Chapter Twenty-Seven
Payton bided her time as Dailey and Hermes walked away with Orson Camden in tow, then faced Hope.
“Okay, tell me what you really know.”
“I—”
“See these boots?” She waited for the doctor to look and nod. “They’re a human lie detector, and something has been off with you for the last few minutes. What’s going on?”
“Ever since Dailey pointed out the potential Camden-Cobb connection, I couldn’t help thinking about Sloane’s husband, Bradford. I think he’s in on it, too.”
Sensing Hope’s honesty, Payton considered the best way to bring it up to the Cobbs. Perhaps it was her ability as a doctor to see below the surface, but Hope picked up on her dilemma.
“I had the same problem, Payton. I wanted to mention it to Dailey, but if Brad’s not involved, it could ruin his relationship with his wife.”
“Is he in town?” She might be able to find him and confront him if he were.
“Not that I’m aware of.”
As if their conversation summoned her, Sloane exited Harrison’s office building and headed straight for them. “Ladies. Have you seen my brother?”
“He’s escorting Orson Camden to jail.”
There was an underlying restlessness about Dailey’s sister, and her nervous energy was leeching out, creating trepidation within Payton. Hope seemed tuned in to it, too, and she studied them curiously as if seeking the cause.
The combined nervousness set Payton’s teeth on edge. “What’s going on, Sloane?”
“If you’ve been with Dailey, he’s probably told you about the situation with our mother.” She paused for confirmation before saying, “Mother’s been slipping in and out of consciousness for the last couple of hours. Harrison is convinced she shouldn’t have been contained as long as she has.”
Although Payton already suspected it, she had to ask, “Whose spell is holding her?”
“D’s.”
“If I release her, what happens? She goes back to trying to control everything again?”
“We can’t let her go, Pay. She’s dangerous, especially to you and Dailey. I don’t think she’ll stop trying to run you out of town until she’s succeeded.”
“Dailey’s not strong enough to remove the Triad’s spell. That leaves me, Hermes, or Tripp.”
“What about me?” Hope suggested. “I’m half Camden by blood. Is there a way I can help reverse the damage?”
“I haven’t trained properly since coming into my abilities. Whatever I ultimately do could get you hurt, Hope.” Old insecurities tried to choke Payton, and she shook out her hands, hoping to dispel the sensation.
Ever the perceptive one, Sloane asked, “Are you okay, Pay?”
“Yes.” The old adage ‘fake it ’til you make it’ came to mind. She reached for her phone and swore when she came up empty-handed. “May I use your cell?”
After unlocking hers, Sloane passed it to Payton.
She punched in her sister’s number and exhaled her relief as soon as Elara answered. Asking for help went against her nature, but if it meant ensuring the Cobb family’s safety, she’d do it.
A stone flared brightly on her shoes, and by her count, she was close to ticking off all the boxes on their to-do list.
Elara, as always, was immediately concerned for her welfare. “Pay? Are you all right?”
“Peachy keen. Can you meet me at Harrison’s office? Like now?”
“I’ll be there in a flash.”
As the three of them crossed the road, light flared through the upstairs window before dimming.
“She wasn’t kidding,” Payton muttered.
Her sister greeted her with a quick searching glance and a hug. “What’s this about?”
“Can we combine our power to remove the spell haunting Mary-Alice?”
Elara’s blonde brows shot up. “Why would you want to? Don’t you hate her?”
Sloane choked, but there was a distinct laugh behind the sound.
With an exasperated glare at the group, Payton said, “I don’t hate her. I don’t hate anybody.” Across the distance, she met Mary-Alice’s haughty stare. “But I don’t necessarily love how bitchy she is. Now, knowing it may not be her fault… I actually feel sorry for her.”
Her words had a sobering effect on Sloane. Her expression was stricken, and she’d turned ashen.
Lowering her voice, Payton said, “I’m sorry if she was awful to you. Dailey told me a little bit, but he didn’t want to betray confidences.”
“It’s okay.”
“Are you ready for us to attempt this?”
Sloane nodded and shot her brother an inquiring glance. “Any objections, Harry?”
