Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) (26 page)

Hannah found Jilly, still in the kitchen, curled up in a chair. She looked up when Hannah came in and smiled. “What have you been up to all morning?”

“I found a weird room, or rather it found me. There were all sorts of pictures and books and stuff. I found your mom’s journal. I thought you might want to have it.”

“Really? I always wondered what happened to Mom’s stuff. I guess the house kept them safe for us. Mom always told Caroline and me that the house was as much a part of the family as we were.” She looked at Hannah more closely. “Where on earth did you get that?” She pulled the necklace free from the folds of Hannah’s sweater.

“I found it in one of the trunks. It was under a little cauldron, tucked in with jars of old herbs and stuff. I thought it was pretty. Do you want it?” Hannah asked as she began lifting the chain over her head.

“No, you can wear it; it looks pretty on you anyway. I’ve never seen it before. I wonder why it was in that trunk.”

Hannah shrugged. “Any luck finding the spell?”

“Maybe. I need to show it to Alex and see what he says. It’s not exactly what he talked about, but it could be it. What are you doing right now?”

“Nothing. I’m so bored. I want to go out and explore the woods and stuff,” Hannah said, her tone slightly whiney.

“I know you do, but it’s too dangerous right now with the wraiths still hanging about.”

“I know, I know. I’m just so used to being outdoors; it’s hard to be inside so much.”

Jilly smiled sympathetically. “Well, hopefully this will all be over soon. Can you run this up to Alex?” She gestured to the grimoire in her lap.

“Yeah. I think I’m going to explore a bit more and see if there are any more secret rooms to find.”

“You’d be surprised how many there are,” Jilly said with a laugh. Hannah grabbed the book from Jilly and headed upstairs, leaving Jilly in the kitchen.

Caroline was unpacking when Patrick came back. She arched an eyebrow at his appearance. “What happened to you?”

“My brother and I had a little chat,” he replied dryly.

Caroline laughed. “Must have been some chat.”

“Something like that,” he said “I’m going to go shower off. Care to join me?” He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

She made a face. “I think I’ll pass, not terribly excited about a bloody shower.”

Patrick tossed his shirt at her. “Your loss.” He peeled the rest of his clothes and walked naked to the bedroom.

Caroline sighed as she watched him go. How on earth had she fallen in love with that man? But that was it. She was in it for the long haul, now. She finished putting her things away and wandering into the bedroom, sprawled out on the bed listening to the shower.

“I’m all clean in here. Do you want to come dirty me up again?” he called out from the bathroom.

Why not
, she thought as she peeled off her clothes and climbed in with him. Caroline let the water run over her skin as Patrick pulled her close. She ran her hands over his back, letting her fingers slide across his wet skin. They kissed and explored each other’s wet bodies until the water went cold and they had to get out. He toweled her off and carried her into the bedroom to finish what they started.

Caroline felt dizzy with desire. “Patrick,” she breathed out as he bit into her shoulder. “I can’t wait, I need you.” She all but screamed the words. He kissed her lips and took what was his.

William found Jilly right where he had left her in the kitchen, with her nose in a book.

“Did you find anything?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, Hannah brought it up to Alex. She found my mom’s journal. I was just going through it a little. It’s weird to see her handwriting after so many years.”

“Where is Hannah, anyway?”

“She’s exploring the house. She’s already found one of its secret rooms. Now she’s off to find more. I’m glad she’s got something to do.”

“Me, too. This whole situation has to be so awful for her.” He grabbed Jilly’s hand. “Want to take a walk with me?”

“What, now? Is it safe?”

“We’ll be fine. Patrick and I have something of an understanding.”

Jilly nodded. “Okay, let me get my coat.” She met him on the back porch a few minutes later and they set off into the forest together, holding hands.

“I just wanted to see how you’re feeling with everything that’s going on. Do you still want to go ahead with the wedding as planned?”

Jilly stopped and turned to face him. “I’m in this, Will; whether Caroline is involved or not. Do I want her to be there? Obviously yes, but I’m not going to postpone my life because she’s made a stupid choice.”

William smiled and pulled her in for a kiss. “I love you, Jill.” She smiled at him and they continued walking. An hour into their walk, William stopped suddenly. “Get behind me.”

Jilly looked around to see what was out there. Liam walked casually out of the trees. William narrowed his eyes, studying the man before them. It looked as though life had not been peaceful for him since they last saw him. His clothes were worn and ragged and his red hair was long and shaggy.

Liam held up his hands in a gesture of peace. “I’m here for myself, Will,” he said calmly.

“Let’s hear him out,” Jilly whispered to William.

He nodded. “What are you after, Liam?”

“I need your help.”

William laughed. “Why on earth would I want to help you after what you did to us?”

Liam hung his head in shame. “Look, I know I was an ass. I’m sorry. Sabine can be very persuasive when she wants to be. You of all people should know that. She had some leverage over me. I was promised certain things to help her.” He seemed unwilling to go into more detail.

