RORY

  Holga stood, visibly uncomfortable as her friends cast questioning looks at her. She pushed her glasses up her nose and opened her mouth to speak. Unable to find words, she brushed a leaf from the robes of the Immaculate Daughters she wore.

  Of all the things that puzzled Rory about her friend’s unexpected arrival, outside of where the hell Nadine could be, the white robe would be near the top. “All right, I’ll start, where’s Nadine? Is she okay?”

  “Well,” Holga began. “For now, I’m assuming she’s alive. They haven’t started a trial.”

  “For Dini?” Sven jumped and grabbed his bag.

  “Sven, calm down.”

  “Fuck off, Doc. I’m gettin’ Dini.”

  “Doc’s right, Sven,” Rory said and focused on the task at hand, instead of the creeping sense that her world had just fallen apart. “From the top, Holga. What happened?”

  “I saw Byron getting chased by the people of Alma and ran to Nadine.” Holga stopped and looked around. “Speaking of, where is he?”

  All eyes fell on Rory and she shook her head, unwilling to meet anyone’s gaze. “That’s not important. He’s alive. Move on.”

  “Well, Nadine was home, and we went to see the Catherine. It was becoming unsafe for us to continue on in Alma, but we were sure it was just as unsafe for her as well. Seeing as how she’s spoken up for us on so many occasions recently.”

  Rory watched as Holga replayed the events in her mind. That was her power. She called it 3D playback with Smell-O-Vision.

  “When we arrived at the Catherine’s chambers, she informed us that Byron had just left and we should follow. Allow me to clarify. We didn’t go the normal way to see her. Otherwise we may have run into Byron. We’d gone through the entrance in the sanctified graveyard within the city walls. There’s a hidden door and tunnels that lead straight to her chambers. From my reading I’ve been able to surmise this was used in the past by vampires or even secret lovers of the former Catherines’.”

  Sven nearly patted himself on the back. “Told you them sneaky fuckers had secret tunnels. Just didn’t know the Catherine was into all that.”

  “Not the recently deceased Catherine, at least. The passageways were from well before her time. They once connected to a network outside of the city walls but those connections have long since been destroyed.”

  His face returned to its agitated state. “Still ain’t gettin’ us closer to where Dini is, love. If she’s in trouble, we need to get a move on before…” He took another giant drink from his flask and replaced it in a pocket. “No more of that till Dini’s safe.”

  “Nadine told me to wait in the Catherine’s private chambers while she had a word with the woman herself. There was shouting and before I could get to her, she, Nadine, ordered me to run and toppled a bookcase in my way and held it fast with a web of roots.” Holga pushed her glasses back up her nose and looked at her hands.

  “Hey,” Rory said and sat on the couch, pulling Holga’s hand to sit next to her. “It’s fine. Take your time, but not too much. No one is going to blame you for anything that happened. It sounds like Nadine took care of that for you.”

  Holga nodded and accepted a glass of water from Doc. “There’s people all over Alma right now looking for us. To kill us. I guessed my chances of making it back without a plan would be slim to nothing, so I went through the wardrobe and put on a robe of the Daughters. At least I could walk around. Especially if I put the hood up. No one really pays much attention to their faces, anyway.”

  “Good thinking,” Doc said.

  “Of course,” Holga said absently. “I took the time to explore what I could of the temple. Since I’d never been before. Though I’m embarrassed to admit, I may have spent a sizeable amount of time in her personal library. The books looked to contain pertinent information. There were others, but I inscribed them to memory.” She placed four time-worn volumes on the end table beside the couch.

  “So ya got books. Where’s Dini?” Sven was growing more and more impatient.

  “I was getting to that,” she said, sounding annoyed at Sven’s constant interruptions. “I returned the way I’d come, keeping the hood up as I walked. Even walking a ways behind a group of Daughters who never turned to look at me. They spoke of the Catherine’s death and heartbreak. Most of the women I followed were devastated at the loss, but one sounded enthusiastic that Grace had taken over. She expressed the most disgusting things about us, and I nearly broke my cover with a gasp. Thankfully, one they called Indra quieted her.”

  Rory patted Holga on the knee and tried to give her the best—you’re doing great—smile she could manage.

  Holga took a drink of water and nodded in appreciation. “The group turned in the opposite direction of the Witches Grotto. So, I ducked into an alley to avoid suspicion and waited for them to go out of sight. When it was prudent, I made my way to our homes. That was when I saw Grace boasting about how they had, forgive my language, the Green Bitch in her new chambers and would start trial proceedings in the morning. I managed to keep my head down and sneak safely into Doc’s house and walked through the portal.”

