Witch Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY

They slept through the late afternoon and into the night. Thankfully, no demon came to interrupt their well-needed rest. Claire had made an educated guess — the Atrika needed even more time to recover from the elium than they did. When they all awoke, they made breakfast in the remnants of the ruined kitchen and the surviving witches all ate well.

Adam watched Theo lean against the counter and sip his coffee. He'd slipped back into being a ghost, not talking, not interacting much at all. Ingrid's death had affected him badly. Now that Adam had spent some time with the man, he knew him better.

The mood was somber in the kitchen as they ate. Claire perched herself on a stool near the breakfast bar and talked to the witches about how she would train them that day. Her words, quietly spoken, could not cut through the pall of grief that had settled over them all.

Adam's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and flipped it open, walking away from the solemn group so he could hear better. "Yeah?"

It was Thomas. "How is everyone?" His voice sounded strained.

"Like how you'd think, boss. Not good."

Thomas went silent for a moment, the weight of his sorrow palpable through the cell phone. If Claire felt responsible for the death of the six witches, Adam could only imagine how Thomas was feeling. And, yet, Adam knew that Thomas had taken no chances. He'd done all he could to ensure that the witches had left the Coven undetected. Blame could not be placed on his shoulders.

Adam's hand tightened to pain on the cell phone. Blame lay with the demons, with Rue. His blood heated — literally — and rage clouded his vision for a moment. There was nothing in the universe he wanted more than to make them pay for it.

"Micah has had a breakthrough. You need to bring Claire in."

His blood cooled and his vision cleared. "Booya for good news. Did he figure out a way to extract the elium?"

"Maybe. We're not sure it's going to work, so don't go getting her hopes up yet. This will be an experiment, but we need her here to try it."

"We'll leave this morning."

"Not so fast. Micah also got together with the Coven earth witches and worked up a masking spell. Here's our plan. You cook up this spell over there and use it on the remaining witches. Then you take Claire and go alone, travel back to Chicago."

"What do you mean? The spell will act as a decoy, in case the Atrika throw more blood magick at us?"

"Yeah, that's exactly what it will do… we think. We're dealing with demon magick and we're never sure how it will react. If Micah is right, if the demons try another locating spell, it will lead them to the Coven witches, not to Claire. It gives you enough time to bring her in."

"Fuck, Thomas, it's like serving the witches up on a platter."

"It's not. You told me yourself that Claire has taught you and Theo to effectively wield elemental magick against demon magick. Teach the Coven witches how to do it. You're not leaving them defenseless."

"Claire isn't going to like this. She won't agree. She already feels responsible for the deaths of the six witches. Last night she was ready to leave the cabin just to draw the demons away from the rest of them. No way is she going to agree to making them into bait."

Thomas's voice grew hard. "Then you fucking kidnap her, Adam. Do whatever you have to do to make this work. We need that elium out of her. We need it destroyed. That's more important than anything else."

Adam glanced at Claire, who still sat on the stool, still spoke in low, serious tones to the others. Her hair slipped over her shoulder in a barely kept tangle of dark curls. Her face was pale and drawn, the stress of the situation wearing on her visibly.

Fuck, he just wanted her safe. He wanted that more than he wanted anything else — even revenge on the demons.

He turned away. "Yeah, I'll get it done."

Adam handed the phone over to Theo per Thomas's request and Theo took down the ingredients for the bait spell. Theo did it unobtrusively, so Claire wouldn't notice.

After Theo snapped the cell phone closed, he slid the paper under a bowl filled with fruit. "I think I'm going to let you and Adam teach the techniques, Claire. My charm stores are badly depleted, so I'd better cook today."

Claire frowned at him. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just feel naked without my charms. I need to spend some time recharging."

"Okay." Claire shrugged.

"We should do this outside, don't you think, Claire?" Adam asked, walking to the door. "It's warm today and it smells like smoke in the cabin — distracting."

