Barney folded his newspaper with deliberate precision. “Showtime.”
Bo’s ears flattened a little.
“I want updates every thirty seconds, Nigel,” Samuel instructed tensely.
“Copy that.”
Mrs. Chen opened her satchel and began extracting small bundles of dried herbs. The smell of sage and something sharper filled the van.
Gavin sneezed. His nostrils sparked.
“Not in the van!” Didi and Barney barked simultaneously.
The dragon newt clamped his nose shut with both hands, his eyes watering.
“Sheesh,” Bo huffed.
“She’s on the forest track now,” Nigel said. “Speed has dropped. Thermal imaging is getting patchy under the tree cover, but she should reach the house in about two minutes.”
Samuel checked his watch.
Barney had scouted the property boundaries that afternoon. According to the vampire, thehouse was in surprisingly good condition for somewhere that had been off the grid for decades.
“There’s a cellar entrance on the east side,” he’d reported. “And I detected significant magical barriers around the perimeter. Nothing we can’t get through, but they’ll slow us down.”
“Those barriers will be keyed to the ley lines,” Mrs. Chen had said. “Once we’re close enough, Dorothy and I should be able to feel the convergence. That’s when we’ll need Abby.”
My stomach tightened presently. The plan was deceptively straightforward.
Melody and the Ashgrove witches would go in. We would wait for confirmation that they were inside. Then, we’d move. We would locate the Lincoln sisters and I would break the subjugation spell. The freed witches would combine forces with Didi and Mrs. Chen to use the convergence against Esmeralda.
It was simple alright. Except for the dozen ways it could go catastrophically wrong.
“Melody’s car has stopped,” Nigel reported. “She’s at the property.”
I closed my eyes and reached for my white wolf. She was already there, coiled and ready beneath my skin.
Samuel turned to face us, his eyes gleaming amber.
“Didi, Mrs. Chen—the two of you stay close to Abby. Barney, you’re on point. Gavin, watch our backs.” He glanced at Bo. “You stay in the van.”
Bo’s tail drooped. “Alright.”
I knew the Husky wanted in on the action, butneither Samuel nor I wanted a repeat of the Ludvik battle.
Samuel’s gaze found mine. The mate bond hummed with everything he couldn’t say in front of the others. I touched his hand. He turned his palm over and squeezed my fingers.
“Radio silence from here,” my alpha said. “We move on my signal.”
We waited tensely, the forest pressing against the van.
Somewhere in the trees, an owl called.
Nigel’s voice came through, barely above a whisper. “I’ve got movement. The front door of the house just opened. Somebody’s letting them in.”
My wolf growled low in my throat.
“All four of them are inside,” Nigel confirmed seconds later.
