here to hurt Dallas. Rather, I think I must step into the role of her protector. My sister, Anya Ross-Redgrave, sent me here to see Dallas. She hoped we would become fast friends and she’s due to arrive in about two weeks, at which point she’s decided we could all enjoy Redgrave House as a family.”
“Anya is an only child,” Finley stated matter-of-factly. “You’d better do something to change my mind about you, son. My first impression of you is betraying me at the moment. I thought you were a good young man but now I’m starting to decide not only are you are a witch hunter but you are a liar as well.”
“I am no liar. I am Anya’s brother through our mother. Angelica gave birth to me back on Vanguard Prime while she was…”
Finley looked painfully shocked. “A slave. We know about her past on Vanguard. Angelica never kept the horrors of her life as a slave a secret. We always knew she had a child before Anya. Alas, we believed—”
“You believed her first child had died.”
“Yes, we never pressured her for more information. We knew the subject pained her terribly, and whenever someone broached it, her husband went into protective mode. Anya’s father was like a bloody grizzly bear with a sore ass when he got riled.”
“I can understand his emotions,” Oliver said. “You stay here and rest. I must get your friends into your car and then we should be on our way to Redgrave House.”
“We aren’t far. We’re about five minutes away now and if you speed, we’ll get there in even less time. Don’t worry about being pulled over, I still have influence around here. As for my friends—they are my friends and they are family. Marion is my sister-in-law and Nicholas is my brother. We all worked for the Magical Authority. It looks like we’ve gotten a bit rusty in the last few years, although to be fair, we were not the front-line agents. Most of us dealt with correcting potions, mishaps and spells that went array. We came into contact with the odd testy or inebriated warlock or witch but nothing the likes of those assholes.”
“Don’t worry, I can deal with these bastards. I’ve gone through my whole life dealing with their sort.”
“I pity you in that case, lad. You should stay on Earth for a few months and get a taste of a nice, normal life. You can’t beat the kind of living we offer here in Gerrans.”
It was a happy thought, making a home for himself in such an idyllic place. Using his magic, he levitated Marion and Nicholas and gently deposited them side by side in the expansive backseat of the automobile. Their health would remain stable until the Magical Authority reached them. He would have to charge up the car with a bit of magical juice, or they would not get to Dallas in time. If he let her slip from his fingers and allowed her to be taken by his former comrades, Anya would never forgive him, and he couldn’t bear that.
By the time he enchanted the car, it would take them there in two seconds rather than five minutes or less.
“Buckle up, Finley. It’s going to be a very fast ride.”
Finley tossed him a curious gaze and did as told.
“Let’s burn some rubber,” Oliver said before starting the car and pressing on the gas.
Finley grunted as he was thrown backward in his seat under the extreme momentum. “What did you do?” he asked, just as they screeched to a halt again.
“I magically charged the car up a wee bit. I would have made it able to fly but I haven’t seen any flying cars around here and I wouldn’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention.”
Redgrave House was beautiful. It was a Victorian style with white siding and red gables. Right now it looked eerily still—almost too still considering the fact that several of the windows had been broken and the front door was blown open, most likely by one of his former friends. Anya must have had protective charms cast on this house, because it looked as if it had already been under siege and had fallen—badly.
“I think you’d better stay here, Finley. It could get messy inside and you’re in no shape to help me. In fact, you might just be a hindrance to my efforts in saving Dallas.”
“I will stand guard out here. If they get past you with Dallas, I will