Page 99 of Magic Touch
"I can't reach anyone mentally. It's as if only fear can escape." Esme grips my waist tight.
We're moving at a dangerous pace, but whatever has ignited the witches' fear is already happening, and we're late before we begin.
The coven house looks quiet, but the pressure in my chest that tells me something is drastically wrong has not eased. The blinds are drawn on the street, and I'm tempted to go around to the alley, but not willing to take any more time.
Esme slides to the ground and runs toward the door before I can dismount. "Wait, Esme."
She stops short at the door, giving me enough time to rush to her side. She conjures a ball of fire in her left hand.
I hold my magic close, but not knowing what's inside, I don't try to guess.
"Do come in. We've been waiting for you," a man calls from within, sounding calm and genteel as if he's been holding teatime for our arrival.
Opening the door, I grip Esme's arm, so she enters behind me. She doesn't like it, but I do it anyway.
Standing in the middle of the room is a tall, thin man with white-blond hair and pale skin. His eyes are the lightest blue. His breeches and shirt are both black, accentuating the stark difference between his complexion and his clothing. His lips are twisted into a cruel smile, and he's gripping Trina by her hair.
Eyes wide but empty, Trina hangs from his hand like a rag doll.
"We haven't met. Let me introduce myself." He drops Trina, who thuds to the floor. "I've been following your progress, Sir William. Impressive gifts you have. They'll be wasted with these lower witches. That would be a shame. You need a coven that can support you, not these kitchen witches."
Worry for Trina clouds my judgment. I need to stay calm, but if he's killed that child, I don't know what I'll do.
Esme's magic hums. She whispers in my head, "Alive, but in some kind of trance."
Relief fills me. "You have me at a disadvantage, sir. You know about me, but I'm at a loss for who you are."
He rolls his eyes petulantly. "Orin Sallows, formerly of Windsor. I am High Priest of the Kent Coven. They have come a long way since I took control." Evil rolls off Orin like a sour smell.
It's hard to breathe in the wake of such darkness. "Took control. Does that mean you killed the high priestess who preceded you?"
"I relieved her of her duties. She was nothing. She thought to send me away. Of course, I'll not be thwarted again in this lifetime. I'm too powerful for that anymore." He glances at Sara Beth near the hearth.
"Was that your parlor trick that visited the other day?" I hurtle forward, keeping Esme behind me.
Minerva takes Sara Beth's hand.
Sylvia is in the doorway of the stillroom.
Prudence is above, I can feel her, but I don't think she's conscious. Not many witches, but still, they outnumber him. Why did they let him harm Trina?
Orin's laugh is disturbingly joyless. "Parlor trick? That was higher magic than a novice like you can possibly fathom. You think bringing about my temper will distract me. You are a typical gentleman."
"What makes you think I'm a gentleman, Mr. Sallows? We've hardly met." I think about the outcome I want. Sending Orin away and keeping these witches safe.
"You live in a gentleman's home. Your father was a gentleman. You were knighted. What more do I need to know? Your kind is predictable and simple of mind." He steps in front of Trina, a ball of gray light in his right hand.
Esme's magic bubbles behind me.
"Orin, you cannot win this," Sara Beth calls.
He grins, showing straight white teeth. "She worries for me. It's cute that after all these years, she still cares. Yet, she wouldn't come with me when her bitch of a mother banished me from my home." By the end of his recollection, the smile is gone, and he looks ferocious. Red flashes in his eyes. "I'll kill you last, Sara Beth. I want to make certain you see the deaths of everyone you care about. I'll take particular pleasure in tearing your 'great mother' to shreds. I thought she'd be easier to quell, but she took to the trance just like this peasant." He nudges Trina with his boot.
"So, you've come for revenge?" I ask.
"I've come to take this coven from her. I've come to gain what is my right. You could stand at my right hand, William." He opens his arms in a kind of welcome.
I circle to the right. Henry moves with me, keeping Esme between us. "I fail to see how this coven is your right, but that aside, let's go back to what you know of me. For example, did you know I was knighted for my deeds as a soldier?"
