The Doctor Witch (The Ward Witches) (19 page)

“
It was already done. Help Dymphna.”

Justin and two other witches, presumably water witches, went to tend to the victims. The others that Justin brought secured the five in red robes and herded them out of the warehouse. Leo kept his foot on Stephanie, but he looked worn out. He stood there, too, until the reinforcements gathered Stephanie from the ground and wrestled her outside as well.

Leo sat down on the ground, winded. Skylar crouched beside him. “It's been a long day, Skylar,” he whispered, as if he couldn't manage anything louder than a whisper.

“
Yes it has. I'm going to see how Dymphna is doing. Then we'll go home.”

“
Home sounds like a great plan.”

Skylar went over to Dymphna, who was intently studying the victim in front of her.

“
Is she going to be alright?”

“
I hope so. There's only so much I can do here, though. Justin's agents brought three vans. Two are taking the prisoners back to the Coven House. We're about to load the victims into the other van. They're in bad condition, but they're alive.”

“
Are you going to stay with the victims?”

“
I have to. I'm a healer, and that's what healers do.”

“
Leo's in bad shape. I'm going to take him home. Give me a call when you need a ride home, and don't worry about the time. Make sure you don't hurt yourself trying to help them.”

“
Thanks, Skylar. Take care of him, alright?”

“
I will.”

Leo couldn't walk completely on his own, so Skylar aided him in getting out to her car as the healers loaded the victims into an unmarked white van. The prisoner vans were already gone.

As soon as he hit the seat, he fell asleep, so Skylar took the liberty of buckling him in. Then she drove back to Ward Manor, feeling drained herself.

There had been so much blood in the sacrifice room from what the robed figures had taken from the victims that both Leo and Skylar were splattered with it. She got him out of his clothes, and they cleaned up in the shower. Not bothering to put on clothes, they fell into the bed, spent. Skylar made sure her cell phone was on the nightstand, though, in case Dymphna needed transport home.

Around two am, Skylar got the call. She got dressed and met Dymphna outside the Coven House. Leo's twin looked like hell. She didn't speak as she got in Skylar's car. Skylar could tell she didn't want to talk about it, and so she let her be until they got back to Ward Manor.

“
Thanks, Skylar,” was all Dymphna said before heading off to her own room and her own shower.

“
You're welcome,” Skylar called after her, though she wasn't sure Dymphna heard.

Skylar was the first one awake the next morning, and she made waffles for when everyone else got up. When she started eating, she realized that she was even hungrier than she had thought, so she had to make more waffles for her housemates. Something big had happened last night, and Skylar hadn't fully been able to comprehend it yet.

Leo, then Dymphna came down and ate in silence.

“
We're going to have to go over to the Coven House,” Skylar said when the other two were finished eating.

“
You're right,” Leo said, sighing. “I'm just still so damned tired.”

“
We had a hard day yesterday.”

“
But you kicked ass, Skylar,” Dymphna said. “We wouldn't have been able to help without you.”

“
Thanks.”

“
To use that much magic in such short order... you must be pretty powerful.”

“
That's what Timothy keeps saying.”

“
I'm glad you put his lessons to good use,” Leo commented, squeezing her hand. “The victims from last night might not have survived, but you gave them a chance.”

“
Thanks. Now let's go see how it's going over there.”

When they arrived at the Coven House, Seb greeted them at the door personally. He gave them a rare smile and enveloped Skylar in a bear hug. “I hear that you're the hero of the day.”

She blushed. “I don't know if I'd go that far...”

Justin appeared behind his brother and smiled as well. “Come in, all of you. We'd love to hear what really happened before we arrived.”

“
How are the others?” Dymphna asked.

“
It looks like they'll all pull through. It's a close thing, though. Each of them has lost a lot of blood. But they're a lot better off than they would have been if you all hadn't arrived when you did.” This whole time, Justin had been guiding them subtly towards the Coven Protection office. “Do you mind if we record the conversation?”

“
Not at all,” Leo said. “But it's Skylar's tale to tell more than anyone.”

“
It started with Tim's suggestion earlier...” Skylar went through the whole tale, with only minor additions from Leo and Dymphna. “And I'm sure you know what happened after Justin arrived with the cavalry.”

“
Indeed we do,” Justin said, switching off the tape recorder.

“
What's going on with the prisoners?” Leo asked.

