Rinaldo was standing alone in the middle of a large stone circle. Witch stones—not ordinary ones. To one side of him, surrounded by at least a dozen vampires, knelt Jackson. His hands were tied, and around his neck was a silvery pendant not unlike the one I’d stolen. I had no doubt it was restraining his fire, just as I had no doubt that all the pendants had come from the small woman kneeling beside him. Even from where I was I could feel the wash of her power—but both she and that power were under Rinaldo’s control if her slack features and the emptiness in her eyes were anything to go by.

Rinaldo himself looked calm, but fury radiated from his body, its force so fierce, the air around him seemed to boil. I shot a lance of fire his way, even though the stones around him told me it was pointless. It bounced harmlessly away; I sent another one at one of the stones, but lessons had obviously been learned, because it, too, bounced away. As a last resort, I tried to call to his body heat. That, too, proved useless. The wall of magic surrounding him had been very well designed.

He smiled. It was not a pleasant thing to behold. “Retain your real form, Emberly, or the witch dies.”

If Rinaldo thought my flesh form rather than this was real, then perhaps he didn’t know as much about phoenixes as he thought. It at least gave me some hope. My gaze met Jackson’s as I shifted shape.

You okay? He didn’t look it. His skin was gray, and sweat was trickling down the side of his face.

Some gorilla broke my leg, and the witch’s charm is restricting my fire. But other than that, just ducky.

“Step into my circle, Emberly.”

Said the spider to the fly. I flexed my fingers, then walked forward. Do you know what the circle around him is?

It’s not only fire restriction, but it’ll restrict your access to the mother.

Meaning the witch was familiar with the mother—and that she was probably the reason Frederick’s spell had been as well designed as it was. But I’d beaten him, and I could beat this witch—if I had the energy, not to mention the time.

“I was going to kill you swiftly,” Rinaldo continued, “but I’m afraid that option disappeared after what you did to my brother.”

“I haven’t fucking touched your brother—” I paused. Did he mean in the stairwell—the one I’d set alight and then shot?

“I can feel his agony, Emberly. It burns through my body and my brain, and begs me to return it in kind.” Rinaldo waved a hand. “I cannot help but comply.”