A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(34)

Claudia leaned back, the disappointment evident on her face.

“Why?” asked Sam. “What did you think Jackson could tell us?”

“It doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“Yes, it matters. Can he help? Do we need to find some more hellhound venom? Because I’m sure I can manage it. Claudia, you need to give me something I can help with here. Even when I try to stay out of things, I end up getting dragged into this. You can’t keep me in the dark anymore. I won’t let you.”

“She’s going to kill me, isn’t she?” asked Claire.

“Don’t be dramatic,” said Claudia.

“No. I mean, no matter what, I’m going to die. She wants me dead because she knows I can hurt her. But you haven’t tried to recruit me to attack her because you know I won’t survive it.”

“Don’t worry,” said Sam. “We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

But Claudia was conspicuously silent and Claire knew better. “I can do something, can’t I? I can stop Abigail.”

“You have abilities that are very unique in our world,” admitted Claudia. “But the darkness in my daughter, that kind of power, it’s angry. And vengeful. And if you try to remove it from its host, it will lash out.”

“But I can get it out, right?”

“You’ll never survive.”

“But I can get it out.”

Sam stood abruptly and looked between the two of them. “Can we please stop talking about last resorts and get real. There has to be a way to get this done without my best friend dying.”

Claudia stood as well. “What do you think I’ve been doing, Samantha?” The words didn’t feel like a shout, but they echoed through the room. Sam was silent as Claudia continued. “I have spent the last day looking for anything and everything to save Abigail, and I hit dead end after dead end. If Claire were anybody else, I would’ve approached her days ago. But how many of us, how many humans are going to have to suffer before we admit what has to be done?”

Sam’s jaw clenched and Claire could just see all the ways her friend was trying to avoid the truth. “We don’t know if Abigail has hurt anyone,” she bit out.

Claudia looked at Sam with sympathy in her eyes. “Those witches she took control of are in pain. You’ve been infected by the darkness before. You know exactly the toll having your free will taken from you can wreak. And if you think the darkness will sit back and lead a simple life, you’re reaching.”

“Whatever.” Sam moved away from the desk and shook her head. “We’ll keep Claire dying as a last resort, but I’m not going to give up that easy, okay?”

Claudia looked at Claire, and even though neither woman said anything, the meaning was evident. Claudia made it known that she’d do whatever it took to defeat the darkness, and Claire silently made a promise that if it meant keeping people safe, she’d do whatever she needed to do.





Sam stepped out in the hallway and her head fell into her hands. She didn’t know what to do. What to say.

Something touched her back and she didn’t jump. She’d recognize that touch anywhere. Without thinking, she turned and Derek tucked her in for a tight hug. She hugged him back and allowed her eyes to close. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until right now.

“You holding up?” he asked softly into her ear.

“No. Not at all,” she said honestly. “They think that Claire can stop Abigail.”

“I’m guessing from your tone that’s not a good thing.”

“There’s basically a hundred percent chance it would kill her. That’s why Claudia was shutting us out before. She didn’t want to tell us.”

“We’ll find another way,” said Derek confidently. But hearing him say it made her realize how foolish she sounded. She’d said the same thing in front of Claudia just a few moments before. Where the hell were they going to find another way to beat the darkness? They had no textbooks to read for research. The Internet knew nothing about this.

All they had was Claudia, and she had apparently decided on the one and only option. But she didn’t say anything to Derek. She just hugged him back.

“Well, isn’t this sweet.”

She jumped back from Derek and turned to see her mother. Not her mother, but the darkness using her. Abigail wasn’t alone, though. She was surrounded by a ring of witches.

Sam recognized at least one of them from the party at Abigail’s and knew that all of these witches were infected by the darkness. Which meant each and every one of them was a danger.

Derek pushed her behind him and stood confidently. “Stay back,” he warned.

The corner of Abigail’s mouth twisted up as she considered him. “So pretty. So stupid. Your time hasn’t come yet,” she warned as she started for Claudia’s office.

Sam studied the possessed entourage. There was Susan Collins, Tim Benedict, and a few more she recognized. “Shit,” she muttered as she followed them in. Claire wasn’t there anymore. Claudia and Bastian stood over the desk and were in the middle of an intense conversation, but they dropped what they were doing when they saw the newcomers.

Bastian immediately pulled his sword free and faced the witches as if he were totally sure he could take them on. Sam tried to move closer to Claudia, but Derek held her back and Claudia gave a small shake of her head.