Page 78 of Killing Time

Even if he hated it.

The next day passed with excruciating slowness, as did the one after that. Ruby didn’t seem to have mentioned anything to theprimaor the elders about their little trip to Phoenix to ask for the de la Pazes’ aid, because none of them said anything to Seth, and he never heard that Anna de la Paz had contacted the McAllister elders to complain about the way theirprima-in-waiting had apparently gone over their heads with her problem.

His brother had also been very quiet. Charles only seemed distantly sympathetic to Devynn’s situation, and Seth did his best not to be too angry with his brother for his apparent indifference.

After all, Charles had his own problems to deal with.

The night of the dark moon finally came around, and Seth told himself this was when things would change at last, when Jasper would finally acknowledge to himself that all his plans had been for naught and there was no reason in the world for him to keep Devynn in Flagstaff any longer. Seth knew she had to be there, since multiple McAllister cousins in Payson had gone over every inch of the roads in and out of their town and hadn’t found a single sign of her or the Stylemaster she’d been driving when she disappeared.

His cousin Louise had invited him over for dinner that night, and he had to admit that it helped somewhat to be there with her and Ruby and her little sister Barbara, who looked around twelve — Louise’s husband Ralph had passed away several years earlier in a tragic crash on 89A — and to listen to them talk about simple things like their plans to decorate for the holidays and whether to go up on Mingus to cut down a tree or whether to buy it from a lot down in Cottonwood.

However, hearing about their Yule plans was still painful, just because he couldn’t know for sure whether Jasper was going to do the right thing or whether he planned to keep Devynn forever. After all, she was a Wilcox, and witches were supposed to stay with their clans.

But just as Louise set a gorgeous lattice-top apple pie down on the table and began to ask whether Seth would like ice cream or whipped cream on top, Ruby sat up straight, eyes wide, hands flat on the tabletop.

“A Wilcox has just crossed the wards!”

“Jasper?” Seth demanded, already beginning to push his chair back so he could rise from the table.

Ruby shook her head, even as her little sister Barbara looked on wide-eyed. “It doesn’t feel like him. Whoever it is, they’re in a car. They should pass by here any moment now.”

“I’ll go tell the elders — ”Louise began, but Ruby cut her off.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Seth, let’s you and I go meet him.”

Now mystified, Seth could only dip his head in acknowledgment and follow theprima-in-waiting outside. While he thought Ruby wasn’t exactly psychic in the way most people thought of the word, he’d also come to realize that her witchy senses were far more highly attuned than those of anyone he’d ever met.

And that meant he needed to follow her lead.

Neither of them bothered to grab a jacket on their way out, even though the night air was cold and could dip well below freezing later on. Instead, they hurried up to Hull Avenue just as a big green-painted Buick began to pass them by.

The car looked familiar, and Seth found himself frowning.

Where had he seen that Buick before?

The question answered itself a second later, as whoever was driving immediately pulled over to the curb and put the vehicle in park. The door opened, and a tall, dark-haired man stepped out.

No, not Jasper Wilcox, but someone Seth recognized at once.

Adam Wilcox.

“What in the world are you doing here?” he asked, and the other man’s mouth tightened.

“You have to get Devynn out of there,” Adam replied, and Ruby frowned in confusion.

“Why? Surely Jasper wouldn’t hurt one of his own.”

The Wilcox warlock made an impatient gesture with one hand. “He’s lost his goddamn mind. He thinks if he sacrifices a sufficiently powerful witch, then the curse will be broken.”

Sacrifice? What thehell?

“Oh, Goddess,” Ruby said, and although her hand didn’t exactly creep to her throat, she still had turned pale, expression utterly shocked. “We had it all wrong, Seth. Jasper didn’t want to bond with me — he wanted tosacrificeme.”

“And he’s going to do the same to Devynn in a couple of hours if we don’t do something,” Adam said. He now seemed almost relieved, as though he’d been worried that he might have to explain the situation further and waste valuable time.

The altar in the basement…the long table with its covering of black cloth….

“Oh, we’ll do something all right,” Seth said grimly. “Or rather, I’m going to do something. Does anyone know you’re here, Adam?”

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