“I’m not convinced it’s a simple reversal,” he said. Gesturing for them to join him at the desk, he tapped various pages he’d photocopied from a grimoire. “There’s a similar spell in our family’s book. But it’s a ‘once done, cannot be undone’ enchantment.”
“How do you know it’s the same?” his sister asked.
“Here.” He shuffled a few papers and ran a finger under each sentence as he read off the list of effects. “The primary one is the mist, which is only visible when it faces strong opposition. Like with Mother earlier.”
“And with us in the street,” Hope added. “Is it possible, as a Camden, that I can help?”
“Every indication states it would need a blood sacrifice,” he replied, far too serious for Payton’s state of mind. Harrison didn’t do extremes. Maybe it was his profession, but the guy was as laid back and steady as they came.
“Whose?” Payton dreaded the answer. The little voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her, asking why the hell she’d even brought it up.
“The ultimate targets.”
“But that could be anyone! Sloane, Brad, Hope, and…” She couldn’t bring herself to say Dailey’s name.
The solution, with his death being the only way to end this madness, was unfathomable.
“Okay. What about a transference? Could we do that? Split it between a few people? I’ll volunteer as tribute.
” Even suggesting it made her queasy, but she firmed her resolve. Saving Dailey was the key.
“Who would be willing to take on that sort of curse?” His tone said the suggestion was beyond ridiculous and that the entire thing was hopeless.
“I would,” Hope said, beating her to it. “You could transfer it to me.”
Goddess, bless her meddlesome heart!
“You’re the wrong Camden. It’s the others who deserve to be punished,” Sloane replied.
Her sour tone was a clear indicator of trouble in paradise.
But then, Payton had always questioned the woman’s sanity when it came to marrying the Bougie Brad.
Sloane’s understated classiness was miles above that pretentious douche canoe.
“The wrong Camden…” Harrison murmured.
A Eureka moment hit them all at once, and they shared an oh-my-God glance.
“If no one is going to say it, I will.” Payton grinned, perhaps a little too wickedly. “We’ll turn it back on them.”
“I love it.” Sloane laughed.
They were only minutes into formulating a plan when the hallway door swung open, revealing Dailey, Hermes, and Tripp.
Payton was practically buzzing when she approached him. “Lee, we have a fabul—”
He shook his head. “It won’t work.”
“You didn’t hear what I have to say.”
“My mother did,” Tripp said, his mouth turning down. “She’s been watching everything like a damned soap opera through her scrying mirror.” He held up his phone. “I got her call and rushed right over.”
“Well, then what the hell are we supposed to do?” Payton snapped.
“We’re working on it.” On cue, Dailey’s phone pinged, and he glanced at the screen. “All set.”
“All set for what?”
He closed his eyes, tilted his head back.
“Dailey?”
FWOOOOOOOSH—FWOOOOOOOSH!
The thundering booms shook their building. Shouting from the street signaled Dailey’s successful bombing of City Hall. His meteor summoning had come in handy.
As one, their group surged to the bank of windows.
Payton was the first to confront him. “Lee? Oh my god! What did you do?”
The accusation in her eyes stung, but she wasn’t in on the plan yet.
“What I had to. No one was close to the building,” he assured her. “Tripp and Hermes implanted a mass suggestion, rushing everyone to the square for an impromptu Christmas concert. Junior texted to say the building was clear.”
“But why?”
“Because until my mother is well, she can’t be in charge of Witchmere.” He crossed to Payton and tipped up her chin. “It was the only way, Wildfire.”
“I believe you, but how the hell do we explain all this? People will ask.”
“We’ll tell them she was injured in the freak accident and was taken to our family estate to heal. The town will elect a new mayor, one not under Camden’s rule, allowing us time to find a solution.”
“But—”
He tried to rein in his impatience, but he had to do damage control and didn’t have time for the third degree. “I have to go, Pay. What will it look like if the Chief of Police isn’t on scene?”
“Okay. What do you want the rest of us to do?”
He fucking loved her willingness to help, whatever her objection. Leaning in, he kissed her.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being you. And to answer your question, Hermes and Tripp will take my mother to the Cobb estate, where Greer and Cecil will keep guard until a workable solution can be found.” He grinned at Harrison. “We can’t keep her here. Our dear Harry has a backlog of patients to treat.”