"That's a good idea," Claire answered. They headed outside to work, leaving Theo alone to cook up the "bait" charm.

As twilight fell, Adam grew apprehensive about how to get Claire out of the house. He knew all too well she wouldn't go willingly, but he wouldn't — couldn't — kidnap her as Thomas suggested.

By nightfall the spell was in place, accomplished stealthily by Theo using a variety of herbs and minerals. The kitchen still stank heavily of mugwort and winter cherry and it had been difficult to keep an observant Claire from noticing what was going on.

When she asked what all the mugwort and winter cherry was for, Theo had claimed an ordinary charm for deception, but she hadn't looked convinced. They'd been constantly drawing her out of the cabin and into the woods, feigning a desire for fresh air and room to move while they trained.

"What the hell is going on?" Claire demanded, rounding on them all in the living room. "What do you take me for, a novice witch? I felt a powerful spell snap into place about a half hour ago and everyone keeps dragging me outside. I'm freezing!" She turned to Theo. "Mugwort and winter cherry, according to my mother's spell book, are for deception spells, but I know you don't need that much, Theo! The kitchen still stinks of it."

Adam's jaw locked. Damn it.

She crossed her arms over her chest and fixed her gaze on Adam. "Well?" She glanced at Theo and cocked her head to the side. "Theo? Either of you have anything to tell me?"

Adam dragged in a breath and told her.

"It's what I wanted last night," she said when he'd finished. "But not like this. I refuse to run away and leave these witches to be found and picked off by the demons."

Lately Claire had begun using the aeamon pronunciation of demon. Adam counted that as a positive sign of her becoming more accustomed to life on Earth.

"With all due respect," drawled James from the corner. "We're targets whether you stay or go."

"And it's you they want, not us," Craig chimed in from the kitchen. "Maybe if they find out they've been duped, they'll leave us alone and go after you."

Claire shot him a look of annoyance. "Yes. They'd come for me after they'd killed or recaptured all of you."

"They won't," Andrea said. "Today you taught us how to use our magick against them. Now we're not defenseless. I don't want to go up against the Atrika again, but if we have to battle them I feel confident that this time we have a fighting chance."

"You do, but our chances would be even better if we stuck together." Claire turned and stared down Adam. "You convinced me of that last night, Adam."

"Look, you're valuable," Adam replied, feeling his throat tighten with the words. Valuable in more ways than one. "We can't afford to put you at risk. It's a direct order from Thomas. You're coming with me tonight, Claire. No matter how I have to do it."

She set a hand to her waist and tipped her chin up. "You really think you can best me magickally?"

Nope, he didn't think that at all. He gave her a slow blink and spoke in a lazy drawl. "Well, now, honey, I'm counting on your desire not to injure me."

"You really think you know me so well?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I do." He advanced on her and she took a hasty step backward.

"I could fry you where you stand, freeze you in place. I could lift you up and slam you against the wall."

"But you won't."

"Houses, Adam, don't do this."

He kept coming.

Claire raised her hand and drew power. Adam kept walking toward her, sure that she wouldn't injure him. Power flared, shot toward him, and was blocked by Theo, who threw up a shield just in time.

Adam's steps faltered. Okay, that had been strong.

She turned and pierced Theo with narrowed eyes.

Before she could get up another shot, Adam walked to her and threw her over his shoulder in one smooth move.

She pounded on his back. "Adam, if you do this, I will never forgive you. Do you hear me? Never!"

"I don't believe you. Anyway, I'll pay that price if it means you're safe." He slapped her ass and she spewed verbal venom.

Adam walked out the door with her slung over his shoulder. Her bag was already packed in the Challenger. They'd leave the cargo van for the others.

She struggled when he put her in the passenger seat, but didn't bolt from the vehicle when he walked around to the driver's side.

Claire slumped in the seat as he started the car. "Been planning this all day, have you?"

"Yep."

"Great."

