“That was amazing,” Gage said as he smiled dazedly at the ceiling.
Naked, Elizabeth rose from the pile of blankets that Gage believed to be a bed. His mind was now clouded by her magic. The worst effects of Betrayer’s Snare had by now worn off; a couple hours’ use of a male body had burned away the fever of her desire and left behind only sore muscles and a slightly elevated pulse.
“You always seemed so, I don’t know—shy.” He grinned over at her, utterly besotted. She stared back impassively; he would be incapable of recognizing her indifference. “Guess I got that wrong. Or maybe you just choose your moments to show that wild side.”
“I choose my moments,” she said, considering her options.
It would be easy enough to make Gage forget the entire encounter. However, she could do that at any point. With Betrayer’s Snare no longer influencing her, she would have no more need of him in her bed, but that didn’t mean he was useless.
Sex was a necessary ingredient in a spell she hadn’t cast in a very long time. At this critical moment, couldn’t she use more than one servant? Asa’s loyalties were so cloudy, his obedience so grudging; to have a slave who obeyed from slavish adoration rather than fear might prove useful.
Once Gage became her thrall, she could use him to spy. To undermine. Even to kill. And he would never question it.
“Come here, my love.” Elizabeth held out her hand. Gage rose to take it, just as willingly as he would soon give her his blood.
25
NADIA STOOD AGAIN AT THE BEACH. THE AREA WAS deserted. Everyone in Captive’s Sound was probably either inspecting their homes for earthquake damage or running to their loved ones. That meant she had the wide expanse of pale sand and the dark, churning sound to herself.
At least, for now. She had no doubt Elizabeth would find her soon.
Her phone chimed with texts, one after the other. She held it up to look at the screen.
From Mateo: Dad helicoptering. Feeling all right. No more dreams yet. You okay?
I’m fine, she texted back. Setting out any second. Love you.
From Verlaine: I’m at the hospital. All systems go!
The phone chimed one more time. This time it was Faye. In front of Elizabeth’s house. There’s light inside—she seems to be home, and I don’t think she’s alone. I’ll let you know if she’s on the move.
Once again Nadia felt a quiver in her belly, both of astonishment and of doubt. The astonishment came from having finally found someone else who understood witchcraft and was willing to talk. No, Faye wasn’t a witch herself, but her mother’s Book of Shadows had already proved incredibly useful.
The sky overhead rumbled with thunder. Mateo had often told her about the horrible roiling he saw over Captive’s Sound; it was evidence of Elizabeth’s hold on this town, visible only to a Steadfast.
Or it had been. Now even Nadia thought she saw a movement in the clouds that was less like the wind, more like the slithering of something almost alive.
Could everyone see it now? With all the signs and portents—the way this town was literally coming apart—would others realize that something unnatural was at work?
It didn’t matter. That was something for Nadia to deal with after this, if there was an after.
She walked toward the nearby pier, where a lone rowboat was tethered, bobbing up and down on the waves. For a moment she imagined herself as being just as alone, but that wasn’t true.
Her friends were all doing their part—and Mateo was with her, no matter what.
Faye tried to make herself comfortable in her car. Like anyone could get comfortable when the sky was doing . . . that.
I’m glad you can’t understand this any longer, Momma, she thought. And yet I can’t help wishing you still had your Craft and could come here to kick some Sorceress ass.
Could her mother have overcome Elizabeth’s power? No telling. But it wouldn’t have hurt to have her on Nadia’s side.
She’d known the minute she first drove into Captive’s Sound that this place was serious trouble. To a Steadfast, every inch of this town looked like a nightmare come true. No wonder Mateo Perez had had trouble with it; even Faye, with her years of experience, had been terrified by her first sight of the many spells that wove along the streets and buildings and sea. Evil dwelled here: no question about that.
But she’d taken the job exactly because this town was so troubled—because, even if she’d never be a witch like her mother, she wanted to think she could do some good.
Well, now was her chance.
The front door of Elizabeth’s house opened, and Faye tensed. But it wasn’t Elizabeth who walked out. To her astonishment, it was Gage Calloway.
Gage? He was a good kid. What the hell would he be doing with Elizabeth Pike?
Faye grabbed her phone to text Nadia. Maybe this wasn’t something she needed to know—but maybe it was, and Faye didn’t intend to take any chances.
When she began typing, though, her car door swung open.
Startled, she turned to see Gage just as he grabbed her arm and towed her out of the car.
“What are you doing?” Faye struggled but couldn’t pull free; he was strong. “Let me go!”
Gage didn’t listen. No—he couldn’t listen. His eyes stared at her vacantly, completely devoid of their usual intelligence and humor. And now that he was this close, she could see, hanging around him like an aura, the sickly, red light that could signify dark magic.
Elizabeth’s controlling him. He’s her thrall.
Faye stopped trying to escape and started fighting back. She tackled him, and apparently the element of surprise was enough to get him to stagger backward. That gave her a chance to yank her arm away and leap into her car.
Gage smashed at the door, but her shaking fingers were already turning the key in the ignition. Within seconds she’d sped off, panting as she glanced in the rearview mirror to see Gage staring after her impassively.
What was it her mother had taught her? Thralls can’t do anything complicated, not while they’re being directly influenced. They love their creator, and only their creator. They can sense danger to the Sorceress. And they’ll fight to protect her.
Right now, all of them represented some danger to Elizabeth—Nadia, Mateo, Verlaine, everyone. The only question was which of them Gage would go after next.
Stop looking at it! If people see you staring, they’ll wonder what you’re staring at.
Verlaine curled into one of the plastic chairs at the hospital and tried very hard not to imagine that the pearl she now wore in the locket around her neck wasn’t warm. Or glowing. Or tingling with energy. Because it wasn’t—she’d double-checked the glowing part in the mirror. That was just her imagination running away with her, reminding her of the power she would soon help to channel.
The power that might soon kill her—
Once again the ground trembled, and people cried out in alarm. The quake wasn’t as bad as the one that morning, though; the shaking died down after only a few moments. For Verlaine it was a relief: Probably just Nadia at work, she thought.
But for everyone else in the waiting area, all the exhausted family members of mysteriously ill patients, the quake seemed to be the last straw.
“This isn’t right!” one woman cried. “This isn’t natural, and we all know it!”
People murmured in assent. Then the murmuring turned into anger. Verlaine kept her face turned away in an attempt to hide her astonishment. Were the residents of Captive’s Sound finally catching on to the fact that their town was seriously messed up?