Protector (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 5) (22 page)

She settled back in her seat, thoughts churning. As much as she hated to admit it, Roslyn’s death had served some sort of purpose…for the warlocks, if no one else. But this illness that had struck out of nowhere and then taken Maya long before her time…once again, Caitlin heard that whisper at the corner of her mind, the one saying Matías must have had something to do with it. Yes, she knew that millions of people died every day, often in ways that made no sense. In general, though, a
prima
didn’t die of an undiagnosed illness.
Primas
tended to live longer than most people, whether civilian or witch.

For some reason, she heard Olivia’s words echoing in her mind:
Matías is one of those people who’s never satisfied with what he has. He always needs something more.
And then, in Lucinda’s crisp, no-nonsense tones:
He has no limits. He wants what he wants, and that’s it.

The thought growing in Caitlin’s mind was so terrible that she didn’t want to voice it aloud, didn’t want to acknowledge it. That would give it shape, and reality. And then….

Before she could lose her nerve, she asked, “Alex, who will be your mother’s
prima
-in-waiting?”

Sounding puzzled, he replied, “My cousin Zoe. She lives up in Fountain Hills. Why?”

“And — and has she turned twenty-one yet?”

“Yeah. A few weeks ago. The consort hunt is already under way.” He paused and gave Caitlin a very sharp look before returning his attention to the road. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying….” She hesitated, but the truth of what she had been thinking was so strong now that she knew in her bones it was her seer’s ability telling her to speak, to not doubt herself. “I’m saying it was Matías and the other warlocks who killed Maya. They’ve been casting these spells for months, weakening her, disrupting things in your clan just enough that no one would notice they were operating in your territory, right under your noses. For the big push, though, the spell that would kill her, they needed witch blood. So they kidnapped the three of us, and that’s why they murdered Roslyn. I still don’t quite understand why they haven’t hurt Danica yet, but I guess I’ll just have to be grateful for that and worry about it later.”

“Jesus Christ.” Alex looked like she’d just punched him in the gut, and Caitlin hated having to say these things to him, even though she knew it was vitally important for them to use every bit of information they had. “And so they wanted Maya out of the way, because then my mother would be the
prima
— ”

“And the
prima
-in-waiting would be formally designated, and the clock ticking down to the time when she would bond with her consort,” Caitlin finished for him.

Beneath the anger and sorrow, a flicker of confusion came and went in Alex’s dark eyes. “Matías can’t possibly think that he’s her
consort,
can he?”

“I doubt even he’s that full of himself.” She shook her head, adding, “He doesn’t have to be. He just has to be…with her.”

“You’re saying a
prima
doesn’t have to have a consort? That’s nuts!”

“I would have thought so, too…a few years ago.” What she was about to say next was not common knowledge, but she thought Alex needed to hear it. The Wilcox
primus
’s kidnapping of the McAllister
prima
had brought to light a few truths that Angela had thought it better for the girls of her clan to know, even though the vast majority of them were not and never would be
prima
material. “It’s best for a
prima
to bond with her consort, of course, just because then she’ll have the full strength of her powers. But it’s not as if she won’t be
prima
if she’s with someone else. She’ll still inherit the title eventually. She just won’t be as effective. That’s why the
prima
-in-waiting is guarded so carefully.”

“And so Matías plotted to get rid of Maya so my mother would become
prima
, and Zoe would officially be made
prima
-in-waiting, and then he could swoop in and take her, make sure she wasn’t a virgin and couldn’t bond with her true consort.” Alex’s hands knotted around the steering wheel so tightly that Caitlin was worried he might actually break the plastic. “That fucking bastard.”

“I think so. At least, that’s what my gut is telling me.” In that moment, she hated those instincts of hers, hated the evil they’d made her face. “Matías wants to be Zoe’s consort — he’ll have the power and station he’s always wanted, and he’ll be able to control her any way he likes.”

