Page 23 of The Rebel Witch

Her eyes rolled, and she shook her hand out as though trying to shake off pain. “Some dumbass witch tried to murder a vampire king?”

I would go with that. “Yup. So what spell would said dumbass witch use?”

“She wouldn’t because there’s no one that stup…” She went still for a moment, obviously considering the situation. “There is one spell that could potentially work. Only the highest-level of witch would even try it. Are you really telling me there was an attempt on Lee’s life?”

I didn’t like that she was putting the pieces together so rapidly. “Yes. He’s okay because someone who was with him stepped in front of him and took the spell.”

Her eyes widened, and I would have sworn there was a moment of panic in there. “Rhys?”

I shook my head. “Dean.”

Now I didn’t have to swear. The panic was right there. “Myrddin’s son? A witch killed Myrddin’s son? We have strict orders not to hurt him. We’re supposed to bring him in.”

I’d been hoping she would react like this. She might be able to shrug off Rhys taking the hit or someone in the rebellion she didn’t know, but Myrddin had been interested in his biological son. I’d had to hope that would transfer to Liv since she seemed to kiss the man’s ass. “He’s alive, but Lily doesn’t think he has long, and the king wants us to move to Gray’s tonight.”

“Because the attempt happened somewhere close and the king isn’t willing to risk the witches finding this place and laying waste to it,” she mused. “Lily is an idiot who can’t possibly know how a proper witch works.”

I couldn’t not sigh at her pretentious words, but I had to ignore them because I had a job to do. “That’s why I came to you, the expert at killing people with dark magic.”

She frowned my way. “I certainly wouldn’t say that. You know I haven’t actually killed a lot of people. Most of the creatures I killed, I did it for you. When you think of it that way, you’re the worst leader I’ve ever had.”

She was good with throwing the blame around. “Sure thing, sister. Killing the demon who was trying to freeze me to death was a tragic mistake on your behalf. Can you help me with Dean?”

“What do I get?”

That one question was such proof that I wasn’t dealing with an Olivia I understood. “You get to not let Myrddin’s son die. And I won’t put my foot up your ass. Look, Livvie, I told the king no torture when it comes to you, but a beat down is something different.”

She stood, her teeth peeling back in a snarl. “I’d like to see you…” She stopped. “Why am I arguing? Myrddin wants to know his son. I will get great glory for being the one to save him. I don’t know why I’m fighting it. The logical thing to do is to save the boy.”

Excellent. We were getting somewhere. She talked a lot about logic, but this was the first time it resembled my Earth plane logic. “What spell would you use?”

“Any number of spells could harm a regular vampire. A king is different. Lee is daywalking like his father.” She seemed to think about the situation. “Although from what I understand, his father’s daywalking ability came from Quinn’s magic. However, Lee has a lot of Fae in his parentage, so that might account for why he doesn’t need Quinn to supercharge him. He would have some of it locked in his DNA. So a sun spell likely wouldn’t work.”

“Lily says it’s like he’s being burned from the inside.”

Liv’s eyes closed, her jaw going tight. “Damn fools.” She opened them. “I need to see him but if it is what I think it is, getting him to the Hell plane could save him, though he’ll be in for a long recovery.”

“What is it?”

“Uro. It means to incinerate. The witches would have been working on it for days, so likely they began right after the queen blew up the Coven House,” Liv explained. “I’ve never worked the spell because it’s said to be painful as fuck, and it’s a bit extreme. A simple sun spell will usually torch a vamp, so why put yourself through Uro?”

“Put yourself through?”

“How many were there, Kelsey?” she asked softly.

I sank down onto the sofa. I’d already told her the truth, but this felt like salt in a wound. “There were three. I wasn’t there so I didn’t get a chance to recognize any of them. Not that I would. Hell, I barely recognized you.”

She didn’t react to that, merely turned to the window and stared out, her hand back up to her chest. “Like I said only the highest in the coven would even attempt a spell like Uro. By highest, I mean only the Profane. So he’s given me up for dead and selected another unholy trinity. I suppose I can understand. I was stupid enough to get myself captured.”

“It’s not your fault.” I mean it kind of was because she’d been doing bad shit when I’d caught her, but it seemed like the thing to say at the time.

Her head shook, but she didn’t look back. “Oh, but it is. Witches take responsibility. Though I seriously doubt whoever he elevated will explain that the spell will now kill the master’s only child. They’ll try to cover it up. If I were the one doing it, I would spread the rumor that Liv Carey has joined the rebels and killed her master’s son. It would be a good play. If they know I’m not dead, and they will at some point. They’ll know I wasn’t in the Coven House. You can use all the wards you like, but they’ll figure it out. I would simply make up a couple of rumors to cover my idiocy, so the only way to fight that is to help Dean.”

I didn’t care how or why she got there. I only wanted her to help Dean. “Myrddin would obviously be grateful. Tell me about Uro.”

“Well, it’s a spell that is only possible if one has access to the Hell plane. Demonic energy is required. Demons have classifications, as you know, and they can sometimes share their powers with chosen ones if they’re willing to pay the price.”

I could guess what that price was. “Their souls?”

---