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James moaned
and rolled over before he curled into a ball. He lay like that,
surrounded by everyone, bloodied and gasping for breath.

30

A BREAK IN THE RANKS

“
What the hell
are you doing?!” Someone screeched from the doorway.

Cora turned;
Jack had his hand on the base of her back so he could move her,
just in case something happened. The stupid bump got in the way,
slowing her down. Something would happen, it always did.

Cora saw
Cathella stood in the doorway, assessing the situation. To be fair,
it looked bad. They surrounded the man, bloody and hurt. Yes, it
looked like they’d done it. But Alastair was in the same
room.

Her wide amber
eyes were glaring at Alastair, her lips were set in a hate filled
snarl.

That snarl was
directed at Alastair. This was different. Maybe the Scottish coven
had crumbled?

“
Ah, now, A
thought yer might show yer face.”

Cora looked
between the two of them. She saw the smirk playing on Tavish’s
lips. What do they know? Cora couldn’t stop her stomach from taking
a dive with worry.

Tavish stepped
towards James on the floor. James lifted his head and looked at
Tavish before he looked at Cathella.

“
Do not hurt
him!” Cathella snapped.

“
Anyone care to
explain this?” Ciaran asked.

“
A first
noticed when A couldn’t get in touch wiv yer,” Alastair began. “It
was becomin’ more frequent.”

Cora saw it
now. She saw the look that passed between James and Cathella. A
look she shared with Jack. Cora hadn’t known. No one had known
about this, until now anyway.

Tavish looked
disgusted by the exchange, he roared and then his foot slammed into
James. Cora could hear the man’s ribs protest from the force. James
wheezed and rolled over.

“
I wouldn’t do
that again, if I were you,” Clay ordered.

Cathella
jumped protectively in front of James. James tried to get to his
feet but failed when the pain became too much. Cora watched as
Ayden helped him stand. His left eye was closing, blood had dried
on his cheek, his lip was split and now he carried himself in a
slump because of Tavish’s kick to the ribs.

“
A wouldn’t
help him if A were yer,” Alastair barked.

“
I’m not afraid
of you,” Ayden said as he lifted James’s arm and held his body
weight against him.

“
A can hurt
yer,” Alastair hissed.

Ayden let Jack
take James who then was helped by Ciaran. Tabitha was already off
loading some of her potions to James.

“
You think you
can hurt me?” Ayden growled, stalking toward Alastair.

“
Aye.”

“
With
Laura?”

The sneer on
Alastair’s lips froze. He hadn’t expected that.

“
You seem
surprised that we talk,” Cora said. “Let me let you in on a little
secret...it is how a coven usually works.”

“
You can’t hurt
me with her. I know where she is,” Ayden declared.

Alastair’s
blue eyes latched onto Tommy. Tommy held his head higher and kept
his gaze fixed firmly on Alastair’s face.

“
A huv ways,”
Alastair spat, looking back at Ayden.

“
We have Jack,”
Eli retorted.

“
Not every
time.”

“
I hate to say
it – although I love to say it, but Alastair, your gift has flaws.
Seriously, they are crater sized flaws. I can help every single
person in this room escape your mental prison,” Jack
mocked.

“
Before they
die?” Alastair snapped.

“
Let’s give it
a go,” Jack goaded, stepping in Alastair’s personal
space.

Alastair
lurched towards James. The easiest target of the room.

“
Touch him and
A will reveal everythin’!” Cathella snapped.

Alastair
spread his hands and stepped backwards. “Yer will reveal everything
once A’m gone anyway.”

He jumped and
grabbed James. The second James disappeared, Cora watched Jack grab
Alastair.

“
Do it. Take
me, I dare you!”

James landed
back in the room. Right at Tavish’s feet. Tavish grabbed James,
lifting him clean off the floor. Jack growled and punched Alastair.
Alastair stumbled back as Cathella launched herself at Tavish. Clay
was also there to help.

The blur of
fists and the combined grunts made Cora’s head dizzy. Eli let go of
his gift and lifted one of the chairs and threw it across the room.
It knocked Tavish just enough so that Clay gained the upper
hand.

“
Eli! You will
pay for that chair!” Cora cursed. Despite the situation, she still
noted the things being broken in her house.

Alastair
growled and ran straight for the group behind Cora. Cora pushed her
element out of her and forced it into a wall. She held back her
surprise at having done so. Alastair hit it; the blast of wind
knocked him off his feet.

Ember grabbed
James and disappeared with him. Several Ayden’s stood around
Tavish, keeping him in check.

“
Leave. Now!”
Cora whispered, glaring at Alastair.

Tavish helped
Alastair to his feet, rather reluctantly, and Cora could see that
Tavish was annoyed with Alastair. Alastair had promised him
something, and he hadn’t delivered.

“
Tavish is in
love with Cathella,” Tabitha whispered in her ear.

Cora nodded.
It would seem that was true. They watched the two of them leave.
Alastair was only quiet because he was in shock. That shock would
soon wear off and then the real trouble would begin. For now, Cora
would relish the small victory they had. Alastair hadn’t known
about Tavish’s crush either. It made Cora wonder if Cathella had
known, had played on it to get her way.

Cora turned
and looked at everyone. “Are we okay?”

Kayla looked a
little white from the shock. The Welsh coven remained at the back
of the group, their faces impassive. Tommy and Ryan were grinning,
but they would. They were desperate to see the back of Alastair and
Cora knew that would involve fighting. Any fighting would put them
in a good mood.

“
I think
Alastair knows,” Evelyn said.

Cora nodded.
“He knows that you are here with me, he doesn’t know why. I can
understand how this may make some of you feel nervous. If you want
to leave, I won’t hold it against you.”

