Chapter 29
JOSIE
My concerns about searching for Finn during the sunlight hours become moot because it takes over an hour for Rune to talk Sebastian off the ledge. I didn’t mean to make things harder for him by suggesting he feed from me. I genuinely believe it will ease his more carnal and dangerous urges.
I’d rather offer him my blood with Finn or Rune there to help if things get out of hand than have him go feral and rip my throat out.
And as he stared at me in the library, that’s exactly what he was fighting against. It was obvious in his scarlet eyes, in the tension of his rigid muscles, when he locked himself down, and in the snarling growl that tore from his chest.
Sebastian is at constant war within himself, and very soon, something will set him off and he will be more dangerous than he’s ever been.
But for now, focusing on finding Finn helps.
Our Celt is obviously better at tracking the emotions of our unity bond than me, Rune, and Sebastian, but after a long and circuitous route through the city, we end up on the street of my family home in Tremé.
“Is he hiding in your house?” Rune asks, his face scrunched up as if he’s trying to work out a particularly tricky puzzle.
I shrug. “Maybe he wanted some distance but wanted to stay close to me?”
Rune pulls into the driveway and shuts the car off. When I stand out in the night air, I feel Finn close. I also feel my phone ringing in my pocket.
The screen shows an unknown caller, so I hold a finger up for Rune to give me a second. “Hello?”
“Hello, Josephine, this is Summer.”
Rune makes a face, obviously picking up the conversation with his vampire heightened hearing.
“Hey, Summer. What can I do for you?”
“That’s exactly why I called. Are you missing something? Or should I say—someone?”
A wave of unease washes over me as I hustle up the porch steps and pull out the keys. “That’s a very specific question. Why are you asking?”
When I open the door, Sebastian blasts past me in a blur.
“Because I have the Celt and will happily let him return home if you do me one small favor.”
Sebastian is back from searching the house and shakes his head.
“And what’s the favor?” I ask.
“Drop out of the running for high priestess.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Tomorrow, before the last trial starts, I want you to withdraw your name.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“You had no plans to become high priestess. You were only in town for Claudette’s funeral. Go back to where you came from.”
I realize as she says the words, that’s exactly what I’ve done. From the moment I stepped out of that airport, I knew I was finally home. New Orleans is in my blood and always has been. “This is where I came from, and I’m here to stay.”
“Fucking right, you are,” Rune whispers.
Summer is quiet on the other end of the line and I worry I might’ve overplayed my hand. “That’s fine. I have your answer then.”
“What do you mean? What will you do?”
“I’m going to kill your vampire boyfriend. It’s not like you need him. You have three of them.”
“If you’ve hurt Finn, I swear on the graves of my ancestors I will kill you.”
“You’ll have to share that kill, drengr,” Rune’s rumbling voice cuts through my internal freakout. “If anything happens to my brother, I will have my pound of flesh.”
The lethal promise of his words is terrifying and comforting. Rune may be easygoing, but when it comes to protecting the ones he loves, there’s no line he won’t cross.
“Are you truly so threatened by me that you’re willing to kill to get what you want?”
She laughs. “Vampires are already dead. I’d just be putting him back in the ground where he was meant to stay.”
How can she be a Sun Witch and believe that? Then again, I hated vampires until I was forced to get to know them better.
“Think it over, Josephine. Believe it or not, I don’t want to hurt your vampire.”
“Then let him go, Summer. We’ll duke it out at the last trial and you can beat me fair and square.”
“I can’t risk it. See you tomorrow. I look forward to you telling the entire coven you just aren’t high priestess material.”
The line goes dead and the caw of my raven cuts through the night. Phi swoops through the open door and perches on the large hutch in the entrance of the house. What’s wrong?
“Summer has Finn and says she’ll kill him if I don’t pull out of the trial tomorrow.”
Is that the only way witches become high priestesses these days? Whatever happened to honor and earning your place in life?
“Good question.”
“I’ve got a good question,” Rune asks. “Why did our bond bring us here if this isn’t where Finn is being held?”
“I think I can answer that,” Sebastian says.
I turn to where the Bastard King is leaning against the doorway into the front parlor. “This neighborhood is rife with founding witch families going back to the beginning of settlement. The bond brought us close, but I’d bet Summer Saint-Clair has a connection to a home close by.”
I stride outside and grab the rail of the wraparound porch, studying the houses on the street. “You think she’s got him stashed in a house somewhere close by?”
“It makes sense.” Rune stands behind me, resting his chin on the top of my head. “But she’s probably got it heavily warded.”
“Of course,” Sebastian says. “But that’s not going to stop us from looking.”
Rune grips my hips and gives me a gentle turn to face him. “You’re not going to let her bully you into giving up the trial, are you?”
I sigh. “I can’t. Now that Summer has shown her true colors, I can’t leave the Sun Witches in her hands. They’ll be no better off than they were with Adelaide at the helm.”
So what’s the plan?Phi squawks.
“We know he’s close and that Summer must leave him to attend the final trial. We also know the house will be warded against us finding him.”
“Yeah, and?” Rune says.
I meet the expectant faces and pull out my phone. Scrolling through my contacts, I call up the number and hit send. “Callius? It’s Josephine Dumont. I need a favor. You’re the lawyer for the paranormal community, so you’d know if Summer Saint-Claire holds title to any property in the neighborhood of my family home, right?”
“I would, yes, but I could never share that information with you,” Callius says, his tone firm yet apologetic. “Confidentiality is a huge part of my business.”
“I respect that, but this is urgent. Summer kidnapped Fintan. I know he’s close because I can sense him, but I can’t pinpoint the location.”
