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Even with the spell and ingredients in hand, Eli needed someone to brew his potion. He wasn’t about to settle for any witch. He wanted a powerful witch at the end of his leash. I’d shown him the potential, but Kinsley could be his golden ticket.
Most people assumed brewing a potion was like baking a pie from a family recipe. It wasn’t true, of course. Magic was far from static. Not all witches could harness and channel it the same—the more powerful the brewer, the more potent the result. It wasn’t Kinsley’s age alone that made her a target for Eli. Despite being young, she already possessed strong magic. I sensed that much from our brief interaction in the library. Because of that, he’d keep her alive.
But death wasn’t the only danger Kinsley faced. Eli would force her to watch. She would be powerless to stop it as one of Eli’s vampires drained the victim until there was nothing left but a husk, easily discarded. Kinsley wouldn’t be the one taking the life, but she’d carry the burden. That kind of guilt carved a piece out of you that you never got back.
“It’ll destroy her.” I should know.
“That’s a price I’m willing to pay,” Aleksei said.
“I can stop this if you let me,” I gritted out. Eli might not get a death sentence without indisputable evidence of his evil, but what we had on him was enough to confine him. It would fall short of justice, but at least Kinsley would walk away from this mess.
“No. You can’t,” Aleksei argued. “You’re not authorized to take the hit. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal.” Because Grif was the Shadow officially assigned to this op, he was the only one authorized to use deadly force. Barring self-defense, I was as good as neutered. My fingertips heated, and I forced myself to inhale a calming breath. Losing control and bursting into flame on main street was a surefire way to get thrown off this op.
“I assume you have her location?” Aleksei asked.
I took a deep breath, so I could do what needed to be done. “Yeah. I’ve got a tracking spell on her,” I confirmed.
“Good. As soon as you have the meetup location, text the coordinates to Grif. And Olivia,” Aleksei warned. “Let him do his job. Once the potion has been administered, he’ll take Eli out, and you can finally put this behind you.”
If only it were that easy.
Chapter Five
No one expected to find evil in the middle of a sunflower field. Yet, there he stood.
With the moon at his back, Eli waited in the clearing in front of a dilapidated farmhouse. Thanks to a compact thermal imagining camera that plugged into my smartphone, I identified one human inside the building. Because vampires didn’t have enough body heat to show up on my camera, I couldn’t be sure how many were on the premises. Eli was the only one in sight, but I knew he wouldn’t be here without an entourage.
Crouched among the sunflowers with my pile of supplies at my feet, I studied the man responsible for stealing ten years of my life. Everything seemed bigger when I was sixteen, my ex included. Back then, Eli had possessed that edge of bad boy danger that drew me. I wondered if it was the same attraction for Kinsley. After years working in the field with men like Grif and Aleksei—men with big builds and killers’ hands—Eli no longer looked like a dangerous man. He was shorter than I remembered and reed thin. Even so, he was a vampire, which meant he was far stronger than he appeared.
He hadn’t aged a day despite the years that stretched between us. Bathed in moonlight, Eli was still otherworldly beautiful, with model cheekbones, cold eyes, and dark blond hair that teased his shoulders. The only thing threatening about Eli was the predatory way he watched the young witch crossing the yard to meet him.
I kept my distance as he greeted Kinsley, relying on the listening device in my ear to track their conversation. As soon as she reached Eli, Kinsley wrapped him in a full body hug. He stiffened but didn’t pull away. She didn’t notice. I wondered how many times he’d done the same while embracing me. Another tell I should have picked up on.
Eli patted her back before disentangling from her arms and getting down to business. “Did you bring the ingredients?”
Kinsley held up a plastic grocery bag. “Right here.”
“Good.” He gestured to the clearing. “Let’s get started.”
Now that she had everything in hand to make his potion, Eli didn’t waste time romancing her. He handed her an old, tattered page I recognized. Torn from a demon book of spells, it held instructions for making his potion.
Kinsley took it with a trusting smile. She added a folded sheet of paper from her pocket with the incantation needed to activate the potion. She laid both on a folding table set up in the center of the clearing, adding a small rock on top to prevent them from blowing away. She piled her long blonde hair into a messy bun before setting out ingredients and supplies on the table. Then, she rummaged through her bag and pulled out a can of spray paint. After marking a protective circle on the ground, she began.
My instructions were clear—text Grif the coordinates and wash my hands of it. I pulled out my cell phone, careful to shield it with my body so the light of the screen didn’t draw Eli’s eyes. I typed out a text with the coordinates and hit send. Grif would be on site in fifteen minutes, tops, but I made no move to leave. I wasn’t ready to entrust justice to someone else’s hand.
I watched the screen for a confirmation that never came. A simple response would be nice. Tucking the phone into my pocket, I turned my attention back to the clearing.
Kinsley was as studious as I had been at her age. She didn’t rush—checking and double-checking her work along the way. Satisfied with the base, she picked up the vial of rattlesnake venom. She handled it cautiously, counting out ten drops before setting the rest aside.
Only one ingredient to go.
I checked my phone again. Nothing. I sent another text. Status?
Even at the rate Kinsley was working, she’d have it done before Grif reached us if he wasn’t already en route. Of course, I wouldn’t put it past him to be on his way without responding to my text. For Kinsley’s sake, I hoped that was the case.
One of Eli’s men opened the farmhouse door and stepped onto the porch. Eli covered the distance between them in the blink of an eye. He was faster than I remembered. They were too far from the listening device for me to make out their conversation, but I didn’t like the way their eyes tracked Kinsley as she worked.
