THE MEETING WAS set at the coalition building on Heavenly Street, just down from the department of motor vehicles. It was almost seven o’clock now. The coalition went ahead of me to set up the room, and my dad texted when the HFC arrived.
“All present and accounted for, according to Dad,” I told Ford and Lily. “Are we ready.”
Smooshie had pushed her big head up front between Ford and I. She kept licking his arms and neck, much to his annoyance.
“Does she smell like vanilla and rum?” I winked at him.
“Smartass,” he replied.
“Smoosh.” Lily hooked her fingers in the massive dog’s collar. “Stop flirting with the bear shifter.” She giggled.
I giggled too. For that split second, everything was right with the world. Only it wasn’t. How could I laugh when Tiz was Goddess-knows-where? Whoever took her had already killed a witch. I wish we knew who’d been murdered, but Patrick hadn’t heard any names.
Speaking of the weremongoose. “I hope Patrick can identify the voices. I hate feeling so helpless.”
“You are the toughest chick I know, Haze Kinsey,” Lily said. Which was nice of her to say, but I was one hundred and twenty percent certain Lily held the toughest chick title. She’d been through so much, and the fact that she could function day to day was a testament to her resilience.
“Ditto that,” Ford added. “You got this, babe.”
I grabbed both their hands. “We got this.” A long pink tongue swiped my ear. I reached back and scratched Smooshie’s neck. “All of us.”
* * *
I FELT EERILY calm as I walked into the coalition HQ. Patrick, the weremongoose, stood by the door as we entered. My dad and the other members of the Witch-Shifter council each sat in their chairs on the small stage. A show of dominance. Much like the one the HFC had put on for me in our first meeting. Someone had placed folding chairs in front of the ceremonial altar. A nice touch. I’d lay money on it being Bryant’s idea. He knew how to make a show of being in charge.
To my surprise, all the witches and warlocks sat in them, each stroking their cats, which conjured visions of cartoon villains plotting in their evil lairs. I expected one of them, at any second, to steeple his or her hands, and say, “I will blow up the world in sixty seconds if you don’t comply with my demands.”
I strolled in front of them with the confidence of someone in law enforcement for half her life.
“Can we get on with this?” Queenie asked. “The sooner you give up Tisiphone, the sooner I can get out of this hovel of a village.”
There was a murmur of agreement from several of the HFC. I crossed my arms and stared them down. All of them but Pluto and Gwyn looked away when my gaze snapped on them. I nodded to Lily, who’d been waiting in the front for my signal. She was led into the room by Smooshie, whose excitement for the new place and all the wonderfully small creatures had her yanking at her leash.
She barked, her yips high and delighted as they neared the clowder.
“What is that monster doing in here?” John the tabby shouted. “I demand an explanation.”
“The only monsters in this room are sitting in cold metal chairs,” I snapped. “One of you took Tisiphone and Lupitia, and I’m going to suss you out now. Tonight.” I shook my fist at the group. “And then I’m going to make you pay.”
Balderdash laughed. “You and what army, Ms. Kinsey? Have you forgotten you are one of the forsaken right now? Do you really think you can demand anything from us?”
“What do you mean when you say one of us took the fugitive familiars?” Devi asked. “This is simply not true.”
I looked at Lily.
“She’s telling the truth. She believes what she’s saying.”
I held up my hands. I addressed the guilty directly. They would know who they were. “Two down, five to go. And when I find you, you familiar-napping, witch-killing bastards, you better believe that it won’t just be me you’ll be facing.”
Deva’s witch blanched.
“Is it you?” I pointed at the male Bombay cat. “Speak.”
“You are out of your mind,” he said. “I thought we were here so you could turn over Tisiphone.”
Lily nodded. “Truth.”
“Three down,” I told them, addressing John, Jane, Balderdash, and Queenie. “And when I find you, I’m going to let Smooshie here eat you.”
Smooshie, upon hearing her name, gave a playful growl and bark that sounded menacing as hell. The effect it had on the remaining familiars was brilliant.
“I’m not going to sit here and be interrogated by a worthless human,” Jane said. “Larry, it’s time for us to go.”
Her warlock stood up, cradling the female tabby in his arms.
“That’s her,” Patrick said. “That’s the voice I heard. The one that murdered the witch and planned Tizzy’s abduction.”
“I did no such thing,” Jane denied.
“Liar,” Lily pointed. “What have you done with Tizzy?” Lily’s eyes flashed bright green as her cougar surfaced. She made a noise of anger that sent shivers over my skin. Smooshie started barking in earnest now, trying to jump at Jane and Larry.
“This isn’t true,” John said. “It can’t be. Tell them, sister.”
“You never did have any vision for the future,” Jane said. “Such a disappointment.” She turned her head to look at Larry. “Grab her.”
