“Of course you don’t.” Samantha rolled her eyes. “How silly of me to ask.”

  The younger witch shuffled the cards one last time and drew the topmost. Curiously, it was The Tower again.

  “Put those silly things away,” Samantha drawled. “Divination is useless right now.”

  Fiona raised an eyebrow. “What have you got against The Tower?”

  “I drew it right before Patrick attacked me.”

  “Oh, I see… Well, maybe you should listen to it,” the younger witch said with a scowl. “The Tower isn’t always about destruction and rebuilding in the way you think. In this instance, I reckon it’s all about finding a new way of doing things because the old ways suck.” She slapped her hand down on the cards.

  “Guys,” Holly said with a sigh. “Do I have to be the voice of reason here? The witch who relies on flukes to keep her alive? Really?”

  Fiona muttered something under her breath and went back to shuffling the cards like they were her security blanket.

  Holly looked at Samantha. “So, what did the coven say?”

  “The coven won’t be joining us,” she replied, curling her lip. “They’re packing up their things as we speak.”

  Her mouth fell open. “They’re leaving Dunloe entirely?”

  “They’d just leave us here, knowing what we’re facing?” Fiona exclaimed. “Yet another reason I never joined your stupid cult.”

  “We can’t force anyone to stay,” Samantha snapped. “If they want to leave, then that’s their prerogative.”

  Holly shook her head, knowing there was more to it. Samantha would never admit even a single speck of weakness in front of anyone, but she had an inkling all the stuff the Trine had been up to hadn’t been common knowledge. Did the others know about the conduit, or what they’d done to Hannah? Probably not, which was reason enough to abandon the last remaining Trine member. Two centuries of tyrannical power-hungry rule had screwed them, but there wasn’t anything they could do about it now. It was what it was.

  “Then we need all the help we can get,” Holly said. “Which leads me to the only other person who might be able to help—Patrick.”

  “Patrick is a broken mess,” Samantha told her.

  “So? We can still help him.” Holly had to resist the urge to slap her stupid. “Is there a way to fortify his mind against Hazel?”

  “Hazel is currently inhabiting a vampire,” the witch said matter-of-factly. “As a spirit, she can’t do magic—her Legacy is gone. She needs to possess a witch.”

  “Oh.” Holly blinked. It was another lesson to add to the growing list of factoids she’d learned in the last twenty-four hours. “But she still might try to control him again, right? We don’t know where she is, or if she’s used Jin to find another witch, so isn’t it a good idea?”

  Samantha eyeballed her. “A good idea for his mental wellbeing, you mean.”

  Fiona snorted. “I’d rather a well-adjusted vampire on our side than a mentally unstable one, wouldn’t you?”

  “Wouldn’t it be a good learning opportunity?” Holly added, trying to sweeten the deal. “I’ve got to learn, and Patrick needs help.”

  “Yes,” the older witch said, her tone a little reluctant. “Of course. I’ll go see him in the morning.”

  “And then we have to find Jin,” she went on. She was totally pushing her luck, but it was worth a shot.

  “Right now, there will be no saving of vampires,” Samantha snapped. “I’m all you have, Holly Burke, and if you won’t listen to me, I don’t know what else I can do.”

  “No need to get all hoity-toity,” Fiona drawled. “At least someone is being proactive.”

  “I gather that means you’re staying,” the older witch retorted.

  She rolled her eyes. “I gather.”

  “Great, yet another petulant child to babysit.”

  Fiona scoffed and picked up The Tower card again. “Do I have to remind you of this every time you turn into a tyrannical school principal?”

  “We need to get Jin back,” Holly argued. “He doesn’t love Hazel anymore. He’d—”

  “He’d, what?” Samantha asked, raising her eyebrow. “He’d fallen for you instead?”

  Holly recoiled, her cheeks heating. “No. I never said—”

  “You need to forget about him,” she went on, ignoring her, “and start worrying about yourself.” She pointed to the couch. “Sit.”

  “Why should I?”

