Unruly Magic (28 page)

While this was going on, a larger group had fanned out, positioning themselves squarely in front of the house. A woman stepped forward and she walked steadily towards the house, a long coat swishing around her ankles giving the appearance that she was gliding. Maybe she was. She stopped at the foot of the porch steps, and I saw her tentatively push a foot forward then draw back again. I felt the breath in my lungs catch. The wards I had woven were there to protect me from harm and no one could enter my house if they intended any ill will towards me. This woman was positively seeping with it.

“I want to talk,” she said simply and loudly enough that we could all hear. Her eyes flitted over to the window and we locked eyes for a moment before I turned away.

“Georgia Thomas,” breathed Seren and beckoned me away from the window.

“You’ve mentioned her” I said. When they had first told me about the council having problems, her name had come up as one who saw herself as a potential leader, whether they wanted her or not.

“The blank spot. She was also one of the biggest critics of the witch council under Robert Bartholomew’s leadership. This is bad news.” Seren looked over to Étoile and pulled a face. “Georgia wants control of the eastern seaboard at a very minimum. We’ve heard she’s been canvassing all over the country for support.”

“And she’s on my lawn?” I asked.

“Seems that way,” replied Étoile. She looked over to the spirit. Dina was taking on a corporeal form again, and she was substantially more solid than before despite the severed connection. “From what I’ve heard, she was an old cohort of Dina’s. She’s very dangerous and very devious.”

“Could she have anything to do with Dina being here?” I pondered.

Seren pursed her lips in concentration. “Maybe. It’s certainly no coincidence that both are here now.”

“Stella Mayweather,” called Georgia Thomas, a little more forcefully. “Seeing as you are not inviting me in, will you step outside to talk?”

“I suppose we should have known that she would have worked out who owned the house. Still, at least she’s not tried to blast her way in,” said Étoile.

“Yet,” added Seren, unhelpfully.

“Do I have to talk to her?” I asked, panic rising. Devious and dangerous where two ‘d’ words that I wasn’t overly fond of. Now if they said ‘donut’ that would have been an entirely different matter.

Étoile nodded. “We have to find out what she wants, and she has asked for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s behind all this, if she’s behind Dina’s return.”

“I’m not going to talk to a mad person.” Also I wasn’t going in the basement or the attic, just
fyi
, I wanted to add.

“Oh, she’s not mad, she’s just horrible,” said Étoile. “One doesn’t have to be insane to be a bad person, just ruthless.”

“I’ll deal with her,” said Evan, muscling up to the challenge. He was by the door, raring to go, seemingly ready to protect me, my honour and anything else of mine he thought the witches might threaten. I wasn’t too sure about anyone else’s chances though. He’d already made it clear I was his priority and I didn’t want that tested.

I shook my head. I didn’t know much about witches but I knew a lot about bullies. If I didn’t stand up for myself, I might as well paint a target on my head myself. “You can’t do that. I’ll face her,” I said.

“Seren and I will be with you. We wouldn’t let you go out there alone,” said Étoile emphatically.

“Um, thanks,” I replied, realising that it came out much more sarcastically than I’d intended. Even so, Étoile flashed me a smile and said, “You’re welcome!” like she was doing me a favour.

“I’m coming with you,” said Evan, flashing me a dark look as if to say
I dare you to say no
. There was no chance of that though, I was happy to take all the back-up muscle I could get.

“David, Hayley and Victoria,” said Étoile, her voice all authoritative, “you watch Chyler and that... Dina while we find out what Georgia Thomas wants.”

I didn’t like the idea of us splitting our group up, any more than I liked the idea of standing on a porch with two witches and a daemon to face a growing crowd of witches and wolves and there wasn’t even a punch line to fall back on. I felt like a frightened novice who was putting on her capable game face while quaking inside... which was exactly what I was doing.

“Let’s do it,” I said and opened the door, stepping out onto the porch, Evan just a step behind.

Georgia Thomas was waiting for me at the base of the steps. She was a tall woman and one who had been strikingly beautiful once though she was aging well – I put her at around her late-forties – with fine cheekbones and raven hair that swung in a glossy bob cut severely at her chin. Her long coat was thick velvet, dark as night, and pooled at her feet. It was finished with a thick collar made of something fluffy and tactile that buried her neck right up to her chin. She held herself with the absolute assurance that she would get, and could get, whatever she wanted. She was a woman who clearly did not take ‘no’ lightly.

