Impervious (City of Eldrich Book 1) (17 page)

Chapter 30

M
arked by a
stone circle deep in the forest, the gateway to Fahraya was about a twenty-minute drive from the Keeles’ house, assuming a driver followed the posted speed limit.

Accompanied by Lynette, Caleb, and Russ, Meaghan pushed her car, an Audi sedan, to a smooth ninety on the straight sections of road but had to slow for the curves. The Audi cornered well and she knew how to drive fast, but if she lost control on the rain-slicked road and wrecked the car, they had no hope of getting Jamie back.

Russ called Natalie back on Meaghan’s cell and routed it through the dashboard phone system. They lost the cell signal about five minutes into the trees, but Natalie had enough time to tell them the basics.

Three Order wizards, dressed in normal clothing instead of their usual gray robes, arrived at Jamie’s house, with Emily Proctor leading the way. While the wizards ducked out of sight, Emily, carrying a fruit basket, rang the doorbell.

Seeing her alone and holding a gift, Patrice assumed that Emily was coming to try to make peace. Wanting to confront Emily about what she’d done to Jamie, Patrice opened the door. Augmented with the Order’s power, Emily shattered Natalie’s protective spells. She tossed Patrice across the room with a wave of her hand while the wizards pounded up the stairs to find Jamie.

Natalie, sitting in her kitchen, felt her spells breaking and ran, barefoot and in her pajamas, through the alley joining her backyard to Jamie’s and got there in time to see them drag Jamie down the stairs, also in pajamas, fighting them every step. Patrice, bleeding from a cut lip, her wrist broken, huddled in the hallway trying to shield the kids.

They choked Jamie until he stopped struggling, handcuffed him, and threw a pillowcase over his head. Natalie tried to hex them, but they shoved her out of the way and dragged Jamie out to an SUV idling in front of the house.

Emily tried to follow them but got blasted backwards by one of the wizards. Without her borrowed magic, Emily was helpless from Natalie’s wrath. Natalie pinned Emily against the wall, threatened her, and within moments Emily told her where they were headed with Jamie. Natalie called Meaghan for help while Patrice tried to calm her hysterical children.

The Keeles lived several miles closer to the Fahrayan gateway than Jamie and Patrice did. Russ knew a few short cuts and thought they could head off the wizards. The twins had followed Meaghan in their car, while Marnie stayed behind to protect Matthew.

Anna’s little hatchback couldn’t keep up with the Audi and the twins soon fell behind. Natalie was sending out word to all the local witches to get there as fast as they could, but materializing into the forest was tricky and required preparation. Meaghan and Lynette would need to stall the wizards until help arrived.

“Why the hell are these bastards driving? Why didn’t they get there with magic?” Meaghan asked as she thundered down the road.

“The gateway,” Lynnette said. “You can’t materialize too close with all the background magic leaking out of Fahraya or you’ll get sucked through. You can’t get any closer than about a quarter of a mile. You have to walk the rest of way.”

“So? It’s only a short hike. It would still get them there faster.”

“I know why,” Caleb said. “The magic from the Power needs to be recharged and it takes time and a sacrifice. Driving gives them time to . . .” He shuddered. “To do things to him. To scare him and hurt him. They’re giving that back to the Power.”

“Everything I hear about these fuckers makes me hate them more,” Meaghan said. “So, how does the Power feel about rage? Does it like to eat that?”

“It doesn’t like it when you fight back,” Caleb said. “That’s why they only feed it with the younger and weaker ones.”

“You fought back?” Russ asked.

“Tried to.”

“Jamie’s no coward,” Russ said. “They attacked his family and I’m betting on rage instead of fear no matter what they do to him.”

“Can that help us?” Meaghan asked.

“Depends,” said Lynette. “It might slow them down a bit, but once they get there, they can boost their power with the magic leaking through the gateway.”

“Lots of power in Fahraya,” Russ said.

“Then we have to get there first,” Meaghan said.

The last mile was unpaved and muddy, not enough to mire the car, but she had to slow down to keep from bottoming out in a pothole. The Audi wasn’t built for rough roads and if she ripped out the transmission or broke an axle, Jamie would be long gone before they got there.

“Is this the road they’d use?” Meaghan called to Russ.

“Probably not. There’s a longer road that’s paved almost the whole way. They think they’ve got a head start.”

The rough road curved to the left into a small clearing. Meaghan slowed to a stop. A few boulders lay in a rough circle with two taller, vaguely rectangular stones forming a doorway of sorts. The tallest stone was no more than waist high.

There was no sign of another vehicle. “It’s not exactly Stonehenge, is it,” Meaghan said. “Is there another gateway they could use?”

Russ shook his head. “No. This is the only way into Fahraya around here. The other gateways are in Europe.”

