Maximum Witch: That Old Black Magic, Book 3 (24 page)

Max’s fingers tightened around her waist. His cock slipped free, and he leaned sideways to stare at her. “Your memories are back?”

“Only some of them.”

“Wait…lighthouse?” His eyebrows knitting, Boone glanced toward Max. “Didn’t we find her car at the Tybee Light Station? That’s kind of a weird coincidence.”

Max remained quiet for a moment, his expression hinting at how deep in thought he was. It occurred to Willa how incredibly weird it was talking about this when seconds ago the three of them had been boinking their brains out. She was on the verge of pointing that out when Max broke from his concentration and stared at her. “You said you could hear the leviathan calling your name. Was it before or after you arrived at the lighthouse?”

“I’m not completely certain. That part hasn’t fully come back to me.” She tried to focus. “After, maybe?”

“Then that means something else led you to the lighthouse.” Excitement threaded through Max’s voice. “Something wanted you to go there.”

The ramification of what he was implying slammed into her. “You think Aurele hid the trident at the lighthouse?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” He lifted her from Boone’s lap. His face displayed a mix of hope and firm resolution. “We need to return to Tybee. Tonight.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Harrison hissed between his teeth, his patience wearing thin as Kragos failed for the hundredth time to break past the block barricading Aurele Telluride’s memory. “You aren’t trying hard enough.”

His normally black eyes filled with a red rage, Kragos strained against the ropes securing him to the chair across from Aurele’s. In truth, the leviathan’s murderous expression—combined with his considerable strength—would have concerned Harrison. The syringe filled with toxic sea-anemone venom that Harrison wedged warningly into Kragos’s neck gave Harrison an edge in keeping the soul collector in line. There weren’t many things capable of killing a leviathan, particularly when not in its true form, but the venom was one. Fortunately he’d been able to get his tentacles on enough of the toxin to take care of Kragos and the rest of the leviathans as soon as their usefulness was over.

“I’m going to enjoy ripping your intestines out, boy.”

“Keep feeding yourself that pipe dream.” Digging his talons into Kragos’s scalp, Harrison depressed the plunger a fraction, releasing a small amount of the venom—just enough to make Kragos writhe in agony.

A trilling laugh rolled from the duchess, her delight in witnessing Kragos’s pain apparent. She leaned down and raked her nails along the soul collector’s face, leaving bloody trails. “What a fitting reunion. The traitor who betrayed me and the woman responsible for delaying my destruction of the humans. Both of your pathetic struggles are for nothing. I
will
be victorious.” She slapped Kragos in the back of the head. “If you don’t break that block, I’ll have him double the dose.”

Fresh waves of the elder leviathan’s energy rushed at Aurele. Harrison could detect its magnetic currents battering at the woman’s defenses. Great rivers of sweat plastering her hair to her skull, Aurele moaned, her limbs shaking. “I—I don’t remember where it is.”

Reva’s lips thinned. “Yes, you do.
Tell me
.”

Aurele convulsed like she was experiencing a seizure. Her eyes rolled back, and she screamed a single word, “
Lighthouse.
”

The duchess gave a cold smile. “Now we’re getting somewhere. What lighthouse?”

“I don’t know.”

Reva lifted her hand, presumably to strike Aurele, but Harrison stayed her as he recalled where he’d tracked the girl to before ultimately luring her into the ocean. Ignoring the duchess’s furious expression, he pinned his gaze to the Telluride woman. “Is it the lighthouse here on this island?”

Aurele’s eyes twitched erratically. “Yes.”

Kragos’s energy lessened and Aurele’s head lolled back, a weak groan floating from her. The woman’s reprieve was short-lived however when Reva pounced on Aurele, her clawlike fingers encircling her neck.

Harrison’s patience threatened to snap. “You might want to wait to do that until
after
we’ve secured the trident. There’s a fair amount of ground to cover at the lighthouse. She might give us more information once we get there.”

Looking vastly disappointed at having her revenge cut short, Reva let go of Aurele and straightened. She glared at Kragos. “We have no need of him anymore.”

The elder leviathan began struggling in earnest. “I can get her to tell you more.”

“We have enough.” Reva’s features twisted with icy menace. “His services are done here. Finish him.”

