Page 55 of Witch's Promise

"Come on, you bastard," Sean whispered, frustration edging into his voice. "Where are you hiding?"

The lack of shadows to manipulate left Sean feeling exposed, vulnerable.

A scream shattered the silence, muffled but unmistakable. Sean's head snapped toward the sound, his heart rate spiking. It had come from below, somewhere beneath the church's rotting floorboards.

"Fuck," Sean hissed, eyes scanning frantically for any sign of a basement entrance. His gaze landed on the altar, and a memory surfaced – stories of old churches with hidden chambers, secret places for priests to hide during times of persecution.

Sean vaulted over the altar, hands running along its base until he felt it – a slight unevenness, a seam where there shouldn't be one. With a grunt of effort, he pushed, and a hidden door swung open, revealing a set of stairs descending into darkness.

The scream came again, louder now, edged with desperation. Sean didn't hesitate. He plunged down the stairs, taking them two at a time, the darkness swallowing him whole.

The scene that greeted him at the bottom turned his blood to ice.

Jessy hung suspended from the ceiling, her arms wrenched above her head at an unnatural angle. Bruises mottled her skin, and blood trickled from a gash on her forehead. But her eyes – wide with terror and something else, a warning Sean couldn't quite decipher – were very much alive.

Sean moved towards her, every instinct screaming at him to get her down, to get her out. But as he neared, Jessy's eyesgrew impossibly wider. She was trying to tell him something, her mouth working around the gag that muffled her words.

Too late, Sean realized his mistake.

Pain exploded across his back, a searing heat that sent him stumbling forward. He spun, muscle memory taking over as he dropped into a defensive stance.

Riley stood there, a fireball dancing in his palm, a smirk twisting his features into something cruel and unfamiliar. "Took you long enough, Drake. I was starting to think daddy dearest had kept his mouth shut after all."

Sean's mind reeled, struggling to process the sight before him. Riley – the man he'd fought beside, trained with, trusted with his life – wielding magic like it was second nature. "What the fuck, Riley? Since when do you-"

"Have magic?" Riley finished, his smirk widening. "Oh, I've always had it. Just been better at hiding it than you ever were. Your father's not the only one who can keep secrets, you know."

The casual mention of his father sent a surge of anger through Sean. "What the hell are you talking about? What deal with the Wisteria coven?"

Riley laughed, the sound echoing unnaturally in the confined space. "Come on, Sean. You can't be that naive. A million dollars to look the other way while I took care of a little succession problem. I thought it was a done deal, but apparently, Viktor still has a soft spot for his wayward son."

The words hit Sean like a physical blow. His father, involved in this mess? The idea shouldn't have surprised him, not really. But some small, childish part of him had hoped...what? That his father had changed? That their tentative reconnection meant something?

Sean pushed the hurt aside, focusing on the more immediate threat. "You're out of your fucking mind, Riley. What, youthought you could just kidnap the Wisteria heir and take over? That's not how this works."

"Isn't it?" Riley's eyes glittered with a manic light. "It's simple, really. Dear Jessy here disappears, tragic accident, very sad. I step in as the concerned family friend, help guide the grieving parents through this difficult time. And when they meet with an equally tragic end, well... someone has to take charge, don't they?"

The casual way Riley laid out his plans for multiple murders made Sean's stomach churn. This wasn't the man he'd known. Or had he ever really known Riley at all?

"And my father? The Reeds? Where do they fit into your grand plan?" Sean asked, buying time as he inched closer to Jessy.

Riley's grin was all teeth, no warmth. "Loose ends, my friend. Can't have anyone asking too many questions, can we? Your father's organization, the Reed coven – they'll all have to go. Clean slate, fresh start. A new era for Salem's magical community, with me at the helm."

"You're fucking insane," Sean spat, the words tasting like ash in his mouth. "If you think I'm going to let you get away with this-"

"Let me?" Riley's laugh was sharp, dangerous. "Oh, Sean. You don't 'let' me do anything. You're just a washed-up ex-assassin playing at redemption. What are you going to do, talk me to death?"

The taunt stung, but Sean pushed the hurt aside. He had more important things to focus on. Like getting Jessy out of here alive.

In one fluid motion, Sean dropped and spun, the hidden blade in his boot slicing through the ropes binding Jessy's ankles. "Run!" he shouted, already moving to cut her wrists free.

Riley's reaction was instant. Another fireball formed in his hand, larger this time, the heat searing the air. "I don't think so," he snarled, drawing his arm back to throw.

Sean braced himself for the impact, knowing he couldn't dodge without leaving Jessy exposed. But the blow never came.

A wall of shadows erupted between them, solid as stone and twice as dark. The fireball splashed against it, dissipating in a shower of harmless sparks.

For a moment, the room was utterly silent. Then Riley's voice, low and dangerous: "Looks like daddy's boy still has some tricks up his sleeve after all."

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