They climbed out of the car. Meaghan pulled Matthew’s old double-barrel shotgun out of the trunk, loaded it, and handed the box of remaining shells to Russ. “Stick close in case I need to reload.”

Russ took the box and stared wide-eyed at his sister. “You know how to use that?”

“I do.”

“You any good?”

“Hell, no,” Meaghan said. “That’s why I like shotguns. You don’t have to be good. You just have to fire in the general direction of what you want to hit.”

She walked towards the circle and, holding the gun to her shoulder, surveyed the area. No sign of anyone but them. “Lynette,” she called. “What’s your magic like up here?”

“Give me a second.” Lynette stood next to the car, eyes shut, feet firmly planted, hands out with her palms facing down. She took several deep breaths, then opened her eyes. “I’m good. Had to ground first. Wooh, I forgot how strong the Fahrayan stuff is. They’ll need to keep Jamie human as long as they can before they shove him through. If he changes out here, they’ll never be able to control him.”

“Won’t they go with him?”

In a rush, like he wanted to get it over with, Russ said, “They can’t. Humans can’t enter Fahraya unless they’re impervious. Too much background magic. Guess I should have told you that on the way over.”

“So, it’s me who has to go get him if we don’t stop them here.” Meaghan nodded. “Yeah, I figured it’d be something like that.”

Chapter 31

M
eaghan cocked her
head at the faint sound of a motor. “They’re coming. Lynette, we need some fireworks. And shield Russ and Caleb. If I get close, I’ll pull Jamie’s amulet off and we’ll worry about getting it on him later.”

Meaghan strode to the circle and stopped before it. She took a solid stance and lifted the gun to her shoulder. “Russ, stay clear until I call for more shells.”

A silver SUV, its windows tinted dark, drove towards them from the opposite end of the clearing. Two men got out of the front seat. She couldn’t see inside the SUV, but Meaghan assumed the third wizard was in the back seat with Jamie.

They weren’t wearing the Order’s usual gray robes. And they looked a lot bigger than Caleb, and healthier. No starvation for these guys. Saucepan not gonna get it done this time, Meaghan thought. She could feel the fear trying to bubble up, trying to eat away at her anger. She pushed it back down.

The two wizards started chanting and waving their hands. Her fear evaporated. How arrogant were these guys? How much evidence did they need that she was impervious?

“You shitheads are bone stupid. Enough with the magic already.” She cocked the shotgun. “You’re not taking him. Let him out of the car and be on your way.”

The biggest one walked closer. He was about Meaghan’s age, dark hair flecked with gray and close cropped to his head. He could have been handsome except for the malice on his face. He wore cruelty like other men wore cologne. “Keele’s
daughter
,” he sneered. “Go away, little girl. Before you break a nail.”

Meaghan snorted. “Little girl? Break a nail? Where are you from—1955? Screw you, asshole. You go away. Before I blow your balls off.”

“She’ll do it, Cooper,” Caleb shouted. “She’s mean and strong and not scared of you.” His voice was shaking with rage. Lynette and Russ were holding him by both arms to keep him from running to Meaghan’s side.

Cooper ignored him. “My associate is holding a very sharp knife to the Fahrayan’s throat,” Cooper said. “Or, more accurately, to the powerless human’s throat. Interfere further and my associate will sever his carotid artery. You didn’t specify that we let him out of the car alive. Put the gun down.”

“Fine,” Meaghan said, lowering the gun, but not letting go of it. Was he bluffing? If Jamie’s uncle wanted him dead, he would have hired the Order to assassinate him. Sending him back to Fahraya required more effort. Uncle wanted him alive. But she couldn’t risk being wrong. One quick stroke of the knife and Jamie would bleed out in seconds.

The other wizard continued chanting and waving his hands, then abruptly stopped. Cooper smiled, a horrible malicious grin that bore no human feeling. “And the barrier is complete. Your gun and the witch can’t touch us now. All the way down, girl. Put it on the ground at my feet.”

Slowly she crouched, reached forward, and set the gun on the ground. With a flick of his hand, Cooper sent it skittering out of her reach.

“You go with it. On your knees.” Cooper’s evil smile spread wider. “Where you belong.” He was enjoying this.

Meaghan knelt, with a wince. Her knees were creaky, but the mud cushioned them a bit. She still retained one advantage. Cooper underestimated her. If she confirmed his beliefs about women, he’d drop his guard.

“Caleb,” Cooper called. “You’re safe now. Come with us.”

“No,” shouted Caleb, his face twisted with rage, tears streaming down his red face. “I’m never going back to you.”