“And I have a feeling he’d make sure my mother had some kind of ‘accident’ in the near future so he’d be in charge of the entire de la Paz clan.” Alex reached for his phone and stabbed a button.

“Are you calling Zoe?” Caitlin asked, hoping they’d figured out Matías’ plan in time. Maybe, if he was still in Tucson when he cast the spell that killed Maya de la Paz. He’d have to go from there to Fountain Hills to get Zoe. Where the hell
was
Fountain Hills, anyway? She had a vague idea it was a suburb of Phoenix, but after that she was at a loss. But she knew it wasn’t down in the Tucson area.

Phone against his ear, Alex shook his head. “I don’t have her number. Normally, I’d call my parents, but I have a feeling they’re both sort of busy right now.”

Of course,
Caitlin thought.
Luz just lost her mother, and now she’s in charge of an entire clan…a clan under attack, even if she doesn’t it realize it yet. And of course her husband will be with her to support her.

“So I’m calling Miguel. He’s got everyone’s contact information.”

That made sense. She waited as Alex sat there, expression growing increasingly dire. When he spoke, she could tell he was leaving a voicemail. “Miguel, we’re pretty sure those warlocks are going after Zoe. Can you get in touch with her, with Uncle Luis or Aunt Andrea, and let them know they need to get her to a safe place? Maybe Jack Sandoval — he’s pretty good with defensive spells. Or even up to my grandmother’s house if there’s no one else. My mother should be able to keep her safe.”

He ended the call but didn’t put away the phone. Driving with one hand, he went back to his contacts list and pushed another button.

“Who’re you calling now?”

“Jack, the guy I just mentioned. I don’t want to wait for Miguel to get that message I left.”

She nodded. It was horrible being this far away, now knowing what Matías was up to, and also knowing there wasn’t anything they could do to stop him, except put the de la Paz clan on alert and hope that someone would be able to intercept the warlock in time.

But apparently this Jack person wasn’t answering the phone, either, and Alex blew out a breath in disgust. “Jesus Christ, it’s Friday afternoon. Where the hell is everyone — at a titty bar or something?” he paused, then added, “Well, actually, knowing my cousin Jack, he
could
be at a titty bar.”

Normally, Caitlin would have laughed at such a remark, but she couldn’t laugh now. Not with what was at stake. She said, “Maybe you should try your parents after all. They’d want to know, wouldn’t they?”

Alex looked less than thrilled at that suggestion, but then he inclined his head toward her. “Okay.” This time he dialed the number directly, which made sense; that should be a phone number he knew by heart.

A second or two went by, and Caitlin’s pulse accelerated slightly. Maybe they wouldn’t pick up, were so immersed in dealing with the aftermath of Maya’s death that they’d just let the call go to voicemail.

But then Alex said, “Dad?” and Caitlin felt herself — well, not relax exactly, but at least go a little less tense. “Hi — yes, Miguel told me. I was going to come up there, but he said it would be better if I went home for now. That’s not why I’m calling, though. We just found out what Matías is doing. I can’t explain it all now, but he’s going after Zoe. He wants to be her consort.” A short silence, and then Alex replied, obviously in answer to his father’s question, “I know, it won’t be a true consort bond, but it’ll be enough for his purposes. And there won’t be anything we can do about it if he succeeds. So someone needs to get her away, and now. I don’t have her number, but I know one of you must — okay, good, thanks.”

He ended the call and set the phone back on the dashboard. “Screw this,” he muttered, then got out of the fast lane and cut in front of someone in a pickup truck loaded with hay bales so he could get off at the next exit.

Over the sound of the other driver’s indignant honking, Caitlin asked, “Alex, what are you doing?” The street they’d pulled off on had the incongruous name of Sunshine Boulevard, and seemed to be set in the middle of equally incongruous cotton fields. And here she’d thought this part of Arizona was just scrub desert.

