“It is done, Governor. Your daughter is safe now.”
Not seeing why she would be smiling at him falsely, I brushed off my suspicion.
Pamphrock rushed to Rebecca’s side and lifted her into his arms. “My God,” he exclaimed. “It’s true, the spell really worked.” He took a deep breath. “She smells different now. She smells just like you, Tegan.”
He put Rebecca down and approached me, pulling me up by the hand and taking me into his embrace. “I don’t know how to thank you,” he said. His words were so grateful. I felt like saying it was nothing, because when it came down it, it wasn’t that hard to do. But obviously the spell meant everything to him.
“I’m just glad I could help,” I finally replied.
Pamphrock turned to thank Rita but was distracted when Rebecca let out a desperate cry, “Daddy!”
In the few moments we weren’t paying attention, Emilia had taken the rope we used in the spell, cut it in two, and used it to tie up Rebecca’s hands and feet. She didn’t look like a particularly strong woman, yet she had Rebecca thrown over her shoulder like she weighed nothing.
She was kidnapping her!
Emilia held a squirming Rebecca in place with one hand while raising the other to us. The electrical fire that was just like mine spilled out, holding us all at bay.
“Emilia Petrovsky! What do you think you’re doing?” Pamphrock demanded furiously.
Rita used both of her hands to throw a ray of white light at Emilia, but she kept it from touching her by flinging a bunch of sparks that disintegrated the light on contact.
“I’m taking the child. You don’t deserve her,” Emilia spat, desperation in her eyes.
I freaking knew she wasn’t to be trusted! Why hadn’t I listened to my gut? Then again, I suspected Emilia hadn’t come here with the intention of taking Rebecca. How could she when she hadn’t even known of her existence until a few hours ago? No, it was simply that my grandmother laid eyes on the little girl and fell in love. Now she wanted to take her for her own.
“She doesn’t belong to you. Hand her back,” Pamphrock said, making a clear effort to stay calm. When he tried to step forward, Emilia burned him with her sparks.
“She’s my chance to make things right,” Emilia wailed, tears suddenly streaming down her face. I’d been correct in my suspicions. Emilia wanted to take Rebecca and keep her as a daughter because her real daughter ran away all those years ago.
“She’s not yours,” I said, leaping into action and throwing my own sparks at her.
Emilia began muttering a spell. The sparks spread out around her and Rebecca, like a mini tornado. It formed a spinning, glittering shield that was impossible to get past, and the force of it caused us all to fall to the floor. I blinked, trying to find my bearings, and looked up just in time to see Emilia spinning out the back door, both her and Rebecca still contained within the sparks.
12.
The moment Emilia left all the doors and windows slammed shut. Finn and Pamphrock tried in vain to get the back door open, but it wouldn’t budge. Rita muttered a spell to try and release the locks on the windows, but they wouldn’t open either. We pushed and shoved, trying to get out of the room, but we were locked in tight.
“She’s locked us in,” Rita exclaimed, stating the obvious.
Finn shot her a look. “If brains were dangerous, you’d be the only one safe.”
“Piss off.”
“Quit squabbling!” Pamphrock commanded. “We need to find a way out of here.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket, hitting a number on speed dial. He began giving orders down the line, explaining what happened and telling the person on the other end to get a squad of slayers to Finn’s street immediately.
Finn picked up the toaster and threw it at the window, but instead of smashing the glass, it bounced right off it like rubber.
Rita tried a whole range of spells, but none of them worked. Now Pamphrock’s angry gaze cut to me. “You should never have involved that woman. She is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“I know, and I’m sorry. Believe me, you have no idea how sorry I am. But I don’t think Emilia wants to harm Rebecca. She’s clearly just infatuated with her. You saw how she looked at her. Her daughter ran away when she was a teenager, and now Emilia wants a second chance at motherhood. She’s