Free The Sorceress Screams by Anya Breton

pulled in an
irritated breath. “He can call you back without warning if I let you out of my
sight.”
    The blonde
snapped her fingers to the right in a haughty gesture I’d never seen outside of
reality television. “ Chickybabe , I don’t go anywhere
without shoes. If you want to help me, you’ll give me a half hour to get to my
room.”
    I was halfway
through the act of nodding when I caught the scent of a crisp Arctic sea. Water witch? Damn my distracted mind. The blonde had a
reciprocal empathic link. How had I failed to notice her magically skimming my
emotions? No wonder I was feeling an overwhelming urge to agree with her. I
snapped the link back into her.
    She flinched,
lips parting in surprise.
    “ Don’t manipulate me,” I said. Then I
glanced at the others. “This is foolish. Insane . He can make you come back the second he tosses off
my will. But if it’s so damn important for you to get your precious luggage,
then go. You have thirty minutes to meet me at the shuttle entrance. If you’re
not there, we’re leaving without you.” Was I being too hard? It wasn’t their
fault. I could soften my approach a tiny bit. “Take down my phone number. Call
me if he calls you back to him.”
    We scrambled
to find things to write on and write with. I’d had a pen in my purse and
several scraps of paper I hadn’t tossed in the waist bin yet. I’d be in deep
trouble if the vampire got his hands on my phone number. I could only hope I
could get the witches out before he realized what had happened.
    One by one the
females darted out the nearest door into the hotel. Only an orange-haired Asian
was left of the group. She gave me a pretty smile, murmuring soft words. “Thank
you, Becky.”
    I winced
because I’d to have to come clean about my identity at some point.
    The family
style restroom in the hotel’s lobby was probably the safest place to call my
mother. I visualized her most recent lime T-shirt as I pressed myself firmly to
the tiled wall. “I summon you, Hecate.”
    She appeared
within two feet of my spot. A deep frown creased her mist-coated face. “It
hasn’t been two hours yet.”
    I must have
interrupted a good run on the slot machines. “I need you to leave me here this
time. Can you do that, or is it against the rules of favors?”
    My mother’s
lips pursed. Her image shuddered like a television picture flickering. “You
stopped the event.” She nodded. “I can leave you here if you truly wish.”
    Relief flooded
me. I expelled a long breath. “Oh, thank Zeus. Yes, please, leave me here. I’ve
got money. I’m going to rent a car and drive home. Thank you, Mother.”
    She gave me a
thin-lipped smile and then disappeared into the Void.
    Time to dig up another miracle—finding someone to rent me a van at
four in the morning.
    ****
    Finding a car
for rent on the strip this early proved impossible. I resorted to checking the
airport. We took two cabs there. By some miracle we loaded the necessities of
six women into the rented Dodge Caravan and extra trailer. Needless to say,
there was very little room to sit when all was said and done.
    Each of the
six had turned up at Caesars shuttle entrance within their allotted thirty
minutes. Only one had complained—the Water witch with her four items of
luggage. She’d spent minutes in the cab on the way to the airport, haggling
with the front desk about her room and shipping of her the two suitcases I
hadn’t let her bring. And then she’d delayed us by stopping at the in-airport
Starbucks for a grande espresso. No doubt she’d get
along swimmingly with Desmond. And that made me just a little miffed.
    The females
peppered me with questions about who I was, how I’d
gotten into the locked spa and why I’d saved them. Each query was met by vague
answers until they got the picture. Fortunately they weren’t quite as stingy
with the information. I quickly learned their names.
    The witch with
the childlike voice was named Gemma, and she was from