Page 9 of Which Witch is Willing?
“Obviously, they shrouded it from us,” Dru said. “What I don’t understand is how the spell is preventing me from mentally reaching Claire.”
“This is a disturbing situation,” Julian said.
He was right. If the women could disappear like this, hidden from the world—from them—what else could they do that the Horsemen weren’t aware of?
“By my estimation, the room is behind this wall,” Killian said.
“How’d you figure that out?” Nick asked.
“The cat hasn’t moved since I entered the attic,” Killian added. “It has to be there.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Dru asked Nick.
A wicked gleam entered Nick’s dark amber eyes. “There has to be a chainsaw around here somewhere.”
6
“Hey, do you hear that?” Claire pressed her ear to the door.
“It's General Lee!” Moira exclaimed. “Why those destruction lovin’ Horsemen. How dare they think of sawing into our sanctuary?”
“We need to find a release on that door, or we will lose it.” Tierra planted her hands on her hips. Killian had to be behind this. Moira was right, how dare they destroy her home just to get to them? They had the patience of a rutting Billy goat.
“Join hands,” Claire said, holding out both of hers.
“Oh, hell no,” Moira said. “Every damn time we’ve done that, we’ve opened a Seal. There’s only one left. You want to end the world just to save a freakin’ door?”
“Claire’s right.” Aerin took a position opposite Claire and offered her hand to Moira. “The room needs to know we are one. We say no spell. Just join in a circle and stand in your compass corners.”
Moira shared a worried look with Tierra. She had the same doubts as Moira. But if they didn’t perform any magic while connected thatshouldprevent the last Seal from opening. Right? Saying a small prayer to the Goddess, Tierra clasped Claire’s and Aerin’s hand, standing north. “It’ll be okay, Moira.”
“It sure as hell better be,” she muttered and stood south, completing the circle.
The second they joined, the door whipped open wide with a bang. The Horsemen stood gaping at the entrance. Nick slowly depressed the power on General Lee, looking thwarted that he didn’t get to chainsaw through the wall.
Aerin was the first to speak, addressing her ire at Julian. “I see that you saved your precious trunk.”
Her injured feelings over not being as important to Julian as that trunk vibrated over the room.
Julian devoured Aerin with his eyes, pride and something deeper in his expression as he raked her in. “I never had any doubt that you would save your sister. Otherwise, I would have sacrificed everything to save you myself.”
Aerin harrumphed. While his words did seem to placate her somewhat, Tierra knew Julian still had a way to go to get back into Aerin’s good graces, and her bed.
“What is this room?” Killian asked, advancing over the threshold.
Tierra was surprised when the room didn’t expel him. “Our mother’s sanctuary.”
“It wasn’t my secret to tell you,” Claire said to Dru, obviously answering his mental question.
“All right, you two,” Moira said. “No secret messages back and forth. And while we are at it, hands off General Lee.” She strode to Nick and they had a little tug of war before Nick finally released his hold on the chainsaw.
“Good to see you are unharmed,” Nick growled, his tone promising that no one marked her but him.
“No thanks to you.” She turned and walked away from him without a backward glance.
Julian wasn’t the only one who needed to repair fences. He moved to follow Killian into the room.
“Stop right there,” Tierra said. “Our sanctuary is a Horseman free zone.”
