40. THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE
“WE CONFRONT THE SORCERER AT THE GRAVE OF HIRAM Woodcross.”
Lazarus’s instructions were as loud and clear as the crowd was silent and staring.
Embry stood next to Daddy in the coven pentagram, with Rye beside her and Alistair and his mothers at their backs, looking out at the coven members who could come at a drop of a hat—all fifty of them. And, apparently, each one was confused.
Merle was the first to speak. Because of course he was. “All of us… or…?”
“All of us,” Daddy answered in a calm tone, but Embry noticed the vein in his temple bulge—he was not pleased.
He gestured toward the family of diviners, previously introduced.
“There were plenty of people in Alistair’s vision.
We don’t know who, so we’re just going to assume it’s the coven at large.
And why shouldn’t it be? This sorcerer is trying to frame us as zealot vampire hunters and get us disbanded, or worse, tossed in jail.
We need to capture Balthazar Hale and bring him to justice for his crimes, not just to protect the coven and let him feel the consequences of what he’s done to the Riddle clan, but to ensure he never does this again to another group of vampires or witches. ”
There was a copious amount of nodding after that, much to Embry’s relief.
“Is there a time we’re supposed to arrive? Or, you know, a plan?”
The snarky side of Embry wanted to ask Merle if he had somewhere else to be? A specific outfit he wanted to wear? Maybe a round of dynamic stretching he wanted to squeeze in before literally ambushing the answer to alllllll of their problems.
But she’d made a vow ever since Rye’s explanation of her mentor’s (former mentor’s?) history to be nicer to the man, and she decided sassing back now would not only cancel out setting him up with Jonesy but also be of no help to the group as a whole.
Also, maybe where he had to be was with Jonesy.
Perhaps for a lunch date before her afternoon classes.
Embry smiled. “The time is as soon as we’re ready, the plan is to be ready for a fight.”
“Exactly,” Daddy replied, stabbing his palm for emphasis. “At present, we have the element of surprise. We need to balance preparedness with maintaining our current advantage.”
“But we”—Merle gestured grandly at the coven at large—“don’t fight. I’m the only one trained, and that was extremely evident when the rabid vampires showed up.”
“We have defensive and stunning spells,” Lazarus pointed out. “If the coven uses what we know, we can surely hold one sorcerer, even if he is juiced up on dark magic.”
Embry cleared her throat. “I know what we saw in Alistair’s vision.
” She nodded here to the diviner, who sat flanked by his mothers among the coven.
“And it was definitely a lot of people—all of us. But I do want us to consider the possibility that Balthazar isn’t alone.
The other people in the vision were a blur.
We could be dealing with his family, too. ”
Embry couldn’t decide if she felt relief at the idea that perhaps Balthazar wasn’t alone in this.
Her new understanding of who that dashing boy really could be was still something unformed, even with all the anger she’d set aside at what he’d apparently done to Oakley and what he’d done to her and her coven.
Lazarus considered this far more thoroughly than he had with Merle’s interjection.
“You make a good point, Em, but I think our best option is for an ambush. If we spend the time it might take to put eyes on the sorcerer’s family, we give him time to call in the exact backup we’re trying to avoid. And we lose our best advantage.”
The wind flew out of Embry’s sails at this dismissal, even though Daddy used that same calm, reasonable voice he used in any stressful situation.
“I can tell you from experience how powerful one sorcerer is,” she tried again. “If we’re facing many? We’ll need a strategy to, I don’t know, somehow cut off their attachment to the well that seems to make them stronger than us. If we don’t, we could be overpowered easily.”
“Which,” Daddy replied, “is why we need to catch Balthazar off-balance and alone. Your concern is valid, but as far as we know the sorcerer is on his own, simply working off a plan his family gave him before he arrived at Raven’s Head with the specific target of Oakley and her family.”
Embry felt herself sink right where she was standing. Maybe that feeling was actually literal, too—the scent of rosemary drifted her way, and Embry clocked Rye’s hand pressed gently against her shoulder. When she glanced up at him, he mouthed, You’re right.
It was a comfort, even as her current BFF seemed to agree with Daddy.
“Given the fact that a dozen witches are skipping classes at Raven’s Head,” Ames pointed out, waving in the general direction of herself and the students surrounding her, “we’re giving it until the end of first period before word is out that we’re missing.
” Fairfax dutifully flashed his phone with the current time on his girlfriend’s cue.
“That gives us thirteen minutes before the bell rings and word will hit the general population during passing period. It’s possible Balthazar has already suspected we’ve called a coven gathering, but it’s all but certain he’ll know once Raven’s Head is talking about it. ”
“Amethyst makes an excellent point,” Lazarus agreed. Ames accepted the praise with a little curtsy. “We should inspect Hiram’s grave as soon as possible.”
“What about the Table?” Dr. Goldman asked. “Should we alert Inspector Brown?”
“Or Raven’s Head?” Circe inquired. “If the diviner has seen a fight in what is basically the school’s backyard, shouldn’t the headmaster be notified?”
“Both have been notified and have the opportunity to monitor the situation in real time, thanks to the technical wizardry of our very own Rye Knighton.” Daddy cuffed Rye lovingly on the back of his neck. “Show them.”
Blushing more than Embry thought him truly capable without a script, blocking, and specific direction to do so, Rye produced a tablet and held it up for the crowd.
“Those of you who are junior members will have invited your families back home to the secure live video feed the Woodcross coven provides during our meetings.” The students nodded.
“As part of that project, I also installed cameras along the property line, including one perched on the fence shared with Raven’s End Cemetery.
” This had been the camera that had caught the vampires entering the warded space unimpeded.
“I’ve turned this camera to face the grave of Hiram Woodcross—here, you can see his statue—and activated a live feed.
We’ve sent the password to Inspector Brown, Headmaster Martinelli, and, just as we leave, I’d like all current Raven’s Head students to send the password to their friends on campus.
It’s a gamble, but the more people who see Balthazar Hale in action against us, the better. ”
Murmurs came as several students pulled out their phones, ready to do as they were told. “Why don’t we just send it to the whole student body?” asked a freshman named Ruda.
“Balthazar is still enrolled,” Rye explained. “He’ll gain access and ruin our advantage.”
“Speaking of our advantage, first passing period is now in ten minutes,” Fairfax pointed out. “Time to nab this asshole.”
There was a lot of jostling and cheering as Lazarus and Merle organized the coven into defensive sectors based on everyone’s skill level. In the chaos, Rye leaned into Embry’s ear. “I can see that plan forming in your head like a storm rolling in.”
She raised her brows.
He narrowed his eyes. “You’re making a contingency plan in case we’re overpowered, aren’t you?”
And this right here was why her heart double-beat for Rye Knighton. He was always the one to see her. Most of the time it was annoying, but in this case, it was elating.
“I don’t want to give you a big head, but I do think you know me better than anyone.”
“Wanna share?”
She did, but mostly so he would know when it happened that it wasn’t real. A coy grin spread across her face. “It depends. How do you feel about using an illegal spell if necessary?”
Now Rye’s expression matched her own. “I think for a pair of wannabe lawyers we left legality far behind when we started breaking and entering.”
“I thought you’d say that,” Embry answered. “Come with me—it’ll only take a second.”
“Come with you where?” Fairfax butted in, hearing like a freaking elephant.
Ames was right there beside him, and the second she saw Embry’s expression, she grinned like an apex predator. “Ooooh, I like when you get that squinty, girlboss look on your face, Em. What’s the plan?”