A Plan
Sienna
“Ijust spoke to Aunty Kiara,” Jayce says as he enters the room.
I look up as he shuts the door to the suite we’re in.
It’s a while later, and we’re all in a hotel in Birmingham; the tracking tag Jayce had slipped onto Uncle Liam is blinking away on the tablet in Allie’s hand.
I’ve cast a privacy spell on the room to be safe, too.
Currently, I’m sitting on the bed between Heaven and Allie.
They had arrived with Ahren about an hour ago, and to say I was ecstatic to see them is an understatement.
Having them near makes me feel even more confident in what we’re about to do, knowing we can rely on one another from a magical standpoint, too.
Even though my control has gotten better, it’s comforting to know others can take over in that department if the need arises.
“What did she say?” Ahren asks from where he’s lounging on the sofa by himself, his feet propped up on the coffee table.
Jayce sighs as he walks over and leans against the wall. I notice Heaven’s sharp eyes analysing him and realise it’s his clothes – Theo’s clothes. She must have recognised them. A sliver of sadness washes through me. She won’t let on, but she misses him.
“She said the werewolf they talked to in Italy had said a rabid wolf had bitten him, and due to the poisoning, he lost his shifting, healing and mind-linking abilities,” Jayce says, combing his fingers through his hair.
“So either the primordial was the rabid wolf, or he was around when the rabid – I’m assuming a rogue who had gone feral – bit him,” I say, frowning slightly.
“It seems so.” Heaven nods, and Ahren hums in agreement.
We’ve already filled them in on everything so far.
“So, what’s the plan then?” Allie asks, raising an eyebrow.
Ahren sighs. “Well, to make it clear, it is going to be risky, and if I had to choose my team, I may not have gone for you three, but at the same time we do need witches, and you two – forgive me – Allie, are stronger than Mom or Aunty Ri. But we do have to be really careful that we do not get any open wounds in the process of this operation.”
“And yet when you came for Jayce and me, you had an open wound. What if something happened?” I remind him.
He smiles slightly. “I know, but I lost nothing; I checked. But yeah, we can’t afford something like that again. It’s a risk we can’t take.”
“Agreed,” Jayce says. “So Dad and Katara are leaving in about an hour; Dad’s dealing with the emergency report that came in.” He looks at Ahren, who chuckles.
“That’ll keep him busy for a while.”
I sigh, poor Uncle Liam – Ahren messing with him means he made it complicated.
“So, we set up our trap. Leo has sent what we asked for,” Jayce begins.
“You mean I collected it; no one gives me credit,” Ahren complains.
Jayce barely spares him a glance, refusing to acknowledge his contribution.
“Leo isn’t happy with whatever we’re doing, but he didn’t really push for information.
But once he knows the full extent of what is going on, he’s going to lose his shit.
So, let’s succeed and not give him a reason to get pissed at us.
We do this carefully, swiftly, and without mistakes. ”
“Right, we know,” Allie says flatly, folding her arms. “We all understand the risk, so what’s the actual plan?”
Jayce turns, grabs a folded-up paper and, unfolding it, spreads it across the bed to reveal an A2-sized poster. The three of us turn and shuffle closer to see the map properly.
“We start by placing three high-level spells to contain him across the city centre,” he says, marking the locations with precise movements. “We discussed the three spots; you girls chose these, so I hope one of them turns out to be the right one.”
He taps each marked location in turn.
“Once we identify him-” He glances briefly at Ahren, then back to the map. “We won’t engage immediately. Let’s just hope he buys the bait and follows Ahren, who will then subtly guide him to where the spell is waiting to be triggered. The aim is to move without alerting him.”
“So, we basically wait until then,” Heaven says, leaning in slightly.
“Exactly,” Jayce replies. “We push him toward the nearest spell area and close off his exits without him realising it until it’s too late. Once he’s inside the spell’s perimeter, Allie will bind him using Leo’s binding machine moments before the spell is activated; that’s when we lock it down.”
My gaze flicks over the marked points, my mind already working through each point.
“And Katara?” I ask.
“Hopefully by then she’ll be back with Dad,” Jayce says, his jaw tightening slightly.
“I don’t know,” Heaven says, frowning faintly. “Katara’s not careless.”
“She is right now,” Allie cuts in, her tone thoughtful rather than harsh. “If you give someone enough freedom, they start thinking they’re invincible. And in Katara’s case, she will act out; she’s only fifteen.”
Jayce nods once. “And that’s what we’re counting on. She’ll want to meet him without interference, and that gives us the opportunity we need.”
We nod in unison. Ahren steps forward then, his attention on the map as he taps one of the marked spots.
“Once he’s inside the spell,” he begins, “Timing becomes critical. Allie, you’ll try to get the bar net on without fail. This is the hard part for you; make sure you stay safe,” Ahren says before he tosses her two of Leo’s metal containment nets.
She catches them easily, the weight not even fazing her as she slides them into her duffel bag.
They expand upon release, but even now, they weigh quite a lot.
Once deployed, it’ll restrict movement long enough for the spell to take effect and come to life.
If there’s any werewolf element to him, Leo’s bar net will do the job.
“Understood,” Allie replies.
Ahren straightens, glancing between us.
