Midnight Hour (Shadow Falls: After Dark #4)(129)

“I said give her what she wants. Come. We have a ceremony to perform.”

*

“Where is she?” Perry pleaded again.

In spite of his injuries, Perry had morphed into a large bird. He snatched Tabitha, found a small opening in the trees, and flew straight to

FRU headquarters.

Tabitha now sat in a straight chair, looking afraid. But something told Perry she wasn’t just afraid of Burnett. “I told you, I don’t know.

”

“You’re lying!” Burnett slammed his fist down so hard it rattled the table.

Tabitha flinched. “Yes I am. But I can’t tell you. Not until sunset.”

“Why?” Burnett roared.

She lifted her chin and in that moment she looked so much like Miranda, Perry wanted to cry. “Because if I do, you’ll die.” She looked at

Perry. “And you, too. And a bunch of my sister’s friends.”

“What about Miranda?” Perry raged, unable to speak calmly anymore. “Are you going to let her die?”

“If things go the way they are supposed to, she’ll be okay.”

“And if they don’t?” Burnett seethed.

Tears fell from Tabitha’s eyes. “They have to. Zander said as long as everything went as planned, she’d get away.”

*

They paraded Miranda through the caverns. They came out into a patch of woods, most of which had been cleared. About twenty-five guests mingled

under a large tent. Mostly men.

Miranda prayed that Jeremiah had indeed spiked the wine, because no way could she take on this many.

The older guard dragged Zander under the tent and forcibly pushed her down into a chair. Miranda met her eyes. But Zander could barely raise

them. The power that man had over Zander made Miranda sick. No telling what he’d done to her in the past.

Two other men, also warlocks, but not in robes, came over, each took her arm. She almost started fighting then, but her gut said wait. They

walked her up to the front to a platform.

All eyes turned to her.

A bell rang. Everyone moved to their seats. About ten robed men stood at the bottom of the platform.

Tell me when, Miranda said in her mind, praying Zander could hear her. And the sooner the better.

No answer came back. Miranda felt herself start to sweat. Boob sweat. Her biggest pet peeve. She hated this.

A guy walked up on the platform. He started to chant, like some scriptures, but nothing she recognized.

Chills ran up one side of Miranda’s spine and down the other. Everyone stood and repeated some verse. Miranda tried to make it out, but her

heart pumped so loudly in her ears, it was all she could hear. Some man in the audience stood and shouted out something about making their army

strong. It was getting creepier and creepier.

Air felt trapped in her lungs. She saw a tree to her right stir and forced herself to calm down enough to ask. Help us. She looked at Zander

who appeared so submissive, a slave to the man who sat beside her. Help us escape.

Words suddenly filled her head. Zander’s words: Think wind. Think hurricane. Think if you don’t get out of this you’ll end up like me.

Miranda had never conjured up a storm, but she called upon every Goddess she knew, even some she didn’t know, to conjure up a storm. An epic

storm.

At first she heard nothing. Then a crackling came. Wind followed.

A roaring sound suddenly hit.

The two guards holding her elbows looked up. The sky opened and rain poured. The drops hit so hard they stung. Chills brushed against her skin

like wind. Unwilling to have the guards on each side of her touch her any longer, she jerked free. They turned to grab her. Their mistake.

Balls. Eyes. Throat.

The guy on the left got the ball technique. She went for the eyes on the guy on the right.

Another guard charged. Miranda kicked. Her foot hit his larynx.

The youngest robed guy who’d leered at her earlier moved in. Miranda went all out on this one. She gave him the trifecta. Balls. Eyes. Throat.

Then grabbing his arm, she tossed him over her shoulder. Like Della, he flew up in the air.

But unlike Della, he didn’t come down.

A tree limb reached out, wrapped around his middle and held him there.

Miranda, now soaked from the rain, looked back out at the audience. The cowards were running. Lightning crackled and popped. Men screamed. She

saw several raise their hands to use their powers. She prepared herself for disaster. Nothing happened. Thank you, Jeremiah!

She thought cages and at least four fell from the sky, capturing men. She needed more. She saw the tent swell up like a parachute. She flicked

her pinky, and the metal pipes that held it to the ground came up and struck the warlocks left and right.

Then through the wind that was lifting trees and chairs in the air, Miranda saw the old warlock dragging Zander back toward the cavern.

Fight him! Miranda said to Zander but it appeared she couldn’t hear. The roar of storm echoed, the trees stirred. Dark clouds rolled in.

Miranda held out her pinky and a bolt of lightning shot out. It missed, but hit the two warlocks beside them running to the cavern.

Realizing the cavern might mean their escape. Miranda took one second to envision it collapsing in on itself.

A rumble sounded, louder than the storm. The ground shook like an earthquake. A chair came thrashing through the air right at Miranda, and she