Page 12 of Destiny of the Witch

‘I don’t know where we go from here.’

‘We do exactly what we were doing before,’ I said firmly. ‘We keep an eye on our potions store, and we keep an eye on practising witches. We know their power levels. Jeb was a mid-level witch when he came here, but when he broke an old clearing in my mind there was absolutely zero sign of exertion. With hindsight, that was a huge red flag that I missed. We need to review the personnel files, check their initial tests. Perhaps we could redo some power tests as part of a Coven shake-up. If anyone’s power has increased unusually, we’ll know to lookat them twice.’

I didn’t share with him the recent survey that the Coven Council had carried out while the evil witches were off in the daemon realm. I had a number of names on my list to look twice at.

Jeb had been on there, but Venice Bellington was also on the list and it would truly be a surprise if she were evil. Melrose was also there, and I was disquieted to see Hannah on it too because she was one of my protégées. If Hannah’s excellence came through pain and death rather than natural talent and hard work, I’d be sorely disappointed.

Ethan’s name wasn’t on the list, but the fewer people who knew about its existence, the better so I wasn’t planning to mention it. I had suggested strongly to the Coven Council that the list be for the Coven Mothers’ eyes only, and only after someone had checked that the Coven Mothers themselves weren’t on it. That sort of snafu was something that happened all the time in big organisations, and it was as embarrassing as it was dangerous.

‘That’s a good idea,’ Ethan said, relaxing now that he had something he could do.

My phone blared. I intended to ignore it but I checked the screen just in case.Abel calling.My gut clenched. Abel was the pseudonym that I used for Cain Stilwell’s number.The ringmaster of the Other Circus didn’t call me for casual chats.

‘Excuse me,’ I muttered hastily to Ethan. ‘I need to take this.’ I strode into my office for some much-needed privacy and swiped the screen to answer.

Chapter 7

‘You need to come to the circus,’ Cain said urgently. ‘There’s been an incident.’

‘What’s happened?’ I asked, my voice tight.

‘Meredith has been attacked.’ He paused, picking his words carefully. ‘They intended for her to die but we got to her in time. She’ll be okay, thank God. But she’s not safe here any longer.’

He sounded upset. I got that; he was running a safe haven that was no longer safe. A safe haven I helped to fund and run.

The Other Circus exists solely to give any of the magical population a place to hide if they are on the Connection’s radar, or if they’ve fallen foul of a powerful person from the Other. A select few seers and witches help direct people to the circus when they have need of it, like I had directed Meredith and Ria. Meredith should have been safe underCain’s roof, but she wasn’t – and now everyone else in the circus was in danger too. Someone’s enemy knew where and what they were. Worse, it wasmyenemy. The circus and its occupants were in danger and it was my fault.

I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. ‘I’m sorry that I brought danger to our door.’

‘We’re all running from danger here, one way or another. We’re always prepared for it to come knocking,’ he said grimly.

Cain had been a werewolf alpha and a proponent of equal werewolf rights. Someone hadn’t liked the cut of his jib; after multiple attempts on his life, he had faked his own death and gone into hiding in the circus before he could be silenced permanently. After a few years, Cain had taken over running it. He was a born leader. Though he may have been prepared for his enemies to find him, the circus had always been a safe place. Until now.

‘But danger hasn’t knocked before,’ I argued guiltily. ‘Not like this.’

He snorted. ‘Amber, take that chip off your shoulder. We’ve had plenty of incidents over the years. I may have glossed over them with you, but you know about the one a few months ago when one of our runaway centaurs was found by his abusive father. We dealt with it.’ The fatherhad been dispatched – permanently. ‘And we’ll deal with this. But come now. Ria needs you,’ he said firmly. ‘And so do I.’ He hung up.

Exasperated, I redialled. He answered the phone but didn’t speak. I sighed. ‘How am I supposed to know where to come?’ I huffed. ‘Where are you?’ It was arovingcircus.

‘Ah,’ he made a sheepish sound. ‘Liverpool. The Liverpool Arena.’

‘I’ll be two or three hours,’ I promised. ‘I’m on my way.’

He hung up again. Terrible phone manners, but I forgave him because he was stressed.

I went back into my lounge to make my excuses to Ethan but found that he’d already left. I guessed he wasn’t in the mood to await my pleasure. Bastion raised an eyebrow in question. He hadn’t followed me into the office, so he probably hadn’t heard the contents of the call even with his supernaturally sharp hearing.

Melva had said that I would have to tell Bastion about the circus soon and it looked like she was right. Even now, I hated that a little. I hate anyone predicting the future – especially mine.

I cleared my throat. ‘Have I told you the secret about the circus?’

‘What secret?’ Bastion asked lightly. ‘That there’s a trick to all of the clowns getting out of the same car?’

‘Not that.’ A smile pulled at my lips despite my anxiety.

‘Thereisa trick to it,’ he said in all seriousness. ‘There’s a trapdoor underneath the car.’

I hit him lightly on his muscular arm. ‘Notthatsecret. I run a circus.’

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