Page 93 of A Witch-ish Guide to Protectors and Pendulums

Now I felt incredibly stupid. “Um… I didn’t know I could do that. This whole Lilium magic is fairly new to me. My powers had been bound until I connected with him. So… yeah…” I ran my hand through my hair uncomfortably. Ihatedadmitting to not knowing, well, anything—but I especially hated not knowing about my magic or the mated bond. I felt like a poser. Like Lilith had put her faith in the wrong person.

Adalaide approached me, placing her hand to my back. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I’ll help you to home in on his location. What can we do while you’re hunting him down?”

“This is so important. I need you to get in touch with a woman named Victoria Rivers. She runs Weik Laboratories in Birmingham, England.”

She nodded. “I know the name. The Rivers witches are old blood. Strong witches.”

“She knows to expect contact from other witch covens. Once I rescue Connor, we’ll have to reconvene. We need to plan our attack or defense. I haven’t quite figured out which would be the best course of action.”

“I will work with my most trusted sisters here and we’ll contact Victoria Rivers immediately. But to home in to your mate’s location, close your eyes and concentrate on him. On hisface. On his smell. You will be able to connect with him like a call connects with a cell tower.”

“It’s that easy?”

“Easy and difficult.”

I didn’t want to hear that. But Connor needed me, so I could do this. I closed my eyes and thought of him. His face. That smell of his—the one that got me all hot and bothered. And… nothing.

Nothing?

“It’s not working,” I whined.

“Try again. Don’t let your mind wander. Don’t get distracted. He’s your mate. I know your mind wandered.”

Oh, man… called out by the coven leader.Just Connor… Just Connor… I repeated this over and over in my head. I felt my consciousness zipping around the world in an instant. It felt like the fastest rollercoaster ride I’d ever been on. But finally, after more aggravating minutes, I locked on his location.

Only I could hear him, but when he saw me or felt me—however he picked up my presence—he sighed. “Simone…”

“Connor, we’re coming. Please hold on.”

“Trying…” he said. “Hurts…”

I knew it hurt him. I pulled back enough to take him in and my strong, virile Connor appeared gaunt with dark shadows under his eyes and the palest skin. If I didn’t move fast, I’d lose him. I locked in my Lilium or mated pair driving directions into my internal GPS, then said, “Hang on, babe.” To my friends, I said, “I have to go—now.” To Adalaide, I said, “Once you connect with Victoria Rivers, start spelling your asses off. Offensive spells, defensive spells, counter-spells—anything and everything you can come up with. I’ll contact Luc and his demons as soon as I can.”

Adalaide’s pretty face hardened as she locked her hands in front of her with an air of power. “Are you sure he’s trustworthy?” she asked.

“Absolutely. You’ll get it once you meet him.”

Her eyes grew huge and yeah, I forgot given all the time I’d spent with him, that the idea of meeting Lucifer freaked most people out. But I didn’t have time to reassure her. She believed me or she didn’t. “Victoria Rivers,” I reminded her. She startled but nodded.

Then I took off running toward where we’d entered the town. Hopefully, I remembered where the portal to the catacombs was located. Otherwise, I’d be screwed and Connor—no, Simone, don’t even think it. Connor has to be okay.

Shafira and Karro caught up to me. He grabbed my arm to stop me. “Where are you going?”

“I have to find the portal to the catacombs that we arrived here through.”

“Catacombs?” he asked.

I nodded. “Under Hades.”

“Wow. Okay, I don’t know about any catacombs, but if you need to get to Hades, I can get us in.”

‘Us’? That concerned me. It steadily became harder to protect the people in my sphere. Still, I asked, “You can get us into Hades?”

“Okay, when I first arrived out here, it’d been months since I’d gotten any and I’d found myself in this out-of-the-way bar in this two-bit town. This man approached me. He wasn’t hideous and I saw what he was packing through the outline of his trousers. So I said, why not? I needed a bit of stress relief. He led me down into the basement of the bar where they kept the alcohol. Then he opened a door and led me down another set of stairs and we ended up in this office. People everywhere looking miserable. And I thought,It must be hell working here.But then I saw flames on the walls and Iknewitreally wasHell. He took me into this empty office—and let me say, he wasn’t the best lover I’d ever had, but the size of his meatstick made up for hislack of skill. He calls me or I call him whenever one of us needs a little stress reliever.”

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open.

“What?” he asked. “I’m young and it’s not like I’m getting any in a coven of witches.”

---