Charmed & Deadly (11 page)

“Tell him I really do have help this time.” Well, I did have Kaz, and I think the leopard is on my side. She hasn’t eaten me yet and I’m taking that as a good sign.

Sam turned his face back to the ceiling. “You know I love you.” He reached out as if to touch my cheek.

I almost blubbered, but I kept it together.

“I love you, too. I’ll see you in a few.” I smiled, but I knew my eyes were shiny. I pulled away before he heard me sniffle.

The sun had gone down and the jungle was black once again.

“Kaz, I’m putting a protection charm on you and on our leopard friend.” I pulled a charm out of my backpack that I’d made back at my brother’s camp. “This burns inside your pocket if someone tries to harm you, and puts up a shield to protect you. It doesn’t last long, so move fast once it begins.”

He took the charm from me and put it in his pocket.

I moved toward the leopard, seriously doubting my sanity as I did so. She had been protecting us, I was certain of it now. The night she’d eaten the soldier, I have a feeling she was protecting us from his gun. Kaz was right about her being a magical creature.

There was no telling how wild things were about to get, and I didn’t want the leopard hurt. Whispering, I spoke to her. “I’d like to put this around your neck for protection.” I took a few steps and stopped. The leopard watched me curiously and then moved majestically, muscles flexing, until she was a foot in front of me, and I had to remember to breathe. I said a quick prayer that she didn’t swallow me whole and then bent down to wrap the leather necklace with the amber amulet around her neck.

I’ve been using amber this trip because it amplifies whatever spell or charm it’s given.

When I finished, she moved away to the edge of a clearing.

As I walked back past Kaz, he grabbed my hand.

“Be safe, my friend.” He squeezed my fingers tight and let go.

“You, too.” I squeezed back, then, “Kaz, you are an amazing man and no matter what happens, please know I will always be grateful.”

“It has been an honor to assist one so powerful.” He gave a slight bow.

I gave him a tiny salute, then faced the cave opening with determination. It was time to save the goofy men of my life.

Sweet, Texas
2 p.m.
Witches with bipolar cats: 1
Dead guys: I lost count. Again.
Spells: 10

C
asper, the crazy cat, has decided she can never be more than two feet away from me while I’m home. Maybe it’s because I was gone so long this last time, but I’m not sure.

The weird thing is, she hates me. From the day she showed up on my doorstep in New York and insisted on coming in, she’s detested my every move. While we lived in the bigger cities, like Paris, London, and New York City, she never left the apartment. She’s always been my guard cat, and has let me know more than once when a warlock was trying to get past my wards. But she’s never wanted to be petted or to curl up in my lap. There is always disdain in her eyes, like she barely tolerates me.

When we moved to Sweet, it was a whole different story. From that first month, I was lucky if I saw her once a week—until now. I came home from Africa, and she’s been stuck to me like glaze on a sugar bun.

I’m out in the conservatory taking a rest and admiring my handiwork. I transplanted thirty different herbs from pots to the ground this morning. I’ve pruned, plucked, and have just about everything in order.

After the chaos in Africa, it feels good to do something that feels so normal.

I thought I knew what I was walking into that night when I made my way through the cave, but I didn’t have a clue.

Kaz had been right about the guard change. There was about a ten-minute window for me to slip in while they changed shifts.

I used the cloaking spell to get inside, just in case there was someone on the mountain we hadn’t seen.

There were several large trucks at the entryway and just inside the cave. Some held heavy machinery, and the others were transport. I’d seen several of the miners climb into one an hour or so ago.

One thing I hadn’t expected was how large the inside of the cave was. There were a couple of offices on the right and three tunnels off to the left.

Concentrating, I tried to hone in on where Sam and the others were. He opened his mind to me immediately and I followed the link to the tunnel on the far left.

I had just made it around the corner when I saw two guards headed my way. Sinking back against the wall, I waited as they passed. Taking a breath, I moved farther down the tunnel, sticking close to the wall. Every once in a while, there would be a door. The first two were locked, but I opened the third. There were about fifteen small mats on the floor. The room had been hollowed out of the rock and I wondered if maybe the guards or the miners used it to rest.

After another few minutes I came to a passage that had two entrances. I opened my mind to Sam again and moved to the right.

That’s when I heard them—not my family, but children. A baby cried, and I heard another child scream. I moved faster. The door had a window, and I peeked inside. There were five children, from the baby to what looked like an eight-year-old boy. The older children were sitting on the edge of their mats with their legs crossed.

What the hell are
children
doing in a mine?