“I’m not going to sit down in Tucson doing nothing while everyone else goes up against that bastard.” They turned under the freeway and then sped up the on-ramp, heading north toward Phoenix. “There’s got to be something I can do with this talent of mine.”

She couldn’t argue with that. It was true — Alex was quite possibly the only person who could face Matías’ magical coercion and not be affected by it. And she understood his need to be doing something. The dark warlock had murdered his grandmother. That demanded action…and retribution.

“Okay,” she said, very glad that her voice sounded firm and determined, and not frightened at all. For some reason, she couldn’t be all that frightened if she had Alex with her.

“Is it?” he asked. “You’re not scared?”

“No,” she replied. “I trust you.”

Without speaking, he reached out and took her hand, holding it tightly as he raised it to his lips and kissed it. “You’re kind of an amazing girl, Caitlin McAllister.”

“Am I?” She didn’t feel amazing. She felt worried and shaky. Not scared. Not for herself, anyway.

“Yes.” Another squeeze of her fingers, and then he let go so he could put both hands on the steering wheel.

They were going way too fast, that much she knew. The speed limit out here in the boondocks was seventy-five, and they were probably going at least ten, if not fifteen, miles per hour over that. All she could do was hope the cops were otherwise occupied, because neither she nor Alex had Matías’ neat little Jedi mind trick to talk themselves out of a ticket.

Alex’s phone rang, and he grabbed it off the dashboard. “Dad?” He listened, then said, “We’re heading back to Phoenix now. She’s where?” Caitlin heard him mutter something that sounded like a curse, although not loudly enough that the phone would pick it up. “Well, in a way that’s good. Maybe he won’t want to try something in a public place. Did you get hold of Uncle Luis or Aunt Andrea?”

Obviously the answer was no, because Alex looked like he wanted to swear again, although he managed to refrain.

“Okay, well, we’ll go straight there, and you can keep trying her cell. Can you give me the number, just in case?” He pointed at the glove compartment, and Caitlin opened it. Inside was a notepad and one of those little golf pencils. “All right — 602-555-7823. Thanks.” He lifted an eyebrow at her, and she showed him the number she’d just written down on the pad. “And papa, give
mamita
a hug for me, all right? I’m sorry I had to worry you two with this right now. I’ll let you know if we can find Zoe.”

This time the phone went into his pocket. Alex glanced over at Caitlin and said, “According to my cousin Zander — that’s Zoe’s little brother — Zoe went shopping with some friends. Civilians, which means they’ll be no help. They’re at a mall off Cactus Road. She was talking about going to the movies. That might be why she’s not answering her phone.”

“This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know — if she’s in a movie theater with a bunch of civilians, in a way she’s kind of protected. I doubt Matías is going to make a move in a place like that.”

Alex did have a point. Even a warlock as cocky as Matías couldn’t very well attempt to abduct a girl in front of hundreds of civilians. His whole
modus operandi
was to coax, to persuade. Much more likely that he would wait until she was someplace else — walking back to her car, maybe, or separated from her friends when she went to the restroom.

“How far is it?”

“Maybe an hour. I guess we’ll just have to hope whatever movie she’s going to see is a long one.”

An hour, Caitlin reflected.

A whole hell of a lot could happen in an hour.

A
lex did
slow down to a more respectable seventy miles an hour once they reached the outskirts of Tempe. It was painful — after going almost ninety for the past forty-five minutes, he felt like he was standing still — but there was just way too much traffic and too many cops from various municipalities and counties around for him to be comfortable going faster. Even now he was speeding, but since everyone around him was also going around seventy, he didn’t feel too conspicuous.

Caitlin was tense and quiet, her gaze flickering toward the clock on the dashboard what seemed like every other minute. Not that he could really blame her. He could almost feel the minutes flying by, each one an opportunity for Matías to catch up with Zoe and…what? Use his powers to lure her away from her friends, take her to a nearby motel, and force her into bed. Then she’d be his, and the unspoken rules of the witching world would make them bound together, even if he wasn’t her true consort. That was how these things worked for a
prima
, and although he didn’t understand precisely why such traditions had arisen in the first place, there was no changing them now.

