Witch Hunt (44 page)

“Fur sure.” It was Adrian’s latest.

“I never wanted to run,” Marek said. “But if it’s the only way to stay in the fight, I’ll go.”

Helena took his hand. “We’re a team.”

“I’m sure not staying here,” Melanie said.

Frank shrugged. “Yeah, why not?”

“Well, if you all go …” Glynis sounded dismal.

“Bunch of sissy cowards,” Jason said, then slammed his fist onto the table. But he didn’t leave.

Vivian stood up. “I’m going to my room now. You do as you please. This is my home, and I shan’t abandon it.”

“You’re going with us, Vivian,” Leigh said. “This isn’t your house anymore. It’s Katherine’s. Melanie is going to skip bail, Katherine’s going to be out a million dollars, and she gets the house as recompense.”

Vivian sat back down. She stared at Leigh vacantly for a time while she processed the facts. Finally, her expression slowly changed. As Leigh watched, she saw the glimmering of respect dawn in Vivian’s eyes.

Vivian cleared her throat. “All right. We’ve always been an honorable family. I’ll go with you.”

“Where will we go? How will we live?” Tears trickled down Glynis’s cheeks.

“I don’t know,” Leigh said. “To protect Melanie, as well as ourselves, we’ll have to go underground. We’ll need to find others like ourselves. Do any of you know any other families?”

There were tentative nods around the table.

“We won’t be able to risk trying to get our money,” Leigh said.

“I’d suggest that we pack up what valuables we can in our cars and drive to Denver,” Marek said. “There we can sell or pawn what we have and use that money to catch a train or plane to some big city. It’s easier to get lost in a city.”

“Man, this could be fun. We’re goin’ on the lam.” Jason’s sullen attitude shifted in an instant.

Frank nodded. “I’ll take my guitar and get on with a band. You know, help support us.”

“I can always find a job as a domestic,” Helena said. “And I know for a fact that Gil’s a hell of a dishwasher when he wants to be.”

“I can wait tables or something. At least ‘til the baby comes,” Melanie said.

“Baby?” Vivian asked.

“Yes, didn’t you know?” Leigh said. “Melanie and Frank are the proud soon-to-be parents of a new little baby witchlet.”

Adrian dissolved into delighted laughter. “A witchlet?”

“Not if the preacher has anything to say about it,” Jason said. “Haven’t you heard the motto they’re attributing to him these days? It’s ‘Burn, baby, burn.’”

Leigh was in her room packing when she noticed Vivian standing in the doorway.

“Are you all packed?” Leigh asked.

“Not quite. There’s something I came across that, well …” She held up an old, worn carpetbag. “I think it’s something …” She made a sound of distress.

“Come on in and sit down,” Leigh said.

Vivian accepted Leigh’s invitation, sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed, the carpetbag resting in her lap. “I lied before when I said the Hawthornes have always been an honorable family.”

Leigh sat next to her. “How so?”

“Since I’ve been a member of this family — and before that — the Hawthornes have been rather … arrogant. It’s easy to get that way when you’ve got powers that set you apart. But we’ve hurt people, and I feel a certain regret.”

Leigh could sense the terrible pain and remorse Vivian was hiding behind her formal bearing and tone. She could also feel a sense of foreboding; a foreknowledge …

“You are one of those we hurt, and I want to apologize for that. I also want you to know that I’m grateful for the manner in which you’ve handled this crisis. We’re … lucky to have you in charge of things. It’s been a long time since there’s been a woman at the helm of the Hawthorne clan, and with the times that are coming, I’m glad we have one. A woman has the power to channel the Goddess. A man can only worship Her. We’re going to need that direct link to power, that inexorable strength, if the Hawthornes are going to survive.”

Leigh was stunned.

