Page 42 of Destiny of the Witch

‘It was running out of life energy,’ I lied with an easy shrug. ‘As I wasn’t willing to give it mine, it was the kindest thing to do to put it out of its misery.’

‘Maybe,’ he said finally, ‘but I don’t think so. I think you’re lying, daughter of mine. No matter.’ He waved it away and his expression turned serious. ‘Now, I am not a fool, whatever you think of me. I know you don’t want to make this potion, so I need to persuade you to make it properly. No errors. It’s important that you know that Apollinaire is one of mine.’

I tried not to react but I suspect I failed spectacularly. Of coursesomeonehad betrayed us or else the trap wouldn’t have worked. Someone who knew where we were must have told my father the location.

I thought darkly of the mocking salute the blond man had given Charlize. Thank the Goddess I’d asked Benji to protect Mum too, or who knew what Apollinaire might have tried whilst the others were busy battling the chimera.Even so, panic laced through me. Apollinaire was guarding my mum and he could easily kill her whilst Charlize and Haiku were canoodling.

My father watched that realisation spread across my face with a smug, satisfied smile. The implied threat was I had to make these potions or Mum was dead.

Bastard.

Chapter 34

I glared at Shaun but he continued to speak, unfazed by the anger that was pouring out of me. ‘I have agents spread across the Other realm. It's not just witches who work for me, Amber, though I’m sure you guessed that when you saw Mack. The evil Coven doesn’t call itself anything so crass, though we’ve all enjoyed your little re-brand. Evil witches sounds so much more powerful. We like that.’

Great, I’d given them a nickname that they liked.

‘The evil Coven is more than just a collection of a few witches choosing the path of power. We are the powerful fromallwalks of life. We call ourselves the Domini.’ He spoke the name with reverence.

I snorted. That was Latin for ‘master’.

A smile touched my father’s lips. ‘Yes, a touch unimaginative, but it has been in use for centuries so we are stuck with it now.’ The smile faded. ‘Make the potion, Amber. After all, we have youfor the harkan now. Make the potion, or the Domini will kill your mother.’

I tried to rein in my rage. Did my father think me so obtuse that he needed to draw out his implied threat into simple black-and-white terms? I had fully understood his earlier attempts at intimidation; I didn’t need him to spell it out further. ‘And are the Domini the Ante-Crea?’ I probed.

Shaun snorted. ‘Hardly. The Domini accept all powerful members, creature or human. Sometimes the Domini’s interests have aligned with Anti-Crea interests, but we are only occasional allies, if that. Nothing more.’ He looked at me. ‘I have no issue with your relationship with Bastion, if that is what you’re getting at.’

It was not. I couldn’t give two figs about his approval; I was just trying to dig for more information on the Domini. But I smiled like I was pleased that he wasn’t an Anti-Crea bigot.

Best to turn this conversation back to the potion and not my relationship with Bastion or the threat to Mum. If I focused on the latter, my fear and rage would make me weak and I couldn’t afford that right now.

‘I need the blood of the familiars you want me to save,’ I said briskly. ‘The potion will be far more effectiveif it is keyed to each familiar. I can make a generic batch, but it won’t work as well.’

My father smiled. ‘Excellent. I will get samples of the blood of the familiars that are here, and we can supply the generic potion to the international witches. If they want the full remedy, they will have to earn it.’ Wasn’t my father a keeper? ‘Get started Amber.’ He walked to the door then turned back. ‘And Amber?’

‘Yes?’

‘I’ll have a potion mistress check your work hourly. No deviations from the book.’ He tapped the workbook then let himself out.

I released a shaky breath and slumped back onto the bed. What a mess. I let myself have a moment of fear and apprehension then gave myself a mental slap. Bastion would find me.

Bastion.

I reached for the bond between us but there was nothing there. Panic filled me as I realised I couldn’t feel him – worse, he couldn’t feel me. Would he think that I was dead? Oh Goddess, poor Bastion. And if he thought I was dead, did that mean he wouldn’t look for me? Was he grieving somewhere, plotting revenge? Mack had implied that theywantedBastion to find me; was that because heenjoyed the image of Bastion finding my dead body, or had they set a trap for him if he came hunting?

I bit my lip and grasped the pentagram necklace at my throat. I needed allies. I held it tightly but nothing happened. I pulled it up to my eyeline so that I could see it; the pentagram was usually bright silver but now it was burnished and blackened. Somehow the evil Coven – the Domini – had neutralised my link to my sisters and the Goddess.

I truly was alone.

Chapter 35

My pity party lasted a good five minutes; there were tears and even some silent wailing into my pillow. Then I took a deep breath and started plotting. I hadn’t become Coven Mother and Crone by letting adverse conditions define me. Heck, I hadn’t had a familiar for much of my life and that hadn’t stopped me from achieving success. I believed in myself, and I wasn’t going to stop now. I had allies and theywerecoming to help me – but for now I would help myself.

I had no idea how many familiars I was supposed to save in the UK, but the number of blood vials would give me a pretty clear picture of how many evil witches I needed to find and root out. I suspected my father would withhold the treatment from some of the less-privileged few so it might not give me a total picture, but it would be more knowledge than I had now. I would brew their damnedpotions and, whilst I was brewing them, I would brew another one. A secret one.

I started preparing some ingredients. As I chopped them, my brain was free to think. I hadn’t been kidnapped to prepare this potion, as my father would have me believe, but because I was the only one who could completely control the harkan crystal. Anyone could make this potion, including the pet potion mistress who would apparently be checking on me hourly.

My father had my notes – they were warded, obviously – but I had no doubt that some judicious use of some evil runes would reveal them. So, what was his motivation in havingmemake the potions? Perhaps he didn’t trust his potion mistress. That was a distinct possibility but I couldn’t help sensing there was another reason – one I was missing. Maybe he was just trying to get me to relax into my surroundings by making me do something routine, lull me into a false sense of security. That felt very possible. Well, I wouldn’t be lulled.

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