“That’s all part of his game,” Gray said. “This whole time, he’s been leaving us breadcrumbs. First, he takes Haley and Ash, but he doesn’t bother hiding the license plate or avoiding the cameras. Then he texts me the picture of Ash in the devil’s trap, leading us right to Norah’s house, where we’re ambushed by vampires who we later learn were ordered to leave me alive. He knew we’d track down the van’s owner, and he left us his mutilated body wearing my mother’s amulet.”
Her scent changed, her initial fear and trepidation receding as a wave of anger rushed in.
“He wants to be found,” she said. “He’s just baiting another trap, waiting for us to walk right into it.”
“Or multiple traps,” Ronan said. “Just to cover the bases.”
“Of course he is,” I said. “And in a perfect world, we’d let him keep playing his game, wait for him to make a mistake. But we can’t afford to sit on this. Even one witch’s life is too many to risk, and if Gray’s vision was accurate, he’s holding dozens captive. Maybe more.”
“And they’re not just Blackmoon Bay witches, either,” Gray said. “Again, if we’re assuming my vision was accurate, then the majority of his captives are out-of-towners. Who knows how long he’s been planning all this.” She shook her head, her lip curled in disgust. “Before Sophie died, she and Haley found some of Norah’s correspondence with other underground coven leaders, and they learned that a bunch of witches had been murdered recently, starting on the east coast and working westward. For all we know, he could’ve been behind all of them, killing as he made his way to me.”
“It’s not out of the realm of possibility,” I said. “I checked in with my contacts at a few other PDs between here and Raven’s Cape, and they’re seeing the same thing. Witches are being murdered or kidnapped, and so far, no one has been able to pick up any decent leads.”
“That’s because he’s leaving all the leads for me,” Gray said. “He couldn’t kill me the first time, so he’s made it his mission in life to hunt me down. To torture me. And eventually, he’ll—”
“Hate to say it,” Asher said, shoving in a mouthful of food. The man had always eaten like every meal was going to be his last, but now he seemed to be making an Olympic sport out of it. “But I think it’s a lot more complicated than one dickless hunter’s obsession with our witch.”
Gray bristled, but I nodded for him to continue.
“Witches are magical guardians, right?” he said. “So even if they’re not practicing, their presence basically keeps the balance.”
Gray folded her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes at him. “What’s your point?”
“Think big picture here, Cupcake. If enough of you broomstick riders start vanishing from a community, things are bound to get fucked up. Look at what happened the other night with the vamps. Challenging Darius Beaumont?” Ash licked pizza sauce off his fingers, one at a time. “A few months ago, that would’ve been unheard of. And look what else has happened this week alone. Emilio said it himself—the Bay is a shitshow.”
“Disgusting habits aside,” Ronan said, glaring at Ash, “he’s right. We don’t know who else the hunter is working with, but there’s no way he’s pulling off so many killings and kidnappings alone. Hell, I doubt he could do it even with asmalloperation. Maybe he wants us to think he’s a lone psycho, but logistically it doesn’t add up. He’d need more men.”
“Hunters have always worked in packs,” Gray said, nodding. “Even when they came after me and Calla—two witches alone in the middle of nowhere—they still sent the whole cavalry.”
“Do you think Jonathan is still working with his father?” Ronan asked her. “Or the other men who came after you and Calla?”
“I don’t… know.” Gray’s face paled as she considered his question, the pain of her memories etching deep lines across her forehead.
I reached across the table and placed my hand on her forearm, giving her a reassuring squeeze. Beneath my giant mitt, she felt small and vulnerable, but on the inside, ourbruja bonitawas anything but.
I squeezed her again, nodding for her to continue.
“When Sophie died,” she said, “I never wanted to believe it was hunters. But even after Hollis confirmed Jonathan was the one who’d paid him for intel about us, I still assumed he was acting on his own—mostly because his actions were so different from the hunters’ usual search-and-destroy M.O. The vampire blood, the rune carvings, the kidnappings… I kind of figured he’d gone off the rails. But now?” She met my gaze across the table, her blue eyes clear and determined. “Yes, it’s totally possible that he’s still working with his family. That he just wants us to think he’s on his own so we walk into his trap even more unprepared than we already are.”
“And maybe destabilization is part of a bigger play for these fucks,” Asher said. “It’s kind of brilliant, actually. Take out the witches, let all the supers fuck themselves up in the ensuing chaos, then leave our communities ripe for takeover.”
“But takeover by whom?” I asked. “The hunters? How many of them could possibly be left?”
“More than we realized,” Gray said. “Sophie had written some things in her book of shadows about it. Apparently, a lot of the coven leadership believe the hunters may be joining forces again. Some of the witches tried reaching out to Norah, but Norah dismissed them, and she forbade Bay Coven members from reaching out to other groups.”
“Probably because she’s involved,” Asher said. “That has to be it.”
“This is… insane.” Ronan pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head.
The feeling was mutual.
Dread settled over us like fog.
I reached for the bottle again, and this time, I didn’t bother with the glass, either.
“So where the hell is the Council in all this?” Gray asked. “I get that they’re kind of hands-off, but how long can this go unchecked? Humans died at Black Ruby the other night—and that’s just one incident, in one town.” She looked at Asher, who sat up a little straighter under her scrutiny. “It’s not just about hunters and witches and screwing up the supernatural balance,” she said. “Humans are going to start noticing us—if they haven’t already—and that’s the last thing the Council wants.”
“The Council can go fuck themselves,” Ronan said, eloquent as always. “They checked out a long time ago.”
