Hill, Meagan - Master Me [Masterson] (Siren Publishing Classic) (25 page)

“And the money?”

“Well, they don’t need it anymore. Besides, both of these guys have been my managers at work. Because Cabela required a fifty percent tithe, my income was really small, but these guys took even more, something I think Cabela didn’t know. Basically, if I made a hundred dollars, I got to keep thirty of it. I figure I’m just taking back what they stole from me, though this doesn’t cover anywhere near that amount. If it bothers you, I’ll leave it here.”

Mitch blinked a couple of times before turning to Malcolm. As the leader of the coven, it really was up to him. Malcolm shrugged his shoulders and said, “I have no problem with it. Like she said, they don’t need it anymore, and it sounds like they owed her.” Malcolm then turned his attention back to the two bodies they needed to deal with.

Miranda hesitated before turning to Mitch. “What about you? If it bothers you, I won’t take them.”

“No, baby, it’s okay. I was just surprised, that’s all. You have every right to take what you want from them after everything they stole from you.”

“Okay, as long as you’re all sure it’s okay,” Miranda said hesitantly, glancing around the group.

Everyone nodded in reassurance.

“Now that that’s settled, anyone have any ideas on how to handle Frick and Frack?”

Miranda startled everyone when she began howling in laughter at what Malcolm had said, followed shortly by Mitch, who’d pulled the reason from her mind. When he could, Mitch explained, “Their names were Rick and Jack.” The rest of the group began chuckling at the unintended rhyme.

After the merriment died off, they still stood there, staring at the two bodies. “I wish Roman was here. He could just incinerate them,” muttered James, referring to one of his coven members who hadn’t been able to join them.

Miranda turned to Mitch and said, “You mentioned you could do other offensive things. What are they?”

“I can throw balls of energy that immobilize the target, and I’m able to call down lightning to strike where I wish. A few other minor things, but those are the major things. I’m more of an electrical wizard than anything.”

“Do you have to have a storm nearby to call down a lightning bolt?”

“No, why?”

“Why not use lightning to incinerate them? Will that work?”

Mitch thought about it for a minute, glancing around the area. “Yeah, that would work, though we’ll need to move the bodies into the center of the clearing so we don’t set the trees on fire. I don’t use the bolt in battle much because I can’t hit moving targets, just stationary ones. Good thinking, Miranda.”

Miranda smiled in thanks, proud she’d come up with the idea. She joined the three men in dragging the two bodies into the center of the clearing, as Mitch had indicated. The five of them stepped back, allowing Mitch to concentrate. Miranda could feel the power beginning to swirl around her. She peeked into her link with Mitch, not wanting to distract him. He was tired and getting frustrated, unsure whether he had enough power left to do what they needed. Miranda immediately stepped up behind him, placing both of her hands on his shoulders, and began pouring her own power into him. They could tell immediately that the stream tripled in strength. Mitch allowed it to swirl for several seconds before thrusting his hands in the air. A sharp crack echoed from the sky above as a massive bolt of lightning blasted down through the air and struck the two bodies. There was a strange sizzling sound, and then a cloud of noxious odor emitted from the target area. The bolt dissipated, though it took several seconds for their eyes to recover from the sudden brightness. Once they were able, they could see a massive black mark on the ground where the bodies had been, but that was all. The bodies were no more.

Mitch swayed on his feet, having used every bit of energy he had and quite of bit of Miranda’s to get the bolt big enough to do what was needed. Miranda wrapped her arms around his chest, steadying him until he was able to gather his waning energy again.

Malcolm walked up to Mitch, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Good job, son. That bolt was massive, the largest I’ve ever seen an energy witch pull. Let’s get out of here so we can go rest.”

Everyone murmured in agreement and walked over to the shot-up rental. Malcolm surveyed the damage before getting behind the wheel and trying to start it. The engine must have been hit because it wouldn’t even try to turn over. They all looked at each other and then back at Miranda’s old beat-up car. It was the only car available since the Cabela coven’s cars were in the destroyed compound.

They crammed into the small vehicle after Miranda tucked the guns and ammunition into the trunk, with Malcolm driving and Mitch in the passenger seat. James, Miranda, Nina, and Melanie sat in the back, with Melanie perched in Nina’s lap. It was a tight fit, but they made it work. The ride back to the hotel was quiet, everyone lost in their thoughts and exhausted. They soon pulled up to the hotel and got out, thankful to be released from the small confines.

They found the rest of the group gathered in the conference room they’d used the evening before. The tension in the room eased as everyone saw the leaders were fine. Miranda was relieved to see John and the other man who was injured appeared to be doing well, each being watched over by a healer, as well as the two latents they’d freed.

Malcolm moved to the front of the room with the rest of them, collapsing into the nearest chairs, exhausted. “We have been successful in destroying the evil coven and freeing the kidnapped latents. We will return to Charleston tomorrow morning, so everyone take the day to regroup and recharge. I have a friend who is a private investigator who will return the children to their parents and attest he was working on another kidnapping case when he came across the cult and figured out the three children had been kidnapped. He was able to rescue them from the compound. When he leads the police back to the compound, they’ll speculate the cult blew up the compound because they’d been discovered and had fled. That should keep the police plenty busy. He’ll be here in about an hour and will take them straight to the hospital and initiate the cover story.”

