Chapter Twenty-Three
Rhys
The storeroom was empty when I entered, though light escaped from beneath the door of Ava’s office. I knocked once and waited for her to grant me permission to come in, but she was silent.
I turned the knob and pushed it opened. Ava sat at her desk, her head bowed as she stared down at her phone. Her finger tapped the side in a slow, steady rhythm as though she were marking time.
“Ava?”
Her head came up when I said her name. “Hey, Rhys. What’s up?”
“I think that’s my question for you,” I replied.
Her gaze skittered away from mine. “I’m fine.”
“I think we both know that’s bullshit,” I stated as I shut the door behind me and moved to the single chair that faced her desk.
The legs creaked ominously as I settled my weight into the seat. Leaning back, I laced my fingers over my abdomen and waited.
“Margaret was supposed to call me yesterday morning and she didn’t. I can’t get in touch with her.” Her finger kept tapping the side of the phone. “I’ve been trying to call her for two days. I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Do you think something happened to her?”
“I’m almost certain it did,” Ava murmured. She looked up at me again. “I’ve tried scrying for her location with a mirror, but I’ve never met her in person and that makes it more difficult. Do you think Kerry can find someone to check on her?”
“I’ll call her now,” I offered.
Before I could reach into my pocket for my phone, a shrill sound pierced the air. Ava and I leapt to our feet. “Someone’s broken through the wards,” she cried, ripping the door to the office open and sprinting through the storeroom.
I followed close on her heels as she burst through the doors that lead back into the shop. She stopped short and I nearly crashed into her back.
The cafe was orderly and neat, the tables lined up properly and the shelves were untouched. The bar gleamed as usual. The scent of scorched paper filled the air but nothing was aflame. The only thing out of place was a single chair lying on the floor on its side.
And Savannah was nowhere to be found.
Quickly, I moved around Ava and checked the reading room, the bathroom, and anywhere else that Savannah might have hidden. She was gone.
I turned toward Ava. “We have to find Savannah,” I insisted.
She nodded. “We will, but first we need to know who took her.”
I watched as she lifted her hands in a wide, sweeping motion. Before us a pale grey version of Savannah stood in front of one of the tables, spraying it with disinfectant before wiping it down. Then the wall in front of her split apart, revealing a man. He stepped through the opening and I saw his face clearly. It was Macgrath.
A rage I’d never experienced before filled me. It burned hot and bright, swelling to the point that I didn’t think I could contain it. I smelled the electricity and knew that power sparked from my fingertips. Curling my hands into fists, I focused on the scene that unfolded in front of me.
Macgrath grabbed Savannah. She twisted and fought before bringing the bottle up and spraying the vampire in the face. When he released her, she turned and took two steps away before he was on her again. I could see the absolute fear on her face and the wrath inside me doubled.
The vampire wrapped one arm around her waist and clapped a hand over her mouth as he dragged her backward out of the portal. The wall closed in on itself, leaving nothing behind but the overturned chair.
Ava waved her arms again and the smoky grey shadows disappeared. “Well, we know who has her,” she muttered. “Now, we just have to find them and kill them.”
I couldn’t agree more.
Finding Macgrath and Rhiannon proved to be more difficult than I believed it would be.
Ava stood over the table, a crystal on a chain dangled from her fingertips. A map was spread out beneath her hands, but the crystal merely swayed, never stopping over a specific point.
“Fuck,” Ava cursed, dropping the chain on the tabletop. “This is the fourth map we’ve tried and I can’t find them anywhere.”
“She must be using a spell to mask their location,” I stated.
Ava’s eyes were pure, brilliant purple when she looked up at me. Her stare clearly stated that she’d already considered that.
“The bitch is good,” she mumbled. “I’ve broken more masking spells than most witches ever cast but I can’t break hers.”
“There must be something else we can do,” I insisted.
“There is,” Ava replied. “But it will take time. Time we don’t have.”
“Then what the fuck are we supposed to do?” I growled.
She rubbed her forehead. “If I had something that belonged to her, it would be a lot easier. Or if I had a way to boost my power, I might be able to manage it.”
Her words gave me an idea. Kerry and Finn often fed each other power when they needed it. I didn’t bother asking Ava if she was willing. For Savannah, I knew she would be.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I dialed Kerry.
“I need your help,” I said as soon as she picked up the phone.
“I know. And the answer is yes.” She hesitated. “When this is all over, we need to talk.”
Triumph surged through me. “I’m going to give the phone to Ava. Just tell her what you need her to do. Anything else we need to talk about can wait.”
Without waiting for her response, I held my cell out to Ava.
As I expected, she took it and lifted it to her ear. “Hi, Kerry. I’m Ava Amaris. Rhys said you could help us.”
The urge to destroy roiled inside of me. The woman I intended to make my wife was at the mercy of a vampire and a dark witch. We had to find her before it was too late.