Chapter 275: Tracking Sassafras
It didn't take Galleytrot long to hone in on Rosetta's scent. I was just grateful the Chosen had overlooked the fact the big dog could track her.
Idiots.
The Sidhe hound, Sunny and I crouched at last behind a clump of musty-smelling bushes, gazes locked on the dilapidated old hip-roof barn at the edge of the field. I stuffed down a sneeze as the rising breeze threw the scent of decaying grass our way. Faint light, flickering like fire, showed through the cracks in the warping wood structure.
Fire. That made me very nervous. Especially considering the Chosen of the Light liked to use fire to cleanse those they deemed evil and unclean. Sassafras most likely fit their bill.
I'd been on the receiving end of their not-so-gentle ministrations, tied ruthlessly to a wooden stake and set to flames, so I could only imagine my friend was about to face the same fate if we didn't act.
Luck, it turned out, was finally on our side. Sunny grinned at me, with fierce joy. "Ownership in question," she hissed in the darkness as she slid one foot over what I could only assume was the property line. "I'm free to enter."
Wicked. I would have hated to be forced to leave her outside this time.
We eased through the crackling, tangled grass left from last year's growth, the property clearly neglected. Winter had pretty much flattened the tall stalks, spring only beginning to encourage new grass to push up through the old, leaving us with little protection. But it didn't seem like we needed any. I felt around the outside of the building as we approached, seeing Galleytrot's nostrils flare as he snuffled for guards. Sunny shrugged, shaking her head.
Nothing and no one. They'd left the exterior unprotected. They were either arrogant morons who didn't think we'd be able to find them or had fallen so far since Demitrius led them they could barely put two and two together. I was voting for a mix of both.
I chose a broken slat to peer through as I sank to my haunches and peeked inside. At first all I could see were the bottom halves of white robes lit by the warm illumination of firelight. I willed them to move out of the way, almost getting up and repositioning myself. Sunny's hiss of anger held me still as the people in front of me moved aside so I could see.
Sassy hung from ropes wrapped around him, head down, body limp. The stake was thick and looked fresh-cut, still with bits of bark clinging to its rough surface. Wood and brush piled up at his feet, a red canister nearby.
Torches. Lots of torches. The scent of gasoline drifted toward me, the fumes reaching the full width of the barn as one of the white-robed Chosen hefted the can and began to dump it on the pile of kindling.
I'm sensing twenty souls outside of Sassy's, Sunny sent, mental voice tightly contained.
Galleytrot grunted and nodded. Three against twenty weren't great odds.
The Chosen didn't stand a chance.
I stood up, all thoughts of hiding gone and backed up three paces from the building. I needed a way in, the door seeming just too blasé for the mood gripping me. Something less subtle, I was thinking. A means of entry guaranteed to capture their attention.
I tried to remind my demon this wasn't supposed to be fun while she chuckled evilly to herself.
But this called not for the power of the demon realm, but that which grounded me here. A blast of air magic, a blue tornado of rippling fire, rose from the ground beneath me, answering my call. I sent it hurtling forward, tearing open the side of the barn. I was in no mood to go easy on the Chosen members, and a show of strength seemed more than appropriate. I couldn't help but feel a surge of triumph as I strode into the barn, wrapped in the family magic, feeling Mom's power reach for me, her rage joining mine. Exhilaration filled me, my body flush with the five branches of energy at my disposal while my demon howled her fury and Shaylee called out an ancient battle cry making my blood hum.
The results were spectacularly satisfying. The Chosen turned as one and stared open-mouthed at us before screaming in terror and running for their lives. I felt Galleytrot move off on my left, red and green energy twining around his huge body as he seemed to grow even larger, shoulders stretching out, wide chest expanding, thickly muscled legs lengthening until his now massive head brushed the rafters. His roar shook the entire barn, vibrating down into the earth, the shaking driving a handful of the Chosen to their knees.
Sunny flickered like lightning, her white undead magic wrapped around her like a robe. I'd never seen my vampire friend fight before, and I was very grateful she was on my side. She moved so fast I could barely see her, striking out with fists and feet, taking down every single Chosen member she encountered.
