Rhiannon Frater - Pretty When She Destroys

“You went the wrong way,” Eduardo said to Benchley, gesturing at the screen between bites of food.

“Yeah, dude. I know,” Benchley growled, his fingers nimbly punching away at his controller.

Alexia pointed at the computer screen. “I’ve been tracking the violent crimes in Austin like you asked and it’s actually holding steady. But...more missing women. Another one last night.”

“Where?”

“Well, weirdly, Cian’s old neighborhood. About two streets over. Speculation is that she’s in the sink hole. Which is all over the news, by the way.” Alexia pointed to the picture of the missing dark haired beauty with blue eyes in the news report

Jeff’s shifted his gaze to Eduardo, who was eating leftover jambalaya and not paying attention to anything other than the video game Benchley was playing. “Thanks, Alexia. It’s good work.”

“I emailed all the people who are still active in The Assembly this morning to give them an update and in hopes of someone coming to join us.”

“And?”

“No one answered.” Alexia showed Jeff her inbox. “More than half bounced back because the email addresses don’t exist anymore.”

“So it’s just us.” Jeff regarded the people in the room thoughtfully.

“Yep.”

“Dude, you keep going the wrong way,” Eduardo complained from across the room.

“I got turned around. I’m nervous!” Benchley wiped at the beads of sweat dotting his brow. “I’m almost to the big boss fight.”

“Heh. Aren’t we all?” Eduardo continued eating.

Scrutinizing Eduardo, Jeff pondered the options before him. The sun was sinking below the horizon and Cian would be up soon. Hopefully, Aimee and Samantha would emerge from the library with some good news. Baptiste had been on the phone with his relatives in Louisiana earlier in the day, but Jeff hadn’t had a chance to discuss with him what he had learned.

Scratching at his knee, Jeff decided that none of the options before them seemed particularly good. In fact, he wasn’t too sure how they could possibly live through what was coming, but he wasn’t willing to just give up.

Footsteps in the hall drew their attention and compelled them to sit bolt upright in anticipation. Benchley paused his game and Eduardo shoved his empty plate onto the coffee table.

Baptiste entered first, followed by Aimee. The witch immediately joined Cassandra, wrapping her arms around the dhamphir. The looks on their faces made Jeff very uneasy.

“Where’s Sam?” he asked.

“Here,” Samantha answered, stepping into the room with Roberto close behind. The ghost looked entirely solid and almost alive. Samantha had infused him with a lot of her magic. Jeff’s fiancée came to him immediately, sliding into the spot between him and Alexia.

“I take it the news isn’t good?” Benchley remarked.

“Did you reach Amaliya?” Jeff’s gaze darted to the four people who could give him an answer.

Roberto took up the spot before the television and clasped his hands behind his back. “I was able to.”

“And?” Alexia prompted.

“We should wait for Cian,” Samantha said, chewing on her thumbnail. She rarely bit her nails.

“I’m here,” the vampire said from the hallway. He sounded groggy and a quick glance out the window revealed that the sun was still setting. Lingering in the shadows of the hallway, Cian was barely visible. “I woke early. For once.”

Roberto stared at his old friend and the man he had betrayed with a strangely compassionate expression. It unnerved Jeff.

“Tell them,” Samantha instructed the ghost. It was more of a command. She was trembling in Jeff’s arms. Obviously, she knew what Roberto was about to say and was terrified. Jeff felt his heartbeat accelerate and his stomach clenched in apprehension.

Roberto didn’t raise his eyes as he spoke. It was evident to Jeff that the ghost was frightened, too. “The haven of The Summoner is near the downtown area of San Antonio. It has many spells cast on it to hide it from not only from supernaturals but from humans. The only reason I was able to see it and slip inside was because of the connection between Amaliya and Samantha. The thread between them cut right through the wards like a knife and I was able to travel along the connection through the barriers.”

“How bad is San Antonio on the magical end of things? The crime reports today are off the charts,” Alexia said.

Jeff knew the coming answer was going to be bad when the Roberto actually shuddered. “The Summoner’s witches are casting powerful spells that are infecting the entire city. I’ve never seen anything like it. There are enormous pockets of negative energy all over the city that are ready to erupt. He’s going to plunge the city into chaos.”

“Why?” Baptiste asked. “A diversion?”

“The violence and blood will feed his spells,” Roberto grimly answered.

“If the energy build up is as bad as you say, then that’s a whole lot of violence and blood,” Alexia pointed out, then her eyes opened wider. “Shit.”

“And it’s going to get worse,” Samantha said sourly.

Aimee shifted in her seat next to Cassandra, her arms tucked around her girlfriend. The witch appeared close to crying, which frightened Jeff even more.

“Eh, it always gets worse,” Eduardo said nonchalantly.

“But you saw Amaliya, right?” Cian sounded like he was half-asleep, but his tone was commanding and laced with anxiety.

“Yes. I saw both Amaliya and Bianca. They’re trapped in a room with The Summoner. When I arrived they were confined to the bed in the room, unable to leave. The Summoner was in a trance. Preparing.”

“He’s not possessing Bianca?” Benchley squinted. “Huh?”

Roberto nodded. “Amaliya says he’s found a way to create a corporeal body, at least as long as he’s in the presence of the Sword of Lucifer.”

“What?” Cassandra’s eyes flashed open. “ What? It’s formed?”

The ghost shifted on his feet, the edges of his body blurring. He appeared reluctant to answer. “Not yet. Almost. The black witches summoned the last ring this morning once The Summoner had Amaliya. It’ll possess the person closest to it and force them to bring it to The Summoner.”

“Mom!” Cassandra lurched out of her chair, her phone clutched in her hand. In a panic, she tried to pull up her mother’s number on the screen.

Aimee clutched Cassandra’s arms and forced her to sit down. Holding her close, Aimee said, “Cass, we’ll find her. We can find her.”

Silence filled the room as Cassandra sobbed. “He has her, Aimee! He has my mom!”

Cian dared to enter the room, keeping to the shadows. He embraced his daughter from behind. “Cassandra, we’ll find her.”

“Galina had the ring,” Alexia said, stricken at the realization of what must be happening.

Aimee nodded sorrowfully. “We hid it in a box under her house. We thought it would be safe.”

“So when they called the ring, she was the closest one to it.” Benchley covered his face with his hands. “Oh, shit.”

“Where was she?” Cian asked, his hand gently rubbing his daughter’s back as he tried to console her.

“Tennessee. Near Nashville,” Aimee answered.

“Did you know about this?” Jeff asked Samantha.

“I knew they were calling the ring, but I didn’t realize Cass’s mom had it.”

Baptiste leaned forward to pat Cassandra’s leg gently. “Cass, I’m sorry. I know how it is about family.”

Alexia was typing away on her keyboard and scrolling through information. “It’s about a fourteen hour drive to San Antonio. Maybe fifteen with stops for the restroom, food and gas. If they called the ring today, then she’s probably still on her way.”