“Where’s the other one? The male?” Meriel asked Gage quietly.

“We’ve got a few in custody. One is dead.”

“There was another turned witch, like her. Only stronger. He’d been turned a shorter time. Make sure.”

“I’ll double-check.”

There was a loud crack and a creaking sound that brought the hair on his arms to stand. Something very bad filled the warehouse. Dominic watched in horror as Gloria began to call a gate. He brought his fist down onto his palm as he shouted, “Seal the doorway!” and shoved the full force of his magick at her. The gate slammed shut and Meriel stumbled a little, following up with her magick to seal the circle and contain the spirit Gloria had called. Trapping Gloria inside with whatever energies had already transferred through the gate.

The energy pulsing through him was so massive he was sure that if he’d felt this way even a month before he wouldn’t have been able to handle it. Edwina had told him just a few hours before that the font, the clan, was a sword and a shield. As the magickal energies swirled through him, giving him more strength and stamina, making his intent more concrete, he believed it because he felt it. Connected to so much with this woman at his side.

He did, however, plan to kick her sweet little ass when she recovered.

She leaned into him and he shifted to put an arm around her and brace her.

“I’m all right,” she whispered. But she didn’t really look it. Pale and sweaty, he needed to get her medical help very soon.

Gloria choked back a shocked cry. She fell to her knees and the darkness she’d called swirled around her. She’d called something and it demanded life force for its payment. It couldn’t get to anyone outside the circle so it began to consume her.

There was no telling the level of destruction it would cause if it got free of the bonds Gloria had given it when she pulled it from the lower realms. “If I pull the circle open, the spirit can get free. We can’t take the risk. I’m sorry.”

Dominic had to fight his instinct to turn Meriel away from the horror. Her features were set as she concentrated to hold the circle closed. Around them Nell’s team engaged and then took out all the remaining mages and humans.

And yet, injured and dealing with a mess his mother had created, she worried for him.

“Don’t be. You haven’t done anything to be sorry for.”

“What the hell? Meriel!” Nell approached, her gaze on Meriel. She met Dominic’s eyes for a moment. “I can end this for her.”

She meant his mother.

Meriel didn’t say anything, letting him make the choice.

He nodded. There’d been enough suffering. It was time to end it.

Nell turned and spoke. There was a flash and then the stink of ozone and an empty circle.

“She’s been shot.”

Gage hurried over and Nell turned to address him. “Get your mother to my house right now. Meriel’s been shot. Have someone bring a car up here.”

“On it.” He left again.

“Your house? Hell no! I’m taking her to the ER.” Dominic picked Meriel up and she didn’t argue, resting her head on his chest. A quiet Meriel who didn’t argue was one that worried him.

She patted his arm. “Can’t go to hospital with a gunshot wound. Gage’s mom’s a doctor. It’s fine.”

“Fine? This is far from fucking fine. Someone shot you. That’s not fine. It’s not.”

Nell carefully interjected. “She’s pulled bullets out of me before. She’s good at her job and I wouldn’t be suggesting it if I didn’t think Meriel would be taken care of this way. But she’s right, we can’t take her to the ER or the police will be called and then what?”

“We can’t expose the clan unless it’s absolutely necessary. It’s not.”

With a growl of annoyance, he got her outside. If they were going on this fool’s errand, he wanted it done as fast as possible.

“Loyalty to the clan doesn’t mean being stupid,” he muttered, putting her down gently as the car approached. Nell bent and rustled through a first aid kit.

“It’s our clan now. You know it’s not stupid.” Meriel gasped when Nell wrapped her wound tight.

The sound tore at him. “Let’s move this along then. You did your part. The longer we stand here, the longer you have a bullet hole in you.”

Arel jogged up and jolted when he saw Meriel. “The other turned witch is gone. We’re searching. Can I assist?” He looked from Meriel to Dominic.

Meriel stood a little taller. “Take care of the search. Nell, give me your keys and call William to let him know we’re coming so a bunch of bloody witches don’t surprise him. And then clean this up. My blood, I’m sorry but there’s a lot of blood where I was standing.”

Nell exhaled hard, clearly torn between one duty and another.

She handed the keys over to Dominic. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. The survivors have been taken into our custody. Everyone but the male is accounted for.”

“I expect you know how to conduct some questioning. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I want you at these interrogations.” Meriel winced and swallowed hard and then swayed.

Gage came roaring up in the car and threw his door open, scrambling out to get the other so Dominic could help her.

“I’m going to get blood on your seat.”

“I’ll bill you.”

He ran around to the other side. “This better work, Nell. If it doesn’t, I’m taking her to a hospital; I don’t care about the rest. Get this place cleaned up before the early shift shows up for the other businesses and we get the cops called.”

Chapter 30

HE sped out of the warehouse trying to keep it steady. He knew every pothole must have hurt.

“Keep with me, Meriel. Stay awake.”

“You were totally badass,” she said. “I’m not going to die you know. It hurts. I can’t lie. But if the bullet had gone a little to the left, it’d have hit my stomach and we’d have a whole different conversation.”

He groaned. “These are words I wish you would never, ever say in conversation again. Your job is to run the clan, not to get shot by fucking thugs. Piece of shit, I wish I could kill him twice. These people, Meriel, what could make them hate so much that they’d willingly go out to hurt others?”

He’d seen a lot of violence, but these humans doing the bidding of criminals like Gloria made no sense. Their hatred at what they didn’t understand was staggering. Their willingness to hunt, kidnap and aid the mages in killing astounded him.

“People fear what they don’t understand.”

“Sounds like Simon when he’s talking about how witches should come out to the humans.”

“He’s probably right. But when they find out about us they shoot us. It’s an update on the burnings and drownings.”

He sighed. Not like he could argue. But he knew she understood the world was shrinking every day. It still wasn’t a conversation for that moment.

There was a balance to driving fast very late at night. Too fast and he’d get pulled over and then they’d really be fucked. But it was empty enough so there was no need to crawl along either. He pushed away his impatience to get her there.

She reached out and took his hand. He looked down for a brief moment, her fingers still bloody, tangled with his. He’d made the clan safer but she’d been shot. He hadn’t made her safer.

“I can feel you trying to blame yourself in that head of yours. Stop it. You didn’t shoot me. In fact, if I remember correctly, you took care of the guy who did. And then you went all superhero and punched a bunch of people and you used your magick. It’s pretty impressive and sexy. So stop blaming yourself.

“I should have protected you.”

“You did. Don’t you see? Gloria and those mages were a threat to me. They aren’t now. I’m here because of you in so many ways.” She snorted and then whimpered.