"Theo even had a charm to render you unconscious. I'm glad we didn't have to use that one," he commented as the car purred down the road away from the cabin.

"Lovely, Adam," she snapped. "Thanks for letting me know."

"What was that blast of earth going to do to me, Claire?"

She glanced at him and muttered, "Render you unconscious."

"Ah. Well, then, in my book that makes us even."

"Not even close."

They drove through the night, trees hurtling past the window where Claire rested her forehead. She was exhausted, but sleep eluded her. Worry for the witches they'd left behind ruled her mind. She faked sleeping, though, just so she didn't have to talk to Adam.

The fact he'd forced her to do this made anger curl through her stomach in long, hot tendrils. Made her want to say things she knew she'd regret, so she didn't say anything at all.

By the time early morning light tinged the world, they were pulling through the heavy iron gates of the Coven. It was amazing they'd never been pulled over for speeding. Adam had made fine use of the vehicle's ability to travel fast.

He gunned the engine once they were past the gates and raced up the curving tree-lined road toward the towering structure she could see in the distance. The Coven looked like a house — a huge one. It was not unlike some of the architecture one might find on Eudae, though that wouldn't be something she'd be sharing with anyone. Claire doubted the aeamon would take such a comment in the positive way she'd mean it.

The Coven appeared to be a mansion, like the residence of a very wealthy celebrity she'd seen on television. All white stone with arching windows, fireplaces, domes, and towers. The place was unique and quite attractive.

Thomas stood on the front steps watching Adam guide the car to a stop in the circular driveway.

Unwilling to give Adam even one syllable, she dashed from the car, up the steps, and into Thomas's arms. "It's good to see you."

He held her arm's length and studied her face. "Are you all right, Claire?"

Adam came up behind her and she spared a scornful glance at him. "Considering all that's going on, yes."

"Hey, Adam," Thomas greeted. "Nice driving. You made it in record time."

"Yeah, well, let's do this. I want that elium out of her yesterday."

Thomas studied the Challenger. "Where's my car, Adam?"

"Yeah, about that." Adam shifted and pushed a hand through his hair. "Your car met with an unfortunate accident in Wisconsin."

Thomas's mouth tightened into a thin line. "Did this accident involve fire magick?"

"It was a chance to kill the Atrika and I took it."

"It's true. It would have been a good move if the Atrika weren't so hard to kill," Claire said without glancing at Adam. She couldn't resist the urge to defend him a little. "Adam took a gamble. It would have solved all our problems if it had paid off."

Thomas just grunted something about good insurance and guided them into the Coven. The foyer was gorgeous — airy and open, but she didn't have much opportunity to gawk.

They were ushered into a large library, where a tall woman with strawberry blond hair and a broad-shouldered man with reddish brown, shaggy hair and green eyes sat.

The woman jumped up immediately, came to Claire, and hugged her. The light scent of expensive perfume enveloped her.

"You must be Isabelle," Claire said.

"Yes," Isabelle said, her brown eyes shiny with tears. "I have been waiting a long time to thank you for helping Thomas on Eudae. Without you I don't think he would have made it back."

Claire smiled. "Don't be too sure about that. It might have taken him a long time, but I feel certain Thomas would have made his way back to you no matter how long it took, no matter how hard he had to fight. I just hurried the process up a little."

A tear slipped down Isabelle's cheek and she hugged her again.

Claire laughed. She couldn't help it. She felt good about helping Thomas get back to Isabella It was clear they both loved each other very much. Claire allowed herself to melt against the other woman and close her eyes. Just for a moment. The hug felt good.

And she was so tired.

The green-eyed man cleared his throat. "Yeah, as much as I love to watch two hot women hugging, it's time to do this."

Claire disentangled herself from Isabelle and looked at the shaggy-haired guy. "And you must be Micah." The voice had been familar.

He stood. "Yep, I'm Micah, and if you don't want to be demon chow, you should come with me right now."

