Alpha Unleashed (10 page)

“I'm…” God, I was tired. I just wanted to curl up in my bed. I rubbed my fingers along my temples dreading where this would go once it was out of my mouth. “I'm just wondering how far she went with this spell.”

I stood and started to pace. The problem was that I kept coming to the same conclusion. Unless I went to the coven's compound, there was no way to know what Luciana had done, or how far she'd gone with the power drain.

I stopped pacing as a horrifying thought crossed my mind. “Do you think…” No. She couldn't possibly be that awful.

She wouldn't kill her entire coven? Would she?

But she could've. That was something she was totally capable of. Especially if it got her more power.

The answer had to be yes. To open her gateway to hell, Luciana was going to need a royal fuckload of power that she didn't have. Since she'd lost access to both Claudia and me, she'd have to get that power somewhere else. Her coven was an easy target. They were there—linked to her by blood—practically begging to be drained.

I had to go check it out. “Don't freak, but I don't think there's a way around it. We have to go to the compound.”

“What? Why?” Dastien half shouted.

“Because we need to know how far she went. If she drained her entire coven of magic, we're going to have to a bigger fight on our hands than we thought.” Just thinking that scared the crap out of me. We hadn't been prepared before, and if she'd really just done what I feared, then we were screwed.

“Even if she did drain the coven, why risk going there? We're not ready to fight her.”

“So we sneak onto their land. If she didn't drain anyone, then we get out fast. If she did…” I had a feeling Luciana wouldn't stick around with the bodies. “I just need to know.
We
need to know.” I grabbed my cross-body purse, jammed in all my potion vials, and headed for the door.

“Fine.” He stepped in front of me, his eyes glowing orbs of amber. “But the second we're in danger, we run.”

“Of course.” We were definitely on the same page. “Let's get the others.”

We'd barely made it to the middle of campus before Mr. Dawson, Donovan, Meredith, Chris, and Dr. Gonzales strode toward us.

“We need to check out the compound,” Mr. Dawson said. “See if anyone's still alive out there.”

“Totally agree.” And I couldn't be happier everyone was actually agreeing for once. “I've got some potions in case Luciana's still there, but we need a full plan.”

“I summoned a few quads of Cazadores for backup,” Mr. Dawson said.

“What about campus? Shouldn't they stay in case she tries to attack?”

“We've enough wolves to protect the campus,” Donovan said. “If Luciana is still on the compound, she has power to burn. Nothing wrong with bringing backup.”

“Okay. Probably a good idea.” I thought for a second. “The main problem is the warding on the compound. We can deal with the repulsion part, but the spell also alerts the coven of intruders. If Luciana or any of the coven is still there we're going to have to run fast.”

“I can help with that.” Cosette raised her hand and I almost did a double take.

I would've sworn she wasn't standing there ten seconds ago, but if she was going to appear out of nowhere, she'd picked a good time to do it. “You can?”

“Yes. I'm sure I can still cross the wards without setting off the alarm.” Her lips pressed into a thin line. “Or I can get you across them easily enough. Either way, I'm going along for the ride.”

I managed not to gape at her, but it was close. Cosette volunteering to help? Whatever her reasons were now, I wasn't going to question them. “Okay. Cosette and I will deal with the wards. What next?”

“Once Tess and Cosette give the all clear, we'll send in a small group,” Dastien said. “We check the closest houses for signs of life. Everyone else stays out of sight unless there's a call for help. If that happens, we get everyone out and run. We'll keep our drivers ready for a fast getaway.”

“Agreed. We're just checking on the coven. None of us are ready to go against Luciana tonight.” We weren't even
close
to ready.

I strode to the closest SUV and got in the passenger side. Dastien walked around to the driver's side and motioned for one of the Cazadores to get in back. Chris hopped in next to him. In minutes, everyone was packed in cars and heading out.

I tapped my fingers on the armrest as Dastien drove through the gates. It was a thirty minute drive and there was no chance we were going to have a relaxing ride.

