Page 3 of Witch Untold
“I don’t need spells,” Jasper drawled.
“Yeah, J, we know, but Conah might find them useful.”
Jasper shrugged.
“That’s settled, then,” Anna said. “You’ll retrieve Elijah and Bramble, and we’ll prepare for the fallout.”
I stared at her. “What do you mean?”
Anna met my gaze. “Oh, Cora, you don’t think getting Elijah and Bramble back will be the end of things, do you?”
Obviously not. Get with the program, Cor. “They’ll come for me regardless.”
“They gave her six weeks,” Sloane said. “She still has two left. They gave the deadline for a reason. They probably aren’t strong enough to attack until that time.”
“And we need to make the most of that time,” Anna said. “We have no way to kill them, but we haven’t been idle. We have an advantage because the Sons of Adam are creatures of the night, so Bador and the gargoyles will be on hand to protect us.”
Needing the gargoyles might seem like overkill, but with no way to kill these creatures, we’d need to throw everything we had at them to weaken them, slow them down, and maybe allow us an advantage.
“We have stronger wards we can activate in a few days,” Anna continued, “courtesy of the sisters. They also offered to give you refuge—”
“No,” Sloane cut in.
Anna’s smile was terse. “Yes, I declined their offer in light of what happened the last time you visited.”
Conah frowned down at me with a question in his eyes.
I shrugged. “Meh, they may have considered holding me hostage to feed off my power, you know, for infinity. Nothing too horrific.” I smiled wryly.
“Why didn’t you tell me this?” Jasper demanded.
“Focus, guys,” Sloane snapped. “Anna, what’s the alternative?”
Anna offered us a close-lipped smile. “Cora’s wolves will take her away for a few days. There are several safe houses across the country. The Sons of Adam won’t be able to find her, and I doubt they’re at full strength to go chasing after her.”
It sounded like a plan. Being with Tor, Leif, and Rune would take the edge off. I nodded. “Okay, let’s do this.” I locked gazes with Anna. “Now will you tell us where in the world they are?”
Anna sighed. “Barrow. They’re in Barrow, Alaska.”
Sloane headed for the door. “I’ll gather supplies.”
* * *
I huggedthe phone to my ear, my back to the vast library as Tor’s gravelly tone teased my senses.
“Come home soon,” he said. “Leif’s making lasagna and Rune’s picked out a movie. I’ll run you a bath.”
“It’s almost eleven in the evening, Tor.”
“So? You know we keep our own hours. You need a soak and food, and then you can curl up on the sofa with us and fall asleep to whatever flick Rune’s picked out.”
I stifled a snort. Rune had an eclectic taste in movies, so it was always a surprise when he picked, and the picture Tor was painting sounded wonderful. If only danger wasn’t hovering in the background. Still, I couldn’t do anything more about Elijah and Bramble right now. It was going to be a waiting game for me.
I hated waiting. “I’ll be home soon.”
“And Cora, tell Jasper…tell him thank you.”
I nodded and then remembered he couldn’t see me. “I will.” I blew a kiss down the phone on impulse, then hung up quickly, suddenly embarrassed. Which was ridiculous, because blowing kisses was nothing compared to the other intimate moments we’d shared, but it was another level of intimacy, a confidence and playfulness that came with time. I wasn’t sure we were there yet.
