Page 74 of Cold Sacrifice

Then I called Joe. “Joe,” I said. “I think—”

“Yes, boss. Tell Max to let me out of here.”

“He’s still at the office. I just left.”

“Doesn’t matter. He can remotely control the lock with his phone. You’ll need to have a good story, because he doesn’t want to let me out.”

“I don’t have a good story, Joe. I just miss you and want you to fight with me. But maybe Max is right. I’m being too impatient.”

“I had an idea before I fell asleep.”

“What idea?” I asked him.

“Witches do spells, Kait. Call up the witch you hired to help with the spirits. Ask her to make it so no one can get to my mind.”

“Hmmm,” I said. “I mean, it can’t hurt to try. I’ll ask her if that’s possible.”

“Good, because I want the hell out of here.”

“Have some breakfast while I’m discussing the matter with Max,” I said. “It’s in the fridge.”

He hesitated. “Thanks, Kaity Bug.”

I smiled as I ended the call. I did need Joe with me. Things felt wrong without him. He truly was my sidekick.

Which was what I told Max when he answered his phone, along with the fact that I’d see if Trinity could help with the issue.

“You should have called her first,” he said. “If she says without a doubt that she can make it impossible for him to be compelled, I’ll release him. And don’t you lie to me, Kait Silver.”

“I would never do that,” I told him. “Not about Joe.” But he was right. I should’ve called Trinity first. And that made me realize that I hoped she could help, but I’d been thinking hard about getting him out regardless. “I’ll call you right back,” I said.

I was being careless. If Jolene did compel him, someone would get hurt. “Fine,” I muttered. “If Trinity can’t help, he’s staying put.”

“There’s a spell,” she said, when I got her on the phone. “I’ve never used it for a vampire, because usually vampires don’t need protection. Also, it comes with…side effects.”

“Side effects for you?” I asked. “Or for Joe?”

“For Joe. There’s a chance that if the necromancer attempts to compel him, he’ll fall asleep. The harder she tries, the deeper he’ll sleep. When he wakes up, he may be fuzzy, forgetful, and have extreme hunger.” She hesitated. “I don’t have to tell you what a confused, starving vampire is like.”

“Well, hell,” I said. “So he could fall asleep in the middle of a battle and wake up trying to eat whoever he can grab? I’m not sure it’s worth getting him out of Max’s basement. How likely are these side effects?”

“Pretty likely,” she admitted. “On the plus side, they don’t last long once the spell has worn off.”

I frowned. “How long before the spell wears off?”

“I can make it last up to a week. But really, Kait, I wouldn’t get him out unless it’s an emergency. You’ll have the necromancer handled soon.”

“Yeah,” I said. “You’re right. I’ll tell Joe.” Then I hesitated. “It wouldn’t be worth the side effects to get him out, but it might be worth it to keep Bastien and his vampires safe. Can you do that if he agrees?”

“I can put the spell on Bastien, but I can’t do more than one. It requires renewal and prep work every night for each person. I can’t do that amount of work. And if I do Bastien, it can only be for a week. That’s all the energy I’ll have for it.”

“I appreciate this, Trinity. I’ll call Joe and give him the bad news, and then I’ll call the master and ask him if this is something he’d consider.”

“Where are we going?” Remy asked, as he drove away from the office. I’d seen clients until dark and then had asked Remy to swing by and pick me and Zach up. Aaron said he’d be happy to continue driving me around, but I needed to be with the only two guys able to fight with me if we ran into Jolene, at least until Sam returned.

He was still with Lucy, and he’d texted me to say she was calm, worried, and happy that Trinity was packing and preparing to come stay at Silverwood to help Lucy. “As soon as she gets here,” he told me, “I’ll come back to the city.”

“We’ll see you then, Sam.”