Eighteen

“I didn’t know they needed to put down spells so often.” Eli trimmed the rosemary and put the cut plant in the basket.

“He says-” Maria’s head snapped around and she lurched to her feet.

Through the open window, he heard the sound of someone hitting the floor and vomiting. Both of them bolted back into the house.

“Bas!” Maria dragged him from the hall and the small puddle of vomit there and into the kitchen. “Get him water!”

The witch shuddered and seemed to come back to himself, his mate helping him to sit and stroking his head as he panted as if he’d run twenty miles and not gone twenty steps from the bedroom. Eli brought a glass of water and knelt with it but the witch suddenly dove out of the way as it exploded in his hand.

He rose cursing and went to the sink pulling slivers of glass out. “Bas?”

“No trust.” The man was curled on the floor as Maria picked tiny bits of glass out of his skin. “They couldn’t… they couldn’t take care of her and they couldn’t trust us. They turned to a witch they thought they knew.”

“What happened?” Eli dried his hand and came back. “What did the witch do?”

“They told him her name. He knows how to use it against her. She kept him from killing Grace, for now. The Bathim… he was going to harm them. She would rather die than see them shattered.”

“Why are they attacking you?” Maria eyed the windows warily.

“They aren’t. Sibbi drove them away. She made it so that they can’t see her, they can’t reach her or feel her. It’s like she carved a hole in them, they’re in agony. They reached out for her, shattering the glass before-”

“Before they came for her.” Eli sent a warning to the Alpha and was told to stay with them no matter what. “They won’t be taking you, Bas.”

“Why did the witch turn on them?” Maria gently picked Bas up and carried him to the sofa.

“He wants the same thing from her our father did. He’ll kill her and Grace if she refuses. And she will.” The weak looking man seemed to be mouthing words without making a sound.

“Who is he, Bas?” Eli glared at the door, the urge to go running out to find this witch was almost overpowering. 

It took him a moment to answer. “He gave his name as Fitz, but the Sibyl called him ‘the Grey'.”

“You said the Bathim thought they knew him?”

“He…” The witch trailed off, staring blankly.

“Bas?” Maria shook him. “No, no, no, Bas?! Bas!” She pulled him into an embrace and rocked on the sofa bursting into tears.

“Maria?” The sudden memory that one wouldn’t outlive the other struck him and he jumped the sofa to make certain the man was alive.

“He’s under the glass.” Remi came in with a grim expression on his face. “That’s what it feels like. He's never gone under it before.”

“Did they pull him into it?” Alpha Germain came in the door with a scowl and crossed to place his hand on the witch’s head. “Did they do this?”

“I don’t know.” Remi shook his head. 

“He was talking about the other witch.” Eli rubbed his face, “If the Grey, whatever name that’s supposed to be, can hurt Genevieve maybe he can hurt Bas through their connection.”

The silent witch’s back arched and he began to tremble. 

“It looks like the seizures my mate had when Bas was trying to get a grip on her.” Remi looked around as if trying to find a target. “It doesn’t matter who it is we need to make them stop. This house is supposed to be safe, how are they breaching the defenses?”

“She isn’t safe and he’s connected to her.” Maria laid Bas on the sofa and stroked his face. “He was worried about safety because of that. It’s why he wanted to be here, the house is isolated to protect the pack as much as it is to protect the Sibyl.”

“He said the witch was going to try to force-” Eli stopped short as the Alpha lifted his hand.

“He warned us we would need more help than we realized now that the witches know she’s here. Cate thinks we should try to make a truce with the Bathim and once we have Vivi safe we can work things out from there. I disagree but she makes a good point.”

“They need her to make more of them, right?” Thinking for a moment, Eli frowned at the door, “We could offer to let her make a couple of them, if they bring her and Grace back, and then they can stay away from all of us.”

“Let’s find a way to speak to them and see if they can help us get the girls back, first.” Alpha Germain took a deep breath. “There are a lot of windows… they might have heard us.”

“Bas keeps them protected. They broke a drinking glass.” Maria pointed to the mess on the floor.

“I want Bas closer. Bring him to the Sibyl’s library. We can keep watch there.”