Fear lanced through her. Houses, she hoped this worked.

Adam walked over and reached out to her. Claire regarded him warily for a moment. She was still angry at Adam, but his hand offered warmth and strength. Regardless of what had happened back at the cabin, she needed him right now. She took his hand.

He held her gaze for a moment, hand warm and strong in hers. Her breath hitched at the emotion in his eyes. She stepped to the side, breaking the moment and her face flushed. Just a look from that man made her knees weak.

All of them, save Isabelle, walked down one of the posh corridors of the Coven to a smaller room that smelled of bitter herb. Within stood a table that held a spell pot and an open grimoire. On another small table rested a large oval container, like an oversized jar, of some sort of blue-green material. Claire walked to it and ran her fingers down the roughened side. It appeared handmade.

"It's where we'll store the elium," said Micah, close to her.

She glanced at him. "How do you know it can be stored in such a container? It rested in a demon before the demon put it in me."

Micah pushed a hand through his hair and sighed. She noticed the deep dark smudges under his eyes that marked his lack of sleep. "I've studied demon lore day and night since you arrived. If the texts I've been able to amass are correct, the combination of elements we blended into this container, along with the earth magick we've woven in, should keep the elium in stasis until we figure out how to destroy it."

Claire stared at the fragile jar for a moment longer, then turned to Adam. "Did you explain to them what it was like when I tapped the elium at the cabin?"

He nodded.

"So they know it was like a mini nuclear blast, zeroing out all magick within its reach? Blowing out windows? Nearly killing me?"

Adam nodded again.

"And that I only barely touched it, drew the thinnest and tiniest of threads to wield?"

"I told them everything, Claire."

She locked her jaw. How could this possibly work? What had she been thinking? There was no way that elemental witches, clear on the other side of Eudae, could ever even comprehend demon magick, let alone successfully manipulate it. All the hopes she'd been nursing in order to survive popped like the frailest bubble.

"This is crazy," she muttered.

"It's not only crazy," said Thomas. "It's our only shot. You know better than we do that the elium cannot stay inside you. The demons will just keep hunting you. When they find you, they'll take the elium and probably your life with it. If we can get the elium out of you, we save your life. We plan to mask the container in some way. hide it from them until we figure out what to do with it."

Claire looked at him. "You don't understand the magick that I'm carrying. Doing this spell and trying to move the elium is like trying to carry a brimming teacup of nitroglycerin barefoot over a bed of hot coals without spilling any."

Micah made an impatient gesture. "I've done the research, Claire, this is our only option."

She tipped her head back and closed her eyes. He was right, of course. Unless Rue showed up right this second and took back the weapon she'd never wanted to possess, she had no real choice to make. The elium had to come out of her or she would die and all the elemental witches on Earth would be in danger, not to mention all the demon breeds but the Atrika on Eudae.

She couldn't outrun Tevan and Kai forever. Eventually, she would tire, as she already was tiring. Eventually, her luck would run out.

It went like this: if the spell backfired and the elium was released into this world, all would be lost. If the spell worked, all their problems were solved. It was a hell of a gamble and Claire was not the gambling type.

Her stomach grew cold. That coldness inched up into her throat.

She opened her eyes. "Fine. Let's do it."

Adam was there. He had moved to her side while she'd been having her mini crisis. With a firm, strong hand, he guided her to the small reclining couch that sat in the corner and helped her lower herself onto it. Then he knelt at her side and took her hand in his.

Micah went to stand at the table, near the spell pot and open grimoire. The spell was so complicated he couldn't even memorize it. Great.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked.

He flipped through the book, frowning. "Relax."

"You could ask me to drag down the moon, too; it would be just as likely I could do it."

Micah chewed his lip for a moment, then looked up at her in surprise, as if what she'd said had just registered. "I really do need you to relax, Claire. I need you to let go of the elium when the time comes. You'll know when that time is because you'll feel a tug on the condensed magick in your chest. Until then, just let the spell float you. It's designed to put you at ease, a little like a drug. It actually should be pleasant." He paused. "For a time."

