Page 66 of Firedrake Betrayal
“I belong to a coven,” she says when I’m getting ready to ask her again. “Several years ago, we had a pack of demons settle here. I don’t know if they were on their way somewhere else and decided to stay, but they turned up one day and they were showing no inclination to leave.”
The kettle is now well and truly whistling.
Meliah turns the stove off and pours a steady stream of hot water into the two mugs. Then, she turns and places a mug in front of me, and flips her wrist, dragging her shirt sleeve up her arm.
I take in the long, thick scar dangerously close to her vein. “Initially, I tried to get them to leave on my own.”
I wrap my hands around the mug, the warmth seeping into me as my eyes flick to those tiny brown bottles beside the sink. “Couldn’t you use a spell to stop them?”
Her laugh rings out, the sound husky but devoid of humor. “Spells are not the answer for everything. The demons were violent, and they were intent on feeding on the local human women and the weaker members of my coven. Someone had to stop them.”
“Incubus?”
Meliah, finished showing me her scar, pulls the sleeve down and picks up her steaming tea. “Yes, they were incubi. Since they were too many—and too strong—for me to manage on my own, I had heard of a hunter who I could hire to deal with the problem.”
Dad.
“You called my dad?” I take a tiny sip from my mug and I swear the heat and the soothing scent sinks right into my bones. I feel my shoulders relax when I hadn’t known they were so tense.
Meliah nods. “He came and started hunting. The others soon moved on, and the trouble was resolved.”
I frown as I nod at her arm. “I don’t understand why you didn’t get him before. Why did you try to deal with it on your own?”
“As leader of this coven, their safety is my responsibility,” she says with a quiet strength, her gaze steady and strong.
I don’t think I’m looking at the sort of witch who would curse three men for no reason. I’d assumed she was in her mid-thirties, but I get the sense she’s older than that, even if she doesn’t look it.
“Staying in Wilkerson isn’t a good idea,” she says.
“Can we move him?”
Meliah shakes her head. “He needs to be still. Moving him could undo all my healing.”
“Someone found us. Someone connected to Atticus.” It’s still crazy to think that man is Patten’s father.
Her lips tighten. “Almeth?”
My eyes widen in surprise. “You know him?”
“I know he is not someone you can trust. If there was somewhere else I could move you, I would. But…”
“This is a small town and our options are limited?”
I assume she doesn’t want to put the rest of her coven at risk by having us take over their home. Which is only fair. I don’t want to put anyone at risk if I can avoid it.
She nods.
So it looks like we’re staying then.
I’d ask Meliah if she could cast a spell to protect our house, but what could protect us against gunfire and bolts that can shoot a firedrake out of the sky?
I shake my head to clear away the memory of Dad falling. I never want to think about it ever again. Seeing it once was horrifying enough to last a lifetime.
“I can’t leave my dad here.”
“We all know and understand the threat Atticus is, but we are nothing to him. He stays in his compound and sends his workers to do his shopping for him. But you,youare exactly the type he wants. You should leave. As soon as possible.”
I put down my mug, no longer interested in being soothed by a fragrant tea.
