“The goddess?” Ray said, and when I nodded, he whistled.
“The very same,” I answered. “My guess is Ceres has Tally. When I killed Ardat Lili, a shockwave blasted through the supernatural community. Ceres must’ve been in tune to the message and knew the Coalition needed a witch. Tally is the most powerful witch around, and the likely choice. From the little I know about Ceres, she’s self-centered and spoiled. I’m sure she felt like she should’ve been given the mantle of Coven leader when the former witch leader died years ago, but the power passed over her and went to Tally.” That had made for one pissed-off goddess.
But you can’t argue with power.
It chooses its own master.
Who knew how the process worked, but the power of a Sect always found its true leader. And once it did, it infused that person with superior strength, allowing the chosen one to lead the group. It was how it had been for millennia.
Marcy nodded. “Now that I’ve seen Angie here with my own eyes, I’m confident Ceres has Tally. The witches who I’ve been in contact with since her disappearance must be hedging their bets. If Ceres wins, she’ll be the new leader of the Coven, and these witches will owe her fealty, so they are hesitant to cross her. It’s totally slimy, but understandable. Ceres has enough power to render them infertile, which is her specialty. That’s a big threat for a witch. We’re only fertile every few years as it is. I just hope my old, crotchety aunt holds on. If Tally comes out on top, the witches who have kept quiet have lost nothing.”
I nodded. “It looks like we’re going to have to find a witch in this town who will trust us, and who is ultimately on Tally’s side. It’s not Angie, that’s for sure.”
We crossed over the next street to where Rourke was standing. Marcy’s fingers were up. “Angie cast a spell here a few moments ago.” Marcy muttered something under her breath. “She’s masking herself, but I can’t tell as what. I don’t know what Angie’s special talents are. I wish I did. She could have excellent glamour skills and now looks like an Italian bag lady who smells like olives.”
I angled my nose in the air and took in a breath. Are you picking up on anything? I asked my wolf. She responded with a frustrated bark as she tossed our energy outward in every direction. After a moment, it came back empty. “I’m getting nothing,” I said. “In fact, there’s not an unknown supernatural within a mile radius around us at the moment. Unless she can cloak herself like a master spell crafter, she’s not here.”
“I say we keep looking,” Rourke said, beginning to pace. “She’s not that smart. We witnessed that firsthand. That leaves room for mistakes. Who knows how long she can hold on to a complicated spell?”
“Fine,” I agreed. “Let’s scour a few blocks in every direction and see what we come up with. If we don’t pick up on anything, we’ll have time to look again tomorrow. She has to know we’re on to her, or she wouldn’t have taken the time to spell herself so well.”
“My guess is she was sent to spy on us,” James said, arching his head around to glance up at the buildings. “If I was Ceres and knew we were in town, which she must, I would have someone tail us. It would have to be someone she trusts, and who better than her sister who has a grudge against you?”
Rourke nodded. “That sounds about right. If we can’t track her here, another way we can get to her is pretend we’re not looking for her and let her find us.”
“Yeah,” Ray said. “And let’s not forget she won’t be expecting an attack from above. I’m just the guy for the job.”
* * *
We searched in vain for another few hours, but came up short. There hadn’t been a whiff of anything, not even a single sweat molecule. Angie was nowhere to be found. We’d finally hailed a cab and had it drop us off a mile from the Compound.
Ray had gone ahead.
“It’s going to be hard to get my father away from Julian tonight,” I said as we walked along the picturesque road leading to the villa. It was late afternoon. The sun would set in an hour or two. “We can’t discuss any of this with Julian or his wolves.” That put us at a distinct disadvantage. How were we going to come up with a plan before dawn? We didn’t even know where we were supposed to be heading, as Danny couldn’t remember anything yet. Enid had to have more up her sleeve. She wouldn’t let a valuable captive go without a good reason.
“I’ve been in contact with Callum on and off today,” James said. “He’s aware of most of what’s been going on. He trusts our read on Julian. We will be discreet until we can find time to talk amongst ourselves.”
“If it doesn’t happen tonight,” Rourke stated, “we’ll head into town before dawn and talk about it then. We’ll find a way.”
“If Julian leaves at any time during the night, I can put a containment spell around you guys while you discuss things,” Marcy said. “In fact, the first thing I’m going to do when I get back to the villa is scour the house for spells and whatnot. There might be a chance Julian and Ceres are working together. I wouldn’t rule it out. Powerful supernaturals often align, especially at a time of upheaval.”
With everything that was going on in our world, upheaval was a kind word.
“Did anybody remember to ask Lucas if he knows who Julian’s sleeping with?” I asked. “What if the two of them are together? That would thicken this plot considerably.”
“A witch and a wolf?” James joked as he slung his arm around Marcy’s shoulders. “I highly doubt it.” He pulled her close, running his stubble over the top of her head. “You have to be made of sterner stuff than Julian is to put up with a witch.”
Marcy elbowed her mate, giggling. “Ceres did start out as a witch, but she’s been a goddess for several centuries. And a powerful one at that. I don’t think they’re a mated pair, but like I said, power attracts power, especially from two people who desire it above anything else in the world.”
“Is Ceres beautiful?” I asked curiously. “Julian seems to indulge in vanity.”
“Do ducks float?” Marcy chuckled. “Do gerbils love to run around in clear balls?” Um, maybe? “She’s stunningly beautiful. We’re talking flawless beauty. Most gods and goddesses are. Back in the day, they had to get people to believe in them and pray for them. Nobody is going to put faith in a toothless bag lady. They’d just run screaming. So, yes, she’s a looker.”
I chuckled. “Only you could put ducks, gerbils, and flawless beauty into one sentence. You’re talented, my friend.”
“I don’t think Nick had a chance to talk to Lucas while we were out,” Rourke said. “But I hope he did on the way back. If Ceres and Julian are together, it’s going to complicate things tenfold.”
We were getting close to the villa, so we had to wrap up our discussion. “We say nothing more until we get to a place where we can talk freely.”