  “Because I need to start removing the anchors that bitch put in you…unless you’d rather be possessed permanently.”

  “You can do that?”

  “Of course I can.” Samantha pushed Holly back towards the couch. “But your soul will be forever scarred because of it.”

  She paled and glanced at Fiona. “Scarred? What does that mean?”

  “It depends where she put them and how deep they sank. A witch’s soul is like a brain—damage the wrong place, and there could be repercussions.” She pushed Holly down onto the couch. “Your Legacy may be limited in certain ways, so some spells may be out of reach. You may lose an ability inherent to your bloodline, your intuition may be clouded in certain areas…things like that.”

  She felt sick. “I might lose my magic? But I only just got it.”

  Samantha sighed, her irritation clear. “It’s better to remove them. Leaving them active would be stupid. It’s not just Hazel who wants to break free from the vortex, you know.”

  “Anyone could possess me forever?”

  The older witch hissed and slapped her hands down onto Holly’s head. “I suggest you don’t move.”

  Holly tensed as she felt Samantha’s Legacy press against her skull. Her gaze flickered to Fiona, who simply shrugged.

  That was it, then. She supposed she’d better sit still.

  Jin stood across the street from the Doyle house, his body wreathed in shadow.

  He watched Brian Doyle, the late husband of Kate, hurry two young girls out of the front door and into the waiting car. The elder of the children looked around eighteen, and her younger sister no more than eleven or twelve—two young witches brimming with magic they had barely begun to master.

  They hauled heavy suitcases across the lawn, piling them at the rear of the waiting car. The man, who Jin knew was their father, lifted each case into the back. Their frantic expressions were lit by the interior lights, but he didn’t need to see them to know they were afraid.

  Jin listened to their heartbeats as the father closed the boot and hurried the younger girl into the backseat.

  “These?” he murmured.

  Though he was alone, a voice answered, ‘Yes, the others are already beyond my reach. These will have to do.’

  Jin breathed deeply, the essence inside him billowing in anticipation. He would soon look upon her face again, but there was much that had to be done first. This was just one step in the greater plan. One that must be taken.

  He moved across the street, his vampire strength propelling him there in an instant. Strolling up the driveway, he smirked as Brian Doyle turned to face him. The witch’s face paled, his eyes wide with fear.

  “Dad…” the elder girl said, eyeing the vampire.

  Brian pressed the car keys into his daughter’s hands. “Ruby, get in the car and drive.”

  The girl’s heartbeat sped up. “But Dad—”

  “Do as I say,” he snapped, never taking his eyes off Jin. “Get your sister out of Dunloe, then call Mr. Ryan.”

  “But—”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  The girl backed away, her gaze flicking to Jin. Then she grabbed the door handle and wrenched on it, flinging herself inside. The engine ignited as the younger sister began to cry and bang on the window, pleading for her father to go with them.

  Jin shot in front of the car and pressed his palms onto the bonnet. The tyres squealed against the concrete, smoking as the girl pressed her foot down on the accelerator.

  Her terrified gaze met his and he smirked. “And where do you think you’re going?”

  “Get away from them!” Brian shouted, cutting his arm through the air.

  Magic slammed into Jin, hurling him across the yard, over the fence, and into the cypress tree on the side of the road.

  Now free from his grasp, the car shot forwards. It peeled out of the driveway and onto the street, fishtailing as the girl took control.

  Jin rose to his feet, his rage surfacing as he tasted blood in his mouth. He growled as the red taillights reached the corner and tore through the stop sign without slowing.

  ‘Let them go,’ Hazel crooned. ‘This one will do.’

  Inky black smoke poured out of Jin’s eyes, nose, and mouth, forcing the vampire to his knees. He gagged as the spirit of Hazel Burke left his body and rushed across the driveway towards Brian.

  The witch threw up his hands, his Legacy igniting in a blaze of brilliant cobalt blue as the mist collided with his spell.

  ‘Do you really think water will stop me?’ Hazel rasped, using her voice to cut into his mind. ‘I channel an anomaly far more powerful than a thousand of you combined.’