“
As you know, we don't really have a jail. We've spoken to the local police, and found enough evidence that they've been able to charge each of the participants with attempted murder. Since we captured them, Boston PD has given us rights to interrogate them while they're in jail. It's very considerate since they know very little about us besides that we're an organized group of witches.”

“
That is good of them.”

“
We haven't gotten much out of them, and neither has the police.”

“
There's something you're leaving unsaid,” Skylar observed.

“
Yes. With these witches in jail, we're hearing more and more from protestors against witchcraft. I'm afraid if it continues to spiral we'll need to do something more proactive,” Seb said, looking troubled.

“
And Skylar, this might be hard for you, Stephanie is saying that your aunt Linda is involved.”

“
But she hated witches!”

“
She may have changed her mind. Or something else may be afoot. But according to one of the Dark Order witches who has been most informative, Linda and, well, and Selby are among those providing the sacrifices for the Dark Order.”

Skylar's heart stopped. Leo pulled him to her, encircling her within his arms. “It can't be... Not Selby!”

“
We won't do anything more without proof, don't worry. But we have to investigate further. The issue with Linda Crowley will have to wait to be resolved another day. This may be a valuable lead, or it may lead to nothing. For your sake, I hope it leads to nothing.”

“
I hope so too.” Skylar considered, trying to be reasonable. “But he has been acting strangely lately. I just hate to believe that he might be involved in kidnapping and sacrifices.”

“
We'll make sure. And we'll keep you informed,” Justin assured her.

“
What happened at the meeting last night?” Leo asked. Everyone could see Leo's question as the ploy it was to change the subject, but they let it ride.

“
As soon as I started to feel their pain, like you did,” Seb began, “Justin stayed with me, and Timothy took over the meeting. He managed to keep the whole thing under control as if nothing had happened. Really, he did an excellent job. Of course, when your call came in for help, that disturbed the whole set up. Again, Timothy kept it in check. Everyone waited for news, and it meant that we had more than enough healers on hand to take care of the wounded who came back last night.”

“
That sounds ideal,” Dymphna pointed out.

“
Indeed. Timothy's a good man, and a good leader. I don't know where we would have been without him to take over the meeting,” Seb said.

“
I suspect they timed it over the meeting so we wouldn't be able to get away,” Justin told them. “They couldn't have expected Timothy to be so capable. If Seb and Leo collapsed like last time, it would weaken their hold on the Coven. The Dark Order couldn't have suspected that Skylar could get information out of Leo while he was down.”

“
And Stephanie was part of it all?” Leo asked.

“
Apparently, she was using some of her Dark Order abilities to unfairly influence minds against me. If she could have taken hold of the Coven, just consider how many sacrifices they could get their hands on,” Seb said bitterly. “I wanted to solidify my hold as Duke, but I didn't want it to happen like this.”

“
But people are back to normal after the Dark Order's influence?” Skylar asked.

“
Yes. And they can't seem to apologize enough, it seems.” Justin laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes.

“
If that's all...” Leo started. “We'd like to get back to Ward Manor.”

Dymphna clearly saw the look in his eyes. “I'd like to see to the patients if someone could give me a ride home later.”

“
Sure thing.” Justin laughed again, but this time it was a real laugh. “See you later, Skylar and Leo. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.”

“
That's not hard,” Seb ribbed his twin.

But Skylar and Leo had eyes for only each other as they left.

Back at Ward Manor, by unspoken agreement, they raced up the stairs to the bedroom. Skylar won, and Leo grabbed her in his arms and swung her around before kissing her passionately.

“
I was so afraid I'd lose you,” Leo said, nuzzling her neck. “And it would have been my fault for leading you there.”

“
You won't lose me, Pantaleon Ward. I'm yours, now and forever. You were brave in bringing me and Dymphna to save those poor people. I'm sure they'll have plenty to say to you when they're doing better.”

“
You're mine?” He asked, picking up on that line above all the others.

“
As I said, now and forever. I love you.”

“
I love you too, Skylar. I've been around for years. But I've only really lived since I met you. You took all my expectations and threw them out the window. I want you in my life, as you said, now and forever.”

“
Good thing, too. I'm an addiction that's hard to shake.”

They laughed, and when they headed to the bed, they took their time loving each other. They had the rest of their lives, after all.

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