I focused on my own part of the battle, trusting my friends to do their jobs. And I'm glad I did. I was just in time to see Rosetta lift her torch, her face tight and demonic in its own right, reflected by the dancing light of the fire in her hands and toss it toward the kindling at Sassy's feet. Her cackle of laughter was insane, horrible to hear, as she then threw herself forward at me.
Shaylee's earth magic rose to embrace the torch, enveloping it in green Sidhe fire, extinguishing the flames before they could ignite the fumes from the gasoline. My demon acted in tandem, hurtling her power forward to slam into the small woman's chest, slowing her down, but unable to halt her sorcery-fed lunge completely. I lashed out with the family magic at the same time, hand clutching the crystal in my pocket. I hadn't worked out the hows or whys, only hoping contact with the sorcerous material would help me penetrate her shielding.
I almost lost control of the flow of magic, so sudden and overwhelming was the surge of energy from the crystal. It answered me with the same joy my demon did, only free of all conscience. A wall of pure energy formed in front of Rosetta, a wall she ran right into and bounced off of in an almost comical rebound, her mouth gaping open as she flew backward and crashed into the pile of fuel at the base of Sassy's stake.
Dazed, she simply lay there as I stalked toward her, free fist now clenching and unclenching with the desire to kill her, to wrap my hand around her evil neck and squeeze until there was nothing living left in her eyes.
"Syd." Sunny grasped my arm, pulled me back. My intention must have been clear on my face for her to look so frightened. "That's not you. Trust me, you don't want to go there."
I jerked free of the influence of the crystal, its tiny soul ready and willing to help me kill my enemy, to wipe her existence from the face of the earth. I tried to blame my passionate need to destroy on the stone, on its heartlessness, but even without it in my grasp I still felt the drive to act.
So not the crystal, not really. It was only obeying orders, giving me what I needed. Sunny might think I wasn't that person, that I couldn't, wouldn't, didn't really want to.
Oh, but I did. I did so very badly. For Sassafras and for me, for all of the witches and magical people they'd killed, all in the name of their false religion and their misguided and evil grand plan. I blamed them, betraying their own kind, powered themselves, serving a cause twisting what we were into something abhorrent.
Galleytrot breathed in my face, the scent of fresh cut grass and a gathering rainstorm calming me immediately. It was only then I backed away, pulled myself together. Took a good look around.
Felt sudden pity. Not empathy, never that, but pity. These weren't the powerful and dangerous people I remembered with their gleaming white robes and sense of purpose. All around me lay what had to be the last remnants of the Chosen of the Light, their robes dirty and torn even without our assistance, the final, desperate collection of those who refused to give up when their order was well and truly dead. I could see it now, as clearly as I'd ever seen anything. I was witnessing the last gasp of a once powerful sect.
And I was more than happy it was over.
I shoved Rosetta aside with my magic, leaving her to sob and gasp in the stink of the fuel she'd planned to use to kill my friend. Blue fire licked around Sassy's ropes, cutting them, letting him sag into the cushion of power I created to bring him down. He was still unconscious, but I heard his heartbeat as I plunged into his mind and body, searching for injuries.
None. He seemed fine. The dose of sedative they gave him must have been stronger than what they'd used on me. Either that or my demon was more powerful than they gave her credit for.
She hummed happily and took the compliment to heart.
I was about to lay my friend down on the dirt floor when Galleytrot growled, spinning around toward the hole I'd made in the side of the barn. Sunny hissed, white magic flaring around her. I turned myself, dread sending a thrill of fear down my spine, knowing what I would see when I did.
Surprise, surprise. We weren't alone. Not even close.
Werewolves slunk close, their bodies low to the ground, an entire pack surrounding us.
I kicked myself over and over again, swearing in my head while my demon snarled and Shaylee invented new ways to curse. The Dumonts. They'd been here for a reason. Scouting, more than likely. They hadn't left after all.
And I'd led them right to Sassafras.
***
