Gerhard frowned at her question. “I’m not certain, but when I was much younger, I experienced something like it. A sudden sensation of heat and then a door slammed shut inside my brain.”
Ari’s mouth dropped open before she could stop her reaction.
“You’ve felt it, haven’t you?” Gerhard seemed excited. “Tell me.”
She nodded reluctantly. “A vamp tried to enthrall me. He got past my normal shields, but then something stopped him. I felt the heat you mentioned.”
“How did you do it? Can you call it upon command? Perhaps you can teach me.”
“Sorry. I don’t know how.” She shook her head. “I didn’t even know it was related to the fire magic.”
“You never asked anyone?” He sounded incredulous.
“There was no one to ask. My mother and my Great-Gran died years ago, and my witch mentor wasn’t a fire witch.” And Yana, the family friend who seemed to know the answers, had been murdered before they could talk. Her death from a werewolf attack was still a painful memory. “I think we should go back. Your brother will wonder what’s keeping us.” She turned and started back along the path.
Gerhard caught up easily. “Did I say something wrong? If so, I’m sorry, but I think we should explore the shield together.”
Ari looked away. His eyes held that same bug-in-a-jar look she’d gotten from Warin. The brothers were certainly intense about their craft.
“It could be a useful weapon against the O-Seven,” he coaxed. “Think what we could do if our minds were protected from their intrusion.”
“I’ll think about it. Maybe, if we find time, but neither of us even knows how to start. How long’s it been since your experience?
“A while,” he admitted. “Probably ten years. I was only a youth.”
“What about Warin? Does he have the fire shield?”
“He doesn’t even believe there is such a thing. He says my experience was my imagination. We don’t talk about it anymore. In fact, I wouldn’t bring it up in front of him. He’ll only lecture us about believing in myths. He’s very anchored in science.” He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Until we have proof to show him, can we keep this our secret?”
Sibling rivalry? Ari shrugged. “So far there’s nothing to tell.”
“Good.”
Still, it seemed odd that Gerhard was excluding his brother. She hoped it wasn’t so he could spend time alone with her. He’d been watching her whenever he thought she wasn’t paying attention. They walked in silence until he finally spoke again.
“I’d like to take you out for dinner tomorrow night. We could discuss our experiences.”
“Not a good idea.” She softened her abrupt response. “I’m here to train with Sophie’s coven, and I didn’t bring dinner clothes.”
He stopped and stared at her, his underlying emotion unreadable. “So it’s true you intend to take on the O-Seven.”
“It’s the reason I’m here. They kidnapped someone important to me, and I’m going to get him back.”
“Just like that. How? By storming their stronghold?” Gerhard snorted, his eyes mocking her, and he shook his head. “Our covens have tried to get inside for centuries. It can’t be done.”
Ari bristled. As they stepped out of the trees into bright sunlight, she cocked her head at him. “Don’t be so sure of that. I haven’t tried yet.”
Chapter Seven
The shrieking of a ward alarm tore through the early morning silence. Ari rolled out of bed, grabbing the new Walther in one hand, her dagger in the other.
Someone yelled, “Breach!”
Wearing only her T-shirt and pajama bottoms, she raced barefooted down the hall and out the front door. The smell and energy of vampires filled the air. The coven ran to pre-arranged positions carrying high-powered rifles or forming a circle around Sophistrina. A dozen or more vampires rushed at them out of the forest. Ari clenched the knife in her teeth and gripped the pistol with two hands. The rifle fire started. Magic spread out from the witches’ circle, raising the hairs on Ari’s arms and forming an invisible barrier around the coven. The vampires charged the circle, but the first wave tumbled to the ground when they hit the barrier. The others backed away, regrouping around a redheaded vamp. Ari emptied a clip of silver bullets into them, and they scattered.
Four vampires broke away and sped toward the witches manning the rifles.
“Burn them!” Sophie screamed.