His phone had remained conspicuously silent ever since his last conversation with his father, and Alex didn’t know if that was a good sign or not. It did seem to indicate that no one had yet been able to get in touch with Zoe’s parents, and Miguel and Jack were also maintaining their radio silence.

Alex saw the off-ramp for Cactus Road coming up, and let out a sigh of relief. “Almost there,” he told Caitlin.”

She nodded. “What’s the plan?”

He didn’t have a frigging clue. Get close enough to Zoe so he could cast his protective field and therefore render her immune to Matías’ magic? Beyond that, he didn’t know for sure, although he was hoping he wouldn’t have to perform such a show of magic in front of a bunch of civilians. But if it came down to a choice between protecting Zoe or revealing his magical gifts in public, well, he’d make sure the
prima
-in-waiting was safe, and worry about the consequences later.

“What plan?” he quipped, but the joke fell flat as Caitlin continued to gaze at him, that one eyebrow of hers cocked at an ironic angle. Backpedaling, he said, “We have to find her first, and see if the three warlocks are together. I’m hoping they’ll have split up, because the three of them together are more conspicuous. It would have been different when they were going after you and your friends, since it was three and three, but I have no idea how many friends Zoe has with her. Zander didn’t know for sure.”

“All right,” Caitlin said. “I suppose we’ll start at the movie theater and go from there. How big is the mall?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never been to this one.”

“Well, since it’s Phoenix, I’m going to guess that it’s bigger than the mall in Flagstaff, which is the only one I know.” She paused, appearing to think over the problem. “How well do you know Zoe?”

“Uh….” It was time to turn off onto Cactus Road, so he did that as he considered Caitlin’s question. “Not that well. I mean, she’s my cousin —
really
my cousin, that is. Her mother is my Aunt Andrea. But they’ve always lived up here in Fountain Hills, while we were down in Tucson, and so we saw each other at all the family get-togethers and clan gatherings or whatever, but I wouldn’t say we were all that close. I always got the impression that she wasn’t overly thrilled to be chosen as the next
prima,
but she went with it because, well, that’s what you have to do.”

“And what’s her power?”

“Nothing she can use to protect herself from Matías,” Alex said bitterly. “She’s a healer, a
curandera
, but beyond that, she has the greatest facility with potions that my grandmother said she’d ever seen.”

“And no one brought her in to help Maya? I would have thought — ”

“They tried, back when my
abuela
first got sick. The problem was, no one knew exactly what was wrong with our
prima
. Zoe can supposedly whip up a potion to get rid of a cold or the flu in nothing flat, and according to Jack, she makes great hangover cures, but….”

“But it’s not the sort of thing that can counteract black magic. Got it.” She didn’t exactly sigh, but Alex could tell from the way the corners of Caitlin’s mouth had turned down that she wasn’t thrilled with his answer. “What does she look like?”

The question caught him off-guard at first, because it seemed to have come out of nowhere, but then he realized Caitlin was just moving on to the next order of business. “She’s — I guess she’s pretty. Not very tall…maybe around five three or somewhere? Her hair and eyes are dark brown, and she wears her hair really long, almost down to her waist.” He smiled then, recalling a particular aspect of that hairstyle. “She got a little rebellious the last year, put a streak of hot pink in her hair. And a tattoo of the Pluto symbol on her shoulder.”

“Why Pluto?”

“I’m not sure. Tell you what — when we find her, you can ask her.”

“It’s a deal.”

After that, he had to focus on maneuvering through the crowded streets around the mall, then pulling into the shopping center’s parking lot. Following the signs, he began to head toward where the movie theater was located. Right then his phone rang, and although he didn’t want to get distracted, he knew he couldn’t ignore whoever might be calling.

