“You always take such good care of us.”
No, I took care of the humans, lesser supernaturals who’d be victimized, and the world we’d devolve into if vampires were given full rein. I kept that to myself and smiled.
Once we were alone, I turned and glared at the injured witch. “You’re not part of the Nightshade coven, are you?”
Based on the illumination of the markings on his arm, he was using magic to manage his pain. I tried to determine what was causing the beads of sweat on his brow. Well, he was alone with a person who had just broken his wrist. He probably didn’t consider me a safe zone either.
He shook his head.
“Which coven?”
“Technically, we aren’t an official coven. Just a group of witches who practice differently.”
“Did they reject your petition to be a coven because you all go around doing reckless things like this?” I rolled my eyes. “Trying to kill a vampire in his own home? Stupid!” I barked.
“I had no intention of killing him. Corrine said she was bound against that. He would have been placed in a deep sleep that only I could break.”
“And you thought you’d just waltz out afterward?” I didn’t know if he was incredibly brave or stupidly arrogant. Far too often they were mistaken for each other.
“I have a spell that would have incapacitated everyone for a few minutes.” He pulled out a spherical object from his pocket and whispered an invocation quickly, giving me a small taste of the sound that emitted from it. The half second of hearing it bothered my ears. It would have been excruciating for vampires.
“That’s cruel.”
“It would have just been until I could leave. It was a safety measure.” The more he spoke, the less proud I was of sparing him the consequences of his actions.
“Give me your phone.”
Without hesitation, he retrieved it from his pocket. I held it to his face to unlock it and scrolled his call list until I found the contact I needed.
“You were successful?” the familiar chipper voice asked.
“No, he’s dead,” I said. Jonah’s eyes widened and his face grew paler.
As he retreated, his mouth parting in preparation of using magic to fend me off, I shook my head and held my hand up in a sign of peace. Since it still held the baton, it came off more threatening than intended. Eventually he got the message.
“Kara. What did you do? How could you let him die!” Panic was heavy in her voice. Dealing with powerful witches was all fun and games until one of their own died during a job. Then the alliance quickly turned to a rivalry where they tended to be fine with Pyrrhic victories. Witches rarely went to war, but when they did, it was with an unmatched intensity without any regard to the destruction their covens may suffer.
“How couldIlet him die? I’m not your fixer. Why would you do that to Belham? What is your endgame, Corrine?”
I didn’t receive an answer, just frustrated utterances and curses.
“Belham?” she inquired.
“Unaffected and angry.”
“I wasn’t trying to kill him. You know I can’t do that. Did that asshole change the plan?” Technically, Jonah killing Belham and going off plan wouldn’t break the oath since he wasn’t part of the house. Binding oaths weren’t all encompassing, and if someone was creative enough, they could be circumvented.
“Why would you work with anyone you’d believe would go off plan?” I asked.
If she could breathe, she’d be panting right now.
“Be at the house in an hour and bring the body,” she commanded, ending the call.
I handed Jonah his phone back. “Don’t answer your phone until tomorrow. Deal with your injuries. You and I will discuss this later.”
“There’s nothing for us to discuss.” Using his uninjured hand to raise the other, he directed my attention to the broken wrist as if the injury absolved him of his actions. “I’ve paid quite handsomely for my poor decision.”
Violence isn’t the answer, but it’s a formidable option. I preferred favors and debts and collected them like trinkets.