Larry reached out and snatched my wrist.
Suddenly, everything seemed to travel in slow motion. Ford furred out; my dad, Pierce Roberts, and Tanya began chanting; Mary Lowe was already on four legs, a large, deadly cougar ready to pounce. Smooshie tore at Larry’s leg—and then just as suddenly, I was somewhere else.
Larry shoved me to the ground, the cold concrete cut into the palms of my hands.
“Haze!” Tizzy shouted. She was in a small cage laced with rune stones and wards. In another cage, Lupitia lay still and quiet. I prayed to the Goddess she wasn’t dead.
“What do you want with them?” I seethed with anger, the rage making me strong. “How do you think you can possibly get away with this?”
“I hoped to do it with as little fuss as possible. You were supposed to turn over Tisiphone and Lupitia, take Lonnie as your new familiar, we’d come back in a month and kill you, and take Lonnie back.”
I got up and dusted my hands on my sweatpants. “Lonnie? What does that hairless mongrel have to do with any of this?”
“Lonnie,” Jane said, a touch too dramatically, “is my lover.”
I threw up a little in my mouth. “Yuck. He looks like a fully formed embryo.”
“Shut up, you insolent woman,” Lonnie said as he came out from behind a box in the corner of the concrete dungeon Larry had popped us into.
“Where are we?” If felt like a cellar or a basement. Cold and damp. No windows. All gray concrete.
“Hazel, they killed Lonnie’s witch, trying to copy what happened between Lupitia and me. They want to get the same power boost.”
“Uh oh,” Larry said. “Spoiler alert.” He kicked Tizzy’s cage. “Shut up, rat, or I’ll shut you up permanently.”
“Just tell us how you three did it,” Jane said. “If you do, I’ll let you go.”
“No, you won’t.”
“You’re right.” They cat flicked out her claws. “No, I won’t. But I might let you live.”
There was a stack of boxes in the corner of the room, some simple tools—screwdrivers, a small hammer, pliers, and such—hanging on a pegboard. One of the boxes read, Personal Effects: Roberta Mendell.
“The other suicide,” I said. The one my grandmother had told me about. Lonnie had belonged to Roberta. “Traitor.” I pointed at the wrinkled monster with the big ears. “How could you let them kill your witch, Lonnie?”
“She deserted me,” he said. “So, I made my own family. After a while, I didn’t need or want her anymore. I want to belong to Jane and Larry. Tell us how you did it.”
“Very clever, Kinsey,” Jane said. “You are smarter than you look. Of course, you don’t look very bright, so you’re far from a genius.”
Crap, if we were at Roberta Mendell’s place, it meant we were in San Francisco. How in the world was I going to get rescued in California?
Larry smiled. “I guess you’ve figured out you’re no longer in Paradise Falls. There is no one here to help you. And without mine and Jane’s help, you can never be restored as a witch. That means, you will die alone down here, and no one will ever find you. Not even to bury your bones.”
Tizzy shook her cage. “If you hurt, Hazel, I swear I’ll pulverize your nuts, Larry. You’ll be singing soprano. Until I explode your head.”
“Shut up, Tisiphone,” Jane said. “You are in no position to make demands.” The tabby stretched her tail up high. “I, on the other hand, have all the leverage. You will tell me what I want to know, or I will kill your ex-witch.”
“Don’t!” Tizzy screamed.
While Jane and Tizzy had exchanged threats, I’d inched my way toward the wall of boxes.
“I’ve had enough of your mouth,” Jane said. “Larry, show her the virtue of silence.”
Larry’s hand shot into the cage, and he grabbed Tizzy by the throat.
“Hey!” I shouted.
Jane, Larry, and Lonnie all focused their attention on me. The seemed surprised to see me standing next to the wall of tools.
“No one grabs my squirrel.” I gripped the screwdriver in my hand. “No one.”
Larry’s mouth dropped open, and he began to laugh. Jane and Lonnie joined in. “Stupid Hazel. Do you really think you can attack me before I stop you? I have the power here. The magic. Not you.” He winked. “I bet you wish you had your gun about now.”
I smirked and shook my head. “You’re the idiot if you think the only thing they taught me at Quantico was how to shoot a gun.” My shoulder felt a little stiff, but I didn’t hesitate. I flipped the screwdriver around to the metal point and fired it at Larry.
The Phillip’s head pierced his eyeball all the way to the hilt.
He reached up, disbelief in his eye that didn’t have a screwdriver in it. “I…I…I…”
“You die,” I said helpfully. “That’s what you do.”
He toppled over.
“Larry!” Jane screeched. “You’ve ruined everything. Everything!”
