Chapter 35 A Wickedly Late Witch #2
The witch holding Antony didn’t stop speaking to Antony.
Tam’s heart pounded, and his ire razed his voice of reason. He felt everything around him pointedly. He could taste the salty air, he could feel the stinging wind on his cheeks…
When the witch didn’t release Antony, Tam shot through the void and out.
Seizing the witch’s throat, Tam backed him up to the railing of the balcony. Tam knew blackness filled his eyes, and he was glad for it. The witch squirming in his grasp took a moment to register this detail, but when he did, Tam watched his terror paralyze him.
“D-devil—”
“Godsdamn right.” Tam shoved him off the edge of the balcony and rounded back to the boys.
The woman who had been sitting beside Asher and Charlie was on her feet.
Tam heard the vines before he saw them. They had snaked up from below the balcony, waved in the air, and dived for him. He shifted through the void and reappeared in front of the woman. She shrieked, but Tam didn’t have a chance to toss her into the void.
She disappeared all on her own.
A chicken clucked near Tam’s feet.
He looked up at the stairs to see Henrietta with both hands raised. Apparently the earth witch had been less powerful, and therefore easier to transform.
Tam gave Henrietta a nod of appreciation.
She jerked her chin down in response.
Tam felt the darkness clear from his eyes as he turned to gaze down at Charlie and Asher. The boys flinched.
“Boys,” he rasped. “I’m sorry if I scared you just now. Are you… Are you alright? What has—”
“MMMRmm ifh hrm urf orl.”
Aster Fuks danced in front of Tam and gestured toward the gag in his mouth.
Immediately sheathing his sword, Tam reached for the knot at the back of the gag, but when he discovered it was too tight to remove, he was forced to cut it loose with his dagger.
“Gods! Thank you, Lord Tam! It has been very annoying not being able to talk.” The thirteen-year-old clapped Tam’s arm good-naturedly as though they were old friends.
Tam turned toward Antony, who was already clawing at his own blindfold. Once he’d pulled it down and laid eyes on his uncle, his face broke out into a joyful smile.
“Uncle Tam!” Antony bolted to him, throwing his arms around his uncle’s waist. “I’m learning to control my magic!” he cried out excitedly.
Tam paused and slowly looked over at Aster, then Charlie and Asher.
Sensing his confusion, Aster cleared his throat and stepped forward. “We’re captives, but the coven said it would be a sin not to help Antony better control his abilities.”
“Have they hurt you?” Tam directed the question at Charlie and Asher.
Asher shook his head.
Charlie curled in on himself, and Tam’s former wrath burned in his chest once more.
Aster leaned in. “Erm… to us non-witches, they weren’t overly friendly.”
It took everything Tam had not to go on a warpath in that moment. Instead, he forced his expression to remain neutral. “Asher? You have magic?”
“Bugs,” he sniffled in response.
Tam’s lips twitched. “Your mother is going to love that.”
Patting Aster’s shoulder, Tam returned his attention to Charlie, kneeling in front of him. “Hey, monster,” he said gently while reaching out to tap Charlie’s shin.
“They said they didn’t hurt him!” Antony called from behind Tam.
Tam felt his gut clench as he heard the outrage in his nephew’s voice.
“Charlie… what did they do?” Tam wasn’t sure he was ready for the answer.
His nephew avoided his gaze, his golden eyes fixed on the ground, filling with tears.
Fear wormed its way through Tam’s anger. “Hey… Hey monster, you don’t have to tell me right away, okay? I promise you’re safe now, alright? We’re going to get you home and—”
Antony shoved past Tam and threw his arms around his brother. “I’m sorry! They… They said you and Asher were just watching because you wanted to! I would’ve hit them with lightning if I’d known! I’m sorry!” he wailed.
Tam rubbed his mouth as he watched all three of his nephews succumb to tears.
He pushed himself back to his feet and turned back to Aster, who was folding his discarded blindfold. At least he seemed to be in good spirits. Tam lowered his voice. “What exactly did they do?”
Aster cleared his throat and leaned away as the three princes continued crying together.
“Prince Charlie and I were put in the same room. They didn’t feed us well, and mostly just said unpleasant things.
Of course it’s all bollocks what they said, but His Highness took it personally.
Being separated from Asher and Antony made it worse. ”
As awful as even that was, Tam was relieved it wasn’t anything more gruesome.
A boom followed by the sound of shattering stones sounded behind Tam, making him look over his shoulder in time to see…
He turned fully around in complete awe. “Wixim?”
The golden dragon’s lips curled back, revealing his pristine white fangs.
Tam stepped forward as he heard the sharp intakes of breath behind him from his nephews. However, before he could say anything else to the dragon, an explosion from above snapped both Tam’s and Wixim’s attention upward.
A dome of blue lightning bubbled out of the top of the very tower their balcony was connected to.
Tam gaped. Then a smile of disbelief tugged his mouth upward before he looked over his shoulder at his nephews, who were scrambling back from the dust raining down on them.
“It’s okay, boys,” Tam called over the new sounds of fighting that echoed loudly around the island. “It looks like your grandpa is here to lend me a hand.”