“Gerhard? I’m really sorry to hear that.” The figure coming toward them was Sophistrina.
Ari gave her a measuring look. “It’s a possibility. I checked with the vampires at home. They aren’t positive whether their attacker had a scar or not.” She didn’t usually ask a lot of personal questions, but she really needed to know the extent of Sophie’s allegiance. So she asked. “What’s Gerhard to you? I sense you have a past.”
Sophie gave a sheepish laugh and settled on the other side of Lilith. “It started a long time ago. We had a fling in high school, but I have to admit he’s rather unforgettable.” From Sophie’s tone, Ari knew she’d see a blush if the light was better. “It’s made our on-going relationship a little touchy. A few years ago we even had what I like to call a temporary relapse. I’d hate to believe he’s involved in this, but…” She shrugged. “He wasn’t particularly nice even back then. We broke up because he was sneaking out with other girls. Being faithful isn’t exactly his thing.”
OK, as a high school boy he’d been flighty and deceitful. Still a long way from betraying your entire race.
“Hey, um, back there, inside the cabin, I didn’t mean that I didn’t trust your belief in Andreas.” Sophie’s tone was conciliatory. “I remember how he helped us too, but you have to admit—”
A loud, wailing siren saved Ari from hearing whatever she was supposed to admit. She whirled looking for attackers, but Sophie was running for the parked vehicles, and witches poured of the building, headed in the same direction.
“What’s that?” Lilith demanded.
“Trouble, but apparently not here. We better hurry.” Ari sprinted after the priestess, and they reached Sophie’s van just before the door was closed.
“What’s up?” Ari asked, swinging into a back seat.
“It’s our version of 9-1-1. The system is set up to alert any coven within twenty miles that an encampment needs assistance. We’re headed for Dory’s place.”
She had no idea who Dory was, but Ari was in the mood to kick a few vampire butts. She clung to the seat as they skidded around a curve. They must have been less than twenty miles away, because ten minutes later the van slid to a stop and the witches piled out.
Most of the fight was over. A warlock was chasing two vampires across an open area, shooting streams of fire after them. Patches of flames flared in the grass and brush. Witches rushed to tend the wounded or put out fires. Sophie and her sisters grabbed bandages and water buckets, while Ari and Lilith ran toward the warlock. He caught another of the vampires in a stream of fire, but the very last one slipped into the woods.
“Damnation.” The blond warlock turned to meet them. “I hate it when any of these suckers gets away.”
Ari glanced at his right eyebrow. Gerhard.
“Eight,” he said, as if she’d asked a question. “That makes thirty-four I’ve toasted in the past few days. They must be breeding them like flies up at the stronghold.” He frowned in the direction of the woods. “I would have liked to have made it an even thirty-five.” He grinned at Ari and shook a lock of hair out of his eyes. “Although I would have saved some for you, if I’d known you were coming.”
“I appreciate the thought.”
They started walking toward the main encampment where the other witches were gathered. Sophie was still dousing a small fire on the cabin roof by using a water spell. The smoldering bones indicated a vamp had burned to death up there.
Ari glanced at Gerhard. “I take it this isn’t your first fight this week. You didn’t mention any trouble when we talked with you yesterday.”
“Why would I? You weren’t in a very chatty mood. This is just an ordinary week for me.” He frowned, as if reconsidering. “Except for the size of the groups last night and the teleporting. That’s new. Have you been stirring up trouble?”
She considered his question. It was possible her efforts to reach the castle via the tunnel had sparked the increased activity, but she hadn’t yet decided what, if anything, she was willing to share with him. She wasn’t sure she liked him, and she definitely didn’t trust him. She studied his profile. Why was he telling her about his kill count? Just bragging? Or trying to convince her what a team player he was?
“Too bad Warin isn’t here to help.” She watched for a reaction. “Have you heard from him yet?”
“No, but I didn’t expect to. If he has joined the vampires, he won’t be calling me for support. But what progress have you made? Any luck with the trolls?”
She shrugged, lifting her hand in a dismissive gesture. “They showed us some old tunnel, but it was caved in. Probably just an abandoned mine. I don’t know if it ever went near the stronghold, but it’s no good now.”
“So, what will you do next?”
She turned her head to study him. “I don’t know. Any ideas?”
