Was it the same Leon who worked for Karson, or someone else?
“Oh, him.” He cracked his knuckles. The skin across his back was still red and bubbled, but it was healing. “He’s downstairs waiting for us to finish dinner to have a little chat to him.”
The business Rodney spoke about.
The witch Georgie was helping let out a sob of relief and her shoulders slumped.
“What’s in the poison, Janetta?” Rodney snarled, and the witch snapped to attention again.
“I don’t know,” she rasped. “Penra made it.” Her lips trembled as she took in the sight of Penra’s slumped body.
Rodney’s eyes met Janice’s in soundless communication. She shoved the blonde witch in the back, and she gasped and staggered forward. Rodney stalked in front of her like a lion, barely withheld rage smoldering from his body. “What is in the poison?” His voice was soft, and somehow that was more terrifying than if he’d shouted.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” she rushed out, shaking her head, fear making her voice squeak. “We didn’t mean to hurt anyone, we only wanted to get Leon.” She shifted her watery gaze to Janetta, tears rolling down her face.
He grazed a thumb down her cheek, wiping softly at the tears. The witch shuddered, but she lifted her chin. “Why, then, sweetheart, do I feel like you are lying to me?”
“Please,” she whimpered. “I don’t know, she dabbles in black magic, but I never thought …” She paused and swallowed, her eyes flicking again to Janetta, fury swelling behind fear. “I never wanted anyone hurt.”
Rodney grabbed her hair and yanked. The witch cried out and dropped to her knees.
“Answer me,” he roared, his grip tightening.
“STOP, please!” she cried. “I don’t know, I don’t know!”
“It was meant to just be dragon’s blood to disable you all.” Janetta lifted her voice and stepped forward, stopping a few feet away. “That’s all any of us know. Abbie had no hand in any of this.”
“I’d say she had plenty of hand in this, given she is here.” Rodney placed his hands on the sides of her head.
Abbie screamed an awful sound of pain as her hands shot to his arms, trying uselessly to pull them off. “What was in the poison?”
Abbie shouted through sobs, “I don’t know. I don’t know!”
“Show me what you have done.”
Her face twisted and went bright red, her eyes rolling back in her head. Then Abbie screamed and screamed, in so much pain she was beyond words.
“Stop it, stop it!” Georgie shouted, lurching to her feet and yanking on Rodney’s arm. It was like a child pulling on an adult. “Fucking stop!”
Rodney looked at her, his eyes cruel and empty as ice. He sneered, “Fine.”
Abbie’s scream stopped abruptly as he let her go. Her body sagged, her forehead resting against his thigh, her eyes closed; she was unconscious.
He stepped back. Georgie went to snag her arm, but she was too late and Abbie’s face smashed onto the floor. Georgie rolled Abbie to her side, placing fingers on her pulse. Abbie stared straight ahead. Her irises were black, the whites streaked with red like crimson spiderwebs. Abbie was dead. Georgie took her fingers away and shot a look of utter disgust at Rodney.
“You’re a fucking psychopath,” she spat.
The other witch made a gut-wrenching sound of despair and crawled to her friend, cradling her head in her lap.
“You bastard, you bastard!” Janetta shouted.
Unbothered, Rodney turned to Karson. “She was lying, she was in on making the potion. It’s very old dark magic, a nightmare potion, if you haven’t already worked it out. It brings your worst fears to life.”
I felt the blood drain from my head as my eyes fell to Monique. Her face was no longer swollen. She was sitting on a chair, her elbows on her knees, staring, her eyes hollow and broken, at the floor.
Kenneth sat beside her, his features filled with utter rage.
Karson—the burns. He was reliving the night his parents were murdered by witches. A sound of despair fluttered in the back of my throat, and I closed my eyes, the room tilting.