  She pressed against his will with an impossible amount of strength, splintering the barrier between them. His eyes widened the moment her essence began to seep through the cracks. He knew he couldn’t stop her.

  His spell shattered and the black smoke rushed into him, filling his eyes and mouth. She forced herself into him until her spirit coiled around his, pushing him down into the depths of his subconscious.

  Brian/Hazel blinked, then shook his/her head as her soul settled into place. Feeling the witch’s Legacy within, she smiled. This one was strong.

  Jin looked up at her, recognition flooding his eyes. “You won’t get away with this, Hazel. Holly will—”

  Brian/Hazel held up his/her hand. She drew on the Legacy within her new body and wove it with the threads from the anomaly, then captured Jin’s mind as she had Patrick’s.

  “There, there…we can’t have any of that.”

  Jin’s expression slid until he was no longer looking at her with disdain, but longing. She felt the spirit of Brian Doyle fight against her and she sighed.

  “Are you all right?” Jin asked, pushing to his feet.

  “He’s starting to realise he made the wrong choice,” Hazel said through Brian’s body. “The coven should’ve remained, but witches do have human hearts, just like the lesser creatures they allege they protect.”

  “He doesn’t know what true sacrifice means,” Jin murmured, standing beside her.

  Brian/Hazel smirked as they turned to the vampire. “Come. We have much to prepare, my love. Soon I will be free of this disgusting shell and inhabit the object of all your desires.”

  He smiled, looking through the body to the spirit within. “Where will we go now?”

  “To the diggings. We need to start building an army.”

  CHAPTER 4

  When Holly woke the following morning, she felt like she’d been hit with a tonne of bricks. She felt worse for the wear after an evening of Samantha yanking all of Hazel’s anchors out of her. The older witch hadn’t exactly been gentle, and every time she dug another spiritual staple out, it felt like she was getting a supernatural lobotomy.

  Rolling out of bed, Holly managed to drag on her dressing gown, shove her feet into her slippers, and make it out of the bedroom. Movement in the kitchen drew her down the hall where she found Fiona opening every cupboard while waiting for the electric kettle to boil.

  “I’m making coffee,” she said as Holly shuffled into the room. “You want some?”

  Holly made a non-committal groaning sound and rubbed her eyes.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Where do you keep the mugs?” She opened another cupboard. “Ah, here they are.” She set two that came with clever witchy puns onto the island, ‘Witches Brew’ and ‘Which witch is which?’ “How are you this morning?”

  “I feel…” She frowned, tilting her head from side to side. “I don’t feel as thin anymore, but… I don’t know. I feel kinda…depressed?”

  “Well, Samantha gave you quite the spiritual beating last night,” Fiona said. “You’re probably going to feel a little bruised for a while.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll bounce back.”

  “I hope so.” Holly sat on a stool at the kitchen island. “You look happy.”

  “I’m feeling less bruised.” The switch on the electric kettle flipped off as the water came to a boil. “A little more myself.”

  “That’s great.”

  Fiona poured the steaming water into two mugs and slid one towards Holly. “It’s instant. Hope that’s okay.”

  “Yeah…” she muttered absently. “I haven’t exactly had time to shop.”

  Fiona sat opposite her. “Something on your mind?”

  “I’ve been thinking about Jin,” Holly murmured.

  “The vampire?” She raised an eyebrow as she poured a dash of milk into her coffee.

  “Yeah…when she was,” Holly waved her hand through the air, “you know, Hazel made Jin a ring that would supposedly protect him from the sun in the event the Burke bloodline died out.”

  “A ring?”

  “It’s this gold thing with crystals crushed inside it,” Holly went on. “I felt the magic in it, but I’m not exactly an expert. That’s what he told me it did, but I have a feeling Hazel intended something else as well.”