  “I’m gonna kill Grace.” Sven’s eyes narrowed to slits, and he rummaged through his pockets. “I’m gonna make the worst poison and slip it to the cunt. Slow, brutal death if a single hair on Dini’s head is-”

  “She’ll be back with us long before that’s a possibility,” Doc assured Sven, and himself it seemed to Rory. “We should bring her back here to safety.”

  “I agree on the safety part,” Rory said and shuddered when she realized what she was about to say. “We’re not the only ones Grace is after. I doubt Inboco is going to take in the vampires with open arms and they’re in just as much danger as we are.” Dammit, when did I start to care about what happens to the freaking undead? Life was easier before Byron. A piece of her heart broke all over again and she took a heavy breath to avoid becoming the sobbing mess her brain desired to be.

  Doc frowned at her. “Hey, what’s going on with you and Byron? Where is he?”

  “There’s nothing going on with us anymore. That’s just it.” She nearly yelled and calmed herself, shoving the pain into a deep place in her heart for later. “He’s gone and I don’t know when he’ll be back. If ever. So, if we could focus on saving Nadine, that would be great. Thanks.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know…” Doc stammered.

  “It’s fine. You wouldn’t have been able to. Focus on Nadine, please. We can talk later, I promise. It’s just too much right now.” Rory pleaded at him with her eyes. She wanted him to understand what a mess she would be if she focused on the hurt.

  He nodded slightly and sighed.

  A light knock at the front door to the cabin made all in attendance jump.

  Rory got up to answer it and found a petite strawberry blonde with freckles and dark brown eyes. Her attire was like Rosemary’s, bohemian chic, complete with the multitudes of rings and bracelets.

  “Hi,” Rory said, trying to add cheer to her voice and failed. Her smile must have looked as tired and strained as she felt.

  “Who are you?” The woman frowned. “Did you get here recently?”

  “Yeah, I’m Rory.”

  “Oh, Asher told me all about you. You are pretty. He got that right. I’m Nessa. Sorry for being so suspicious. We rarely get visitors, and there’s been a lot lately. Between the big guy and…”

  Rory said, “It’s fine. Come in, we’re just figuring a few things out.”

  The woman timidly stepped forward and gawked at the gathering of strangers inside. Her eyes drifted to Holga and her cheeks turned a lovely pink as they tugged into a shy smile. “Hey, everyone.”

  Holga’s eyes widened, and she took a quick glimpse behind her, which was empty of anyone else. She pushed up her glasses and stared intently at her lap. The left side of her mouth twitched ever so slightly.

  “I’m glad you’re here, Nessa. You can report back to Rosemary when all is said and done,” Doc said and tied his hair back with a leather thong. “Rory brought up a good point about the vampires. But they won’t be welcome here, and they’re sitting ducks in and around Alma. No matter how well they hide. Ideas?”

  “Inboco has a very strict no bloodsucker policy,” Nessa said. And from her emphatic smile, it was clear she was more than happy about the little arrangement.

  “We can go home. To our actual home,” Billie said and blushed. “At least, that’s what I always think of it as. Course I would never go there by myself. It’d be too lonely, but the farmhouse is still up and safe. We could lightproof part of the barn so they’d have shelter if the sun broke through too much one day.”

  Fuck. There was nothing wrong with the farmhouse. In fact, Billie’s idea was perfect for everyone but her. For Rory, the house held too many memories of Byron. Their first kiss. It was where she fell in love with him. She wanted to go anywhere but there. The fact remained, there was nowhere else to run while keeping the undead bastards safe. Fuck it. Big girl time, Rory. “I’m in.”

  Billie squealed in joy and looked hopefully at Doc and Sven, who both nodded. “Holga?”

  She shook her head in the negative and took the smallest peek at Nessa. “I’m interested to see what this new camp has to offer and have books to study. I’ll need quiet and the farmhouse will be anything but for a while. I’d like to stay here, in the meantime at least.”

  “If you’re positive?” Doc asked, and she nodded. “All right, Nessa, can you make sure she meets with Rosemary when there’s time? I’m sure you’ll be welcome in the cabin until then.” Doc looked from Sven to Billie to Rory and sighed. “We’ll need to split up. Rory and Sven, grab Nadine since you’re both a lot more inconspicuous than me. Billie and I will get anything we might need from our houses in the Grotto. Can you do that, Billie? You know Sven’s lab enough to grab his important stuff, right?”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “Sure do.”

  “Grotto? Do the witches in Alma live in caves?” Nessa asked Doc.