Vivian swiped away an errant tear. “It’s been a long time since I’ve given thought to spiritual issues. It’s easy to get caught up in the powers, and the sensual indulgence — you know witches aren’t sexual prudes, by any means — and the things that have always made us feel more special than the rest. It’s easy to forget to love. I guess it took this …”

Leigh put her hand on Vivian’s arm and tried to absorb a measure of her distress. “Are you okay?”

Vivian shook off Leigh’s arm, and Leigh understood that she was trying to break the empathic connection. “You’re not responsible for my regrets. But,” she thrust the carpetbag at her, “I do want you to take responsibility for this.”

Leigh took the bag. “What is it?”

“It contains the Hawthorne magical heirlooms. They’ve been handed down for countless generations. It’s time to pass them on.”

Vivian stood and strode quickly from the room.

For reasons she couldn’t quite comprehend, Leigh wept.

It was seven-fifteen, and the parlor was filled with suitcases, boxes of valuables, the Janowskis, and the Hawthornes.

“The Caddy, the Mercedes, Jason’s Jag, and my truck all have enough gas to get us to Denver,” Marek said. “I’ll start bringing them around so we can load — ”

A loud knock on the door interrupted him.

“Who could that be?” Marek said. “I locked all the gates.”

Helena quietly made her way into the foyer and to the front door, then peered through the peephole. “It’s a priest.”

“There was a priest at Katherine’s earlier today,” Leigh said.

“A priest?” Vivian followed Helena’s lead. She inspected him for several moments, and then drew back with a puzzled expression. “It’s been so many years I can’t be sure, but I think it’s Cliff.”

“Cliff?” Leigh asked.

“My brother,” Glynis said.

Leigh was confused by the non sequitur. “A Catholic priest?”

“And you thought Craig was a rebel,” Helena said.

Glynis swung the door open to greet him. They stood looking at each other in silence for a moment, before Cliff smiled and held up a key. “It still fits the gate, but I thought I should give you a choice here at the door.”

Glynis’s confusion was clear. “Why are you here?”

He shrugged. “The circumstances are rather ironic, given my present religious affiliation, but I came to see if I could help.”

“There’s been so much death.”

“There’ll probably be more.”

Glynis’s eyes grew wide. “You’re a part of the Salazar curse — the last grandson. You must go. Quickly.”

Cliff stepped inside the door and bent to embrace her. “Thank you for caring.”

Helena closed the door behind them.

Cliff saw all the suitcases and quickly assessed the situation. “If you’re going, you must go quickly. On my way here, I saw crowds of people heading in this direction. I also saw some people already at the back fence. I’ll stay here and stall them for as long as I can so you can get a head start.”

Everyone looked at Leigh.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“Jason, Gil, help me get the cars out of the garage.” Marek threw his keys to Frank. “My truck’s parked just inside the south gate.”

Cliff approached Leigh and held out his hand. “Katherine tells me that you’re the rebel leader. I’m pleased to meet you.”

When Leigh took his hand she felt a jolt of energy, and a rush of love passed through her. She held her breath as she savored the purity of the emotion that was
Better than any drug rush, eh, babe?
Craig’s voice was clear as a bell. She looked around the room, half expecting him to have resurrected or, perhaps, manifested, but he wasn’t visible.

“Your energy is quite intense, Father.”

Cliff squeezed Leigh’s hand and said, “Venus has finally answered my prayer.”

Cody crouched behind the fence of the enemy compound and watched as they sneaked through the night toward them.
Goddamn insurgents
. They were trying to escape, as he knew they would. But he didn’t intend to allow them to get away this time. And he wouldn’t let them hit him again with their
IED
s. No, he had finally learned how to outwit them. It was going to be a full-scale assault, and — even with the short notice — he had hired two of the best mercenaries he knew: Nate Randall and Juan “Junkman” Martinez. They had rigged the bomb and had done it with readily handy materials so as not to identify the operation as military. They were clever and would do whatever he told them to.

For some the war never seemed to end.

Marek and Gil punched codes into the keypads, and three of the six garage doors began to rise.

It was Jason’s foot that found the trip wire.