"Lie back and close your eyes," said Thomas. "Micah will do the rest."

Relax and close her eyes? Right.

She glanced at Adam, who looked pissed off. She frowned. Why was he pissed? His eyes swirled with rage, his jaw was locked, and his shoulders hunched a little — tense.

"Is this going to hurt her?" Adam growled at Micah.

"Huh?" Micah glanced up again, a distracted look on his face. "I don't think so."

A muscle in Adam's jaw twitched. "You don't think so?"

Micah understood the warning in Adam's tone and gave him his full attention. "Obviously, not hurting Claire is my primary concern, Adam, but we're dealing with alien magick here. I don't even know if this spell will work. It's not like we could test it beforehand. It's the result of days of meticulous research and preparation, not years. I can't read the future."

She squeezed Adam's hand. "It's okay, Adam, I'm willing to take a risk to get this junk out of me."

He turned to stare deeply into her eyes. "You might be willing to risk your well-being, Claire, but I'm not willing to risk you."

The words, the warm, honeyed tone of his voice, and the emotion in his eyes left her speechless.

Adam turned to Micah. "You know what I will do to you if you hurt her, right?"

It was the threat of an alpha male in a situation in which he felt powerless. Adam wanted to control things and couldn't, so he threatened. Claire recognized the behavior immediately, having seen it often in Ytrayi males. Adam cared for her enough to be terrified right now, maybe even more terrified than she was.

"Cut it out, Adam," Thomas growled. "You know the last thing Micah wants is to harm someone."

Claire cleared her throat. "Let's get on with this. Every moment we wait is another moment the demons could be tracking the other witches." She leaned back and closed her eyes, thankful for the steadiness of Adam's hand around hers.

Paper rustled, items on the table were picked up, set down. A wooden spoon hit the side of the spell pot. Low words were muttered in a masculine voice.

Lethargy.

It stole over her body slowly, moving from her toes up her body like some super-enhanced meditation. Her muscles, tense from stress and fear, relaxed one by one, giving up their strain to a curious irrational peacefulness.

It was a little like when she'd been a child with a bad appendix and the Ytrayi healers had been forced to remove it. Back then they'd used a spell like this one to put her mind elsewhere while they cut the offending part from her body.

What Micah did now was also a kind of surgery and the sensation she felt was her anesthesia. It was so powerful that even if she'd wanted to fight it — and a part of her did from simple instinct — she could not.

Her body went limp and heavy, as though in slumber. But she could still hear what was going on around her, still feel sensation in her body and the steady, reassuring clasp of Adam's hand.

The first touch of the foreign tendril of power entering her wasn't even a shock. The curling bit of earth magick went for the seat of her magick first. Inwardly, she pulled herself around it, protecting it, though she knew that was not what Micah sought.

After a moment of exploration, the tendril moved on, this time brushing against the elium. Despite the deep relaxation she was immersed in, she jerked at the light touch. The elium was like an open, unhealed wound inside her and every slightest stroke against it seared her with shock and pain.

Another brush, another. Each got successively more aggressive. She heard a low moan and realized it came from her. Adam's grip grew tighter and low, angry words she couldn't understand bubbled through her limited consciousness.

Pain.

It ripped through her and bowed her spine. The tendril no longer brushed, it gouged. Like a scoop made from a flattened sword, Micah's magick tried to cut the elium from her body.

Claire's eyes opened and she screamed. The pain immediately stopped.

Darkness, then light. Dark. Light. Unconsciousness wove in and out.

Her eyes flickered open and across the room she caught a glimpse of Adam with his hand around Micah's throat, pushing the earth witch up against a wall. Thomas was bellowing and trying to haul Adam off.

Darkness closed around her for good and she fell back against the couch.