Conjuring Quantico (The Federal Witch Book 1) (23 page)

“Cat, remember: do not cross the lines. If anything happens to me, call my grandmother but I should be OK.” She gave me a big hug. I kissed the top of her head and squeezed back.

Then I stepped into the circle and squatted to fill in the incantation words. This was going to be hard. The smaller circle was about ten feet in diameter. The larger almost fifty feet in diameter. It would need all of that to hold the power of who I was calling. Hekate was not a minor player.

On my knees I began closing the inner circle with runes of my own devising. Grandmother gave me a good grounding in ceremonial magic and the Kabbalah. Protection circles I could do. I pushed everything into the exact center of the circle. I needed to be sure nothing broke the circle.

Raising my arms I let out the breath I was holding. Sinking into myself I felt my connection to the Earth and all the other elements. Now it was time to begin. Calling the elements, I welcomed them into my circle and asked them to bless me in my endeavor. I had done this a thousand times in the past. Never had I actually felt the elements join the circle. I felt the circle join and power begin to fill the outer circle. I was going to raise power and use it. There were many Goddesses that would be appropriate for finding lost children. None of them were both a patron of my race and my personal Goddess.

Concentrating on the element of Fire I lit the five torches at the perimeter of the circle. It was time.

“This is the hour of my choosing, my hour of need. I call upon the dark Goddess, she who rules the moon and all Witches. I call upon Hekate to attend and bless this location with her spirit.” I stood in the center of my circle with my eyes closed and called out my prayer to the dark Goddess of Witchcraft.

~~~~

“What is she doing?”

“I’ve seen her do this before. She’s calling the quarters. The elements are called the quarters: Earth, Air, Water, Air, and Spirit. Once they join the circle, she can raise power. She will then call upon the Gods and use some of that power.”

Cat and Nita stood inside the Command center in the doorway. They watched the sky grow dark and the wind begin to howl. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The wind was quickly screaming through the fences.

“Agent Lowrey! We just received a tornado warning from the weather service! They say they have never seen anything like this before!”

The sky tuned night black and dogs could be heard howling in the distance. Wind began to swirl around the circle. Bits of paper and other debris were sucked into the maelstrom that was forming in the parking lot. The effects of the storm began to lessen, but the sky remained dark as night. Agatha could be seen standing with her arms to the sky in the center of what looked like a tornado trapped inside the circle.

As the day turned to night, Cat continued to keep her eyes on Agatha. For just a split second she thought there was two figures standing in the center of the circle. A large gust of wind almost made her lose her balance. When she recovered Agatha stood there alone. The winds began to dissipate, but the Sky continued its darkness. Agatha was no longer standing. She lay in the center of the circle.

“Cat, she’s down! She could be hurt!” Cat grabbed Nita by her arm and would not allow her to go over.

“No! I promised her that we would not break the circle. I gave my word. We will stand here and watch. She told me that bad things would happen if the circle broke. We will stay right freaking here!”

SAC Lowrey tried to pull her arm away, but the small woman’s grip was rock hard. Small she might be but Catherine Moore was an Alpha and she could be as strong as she needed to be. The sky slowly began to lighten, and the winds dissipated. Agatha was still not moving. Cat gritted her teeth and gripped Nita harder. She’d promised. Finally Cat could see Agatha move her arm and sit up.

Chapter 17

I woke up to Fergus standing on my face kicking me in the nose. “Quit faking and wake up. Agatha, you need to wake up!”

“What the hell, Fergus? Get off me!” I sat up and rubbed my head. Ouch that hurt. The last thing I remembered was talking to Hekate. It had to have been a dream, but I would almost swear that the Goddess herself answered my plea. Wearily I stood up. I could see Cat and Nita waving at me from across the lot. I rubbed out a section of the chalk circle just to be sure before stepping across it. The torches were all out but I also carefully rubbed a door into the second circle. Trust your instincts and not your eyes is one of Gram’s sayings. It was just a variation of better safe than sorry.

“Are you alright?” Cat came over and gave me a big hug.

“I’m fine, I think. My head is killing me! Let’s get inside before I forget. I think I might know where they are.” We ran to the command center; well, I walked fast.

All I could see were the looks of shock and awe on the faces of my fellow FBI agents and techs. Many of them had seen what I had not. The tornado and darkness of the sky. Otherworldly forces had been called, and I was the herald. I think it had finally hit home to many of them just what a real Witch could do.

Nita was all business, which was good. “Did you get anything?”

I nodded my head. I thought back to the vision or dream that I’d had.

“The room was dark and a musty scent filled the room. Small sharp flashes of light shone into the room from broken pipes in the overhead. Ice cold water dripped from the ceiling and ran down the metal walls. Parts of pipes and electrical tubes ran across the walls and into the floor. I could hear what sounded like fans or propellers running at top speeds. Ear deafening machinery would roar to life on either side of the metal box every few minutes. I could scream but the sound would not be heard over the roar. Looking through the gloom I could see a tiny girl in each corner of the room. We were each crammed into the corner, embracing what security we could find. I no longer heard the cries of ‘grandma save me’ coming from the others. I knew she wouldn’t come. She’s the one that put me here. Closing my eyes I said another prayer for grandpa to save me. He was the only one that loved me.”

“That’s horrifying! Could you tell where they were?”

“No. But I could hear the roaring. It was like the sound a wind tunnel would make. They are alive that’s all that matters.” I played the vision back in my head. I was missing something, I just knew it.

“We just need to find them and to prove the women did it. Making it stick to Catherine Emery will be the hardest part.”

“No. It won’t. She has betrayed the love and trust of a child. A family member who she was supposed to protect and care for. Demons aren’t known for rewarding those who fail them. Add to that a vengeful Goddess and she will receive what she deserves. Hekate will make sure of it.” Those listening took a step back from my sepulchre tone. Cat told me later a chill ran through the place as I spoke. I only knew that the Goddess was not amused.

