From behind me, I hear a primal scream, and something small goes flying past my head.
Right into the center of that swirling mass of energy.
Cressida shrieks as the ball dissipates, and I finally get a look at what broke up the spell.
It’s Wayne’s belt buckle.
I’m so surprised I laugh a little. “Thanks, buddy,” I call back to him. To Cressida I shout, “That was from the consultant we hired to teach me about pig shows. And I’m sorry to tell you this, Captain, but I’ve been paying a 12-year-old using MBI funds. Thanks for that.”
Her sharp gaze falls on me, and I have about half a second to appreciate the danger I’m in before she roars, emitting a wave of energy so powerful I’m sent flying. I hear Wayne hit the ground a few feet away, groaning softly. I hit a metal support pole on the show ring gate with a crack.
For a moment, I think I’ve broken the pole.
But, nope. It’s not the pole that dangles uselessly. It’s my right arm.
Crap.
I need to heal my arm and get back on my feet, but before I can move, a shadow looms over me.
I’m flat on my back, my head and arm buzzing with pain, and Cressida, with an ugly smile on her cold face, stands over me, one foot planted on either side of my torso.
Okay. Now I’m really in trouble.
CHAPTER 21
“Oh, Agent Jensen. What a little fool you are,” Cressida coos as she lowers herself to straddle my stomach. “Now, I don’t want you to worry. You’ll be remembered at the agency as a hero, sacrificing yourself to save everyone else at the show. It won’t work, I’m sorry to say. Here’s something you need to understand: If I want someone dead”—she bends down to put her face right next to my ear—“they die.”
She straightens up, her hands coming up to work a spell intended, I’m sure, to kill me. I don’t have a plan. I don’t have backup. I don’t even have use of one arm. And the only thing my gut is telling me at the moment is to keep her talking.
“Why a pig show?” I gasp through the pain.
She runs one hand down my cheek in a mocking caress. “Surely Grayson mentioned that we were in love once? He was everything I ever wanted—besides the deputy director position, of course. I was even tempted to give up being The Witch for him. I could have, you know. I could have settled into a life as a regular witch, waiting around for people to die instead of making it happen when I wanted it, doing…” She focuses on my face. “What is it you boring witches do when you’re not at work? Makesalads? Give wind-surfing a whirl? I could have done it. I would have done it for him.”
Her face hardens.
“But he didn’t give me time. There were people who knew too much, and I couldn’t leave loose ends hanging. And then Grayson said I wasn’t putting energy into the relationship.” Her hands come down around my throat, and she squeezes, her eyes clouding with rage. “Not putting energy into it? What did he think I was doing? I was making everything perfect. Not for me—forus.”
I’ve been expecting a spell, but it seems like the greatest witch of our time might be prepared to strangle me with her bare hands like a common murderer. “Cress—” I manage to choke out.
“You’ve slept with him. I can tell, Agent Jensen.” She squeezes harder. “Not very professional of you, but then, what did I expect from an agent I only kept around for this moment. I needed someone to fail. I so appreciate you obliging.”
I wriggle, but she’s so much stronger than I would have thought. My vision is tunneling, the light fading at the edges.
“And once I’m done with you, I’m going to make sure Grayson Michaels never leaves this building. It’s over, Jensen. You’ve lost.”
You’ve lost.
It’s over.
You’ve screwed everything up for the last time.
“No,” I whimper, or at least try to whimper. I can’t let her get away with this. Can’t let her get to Grayson, can’t let her kill Wayne and Dani and even stupid Reg.
When I hear the roar, I assume it’s Cressida roaring in triumph. But the roar is still going when I hear her make a little squeak, and the hands around my throat loosen.
It’s a pig. A pig is ramming Cressida, being careful not to step on me with its hard little pig’s feet.
Grayson. He came back.