Because if Luciana was there, we were screwed. And if she wasn't, and the worst was true…

Then we were already one step closer to the hell mouth in my vision.

Chapter Ten

I stared out the car's window, resting my head against the cool glass as the darkness blurred past. My mind wandered to dark places. If Mom had moved us back to Texas when she realized I had abilities, would I have ended up like them? Sucked dry of magic and life?

That could've been me.

I guessed that was why this was hitting me so hard. I saw myself in them. In the sliding doors of my life, if just one thing had changed, it could have all turned out very differently.

“Don't go there,” Dastien murmured. The other wolves heard, but couldn't know what he meant. Still, I wished he hadn't said the words aloud this time.

I can't help it. There's so much wrong right now. So much that's messed up.

I know. And it's easy to focus on the bad, especially where there's so much of it, but you can't do that. If we're going to get through this, you have to focus on the good.

Yeah, right. How could I be positive right now?
After that vision, thinking of the future is the last thing I want to do.

We don't know that it's going to happen. What if it was just a warning? What if—

She has the power she needs now.

Dastien was quiet for a second as the truth sank in.
Then, we work hard and change
how
it happens. We're going to stop her before it gets that far. Okay?

“Okay. Yeah. We'll stop it before it gets that far.” It sounded weak, even to my ears, but I was trying to believe it. I had to believe that I could change the outcome, otherwise…

“What gets what far?” Chris leaned forward between the front seats.

Shit. I hadn't meant to say that aloud. “Nothing.” When he didn't sit back, I rolled my eyes at him. “Don't you know it's rude to listen into other people's conversations?”

“Don't you know it's rude to have private conversations when other people are around?”

He had a point. “I'm not talking about it. Not yet.”

“Telling them doesn't mean it's going to happen,” Dastien said.

“I know.” I thought for a second. “If the things I saw in the first part of the vision happen, then I'll spill. If not, well then, it's moot. Because that future isn't happening.”

We turned a sharp corner, and I knew we were almost on coven land. “Stop the cars. Cosette and I will check the wards alone. If we're lucky, no one else has to come.” I was praying we'd see people walking down the dirt rode that divided the compound, going about life as usual. Then we could turn straight around before anyone got hurt.

“I don't like that at all,” Dastien said.

To be honest, neither did I. “I'll stay within sight.”

The leather steering wheel squeaked under the pressure as Dastien tightened his grip. “If you go out of sight, I'm coming after you.”

“Okay,” I said as the car came to a stop. “Keep the car running just in case.” I slung my messenger bag of vials over my shoulder and slid down from my seat. I reached inside, grabbing two vials just in case, and then turned to Cosette, who was getting out from the car behind us.

“You ready?”

“Of course.” She tucked a golden ringlet behind her ear. “Just let me test them first and we'll decide who goes through.”

“Whatever you need.”

We snuck toward to the cattle guards that started just before the compound's gate. I usually felt the urge to run right about now—the slimy feeling of the wards rushing over me—but nothing was happening. “Do you feel the wards?”

“No.” Cosette reached out, moving her fingers like she was strumming a harp. “There's nothing.”

Before I could stop her, she stepped over the threshold onto coven lands.

“Are you crazy!” I whisper-yelled at her as I glanced around frantically, expecting an army of witches to come at us. I held the vials up as my heartbeat thudded in my ears.

Only… The compound was quiet. The dirt road was empty. Cars were haphazardly parked on either side of the road, the same as always. Houses loomed down the dirt road, with the schoolhouse at the end. A few houses still had lights on. Odd for this time of night—we were pushing past one in the morning—but not totally out of the realm of the possible.

I stood frozen, waiting for some sign of movement, but there was nothing.

The wards were down.

“Tell the others they can cross.” Cosette whirled and started walking. “I'll make sure Luciana's gone.”