He met her gaze. “Do you really want my opinion? If so, I’d tell you to go home. What you’re proposing to do has been considered impossible for hundreds of years.” When she opened her mouth to argue, he raised an admonishing finger. “Hear me out. I don’t want to see anything happen to you, so I’ve given you my best advice. But I already know you won’t listen. So the best alternative—accept my offer of help. If we put our fire abilities together, we would pose a substantial threat, even to the O-Seven.”
“How do you propose getting close enough to use our fire?”
Gerhard laughed. “You’ve got me there, but I made the first suggestion. It’s your turn to come up with the rest.”
“What suggestion?” Sophie joined them as they reached the cabin. “Don’t let him talk you into anything, Ari.”
Gerhard began to chuckle until he saw the priestess’s face. “Why I believe you’re serious, Sophie. I know Warin is in the doghouse, but what have I done?”
Sophie’s eyes narrowed but she turned away without giving him an answer.
Gerhard looked at Ari and raised his hands in defeat.
Dog house
? Warin’s betrayal was a whole lot more serious than that. How could his brother take it so lightly? Unless he sympathized or knew Warin was innocent. Damn, she was tired of this. She would love to put the brothers in an interrogation room and grill them until she had her answers.
Ari shrugged. “She’s just upset.” Until Ari knew more about the brothers Kirsch, she didn’t want to spook Gerhard into disappearing like his brother had. “She’s had a bad couple of weeks.”
“That’s true. But she doesn’t have to take it out on me,” he grumbled. “After all, I was the one who dealt with most of the vampires tonight. If I condoned my brother’s defection, would I have done that?”
If he was a traitor, he would. Any warlock who’d sell his soul to the enemy wouldn’t lose any sleep over a few dead minor vampires. And to keep his cover, the O-Seven wouldn’t either.
When she didn’t answer, he walked toward his car. “You get in touch when you decide you need me.” He opened the door. “You’ll never beat the vampires alone.”
Ari turned away. He’d be waiting a long time for her call.
Thirty minutes later, Ari, Lilith and most of Sophie’s coven piled into their vehicles and drove back to their own encampment. Two sisters remained behind to help with the rest of the clean up and the injured, but there’d be no burials. No one had died this time. Within the first seconds of the attack, the witches had been able to barricade themselves inside the main building until Gerhard arrived. He had indeed saved their lives.
“What did Gerhard have to say?” Sophie had waited to ask until they were out of the van at their own campsite. “Do you still believe he’s involved with the vampires? He killed several of them tonight.”
“I can’t prove anything,” Ari admitted. “We didn’t talk about much, except his kill count. Thirty-four in the last few days.”
“Uh-huh. And you think he’s laying it on too much.”
No wonder Sophistrina had made it all the way to the priestess of her coven. She was smart, and she wasn’t blinded by her past friendship with Gerhard. “He was definitely bragging. Beyond that, I think I’m too tired to think. I’m going to bed and hope everything is clearer tomorrow.” Ari let out a deep sigh. “But if Gerhard’s the traitor, he’s playing some really sick games with us.”
* * *
Ari sat up in bed and looked around, flopping back on the pillow when she realized where she was. She’d been dreaming about Andreas again, only this time it felt different. Almost like his magic had touched her, willing her to come to him. She glanced at the window. Dawn was breaking. He should be asleep by now. She opened the link and reached out, finding nothing more than that same small trickle of life.
Knowing she wouldn’t get back to sleep, she rolled over and slid off the cot. Grabbing her clothes and weapons, she tiptoed toward the door. The other witches were still asleep around her in the one common bunk room. They would be up soon, but she didn’t want to cut short their meager sleep. As she opened the front door, she saw Lilith raise her head. Ari pulled the door closed, dressed quickly on the front porch, and walked across the coven’s training area, leaving clear shoeprints in the morning dew. Nearing the forest edge, she found a path and followed it. The birds were starting to chirp and flutter in the trees. A grouse ran across her path and disappeared into the brush. The forest was waking for the day and early risers were already about their business. She watched a native red squirrel scurry along a tree branch with a nut in his mouth. He must be storing up for the cold winter months, making sure he had plenty on hand when needed.
Smart squirrel. She could use some reserves about now, a huge resource of power she could tap.