“Who knew Witchmere was a breeding ground for hot messes?” Payton quipped.
Everyone raised a hand.
Dailey crossed to Mary-Alice. Dread curled inside him for her anticipated reaction.
“All tunnel access to the main house will be cut off. You’ll be quarantined there until we can help you.”
She hissed her disproval.
“It won’t be long,” he said. “We’ll free you of this curse, Mother.”
“You fool!” she spat, surprising everyone when she broke through the containment wards and wrapped her hands around his throat.
Her responding fury was expected, and Dailey did nothing to stop her. If those fucking Camdens required a sacrifice, he’d gladly give it to save Sloane and, eventually, Harrison.
“STOP!” Payton bellowed.
The grandfather clock against the back wall ceased mid-pendulum swing.
Payton jerked his motionless mother’s hand from his neck, shoved her onto the chair, and smothered her in gel. Then, with a wave of her hand, she released everyone from their frozen state.
“Are you fucking mental?” Payton snapped at him. “She intended to kill you!”
Dailey remained silent, letting her draw her own conclusions. Horror transformed her visage, as her fury was suspended.
“That was your intent.” She breathed in sharply. “Lee. Why?”
The agony in her voice broke his damned heart.
“They’re my kid sister and brother, Pay,” he said achingly. “I can’t let the Triad or my mother ruin their lives. Not like they used me and tried to destroy ours. Can’t you understand?”
She nodded, but her eyes told a different story. Inside, she felt betrayed that he’d made the split-second decision without discussing it first.
“Most of all, I did it for you,” he added. “I won’t let you suffer her verbal abuse anymore. I told you I wouldn’t allow her to control our lives, and I meant it.”
“Why couldn’t you trust us to find a solution together? One that didn’t end with you six feet under?”
Her boots lit, and with sudden clarity, he knew he fucked up royally this time. Closing his eyes, he hung his head. He’d be lucky if she ever talked to him after this.
The silence stretched until he thought he’d go mad. When he peeked, she was still there, waiting.
“I thought you were going to leave, right then. I couldn’t watch you go,” he admitted. “Not again.”
“I’m not leaving you, Dailey James Cobb. If you want me gone, it’s going to take a shitload more effort on your part.” Her determination and commitment were in the firm set of her jaw and the assurance in her eyes. “No matter how long it takes, or how ugly she is to me, I’m sticking.”
He wasn’t aware he was crying until she brushed the moisture from his cheeks.
“I made a promise to you at Drakoryth. You’ll always be my number-one priority. Come hell or high water, I’m keeping it,” he said roughly.
Elara stomped over to Hermes and socked him in the arm. “It’s a wrap.”
“Right! Sounds like vows to me, too!” He crowed with a resounding clap. Payton’s burgundy boots appeared in his arms.
With an audible gasp, she peered at her bare feet.
“What happened?” Dailey asked, bewildered.
“You fulfilled their requirements, Sergeant Statute,” the Trickster said, gracing them with a warm smile.
With lightning-fast speed, he removed the largest jewel and reworked it into a pendant, nestling it among a circle of rubies.
Then he handed it to Payton with a flourish.
“For you, my dear. A gift to remember me by.”
Elara rolled her eyes. “He says that to all the boots’ victims.”
“Ah, but they never forget me,” he countered smugly.
“Because you’re a cautionary tale,” Dailey said, drawing Payton into his arms. “No giant asteroids on the horizon.”
“No townful or beachful of people hoping to bang me.”
“Beachful?”
“Remind me to tell you about the army of Merpeople.” She wrapped her arms around his neck with a laugh. “But I must say, some of those men were quite impressive.”
“So what you’re telling me is that all our vacations are going to take place inland from here on out,” he replied, pressing his forehead to hers. They shared a sigh of relief.
“We’ll take care of Mayor Murder,” Hermes assured them.
“It’s good to know I’m not the only one he makes up names for,” Dailey muttered.
“But I’ll always have a special reserve for you, Officer Ordinance.”