She needed to buy some time until the other witches arrived. “Please. Don’t hurt us,” she cried, putting a perceptible tremor into her voice. It wasn’t hard. Her body hummed from the adrenaline coursing through her blood. The wizards had been facing forward when doing the protective spells. Maybe the barrier was only on one side and arriving witches could get through. It was a slim hope, but all she had. “Why are you doing this?”

And he fell for the bait. It was all she could do not to snort her derision. How did villains still not get this?

“Our client, the King of Fahraya, sent us to bring the false heir. He broke the treaty and must answer for it,” Cooper said.

“The treaty?” Meaghan asked, kicking herself internally for waiting a week to start reading her father’s journals. She would have pretended she hadn’t known what he was talking about anyway, but it galled her to have to ask this pompous asshole because she honestly didn’t know. While on her knees no less.

“Did Daddy’s brain rot too fast for him to prepare you?” Cooper asked in what he probably thought was a gentle tone. “Poor thing. So outmatched.”

Time to reel in the glib sonofabitch. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” Meaghan wailed. “Please don’t hurt me.” She saw something moving in the trees. She buried her face in her hands and pretended to sob.

“There, there,” Cooper said. “So weak. Not at all like your father.”

Yeah, she thought. Matthew never had to learn how to manipulate sexist morons. She lifted her head, hoping Cooper didn’t notice her complete lack of tears. Natalie and two witches she didn’t know were creeping up on the SUV from behind. She caught Natalie’s eye and saw her nod and circle her hand emphatically. Stretch it out, Natalie motioned.

Meaghan threw herself at Cooper’s feet and wrapped her arms around his legs, shaking with fake sobs. By now, Russ had to know she was faking it. Caleb’s continued silence was a good sign. She didn’t need the distraction. She wanted Cooper and the other wizards focused solely on her.

Cooper’s face twisted in disgust. “Don’t touch me, bitch.” He swung his fist and hit her in the side of the head.

Meaghan fell onto her side. His blow hurt, but at least she was off her aching knees. She looked up and saw Natalie and the two witches next to the SUV. More were creeping into the clearing. The wizards were soundly outnumbered.

A huge boom rocked the clearing as Natalie blasted the back doors off the SUV. The wizards spun around. Meaghan took advantage of their distraction, and lunged for the shotgun as she scrambled to her feet.

Jamie rolled out of the SUV, shirtless, his hands cuffed behind his back. His chest and back were covered with bloody gouges. The pillow case was gone, replaced by a cloth gag. He landed on his feet, roaring inchoately with rage, the third wizard right behind him. Jamie spun and with a graceful kick to the chest knocked the wizard off balance.

The wizard recovered quickly and shot a spell at Jamie, who doubled over and fell to his knees. Cooper and his companion turned away from Meaghan and ran back to the SUV.

Meaghan, forgetting the wizards’ barrier spell, fired the shotgun at their backs, praying she didn’t hit Jamie. The buckshot hit the spell wall, never hitting Jamie or the wizards. The rebound almost knocked her off her feet, but no pellets hit her. Lynette must have put up her own barrier.

Cooper and the two wizards began chanting and waving their hands. Jamie tried to struggle to his feet, then fell to the ground as if pushed. An invisible blow struck him and he curled into a ball, gasping for breath.

Meaghan could see a glint of metal in Cooper’s hand. Even though the magical barrier wouldn’t affect her, if Cooper had a knife he could cut Jamie’s throat before Meaghan got close enough to make a difference. Even if she could get close, these wizards were not half-starved boys. Any one of them could kill her with a single blow.

The witches and Meaghan advanced on opposite sides. Cooper swept his hands high and Jamie was pulled to his feet. As Meaghan drew close enough to see the bloody wounds on Jamie’s torso, she realized in horror what they were. The wizards had carved symbols of some type into his flesh. He was still trying to fight but could no longer control his own body. Surrounded by the wizards, Jamie lurched towards the circle as he fought the movement of his feet.

The magical barrier now surrounded the wizards and Jamie. Meaghan could see flashes of light where the witches’ spells struck it. The wizards had reached the stone circle. They raised their hands, chanting in unison, and blasted one of the boulders forming the ring into gravel. At that moment, Jamie turned his head and saw Meaghan. She couldn’t save him and they both knew it.

“I’m coming for you,” she shouted. “You stay strong. I’m bringing you home.”

He nodded, but his face was heavy with defeat.

With a triumphant smile, Cooper grabbed Jamie’s amulet from behind, as the other wizards chanted. Cooper pulled the thong tight around Jamie’s throat and planted his booted foot on Jamie’s backside, below his cuffed wrists, and shoved. There was a blinding flash of light, and Jamie was gone. Cooper, wearing a vicious grin, raised the amulet for Meaghan to see, and then with a flourish of hands, the wizards disappeared too.