“Wait.” I caught up to her before she got more than a few steps. “Not alone”

“Alone.” Cosette waved me off. “This might all be a trap.”

My pulse raced. “Then go. Hurry.”

As soon as she slipped away, I called for Dastien.
Can you hear me?

How is that possible? The wards always blocked our bond before. Every time you were on coven land, I couldn't feel you, let alone talk to you like this.

They're gone.

What does that mean?

Nothing good.
I turned back to the compound. “Get everyone. Let's go.”

I made my way to the first lit house, knowing that Dastien wouldn't be far behind.

Two steps led up to the front porch. The first one squeaked under my weight, and I froze, expecting someone to come out and yell at me for trespassing.

No one came. I gingerly took the next step, and then tiptoed to the window beside the door. It gave a good view of the living room and kitchen. A movie played on the TV.
Fifth Element.
Good choice. The back of the couch faced the window, but I could see someone's head facing the screen.

Thank God.
I closed my eyes as I let go of the worry. Luciana had spared them.

As soon as I let out a breath, another fear grabbed hold of me. If they were alive, the wards shouldn't be down and we'd just walked into a trap.

Shit. We needed to leave. Now.

I started to tell Dastien as much when something caught my eye.

In the little break in the cabinets that connected the kitchen to the living room, someone was lying on the floor. The shards of a broken mixing bowl scattered all around them.

The momentary relief I'd felt was gone. Replaced with terror.

If I was seeing what I thought, then Luciana had stolen everyone's magic. Killed every single person in the coven.

And winning the fight against her was about to become infinitely more impossible.

I needed to be sure, only I didn't want to go inside. Not one little bit.

Shit. There was no getting around it.

As soon as I opened the front door, the smell wafted out. It was exactly the same as the others, but I had to go in. I had to be sure.

Cherie.
What do you see?
Dastien waited at the bottom of the porch steps.

I'm not sure yet. I need to check…
I entered into the house. The person on the couch was a teenage boy. I'd never spoken to him, but I remembered him from the one class I'd taken during my stay at the compound.

He stared at TV. His skin was gray and wrinkled, like the others. And the eyes that had died watching TV were twin black raisins.

“Shit.” I made an effort to breathe through my mouth as I moved past him to the kitchen.

His mother had died baking a cake. Two candles lay on the counter. A one and a four.

How could she do it? To kids? To families?

Dastien and Mr. Dawson came through the door as I left the kitchen. I wiped my hands down my face. “How could she do this? It was his birthday. He was only fourteen.” They started to say something, but I waved them off. There was nothing to say. Nothing for us to do. It was too late. We were too late. “We can search the compound, but I think everyone here is going to be like this.” I waved my hand around the gruesome scene. I didn't even know them, but they didn't deserve this. No one deserved this.

“Luciana's car is gone,” Cosette said as she came through the door. “Her house is empty, but I'm sensing power inside. No other traps.” She crouched on the floor and gently touched the woman's cheek. “What a waste. And what a selfish use of magic.” Only she moved in the silent room, tucking a lock of hair behind the woman's ear and then closing her eyes. “Maureen was a kind woman. And Elijah was a sweet boy. All they did was listen to the one who was supposed to be leading them.”

I swallowed the ache building at the back of my throat. It would be the same scene in every house. Forty people dead? Fifty? And all her own coven. I didn't have the words.

“Any idea where she might've gone?” Mr. Dawson said.

“None.” When Cosette finally stood, she pressed her hands against her temples, not crying but showing pain in her way. “I have to report it, but as soon as I do, I'll get pulled home. There's too much danger. But I can't leave now.” She started to push past me, heading for the door. “I'll check the other houses. I want to see their faces.”

“Hey.” I grabbed her sleeve before she got to the door. I'd forgotten that she lived with the coven for months before I got there. She knew them in a way I didn't. If this was weighing on me, it had to be even harder for her. “Don't blame yourself. No one could've guessed she'd go this far.”