  “Probably.” Fiona sighed. “I just wish I could remember. She had me squished pretty good. I’m not sure—”

  “Oh no,” Holly blurted, “it’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”

  It would be useful if Fiona remembered something, Holly couldn’t argue with that, but reliving any of her time under Hazel’s control wouldn’t be nice. Knowing someone else was in her body, and there was nothing she could do about it, would be awful. Knowing and seeing were two different things, especially since they could only imagine what Hazel had been up to.

  Anyway, her plans had been upset the moment Holly had interrupted the ritual, so there was no telling what course corrections she was currently making. The first step to finding out—and throwing another wrench into the works—was getting Jin back.

  “The ring could be a failsafe,” Fiona said after a moment. “She wanted him back as part of her perfect life, right? And she possessed him after you had disrupted her ritual.”

  “He was trying to stop her.”

  “And she had plenty of time to observe you two together.” Fiona flashed her a knowing look.

  Holly’s eyes widened. “She knew his feelings for her were changing, so the ring was a failsafe.”

  “If she’s found another body to possess, he’ll probably turn around and try to stop her again, wouldn’t you say?” the witch asked with a sly smirk.

  “Jin’s stronger than Patrick,” Holly murmured, the suggestive look going straight over her head. “His mind would be tougher to control, and that’s what the ring was for. It had nothing to do with the sun… We have to get it off him, then he could break free.”

  “It depends.”

  “On?”

  “How deep she’s been able to sink her claws in by the time we get to him.”

  Holly’s heart leapt. “We?”

  Fiona raised her eyebrows. “Do you really think I’m going to let you go twist a ring off a one-hundred-and-seventy-year-old vampire’s finger on your own?”

  “Great, because I have no idea what to do.”

  “Well, Hazel used my Legacy to make the ring,” the witch replied. “Theoretically, I should be able to break whatever spell she put on it, but there might be one problem.”

  “The anomaly?”

  She nodded. “We still don’t really know what it is, and if Hazel was channeling it at the time, the spell mightn’t want to play nice.”

  Holly’s scowl deepened. “As long as we get the ring off him, it should be okay. Jin’s strong. I know he’ll fight.”

  “It won’t be easy. Vampires are strong, fast… They’re deadly, Holly. If Jin is under Hazel’s control—”

  “The more we can take off Hazel, the weaker she’ll be.”

  Fiona didn’t look entirely convinced. “Well, it sounds like the start of a plan, but we’re going to need some backup.”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “Like Samantha? If she got Jin in her line of sight, she’ll kill him without hesitation.”

  “I know.” Fiona put down the mug. “Having another witch would help, but I meant… I need to go home.”

  “You can stay here, you know.”

  “Yeah, but I really want to get some stuff—a change of clothes and my grimoire. It’s not super old, but it might help.”

  “Do you think it’ll still be there?”

  “I don’t know. For all I know, Hazel might’ve destroyed it.”

  Holly kicked herself for not thinking about it sooner. She’d spent so much time trying to hide hers that she didn’t stop to think that Fiona might have one.

  “And a part of me wants to see what might’ve changed,” Fiona went on. Her expression fell for a split-second before she attempted a smile. “I do like to fold my socks in a certain way. I can get a bit uptight about it.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Holly said, brightening at the prospect of leaving the cottage, if only for an hour or two. “Just let me take a quick shower.”

  “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for you to leave the cottage…”

  “Ahh!” Holly let out a dramatic sigh. “We’re all sitting ducks no matter where we are,” she argued. “Hazel can get through any barrier spell I could cast, even yours, because of the anomaly—she’d just overload it. We’re all open to possession, but at least if anything jumps into me, it won’t be permanent anymore. If Hazel wants to come after us, nothing’s going to stop her.” She clicked her fingers. “Honestly, if I were her, I’d go for Samantha first. Sever the old ball and chain, and dissolve the vortex. If you want to talk about being irresponsible, then let’s start with her whereabouts.”

  “She is a Trine witch,” Fiona argued.

  “Was.” She flinched a little. “I don’t know what she is now—maybe she’s just an ordinary witch, I don’t know—but she’s the bigger target.”