Destiny of the Witch (The Other Witch #4)

34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

I glared at Shaun but he continued to speak, unfazed by the anger that was pouring out of me. ‘I have agents spread across the Other realm. It's not just witches who work for me, Amber, though I’m sure you guessed that when you saw Mack. The evil Coven doesn’t call itself anything so crass, though we’ve all enjoyed your little re-brand. Evil witches sounds so much more powerful. We like that.’

Great, I’d given them a nickname that they liked.

‘The evil Coven is more than just a collection of a few witches choosing the path of power. We are the powerful from all walks of life. We call ourselves the Domini.’ He spoke the name with reverence.

I snorted. That was Latin for ‘master’.

A smile touched my father’s lips. ‘Yes, a touch unimaginative, but it has been in use for centuries so we are stuck with it now.’ The smile faded. ‘Make the potion, Amber. After all, we have you for the harkan now. Make the potion, or the Domini will kill your mother.’

I tried to rein in my rage. Did my father think me so obtuse that he needed to draw out his implied threat into simple black-and-white terms? I had fully understood his earlier attempts at intimidation; I didn’t need him to spell it out further. ‘And are the Domini the Ante-Crea?’ I probed.

Shaun snorted. ‘Hardly. The Domini accept all powerful members, creature or human. Sometimes the Domini’s interests have aligned with Anti-Crea interests, but we are only occasional allies, if that. Nothing more.’ He looked at me. ‘I have no issue with your relationship with Bastion, if that is what you’re getting at.’

It was not. I couldn’t give two figs about his approval; I was just trying to dig for more information on the Domini. But I smiled like I was pleased that he wasn’t an Anti-Crea bigot.

Best to turn this conversation back to the potion and not my relationship with Bastion or the threat to Mum. If I focused on the latter, my fear and rage would make me weak and I couldn’t afford that right now.

‘I need the blood of the familiars you want me to save,’ I said briskly. ‘The potion will be far more effective if it is keyed to each familiar. I can make a generic batch, but it won’t work as well.’

My father smiled. ‘Excellent. I will get samples of the blood of the familiars that are here, and we can supply the generic potion to the international witches. If they want the full remedy, they will have to earn it.’ Wasn’t my father a keeper? ‘Get started Amber.’ He walked to the door then turned back. ‘And Amber?’

‘Yes?’

‘I’ll have a potion mistress check your work hourly. No deviations from the book.’ He tapped the workbook then let himself out.

I released a shaky breath and slumped back onto the bed. What a mess. I let myself have a moment of fear and apprehension then gave myself a mental slap. Bastion would find me.

Bastion.

I reached for the bond between us but there was nothing there. Panic filled me as I realised I couldn’t feel him – worse, he couldn’t feel me. Would he think that I was dead? Oh Goddess, poor Bastion. And if he thought I was dead, did that mean he wouldn’t look for me? Was he grieving somewhere, plotting revenge? Mack had implied that they wanted Bastion to find me; was that because he enjoyed the image of Bastion finding my dead body, or had they set a trap for him if he came hunting?

I bit my lip and grasped the pentagram necklace at my throat. I needed allies. I held it tightly but nothing happened. I pulled it up to my eyeline so that I could see it; the pentagram was usually bright silver but now it was burnished and blackened. Somehow the evil Coven – the Domini – had neutralised my link to my sisters and the Goddess.

I truly was alone.