Ari ignored her command, reloaded the Walther, and took down the vampiress and blond male in the lead with head shots. The other two were hit by rifle fire, but one of them got to his feet and shrugged off the body shots. He spun around, fangs extended, looking for a target. His gaze locked on Ari, and for a moment they stared at one another.
Bring it on. She dropped the pistol and crouched, clutching her dagger. The vampire charged. Ari waited, muscles tensed, and kicked him in the face at the last second to break his momentum. When he staggered, she leaped onto his chest, driving her stiletto through his heart. His life force drained away, she sprang to the side, and his empty body fell on the ground.
Ari retrieved the Walther, shoved in a new clip, and looked for the rest of the vamps. The assault rifles were still blazing, a few bodies had fallen. A half dozen vampires were flanking the redheaded leader, and he was holding something in his hand that glowed, flickering with energy. He pointed it toward the witches’ circle, and the vampires began to run. The moment the object touched the surface of the magical barrier, the wall of protection cracked and shattered.
Ari released her witch fire from her only free hand, hitting the redhead with a crimson bolt. He screamed and burst into flames. The fire spread to his nearest companion, and the others fled toward the forest. A fist of magical power from the coven caught the three in the rear, knocking them down. Witches swarmed over them with machetes, chopping off heads. The survivors disappeared into the trees.
Ari strode toward the vampire bodies that had been shot. A witch had already decapitated one. Ari shot another twice through the heart. The rest were beheaded. The two downed by witch fire were only small piles of ash. No resurrections today.
But what about the ones who’d gotten away? Would they realize she was the source of the witch fire? Had her secret been blown?
“Why didn’t you burn them all?” Sophie ran up to her, followed by half a dozen sisters. She was out of breath, her eyes wide, accusing.
“I didn’t need to.” Ari was puzzling over her weapons, trying to decide what to do with them. She held the Walther in one hand, the dagger in the other. Her waistband hadn’t been strong enough to support the pistol, and her current attire didn’t offer any alternative places to store them. She looked up. “I thought you understood. My witches’ oath doesn’t allow me to use lethal fire except in defense. And when there’s no alternative.”
“But they intended to kill us, and they’ll be back.” Rebekah, the coven’s second-in-command nearly snarled at her.
Ari lifted a shoulder. “Killing the last two wasn’t necessary. They’re gone, and none of us died. If they come back, I’ll do what I can to stop them from harming anyone, but I didn’t come here to just kill vampires or join your cause. Once Andreas is free, I’m going home. My responsibilities are there.”
“I thought she was one of us,” a voice from the back grumbled.
“I am…and I’m not.” Ari attempted to explain. “I work for the Magic Council in my community as a cop. I try to live within certain rules. I’m also a white witch, and I adhere to the Witches’ Creed, to do no harm unless there is no other way.”
“There isn’t another way.” A short-haired woman stepped forward. Ari couldn’t remember her name but recognized her face from the first night’s campfire.
“There was today.”
“You should have killed them,” Rebekah said.
Sophistrina intervened. “Enough. I shouldn’t have started this, wouldn’t have if I’d been thinking clearly. I knew Arianna?
??s beliefs. She’s here at my invitation because our coven owes her a debt. She is not our assigned fire witch.”
“But she’s the one here.” Rebekah continued to argue. “If Warin and Gerhard can use their fire, why can’t she?”
“I said enough.”
Sophistrina’s harsh tone reminded the woman she was talking to her priestess, and Rebekah fell silent, her face growing red at the rebuke.
“I understand the confusion, but we’ve grown up under different rules and situations.” Ari directed her words at Sophie as much as the others. “I was taught that the crimson fire is such an overpowering weapon that I don’t have the right to take another life with it, not unless there’s no other choice. I burned the vampire that was an immediate threat.” She pointed her hand at the woods. “But they were running away. I can use other weapons consistent with my conscience, but the use of fire is quite specific.”
“Seems like a stupid rule.” Rebekah continued to grumbled, but she walked away when the priestess frowned at her. Frowns and averted eyes indicated others agreed with Rebekah, but they respected their leader enough for the discussion to be over.