That person turned out to be Miguel. He didn’t even give Alex time to say hello, but immediately said, “I talked to your father, and he told me what’s going on. I’m almost at the mall now, and so is Jack.”

Thank God. That was probably the first piece of good news Alex had heard all day. “We’re here now. I’m about to park over by the theater.”

“Okay. Do some recon, but if you do see those warlocks, don’t engage until Jack and I catch up with you.
Comprendé?
”

Alex reflected that his cousin Miguel had watched way too many war movies, or played way too much
Call of Duty
. Still, his advice made sense. “No worries there. We don’t even know for sure if she’s still at the movies or not, but that’s the only information we have to go on right now. If I see anything, I’ll call you.”

“Got it. I’m less than five minutes away now.”

“Then we’ll see you in a few,” Alex said, just as Miguel ended the call. After sliding the phone into his jeans pocket, he told Caitlin, “The cavalry is coming.”

“Thank the Goddess,” she breathed.

“What, were you worried I couldn’t handle it on my own?”

She didn’t respond to the half-smile he’d worn while asking that question. Those big sea-colored eyes were fixed on his face and filled with worry. “They’re
killers,
Alex. I’ve seen what they’re capable of. It’s not that I don’t believe in your power, but I know they’ll fight dirty if they get the chance.” Her gaze faltered, and beneath the worry, he saw the anger seething in her. “What I don’t understand is how they could even find Zoe. I mean, I doubt your family goes around broadcasting information about its
prima
-in-waiting’s whereabouts.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Alex replied as he pulled into an empty parking space. Since it was late on a Friday afternoon — almost evening, actually — the lot was filling up, and they’d had to park farther away from the theater than he would have liked. “I have a feeling that either Jorge’s or Tomas’s talent is finding people, witches specifically. My grandmother’s ability was similar, although in her case it was more knowing who was in her territory who shouldn’t be there, knowing what all her people were up to. But the talent for finding things is a pretty common one, so it’s not a big leap to go from that to being able to find particular people.”

“That makes sense.” Caitlin picked up her purse from where it had been resting in the footwell and shrugged the strap over one shoulder. “It would also explain why Matías was hanging out with them. He’d only keep people around who had talents he thought were useful.”

“Yeah, which begs the question, what talent does the other one of the gruesome twosome have? Nothing friendly, I’m sure.”

“Probably not.”

They both paused then, neither of them apparently eager to open their door, even though Alex knew they needed to get going, that time was slipping away. He really didn’t want to admit it to Caitlin, but he was scared. Never in his life had he gone up against anyone like Matías. There had been some scuffles with his older brother Diego…more roughhousing, really…and a few more with a couple of guys at school, but magic hadn’t been involved in any of those fights, low-key as they were. Matías wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it took to make sure he achieved his objective of making Zoe his.

But they couldn’t wait. Maybe stall a little, until Miguel and Jack got here, but if Miguel was only five minutes behind them, he’d be here soon, too. He was the sort of person Matías wouldn’t spare a second glance for — slightly overweight, edging toward middle age. And Alex knew Miguel would make damn sure he didn’t get close enough for Matías to sense that he was a warlock. Maybe Jorge or Tomas would be able to figure it out, if locating witch-kind really was one of their talents, but Alex had to hope they’d be distracted by the crowds at the mall and wouldn’t be able to quite pin down who was pinging their radar.

“All right,” he said, then opened his car door. “Let’s do this.”

C
aitlin followed
Alex as he walked toward the mall, and tried to ignore the frightened thumping of her heart in her chest. Without being too obvious, she kept glancing around, wondering if she would catch sight of the three warlocks, or of a girl with a pink streak in her long dark hair, but she didn’t see any of them. Just masses of people intent on their own business, some leaving the mall, some entering. There did seem to be a flush of people exiting the theater just as they came upon it, but whether that was because the particular show Zoe had gone to see had just gotten out, Caitlin couldn’t begin to guess. Her sight seemed to have deserted her for the moment, although, underlying her current agitated state, she could sense that this was where she was supposed to be.

