Page 80 of Which Witch is Willing?
Aerin paused and released a heavy sigh. “This is going to drive me fucking insane. It’s times like this that I wish I hadn’t given up smoking.”
Moira bounced Violet on her hip. “Try not to worry none. This little girl isn’t worried, and you know how she can be when danger is around. She must have faith in her parents.”
Claire shushed them. “I need to be able to hear.”
She leaned her head closer to the opening and closed her eyes, hoping to give her other senses a greater advantage.
Something sharp tore through Claire’s soul like a dragon breathing fire, and she gasped. She didn’t need to hear Lucy to recognize the evil that lurked nearby. Claire jerked her gaze to her sisters, and they nodded. They’d sensed her, too.
Violet whimpered.
Aerin nodded to Claire. “Let’s go.”
Claire sent the message to Dru and grabbed her wand. Together, she and Aerin slipped through the portal.
But they didn’t find Lucy in the circle of stones with Tierra and Killian.
Instead, Gwen stood, regal in all black, with her platinum hair tightly coiffed on her head. She held her arm out straight, with a manicured finger pointing directly toward Tierra and Killian. Tierra clutched the fake baby tightly to her chest.
“Don’t you two move,” Gwen called over her shoulder. “Or I will remove your sister and her precious baby permanently from this earth.”
Her threat only angered Claire more. Lucy thought she had them fooled. The devil had to know she was up against serious power. With the eight of them now united, they harnessed far more strength than Lucy, even with her inhabiting Gwen’s body. “We know it’s you, Lucy. We know you’ve taken over Gwen like you did Aerin. We sense your vile presence.”
Lucy chuckled and flicked a gaze at Aerin and Claire. Bright yellow eyes burned in place of Gwen’s icy blue ones, and Claire realized she’d also underestimated their opponent.
“Yes,” Lucy said, her voice echoing, giving off vibes of power. “But I didn’t have to force my way in. Gwen, the beautiful, graciously allowed me to take the driver’s seat. She willingly gave her body to me like a good servant would, reviving my powers. I don’t think she expected she’d lose so much of herself in the process, but that’s hardly a concern now.”
Maybe not for Lucy, but her power was of great concern to Claire. She tried to reach out and warn Dru, but her thoughts hit the Standing Stones and bounced back. That knowledge burned through Claire’s confidence.
Lucy must have created a barrier of sorts. If it was strong enough to keep out the Horsemen, the rest of them might be in more danger than they’d realized.
Killian stepped forward so that he partially blocked Tierra and drew Lucy’s gaze away from the rest of them. “You’re finished, Lucy. Your time on earth has ended.”
“Certainly, you must sense that,” Tierra added. “There’s a new baby, about to be born, who will control the dark power in the world. Power that once belonged to you, does so no more.”
“You’ve so little left now,” Aerin added. “I know because I lived with you.”
Claire put on a brave face and nodded in solidarity with her comrades. “Soon, you’ll have none.”
Lucy eyed each of them and then the baby-substitute in Tierra’s arms. Then bright red lips peeled back from perfectly white teeth. “You think to trick me, don’t you? You think I don’t realize the baby is no longer here? You think I didn’t already know about the dark one growing inside your sister, Moira? You’re wrong.”
Before any of them could respond, a violent wave of black bats surrounded them. Wings flapped in Claire’s face and bodies slammed into her, causing her to shield her eyes, blink, and duck. She tried to see the others, but the bats blocked everything.
Moments later, when the attack stopped as suddenly as it had started, Claire sucked in a huge breath of air and realized her wand was missing. She glanced around and found Aerin and Killian as bewildered as she was.
Lucy had pinned Claire’s wand beneath one foot and had a chokehold around Tierra’s neck with the other. “You, of all people, Killian, should know not to mess with me,” she hissed. “Or have you forgotten there’s a reason the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have lived in fear of me for so long?”
Killian flicked his gaze between Tierra and Lucy but didn’t respond.
Claire knew he was calculating his next move, and she wished she could read his mind as well as Dru’s. Killian wouldn’t be worried about Tierra’s life, so she wasn’t sure why he held back. Maybe for her and Aerin’s sake?
A rush of heat from behind warmed her, and she caught sight of Kai hurrying through the portal, his tail high in the air. A gentle flap of wings flew overhead, announcing Doctor Lector. Jinx brushed her leg, and Claire experienced a huge sense of pride as little Cheeto passed all their familiars and walked bravely into the center of the stones with his curly little tail quivering with energy.
Moira must have sent their familiars in to help as well, and Claire silently thanked her sister for being so wise.
Lucy released a chuckle and then all-out laughed. She turned her gaze to Killian. “This is it? This is the army you think to use to defeat me? Has love addled your brain?”
Death opened his wings to their full breadth, sweeping bits of dust and leaves into the air. He gazed down at Lucy, every bit the formidable horseman, causing Claire the slightest tremble.“Your reign is over.”
