Total pages in book: 203
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 998(@200wpm)___ 799(@250wpm)___ 666(@300wpm)
I’ve already texted Cicely to fill her in. She and Jared are out at his trailer tonight, but told us to consider themselves on standby.
Erica answers her ringing phone and her body language instantly changes. She listens for a minute, says, “Okay,” and hangs up.
“Everyone casually but quickly move inside,” she says.
Nobody asks questions.
Tyson tosses a bucket of water on the fire as the girls on the swing mosey inside.
Jase and me follow. The other guys are behind us.
Once we’re inside, Erica says, “Vivi just had a premonition of flowers suddenly blooming. Green trumpet flowers.”
***
Not even ten minutes later, Tyson alerts us because he’s by the window and has just watched a riot of trumpet blooms erupt. They’re filling the grass around the perimeter of Tyson and Ivy’s house, even drooping into the lake on one side, which would’ve meant that if Aphra and Erica hadn’t worked together to detoxify them, they would right now be leaching toxins into our lake as well as our river, likely also contaminating the village’s drinking water.
She not only wants all our alphas disabled, she gives no fucks about anyone else here, no care for the environment, either.
We triggered a code alert going out to everyone in the pack to stay indoors. In case Alta is watching, they’ll hopefully assume everyone is inside and ill.
Thankfully, nobody is sneezing, nobody feels the effects of the toxins, so they were neutralized, but I know Jase and the other guys are less than happy that Dr. Blakely is still here because Jase says we’ll have to play things “by the book.”
On our way over here, he told me that after the other nonsense we already had with Aviva Starling, if the SCC doesn’t dispense adequate justice here, our council will do it ourselves. Because if we don’t, we’ll continue to be targets for power-hungry supernaturals.
The magic in our cave is abundant and important and if charges are filed against Alta for this while she does something inside the cave behind the waterfall, we’ll have to safeguard it even more than we do now. Because the SCC lists charges filed with case details on the secure archives’ server. I know this for a fact as I’ve spent countless hours reading files on that server.
***
Five minutes ago, a small drone flew low, along the waterline out behind Tyson’s house.
We’ve been sitting in the dark inside the dining room, watching the lake. It’s exactly an hour after those flowers have bloomed when we see a little light on the water. A boat.
My heart stutters. It’s all happening.
“What about Erica?” I say aloud.
“Hm?” Erica looks my way.
“She’s trying to make all the alphas and super alphas sick. What about you? What plan does she have to stop you from stopping her?”
“I’m covered. I’ve done an extra-special protection spell. I’ve also got all these crystals on.”
She flashes her ringed fingers and bangle-laden wrists. She’s also wearing three necklaces.
“I deconstructed everything in the crystals and plants in that basement,” Dani adds. “She’s not super creative, obviously. She’s using the same plants as last time to attack the shifters. It stands to reason she’s probably using a similar getup for Erica as what she set up to stop me. We’ve got this.”
“She’s not even close to being one of their strongest or smartest witches,” Joel calls over. “Her background check? I’d say she’s near the bottom of that organizational chart.”
“You’d be correct,” Aphra says, coming into the room. She was upstairs putting her daughter to bed in a guestroom. “Like I told the Young sisters, Alta’s always had an inferiority complex. Always trying to get Anya’s approval. Not the savviest witch, either. I also predict she’ll use the same bag of tricks she used for Dani, thinking she can disable Erica.”
“Even knowing how much power Erica has?” I ask.
Aphra nods. “She thinks she’s harming Erica’s mate. She’ll expect it to throw her off her game.”
“I mean, she’s got human henchman. Surely, they can’t do much to help her cause other than spy on airlines, carry unconscious people, or carry a woman and be a creepy perv making gross sexual threats.” I roll my eyes.
I feel something weird spike in my chest.
It’s like Jase’s face just turned to stone.
It reminds me of the look on his face back in that basement when he was trapped and watching them carry me down the stairs.
Eureka hits me.
I gasp. “I know how to stop her.”
All eyes swing to me.
“There’s a Starling power suppression necklace in my carry-on bag!”
“There’s no time,” Joel says, staring at his laptop. “They’re just now getting into our cave.” He turns the screen so we can all see.
Alta stands in our cave with a large tote bag. Her two stepsons are hoisting a frail-looking man up out of the little dingy and onto the stone ledge.