  Holga made a face at Sven. “That would be his doing. He called it the Witches Grotto one day, and it sounded so absurd it stuck.”

  “Are you finished gettin’ a good laugh in?” Sven’s lips curled, exposing his teeth. “I’m sure Dini would love a nice laugh right about now.”

  Doc put a hand on his friend’s shoulder, but his attention was on Rory, his eyes full of concern. “Sven and Rory, please be careful. Get directions from Holga to the secret passage. With any luck, Grace doesn’t know it exists. Get Nadine and get out. We’ll all meet up at the farmhouse.” Doc turned to Holga. “Can anyone else but us, witches I mean, use the portals?”

  “They are unable. Had you read through the Theories and Laws of Portal Magic book I’d laid out on the table at the farmhouse, you would know for certain.”

  Doc glanced at her sideways and pressed his lips into a thin line. “Thank you. Everyone know what they’re doing?”

  “Fucking finally, mate.” Sven grinned. “Gotta stop at mine before we go. Just got a great idea.”

  “No poison.”

  “Doc, I’m ashamed you’d even think I’d do such a thing.”

  “You literally just said you wanted to poison Grace,” Rory said. “Not even a few minutes ago.”

  “Did say that, didn’t I? Well, I promise it ain’t poison I’m thinkin’ about.”

----------------------------------------

  They walked through the portal into Doc’s house in Alma. The four of them stood silently in the darkness. Even breathing deafened Rory’s ears. She tiptoed to the door and froze after hearing voices on the other side. Doc found her shoulder and pulled her behind him.

  “No signs of any witches, Grace,” a woman said.

  “Stay alert. We have their bitch, and they’ll come looking for her. I’d love to take them all out at once.”

  Rory leaned her head on Doc’s back to steady herself and felt his muscles vibrating in anger. Not the time for an outburst, she thought and wove her fingers on both hands into his.

  He gave them three quick squeezes, and his muscles relaxed.

  “I want constant patrols throughout the night. Through the entire city, with added attention on the Grotto.” Grace’s voice sounded farther away than it had before.

  “Yes, Ma’am,” the other woman replied.

  They’re walking away. Now’s our chance.

  “Ready?” Rory said in the softest whisper possible as she let go of Doc.

  Sven slowly opened the front door.

  The light of a torch blinded her briefly. There was a sound of scuffling footsteps, a soft crunch, and a woman’s gasp. Though part of her sight remained obscured by a flame-shaped spot, the scene came into focus.

  Sven held a hand over a Daughter’s mouth. Blood dripped from her nose, spreading to his fingers. The beginnings of a goose egg formed on his forehead.

  “Sven, really? You head-butted her?”

  “Fuckin’ hell, Rory, you sound like Doc.”

  She flicked Sven in the swelling lump on his head and put her lips near the Daughter’s ear. “We were never here. How silly of you to trip over that rock. Now, sleep,” she said, fusing magic into the words.

  “Ss-silly me,” the woman said in a slurred, half-asleep way. Her eyes narrowed and closed, her head bobbed and slumped to one side.

  Doc said, “Let’s put her in Nadine’s garden. She’ll be out of the way there. Sven, go do your thing. And meet up with us back here.”

  “Yup.” He crept to his house and disappeared inside, followed by Billie.

  By the time she’d helped Doc position the Daughter, Sven emerged wearing a gas mask and tossed two more her way. “Thought you promised no poison,” Rory said and handed a mask to Doc.

  Sven scoffed. “No poison. Just a minor diversion. Lots of smoke, that type of thing. They might not even remember it in the morning.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need me to come along?” Doc asked as he eyed Sven with added suspicion.

  “Nah, Billie’ll need help soon carryin’ the heavier stuff from the lab. Sides, Rory and I ain’t as obvious as a ten-ton gorilla.” Sven kneeled and packed a large bronze incense censer with greenish powder. He glanced up at Doc, who hovered above him and sighed in annoyance. “Mask up, mate. Bout to get on with the fun stuff.”

  “Be careful,” Doc said to Rory as he strapped the mask to his face.

  “Always am. Usually,” she replied and checked the seal on her own.

  “I’ll wait for you back at the house.” The knuckles on his left hand brushed the length of her arm before he turned and walked away.

  Sven cackled as he lit the concoction. It burst into a rolling chartreuse cloud, enveloping the two while it oozed and spread along the cobblestone path. The burner swung on its chain like a pendulum, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake as they made their way to the hallowed cemetery.

  The people they passed drunkenly swayed on their feet, clinging to each other with gales of laughter. Some sang out of tune at the top of their lungs while others tapped a few beats with their toes as they walked.