“What do you want from us, then?” William asked impatiently.

“I didn’t know she was working for your brother all along, Will. I didn’t want to help her, but she has Maggie! I didn’t have a choice.”

William frowned. “Why didn’t you say something before now? It’s been like six months.”

Tears slipped out of Liam’s eyes. “She still has her, Will. Sabine said I’d have her back when I delivered the girl.” He gestured to Jilly. “She kept promising I’d get her back, but I never did. I’ve been trying to follow Sabine for months but she hasn’t led me to Maggie, yet.”

William was quiet while he listened to what the man had to say. “Ok, I still don’t get where we come in.”

“You have Sabine, right?”

William looked at him through narrowed eyes. “Hold my hand, Jilly,” he whispered. Jilly quickly grabbed his hand and held tightly. William chanted a phrase over and over again until an orb of purple light appeared in the palm of his hand.

“Step forward, Liam, and hold out your hands.” He deposited the orb into Liam’s waiting hands and stepped back. “Are you still working for Sabine?”

Liam looked nervous. “No, I’m not working for Sabine. I just want my Maggie back.” Jilly watched all of this with fascination, not knowing what the orb was or what was supposed to happen with it.

William spoke again, his tone measured. “Are you working for my brother?”

Liam’s eyes widened. Fear was almost palpable on his face. “No,” he whispered. The orb shot out tendrils of light that wrapped themselves around Liam’s wrists. He screamed in pain, sinking down to his knees.

William’s eyes darkened in anger. “You and I both know that’s not true.”

Liam squirmed in pain. “I’m sorry, Will, but they have Maggie. I’m going to do whatever it takes to get her back.”

William walked over to where Liam crouched. “What exactly did you think was going to go down today? We were going to just take you at your word and take you to Sabine? Are you supposed to be her rescuer?”

Liam nodded sadly. “I didn’t want to cross Patrick. I didn’t have a choice when he asked me. All I can say is that I’m sorry.”

Jilly didn’t know what to say. On the one hand, she was pissed that he thought he could lie to them. On the other hand, she understood that he was in a tough place. She pulled William away. “We need to help him.”

His eyes widened. “What do you propose we do? We can’t exactly bring him home with us.”

Jilly arched a brow. “Why not?”

“You’re not serious, are you?” William asked.

“We can’t let him go now. Patrick would know that he’s lying if he says he hadn’t talked to us. I think we should just bring him home and decide what to do after.”

William thought it over for a few minutes. “Okay. Nik and I will figure out what to do with him.” They walked back to where Liam was lying on the ground, writhing in pain. William waved his hand and said a few words quietly, and the purple light surrounding Liam disappeared. Liam looked at them warily. William put out a hand to help him up. “You’re coming with us. We’ll figure out what to do with you, later,” William said.

Liam almost looked relieved. “Does this mean you’ll help me?”

“I haven’t decided yet; but while you’re at Jilly’s house, you will be on your best behavior.”

Liam nodded his head frantically. “I won’t step a toe out of line, I promise.” He sketched a cross-my-heart gesture on his chest. William made an unintelligible noise and they all started off for the house.

William opened the back door and ushered Liam into the kitchen. “Sit down, please. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He shot Jilly a “watch him” look and bounded up the stairs in search of Nik.

Jilly sat down across from Liam. “Would you like something to drink or eat?”

He looked at her for a moment. “Water would be nice, thank you.” Jilly nodded and got up to get him a glass of water. She shot him a quick glance and decided to make him a sandwich as well. He looked like he hadn’t eaten in a while. She felt sort of sorry for him, “sort of” being the operative words.

Jilly looked at him through narrowed eyes, as she set the plate before him. “What exactly was your plan today, anyway?”

He looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know. I saw you guys leave and I just went with it.” Liam tore into the sandwich like it was the best thing he had ever eaten.

Jilly laughed under her breath, her eyes lit up in amusement. “That’s an interesting way to go about it.” She got serious again. “Look, Liam, I don’t like that you’re working for Patrick; but I do understand why you are. I want to help you get Maggie back, but I need to trust you. There are things going on in this house that would not benefit from Patrick knowing about them. It’s bad enough that Caroline’s probably already told him everything that was happening before she left. I can’t deal with you telling him anything more. Also, I’m going to have some ground rules.”

He nodded and motioned for her to continue. “Rule number one, stay away from Hannah. That poor girl has been through enough at the hands of Sabine and she doesn’t need you bugging her or causing problems.”

Liam was quiet for a few moments. “He wants her, you know.” His voice sounded sad. “Patrick wants Hannah; but I’m not sure why. There are others beside me who are after her. Patrick gave us all specific instructions. I was not sent for her.”

Jilly nodded, trying to absorb what he had just told her. “Ok, so rule number two is you stay in the house. Unless William or Nikolai say differently, you’re under house arrest.”