A Barrel of Whiskey - (An Urban Fantasy Whiskey Witches Novel) (41 page)

“Yes. And well met.”

The man beside Leslie leaned back. “You are healed, but do try to take it easy. Remember, you did just break your ribs.”

What in the crazy damned fuck was going on? This entire situation was weird.

Eldora gestured to Paige’s witch hands. “You won’t be needing those.”

Maybe. Maybe not, but she felt better with them extended, like having a loaded gun in her hand as she headed into a fight. She could retract them, like keeping a cocked gun in her holster. Swallowing, she pulled them back. “I really don’t understand what’s going on here.”

Derrick muttered something to Mandy.

“Please,” Eldora said. “Sit.”

Leslie stood, rubbing her arms. She glanced at her daughter, but walked to Paige.

Derrick continued muttering low to Mandy.

Leah got up and followed her aunt. She leaned against Paige.

Something she would normally have loved, except that she was leaning on Paige’s gun arm.

Eldora’s smile wavered. “We had to test you.”

“The shapeshifters were a test, but what about when I came in here? What was that?”

“A continuation of the test. I had to see how you would react when under the stress of
seeing
your family in peril.”

Paige seethed. “Does this have anything to do with Merry Eastwood?”

“You are very perceptive, Paige.”

“So, are you testing to see what kind of enemy we are? Is Merry concerned about us?”
Does she know we broke the treaty?

Derrick stood, Mandy rising with him. “We’re testing to see how well you’d be as an ally against her.”

Whoa.

“We’ve been under the Eastwood control for years. Since the treaty was signed.”

“I’m really sorry.” Paige help up a hand to silence him. “But you just said you wanted to kill us all a moment ago, and you did so pretty convincingly.”

He grinned, the evil version of him gone. “I excelled in drama club.”

Eldora sighed.

“Drama club? I was going to kill you.”

His smile lessened and his eyebrows rose.

“We’ve been watching the Whiskeys, checking on your progress.” Eldora settled her hands on her knees. “We were happy you escaped. Believe me. We were. But…” She let that thought drop and licked her lips.

The other witches didn’t appear threatening. If anything, they looked to be the very opposite. Their expressions contrite, their body language subdued.

Paige blinked, wrapping her arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “You need help in Portland.”

“We do.”

Paige stared at the matriarch.

“Merry…” Eldora lowered her head. “Well, Merry has killed one of our own, my daughter. And now her blood magick taints the land. There are entire sections of land where life is…well, where no vegetation will grow. It is as if the land is sick.”

Great. “You said your magick is door magick. Can’t you just, I don’t know, ship her somewhere?”

“Our magick is death magick. Your magick appears to be door magick.” Eldora shook her head. “Somehow. We haven’t figured it out.”

“Death magick.”

Eldora nodded.

“The black ooze.”

“Is death’s energy.”

So, her witch hands were death? That didn’t make sense.

“Merry only started killing the surrounding lands after she used my daughter’s blood in her blood magick.”

Leslie wiped her face with her hand. “My grandmother was stabbed.
You
had my grandmother stabbed.”

“We had to see how you would operate under pressure.” Eldora’s voice grew firmer. “If you stand against Merry Eastwood, she will attack your family first. I had to see how you would react.”

“Why did you attack Grandma?” Leslie demanded. “She’s our matriarch.”

“Your wards say otherwise,” Derrick murmured, stopping close to Paige. His dark eyes studied her with wonder.

Paige felt like an animal in a zoo.

“How did you do that?” he asked.

She wasn’t about to tell
him
that. Brother or not.

He flinched and glanced at the man who had healed Leslie. “I lied, by the way.”

Paige frowned at him. “No shit. As far as I can figure, you and your ‘drama excellence’ lied about everything.”

He shrugged. “We have more siblings. Four of them, to be precise.”

“Why would you lie about
that?”
This all bordered on stupid.

“In case the gamble failed.” His expression slipped, becoming serious. “In case you summoned a demon to kill any remaining Blackman relatives. I wanted to make sure you only killed one.”

“How noble.” And, also, they knew she’d summoned a demon to kill before. How? “So, why tell me this now?”

“So you’ll understand what this means for us, how you’re invested in this as well.”

“Because you’re my half-brother.”

“Because you have more where I came from.” He took a step closer to her. “And because your half-sister was killed.”

A half-sister she didn’t even know. She turned her attention to Eldora. “I’m loving the family reunion, but you threatened my sister, my niece, and my daughter. You stabbed my grandmother, and you were going to have me kill a whole pack of shifters.”

Derrick raised his eyebrows and took his step back. “Why didn’t you, by the way?”

“Why would I?”

“They’re the reason the war started in the first place.”

It was good to know she wasn’t the only witch who didn’t know the story. “No, Derrick—” She so wanted to call him Meathead in that moment, but refrained. “—Merry started it because she didn’t want the witch lines to be tainted by shifter blood.”

“More lies from the Eastwoods,” Eldora said to her son. She shook her head. “We should have expected it. Then, shifters are not bad?”

Was she being sincere? “No. They’re not.”

“Well, then I am glad you did not kill them.”

“You still killed two.” Or at least Paige was pretty sure.

Eldora blinked rapidly.

“I’ll talk to the alpha and see for sure, but I doubt he’ll take this lightly.”

“Can we consider them to be allies?”

“The Whiskeys can.” Paige wanted to emphasize that point and nail in. Hard. “Because we haven’t killed them. At all.”

“Mmm.”

The healer stepped up to Paige, offering his hand. “Gustav.”

Paige paused, but took it. “Nice to meet you. I think.”