“
Are you
joking?” Ryan cackled. After sharing a knowing smile with Tommy, he
turned back to Cora. “After seeing that, we are in this more than
ever before.”

“
Yes, we are
still involved in your cause. We know that we need to be extra
vigilant in future as Tavish seems to find a way in,” Dillon
agreed.

“
Okay, thank
you for standing by us,” Cora sighed. “How does Alastair know about
our conversation with James?”

“
It was my
fault,” Kayla whispered. She was still sheet white.

“
Kayla...?”

Kayla’s legs
went from underneath her. Tabitha moved quickly and stopped her
from hitting the floor. She held Kayla who was attempting to stand
again.

“
Kayla, it
wasn’t your fault,” Cora assured her as she forced Kayla to sit
down for a moment. Cora held her hand.

“
No, it was
mine,” Cathella murmured.

Cora turned to
look at Cathella and saw Ember return with James. Ember laid James
on the floor as Cathella knelt down beside him and kissed him. Clay
grinned, making Cora shake her head. That man loved any kind of
action. It unnerved her that Clay sometimes smiled even after
receiving a head spinning punch.

“
Okay,
Cathella, I’m allowing you stay in my house because of James. Why
should we trust you?”

Cathella
turned and looked at her, her hand remained in James’s hand.
“Because A kept your secret. A know aboot the baby, A know yer
aren’t really pregnant.”

31

CATHELLA

“
Why did you
keep it a secret?” Tommy asked. “I thought you were Alastair’s
right hand man, or woman in this case?”

“
That is what A
wanted yer tae believe.”

“
How can we
trust that response?” Ciaran asked.

Cathella
shrugged. “It is yer choice what yer chose tae believe.”

“
Where is Ina?”
Cora asked.

“
She had
started distancing herself. Only Tavish and Alva remain
faithful.”

So, she isn’t
dea
d, Cora mused.

“
Did you know
Tavish had a thing for you?” Clay asked.

“
Yes.”

A question
plagued Cora. “How did you know to say it was a boy?”

Cathella’s
eyes widened and then a smiled touched her lips. “That is the only
sex Alastair would have been happy with. A guessed yer would think
along the same lines.”

“
Bloody risky
guess,” Jack said.

Cathella
shrugged again. “A took a chance and A’m hoping yer take one on
me.”

Cora looked at
Tabitha. Her leaf green eyes gave nothing away. Nothing new there
then. This decision was on Cora’s head, so she really needed to
think about all of this. Her only problem was Cora struggled to
make decisions, especially ones that put people in harm’s way.
Cathella had kept their secret which demonstrated that she wasn’t
loyal to the Scottish coven. That she wasn’t loyal to
Alastair.

“
How did it
happen? The relationship that has happened between yourself and
James?” Cora asked.

Cathella
quickly looked at James and shared a smile. “It happened the day
the Corenthio Coven were killed. Yer don’t know it Cora, because
Alastair wanted it kept from yer, but what yer did led tae
celebrations all over the country.”

“
What?” Cora
gaped. Celebrations? Some of her family had died that night. How
could they celebrate something like that?

“
Is it true, we
had a street party in Leeds,” Tommy told her. “We weren’t allowed
to say anything. I understand why you would be upset, you lost your
mum, people you loved that night. But you also saved so many of us
from their torment.”

Cathella
nodded. “But A knew what Alastair would do. He would take what yer
had done and try tae gain the power for himself. A had tae think of
a way tae stop him.”

“
James, you
were surprised by Kayla’s conjure,” Tabitha said. Cora could see
that she was putting it all together.

“
I was,” James
whispered.

“
Why?” Ayden
asked.

“
Because he’d
been asked before, by Cathella,” Ember said.

Cathella
nodded, “Yes. A asked James about Adanna. A knew that Adanna was
the only way tae help with Alastair. James believed she was dead, A
didn’t. Once we started workin’ together, one thing led to another
and we fell in love.”

“
So where does
Alastair taking your boyfriend come into all this?” Dillon
asked.

“
A’ve been
seeing James in secret but after your little conjure of him in the
sand, after yer asked James about Adanna, A met with him. We knew
that things were progressing but A didn’t know that Tavish had
followed me. Alastair didn’t know to begin with. Tavish was a
little obsessed with me...”

“
Pervert,” Clay
muttered, which made a few people smile.

The comment
brought a smile to Cathella’s lips. “Once Tavish saw me wi’ James,
he told Alastair. Alastair came, took James and left me there, yer
know the rest...”

“
Okay, then our
next concern is Tavish,” Eli said.

Cora nodded.
“He’s too unpredictable, how do we even know if he’s left
here?”

“
One moment.”
Tabitha pulled something from her robes, it looked like sand which
was a deep purple in colour. She walked around the room, the dust
lifted and spread out, searching for a body. Nothing happened. “We
are safe.”

“
Thanks, Tab,
nice new trick by the way,” Eli praised, his eyes, the swirl of
blue and green, smiled happily.

Cora chuckled.
He would appreciate anything like that. His mind worked overtime on
new things and new gadgets they could use.

“
You’ve been up
close and personal with Alastair and that coven, what can we do?”
Ayden asked.

Cathella
thought about it for a moment. “Tavish loves his sister. If
Alastair was tae put her in danger then A know that Tavish would do
anything tae help her.”

“
Good, we can
force that.”

“
No can do, I’m
afraid, and Alastair knows this. He won’t put Alva at risk. Not
now, especially as he’s lost two members of his coven already.
Unless, we could manipulate him. We need to find Henry,” James told
them.

“
Henry who?”
Cora asked.

“
He is a member
of the Chester coven, my coven,” James told her.