were stepping into dangerous territory and we both knew it—even if he didn’t appear willing to acknowledge it.
“Do you need help stripping down?”
“I’ll need help with your sweater, at least.”
He gently tugged the sweater off, then kissed me again and left. I finished getting undressed, then got into the shower and let the hot water run over my body in an attempt to ease all the aches and bruising. I just had to hope that we caught the Empusae today, because I doubted I was going to be in a fit state to be chasing demons across the countryside tomorrow.
Once I’d dressed in my own track pants and a loose-fitting zip-up sweater I could undo easily, I shoved my feet into some shoes and headed downstairs. All three witches had arrived and were busily tucking into an assortment of bacon, eggs, and freshly made bread.
“I’ve put yours in the warmer,” Belle said. “The horde’s appetite is a bit voracious this morning.”
“Midnight rescues will do that to you,” Ashworth said. “Though I will point out that the young laddie here does not have that excuse.”
“No. He just has a naturally healthy appetite.” Monty’s gaze was on Belle when he said that, and there was a wicked gleam in his eyes.
She gave him ‘the look’, which was met with an even wider grin. She shook her head and looked at me. “Do you need help with that plate?”
“No, I should be fine. Thanks.” I grabbed a tea towel to counter the hot plate and then joined them at the table.
“So,” Monty said. “How did you manage to pin a tracker spell onto the Empusae? And is it still active? Given she’s magic capable, it’s possible she’s already countered it.”
“Whether it’s still active or not is a question I can’t answer until I create a secondary spell to track it—”
“Meaning it was another of your freeform spells?” he asked.
“Yes—a demon net spell combined with a couple of tracker threads. I’m hoping they’re not powerful enough for her to have sensed them. She didn’t seem to.”
“That might have been because she was too busy trying to kill you,” Ashworth commented. “But she’s had plenty of time since to feel and deal with your spell.”
If she had, we’d either have to wait for her next attack or hope that, in the next couple of days, she went into that mine we’d found and triggered Ashworth’s trap.
“Maybe not,” Belle said. “It’s possible the blows she took from Vita wiped her out.”
“Given how little we know about White Ladies who were once also witches,” Eli said, “anything is possible.”
“Presuming Liz is able to track her,” Aiden said. “What’s the plan?”
“First priority has to be containment—we can’t afford to have her escaping us again,” Monty said. “Once we’ve done that, we can probably do to her what we did to the other one.”
“There’s two problems with that,” Ashworth said. “Firstly, we’re dealing with a demon who’s far older and stronger than that other one—”
“And two,” Belle cut in. “If we kill her without first giving Vita her chance, there’ll be hell to pay.”
I grabbed a fresh bit of bread to mop up the egg remnants with. “I’m still not liking the idea of you letting her into your body.”
“Neither do I, but if we have to do this, then today is the perfect time. She’ll be wiped out after her efforts last night, and won’t have the same sort of power or control.”
“Her recovery skills—or lack thereof—are something I’d rather not rely on,” Monty said. “It’d be better if we take other precautions.”
“You thinking of a restrictor spell?” Eli asked. “Because they have their dangers.”
“Which could be countered easily enough by placing the spell on Liz rather than Belle. The two will be connected, so it mutes the risks to Belle while still restricting what the demon can and can’t do.”
Eli nodded. “Worth a shot, certainly.”
“Um, before you actually get set on that course of action, care to explain what this spell does and what the possible dangers are?” Belle asked.
“It basically wraps around your mind and stops the entity from invading. The problem is that sometimes the spell can wrap so tightly that it can tear the mind apart. There have been cases—very few cases—of witches being sent mad,” Monty said. “That’s very unlikely to happen here, thanks to the fact that you two are so deeply connected. Basically, you’ll keep each other sane.”
“Or so you hope,” I said.
He waved a hand. “Hope is such a fragile