Pretty When She Destroys (16 page)

Part Three

Ghosts, Blood, and Death

Chapter 14

September 2012

Samantha could hear Jeff and Benchley speaking in the kitchen in strained voices. Pausing in the long hallway, she considered going back to bed. It was almost one in the afternoon, but she spent a good portion of her nights learning to use her powers and often slept in. Barefoot and wearing a pink sundress, she stood in silence trying to decide if she wanted to deal with the day just yet. The sunlight spilling into the darkened hallway from the kitchen was a welcomed sight, but she was still exhausted.

Beatrice purred past her on the way to her breakfast, tail flicking back and forth.

The rattle of glass jars emanating from the large pantry off the hallway was a good indicator that Aimee was collecting more items for her spells. Dr. Summerfield, Jeff’s deceased father and mentor, had collected a massive collection of magical ingredients. Samantha couldn’t step into the pantry without feeling a bit giddy. Aimee explained it was normal reaction for a magus until they learned to properly block out energies. Samantha was getting better, but she still felt like she was struggling to get a solid grip on her powers.

Taking a few more steps toward the kitchen, the words being spoken became more distinct.

“Nothing is going right,” Benchley’s voice complained.

“We’re still alive,” Jeff answered.

“Amaliya is still struggling with her powers and Samantha isn’t doing much better.”

Samantha frowned at this truthful assessment.

Aimee emerged from the pantry with her arms full of jars and a few cotton bags dangling over one arm. Her bronze hair and multi-colored, earth-toned maxi-dress rippled around her like silk in a breeze. Samantha liked Aimee, but the ethereal quality of the witch intimidated her. The witch cast a sweet smile over her shoulder at Samantha, then disappeared into the kitchen.

At last Samantha’s growling stomach compelled her into action. Following in the witch’s sweet-smelling wake (must be the herbs), Samantha entered the brightly lit kitchen.

A cauldron sat on the massive cast iron stove with steam and bits of sparkly magic floating above it. Next to it was a much more modern one where another pot was filled with something that smelled spicy and delicious. The kitchen was long and narrow with very high pressed-tin ceilings and big windows that opened to the side yard. It didn’t resemble the concept of a modern kitchen at all. There wasn’t one bit of stainless steel, granite, or modern cabinets anywhere. There was just one counter with a deep sink, and the rest of the surface space came from tables and china cabinets set along the walls. A huge refrigerator was shoved into an alcove and covered in what Samantha considered the ultimate nerd clippings which included superhero pictures, cartoons, and bumper stickers. It looked like multiple eras of the house collided in the kitchen making it a bit funky, yet inviting. The oddest part of the decor was the huge whiteboard fixed to one wall filled with information in various colors of markers.

“How many does he have now?” Benchley asked. He was seated at the kitchen table, arms folded on the table, and looking very grumpy. Sadly, grumpy seemed to be his default emotion of late.

“Eight,” Jeff answered in a grim voice from where he leaned against the wall near doorway into the family room.

“He has eight
rings?” Samantha gasped.

“That’s our estimate.” Jeff leaned over to pet Beatrice as she made her way to her food bowl.

Surprisingly, the cat allowed it.

Samantha yanked open the refrigerator and pulled out the jug of sweet tea with lemon slices swimming at the top of it. She needed caffeine and sugar. “How do we know he got more rings?”

“The Swedes reported a break in at the palace. Apparently, the royal family had one of the rings.” Jeff opened one of the china cabinets and pulled out three glasses. After setting them on the kitchen island that was actually an antique table, he rubbed his bottom lip nervously.

“And?” Samantha prompted while pouring the tea.

“Part of The Assembly in Sweden is actually palace guards. The tried to stop The Summoner’s people, but failed. The rest of the group is still in hiding.” Jeff claimed the glass with Superman on it and handed the one with Batman to Benchley.