Sophie accompanied Ari inside. “I’m sorry. That was my fault. Many of them are new, and they don’t understand the depth of the debt we owe you. But I think I’ve figured out why you are so reluctant to join us. You really think of vampires as people, don’t you?”
Ari flushed. “For Goddess sake, I’m living with one of them. Of course, I see them as people.” She caught herself and spoke more calmly. “I didn’t always. But even then, I respected my oath.”
“Our fire witches don’t take a similar oath, and the rest of us have interpreted the creed fairly liberally. It is not practical to restrict yourself when you are constantly at war.” In an abrupt change of subject, Sophistrina reached out a hand to touch Ari’s silver bracelet. “I notice you carry a silver cross and holy water.”
“Yes, it was a present.” She shook her arm gently to make the charms jingle.
“Does it protect you from vampires?”
Ari smiled, thinking how Andreas could handle the charms without suffering any ill effects. “It might make a less powerful vamp uneasy. But to do much harm, the charms would need to be bigger. These are mostly symbolic, of little practical use unless the vampire is closer than I want them to get. Why do you ask?”
Sophie dropped her eyes. “We can no longer use holy items. Black magic has made them ineffective.”
“Why? I thought it was a matter of belief.”
The priestess shook her head. “Apparently not. Research done by the Witches’ League showed that the ability is linked to the purity of the person’s soul. We’ve been tainted by the use of so much dark magic. It’s really not so bad. It’s just the price we pay.”
Ari didn’t know what to say. The taint was in Sophie and her sisters; the magic felt it, and Ari saw the darkness in their auras.
The priestess jerked her head up, sudden contrition in her eyes. “What am I thinking? Talking about how difficult life is for us and wanting you to do more, when I should be thanking you instead. Without you, the vampires might have killed us all tonight. They had something new, something magic, that broke our protective barrier.”
Dammit. Ari spun on her heel and hurried back into the clearing. “Yes, he used a glowing object, and I meant to search for it. We need to know what it is.”
Sophie followed her. “You think it’s still here?”
“The vamp who had it died, and I didn’t see anyone stop to grab it.”
They searched the area, kicking aside the brown grass and weeds. They saw ordinary rocks but nothing that glowed.
“I can feel a hint of magic,” Sophie said.
“Yeah, me too.” Ari leaned over and picked up two rocks about the size of the object the vampire had held. Her right hand immediately grew warm. “This must be it.” She dropped the other stone. “There’s warmth in this one from magical residue.”
“What is it?” The priestess peered at her hand.
“Just a stone, I think. It’s hard to see more in the dark.”
They headed toward the cabin, and five minutes later, Ari, the priestess and several coven members crowded around the kitchen table, peering at the gray-brown object.
“It’s just an ordinary rock,” Rebekah said. “I don’t see anything special.”
“It was enchanted.” Ari’s face was set in hard lines.
“That takes a sorcerer.” Rebekah’s mouth gaped, as she finally seemed to realize the implications.
“Yeah. It’s just more proof the O-Seven has someone skilled in witchcraft working for them.”
A young woman gasped. “A witch or wizard is helping the vampires? Who would do that? Why?”
Ari glanced at the young woman with a pale streak in her black hair. “Can’t say who, but power or money come to mind. I suppose it could be other things.”
“The right enticement can make allies out of enemies.” Sophie’s face twisted into a scowl. “It could be worse than we think. In order to raise the level of power we’ve seen here and in Italy, it may be an entire coven.”
“No, I don’t believe that.” The girl spoke vehemently now. “One stupid witch I could accept, someone sick, mentally ill, but not an entire coven.” The other witches stirred, emotion sparking among them, but no one spoke up to agree with her. Given the amount of power required by teleporting, the probability of a single rogue witch was low. “But vampires and witches kill each other.” She sounded almost desperate to convince them.
“Not always.” Ari let it go at that. “So, any candidates come to mind? I can’t even hazard a guess, because I don’t know anyone.”
“We have rogue witches, but no one that’s shown any liking for the vampires. I’ll ask some of the other coven leaders.” Sophie pointed to the stone. “Is there enough residue for us to trace it back?”
