Protector (The Witches of Cleopatra Hill Book 5) Read online

  “So…your mother is the prima now?”

  He nodded, mouth tightening, and Caitlin realized that had probably been the wrong thing to say. Luz Trujillo would always be his mother, of course, but now, as prima, she also belonged to the clan as a whole. Their relationship would never be quite the same again. But since she couldn’t take the words back, Caitlin only sat and waited, hoping Alex would answer and wondering what she would say next if he didn’t.

  At last he said, “She was with my abuelita when she passed, and the powers came to her without any problem. That’s one thing that’s gone right, at least. Or as well as it could, considering.” For the first time he glanced over at Caitlin, and she saw that the hard set to his jaw had softened slightly. “It’s rough. All of this is just…I don’t get it. None of it makes sense.”

  That was the problem. Roslyn was dead, and Maya gone, too, and the “why” of either of those deaths completely eluded Caitlin. All right, she knew that Matías and the other two warlocks had been using Roslyn’s blood as a power source for their dark spells, but what were those dark spells doing? What were they getting out of all this?

  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.

  18

  Alex 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. Ho
w 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.”