22. Sacrifice #2
Reaching into her pocket, Delilah pulls out a plain stone.
Seriously. You would never know that it was an all-powerful witch artifact except for the way it’s so perfectly ordinary on the outside with a shimmering, mirror-like aura I notice only now that he’s holding the flat, baseball-sized stone in her hand.
“Three sacrifices,” Delilah continues. “Three deaths on the land, dedicated to the magic while feeding the blood to the lodestone. I’ve already completed two of them.
And to make it even more delicious, I used wolfsbane and this to ensure that everyone in this town believed it was one of those rotten wolves who killed my witches. ”
I’m still reeling over the fact that Delilah is now implying that she’s responsible for Faith’s and Olivia’s murder when she lifts up the hand not holding the lodestone, flexing her fingers.
Everything, from the tips of her fingers to her elbow, glows thick with orange. When the color fades some, I gasp.
Delilah’s hand is now a wolf’s paw.
And I remember. Illusion magic, in the hands of a witch with the specialty, can be real. Those sharp wolf claws? They can kill.
“You did it. You killed them. You… you framed a wolf and you killed them.”
“I did,” Delilah agrees easily, shaking her hand and releasing the illusion. “Because I needed their blood. And now… now it’s your turn.”
I blink. “Me?” I echo.
“I thought I’d have more time. With the wolves sniffing around, I had to be careful.
I didn’t want to have trouble before I was able to finish what I started.
But I’ve been keeping an eye on you, Penelope.
I know what you’ve been doing.” She sighs.
“When I saw what you did last night?” Her sigh becomes a disgusted retch.
“I had to get this over with sooner than later.”
“You saw us?” Oh, my goddess… “What? How?”
“Scrying magic might have gone out of fashion, but the best coven leader doesn’t rely on only her specialty. You need to have a bag of tricks, and that’s one of mine.”
Scrying? You’ve gotta be kidding me. Wormwood keeps out obnoxious ghosts, but I never thought there would be a witch that was so interested in who I slept with that they might sneak a peek into my bedroom. Of course I didn’t ward against that because that’s just insane!
“Why would you do that?”
“I had to. Ever since Olivia”—the color of her magic takes on a burnt edge as she spits out the witch’s name—“pulled you into this, you’ve gotten too close to the wolves.
That made you trouble. And to fuck one? No, no, no.
I’m done with waiting. It’s time for the witches to rebuild Avalon for just our kind.
And that’s going to start now. All I need is to activate the lodestone and Avalon will be within my reach.
No more shifters. No more mortals. Just a community of witches who all do what they’re told. ”
I throw up my hand. “You’re nuts. Don’t you know? You can’t command obedience. You have to earn respect and when you do, your people will listen. Anything else is just wrong.”
“A lesson you learned from Riordan, I bet. Foolishness. If you want to be in power, you have to take it. No matter what. And if your people don’t listen, you make them.” A cruel smile tugs on her lips. “Would you like some tea, Penelope?”
Here, have some tea…
How many times has Delilah oh-so-kindly offered me a cup? Too many, and while I sometimes refused, there were plenty of occasions when I accepted it so that I wasn’t rude.
I’m suddenly regretting that.
“What did you do to my tea?”
“The same thing I do to all of my witches’ tea.
I added just enough potion to keep you under my control and perfectly obedient so long as you take another sip every time the moon completes her cycle.
It’s like how I sprinkled wolfsbane on Faith’s notebook to help dull the Beta’s nose…
I always knew it would come down to this.
So, yes, I’m sure you’re just figuring out that the wards… I don’t need them to keep you in.”
If what she’s saying is true… “You want to keep Riordan out.”
She nods. “These animals get so touchy about their precious mates. I need the lodestone active with your life’s blood before he knows that you’re gone.
I’ll be able to take control over all of Moonburrow then, but first…
you need to die, Penelope. And I’m sorry about that.
It’s such a shame, but I have no other choice.
” Her lips curl. “Maybe you should’ve joined my coven.
It might’ve protected you. But you didn’t so… come here, Penelope.”
In the blink of an eye, Delilah has used her illusion magic to bring the wolf’s paw back.
Because she… she’s going to maul me.
I dig my heels in. “Wait!”
Delilahs raises her eyebrows. “You’re stalling.”
Maybe. “I just want to know one thing first.” One?
I have a hundred questions, but one that I really want to ask before she sacrifices me because, oh Goddess, she’s going to sacrifice me…
“Olivia never mentioned that you’re the one who killed her.
She said it was a big, black wolf. That she saw him, but she never recognized him.
Why would she cover for you if you killed her? ”
“Simple. Olivia drank the tea.”
I blink.
“That’s right. When she returned to Moonburrow, before I sacrificed Faith, she went to Faith and the two of them pleaded with me to rescind Olivia’s banishment.
They were loyal to each other first, not me.
That’s when I decided that Faith would be my first sacrifice.
One that was done, I met with Olivia for tea, then offered to go with her for a midnight stroll.
She was my second sacrifice. I never thought she’d return as a ghost, but just in case, I was prepared.
You want to know why she covered for me?
Because I ordered her right before she dies to say that a wolf did it, and I sunk enough magic into it that, even in death, she couldn’t refuse. ”
I know why. Not only did she want to muddy the investigation and make it so that she was never a target—and, damn, did it work—but I’m beginning to realize that the shaky history between the coven and the pack didn’t end with Delilah.
Oh, no. She hates the wolves and wants a community of witches only…
and to get that, she’s going to kill me.
Can’t forget that part.
She tilts her head, blonde curls fall off her shoulder. “Is that it? Any other stalling tactics before we get down to this? No?” she says before I can open my mouth. “Good. Now come here. Let’s get this over with.”
To both of our surprise, I stay exactly where I am.
Delilah’s transformed hand snaps back to normal as she gestures at the spot in front of her. “Come here!”
Instead, skirting the ward at my back, I put as much distance between as I can.
“Why isn’t it working on you?” she demands. “You’re a silly witch who doesn’t even believe in her own powers.”
Okay. That might be true, but as Delilah loses her composure, I realize something: I believe in Riordan. And before it was broken, my mate used his curse to order me not to take anyone’s orders—and, somehow, it looks like that counts for Delilah.
I almost laugh. The curse Riordan has hated for fifteen years is protecting me from a witch who uses magic to steal choices from everyone around her… yeah, I’d laugh if it wasn’t for the fact that I’m still trapped in this circle with her and she has the lodestone.
And I’ve royally pissed her off…
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Get over here!”
I need a spell. I’m not sure what. I’m a little preoccupied with not being sacrificed, my brain spinning so erratically, I can’t even think of how I can disarm her without her wolf’s paw getting any closer to me. It’s gone for now, but I saw how quickly she can bring the illusion back.
What do I do?
What do I do—
Delilah stamps her foot on the earth. Her left hand flexes and folds, forming a ball of magic around her fist an instant before she flings it at me.
I can’t avoid it. I try, but all that happens is the spell hits me right in the tits, lifting me up and tossing me against a tree before keeping there for a moment.
Dazed, in pain, and terrified, I understand what happened: because I didn’t obey Delilah’s command to go to her, she put me right where she wants me.
My reaction is instinctive. I don’t even think.
I do.
“Riordan!”
A furious roar comes from behind me and, in an instant, Delilah’s spell loosens enough that I lean against the tree, catching my breath instead of having it seized out of me. I’m choking, but that’s okay.
At least I know my mate heard me.
He heard me, and he’s coming for me.