  Rory couldn’t help but wonder what the creation was really doing. She glanced uneasily at Sven. On a normal day, his morals were questionable. When Nadine’s life and safety were on the line, what wouldn’t he do?

  He motioned for her at the center tomb. They fumbled blindly until Rory found the slightest crack and a round spot gave way underneath her fingertip. The door leading into the black depths opened and the massive block of granite, weighted and hung with perfection, swung with ease.

  “Let’s go get Dini,” Sven said and set the censer on the ground. The smoke continued pouring out and created a blanket of otherworldly mist over the graves.

  They left the passageway open to allow some light in, but the short distance was nearly pitch black. Rory, taking lead, held one hand in front of her. Behind, Sven held her by one shoulder, pushing to move faster.

  The path ended, and she felt for another latch or doorknob to open this side but found a ladder instead. “Up,” she said, and worked her way forward until her head bumped against a wooden plank. For a moment, she panicked, worried Grace knew about the entrance and blocked it, but it opened with some added effort.

  Rory cringed as the wood creaked, and hinges moaned. So much for the element of surprise.

  Tied to a chair that faced the wall, Nadine craned her head and asked, “Holga? Is that you?”

  At least Grace left some candles burning.

  “Dini,” Sven said and pushed Rory out of the way. He cut Nadine free and massaged her wrists. Overjoyed, he grabbed her face and pulled it to his, kissing her deeply.

  Rory turned her back and gave them a moment. But time was getting short. She cleared her throat. “Guys, sorry to break this up, but we need to go.”

  They gave brief mumbles of apology.

  Sven pulled another mask from his pack and handed it to Nadine. “C’mon, put this on.”

  “What did you do?” she asked. Her eyes widened as she put on the mask. “Rory, what did Sven do?”

  “Smoke to hide us. It worked well, actually.” Yes, I’m sure it’s a lie, but we all lie from time to time. And it was for the greater good and all. It’s fine.

  The main door to the Catherine’s chambers swung open, and Grace bared her teeth. “What have you done to the innocents? The pure? The flock has allowed the wolves amongst them. You disgust me.”

  Rory could have used her power again to incapacitate Grace, but she’d had a terrible day. She balled her fist and hit her squarely on the nose with all her might. The woman teetered and collapsed.

  “Fuckin’ a, that was good, love,” Sven said and spat on Grace as he left.

  The unconscious woman lay sprawled on the floor. Rory almost couldn’t believe how easy it would be to put a stop to the suffering of countless others. There were plenty of blunt objects around the room heavy enough to do the job. And what was Grace, but an elderly woman with a chip on her shoulder? “I could end this right now,” she said.

  “Rory?” Nadine’s voice sounded small and timid as she touched her arm. “I’m sure you’re frustrated and tired. Please, let’s get out of here while we can. We’ll talk all about our problems later over a hot cup of coffee. But the only thing killing Grace will do is solidify the people’s fear and hatred of us.”

  “Are you sure?” Rory asked.

  Nadine’s soft hand took her own and pulled her away. “We need to go.”

  Rory took one final look before closing the trapdoor.

  They ran through the tunnel and out into the cloudy cemetery, closing that entrance behind them. Just as the center of town came into view, Rory realized what Grace meant by, the flock has allowed the wolves amongst them. The partition between the Immaculate and the common area of Alma lay in ruins. Stomped down by the Daughter’s dancing feet along with those of the townfolk. More than that, the all-singing, all-dancing mass moved as one body. Unstoppable, hysteric, gratuitous. And in Alma it was taboo for a man to even look at a Daughter twice.

  “Shit, Sven. That smoke was, what, a dancing plague?” Rory watched the grasping arms, normally stern faces broken out in full on smiles, and the untoward winks of men who’d barely dared to dream of laying a hand on the untouchable Daughters. It was like passing a car accident. She couldn’t help staring, but she knew it was wrong to do so.

  “Sven, do you realize what you’ve done?” Nadine turned away from the square and ran to the Grotto.

  “What? It’ll work out of their system in less than an hour.” The Brit jigged in place before planting his feet.

  Rory shrugged. “It worked and we have Nadine back. Good job, Sven.”

  “Still gotta get to the house but, thanks. It’s nice someone round here appreciates me.” He held out his arm for her. “Shall we?”

  She took it, feeling good about herself, and asked, “You think it will stop at dancing?”

  “Hadn’t thought about it.” His eyes widened, and he whistled through his teeth. “Whatever happens after ain’t on me.”