Everyone nodded their understanding. Malcolm looked straight at the other two latents, saying, “Do you two understand the situation and why we can’t tell others about magic?” Both girls nodded, the older one saying, “Yes, sir. It was explained to us, and we will not tell anyone about how we were really rescued. We’re just grateful to be away from that place and those people. When asked, we’ll say we were kidnapped and abused by a cult, not a coven. We won’t betray you, and we especially won’t betray Miranda since she took such a big risk in coming back for us.” The younger girl nodded along with the first one.

Miranda pulled herself wearily to her feet and walked over to the two girls, dropping to her knees and gathering them close to her. “I’m sorry it took me so long to figure a way out. You must be careful to not let the evil that was done to you become you. Like Mitch told me recently, don’t let your past become your present and future. Do you get what I’m saying?” Both girls nodded before pulling Miranda in for another long hug.

One of the healers who had been watching over them caught Miranda’s eye and said, “We’ve been working on cleansing them as well as healing them. The evil that had built up inside of them has been mostly eradicated. The rest will heal as their bodies heal.”

Relieved, Miranda hugged them close one last time before turning back to address the group. “I wanted to thank all of you for helping to destroy the evil that has tainted my life, and theirs, for far too long. I am so relieved and happy that everyone came out fine, barring the couple of injuries that were sustained. If there is anything I can do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

James stood up to answer for the group. “Miranda, there is nothing we won’t do to help protect a Grand Mistress, especially a new one who hasn’t developed all her powers yet. From what I can sense, Miranda, you will become one of the most powerful Grand Mistresses of all time.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that, but thank you,” Miranda replied before turning back to Malcolm. “Sorry I interrupted, Malcolm.”

Malcolm waved off the apology, obviously not bothered by it. He caught the eyes of the three latents again, addressing them directly. “Before you go, we will embed a transmitter under your skin. If you are in trouble, such as being kidnapped again or something like it, press on it. It will notify us that you need help and give us your location. We will be watching over you until you are old enough to decide on choosing a coven. Don’t use it unless it’s a real emergency, though, because it might alert your families that something isn’t quite normal about us showing up to help out. Do you have any questions?”

The three girls glanced at each other before the oldest spoke up. “Yes, I do. How are you planning on ‘embedding’ the transmitter? And how old do we have to be to choose to join a coven? And what is supposed to happen when we do?”

“We’ll embed the transmitter using Sally’s magic. You won’t feel a thing. We’re just waiting on Charlie, my PI friend, to bring them with him. As for joining a coven, a normal member coming in is at least seventeen, if not older. We prefer the latent be out of high school and able to leave their parent’s home. Once you’ve chosen a coven, you will either live with or near your mentor, who will spend several hours a day with you teaching you how to explore and control your magic. We take turns within the coven training the latents, and others often assist when the primary mentor needs help.”

The girls nodded their understanding again, glad they wouldn’t be hurt any more than was necessary and that the coven would be watching over them. That knowledge was very reassuring. Melanie then popped up with a question. “Can we stay in contact with Miranda?”

Malcolm thought a moment as a soft smile spread across Miranda’s face. “I don’t think there’s a problem with that. You’ll just have to be very careful about what you talk about. Your parents will likely be very protective of you now and will monitor everything you do closely. Be careful about what you say and what you do, even when you think they’re not watching. I know it’s hard not to use the magic you already know, but it’s important you don’t. You’re not going to be able to tell them about it anyway, so keep that in mind.” The three girls nodded again. Miranda got Mitch to write down his email address since she didn’t have one of her own yet and gave a copy to each of the girls, promising to keep in touch as much as they wanted. Of anyone, Miranda would be the person who could best understand what they had gone through and were feeling.

A soft but firm knock sounded at the door. Mitch, who happened to be closest to the door, got up and opened it a bit before allowing it to open fully. A large black man with a bald head strode through, carrying several small boxes. He walked up to Malcolm, who gave him a hearty handshake and introduced him to the group as Charlie, his PI friend.

Charlie opened the boxes and pulled out three very small transmitters. Malcolm brought each girl to the front so Sally could embed the transmitters just behind their left ear. The girls were surprised it didn’t hurt at all and thanked Sally profusely. They then hugged the entire group as everyone moved outside to watch them leave. When they were done, they piled into Charlie’s car, waving frenetically as he pulled away.

Once the girls were gone, the group looked toward Malcolm, waiting to be released. “We’re done. Meet back here at nine a.m. tomorrow to fly home, Anthony,” he said, stopping the man before he left. “I need you to get with the rental company about buying the car that was destroyed and get a tow truck out there pronto to get it away from the scene. Charlie will give us as much time as he can, but it’s best to get it done as soon as possible.”

Anthony nodded his head in understanding, and seeing that Malcolm was done, hurried off to get the matter taken care of. They needed to ensure nothing could be connected back to the coven.

Mitch and Miranda climbed the stairs to their room, moving wearily, but knowing they wouldn’t be falling asleep until they’d both had a shower and made love. Miranda needed Mitch to wipe away the memory of Carl touching her so intimately. Mitch did just that, gently washing the dried blood and the feel of the other men’s touches from her skin before claiming it again as his own.

Epilogue

Miranda stared into the mirror, looking over her perfected body, other than the scars she carried from her last battle with Cabela. The symbols Cabela had carved into Miranda’s skin had completely healed, leaving behind thin white lines. She had wanted to try to have them removed until Mitch had explained Cabela had actually made her more powerful through them. When he was pulling down all the power he could, he imbued the power into her body through the symbols with the plan that the power would then become his when he killed her. Instead, he had made an already powerful Grand Mistress even more powerful. That is what James had sensed after the battle.