Circle of Blood: A Witch Hunt Novel

  Samantha frowned. Lilith had set up outgoing blocks as well as ingoing ones so that he couldn’t share the information that way. Samantha would have to take a different approach.

  “Do you remember the name of the woman you’re supposed to report to if I’m not there when you reach the coven?” Samantha asked, taking a gamble and guessing that her lieutenant would be a woman since she had chosen women in the other cities.

  “Of course,” he answered.

  “Tell me her name.”

  “I . . . won’t.”

  He was starting to shut down and they were never going to be able to crack him.

  “Tell me!” she barked.

  “Her name is—”

  He began to scream in pain.

  Something was happening, and she knew instinctively that time had run out. She had no choice. If someone was going to have to go into his mind, it should be her. After all, she knew what to anticipate.

  She pushed her way in, expecting to be thrown halfway across the room. It didn’t happen. Albert continued to scream and thrash around and a moment later there was a blinding burst of light inside and it began to fry his mind like a computer.

  Samantha panicked. She could feel thoughts, memories linked to Lilith, and she felt she was scooping them up, seeing them without really comprehending them, looking at everything as though through a strobe effect.

  He was beginning to convulse and foam at the mouth. His mind was exploding and Samantha gasped and yanked herself out of it, falling backward onto the floor as she did so.

  She glanced up just in time to see blinding white light pouring out of Albert’s eyes and ears and then a moment later his body exploded, sending blood and gore flying all over the room.

  She jerked up her hands to block herself from the worst of it even as random images chased one another through her mind. She fought to slow them down enough to focus on them, but she couldn’t. She had grabbed everything she could, and her mind was struggling to understand and process the data. It was too much, though, and she felt the images begin to fragment and scatter inside her own mind, as if hiding themselves from her.

  She screamed in rage and frustration. This had all been for nothing. Now Albert was dead and the information he could have shared with them was plastered across the walls, floor, and ceiling or else lost inside her own mind.

  She pounded the floor with her fist. It wasn’t fair. She had worked so hard to get at that information. Agents were running into the room. She knew they had felt what happened, and from where she was lying she could see that there was a camera on a table in the corner. They’d been able to see as well. There was no need to explain, but still she heard herself screaming.

  “She left a land mine in his brain! She killed him instead of me! Lost, all lost!”

  Connor was kneeling down beside her a moment later, his face inscrutable. “Did you get a look at anything?”

  “It happened too fast. I couldn’t focus on anything long enough to make sense of it. I think some of the images are in my head, but I can’t get at them.”

  “Do you want me to try?”

  “No!”

  The last thing she needed was him walking around in her brain. For all they knew he’d get bits and pieces of her life and bits and pieces of Albert’s and they’d mesh together in some horrific way that would send them all running off on a wild-goose chase.

  She could feel tears streaming down her face.

  “You’re tired. You’ve been through a lot. You need to stand down, get some rest,” he was telling her.

  It was good advice, but how was she supposed to rest after that? All she wanted to do was grab her own head and scream and scream until she couldn’t make a sound anymore.

  Trina knelt down on her other side. “Let’s get you to the bathroom,” she was saying. She was white as a sheet, the only indication that she understood just how terrible what had happened was.

  “It’s useless,” Samantha muttered.

  “No, we’ll get you cleaned up and it will be fine. You’ll see,” Trina said, and Samantha could tell she was intentionally misunderstanding her.

  Together Trina and Connor pulled her up to her feet. Trina helped support part of her weight and walked her out of the room. All along the way Samantha could see horrified faces; the other agents weren’t as good at putting on a brave face as Trina was.

  “None of you should ever work undercover,” she heard herself reproving them. Even as she did she knew that wasn’t fair of her. None of them could have anticipated, could have prepared for, what just happened.

  In the bathroom Trina turned on the hot water for one of the sinks and grabbed a handful of paper towels. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she said briskly.

  Samantha grabbed the paper towels from her. “I want to be alone right now.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

  Samantha gave her a look that must have been terrifying, because Trina turned even whiter. “Okay, but I’ll be outside in case you need anything.”

  Samantha nodded. She wanted, needed to be alone. It was her only hope to focus on the memories she so dearly needed to retrieve from her mind, the ones that weren’t hers.

  Samantha felt shell-shocked. She took a few minutes in the bathroom to clean her clothes and wash her face. Then she walked outside to try to get some fresh air and clear her head. She’d known that Lilith would booby-trap Albert’s mind, but she’d assumed the booby trap would be aimed at killing or harming the intruder and not Albert. That only proved that whatever information he’d had, it had been valuable.

  Her head was awash with images, none of which made any sense. It was like looking at a picture through a kaleidoscope toy where everything bent and refracted and all you saw was a mishmash of color and geometric patterns instead of a real picture that meant something.

  She wanted to scream. She felt unbelievably drained and frazzled, as if insanity was clawing at the edges of her mind. That’s what she got for being inside someone else’s head when he died.