A woman, dressed in the same blue uniform the rebels wore, held a syringe and the baby in her arms. She handed the child to the oldest boy, but he didn’t want to take her. He shook his head and a tear fell to his cheek.

She forced the child into his arms. Then she took the baby’s thigh and was about to plunge the long needle in.

I shoved open the door and threw my hands out. I used my power to push her into the wall and hold her there.

“What the hell are you doing to them?” I screamed at her. Realizing someone might hear, I used one hand to shut the door while holding her with the other.

She stared at me, first in shock, then in anger. Her mouth moved into a straight line.

The children jumped up and ran to the other side of the room, as far away as they could get from both of us.

“Look, lady. You better answer me.” I pushed my mind into hers just in case she didn’t speak English.

Her chin jutted out and she spit at me.

I really hate it when people do that.

“Hey, chick, keep your saliva to yourself.” Using my power, I probed her mind. She was doing experiments on the children. Something to do with AIDS, but it definitely wasn’t a good thing.

I watched her memories as she took blood and poked the children with needles. She enjoyed her job a bit too much. It was disgusting. I gave her a mental pop, and I meant to knock her out. But she fell to the floor and she wasn’t breathing.
“Oops.”

The children gasped behind me, and the baby cried again. I turned to them and smiled. “I won’t hurt you. Do any of you speak English?”

A young girl who couldn’t have been more than five raised a shaky hand. “Yes.”

“Good girl. Can you tell your friends that I’m going to get you out of here, but first I must find my friends? I’ll be back in just a minute. I know this seems scary, but I promise everything is going to be okay.” I smiled and sent a calming spell to them.

She spoke to the other children. They gave me a cautious glance, then nodded.

“I’m going to put something on the door so that the bad people can’t get in. Then I’ll be back for you. Okay?”

The young girl nodded. “Yes.”

I was about to go when it dawned on me that it probably wasn’t a good idea to leave a dead chick with the poor kids.

Grabbing the woman by the collar, I tugged her through the door. I couldn’t leave her out in the hall, so I kept trying doors as I walked down. She wasn’t light and dragging her was wearing me out. I was about to shove her into one of the small holes when I heard someone say my name.

It came from a door just a few steps down. “Bron. In here.”

Relief washed over me. It was Sam. I left the woman on the floor and tried the door. Locked. “Move back.” I flicked my wrist and the door popped open.

Sam rushed out and grabbed me. I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him hard.

“I’m really mad at you.” I pushed him away and hugged my dad and brother, then gave a quick wave to the sheik, who smiled. “All of you. Getting captured by rebels. I swear.”

My dad patted my arm. His hair seemed grayer and he had a few more wrinkles around the eyes than the last time I’d seen him. “Bronwyn, dear. You can scold us later. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But first, stick Broom Hilda into your deluxe accommodations. We have some children to save.”

They gave me a strange look, but did what I asked.

When we found the children, my brother let out a cry.

“Tambana, oh my god.” He rushed in and picked up the little five-year-old who had been speaking to me.

“Dr. Brett, you find me. Very good. Very good.” She sobbed the words as she patted his cheek.

It was such a precious sight I had to look away, or I would have cried.

I motioned for the oldest boy to hand my dad the baby. If we had any trouble, I’d need both my hands.

Azir took the other little girl by the hand and Sam held the two remaining boys’ hands.

“Okay. This could get a little crazy. The guards have already done their shift change, so there’s a good chance they can show up at any time. I have someone waiting for us outside, but we have a long way to go.”

When I’d come up with my sort-of plan, I hadn’t known about the children. We’d have to move slower, but everything pretty much stayed the same. “Try to be invisible,” I added.

The children seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, even the baby, who had stopped crying as soon as my dad held her.

Walking slowly, we made it to the tunnel where it forked, but this time, there were guards stationed on both sides.

Crap
.

Making a silent motion to Sam, I held up two fingers. He nodded, and then shielded the eyes of the two boys. I looked and all of the men had covered the children’s eyes.

I couldn’t risk the two guards screaming, so their deaths had to be fast. I threw two big fireballs from behind that consumed them instantly. All that was left were two piles of ash, and a tiny bit of smoke.

We moved forward again and made it all the way to the big, open cavern, when the real trouble hit. Someone must have noticed the guards were missing, or had found the dead woman. An alarm went off and lights flashed. Twenty guards poured out of the offices and headed our way.

Well, hell
.

“I’m going to do what I can. Pick up the kids and run like hell!” I screamed over the noise. “Azir, Kaz is out there with a truck, but I have no idea which one.”

Azir helped Sam lift one of the children onto his back. “Do not worry, Bronwyn.”

I nodded.