I picked up her and Lonnie by the scruffs of their necks. “Without Larry, you guys have no magic. You see, that’s a witch thing.” Unfortunately, without Larry, I’d never get my power back. either. He’d been a part of creating the spell to strip me of my magic, and it would have required all of the clowder to return it back to me.
“I can’t feel him,” Jane cried. “He’s gone. He’s gone.”
Lonnie struggled under my grip. “This was all Jane’s idea! They coerced me, her and Larry.”
“How can you betray me, Lonnie? I thought you loved me.”
“I never loved you,” he said. “I wanted the power, same as you.”
“While you two lovebirds work it out, I’ll just be getting my familiar and going now.” I rushed toward the metal cages covered in runes.
Jane started to laugh. “You can’t get into her cage. It’s warded against all magical creatures,” Jane said with venom. “One touch and the wards will fry your brain. Only I can break the runes, and if you don’t let me go, Tizzy will never be free. And since this room is locked from the outside, this concrete hole will be the last place you ever see alive, witch!”
I raised a finger. “Only, as you’ve been so fond to point out, I’m not currently a witch, am I?” And I hoped my new status held up to the rules of the runes, because while the clowder may have taken my magic, I’d been born witch, so it was a toss-up.
I cautiously reached down and grazed the lid with my fingertips. It was cold, but I didn’t feel even the slightest tingle. “Hah!” I stuck my tongue out at Jane as I lifted the lid on Tiz’s, then Lupitia’s cages.
With the warding broken, Tizzy blinked herself out of her little prison and into Lupitia’s. I heard her say, “It’s okay. I’m here, Lulu. I’m here. It’s going to be okay.”
“Is she…?” I asked.
Tizzy shook her head. “She’s hurt, but alive.” I could hear the pain in Tiz’s voice.
Lupitia placed a paw on Tizzy’s face. “You saved me, my love,” she told Tiz.
Technically, I’d saved the both of them, and without any magic, I might add, but I wasn’t going to ruin their moment. I stomped over to Jane and Lonnie and picked them up by the scruff of the neck. I pointed them in Tiz’s direction. “You know why you couldn’t make it work? There it is, plain as the nose on your face. Those two weren’t trying to be more powerful. They were just trying to stay together.” In other words, love. Real and true. That had been the key. The one thing Jane and Lonnie never possessed.
I lifted the lid off of Tiz’s cage again and dropped the two of them in. “You can think about that until they send you to the between.”
I looked at Tiz. “Do you have enough magic to blink us out of here?”
“I can try,” she said. “But I doubt it. I tried once with Lupitia and I didn’t have enough power for that.”
I put my hand on her back as she held her love and closed her eyes. Nothing happened.
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“What about yourself?” I asked. “Go home and get my dad to come and take us all back.”
She closed her eyes, but nothing happened again.
Jane, who really was beginning to get on my last nerve, laughed once more. “This room is magically sealed. Only Larry could apparate in and out. You are so screwed!”
“And so are you,” I said.
“I don’t even care anymore,” Jane said. “I’ll gladly watch all of you rot.” She swiped her open claws at Lonnie, leaving dark trails of blood in five lines on his grossly pink skin.
“Get her away from me!” he said.
I ran upstairs and tried the door. Sure enough, it was made of steel and there was no handle on this side. Larry had bolted the door on the outside to prevent any chance of escape. I kicked it, feeling the shock as it jolted up my leg to my knee.
“Ow.” I trudged down the stair. “I’m sorry, Tiz. I don’t know how to get us out of here.”
“Jane has to know how to break Larry’s magical wards. Let me stick my fingers in her brains and dig around for the information,” Tizzy said. She wiggled her claws for emphasis.
“And why do you think that will work?” I asked her.
She shrugged. “I saw it in a movie. It worked for the cyborgs. I don’t know why it wouldn’t work for me.” She blew on her nails.
Jane’s eyes widened, and Lonnie’s skin blanched to a ghostly white.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Jane said.
Tizzy chittered. “I’m due some payback.” She gave Lupitia a kiss between her ears, then started toward the cage. “I’ll flip a cat to see who I probe first.”
“Larry,” Jane said abruptly.
“Larry’s dead,” I said, toeing the corpse’s foot just to make sure he didn’t pop up and start exploding stuff.
“No, stupid.” Jane rolled her eyes at me. “He has a phone. You can call for help.”
“Oh.” Now, I did kind of feel stupid. It hadn’t even occurred to me to check.
I patted down Larry’s jacket pockets until I found his cell phone. I could only remember my own number. Technology made using contacts way too convenient, so I dialed myself, and hoped that someone had grabbed my purse from the coalition.
“Hello,” Ford said. “Who is this?”
“It’s me,” I said.
“Where are you?” His voice was strained. “I’ve been tearing Paradise Falls apart trying to find you.”
“I’m in San Francisco. Can you send my dad for me?”