"i saw it on your face, in your hesitate step."

"maybe i shouldn't involve my sisters in something so risky."

"let us make that decision. i've told them most of what you shared with me, and, as you can see, they're all here."

her other sister witches, who had listened quietly during this exchange, murmured agreement. the eldest spoke for them all. "emmy's got it right. this isn't only about supporting you. we have a responsibility to stop a coven that has turned rogue. i think we'd like to hear the whole story."

during the next twenty minutes, ari filled them in on everything that had happened: the murder of the treasurer hunter and the black curse she'd felt, the spells in the caverns, the scrying, the bloodstone, even the ley lines. she held nothing back, including what she knew about the o-seven and their centuries-long wars with the witches. she could tell by the expressions on their faces that her witch sisters were stunned.

"holy goddess, help us. you're deep in it, ari."

ari smiled at a chubby, dark-haired woman who had joined the coven a year before ari. their most outspoken member always got straight to the heart of things. "i couldn't have said it better, roxy." ari looked around the circle. "i hate to involve you. it could be really dangerous. i'm not even sure if you can help, but i wanted to talk it over." she stood and paced around the circle. the women turned to watch her. "i wanted you to know what was happening in case i need you later."

"who are these black witches? where are they from?" stella, a thirty-four year old accountant, was their detail person.

"i've only seen the face of the high priestess. she had black hair and hazel eyes. no name, and unfortunately her address wasn't stamped on her forehead." there were a few smiles and a chuckle in response. "there's a woman from cincinnati who may be involved, but i don't have her name either, and i don't know if the coven is from there or someplace else. i don't know much. yet."

"if you can get any names, i'll check them out on the witch rolls. within twenty-four hours you'll know everything, including their favorite brand of toothpaste." stella grinned at ari's surprise. "i have contact lists."

"that's good," emmy said. "easy to do and not too dangerous. but i think we need to be prepared for what could happen next. ari may need our combined power to defend her from the rogue coven." her faced darkened. "or even from the elder vampires."

"no. i wouldn't let you do that. not the o-seven." ari planted both hands on her hips. "they have fought experienced covens for centuries. warrior witches. you, my sisters, are not trained for that. it's bad enough i may need you against the rogues."

in spite of the grumbling and denials from most of the women, emmy agreed with ari. "settle down and listen, please. we have little experience fighting vampires, especially the old ones. ari is the only guardian and the only fire witch we have. how many of you have been in a real fight with something more powerful than you are? we've banished a demon or two, stopped some newborn vampires, but beyond that, ari's correct. we'd be over our heads."

"at least we can take on the coven. witch against witch. that seems fair. i don't care if they're warriors or not," roxy declared.

"they also use the dark arts," ari reminded her. "even if we could match them, the question is how? i can't even find them as long as they're using a misdirection spell."

"let's follow the magic to its source." faye ann's dark face shone with eagerness. "all we need is the right spell. ari could tap into us while she's scrying, and we'll follow each pinpoint of magic until we locate the right one."

emmy bobbed her head in agreement, and the rest crowded around to figure out the details. emmy, along with her first initiate and four other members worked on the elements of the ceremony they would use. ari and her other sisters brainstormed the proper wording of the spell, how the search would work, and how they would let ari know when the coven was located. with fifteen points of light and twelve witches, not counting emmy who had to hold the spell together, four people would have to follow two leads.

it took more than an hour, but ari thought their plan was a sound one. the ceremony, the spells-one for her end, one for their circle in perry-were written. if everything went as planned, her sisters would see her scrying surface in their minds with its picture of riverdale and the magical lights. emmy would assign a witch to track each light, and once the rogue coven was detected, everyone would concentrate on that location. one light would grow significantly brighter in ari's bowl, revealing the black witches' true location.

ari didn't know how to thank her sisters as she said good-bye. she would reconnect with them magically in less than ten hours, but it wouldn't be the same. these women had agreed to risk everything-even their lives-to help her. if something went wrong, the rogues might track the energy back, hunt ari's sister witches and kill them.

"you're the best," she said simply.

"blessed be," echoed around the circle.

promptly at 8:30 p.m., ari brought out the scrying bowl, performed the spell to connect with her sister coven, and smiled when she felt their power. she proceeded through the steps of the scrying ritual, but after three unsuccessful attempts, she gave up and called emmy on her cell phone.