Gathering strength, I prepared for battle. All of a sudden the guards, who I noticed wore the blue rebel uniform, had turned their attention to the entrance and away from us.

There was gunfire and then they ran toward the cave opening.

“What the—hey.” There was a hand on my back. My dad was pushing me forward. “Your friends are giving us the distraction we need. Don’t just stand there.”

The cavern was now empty, except for the trucks. Dad was right. I put a protective shield around all of us, then told everyone to run. We made it to the back side of one of the transports, and I peeked around the hood. The guards were firing into the jungle. I could hear the growl of not one, but
several
animals.

“Good girl, Shanasa,” my brother whispered.

At the time I had no idea what he was talking about, but I later discovered the leopard who had followed me was his protector. In much the same way Casper is mine, only a whole lot bigger and deadlier. She’d shown up in the middle of the jungle one day and had protected him and the children at the tiny camp from the rebels. Brett figured she’d felt guilty for going on a hunt when he was captured. That’s why she’d been following me, to make sure I made it to him.

We were at the mouth of the cave but I wasn’t sure how we were going to get through the guards to find Kaz.

Azir touched my arm and pointed to a truck a few yards ahead. It was one of the smaller transports and I saw a figure move slightly. Kaz sat behind the wheel.

Staying behind the cover of the other vehicles, we made our way to the truck at the front of the cave. One by one we loaded the children in, and each of the men grabbed a gun from the pile Kaz had stashed in the back.

Sliding into the cab with Kaz, I sat next to him.

“Give me a minute,” I whispered.

Chanting a protection spell, I created a bubble around the truck, but I wasn’t sure how long I could sustain it.

“Go.” I held my hands out against the dash. Pulling as much as I could from the jungle around me, I continued the chant.

Once the truck engine turned, the guards moved their attention to us. At first they were shocked. As the truck lurched forward they opened fire.

I chanted louder, and I could hear Sam and my brother doing the same. They are both warlocks who do not use their powers, but they understood what I was doing. Not long after, Kaz and the children also chanted, though I’m not sure what language it was in. It didn’t hurt to have our collective power protecting everyone.

“They are loading the trucks!” Azir yelled.

I looked in the rearview mirror. The guards were piling into the two remaining transports just inside the cave.

“Can you outrun them?” I asked Kaz.

He frowned.

There was no way I could use my firepower and protect us at the same time. “Put the children flat on the floor. I have to release the shields for a moment.” I could hear them moving in the back.

Focusing on the gas tank of the first truck, I threw a fireball with my mind. It exploded and caught the other truck on fire. The ground rumbled and I threw another fireball at the mouth of the cave. Rocks slid down a few pebbles at a time, and then the entire thing collapsed. Smoke billowed out and more explosions followed. Whatever I had done had set off a chain reaction inside the cave.

We were on a rough road at the base of the mountain and Kaz swerved to dodge boulders sliding down and smashing into the ground.

Throwing up the protection spell, I began the chant again and heard the men and children doing the same. Except for Azir, who was barking orders into his cell phone.

Tired, I was so tired, and I could feel the nausea from overextending my powers.

“Azir, tell me you have friends close.” I focused hard on keeping the truck protected from the falling debris.

“Two miles!” Azir yelled through the window in the rear of the cab.

Two miles could be an eternity in the jungle, but I held tight. When the helicopters came into view in the clearing, I finally let myself take a breath, and that’s the last thing I remembered until waking up in my brother’s camp with Sam on one side of the bed and my dad at the other.

“Welcome back, my dear.” My father put his hand on my arm. “Did you rest well?”

I snorted. “What day is it?” I squeezed Sam’s hand, which was holding mine.

“Same day. You’ve only been out a couple of hours.” Sam kissed my knuckles. “How do you feel?”

I sat up on the cot, and noticed I was in a private tent. “Where are we?”

“In your brother’s tent.” Sam smiled. “He insisted.”

My brother could be bossy.

“Are the children okay?” I coughed, and Sam handed me a cup of water. My throat felt like I’d been swallowing glass. “And Kaz?” The man had risked his life to save my family and I needed to know he was okay.

“Everyone is fine. Azir is working on transport to move the children to a safer location. In fact, he’s moving the entire camp.” My dad walked around to take my other hand and he checked my pulse.

“The whole camp?” I frowned. “Why?”

“Whoever was running the mine did not have permission from the government,” Sam added. “The area is too unstable, and Dr. Zocando feels it would be safer if the camp moves about ten miles down the river.

“Dr. Zocando?” For some reason the mention of his name made me uncomfortable. I don’t know, maybe because I’d totally gone against his wishes and struck out on my own last week.