Destiny of the Witch (The Other Witch #4)

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

‘You need to come to the circus,’ Cain said urgently. ‘There’s been an incident.’

‘What’s happened?’ I asked, my voice tight.

‘Meredith has been attacked.’ He paused, picking his words carefully. ‘They intended for her to die but we got to her in time. She’ll be okay, thank God. But she’s not safe here any longer.’

He sounded upset. I got that; he was running a safe haven that was no longer safe. A safe haven I helped to fund and run.

The Other Circus exists solely to give any of the magical population a place to hide if they are on the Connection’s radar, or if they’ve fallen foul of a powerful person from the Other. A select few seers and witches help direct people to the circus when they have need of it, like I had directed Meredith and Ria. Meredith should have been safe under Cain’s roof, but she wasn’t – and now everyone else in the circus was in danger too. Someone’s enemy knew where and what they were. Worse, it was my enemy. The circus and its occupants were in danger and it was my fault.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. ‘I’m sorry that I brought danger to our door.’

‘We’re all running from danger here, one way or another. We’re always prepared for it to come knocking,’ he said grimly.

Cain had been a werewolf alpha and a proponent of equal werewolf rights. Someone hadn’t liked the cut of his jib; after multiple attempts on his life, he had faked his own death and gone into hiding in the circus before he could be silenced permanently. After a few years, Cain had taken over running it. He was a born leader. Though he may have been prepared for his enemies to find him, the circus had always been a safe place. Until now.

‘But danger hasn’t knocked before,’ I argued guiltily. ‘Not like this.’

He snorted. ‘Amber, take that chip off your shoulder. We’ve had plenty of incidents over the years. I may have glossed over them with you, but you know about the one a few months ago when one of our runaway centaurs was found by his abusive father. We dealt with it.’ The father had been dispatched – permanently. ‘And we’ll deal with this. But come now. Ria needs you,’ he said firmly. ‘And so do I.’ He hung up.

Exasperated, I redialled. He answered the phone but didn’t speak. I sighed. ‘How am I supposed to know where to come?’ I huffed. ‘Where are you?’ It was a roving circus.

‘Ah,’ he made a sheepish sound. ‘Liverpool. The Liverpool Arena.’

‘I’ll be two or three hours,’ I promised. ‘I’m on my way.’

He hung up again. Terrible phone manners, but I forgave him because he was stressed.

I went back into my lounge to make my excuses to Ethan but found that he’d already left. I guessed he wasn’t in the mood to await my pleasure. Bastion raised an eyebrow in question. He hadn’t followed me into the office, so he probably hadn’t heard the contents of the call even with his supernaturally sharp hearing.

Melva had said that I would have to tell Bastion about the circus soon and it looked like she was right. Even now, I hated that a little. I hate anyone predicting the future – especially mine.

I cleared my throat. ‘Have I told you the secret about the circus?’

‘What secret?’ Bastion asked lightly. ‘ That there’s a trick to all of the clowns getting out of the same car?’

‘Not that.’ A smile pulled at my lips despite my anxiety.

‘There is a trick to it,’ he said in all seriousness. ‘There’s a trapdoor underneath the car.’

I hit him lightly on his muscular arm. ‘Not that secret. I run a circus.’

He blinked. ‘I can honestly say I didn’t expect that.’

‘It’s an undercover circus,’ I explained. ‘Everyone there is Other, but they live and exist in the Common realm, hidden from their enemies and – or – the Connection. A few witches and seers know about it and help direct people in danger there. The ringmaster either settles them into circus life or helps them start a Common life somewhere while they’re moving up and down the country. There are whole pockets of hidden Other-realm communities content to stay away from magic if it means they keep their lives. That’s where I hid Ria and Meredith. At the circus.’

His expression cleared. ‘And now?’

I sighed, my shoulders tight with stress and tension. Worry for Meredith coiled in my gut. Worry, and guilt. I’d promised that she’d be safe at the circus. ‘And now the evil witches have found them. So we’re off to the Liverpool Arena.’

He stood. ‘10-4. I’ll get the others on standby. Can you pack your bags and be ready to move out in five?’

I loved it when Bastion used military lingo – and he knew it. I suspected he was trying to distract me from that little kick of guilt he’d no doubt felt through our bond. That made my heart melt a little too. Damn, but the man was the complete package: considerate and sexy. None of that showed on my face, however, and I nodded calmly. ‘I’ll just grab some of the rarer healing potions. Cain didn’t specify what I’d be dealing with, only that Meredith had been attacked but was still alive.’

As I went to pass him, he thrust out an arm and caught me around the waist. I squeaked as he pulled me close. ‘Bastion! We’re in a hurry!’ I protested. I could read the intention in his eyes, and the intention was salacious.

His eyes were dark. ‘There’s always time for us, Bambi.’ He leaned down and kissed me like we might never get another moment alone together. His lips were firm and unyielding, and his tongue slid into my mouth like he was conquering me. In seconds he had fanned a wisp of desire into a full-blown roar.

When he pulled back, his eyes were satisfied. ‘Much better,’ he purred. ‘Go pack. We’ll finish this later.’

I tried to get my synapses to fire but he’d short-circuited them. There had been a time when I’d thought nothing and nobody could boss me around, not even my baser instincts. How things had changed. It turned out I was quite happy for my primal urges to rule me sometimes.

‘Healing potions,’ Bastion prompted with a smug smile, pushing me towards the fridge.

Right. Meredith. Healing potions. I consider myself an intelligent, cerebral woman, so it still amazed me that Bastion somehow knew how to shut down my overthinking brain and connect to my more improper impulses. Impulses I’d never really had a chance to explore properly. But now was not the time to dig into them.

Meredith, I reminded myself and kicked my bum into gear. I grabbed a bunch of healing potions, including some Whole Remedy, the leftover brain swelling potion and an incredibly strong burn salve. I didn’t know what ailed Meredith, so I had to be prepared for as many eventualities as possible.

It was time to save Meredith. And then it was time to find whoever had harmed her and make them regret it for the few fleeting seconds of life that Bastion allowed them before he put an end to them. Permanently.