“It’s always worth a try, if we go back to where it was last used.”
They traipsed outside to the scene of the fight, but no one could pick up a magical trail. Any tracks had been carefully erased. Ari touched the rock to her cheek. “The warmth of the connection is almost gone. Just another useless clue.” She juggled it in her hand, then released her frustration by tossing the stone as far into the trees as she could. She turned back to find Sophie waiting.
“I think we should go for a ride,” the priestess said. “The vampires will be asleep soon, and I want to show you what we’re up against. I know I said I wanted to wait, but I think it’s pretty obvious they know you’re here. We might as well take a look at the O-Seven’s stronghold.”
* * *
Dawn broke, turning the Eastern sky into streaks of angry orange and pale yellow chasing the sharp black edges of night. Sophie and Ari stood next to their car on a twisting mountain road and looked across the heavily wooded valley. Ari drew in a shaky breath; her magic stirred uneasily. An imposing castle reared its stone towers above a dark, rolling fog, a foreboding tribute to its terrible inhabitants. She stared, unable to look away. Its vile history repulsed her, and yet she fought an irrational urge to race down the mountain and scale its walls. Andreas was somewhere inside.
“It’s an old fortress.” The priestess’s voice hit Ari’s nerves like a dash of cold water. “I’m told the walls are more than two feet thick, and the vampires long ago added heavy steel gates and doors. As you can see, all the windows are protected by bars. I can’t get you any closer without risking discovery by the werebears and trolls in the woods. The castle itself is guarded by wereraptors. We don’t know what else is inside, except hundreds of vampires.”
Ari took a steadying breath, shaded her eyes with both hands, and studied the castle walls. Where were they keeping Andreas? What window would lead to him? The foxes could tell her more about what was inside. Maybe she should mention them to Sophie, but she held back. Someone magical was working with the O-Seven. Not Sophistrina, but maybe someone Sophie knew. The more informati
on Ari kept to herself, the less likely the vampires would learn something to use against her.
“I don’t know how to get you in,” Sophie said. “But I think we can get you out.”
“How?” Ari dropped her hands and looked at the priestess.
“By teleporting. We could get you and Andreas out. But not a group. If you took a fighting force, you’d have to leave them behind.” Sophie’s face was somber.
“I won’t do that.”
“You might have to, if it’s the only way out.”
Ari frowned. Then she’d stay behind and fight her way out. Unless she decided to go into the castle alone. But she’d worry about that later. “How would we do this teleporting thing?”
“It’ll only work if we can lock onto your magic once you’re inside the stronghold and use it as a conduit. That’s where we need to practice. Figure out how to blend our magics.” Sophie’s smile was grim. “They’ll at least have to tolerate one another.”
“I’m willing to try.” Ari glanced at the fortress’s dark towers one last time before getting in the car. It looked just as sinister as before. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get Andreas out of there.”
By the time they returned to camp, it was time for breakfast. They agreed to meet in a witches’ circle as soon as the morning schedule was completed. Ari hid her impatience. They’d know soon enough if their magics could play nice with one another.
An hour later, Ari’s eagerness turned to anxiety as she joined hands with the witches on either side of her. Would their black magic taint wear off on her? She gave a wry shake of her head. It wasn’t catching, for Goddess sake.
“Ready?” Sophie asked.
Ari nodded once. They’d agreed she would control the merging by letting let her magic flow into theirs. It would never work to start in the other direction. While black magic would welcome any additional power source, her white magic was more picky, rejecting any unknown invader.
She released her magical energy, sending the first tendrils through her clasped hands, but it balked and came to a screeching halt the moment it recognized the dark taint. Ari murmured reassurance, much as she might sooth a stubborn child, and pushed it through. The magic spread toward the second connection, hesitated, then flashed a spark of energy that broke the circle. Ari grabbed the witches’ hands and tried again. After forty-five minutes, they quit for the day, but she’d sent her magic a quarter circle in each direction. It was a good start.