“The Assembly is falling apart.” Benchley stared into his tea, then poked the ice with one finger. “It’s all going to hell.”

Returning the jug of tea to the fridge, Samantha sighed. Austin felt like an enclave surrounded by chaos. They weren’t foolish enough to believe The Summoner would not come for them. He was taking his time for his own nefarious reasons. That truth made Samantha very scared.

“The Assembly was never that strong to begin with,” Aimee chimed in. She was adding pinches of various herbs to her cauldron. “Most of them were having fun playing researcher and historian. There weren’t that many real warriors in the mix. Cass and I figured that out right away.”

“There are a few teams of actual fighters that are in hiding.” Jeff sounded annoyed. Samantha knew he was a huge supporter of The Assembly but she didn’t think they had done much to help other than to constantly report bad news.

“Waiting for the last big battle to help?” Aimee rolled her eyes. “Lovely.”

“We’ll need them.” Benchley sipped his ice tea. His big shoulders sagged and he looked depressed. Samantha hadn’t heard him rattle on about gaming in weeks. She supposed imagining fighting bad guys was very different from actually doing it.

Picking up the Wonder Woman glass, Samantha sipped the sweet liquid, then wandered over to the bubbling food. The spicy food made her stomach rumble. “Chili?”

“My own recipe.” Baptiste sauntered into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. Not only was he a powerful magus, he was the most amazing cook.

“Not as good as Texas chili,” Samantha said, lifting her chin haughtily, teasing him.

“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Baptiste answered with absolute confidence. “It’s ready. Take a bowl. Fresh cornbread is in the covered pan.”

“It really is good,” Aimee said to Samantha. “It’s scary good. I think he’s cheating and using magic.”

“Ha, ha.” Baptiste walked over to the white board and started making a notation. “I just heard from my cousin. We have a confirmation on another child of The Summoner.”

“Let me guess. No one has seen them since July?” Benchley shook his head. “Same old story.”

In the last few weeks it had been confirmed that three of The Summoner’s children had still been alive, but had disappeared soon after The Summoner had revealed himself at the graveyard in Fenton.

“That makes four, but there is serious doubt there are any more surviving. He did tend to kill them after all.” Baptiste finished writing down the information.

“So why are these four alive?” Aimee asked.

Samantha spooned some chili into a bowl. “I betcha they got the rings for him.” Lifting the cover on the cornbread, she felt her mouth start to water. The coarse yellow bread was already dripping with melted butter.

“That would explain how they got favor with him,” Baptiste said, sounding impressed.

Jeff gave her a proud smile. She beamed back at him. “That’s my girlfriend. Always seeing the obvious stuff we miss. Those four get him his rings, then go to him when he summons them.”

Samantha slid into a chair at the table and set her meal in front of her. “I bet they’re not alive anymore.”

Benchley raised his head. “Why would you say that?”

“Because he’s a dick?” Samantha said. “Just a thought, that’s all.”

“Why keep them alive? They’re not necromancers.” Baptiste folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. “It sorta makes sense. He was ready to ki
ll Rachoń.”

“But he has Etzli on his side,” Benchley said, pointing at the chart on the white board. “She’s not even his creation.”

“But she’s a vampire with unique abilities.” Aimee continued to measure herbs just by pinching a bit with her fingers or piling them on her palm. Samantha wasn’t too sure how accurate that method was compared to measuring cups and spoons. “She can call blood out of people once she wounds them with her daggers.”

Jeff rocked back and forth on the back two legs of his chair. “Well, if you think about it, he’ll want to have a lot of minions, but very few top dogs. He’ll want to sit on the top tier, but have someone that can keep the others in line. I’ve been reading up on what we know about his history and that’s his pattern.”

“And he’s so old he’s going to stick with what he knows,” Samantha agreed. “Hell, my grandma can barely use her iPhone, and he’s way older than her.”