“Jayce and I will be the ones guiding him,” he adds. “We’ll control his movement and keep his attention. The rest of you stay in position and do not engage unless the trap is active and I have given the signal allowing you to join in.”
His gaze turns to Allie.
“That includes you. No reckless moves.”
Jayce’s expression hardens slightly as he looks between the three of us.
“And one more thing,” he says, his tone dropping just enough to carry weight. “If there’s even the slightest risk of him getting close enough to cut you, you step back. No trying to be clever, no taking unnecessary risks. We keep a distance until we understand exactly what we’re dealing with.”
His eyes land on each of us in turn, making sure it sinks in.
“Understood?”
The room falls quiet for a second, the weight of it settling properly now.
It’s a gamble, and we all know it. None of us has dealt with a primordial before.
Jayce is waiting for an answer. I glance between the other two before I nod. “No, I get it - no heroics,” I say. But we can all define heroics differently…
“Understood, unless it’s an absolute necessity, and I feel that my intervening is needed for this mission to be a success,” Heaven answers, her face as emotionless as ever as she looks between Ahren and Jayce, flicking her hair.
Jayce shakes his head, looking at Allie. “Right. I don’t play hero, anyway. Trust me, I won’t let this bastard take my powers. He’ll pay for what he’s done to Mama.” Her eyes glimmer red, and Jayce looks at me.
“You’re in charge of them. If they disobey, that’s on you as their leader,” he says firmly.
My eyes widen slightly, knowing he played the perfect card as Allie glowers and Heaven rolls her eyes, because when it comes to me, they won’t throw me under the bus.
But Jayce made a mistake; I’m not that Si who can’t hold her ground, so if the three of us think we need to intervene, then we will.
Even though I know both Jayce and Ahren can fight long-range, they may need us against a primordial.
“Alright then, let’s pack and get going. We need to begin preparing the containment spells,” Jayce says, looking at the time.
It’s a public place; this isn’t going to be easy. We’re going to have to cast illusions and also make sure no humans are hurt. There are only five of us, and we have to succeed, because if we don’t, our cover will be blown, and he will know we’re onto him.
And for someone who has evaded being caught for decades, we can’t risk that happening.
It’s been almost an hour, and we’ve just finished setting up the spells, making sure to remain discreet as we do. Everything is done, and Uncle Liam has been on the move in the last five minutes. A check of the cameras outside the Westwood Mansion shows that Katara got in the car with him.
Now we just hope she reaches out to her boyfriend.
We’ve set up the three spells in locations that work near shops she goes to and shops she might be able to escape from Uncle Liam.
We girls were the ones who chose the locations based on what we thought, although Jayce didn’t seem to approve of us pointing out a certain lingerie store that we knew Katara likes to go to.
But both boys are now out of sight, and we are all following the tag on Uncle Liam as we wait. It’s tense, and we’re all on edge, wondering if this is going to work.
“She’s entered the lingerie store,” Ahren’s voice comes through my earpiece. I hear Jayce mutter something incoherent, and I smile slightly. “As predicted, Uncle Liam is standing outside, looking uncomfortable.”
I exchange looks with Heaven and Allie; we’re all wearing triumphant expressions, as we predicted.
“Alright, she’s taken a random bunch of items, without even checking sizes…” Ahren murmurs. We wait, paying attention for the signal that she’s left the store.
“On the move,” Jayce murmurs quietly.
My heart skips a beat; it’s happening. We begin moving towards the trap near the lingerie store. That’s the one we’re going to capture him with. It’s a few minutes’ walk, but we aren’t going to risk using any excess magic to travel there faster in case the primordial senses it.
“Spotted,” Jayce murmurs softly through the earpiece.
Oh, Katara, please stay safe.
The wait feels like ages as we wait for some kind of signal to be ready.
“He’s moving alone. She’s returning,” Ahren says. “I’ll move in now.”
My stomach twists. “Stay safe,” I say softly.
Ahren is the real bait; under his disguise, he’ll be making his way through the city centre, heading towards us, in hopes that the primordial is drawn to him.
If our hypothesis is correct, he’s stealing abilities to feed himself.
If this doesn’t work, then Jayce will engage with him and pretend he realised he met up with Katara and confront him whilst subtly guiding him towards the spell that is waiting for him.
A magical shield covers our bodies, and I pray it’s enough to protect us if he gets in range.
“Moving northwest,” Jayce’s voice comes.
“Roger that,” Allie murmurs; they’re coming right towards us now. We remain ready. We’ll see Ahren first, as long as that plan works, but if he somehow ends up spotting us, then things can go awry, although we have cast a concealment spell to mask our presence.
I sense Ahren’s disguised aura; it’s subtle, but it’s approaching. He’s kept most of it masked, and we’ve changed it so the primordial doesn’t recognise it from the other night. But we all know not to underestimate the enemy, especially since we don’t know exactly what calibre he is.
They’re nearing, and we’re ready, but I feel uneasy. I cannot sense the primordial’s power at all. His appearance and his aura are completely normal, blending in with everyone else who is walking by.
A chill runs down my spine when Jayce’s tense voice comes through the earpiece: “Lost him.”
I turn to the girls, my eyes widening, but before any of us can say something, I sense it before I feel the sinister presence behind me.
“Look what we have here,” a voice whispers in my ear, and my blood runs cold.
No one needs to tell me who that is – I already know.