Harrison gave the top of Kragos’s head a patronizing pat. “Perhaps you should have taken me under your tentacle.” With those words of advice, he fully released the plunger.

While Kragos’s body shuddered in its painful death throe, Harrison tugged Aurele and Reva close before mentally inputting the coordinates for the lighthouse. As the teleportation took effect, Kragos slumped, dead as a doornail. Harrison gave the soul collector a mock salute. Kragos was just the first of many grievances to be laid to rest tonight.

Oh yes, victory had never tasted so sweet.

It wasn’t until Max and Boone led her toward the back entrance of the mansion that Willa realized they wouldn’t be taking a car to Tybee. She dragged her feet on the marble, panic creating a fine sheen of sweat on her forehead. “Uh, guys, there’s no way I’m getting in that portal.”

Max stroked her cheek. “Baby, it’s going to be okay. I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“How can you be sure of that?”

“Because I’d die for you.”

She shivered. “Don’t say that. I don’t want anyone else I love dying for me.”

Max sucked in a harsh breath. “You love me?”

Okay, not quite how she’d imagined telling him. This special moment wasn’t supposed to be in the middle of her fighting a panic attack and moments after a mind-blowing threesome with Max and his best friend. “Yes.”

The intensity of emotion filling Max’s eyes made her heart give a giddy leap as she recognized it for what it was. “I love you too, sweetheart.” The light dimmed slightly. “But your birthright—”

“Won’t mean anything if we don’t get our asses moving,” Boone pointed out. He swung open the back door and sprinted across the lawn. Taking her hand, Max hurried after him, hauling her along. It was a good thing they’d decided to dress, because several of the armed guards patrolling the property stopped in their tracks, gaping at them.

“I guess they’ve never seen anyone running for no apparent reason,” she said between gasps. They dashed along a pea-graveled path, streaking past a manicured border of yews. A clearing opened in front of them. In the middle of it, spotlighted by blue floodlights, was the reflecting pool.

It was the same one from her dream.

She slammed to a halt fast enough it knocked Max, who’d still been clutching her hand, back a step. “I can’t go in there.” If she did…bad things would happen. She knew it was the implant talking, but hell if she didn’t agree with it at the moment.

“Baby, I’m here. There’s no reason to be scared.”

She stared at Max, wanting to believe him, wishing for the confidence to take that leap of faith.

“Come on, we’ll do it together. One step at a time. Okay?”

Rather than forward, her feet moved in the opposite direction.

She could see Max’s disappointment. His frustration. In her mind, she pictured all of the people she was letting down by giving in to her fears. The millions and millions of potential deaths that were weighing on her shoulders. Gritting her teeth, she took another step back. Then another. Sucking in a deep breath, she bent her knees and locked her jaw. Expelling the oxygen in her lungs, she bolted forward.

And took the leap.

She landed in the water with jarring impact. Balancing herself before the panic could set in, she glanced down. She was standing in water no deeper than mid-calf. Apparently reflecting pools were shallow. That kind of made her feel like a huge dumbass. Here she’d been stressing for no reason.

Max and Boone joined her in the pool. While Boone waded toward the sundial in the center, Max hugged her, his expression one of immense pride. “You’re amazing, sweetheart.”

Okay, that definitely added some much-needed salve to her shriveled ego.

“Here we go, folks.” Boone’s announcement drew her attention, and she turned toward him as he rotated the dial. A brilliant flash erupted, and the next second they were under water. Lots of it. She instinctively screamed, but instead of sucking in all that ocean water, she expelled a bunch of tiny bubbles. Stunned, she yelped. More bubbles trickled free.

Holy crap. She was breathing. Under freaking water. Max had told her she could, but…wow. Fascinated, she poked one of the oxygenated bubbles. Glancing sideways, she caught Max looking at her. They grinned at each other like idiots before he took her hand and began swimming toward the surface. She was surprised to discover that she had no problem keeping up with him. They soon gained on Boone, and the three of them broke through the waves. Bobbing amongst the whitecaps, she noticed the strobing light in the distance. It was the same one from her memory.

The lighthouse.

