Page 116 of Enchant the Dawn

At five minutes to midnight, Dominic transported himself, Lily, and Ava to the address they had found inside the box with the potion. The house had recently been in a fire. The outside walls were charred; the stink of smoke lingered in the air.

Lily stayed out of sight as they approached the place.

The potion Ava had consumed left her with a strange kind of lassitude. As instructed, Dominic had shackled her hands behind her back and dropped a hood over her head. He carried her to the front door, held her close while he knocked, then set her on her feet, his arm around her waist to hold her up.

The door opened a crack and Jasper peered out.

“I’ve done what you wanted,” Dominic said. “Give me Maddy.”

“Not yet.”

“Then let me see her.”

Jasper opened the door a little wider.

Maddy was seated on a wrought-iron bench in the middle of the room, her hands and feet bound to the metal, her head lowered. She didn’t look up, didn’t move or indicate that she’d heard—or recognized—his voice.

“We had a deal,” Dominic said, his voice tight with rage. “Ava for Maddy.”

“Once I’ve finished with the witch, I’ll turn the girl loose. She’s my insurance that you won’t try anything until the witch is dead.”

A muscle twitched in Dominic’s jaw. “I’m not leaving without my wife. So do what you intend to do and be quick about it.”

In reply, Jasper grabbed Ava by the shoulders and dragged her inside, then kicked the door shut.

Hands clenched, Dominic stood there for a moment before striding down the sidewalk to where Lily waited. “Are you ready?”

Nudging him in the side with her elbow, she said, “What do you think?” as she opened the canvas bag slung over her shoulder.

“Put on the cloak so I can make sure it works.”

“Fine.” Reaching into the bag, Lily withdrew an invisibility cloak similar to those Ava had made for the Knights of the Dark Wood decades ago. After shaking it out, she draped it over her head. “Can you see me?”

“No. If the spell Ava gave you doesn’t work, you get the hell out of here.”

“Stop worrying, Dom. It’s going to work. I’ll take care of Ava. You grab Maddy.”

Dominic nodded. “Here we go.”

* * *

Maddy kept her head down. It had taken all her self-control not to react when she heard Dominic’s voice. Whatever Jasper had injected her with had worn off, but she didn’t want him to know that. Better to let him think she was still unconscious and helpless. Her only worry now was that whatever he’d injected her with might harm the baby.

She listened as Jasper moved around the room, muttering under his breath about what he was going to do to Ava before he slit her throat. He kicked her in the side once, but Ava didn’t move, didn’t make a sound. Engrossed in plotting his revenge, he didn’t notice the faint silvery mist that slid down the chimney.

Maddy’s heart skipped a beat as the mist drifted behind her. Don’t move. Dominic’s voice whispered inside her head. She sensed him behind her, knew he had assumed his own shape, though he was masking his presence. She felt his hands brush her skin as he untied her hands and feet. Then, not caring how much noise he made, Dominic put his arms around her and transported the two of them out of the house.

As soon as Dom and Maddy were safely out of harm’s way, Lily draped the invisibility cloak over her head, kicked open the door, and shouted the words of unmaking that would break Ava’s enchantment and the shackles binding her wrists. Dashing forward, Lily covered Ava with the cloak as well. Hand in hand, they ran out the front door.

Screaming his anger and frustration, Jasper darted out of the house. And ran headfirst into Maddy’s spell, which transformed him from man into mouse in the blink of an eye.

Jasper let out a startled cry that quickly turned into a squeak—and then a squeal of raw terror as a cat darted out of the shadows beside the house. The mouse ran toward the bushes that grew near the street with the cat right behind it.

Maddy shuddered as a high-pitched wail that sounded eerily human punctuated the quiet of the night, testifying to the warlock’s fate.

“No more than he deserves,” Ava said as she removed the invisibility cloak and slipped her arm around Lily’s waist. “Your mother would be proud of you, Liliana. And so am I. And you, Maddy; wherever did you learn that spell?”

“From your grimoire, of course,” Maddy confessed. “Although I had no idea if it would work.”

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