“So you’re Stella,” she said, running her eyes over me, starting from my toes and working upwards. “A little older than I expected.”

“Right back at you,” I said tartly.

“Oh, a wit too,” she smirked. “Étoile and Seren Winterstorm, I see. And Evan Hunter too. How interesting.” She gave them a polite if rather cursory incline of her head then paused. I followed her gaze and watched four wolves prowl to the front of the house. They climbed the steps, my wards accepting them willingly, and sat in front of me, absolutely tense. I recognised Gage, the big wolf at my feet, and Annalise’s smaller frame but not the other two.

“I don’t like wolves,” Georgia said, looking across them as she fingered the thick fur of her collar, a cruel smile playing on her lips.

Gage growled. The chills that sent through me made me glad I was behind him.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Georgia,” said Étoile. “What do you want?”

“Always so blunt,” murmured Georgia, not taking her eyes off me. “You’re harbouring a fugitive.”

“If you mean Chyler Anderson, she’s not a fugitive. She’s a frightened kid,” Seren protested from behind my right shoulder.

“I do mean Chyler Anderson. And this ‘frightened kid’ has committed crimes of magic that have required a certain level of cleaning up that we prefer not to do. Has anyone taken responsibility for her?”

“We have. And her family will look after her now,” said Evan. I could feel his presence brooding behind me and he gave me the strength not to quake in front of the formidable woman. In front of me, Gage’s ears flicked backwards, angry.

“She’s a murderer. She needs to answer for her crimes.”

“She’s not a murderer. She didn’t kill her mother, and you know it,” Étoile spat.

“Oh? Is there something else I should know about? Like, for example, what is going on in there?” Georgia asked with a smile and I wondered what her real game was. Behind her, the other witches had drawn closer, their obvious dislike for one another overthrown by their desire to hear what was being said. The wolf pack prowled behind them skittishly, fanning out as though they were herding, which perhaps they were. Georgia tried to look past me into my house but the door was closed behind us. I didn’t know if she had any kind of powers that would enable her to read minds, or see the future like Seren and Étoile could, but we were still in the boundary of my wards and I hoped the occupants of my house were protected enough that she had to rely on good old curiosity and guess work.

“What right do you think you have over Chyler? You can’t take her in to custody,” said Seren. “Only the council can do that, and that most certainly is not you.”

A murmur rippled through the small crowd and Georgia flashed a look at them that had them quiet in moments. It struck me that there was some play for supremacy here, and that some of the witches were here as much to watch what Georgia did, as much as others were here for Chyler. This wasn’t a simple enquiry about a crime, there was a subtle challenge playing out that I didn’t quite understand.

“That’s right,” piped up a female voice somewhere behind Georgia. “Chyler will be taken care of by her own family. We all know she wasn’t herself when her mother died.”

Georgia smiled up at us. “Was she really not herself? Who was she?” she asked, a small gleam of interest sparking in her eyes. With a faint feeling of unease I wondered if Georgia knew exactly what the answer would be and if Dina Lawley’s return was entirely down to Dina or if she had help. It struck me that if Georgia was building her camp ready for a coup, she would want loyal followers, not to mention someone who was vicious and powerful. Dina fit the bill on all counts, the only problem being that she was technically dead. If she could raise her...

“We won’t let you take Chyler,” said another voice, a man this time, but he didn’t step out where he could be seen under the porch lights now that the sky had faded to night. If Georgia was the vengeful type, I could understand that he didn’t want to mark himself fully as an enemy. I wasn’t overly happy about the position I was in either; by virtue of my friends I was already clearly marked as not on her side. I felt like a target was being painted on me with a big fat marker pen.

“Chyler was possessed,” said Evan after a long silence in which I could hear nothing but the undercurrent of anxiety from the crowd. “She was attacked by Dina Lawley.”

Dina’s name rippled through the people, all of them having something to say except Georgia. I caught rumour, accusation and more than a few undercurrents of fear. Behind them all the wolves whined in chorus, their throats thrust upwards to the sky. Georgia, however, didn’t even look surprised.

