“Maeve!” Kelly yelled. I tore my eyes from Corbin. Kelly thrashed against her kidnappers, kicking her legs the way she used to do when we were kids and I had a toy she wanted to play with.
“Kelly, hold on!” My hand wriggled a little in my bonds. I tugged at the knot, my magic humming in my veins. Someone kicked my hands, but I ignored them. No physical pain could penetrate my shattered heart.
They’re almost here, Princess,Blake’s voice echoed in my head.
“I’m so sorry!” Kelly sobbed. “I said such horrible things, and I didn’t mean any of it. I don’t care about the witchcraft or the guys or any of it, just please, please…Maeve?Maeve!” Her words dissolved into screams as the fae dragged her towards the fire. They lifted her into the air and my body dissolved into dust and they swung Kelly and she screamed and screamed and screamed and I screamed and there was nothing I could do?—
“Hello, everyone!” A bright voice sang over the meadow.
Kelly’s captors dropped her on the ground and grabbed for their bows.
One distraction, signed, sealed, delivered,Blake sung inside my head.
Daigh’s head whipped around. I forced my neck muscles to engage and shift so I could see, too.
Aline stood uphill from the stakes, her wavy hair whipping around her face. Blood streaked the white fabric of her dress, and she carried one of the swords from the Great Hall in her hand. Beside her stood a small crowd of people. I recognised Clara, her black shawls wrapped around her tiny shoulders. A large red fox wound its way around Clara’s ankles, its thick tail held high and alert. On the other side of the fox was Obelix, who sat his plump ass on the grass and washed his face as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
But…Aline betrayed us. She conspired with Daigh to break the protective charms around the castle. So why is she here now with Clara and…and...
My chest swelled as I recognised other faces. Beside Clara was Gwen and Candice from the Avebury coven, dressed in their white druidic garments. Behind them stood Isadora, her six-inch spiked pumps sinking into the soft earth. There was Jane, lifting a cricket bat in her hands with a menacing glint in her eyes. Nextto her was Corbin’s dad Andrew, and a woman with dark hair and kind eyes I assumed was his mother. There were a couple of other people I didn’t recognise and…and…
A hunched figure gripped Aline’s arm as though it were the only thing holding him upright. He raised his head, and the moon caught his handsome features.
It was Robert Smithers.
What is going on? If Aline is working with Daigh, then why is she here with all of these people? Are they all working against us?
The villagers howled and cursed as they recognised Aline. “I told you she was a ghost!” cried one.
“No, not a ghost. Look, she’s holding that man upright. A ghost couldn’t do that.”
“It’s a zombie innit! Quick, someone cut off ‘er head!”
“Look at her, she hasn’t aged a day. What beauty serum is she using?”
“Arrest her!” someone yelled to DS Judge.
“No. Get her skincare secrets first!”
“I can’t arrest her for beingalive,” DS Judge shot back from somewhere behind me.
”Vicar,dosomething!”
But the vicar had fallen to his knees in front of me, his voice high with fear as he prayed for salvation at the top of his lungs. Aline’s presence was too much for him. He was out of this fight.
“What are you doing, my love?” Aline called down to Daigh. Her tone was casual, as if it didn’t much bother her what his answer was. A fresh wave of hatred rolled through me, but I couldn’t hold on to it. I was too surprised to see her there and with all those people. How had she collected them all? The last time I saw her was only an hour or so ago on the roof, when we were betraying the coven...
Maeve,Blake called inside my head. His magic thrummed against the edges of my mind.They’re weakening. I need you to get to me.
“The only thing Icando to save both our races from an irradiated death,” Daigh said. His face remained. He didn’t look as if he was weakening to me. “I’m securing possession of the witches.”
I tested my power again. It went a little further before it was pushed back. The guy holding me down yelped as a tiny piece of my magic seared him, but it wasn’t enough to get him off me.
Keep trying, Blake urged me.
“You know that’s not true,” Aline patted Robert’s arm. “Itold Robert about that dream, for I had it night after night after night starting from the time you entered his head. He painted the dream from my descriptions. You didn’t get this vision from Blake. You’d already seen it through Robert’s eyes, through his brush. Because it is your vision. It isyourfuture, Diagh, not ours. You’ve changed it – corrupted it with your broken magic – and given it to our daughter.”
What?