“You’re missing something very important,” Benchley said. He picked up a napkin and blotted his sweaty forehead. “If those four vampires all h
ad a ring, that means he has nine rings. Meanwhile, we’re just sitting here like a bunch of morons guessing what he’s up to with our thumbs stuck up our asses ...” Benchley’s voice trailed off.

“We still have one,” Samantha said. That was their mantra now. It was the only real solace they had as the situation became increasingly dire.

Jeff leaned toward his friend and gave him a direct look. Samantha recognized it as Jeff’s serious business face. “This is the deal, Bench. In the end we don’t know what the hell The Summoner is doing other than gathering the rings and wiping out The Assembly. All we can do is depend on our connections to give us an idea of what is going on with The Summoner and prepare.”

“In other words, what we’re already doing.” Benchley’s frustration was very evident in the way he ground his teeth together and hunched over his tea.

Aimee brandished the spoon she was using to stir the contents of her cauldron in Benchley’s direction. “This is the reality of the situation. You have to accept it, Benchley.”

“I’m tired of us not doing anything, Aimee! We just sit around and collect all this useless information. We don’t do anything but wait to die!”

“Actually, I work all damn day preparing spells,” Aimee retorted. “While you’re sulking,
I’m
doing something.”

The witch rarely raised her voice, but the steel in it now silenced the entire room. The only sound was Samantha’s spoon scraping against the edge of her bowl as she ate.

“Well at least you have something to do while you’re waiting for the end of the world,” Benchley spat out.

Samantha plopped some of the warm chili in her mouth and chewed. It killed her to admit it, but it was better than any she’d had at a chili cook-off. Baptiste gave her a knowing smile and a wink. She stuck her chili-laden tongue out at him.

There was a loud pop and a wash of glowing white energy flowed through the kitchen, pierced the walls, and vanished into the backyard.

Samantha twisted about in her chair. “What was that?”

“I just reinforced the ward,” Aimee answered.

“How are the perimeter alarms working?” Jeff asked.

He appeared just a tad grumpy. Samantha knew he hated that he couldn’t see the magic taking place around him. Samantha had to admit it looked really neat and wished she could share it with him. Instead, she tried to describe what she saw to him when he asked.

“Any supernatural crossing Austin’s city limits will trigger the alarm and a tracking spell attaches to them immediately. Cass took out two vampires last night in Oak Hill. We think they were a scouting team.”

“Why didn’t anyone say that before?” Benchley exclaimed.

“I was waiting to report it to Cian,” Aimee answered.

“Jeff’s the one in charge!” Benchley glowered.

“Cian’s the master of the city,” Aimee stated calmly and started to eat, not looking directly at Jeff.

“But Jeff’s the leader of our hunting group!”

“That consists of you, your sister, Eduardo and Jeff.”

“And Samantha!” Benchley thrust a finger in her direction and Samantha batted it away. “Right, Samantha?”

“Why can’t we all be one big group?” Samantha asked.

Her boyfriend was slowly ruffling his hair, his expression tense. Jeff and Cian did work together, but Jeff was bullheaded about acknowledging Cian as their official leader.

“We are one big group consisting of two factions,” Baptiste said calmly. “And we answer to Cian. Even Jeff. Because in the end Cian has hundreds of years of experience and knows The Summoner better than we do. He also knows all our strengths, our weaknesses, and how to utilize us. Jeff, you lead our research, but you’re not the military leader of this outfit.”

“True,” Jeff admitted, though his expression was sour.

Under the table, Samantha propped her bare feet on his leg and caressed his knee with her toes. She smiled when his hand settled over her ankle and squeezed it lightly.

“This is bullshit,” Benchley growled and stormed out of the kitchen.

Silence fell over the remaining group. After a few seconds, Jeff started to get up to follow.

“I need to discuss something with you, Jeff,” Samantha said, her tone quite serious. “I came up with an idea on how I can gain more control over the ghosts.”

“Oh?” Jeff sat back down. “What did you come up with?