  She shuddered, refusing to let herself believe that she’d been with Albert in his last moment. That way was madness. No, she had pulled out a millisecond before, else who knew what might have happened?

  She rubbed her eyes, wishing she could go to sleep. She thought about Anthony. If he was smart he was in bed now and Freaky Kitty was probably curled up with him. At that moment she didn’t know which of them she envied more.

  Still, the faster she sorted all this out, the faster she could see both of them. Her head didn’t want to seem to cooperate, though. No matter how hard she pushed, how she tilted the mental kaleidoscope, it still was just colors and lines. She had the sinking feeling that it could be days before any of it made any sense at all. That was time she didn’t have.

  She finally decided to go and check in on Ed, make sure he was okay. If she was incredibly lucky maybe there had been some results on that end. Something had to give soon. She couldn’t help feeling that they were running out of time, and not just because Lilith was going to be undoubtedly killing more people.

  If even we could figure out why she was making a huge power grab now, she thought.

  It couldn’t all be about Samantha. Lilith could have killed her half a dozen times easily over the last several months. Heck, if she’d really found her a couple of years ago, she could have killed her anytime she wanted with no one ever being able to trace the murder back to her.

  No, Lilith had to have some other plan, and it had to tie in to what she’d been doing in Salem and San Francisco.

  Samantha blinked.

  Demons.

  That was the common denominator between the two locations. In both places covens under Lilith’s control had been trying to summon an ancient demon. Was it possible that there was another one trapped here? Or was this just a good location because no one was going to notice some extra magic and craziness, at least not until it got really out of hand?

  She wondered if
Anthony or any of his local friends knew of any legends. She checked her phone. It was the middle of the night. If he was actually able to get some sleep, she didn’t want to disturb him. Someone deserved to get some sleep, after all. Plus, if he had to ask his friends, there was no way he was going to be making those calls in the middle of the night.

  It could wait until morning. Hopefully by then it would be a moot point because they would already have found the coven. Time to go check in with Ed.

  Samantha walked into the gym. Ed leveled a steely gaze at her, a hand on the butt of his gun.

  “If I had a boyfriend, it would be Anthony,” she said.

  “Just admit you like him already,” he said.

  “What good will that do anyone?”

  “More than you think.”

  “He already knows how I feel.”

  “Yeah, but the way I hear it, you’re a heck of a one for mixed signals.”

  “Great, now the two of you are talking about me.”

  “You girls talk about us. We’re entitled.”

  “Guy talk, that’s all I need.”

  “Welcome back, Samantha,” he said, letting go of his gun.

  “Thanks, Ed,” she said, extinguishing the fireball she’d been hiding behind her back, just in case.

  “You look like hell,” Ed commented.

  “Is that all? I must be doing well, then.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Enlighten me?”

  “And depress both of us? No, thanks. One of us, at least, should be able to live in ignorant bliss.”

  He smirked. “I’d say it’s probably a little too late for that in general.”

  “Thanks for reminding me.”

  She glanced over at her candles and poppet. Nothing looked different from when she’d left. “Anything change?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Nothing moved?”

  “Was it supposed to?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Yes, that is the general goal. If something moves, then we have a clue, a possible location on where one of the people we’re looking for could be.”

  “I’ll make sure to pay more attention, then,” he said.

  “I’d appreciate it,” she said with a yawn.

  She was tired and it was late. She really wanted to get some sleep, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t in the cards just yet. She did, however, desperately need to get a little bit of peace, a chance to think about the information swimming around in her head. It was scrambled but she was sure that with a little concentration and a lot of luck, she might make something out of it yet.

  “You might want to sit down before you fall down,” he noted. “Better yet, why don’t you go get some sleep?”

  “Can’t, too much to do.”

  “Well, you need to do something before you fall over. Trust me, we’ve known each other for three years. I’ve seen that look before. You once face-planted in a plate of mashed potatoes looking like that.”

  “I don’t remember any such thing,” she said.

  “See,” he said innocently, “just goes to show how tired you were.”

  She sighed. “Do you mind babysitting a little longer?”

  “Not if it means you can go get some rest before you fall over or I have to put you down.”

  “You’re always a comfort, Ed.”

  “Oh, good, because that’s what I always wanted to do with my life. You know, every little kid says ‘I want to be a comfort when I grow up.’”

  “Maybe they should,” she said. “I’ll check back in a little later. I’ve got my phone. You can call if you need me or anything changes.”

  “Ditto.”

  She waved and headed for the door. Once she exited she debated where to head that wasn’t going to be crawling with FBI agents. She wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of them. She just needed to be able to find some quiet and some peace if any still existed in the world anymore. She was seriously beginning to doubt it.

  She turned and wandered aimlessly for a minute before stumbling onto the sanctuary. That sounded like a good place to start looking for quiet and peace at any rate.

