. Let them bind him and take his power since he hates magic so much. An eye for an eye.”

Sarah rested her head on her hands and pursed her lips. It had merit. Some kind of justice for everything her father had done to Agnes, to Zane and to her.

Lash shook his head. “You guys are terrible at this. I’m taking him over to Charles’s house and dumping him off. We’ll let the evil punish the evil,” he said and then unceremoniously trundled Race out of the kitchen. Zane followed closely behind them. Moments later the sound of a car driving away signaled they were gone.

Sarah stared at the three women remaining in the kitchen, not knowing what to say. Gretchen broke the silence by walking over to the pot of soup. She picked it up gingerly and then carried it over to the sink and dumped it down the garbage disposal. Agnes nodded her head and got up, walking to the fridge and opening it. She studied the contents and then looked over her shoulder at Sarah. “How does chicken and dumplings sound?”

Chapter 17 – The Calm

Sarah spent the next few days recovering from the effects of Race’s poison. She used Zane’s power to go in and try to cleanse her body, but it wasn’t easy and took so much longer than she had expected. But she was slowly starting to feel like herself again. She had been through a lot in the last week. She’d almost died and then,
well
, she’d almost died again. She was starting to realize just how precious life was and she was more determined than ever to be free from Charles.

She and Zane spent a lot time sitting by the ocean, holding hands. She knew Charles was probably watching them, but she didn’t care. He couldn’t hurt her until her lines were broken. She still didn’t understand how his bubbles worked, or how he could get them through her lines, but she suspected that Race had something to do with it. And Zane swore that he would trust her next time she told him to step away from something.

Sarah felt the cold, salty breeze of the ocean and snuggled in closer to Zane’s side. “Do you think I’ll be able to call up the water, or fly ever again?” she asked sadly.