Gustav took in a deep breath. “We need the Whiskeys in Portland.”

Blessed Mother! First, she was told she had to get to Texas and once she’d made it, she was being told she had to be in Portland. Just how dire
was
the situation there?

“You don’t understand. I can no longer heal the lands. Entire areas are dying. Trees. Vegetation. Wild life. Fish.”

Paige frowned. “What if I don’t want in on this battle?”

“We hear,” Eldora said softly, “that the point of Merry’s visit is to assess the Whiskeys.”

Doubtful. Otherwise, Merry would have sussed out what they’d been trying to hide from her.

“She knows Alma is weak and that the family will be changing matriarchs.” Eldora leaned on her right elbow. “We believe she plans to strike your family when she determines you are the weakest.”

Merry Eastwood was going be surprised. The Whiskeys weren’t weak. “I need her out of Texas.”

“We need you in Portland.”

“I have to be here for at least another two months.”

“For what reason?”

She really didn’t want to explain it to a woman she barely knew.

“Because of me,” Leah said, taking a step forward. “Pai—Mom is trying to regain custody of me.”

“Oh.” Eldora raised her eyebrows and gripped her knees. “We will be of little help there.”

Few were.

“We will draw Merry back to Portland.”

Paige nodded.

“If you agree to join us in two months.”

Fuck. “We were already planning on returning.”

Surprise shown across Eldora’s face. “Why?”

“Why should we trust you?” Leslie demanded.

Eldora was silent for a long moment, studying Leslie. “Because…” She took in a shallow breath. “Last month, I had four sons and a daughter.”

Sad story. Paige thought on it for a moment. “I thought you two were allies.”

“We were never allies. Not really. She’d nearly wiped out our line during the wars. We only remained by her side because we were in the same city and it was safer. I will not lose more of my coven to her selfish whims.”

Interesting.

“Why were you going to return to Portland?”

Well, Merry was already there to threaten Paige’s family. And when they made it to Portland, Merry would find out soon enough. This would be a good test of her own. “We’re taking the fight to her.”

T
he next few days passed without incident.

All of the shifter survived, though three were critically injured. They were pulling through nicely.

The Galsborys were arrested for kidnapping and attempted murder.

Alma was released from the hospital.

Chuck reclaimed his pack and strengthened his borders.

And Paige learned a little more about the Blackmans. They weren’t awesome people in her book. Not really. But they weren’t the worst, either.

Word spread that Merry had left, though Paige was certain she’d left some spies in place.

Dexx rested Bobby against his shoulder and patted his back. “That was a bit more exciting than anticipated.”

“Understatement of the year.”

“Month. We had a lot going on in one week. I could have a whole new, award winning understatement next month.”

“True enough.” Paige took a sip out of her wine glass and set it back on the dining room table.

Leslie handed Kamden to Tru and retrieved her own glass. “We’re really moving to Portland?”

“Yeah,” Paige said, watching Leah draw in her notepad, bobbing her head to the beat of the music in her earbuds. “I think we have to.”

“To stop Merry?”

“Well, let’s see how bad it is first. The rumors could be exaggerated.”

“I still want out of here.” Leslie propped her feet up in Tru’s lap. “The people here scare me. Not all of them, but it’s hard to figure out who’s okay and who isn’t.”

“But,” Tru said, strapping his son into the bouncy seat beside him, “everyone could have been acting out of character because of a spell.”

“Like the one the Blackmans put on all those people outside the warehouse?” Paige asked. She’d made sure no charges were brought up against them, but she hoped they’d learned firsthand what zealousy did to people.

Leslie shook her head. “No. I still want out. I don’t care.”

“And what are we going to do?” Paige asked. “Where are we going to live? We all need jobs. We need a house. Are we all going to live together again? If so, we need a bigger house. How are we going to afford that? Cost of living is more expensive up there and you get less house for the money anyway. Everything really is bigger in Texas, Les.”

“I have a solution to that, actually.” Tru leaned back and took one of Leslie’s feet, massaging his thumbs into the ball of it. “I have a job offer. Just received it. It’s—” He raised his eyebrows and tipped his head to the side. “It’s good.”

“How good?” Paige asked.

“Let’s just leave it at ‘very’ with an understanding that once we get there, you’ll all have to find a job within a few months.”

“Whoa.” That good?

Dexx narrowed his eyes in thought. “I could open up a PI firm. That could be a good cover.”

“Henry said he could get me a job at the local PD,” Paige offered.

“I’m going to open a wine and soap shop.” Leslie saluted with her wine glass. “I’ve been researching and I make all of our soaps now anyway. That area would be perfect.”

It seemed as though everything was falling into place. Fate?

Or divine assistance?

Ugh. She didn’t want to think of it.

“Rachel.”

“Is being taken care of,” Leslie said with another sip of wine. “Trust me. Nick has been busy.”

“That’s the reason we haven’t seen him?”

“Yes. Just—yes. He’s been busy taking care of Rachel. She won’t be a problem.”

Or she would be, but without any legal backing. That was something Paige could handle.

“Chuck’s moving his pack when we relocate,” Dexx said. “And he’s going to help me with my shift until then.”

“Excellent.” Really, Paige had been surprised Dexx hadn’t had any incidents through everything that had happened. There was only one thing left unsettled, and it ate at Paige. Heather’s killer was still on the loose.

But she couldn’t investigate it. Her team was following up on what they could. The angels were tracking it on their end.

Aside from that, though, her return home hadn’t sucked.

Not at all.

Whiskeys were back together again.

And they were taking the war to the Eastwoods.