Another wave came in, jettisoning them close enough to shore they easily swam the final few laps to the beach. Staggering through the dunes, she shivered in the night air, the waterlogged state of her clothes adding to her chill. They reached the top of the rise, and she stared at the various buildings scattered on the horizon, some of her excitement fizzling. She’d completely forgotten the search would involve more than just the lighthouse itself. “Crap. It could be anywhere.”

Well, at least they weren’t looking for a needle in a haystack. Yeah, Poseidon’s trident had to be at least a fairly decent size. The dude hadn’t exactly been a midget. “Um, guys? How big is this trident?”

“In a mortal’s hands?” Max swept his gaze down her length. “Probably about the length of your leg.”

Okay, so not quite Titan status, but still pretty sizable. Not something that could easily be hidden in plain sight without someone noticing.

Unless…

Her giddiness returning, she stared at Max. His forehead scrunched. “Did you remember something else?”

“No, but color me curious. Exactly how much does the trident actually resemble a pitchfork?”

“Well, it’s not designed for the same tasks as a pitch—” His words back-piling each other, Max blinked. A slow smile stretched his mouth. “Damn, you’re brilliant.”

“Not usually. Tonight must be a fluke.” She surveyed the cluster of buildings spread before them. “There’s got to be a groundskeeper’s shed somewhere on the property.” Another thought occurred to her, so worrisome it almost led to a minor heart attack. “Oh my goddess, what if they threw the trident out? Or donated it to some gardening organization?”

Boone was the one to speak up this time. “I doubt it. Since it’s on the grounds, it’d be considered of historical value.” He chuckled. “Shit, if they only knew.”

Max took her hand again. “Come on, let’s get a start on those buildings first.” He pointed to the ones nearest the dunes. They took off across the grass. She couldn’t believe her luck when she peeked in the darkened window of a whitewashed structure that had a large nautical wheel leaning against its rear wall. Even in the gathering dusk, she made out the bulky silhouette of a riding lawnmower. She whispered for Max and Boone, who were scoping the adjacent building.

They came running, and Max eyed the tiny window skeptically. “Somehow I doubt Boone and I will fit through that.”

“I could squeeze in there and then see if I can’t open the door from the inside.” She scanned the grass for something to break the window and spotted a rock that was slighter bigger than the size of a baseball. “This should work.” Bending, she retrieved the stone just as an odd wrenching noise sounded from above. She jerked her head up. Max was holding the window—frame and all.

He glanced at the rock in her hand. “Sorry, did you want to use that?”

“Uh…no, your technique works fine with me.”

Max placed the window down and easily boosted her through the opening in the wall. Thankfully the jump to the floor wasn’t bad. She rushed to the front of the building and spotted the switch that operated the large garage-like door. She pushed the button and stepped back while the door rolled open. It was fairly noisy. Hopefully there was no security guard posted on the grounds or anything.

Max and Boone stepped inside. “We better not turn on any lights,” Max said, apparently sharing her thought about the guard. They began systematically investigating every inch of the interior. She came to an enormous walnut wardrobe that must have been converted into a storage container of sorts. Tossing aside some old hoses and a rickety ladder, she spied a glint of silver near the back. Her pulse performing a mambo, she dug through the remaining items and tugged the object from its resting place.

Blood pounding in her ears, she stroked the handle of the trident, a sense of awe washing over her. “Guys, I think I’ve hit the jackpot.”

There was a rustling from Max and Boone. She turned in their direction and noticed several shadows darkening the doorway. Enough moonlight illuminated the opening to reveal Reva Bellemuir’s icy smile.

“No, my dearest. I believe
I’m
the one who’s hit the jackpot.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Willa clutched the trident, her heart galloping as seven thuggish-looking characters banded around Reva. Okay,
six
thugs and a guy in a butler’s uniform. A freaky collection of henchmen, if ever there was one. Still, her fear was no match for the rage welling in her chest. “Where is Aurele, you bitch?”

“I killed her.”

Pain and fury exploded within her. Her vision a red haze, she barreled toward the duchess. She heard Max and Boone yelling, the pounding of their feet, but the only thing consuming her at the moment was putting an end to Reva Bellemuir’s life. Holding the trident like a battering ram, she charged at the siren. At the last second, Reva swung away and Willa tumbled through the doorway. The trident went sailing, sinking into the grass with a reverberating
wooong
.