"i'm getting nothing. not even a blip."

"we knew this could happen." emmy's voice was calm. "since the high priestess discovered you at the caves, she suspects you're looking for them and has limited their group rituals. it can't last. if they're not locals, and you were pretty positive on that, what are they going to do every day? hide in some hotel or motel room hoping you'll go away? they have to take some action. we'll try again tomorrow at the same time. don't worry. we'll get them. stella wanted me to tell you she may have found the woman in cincinnati. there's a practicing witch with an iffy reputation who hires herself out to the highest bidder. if you want all the specifics right away, give stella a call. otherwise, she'll e-mail you the report. blessed be."

ari hung up and sighed. she was grateful for stella's report and would look at the e-mail later. it was a lead if the coven suddenly left town, but for now she was more interested in their local activities. emmy had brought up a good point. if they weren't doing a ceremony, where were they? in the caverns? searching for the bloodstone?

she called gabriel. "any new disturbances in the tunnels?"

"nothing. all's quiet. we have a weretiger stationed inside spirit cave and two vampires in the chamber of ages. we'll know if anything happens. i haven't heard from andreas yet, have you?"

ari's pulse leaped. "why? do you think something's wrong? i've been so busy with the witch stuff. i thought-"

"ari, stop. i'm sure nothing's wrong. it was a casual question. andreas is busy. my god, you're edgy."

"tell me about it. but don't try to convince me your not feeling the stress."

gabriel's chuckle sounded forced. "you got me there. i keep waiting for the next sword to fall."

"if that means the next catastrophe, me too." she chewed on her lip. "we have too many people plotting against us. i worry about what the coven is doing tonight, and then i worry about ursula's plan. i hate not knowing."

unfortunately, gabriel didn't have any answers, and ari went to bed knowing she'd have a restless night. when andreas called at 1:00 a.m. to say he was fine and the meeting with the vampire princes would take place tomorrow night, she remained unsettled. she tossed and turned before falling into an exhausted sleep.

chapter fourteen

wednesday dragged on forever. ryan was busy on an arson case. claris's shop overflowed with customers participating in a plant exchange, trading spring seedlings and small plants suitable for gardens, deck pots, or indoor locations. since ari knew exactly nothing about plants-she'd even killed the aloe claris had given her, the one claris had sworn couldn't die-she would only be in the way at the shop. the vampires were sleeping, and ari was bored. she didn't need to be. there was plenty to do-reports to write, requests for referral services, visits to the local shelters-but nothing seemed to keep her mind occupied while she waited for evening to arrive.

so much could be settled tonight. she hoped to find the coven and eliminate that threat, one way or another, and andreas and daron were meeting with the canadian princes, urging them to take a stand against ursula. two enemies; two decisive moments.

by the time dusk fell, ari was already in the chantilly suite with her candles, scrying bowl, crystal pendant, herbs, and cell phone. the phone was for calls from toronto and calls to perry. as she waited, her attention on the slow-moving hands of the clock, a tap at her door provided a welcome distraction.

"thought i'd find you here." lilith shut the door and sat on the bed. "anything i can do to help?"

"not unless you can speed up time." ari pulled her hair behind her ears. "i'm getting antsy waiting. what's russell said about events in toronto?"

"he claims tonight's gathering will go fine, that the princes will unite under daron. what worries him is ursula's reaction if that happens."

"she doesn't know about the meeting, does she?"

lilith lifted her shoulders. "nothing's for sure. they don't think so, but they'll have to tell her eventually. an agreement wouldn't be worth much if she didn't know about it. that'll happen later tonight or tomorrow."

"that gives us a little time." ari stood and walked over to gaze out the window. the mansion's wide lawn and gardens spread out before her, quiet and deceptively serene in the gathering dark. "maybe i can chase off the coven before we have to deal with ursula. once i confront the witches, i hope they'll leave town without a fight. that wouldn't atone for barron's death, but the magic council could handle it at the council level, demanding retribution from the authorities wherever they live." but picturing the threatening face of the black coven's high priestess, ari doubted the meeting would be so peaceful. a reasonable witch would go when ordered from another witch's territory, but then a reasonable witch wouldn't be there in the first place.