They’d been sitting there for about three hours, waiting for the Coven to show up.
“Maybe they won’t show?” Mack said with a sigh. “We’re tired and exhausted. We need an exit plan.”
“I know.” Jude only had a few hours left in him, even drawing on Mack’s strength. He wasn’t a high-level witch who’d been practicing for years. He was nothing, clutching at straws and hoping to hold on to as many as possible. They were sliding through his fingers. They’d stopped the aufhocker problem, but it was only temporary. The Coven needed to finish the job. “I’ll call them again. Where’s my cell?”
“In the car.” Mack got up.
Jude wasn’t walking anywhere. He peeled the leg of his jeans back while Mack wasn’t paying attention. The ground where his leg had been resting was dark, and the bandage was soaked. He was still bleeding. Maybe aufhockers had something in their saliva that stopped blood from clotting. It made a sick kind of sense.
But Mack wasn’t bleeding where the cubs had bitten him. Jude glanced over. Mack was checking on the cubs. He’d given them some water earlier and more sandwich. But Evil and Darkness were pretty much comatose in daylight. That was probably for the best.
Mack returned with the cell phone and the last of the coffee. He took a sip then handed it over to Jude. Mack’s nose wrinkled, and he stared at Jude’s leg.
Shit. He’d forgotten to cover the wound up.
“I thought you said it wasn’t bad.” Mack squatted and took a closer look. “And it smells odd.”
“It’s just a little seepage. Smells infected?”
“Not infected. It’s been bleeding all night, and that’s not a little blood. You should’ve said something.”
“We can’t do anything about it right now.” And whatever was making it smell odd—though it smelled fine to him—would also have to wait. He dialed the Coven, so he didn’t have to answer any more questions about his leg. Thinking about the bite made it hurt more.
Landstrom answered the phone with a curt hello.
Jude didn’t give him a chance to say anything else. “It’s Jude. Just wondering when you’re going to show up and collect the aufhocker and cubs that I’ve caught.”
There was a choking sound. Finally, Landstrom spoke. “Where are you?”
“Mercy North, the ghost town. It’s about ten miles from Mercy South, so I guess you’ll be here inside of half an hour.” He hung up. Talking was taxing, and the net was wavering without his full attention.
“He didn’t sound thrilled you were still alive.”
Jude nodded. There were other witches who were less than good and honest, but his mistakes had been public and inconvenient, which in the Coven’s eyes was a worse sin. Maybe he’d more than made up for it this time.
Mack lifted his chin. He’d been trying unsuccessfully not to fall asleep. He’d never been so tired or weak in his life, and it was partly Jude’s fault. The witch was using the bond between them to draw energy. He was being drained like a battery, and he was sure he could feel the trickle of magic.
He listened again, wondering what had made him jerk awake. The rumble of engines increased. Several cars were heading this way. Hopefully they weren’t coming to scare away the bear. That he was actually hoping it was the Coven didn’t sit well at all. He forced himself up. Jude tilted as though he was about to fall over.
Mack caught him. “You’re not asleep?”
“No.” But Jude looked and sounded exhausted. His face was pale and drawn, and there was no spark to him at all.
“We’ve got company.”
That made Jude perk up faster than the last cup of coffee. The aufhocker also realized something was up, because she lifted her head and gave a yawn before getting to her feet.
Three cars drove up the main street and parked several yards away. They were not the cars that had belonged to the teens. They were nice cars, expensive cars, and not ones that he recognized from town.
Mack was expecting flowing robes and pointed hats, maybe even a broomstick or two, but the two women and a man who got out of the cars seemed like average, suit-wearing people. None of them appeared threatening, yet there was something about them that made him wary. The way they coolly assessed the situation, or maybe the way magic clung to them.
Their magic smelled different to Jude’s. One was earthy, another’s was bitter and sharp. The hairs on the back of Mack’s neck lifted as something seemed to brush against his thoughts. An oily sensation as though something was trying to get in his ear. He shook his head, and the sensation slid away.
The man with the bitter magic stepped forward. “I never thought I’d see this.” He crossed his arms. “We sent you here to stop the problem and instead you got yourself a familiar.”
“You never said I couldn’t have help.” Jude reached out a hand.
Mack pulled him up without taking his eyes off the other three witches. He didn’t trust them. Jude’s pain radiated through Mack’s body. Jude was in worse shape than he’d said, or Mack had realized, and neither of them was in any condition to be fighting three Coven members if it came to it. He didn’t release Jude’s hand. They would face them together.
“I expected you to run,” the man said.
“I never planned on running. I was always going to go down fighting.” Jude’s grip on Mack’s hand tightened.
The woman with the earthy magic nodded. “You did as asked and stopped the creature problem. The familiar we must consider.”
“The familiar is standing right here and has no plans on going anywhere. So how about you take your aufhockers and leave Jude and me alone?” Mack glared at each witch
