Witch's Wrath (Blood And Magick #3)(44)

“Maddie,” Nicole said. “Maddie.”

The second calling of my name caused my vision to clear, and I saw her now, sitting on the bed in front of me. I blinked repeatedly. “What?” I asked, my voice distant and lazy.

“Are you alright?”

I shrugged. “Should I be?”

“Please tell me how I can help you.”

“I don’t think you can. My house… Lumière… it’s gone.”

She took my hand and pulled me into an embrace that I didn’t resist. I didn’t have the energy to. “I’m so sorry,” Nicole said, “I’m so, so sorry.”

I turned my eyes up at Jared, who also didn’t seem to be doing very well, though he was doing a good job at masking his rage. “You didn’t do this. Tamara did… I could smell her rotten magick.”

“I can’t tell you enough times how sorry I am. I couldn’t see past myself, and my mom. I had hoped that with Remy gone, she’d be different.”

“It’s not important now.”

I wasn’t angry, wasn’t frustrated, I didn’t hate her for not listening to me. I couldn’t feel much of anything, now. It was as if I had gone numb, as if I had withdrawn into a shell. I didn’t want to fight with her, didn’t want to fight Tamara. All I wanted to do was go home, but I couldn’t do that anymore.

“I have to find her,” Jared said, “If we don’t stop her now, she’s just going to keep on fucking with people’s lives.”

“No,” Nicole said, “Not like that. She’ll kill you.”

“I’ll kill her first.”

Nicole turned her head to look at him. “If Tamara did this—”

“She did,” I said. “She did this.”

Nicole nodded. “The vampires probably haven’t had a chance to tell her they haven’t killed Madison yet, so we have the element of surprise.”

“So, she thinks I’m dead?”

“Yes, but surprise alone won’t be enough, though. Tamara is clever. We need to be smarter than her, and quicker than lightning. Our window is already closing.”

She grabbed her phone and sent a text message. To whom, and what the message read, I didn’t know.

“What do you suggest we do?” Jared asked.

“I’m going to call an emergency meeting,” Nicole said, “I’m going to gather as many witches at the Scarlet Cat as I can. I’m going to tell them Madison is dead, and Lumière has been burned down… then when Tamara is in the room, I’m going to tell them Tamara did it.”

“And they’re just going to believe you?”

“They’ll have to.”

He shook his head. “They’ll want proof. Do you have proof?”

“We have to get her to confess,” I said.

Nicole looked at me like I had spoken for the first time in years. “Yeah,” she said, after a time, “Alright, so we’re gonna do this…” her phone buzzed in her hand, and she paused to read the message. “Shit,” she said.

“What is it?” Jared asked.

“Tamara’s already called a meeting of the witches…”

“What? When?”

“It’s taking place in two hours… at Remy’s Garden District house.”

Something inside of me snapped, and my mind returned to me in full force, as if roused from some deep sleep. “That bitch has been using Remy’s house?”

“Yeah… I guess so.”

My hand clenched into a fist, and a freak wind began to swish around the room, causing the curtains to sway. “I’m going to kill her myself,” I said through gritted teeth.

Jared approached, now, and placed his hands on my shoulders. “I need you to calm down,” he said, “You’re only going to hurt yourself right now.”

“I think he’s right,” Nicole said, “And if this is happening in two hours, then we’ve got enough time to get to the Hollow and help you recharge. Whatever happens with Tamara tonight, you need your strength.”

I shrugged out of his hands and stood, a little uneasily at first, but then I held my balance. “I’m fine,” I said, “But if that woman thinks she can get away with throwing me to the wolves and burning down my house, my Lumière, then she’s got another thing coming.”

“She does, okay? She does. I swear. But Nicole is right; we need to be clever about this,” Jared said.

“If Tamara has called a meeting of the witches,” Nicole said, a little hesitantly, “Then it could be she’s going to try and control the story. News of Lumière being burned down has probably already hit local news. The witches may already know.”

“That woman has taken too much from me,” I said, “First Remy, then my coven, and now Lumière. I’ve done nothing to her; I didn’t even know who the hell she was until she came strolling into town. She has no right.”

“Maddie,” Nicole said, “I need you to calm down, okay?”

I spun around hard and the window behind me cracked. “Stop telling me to calm down!” I yelled. “I’m going to kill this woman for what she’s done to me. To all of us.”