She smiled. “A bit groggy and out of it, but pretty good considering. I’m mostly relieved.”
“Same.” I took a deep, steadying breath. “Can you sit down? I need to tell you something.”
She frowned but perched on the edge of the chair in front of my desk, her eyes sharp.
“What is it?”
“I talked to Gemma. She told me there was a compulsion tied to the house’s spell. For the spell to work, and for your power to be hidden, you had to stay in the house most of the time.”
The blood drained from her face. “So they turned me into a homebody?” She attempted to come to terms with that. “How much of my personality is because I really like to stay home, and how much is because I was spelled to need to be in the house?”
“I don’t know. I’m sorry, Evie.”
She shrugged and glanced away, watching as Lia wandered the room, sniffing at furniture that caught her attention.
“Every morning I wake up clearer. You know I’ve never had a real job? Just part time stuff, easy, no-fuss jobs that paid for dinners out and clothes. It never occurred to me to have a career. To do anything other than work on my magic, date occasionally, hang out with my friends andstay in that house.”
Her voice broke and she lifted a hand to wipe at the tear that rolled down her cheek. “I’m glad it’s gone. I wish the others weren’t dead, but I’m glad I never have to see that house again.”
“They didn’t do it to hurt you, Evie.”
“I know. They did it to protect me. Because whoever is coming after me would probably have killed me as a child. I don’t blame the coven, Dani. They likely saved my life, and I got most of them dead.”
“Evie–”
She got to her feet. “I’m going to shower and grab something to eat. And then I need you to put me to work.”
“Okay.”
I blew out a long breath as Lia followed her out of the room. Then I grabbed my phone again.
Kyla answered immediately.
“What did you find?”
I scowled at the information on the screen in front of me. “Regular payments to an offshore account. Ten thousand a month for the past seven months.”
“Who is it?”
“Gail.”
“Shiiit. You think she was preparing to get out of here if it all went belly-up?”
“Depending on who the account belongs to. If it’s hers, then that’s exactly what she was doing. If it’s not, then she’s been paying someone off. I’ll need you to stay on the coven. I’m going to try and trace the account, but I may need some help from Steve.”
“Sure. I don’t get it, why would Gail do this?”
“She’s one of the longest-standing members of the coven. She may not be one of the most powerful, but she’d have some loyalty there.”
“But there are so few of them left.”
I put my phone on speaker and got to my feet to pace. “Anyone who can pull off this kind of attack? You bet your ass they have alliances lined up with other witches. She probably has a bunch of new recruits ready to go. Witches are lining up to join that coven. She could rebuild the house, or move to a new one, and boom. She’s suddenly in Gemma’s spot.”
“Wow. It’s twisted, but it makes a sick kind of sense. All those deaths just to take out the top three witches?”
I shrugged. “Covens have strict rules of ascension. While Nellie was old and crotchety enough that she may have eventually stepped down as second, Gemma could live another forty years, fifty if the coven is particularly good at healing spells. Unless she suddenly decided she didn’t want the responsibility of the coven anymore, Gail would never have the opportunity to step into her shoes.”
“And Willow?”