  She walked inside. The lights were on, but very dim, and she could feel herself getting drowsy just standing in there. That wasn’t good. She needed to stay awake, work stuff out.

  She saw movement toward the front of the room. Someone was sitting in one of the pews. She walked slowly forward, curious as to who it was.

  She finally got close enough to see that it was the pastor who had saved her. He was praying, his eyes closed, his hands folded.

  She should go and leave him in peace, but instead she found herself quietly sitting down in the same pew a couple of feet away from him.

  Without looking up he asked softly, “What’s wrong, Samantha?”

  She was impressed that he had known it was her. Could he tell the difference in her energy or had he just made a rational deduction? It didn’t matter, ultimately. She couldn’t deny, though, that he fascinated her.

  “I need to know something,” she said. “I’ve met a lot of people with the powers. Some use it for good, some for evil, some ignore it altogether. I’ve yet to meet another Christian who had the powers who used them at all. How can you be a pastor and still use these powers?”

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “And exactly how many Christians with the power have you met?”

  “I guess just you.”

  “Maybe, maybe not. Just because you can feel someone’s ability to manipulate the natural world around him doesn’t mean you can see into his heart and know anything about him, including his religion. And a lot of very religious people are very private about their beliefs, despite what people often think.”

  “Okay, that’s true, but still, you didn’t answer my question.”

  “The power, where does it come from?”

  “I don’t know. I was born with it. Everyone that I’ve met with it seems to have been.”

  “So it’s passed down in families just like eye color or big ears.”

  “I guess.”

  “Are blue eyes evil?”

  “No.”

  “Are funny-looking ears evil?”

  “No, of course not,” she said.

  “The power isn’t evil. It’s natural, with us at birth. It’s just another one of God’s mysteries, gifts.”

  “I don’t see it that way.”

  “I know and that is why you are so conflicted. More than that, you’re hobbled. You can’t be the best of yourself because you refuse to accept all of yourself.”

  “I’m not sure how I can ever really do that. I’ve used the powers for evil. And every time I have to use them now, it’s just a reminder of that.”

  “In your past you used them for evil. Everyone makes mistakes. That doesn’t entitle you to throw away the gifts and talents God has given you. If nothing else, it makes it that much more important that you make up for the lost time and use those abilities for good.”

  “But it’s so dangerous.”

  “It’s dangerous because you believe it is. Does power like this have the potential to corrupt? Of course it does. But so do many other things, like the ability to speak well, or personal charisma, or even empathy, the ability to feel the pain of others. Because you have let it corrupt you somewhat in the past—and I’m still not convinced you were nearly as corrupt as you believe—you just have to be vigilant.”

  “I try, but I find myself doing magic when I shouldn’t.”

  He raised an eyebrow. He turned, stretched out his hand, and a Bible sitting on a table halfway across the room flew into his open hand. He looked back at her. “I could have gotten up, walked over there, and picked it up. But why? For me, this was simpler, required less time and effort, and is a way to make sure I keep my skills honed. There was no pressing need for me to do magic other than simple convenience to myself.”

  Samantha gaped at him and he smiled.

/>   “I can see that I’ve shocked you.”

  “Aren’t you afraid? It can be a slippery slope. One moment it’s calling a Bible to your hand, but where could it go from there?”

  “For someone like me, the most natural danger is the urge to convert someone not through logic and truth but through force of will. I’ve faced my own demons in that area and I’ve won. I never forget that I have that capacity within me, but I trust myself now to do the right thing.” He chuckled. “And I trust God to kick my butt if I don’t.”

  “What if He doesn’t?”

  “Trust me, the Lord and I have a very special relationship. I know He won’t hesitate to let me know if I screw up. And if that day comes, I wouldn’t be standing too near me, if you know what I mean,” he joked.

  She shook her head. “I just can’t see things the same way as you.”

  He patted the Bible. “It says in here in Galatians 5:1: ‘It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.’ We were meant for freedom, liberation. Let me tell you, that’s something my family knows a thing or two about. You know what one of the craziest things is? Sometimes people don’t know what to do with freedom. They put restrictions on themselves that were never meant to be there. Take you, for instance. Christ set you free, He forgave you your past, gave you a new life, a new future. Yet you are so anxious to keep yourself in bondage, in slavery, to your feelings of guilt about the past and fear about what you might do or become. That is not pleasing to God.”

  “But these powers—”

  “Are gifts,” he interrupted her. “Some people can jump high. Some people can understand areas of physics and mathematics that look like nonsense to the rest of us. Some people can sing and move an entire stadium to tears. You know, personally, I’ve often wondered whether or not a few of Jesus’ disciples weren’t people with powers just like you and me.”

  She laughed and shook her head.

  He wagged a finger in her face. “Laugh now, but think about it. Healing the sick, casting out demons, surviving being poisoned and stoned and heaven knows what else. Sure, God could do it miraculously, but wouldn’t it have been easier to pick at least one or two people who could do it themselves?”