AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This connection runs on a very different frequency though.
Doesn’t matter.
Does that mean she can use her talents through you?
Yes, but—
Oh, this is excellent news. Cat’s excitement was so fierce, it washed warmth through my body. She can connect to Dad and break whatever hold the wraith has over him.
If that hold was telepathic rather than magical, then she definitely could. But given that, as far as we knew, he’d been using magical rather than psi or even medical means to restrain his captives, I doubted that possibility would come into play.
I blew out a breath and returned my attention to my sister. Cat, a deep connection with Belle while hosting your spirit may well push me past my limits.
You have more strength than anyone I have ever met, dearest sister. This will not be your end.
Her certainty jarred against my own natural pessimism, and I wasn’t sure which was the saner belief right now.
I briefly closed my eyes. We had no choice in this, even if a deep reluctance stirred. We’d better do this now, before Ashworth and Eli get wind of our intentions.
And before reluctance strengthened and I changed my mind.
I’ll grab your mom and slow her down, Belle said. You and Cat head inside.
I’ll need the keys.
Mom immediately reached into her handbag and tossed them to me. Her eyes were wide and a little furious, but she couldn’t say or do anything because she was now in Belle’s control.
“I’m sorry, Mom,” I said. “But Cat and I have to do this alone. You and the others can meet us at the warehouse. Belle will give you the address.”
One way or another, this whole thing would be over by the time they arrived.
I ran for the basement door and was a little surprised to discover the simple deadlock with an alarm spell overlay. But I guessed any would-be intruder first had to get through the multiple layers of protections woven around the house and garage doors. If they did, well, they were obviously more powerful than either of my parents, and additional measures here wouldn’t have mattered.
I disconnected the alarm spell, then opened the door and ran up the stairs. The air was warm thanks to the underfloor heating, but the taint of foulness ran underneath it. I followed my nose through the kitchen, past the oversized dining room, and through the guest lounge into the entrance hall. It was, like everything else in this damn place, vast and ornate, with a sweeping Y-shaped oak staircase dominating the center space. Thankfully, the front-door panels were frosted glass, so unless I turned on a light or tripped over something, none of the men standing outside would guess I was here.
I bolted up the stairs and went left, toward Mom and Dad’s apartments and the unsettling pulse of evil. It grew stronger the closer I got to my father’s study, and I had to clench my fingers to contain the sparks of wild magic wanting to dance across my fingertips.
The double oak door was closed, but magic crawled across its surface. Its source wasn’t the void but rather a barrier spell, and it wasn’t particularly strong despite the foul feel of the thing.
A distraction, Cat said. The void lies immediately beyond. It will capture you the moment you step through the door.
Which was why the void—whose presence had been so evident outside—was barely noticeable now when I was basically standing in front of it. He’d obviously hoped I’d place the deep pulsing of evil in the air at the feet of the barrier spell and rush into the study without taking additional precautions.
But rushing in was the reason I’d almost died the last time I’d confronted this bastard. I would not repeat the mistake, even though he obviously expected me to.
Underestimating me, as Belle and Cat had said.
Or perhaps overestimating your affection for your father came Belle’s comment.
Probably. Where’s Mom?
Just approaching the men. You need to get moving.
I flexed my fingers and then deepened the connection between Belle and me. Her being flooded mine, and while the connection wasn’t as deep as the one we’d used to defeat the White Lady, it was close enough that there was very little separation between us. The little there was, however, gave us the ability to think and act separately if necessary while maintaining unity.
Your mother has reached the cars and my control on her ends, Belle said. We need to go—now.
I took one of those useless deep breaths that did little to calm my nerves and then said, Right, Cat, in you come.