There’s a pause on the line. “Have you tried a locator spell?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, of course. She’s obviously warding against him being found.”
“Well, I’m afraid I won’t be of much help then,” Callius replies on the other end of the line. “But if I were you, I’d take note that Saint-Clair is her married name and see where that leads you.”
Rune stops pacing and shrugs. “How does that help us?”
I meet Sebastian’s gaze, my confusion mixing with his intrigue. “She changed her last name?”
“I know. Weird, right?” Callius’s voice carries an air of expectation. “Anything pertaining to that would, of course, be a matter of public record.”
Sebastian is nodding.
“Yes, thank you. I understand.”
“Oh, don’t thank me, Ms. Dumont. I couldn’t help you, remember?”
“Yes, of course. Have a good evening, Callius.”
“Good luck with your search.”
I hang up and look at Sebastian. “What will knowing her maiden name tell us?”
“I have a list of all sun witch families and their addresses. If I know her maiden name, I might have the information we need in my office.”
I nod. “Good. You follow that lead and see if you can get an address. Phi, I need you to patrol the neighborhood from above. We might not spot Summer tonight, but she has to leave in the morning to go to the trials. If you see what house she comes out of, we’ll be in business.”
“What do I do?” Rune asks.
“I’m going to call Elara and Nadine. When Summer arrives at the trial tomorrow, you’ll need witches to undo the warding. You’ll be in charge of watching over them while they get us into wherever she’s got Finn stashed.”
Rune waggles his brows. “You’re fucking sexy when you’re formulating a plan.”
FINN
I’ve been at Sebastian’s mercy in the dungeon a few times over the centuries. This is worse. So much worse. At least I knew the torture at Sebastian’s hands had an end to it. He’d let off steam and exact whatever tithe he thought necessary to balance the scales after my perceived slight, and then I was free to go.
As Summer’s captive, I don’t have that luxury. It’s been hours already…I guess closer to a full day since the light from the window is gone and it is night once again.
Vampires don’t need much sleep when we’re whole and fed. I’m neither. Being surrounded by gold and impaled by it, I’m raw and drained.
Gold is to vampires what silver is to wolves.
I’ve locked down my movement, so the only place I can hide is inside my mind. Still, the pain draws me out again and again as my distraction allows my body to shift too far from the strict, upright position.
I’m weak and losing energy too quickly.
I can’t afford to lose any more blood.
I started counting to keep myself busy. First, just the seconds and minutes that ticked by, then all the ceiling tiles in my field of vision.
“Eighty-four.” I frown at the room. That’s one more than I counted the first time. Did I miscount this time or the last one? Maybe it’s the half tiles that are throwing me off. Or the fact that I’m counting in the fucking dark.
Should I count them again and get it right?
Decisions. Decisions.
Closing my eyes, I let my mind drift to Josie. Does Summer honestly think she can blackmail a woman of Josie’s integrity into allowing her to become the high priestess of the Sun Witches?
She’s either delusional, or she truly thinks she and Lilian can reverse the unity bonds and walk away. Not without Josie’s cooperation and the sunstone dagger.
And what’s Lilian’s end game? I don’t believe for a minute that she hid away for twenty-five years, waiting for an opportunity to free the Moon Witches.
She was their high priestess. She should’ve been their front line of defense against Egan and his brutes.
She wouldn’t have stood alone. There are other wolf packs who treat their Unity Witches with respect. Guidry for one. Hell, his mate Emilie Broussard is the high priestess for Moon Witches and has worked tirelessly to bring Egan to heel.
For all the good it’s done.
The point is, Lilian could’ve made alliances with them and shown the community what she’s made of. Then again…I suppose by her hiding, she’s done that too.
Footsteps in the next room precede the opening of the door. Lilian Beauchamp flicks on the overhead light and I wince at the searing pain as my eyes adjust.
“Hello, again, Lilian. I’d like to say it’s nice to see you, but it’s not.”
Her defiant smile is too smug for my liking. “Welcome out of the bayou. This must be a big day for you.”
“It is. Everything I’ve waited for is within my grasp.”
“And that’s obviously about more than Summer becoming the high priestess so that you can rule from the shadows. If you wanted to rule, you wouldn’t have hidden away like a coward for the past two and a half decades.”
Lilian brushes a hand over her silver hair and pegs me with a bored smile. “I have no interest in the responsibility of being a leader, only fixing the mistakes I made when I was one. Of course, her being high priestess will have other benefits.”
“Does she realize she’s a pawn?”
Lilian saunters closer, one hand held behind her back. “She’s too blinded by her own ambitions to look past the opportunity I’ve given her.”
I snort. “You need a blood sacrifice to reenact the ritual. Two strong witches and one to die. Does Summer realize she’s Gisele Caron’s stand-in?”
Lilian throws her hand forward and I grit my teeth against the searing pain. The blade that is embedded in my ribs isn’t half as painful as the gold spikes that impaled my back when the force of her hit landed.
She yanks the blade free, and I can’t hold back the scream that escapes me when another shift has more spikes impaling my front.
My vision blurs for a moment, and the unity bond pulses with a shared ache. Does the blade’s cruel bite cut more than just me?
Can my mates feel my suffering?
Can they trace it?
Consciousness ebbs and I sway, weaker than I ever remember being since Rune turned me. I rarely take pleasure in a kill like Rune does, but when I get out of here, I will very much enjoy seeing the life fade from Lilian’s cold eyes.
With the state I’m in, my only hope of escaping this cage is that the unity bond leads Josephine, Rune, and Sebastian to me before I bleed out. Turning my focus inward, I reach out, seeking my brothers…my witch…my family.