Page 12 of Which Witch Is Wicked?
“No.” Nick slammed his fist on the wooden table, cutting off Bane’s reply. “There will be no exceptions. You heard Lucy. We end this now. We have one commitment to fulfill, one reason to justify our existence. That fifth sealcannotbe opened.”
Dru and Bane shared a look, a silent reaffirmation that, if possible, neither of them would kill Claire or Tierra.
“Don’t fuck with me,” Nick said, catching the interaction. “We must all agree on this. You know the consequences of our failure.”
“This is what we were born to do, gentlemen,” Julian added. “A blood oath cannot be ignored.”
Dru clenched his jaw, fighting to impart what he knew he must, knowing what his utterance would do to his reputation. “I am unable to kill Claire.”
“You’re a pussy, Drustan Geddes,” Nick countered, disgust registering in his gaze. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Fuck you.” Dru stood, his heart thundering louder than the sound of his chair banging against the wall behind him. “It’snotthat I am unwilling. You and I have stood back-to-back through many battles. You know me.” He placed a fisted hand over his heart. “The witch left a piece of her Fire burning inside me. I feel it still, and it has rendered me useless when I come up against her.”
Julian snorted. “I have no such failures and will have no problem giving her or any of the others the kiss of death if need be.”
Bane coughed.
“Oh, Jesus.” Nick turned his repulsed gaze to Death. “You, too?”
The Taker of Souls raked a hand through his hair. “Tierra carries my seed.”
A hint of derision lit Julian’s pale eyes. “‘Tis fortunate Lucy took her leave several minutes ago. Fortunate still, that two of us have not been rendered impotent.”
Dru couldn’t take another hit on his manhood. “Fuck you, Roarke.
You’d better hope it’s not your witch who crosses my path first because I’ll have no problem slicing her scrawny Fifth Avenue neck.”
Julian arched a brow but didn’t respond.
“Enough.” Nick spoke loud enough to draw the attention back to him. “One of the four has to die. The sooner, the better. I want concrete plans in place before sundown.”
Bane tossed back his shot of tequila and stood. “I don’t need plans. I need action. I’m going to find me a witch right now, and put an end to this once and for all. Then you can all get…off…my…ass.” He strode from the room, the outline of wings showing through his white t-shirt.
Dru slumped back into his chair, wrapping a fist around a blessed shot of Johnny Walker Red. May the Gods help their damned souls. Either way, he feared an eternity of hell awaited them.
* * *
“I don’t feel right leavingyou alone in the house,” Claire said as Tierra shooed her, Aerin and Moira toward the front door.
“I’ll be fine,” Tierra said. “We have this place locked down tighter than Knox. If not, you know as well as I do the Horsemen would have attacked again. Things have been quiet, and Goddess knows someone needs to attend to the teashop. Sunny has been a sweetheart taking care of things, but I can tell from her voice she needs time off.”
“Tierra’s right,” Aerin said as she donned a full-length overcoat to shield her linen suit from the softly falling rain that had seeped from the skies during the past few days. “No one will protect our investments like we will. Stop being so frightened of everything. We’re never going to win this fucking war otherwise. I have our website ready to launch. I know we need to do inventory, plus check our financials, which were shit before I came along. It’s a wonder you made any money, Tierra.”
Tierra frowned. “Everything in life isn’t about money, Aerin.
Sometimes it’s about helping people.”
“Nothin’ wrong with helpin’ people,” Moira chimed in.
Aerin snorted. “Don’t fool yourselves. At the end of the day, it’s always about the money.” She threw open the door and stepped outside without looking back.
Claire shrugged and smiled. “What can I say? At least one of us has good business sense.”
Tierra shook her head but returned Claire’s gesture. “I suppose.
Either way, I do love her.”
“We all do.” Moira gave Tierra a quick hug. “You be sure to call us if’n anything strange or crazy starts happenin’. Don’t question, just call, okay?”
