“By murder and slaughter? Is this a declaration, Ursula? Then I officially ban you from my territory. You will be treated as the vile creature you are.”

“Oooh, now I’m scared,” she mocked. “You may have somehow tricked Sebastian, but he was a child in comparison to me. Tell your witch good-bye. She will live just long enough to see you die.”

Ari kept her tingling fingers hidden at her sides, waiting for a clear target. As long as Ursula held a live hostage, Ari couldn’t use her fire. But if Ursula remained unaware of the danger, she might grow careless or overly confident.

A sudden chanting filled the room with a magical hum; power levels started to rise.

Ursula’s head whipped around, her gaze settling on the High Priestess. “The witches,” she hissed. “I had not seen you there, Priestess. I thought you would still be tending your wounds. What are you doing in the company of these lesser beings?”

Ari was appalled by the High Priestess’s audacity. Her coven was too weak to make a psychic attack. But instead of stopping, the chanting increased until it sounded like the tromp of a thousand feet.

“Stop that racket!” Ursula snapped her captive’s neck and threw him at Andreas and his companions, catching them off guard. Flashing across the chamber, she slammed into the witches. The chanting cut off, replaced by screams of pain and terror.

Ari fired two stuns to deflect Ursula from the witches, but the vampiress didn’t falter. She continued to slash through the coven, ripping and tearing, until Andreas grabbed her, digging his fingers into her throat. He tried to drag her away, but even his strength wasn’t enough. Gabriel and Hawkson grabbed at her arms, only to be swatted away as if they were flies. Or were attacking a tank with bare hands.

Using a leg to trip and throw her off balance, Andreas yanked the vampiress backward and flipped over her head as she fell. Ursula hit the floor, shaking the ground, and Ari unleashed her witch fire. Crimson death streamed toward the vampiress, but Ursula spun aside and flew straight at Ari. Gabriel and Andreas both hit the vampiress from opposite sides, sending them all to the floor. As the vampires struggled to untangle, Ari jumped on Ursula’s back, scratching at the vampiress’s eyes. Ursula roared and shook her off. Ari landed hard but tucked and rolled to her feet.

Ursula lurched off the floor. Ari released another stream of crimson fire, and the vampiress took a direct hit. Flames erupted across the front of her fancy gown. Her shrieks echoed around the vast cavern as she batted at the growing inferno, her efforts setting her sleeves and the ends of her hair ablaze. Screaming defiance, she lunged toward Andreas and Gabriel, reaching to touch them and spread the fire.

“Stand back. Stay away from her.” Ari fired again.

But Andreas and Gabriel were already out of reach. They turned to watch the magical flames arc from witch to vampiress, striking Ursula in the face this time. The enforcer flailed her arms in desperation, stumbled, and sank to one knee. With a last flare of bright red flames, she exploded into a shower of blackened ash.

The enraged screaming stopped.

The power rush faded.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The moans from survivors were the only sounds in the vast chamber. Ari’s focus was riveted on the layers of charred dust that used to be Ursula. A part of her wanted to celebrate. Dance on the tables and drink champagne. The other part was horrified. The O-Seven would never forgive this.

Ryan broke the silence. “You have a real habit of making me feel inadequate.”

“Are you hurt?” She turned to look at him.

“No, but Hawkson’s in bad shape. He lost an arm.” He pointed toward the man whose shoulder was already being tended by Andreas and Gabriel. “I think the witch leader and two others are dead.”

“Sophistrina?”

“I’m here, Arianna. Do you need me?” The young woman crouched next to an injured witch.

“No, but your sisters do. You’re the leader now. I hope you do a better job.”

Sophistrina gently patted her patient’s arm, stood, and walked over to Ari. “Our priestess wasn’t always this way, not until she lost her blood sister to the O-Seven.”

“Yeah, hate will do that. Change you. But it only gives your enemy more power.”

“I think we’ve learned that lesson.” Sophistrina jerked her head toward the wounded. “We’ve lost more than half of our sisters since we left Germany.” She straightened her shoulders. “We’re ready to submit to your Magic Council. Do you wish to take us to jail while we await their sentence?”

Ari looked at Ryan.

He shrugged. “Let’s not worry about that until we’ve taken care of the dead and wounded. I’m not exactly sure who has jurisdiction.”

What a lame excuse. Of course he had jurisdiction with a human victim. But in this case, justice might best be served by deferring to the Magic Council. Ari left to find Andreas, while Ryan tried to make a call on his cell phone. Good luck with that. The caverns were notorious for their rare and spotty phone service.