She stopped and tilted her head. The squirrel had given her an idea. A crazy idea, but it might work. She turned and retraced her steps toward the camp, nodding to herself as she picked up the pace until she was jogging. She met Lilith halfway.
“I wish you’d quit wandering off. I was just coming to—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Ari interrupted. “But right now I need to talk with Sophie. Maybe there’s a way after all.”
“A way to what? What are you plotting now?”
But Ari didn’t stop to explain, and Lilith had to run to keep up. They burst into the cabin and found the priestess eating breakfast. Ari grabbed Sophie’s arm, urging her to her feet.
“Come on. I have an idea.” Ari dragged the priestess outside. Once the three of them were alone, Ari shared her thoughts. “Well, what do you think?”
Emotion played across Sophie’s face: disbelief, astonishment, even awe. “By the Goddess, Ari. That’s bold. I’ve never heard of it being done. Is it possible?”
“Why not?”
“Why not, indeed,” the priestess mumbled. “But your magic is going to rebel.”
“So, I’ll push his power to you.”
Sophie’s eyes widened. She stared at Ari and began to nod. “It might truly work.”
“What is it? I don’t understand any of this.” Lilith looked put out. She’d listened to everything they’d said so far, shifting from foot to foot when they just kept talking.
“What don’t you understand?” Ari cocked her head. “It’s pretty simple. Once I get inside the stronghold and find Andreas—”
“Wait. How are you going to do that?”
Ari waved her off with one hand. “Forget that for now. If I don’t have an exit plan, everything fails. We’re talking exit at the moment. Remember how I told you that Sophie’s six remaining witches didn’t have enough power to support the teleportation spell? We don’t have enough time to train new witches, so we need an alternate source of power, like plugging into a reserve battery.” Ari began to grin. “I think we can hijack Warin’s magic and use it to boost the teleport.”
“Hijack how?”
“It’s one of the ways witches can fight,” Sophie said. “Absorbing the other’s power. We don’t try it often, because it leaves you open for the same kind of psychic attack. If Warin is stronger, he could take Ari’s power instead.”
“That’s why I’ll be connected to Sophie’s coven first,” Ari said. “We’ll only use the six witches I’ve already worked with, but with Sophie and me, we’ll be eight against one.”
The priestess considered that a moment. “With you wielding the power of the whole, you should be able to capture his magic and pull it toward you, but that’s where you’ll run into a snag. Your magic will repel such a dark taint.”
“Yes, it will,” Ari agreed. “But instead of trying to absorb it, I think I can redirect it to you. The coven’s darker magic can absorb it, launder it, so to speak, and push it back to me.” Ari beamed at them. “And, presto! By the time Warin figures out what happened, we’ll be gone.”
“In theory.” Sophie’s tone was cautious. “But it might not be enough power for teleportation. Warin’s magic is strong, but can it replace six missing witches? I think it’s iffy.”
“Iffy isn’t good enough.” Lilith’s face showed immediate alarm. “You could be stranded, surrounded by vampires with no way out. I don’t think I like this plan.”
“It’ll be enough. Look at the power he’s already exhibited. Consecutive teleports. That’s more power than I’ve ever heard of in one witch or warlock.”
Sophie’s face blanched, and she took a step back. “That’s even worse. What if we’re not strong enough to control the transfer? He would drain us all, leaving everyone vulnerable. He’d wipe out what’s left of my coven.”
“I’d break the connection with you before that happened.” Ari frowned at her. Didn’t Sophie trust her to protect them? “I’d never let him drain the coven.”
“Then you’d be the only one in danger,” Lilith said dryly. “That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it? You’d be left to face him alone.”
“It won’t happen. He isn’t stronger than all of us together.”
“But—”
“OK, Lilith, let’s assume the worst, and I have to break the link. He may have more raw power, but I have fire abilities that he doesn’t. And all my witch powers are stronger after training with Sophie’s coven. I have better control of the fire and the earth magic, even have a few tricks in water and wind. Did you know I summoned a rain cloud? I’ll handle Warin if I have to.” Her voice lost its vehemence. “Getting out of the castle without teleporting would be the tough part. And fighting off hundreds of vampires.” She shook her head, refusing to be discouraged. “But we can’t give up yet. Not until we’ve seen what we can do in practice. Sophie, if you’re willing to try, pick your most powerful witch—other than you—and let’s see if I can take her power and give it to you.”