“We have to catch her first. Agatha take a look at the factory, look for anything familiar.” Nita looked around the room, everyone had grim faces. “What do we know about the history of Fabulous Face?”

“I had my people search every database and records center we had access to and a few we don’t. They traced the company back about twenty-five years so far. We have a pretty good picture of what they do. It seems to be a five-year cycle. In the first year the plant moves in and sets up operations. They use existing facilities or on one occasion build their own. Ninety percent of the company are local hires. Community governments love them until the fifth year rolls around. Twenty-five years ago they rolled into Trophy Club, Texas, and set up shop. The area was new and construction was booming. On the outskirts of town they rebuilt an old TQB parts facility. Local labor was hired and production was at full steam by the second year. As the town began to boom so did the plant. In its fifth year everything changed. Reports were filed by the board of directors outlining a re-consolidation of assets and hardship rules for the plant. They claimed it was due to production losses. The workers were puzzled as the plant was in full swing including a lucrative third shift.” Anastasia paused and looked to left and nodded.

“The FBI was investigating a kidnapping of a girls sports team that year. It was suspected that they were smuggled through Dallas-Fort Worth but we could not get a handle on it. Half the team of eight was recovered on the Mexican border, but four of the girls were never found. Our files show it as an open case. Later that year the plant moved. We show a discernible pattern. The plant stays for five years, in the fifth year several kidnappings occur in the area. The plant closes and they move to the next State. We have them in Fox, Alaska; Wilson, North Carolina; Elgin, Illinois; and Meta, Missouri. They pick small to middle-sized cities to avoid notice. We are still searching for more of their previous locations.”

“Anastasia are all of those locations confirmed?”

“The ones we named, yes. We have other possibles. This is potentially a huge case. I am preparing information for the brass.”

“You said that their last location was in Missouri? Call the closest FBI office and have someone talk to plant operations or the owners of whoever is in there now. Find out from them what was missing or strange when they took possession of the factory. It may relate.”

I stared at the aerial view of the factory. I saw nothing that screamed wind tunnel to me. All I could see were buildings. I looked up when Cat came back inside the truck. I hadn’t realized she’d left.

“Has, uh, anyone looked at the parking lot lately?” She was pointing toward where they had been congregating.

“What’s wrong Cat?” Nita looked concerned.

“Trees. Really big trees.” She sat down and stared at me.

“Nita, does this thing have exterior cameras?” I pointed at the big screen.

“Somebody hit the button for the cameras!”

The picture on the screen changed and we could see outside. All around where my circle was drawn trees were punching through the concrete. They looked like Oak and Ash trees. They were growing at an accelerated rate.

Everyone turned and stared at me. “I did say there might be some consequences. At least I don’t see any purple squirrels this time.”

“OK everyone, back to work we have children to find. Agatha do you need a moment?” I nodded at her and moved to step outside. Cat smiled at me and stood up to come with me.

Outside the temperature had changed. It was at least twenty degrees cooler than it had been earlier. I guess Goddess visitation carried with it low pressure systems and trees. I pulled out my cell phone and gave Gram’s a call. She would want to know about this.

“Agatha, child, are you alright? I received a message from the Council about a huge surge of magic in Virginia. Was that you?”

“Yes, Grandmother. It was. I’m on temporary assignment; I can’t discuss the details but I performed a spell to enhance my foresight.” I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

“You did what? Agatha, that was extremely dangerous. You especially run the risk of burning yourself out. Obviously it worked or you would not have called me. What happened?”

She sounded concerned, but I was very hesitant to tell her about the Goddess. It was almost private. “After the ritual, trees pushed their way through the concrete and now ring the place where I performed my magic. Grandmother, I created a grove! We need to save this place from destruction. Can you contact the Council for me and tell them?”

There was a brief silence.

“Child, for once you had a positive aftereffect to your magic! Did it enhance your foresight also?”

I described in general terms my dream. She told me the Council would be notified. After I hung up, I stared at the new Grove for several long minutes.

“Aggy, I saw her.”

My eyes widened, and I turned toward Cat.

She too was staring at the Grove. Without looking at me she continued to speak. “It was during the ritual. A tornado formed directly over you and the circle. It was all I could do to keep from falling and I thought I saw another figure in the circle with you. I tried to get a closer look but a sudden gust of wind knocked my feet out from under me. When I looked back the other person was gone, and you were lying on the concrete.” Cat sniffed. I could see tears rolling down her cheeks. “I followed your instructions, but I thought I’d lost you...”

I leaned over and gave her a big hug. From what I knew about Were Packs closeness was encouraged between Pack members. “Cat, you should feel honored. She would not have allowed just anyone to see her.”

“When all of this is over will you teach me about her?”

“Of course. I would love to.” We stared at the trees for a few more moments and then went back inside. We had a kidnapper to find.

~~~~

“What do mean they are under arrest?”

“Sir, from what they admitted to the lawyers we sent, there was some sort of Ward over the entire hotel room. The team stuck to windows and remained caught there until the FBI got them loose almost three hours later. They had already told the Feds who’d hired them before our man got there.”

“Dammit! What the hell do I pay you for? Did they at least make the offer to that Witch? Her magic is exactly what I need around here.” Senator Seymour Emery could only glare at his damn people. If they would only do as he asked! If his stupid daughter Margaret hadn’t called the FBI, his men would’ve found her by now. He had promised he would find Elizabeth,, but she didn’t believe him and called them in. Those freaking FBI agents couldn’t be trusted to find Elizabeth. Only he could do the job properly. There was no secret that money couldn’t find the answer to. You just had to know the right people.