Stolen

Adam peered into the cell. "That's her? The evil Leah? Doesn't look very dangerous to me. I could take her."

Paige rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable. One disintegrated door and fire-boy thinks he's king of the demons."

"Boy?" Adam sputtered. "I'm a year older than you."

"Move along," Clay said. "So long as she's secured, we'll leave her there until Jeremy decides what he wants done."

Adam cast one last, longing glance at Leah, then turned to me. "Now what?"

"You and Clay can check how many other cells are occupied while Paige and I talk to Sava

As Clay and Adam headed down the hall, Paige and I approached Sava

"Did my mother tell Sava

I nodded. "She knows what to expect, that you're going to look after her. Or, that was the plan, though I suppose as long as you take her back to your Coven, that would be good enough. I doubt Ruth really expected you to adopt a twelve-year-old."

"She did," Paige said. "Though I'm not sure what Sava

"Oh, she'll be fine." I reached for the door handle. "Ready?"

Something akin to panic flitted across Paige's face. Then she exhaled, straightened her shirt, and ran a hand through her curls, as if prepping for a job interview.

"Okay," she said. She stretched past me, opened the door, and walked inside. "Hello, Sava

Sava

"I knew you'd come back," she said.

Ouch. That hurt. Really hurt. But I had come back, hadn't I? I only wished I'd had enough faith not to abandon her in the first place.

"This is Paige Winterbourne," I said. "Ruth's…"

"Daughter," Paige finished.

Sava

"This is the witch who's supposed to take me?" Sava

"I'm twenty-two," Paige said, smiling.

Sava

"We'll discuss that later," I said. "Right now-"

"Who's that?" She pointed at Clay, standing in the doorway, then realized she was pointing and turned the gesture into a wave.

"Clayton," I said. "My-"

"Ruth told me about him. Your husband, right?"

"Uh-right."

Sava

"Who's that?"

"Adam Vasic," Adam said, stepping into the room with a mock bow.

Sava

"We really should-" Paige began.

"It's Sava

Sava

Sava

"Later," Clay said. "We have two more cells to empty."

Adam stepped aside to let Sava

As Sava

"She stays here," he said. "Paige can look after her."

Sava

"We should have released her last," Clay said. "There could still be some guards left. I don't want her wandering about."

"I won't wander-"

Clay cut her off with a look. They locked eyes, then Sava

"Fine," she said. She turned on her heel, stalked to her bed, and threw herself atop it, arms crossed, facing the wall.

"Adam, stay with them," Clay said. "Stand guard."

"I don't need anyone to protect me," Sava

"This is going to be fun," Paige murmured under her breath. "Couldn't you have found me a sweet little eight-year-old witch?"

"It could be worse," I said. "She could be sixteen."

"Someday, she will be."

Two prisoners left. Curtis Zaid, the Vodoun priest, and a new captive in the cell across from my old one.

"What do you think he is?" I asked Clay, tilting my head to study the newcomer. "I heard they were trying to capture a vampire, but this guy doesn't look too anemic, does he?"

That was an understatement. The man in the cell was at least six foot three, with broad shoulders and plenty of muscles, shown off by a sleeveless sweatshirt and well-worn jeans. Definitely not anemic.

"You can stop drooling, darling," Clay said.

I made a face at him and looked back at the stranger. "You think he's a vampire?"

"Want me to stick my neck in and find out?"

"Maybe later. For now, I think we should leave him where he is. Just to be safe."

We walked to Curtis Zaid's cell. I watched him through the one-way glass, trying to assess his mental stability.

"He looks okay," I said. "No ranting and cursing. I think the poor guy's lost it, but he isn't dangerous. He doesn't have any true power. More likely to be a nuisance than a threat."

"Let's get him out, then," Clay said, opening the door.

As we stepped into the cell, Zaid turned and pulled something from his head. Earphones, co

"We're here to let you out, Curtis," I said.

Zaid didn't appear the least bit surprised. Maybe he was too far gone. Ignoring us, he stood and headed for the door. We moved back to let him out. He stepped into the hall, stopped, and looked around, as if expecting a trap. Then he started for the exit.

"Uh, you don't want to leave just yet," I called. "It's a long hike to the nearest town."

Zaid kept walking.

"Let him go," Clay said. "He won't get far. We'll find him before we leave."

Sava

"Are you done yet?" she called. "Can we go now? Hey, is that Mr. Zaid?" She stopped a few feet from Zaid, stared up at him, and took a tiny step back. "That's not a Voodoo-"

"Sava

She pulled up short. I followed her gaze to Zaid, who'd stopped and was slowly turning to face the two witches. Paige went white. Stark white. Zaid lifted his hand as if in greeting. Sava

"Sava

Sava

I looked over Clay's shoulder and saw Paige standing five feet from Zaid. They faced each other, both silent. Zaid's lips curved in a tiny smile.