Penny had tested her, and Beth had failed. I knew without asking that Penny was going to stick with our plan and stall for time.
She had to.
Damn it, where was Alan? He should be back by . . .
As if my thoughts called him, he sprinted out of the ride and darted across the space between Beth and Penny. Penny startled, but Beth didn’t so much as blink. I guess not every witch had the ability to see ghosts.
Good. Seeing him would give Penny confirmation we were here, that we had her back.
Alan slid to a stop in front of us and wiped his face as if he could still sweat. “That big hairy fellow with the bowtie has the little girl almost clear of this place. He said to tell you that he’ll get her far away, but Suzy is going to stay and help. She’ll wait on the inside and hit them from behind.”
I nodded and gave him a thumbs up.
“Rude, you can’t even thank me properly?” he muttered, and I glared at him. Still trying to control my behavior in death, even when the life of a child was at stake.
I grabbed him by the ear and whispered, “Tell Penny the girl is safe.” This was good. We’d grab Penny and run for it, grab Skeletor on the outskirts of town, and then we’d be gone. We’d lose nothing more than our breath.
I was a fool to think life would suddenly get that easy.
When I let go of Alan, he bounced backward as if he’d been made of elastic. He stumbled over to Penny, periodically twisting around to glare at me.
“The kid is safe. My bitch of an ex-wife didn’t even thank me. Nor did she ask me who else I saw in there. Very important to ask all the questions if you ask me.” He was practically shouting, but of course, Beth couldn’t hear him. I didn’t know if any of the other witches could hear him though, the asshat.
I would have gladly strangled him, given the chance.
Beth held a hand out to Penny. “Please, Aunty. Please help us.”
Penny drew herself up, and power crackled the air around her in a warm whoosh. “No, I don’t think I will.”
From the tunnel came a low thrumming laughter, followed by that crazy damn music that was—this time—cranked up even louder.
The music was bad, but that laughter sounded . . .familiar?
From out of the darkness stepped the black-robed necromancer. He moved in herky-jerky lurches, as if he were some sort of marionette, but the build was familiar. He was a perfect match for the man I’d seen in Jackson Square, and in my dream only a few hours before.
He dragged with him two other figures, both of whom I recognized.
To his left was none other than Louis, sobbing and whimpering.
To his right was Jacob, the necromancer who belonged to the council in Savannah.
I stared at the scene, shaking my head. “Seriously?”
23
The black-robed powerhouse of a necromancer stood in the open mouth of the Jocos Mardi Gras ride in the middle of an abandoned amusement park, and let me tell you, I knew right then we’d been fooled and fooled good.
The rest of the Coven of Darkness, or so I assumed, filtered out of the maw of the ride and spread out to flank either side of him. Yes, I’d suspected they were working together, but for some stupid reason I hadn’t thought he’d be here.
Jacob—the necromancer from the Savannah council, keep up now—was gagged, and while Louis wasn’t, I didn’t see him being much help. Hell, he’d taken the fake fairy cross to this asshole necromancer who was running the show, I was sure of it. Maybe he’d been coerced, but knowing Louis, all the necromancer would have had to do was make him feel needed and important.
“Old woman,” the black-robed necromancer’s voice rasped out, a little different than before, harder now. “You came alone? That seems foolish. And unlikely. Search the area.” This last order was directed at the coven members, and they started forward.
I looked at Robert and he nodded. We stood and stepped out of our hiding place, circling around the debris of seats we’d been hiding behind. No need to get cornered.
“She did not,” I said. “Where is my gran? What have you done with her?”
The necromancer let out a laugh, and Louis leaned forward, bobbing as if in pain.
“Celia thinks she’s rather clever. Did you know she had a homing