Mason was sitting on the porch. He looked at Liz and then to me. “Liz, how are you feeling?”
She shrugged. “Better than expected. I’m sure PIB has informed you that Abby will be taking over the case with Nick?”
“Yes, and I don’t like it. I’ve never liked Nick.”
I nodded. “I’m going to try to keep him to just paperwork.”
“I noticed he’s sitting out there instead of in this meeting.” Mason motioned. “He still can’t get onto your land, huh?”
I shrugged. “Maybe he should change his intentions if he wants be let in. Next meeting we’ll have to do at PIB or O’Donald will get upset about leaving Nick out.”
“Okay. This was close to the location, though.”
“Tell me about the little girl,” I said.
“She literally just disappeared. Poof from the room. The social worker and I were both there talking to her when it happened. She started crying and said, ‘she’s coming for me,’ and she disappeared two seconds later.”
I frowned. “Seriously, just poof?”
“Yes.”
Liz pressed her lips together. “People don’t typically just poof, especially little girls.”
“Unless there’s magic involved that pulls them back to someone.” I got up and went to my big book of answers. “It’s a black spell, but it’s possible.”
I went into the guest room, grabbed the book, and came back. The book was given to me by my mother. The leather was still clean and crisp. A beautiful pentagram was stamped into the leather, and I could feel the spell flow over it that was meant to let just selective people in. I called it my Big Book of Answers, but really it was my mother’s Book of Spells and our family history.
I flipped through the pages, looking over the spells. Over the last few years, I’d learned that she’d kept the darker spells towards the middle of the book.
I paused at one. “It’s a type of binding spell.”
Liz hissed. “Nasty things.”
I nodded. I’d almost been a victim of one before. I felt my powers draining the moment the spell had been started. Luckily for me, Clarissa had a heads up and pointed me in the right direction of how to counter it.
“It’s not only black magic, but blood magic, Adrianna’s favorite,” I muttered. I looked over the spell. “Here, to call someone back to you.”
I spun the book toward Liz and Mason.
Mason held his hands up. “I don’t understand any of this.”
“That is a really nasty one,” Liz muttered. “Holy shit. She could do this to any of her victims. All she needs is their blood.”
I nodded and looked at Liz. “Any of them.”
She paled a little bit. “That’s how my Gabby ended up back there.”
“She could call you and Jude back too. The only way to break this is to kill her.”
“You can’t kill her. No one can.”
I shook my head. “No being is truly immortal.”
“Without knowing the magic that she’s using, how do we do this.”
“Then we find out what kind of magic she’s using.” I leaned back and called Oliver.
“Yes, Niece?”
“Good time to chat?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“What spell is Adrianna using?”
He chuckled. “Why do you think I know?”
“Because since my mother died, you’ve been obsessed with anything and everything that could bring her back. I have no doubt you learned something when you were with Adrianna.”
There was silence on the phone, and after a moment, he sighed. “You’re right in that assumption. She’s using powerful blood magic, but it has a focus point. I don’t know what that is, but find the focus point. Destroy it, and then you can kill her.”
A focus point. Something that acts like a beacon for the magic. “Thanks.” I hung up and looked at Liz. “She has a focus point, according to Oliver.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t trust him.”
“I know you don’t like him, but he’s the best we have right now. Can you think of something?”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
‘Abigail…’
Samuel’s voice came again, and I shook my head, trying to ignore it. He was going to be a pain in my ass until I could get rid of him.
“Abby?” Liz asked.
“Sorry, just trying to clear my thoughts. So we know she has a spell on the little girl and a focus point. That’s not much to go off of.”
Liz’s phone rang. She answered it. “Hello?” Her eyes widened. “Jude? Jude!” She put it on speakerphone.
“Liz, Liz she’s here. Oh, goddess Liz, she’s got a child.”
A crashing noise came across the phone, and then the line went dead.
“Jude’s there now too.” Liz’s voice raised a pitch. “Abby?”
I nodded. “I’m going now.”
I went up the stairs to my bedroom and grabbed an extra gun. I wasn’t going in with magic alone. I called Merick. “Meet me at my house. Watch out for Nick.”
“What do you mean, watch out for Nick?”
“He’s at my entrance, but he can’t get in. I need you to have my back with Adrianna.”
“You’re going after her tonight?”
“I don’t really have much choice. She has a child and both of Liz’s sisters.”
He seemed to hesitate for a moment. “And what about Samuel?”
“We’re going to hope that he doesn’t try anything tonight. I’m going to go talk to Nick. If he’s on this case, I want him as back up.”
“Trust him?”
“It’s a huge case. If he fucks it up, it’s on him, and it makes PIB look bad.” And he might kill me later because my name would be attached to another huge case, taking the glory from him. The thought made me laugh.
“Are you drugged again?” Merick asked.
“No, sorry, I was just amused