“No sign of her,” came a voice from behind them, and Caitlin jumped.

But when she turned, she saw it was Miguel, Alex’s cousin, and with him a taller man, probably in his late thirties as well, although a good deal better-looking. In contrast to Miguel’s untucked bowling shirt and baggy khakis, the stranger wore a dark button-down and newish-looking jeans.

“Hey, Miguel, Jack,” Alex said, a visible expression of relief on his face. Not bothering to introduce her to the newcomer, he went on, “Yeah, we haven’t seen anything, either. But we just got here.”

Miguel nodded. “I have a feeling she was probably in the movie that just got out. It seems like the sort of thing she’d go for — teenage girl against the world, two guys fighting over her, all that.”

He sounded almost amused, even though Caitlin didn’t find anything terribly amusing about their current situation.

“But if that’s true, the question is, where would she go next?”

Not being a mall-goer — before moving to Flagstaff, she’d never even set foot in a mall — Caitlin couldn’t begin to hazard a guess. Alex surprised her by saying,

“Well, since it’s Zoe, I’d say either the food court or Hot Topic.”

Jack grinned, and one or two of the women passing by sort of paused to get a better look at him. From the way his grin broadened, Caitlin got the distinct impression that he’d noticed the attention he was attracting and was pleased by it.

“That’s probably a good guess. Has quite an appetite, our Zoe. I’m not sure where she puts it, but….” He shrugged. “And if she’s not eating, she’s buying another T-shirt that’s guaranteed to piss off my sister.” Apparently noticing the expression of puzzlement that passed over Caitlin’s face, he added, “Zoe’s my niece. Luis is my brother. His daughter is a good kid, but sort of contrary.”

Maybe that was a good thing. If Zoe was stubborn and used to getting her own way, then possibly she had a chance of fighting back against Matías’ magic.

“Okay,” Caitlin said. “So should we split up, or first try the food court, then Hot Topic?”

Miguel shook his head. “First rule — don’t split up if you can avoid it. You two head over to the food court and we’ll follow, just not so close that it looks as if we’re together. Okay?”

There didn’t seem to be much point in arguing with that. She had to admit that the four of them did make a sort of motley group, and would probably be less conspicuous if they walked far enough apart that it didn’t seem as if they were connected in any way. The other two warlocks would be in eyeshot, and Alex right next to her, and she thought that should be safe enough.

Actually, even though it was sort of nerve-wracking to be surrounded by so many people — she’d never been that good in crowds — in a way it was comforting as well. She had a hard time believing anything truly bad could happen in a place with so much surging, cheerful energy. How could Matías possibly hope to pull off another kidnapping under all these civilian noses?

They came into the food court area, and a thousand sounds and smells seemed to assault her at once. She found herself pressing closer to Alex, and he slipped a comforting arm around her waist, pulling her against him. The warmth of his body gave her some courage, and she drew in a breath so she could look around and see if she could catch a glimpse of the warlocks. She knew this part was up to her; she was the only one who knew what Matías and Jorge and Tomas looked like.

The first person she recognized, however, was none of them, but Danica, standing in front of a fast food place called Charlie’s Grilled Subs. She held a go-cup in one hand and was staring dreamily out at the crowd. Blood going cold, Caitlin realized that her friend wore the same glassy-eyed stare as she had in the hideous visions that had invaded Caitlin’s sleep…only this was no vision. She forced herself to focus and saw that Danica was flanked on either side by Tomas and Jorge, but there was no sign of Matías.

What the hell? Where was he? And if he wasn’t even near Danica, then why did she still look so strung out? It was possible the spells he cast took awhile to wear off, or maybe she’d been under his influence long enough that he could still put her in that semi-trance even when he wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.