“Help should be here soon,” Andreas said when Ari found him. “Gabriel is going to the surface to call.” He looked at Ryan as the cop joined them. “Think your EMTs will come to the cave entrance? We can move the injured and dead out of the caverns.”

“Sure.” Ryan pulled out his phone. “Damn, I keep forgetting about your service down here.”

“Gabriel.” Andreas stopped the blond vampire, who was heading into the tunnel. “Can you take Lt. Foster with you?”

Gabriel waved his assent, and Ryan trotted to catch up with him.

“Are you all right?” Ari returned her attention to Andreas. She hadn’t forgotten about the gunfire in Spirit Cave or that he’d protected her. “You were hit at least twice.”

He looked at the holes in his shirt. “I could use a pint.”

Ari suddenly wanted to laugh. Not so long ago, she would have thought he was asking for a beer.

He shifted his arm to look at it, and she saw a gash still oozing blood. “Ursula did this?” Ari frowned with renewed anger.

“It is nothing. I managed to stay behind her most of the time, away from the teeth and nails.”

“I’m glad she’s finally dead.”

Within minutes, the first of Andreas’s people arrived and began moving the wounded. Once the injured were on their way to the hospital, the bodies of Dyani and the three witches were removed. The bones and dust of Andreas’s vampire guards were collected and would be returned to their vampire nest.

Ari escorted the rest of the witches to the surface, giving them instructions on when and where to report to the Magic Council. If she needed them in the meantime, they’d be with their wounded sisters at the hospital.

While at the cave entrance Ari learned Ursula had gotten into the caverns by killing the dwarf who’d been there every day. His death only fueled Ari’s lingering anger.

She returned to the Chamber of Ages for one final task.

She squatted over the charred bits that had been Ursula. Snapping on surgical gloves, she began scooping the remains into a bag she’d gotten from the EMTs. Images of the massacres in Canada brought a scowl to her face. She thought about the things Ursula had done to Andreas and Gabriel and unknown others in the past. She scooped faster.

“I have plans for these,” she said, when she noticed Andreas watching her. She kept working until the rock floor was nearly spotless, every bit of bone dust, sand, and debris in that area collected. She stood, took a last look at the surface, scuffing her shoes to grind and disperse any minuscule particles.

Taking a handful of white powder from her magicks pouch, she sprinkled it over the area while murmuring a cleansing spell.

“Are you ready now?” Andreas laid a hand on her shoulder when she continued to stare at the floor. “I must notify the victims’ nest leader and assign new guards for the rest of tonight.”

Ari glanced around, surprised to find the place empty. “I’m sorry. You didn’t have to wait for me.” She held up the bag. “These last bits will be destroyed in the Magic Lab. I didn’t want to leave this evil bitch in your caverns.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and urged her toward the exit tunnel. “Ah, cara mia. Sometimes I very much like the way you think.”

* * *

In the early hours of the morning, the Riverdale Magic Council held an expedited trial. Ryan had woken his chief, and they agreed that the disposition of the witches should be left in the hands of the Otherworld authorities. Upon Ari’s request for a swift decision, the council president had summoned the executive council to sit in judgment.

From beginning to end, the trial lasted less than forty minutes. After listening to testimony mostly from Ari and Andreas, the council ruled the High Priestess held primary responsibility for the deaths of Jase Barron and Dyani. They were also sympathetic to Sophistrina’s plea that binding the coven’s witch powers would make it vulnerable to the O-Seven once they returned home. Consequently, Sophistrina and the remainder of her coven were released from custody on the condition they immediately depart for Europe. The order included the permanent banishment of each witch and her descendants from the American continents.

Sophistrina stopped Ari and Andreas afterward. “Thank you. If you hadn’t spoken for us, I know they would have stripped our powers. You didn’t have to do that, especially after what we did to you.”

“It’s not easy for a coven to defy its High Priestess. In spite of that, there were times when you tried to do the right thing. My trip to Utah was uncomfortable.” Ari grimaced remembered the dangerous slide down the butte. “But it could have been a lot worse.”

“You saved the lives of two of my vampire guards,” Andreas said. “Who, I am happy to report, have finally called in from Africa. They should be home in about a week.”

“I’m glad to know that,” Sophistrina said. “I worried they might not survive in a wilderness so far from anything they knew.”