Page 36 of Destiny of the Witch

Goddess protect me, I felt such a fool.

I realised I was shaking. My father had been running the evil Coven frommyCoven. He had made a mockery out of me. Perhaps it was because he had wanted to see me grow up or, more cynically, because he needed to stay close to the harkan. I didn’t know what to believe.

John –Shaun– had been furious when I was attacked by a fire elemental, though he’d seemed wholly uninterested in Oscar’s injuries. It must have been difficult for him to see me day in, day out with Oscar, the man who had raised me and taken his own place in Mum’s heart. No wonder he hadn’t been crying a river for Oscar’s wounds.

I wondered if Jeb had known. The evil Coven’s organisation was cell-like and most evil witches didn’t knowmany of the others. Had Jeb been ignorant of the true identity of John Melton?

And John –Shaun– knew my love of potions. Mum had introduced me to the Other realm when I was six years old and from that moment I had been obsessed with them. The DeLea potion bible had been the source of my bedtime stories more times than I could count. John had taken over running the Spice Shoppe no doubt as a way to get a hold of dark potion ingredients without raising eyebrows – and perhaps to have all those many, many run-ins with me.

John was always in the shop when I went there. Was he there to keep tabs on my movements? I felt sick as I wondered if Old Man Jones had died naturally or been helped on his way.

Through all the overwhelming turmoil, one thing anchored me: Bastion. He was sending me waves of love, cocooning me. I closed my eyes and breathed through it all.

The prophecy!

I was supposed to face Shaun to bring an end to his rule of the evil Coven, but I couldn’t for the life of me imagine hurting my father. That thought had been easier when I’d believed he’d deserted me without a backwards glance, butknowing he’d been part of my Coven for years changed that.

‘I don’t want to hurt him,’ I said finally. I opened my eyes and looked at Oscar and Bastion. ‘We’ll hand him over to the Connection.’

Oscar’s jaw worked. ‘He’s done very bad things, Amber.’

Benjamin huffed quietly. ‘I’ll say.’

‘I know.’ I held a hand up to forestall Oscar as he opened his mouth to argue with me. ‘I’m not an idiot. You don’t get to be the leader of a deadly organisation without getting your hands – and your soul – dirty. But he’s still my father and I can’t get past that. I want you two to know that I want him to get out of this alive – in a cell, but alive. Can we please aim for that?’

Bastion nodded. ‘As long as it doesn’t directly interfere with protecting you or risk someone else’s life, I’ll agree to it.’

I blew out a harsh breath. ‘Thank you.’ I turned to Oscar. ‘And you?’

He nodded tightly but didn’t give me his word out loud. I didn’t ask again; I was probably already pressing my luck.

‘What do we do now?’ Benji asked. I met his eyes and he held out his arms to me. I went intothem for the hug. I let his cold arms settle around me and it helped cool the tempest within me.

‘We confront him,’ I mumbled into Benji’s shoulder. ‘And we capture him.’

Chapter 29

My phone rang again. This time it was the Coven reception number and I grimaced. Someone was really trying to get hold of me. I swiped to answer. ‘Crone.’

‘Coven Mother,’ Janice said briskly, ‘I am sorry to interrupt. I am aware you do not wish to be disturbed but I have a lady on the phone who insists on speaking to you. She says her name is Charlize and she is your mum’s carer. She says it is urgent.’

I went cold. ‘Put her through,’ I ordered brusquely. Janice didn’t waste time. The phone line clicked. ‘Charlize?’

‘You need to get here now! We’ve been discovered. Someone’s watching the house.’ She sounded frantic and hung up before I could reply.

I swore loudly. ‘That was Charlize – she said the location is compromised! Hurry!’

Weall ran to the underground carpark. ‘I’ll drive,’ I asserted, holding my hands out for the keys. Oscar had been drinking and he certainly wasn’t at his sharpest – something I had no doubt he regretted now.

He hesitated before handing them over. He’d been steaming the night before, and most drunk driving was done the next morning when you felt deceptively fine but you absolutely weren’t. He knew that as well as I did.

Bastion sat next to me, with Oscar and Benji in the back. I started the engine, threw the car into reverse and drove out of the car park. Next to me, I felt a buzz of disquiet from Bastion. He was looking at his phone. ‘What’s up?’ I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.

‘She didn’t ringme.’ His tone was a little hurt.

‘What?’

‘Charlize. She didn’t ring me.’

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