Please be there. Oh, God, please be there.
THIRTEEN
The phone startled Simon out of his thoughts. Thoughts of Claire, and how damn much he missed having her in his life.
“St. Mary’s Church, this is Father Simon. How can I—”
“Simon? Oh, thank God.”
“Annie.” He heard the panic edging her voice, almost felt it humming through the phone. “What is it?”
She told him. He clutched the edge of the desk, each word ripping across his soul. With an ocean between them, he was helpless, useless. But maybe—Annie had the power. If he could get her to understand what he did, she might just have a shot. “Do you have your ring with you?”
“My engagement ring? Yeah.”
“Claire told me once it’s your focus. You can use it, track Zach’s energy. He has a very specific signature. You shouldn’t have trouble finding it, once you know it.”
“And how the hell am I supposed to do that?”
He smiled, enjoying the fact she didn’t apologize for swearing to a priest. She simply never thought of him that way. Another part of his life he missed; the chance to just be. “It will be on anything he touched. The closer it was to his body, and the longer it was there, the better. You may not see his energy—I’d be surprised if you did. But you’ll sense it. Use the focus, Annie. Use the power you’ve been honing these past months. You are a strong and talented witch.”
Silence roared across the line. After an endless minute, she cleared her throat. “Okay—who are you, and what did you do with Simon?”
He laughed, and it felt good. For the first time in months, he felt a weight lift off his heart. “I had my own epiphany, you might say. Claire came to see me, to invite me to your wedding.” Annie let out a distressed sound, and Simon wished he’d accepted, that he was there right now to help save the person who mattered most in his life. “Focus on this, Annie. I’m on my way, but you need to move now.”
“You’re coming?”
“I’ve spent too long fighting with my own heart. You are my friend, and Claire is the closest I’ve had to a partner in a long time. Can you get something of Zach’s while we’re talking?”
“Yeah—just give me a minute.” He heard rustling, and her voice fading as she obviously put the phone down, swearing. That was his Annie. God, how he’d missed this, missed them. “Okay. I have the baseball cap he was wearing when he got here.”
“Good. That will work just fine. Now, this is what I need you to do.”
*
“There is nothing more I can do.” Marcus pushed hair off his face, looked over at Eric. He had been monitoring Claire’s vital signs while Marcus did all he could to keep her alive, keep her tied here until Annie returned. “The spell is killing her. And there is nothing I can do.”
“She’s strong, Marcus.” Eric sat back, flinching when his leg shifted. Marcus knew he would refuse any offer to check the ankle. “Stronger than anyone I know. She managed to come back from Hell in one piece, bringing a soul with her on top of it. She’ll beat this—”
“Not this time. The spell must be countered, or it will eat at her. Until she is gone.”
Eric rubbed his face. “Then we better keep her alive until Annie gets back with the counter spell. She’ll kill us if we don’t.”
Shaking his head, Marcus smiled. It eased the grief weighting his heart. “Truer words.”
“Marcus.” He met Eric’s eyes. “Whatever you need from me, don’t hesitate to ask. I love her, too.”
He swallowed, leaned over Claire. “Thank you, my friend.”
If love could keep her alive, Claire would be glowing. With a shaky breath, Marcus reached in, deeper, willing to scrape every last bit of his power to tie her life to her body.
To keep her with him.
*
Diana understated her preparations—she didn’t just prepare a space. She turned it into a set designer’s dream.
What would have been the main hall of the castle was the only part with four intact walls. It opened to the sky, but those walls were at least thirty feet high, and the single staircase built into one wall had crumbled a long time ago. No chance of escape there. And power brushed over his skin, the spell clumsy, but effective. Diana had a blocking spell on the open roof. Despite himself, Zach was impressed.
She dragged him with her to the center of the huge room, let him go as she dropped her luggage sized bag and moved to a pedestal draped in red velvet. Like she was handling a baby, she settled the box on the pedestal. Zach started to back away.