“Dina’s dead,’ Georgia said simply, then, after a moment, “Are you saying Dina is inside Chyler?”

“No, we’re saying she was but we’ve separated them. Chyler isn’t a danger to anyone anymore,” I answered.

Georgia pressed on. “So Dina has gone? You’ve destroyed her?”

It was Evan who answered. “We’ve still got Dina.”

Georgia’s eyebrows perked at that and her eyes flashed. So she could be taken by surprise... “I’d like to see for myself. Stella, relax your wards and let me in. I pose no threat to you.”

And I was a monkey’s uncle. I glanced either side of me. Seren and Étoile weren’t making any moves, but Evan shook his head in such a slight movement that I barely registered it.

“You’ll have to take my word for it,” I said. “Dina possessed Chyler but we’ve separated them. Dina’s still with us, but she doesn’t have a body to move to.”

“Stella, you seem like a clever girl. Put your wards to one side and let me in. I can assure you no harm will come to your house. I’ll take Dina with me.”

If Georgia thought that was supposed to be reassuring, she was wrong. It wasn’t my house I was worried about: it was everyone in it. Everyone except Dina Lawley anyway, as far as I was concerned the sooner we were rid of Dina the better. Georgia just wasn’t the right person for the job.

“No,” I replied firmly, and made to turn away. Evan was by my side in a flash.

“I encourage you to reconsider,” said Georgia, her tone dripping with acid. “I wouldn’t want anyone to get hurt.”

In front of me Gage rose to all fours, the wolves flanking him echoing the movement. They looked poised to spring.

“Don’t start anything you’ll regret, Georgia. Remember who you’re dealing with,” said Étoile, stepping to flank my other side.

“The Winterstorm family? I hardly think I need worry about you two. Without your third wheel you’re nothing much,” Georgia scoffed.

“Don’t count on it, bitch,” snapped Seren, in an uncharacteristic burst of anger.

“I’ll be waiting, Stella, but the clock is ticking,” Georgia called as we retreated inside, adjusting her collar. “I’ll play with your... puppies while I wait, shall I?”

I waited until the door was firmly shut before speaking. “So that went... um...” I struggled to think of how it went. We weren’t attacked, so, good. But Georgia wanted Dina. Bad.

“Georgia Thomas wanted Chyler,” Étoile told David and Chyler’s aunts, quickly recapping our conversation. They had pulled Chyler onto my sofa and she was lying with her head in Victoria’s lap, her breath shallow. “But as soon as she heard Dina was still here, she just focused on her.”

“You think Georgia knew Dina had possessed Chyler?” David asked.

“Yes,” said Étoile. “I think she knew the whole time.”

“Then let me go,” said Dina. She was much more real now than I’d seen her before and not quite as translucent, almost solid. She was an attractive woman, um, ghost, with a long swathe of dark hair. Her eyes still didn’t have any colour but were just milky orbs with pinprick black pupils. “You don’t have any reason to keep me.”

“Other than you being a murderer and a nut job?” I asked.

“Hey it was just one time, so it hardly counts.”

“Just once?” Étoile looked sceptical. “And how exactly do you plan on leaving here?”

“Georgia will have a way. She always does.” Dina plastered a self-satisfied expression over her face, sealing our worries that Georgia had been behind her summoning all along. “Georgia said she had a plan.”

“You’re not seriously going to let her go?” I asked the others who were eyeing each other speculatively.

Evan shook his head. “Of course not. She’s got to be sent on. The dead are the dead. There’s no place for them here, no matter what the likes of Georgia Thomas think.”

“Like, sent on to the afterlife?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Who cares so long as she’s not here.”

“No! No!” Dina shouted and she fuzzed out of focus before rippling back into view. ‘I was murdered and I want my revenge. You can’t send me back! Georgia promised. She promised I would live again!”

I felt for her briefly at that moment. I could understand wanting revenge, but then I snapped out of it. Possessing Chyler, killing Andrea, and nearly killing Chyler in the process too, that just wasn’t okay in my book. Plus the thought of unleashing her to Georgia’s custody gave me gooseflesh. I may not know either woman, but my sixth sense was screaming
no way
.