Witch Road to Take by April M. Reign

ability to see the
keys.”
    My brother shrugged.
    Gavin looked at his watch, “In seven hours,
Dhellia’s key in the palm of her hand will turn off. The only other
time it will send a signal is when she comes within a hundred feet
of another key. At that time, your father will get the signal, as
he did yesterday. When that happens all keys within that hundred
miles are usually hijacked and branded with a tracking device.
    “Are you kidding? Is she going to be ill
each and every time that thing turns on in her hand?” Damien
asked.
    “No, from what I understand, when the key
turns on for the first time, it makes the person ill and slows them
down so they can be brought downstairs. If it ever turns on again,
she should be okay.”
    “That’s a relief,” Damien said.
    “I know. But as I was saying, your mother
could see the keys whether they were near each other or not. She
was an asset to your father which is why your father”—he used his
hands to simulate the, you-know signal—“continued to have
relations with your mother.”
    “My father loved my mother,” Damien said,
knowing damn well that Father didn’t love anyone or anything.
    Gavin sighed. “I’m telling you this, but I’m
asking you to keep it to yourself for a while until Dhellia is
ready to handle all of this.”
    Damien nodded. “I will determine when she’s
ready.”
    “Keys are made by your father having an
offspring with a visionary witch. But it’s not guaranteed that the
two will produce a key. Every six years, on the sixth day of the
sixth month, another visionary witch is born—one baby anywhere in
the world with that ability. The gods often kill these visionaries
before they take their first breath, hence miscarriages and
stillborn babies.
    “Our family used magic to protect your
mother, but when your mother ventured out on her own, your father
tracked her down and baited her with his manipulations. You two
were born.”
    “And Dhellia is a key.”
    “Yes. I can only imagine that your father
thought she might be a key. This would explain why he wanted her
downstairs with him on her twenty-first birthday. And why he was
strict on bringing her back each time she tried to spread her
wings. If she had been in his grips when her key turned on, he
would have branded her with a tracking device.”
    “Has he captured and inserted a tracking
device into any other keys?”
    “I’ve no idea. The chatter isn’t clear and
is often changed based on rumor.”
    “Where are the other keys?”
    “Only a visionary witch can tell us. Your
father searches high and low for other visionary witches. When your
mother was murdered, your father was set back from his ultimate
goal.”
    “Which is?”
    “To rule all three planes—to ultimately be
the ruler of Hell, Earth and Heaven, of course. With all seven
keys, he’d hold the power.”
    My body shook involuntarily. I couldn’t
believe what I was hearing. Damien crawled over to my side.
    “Dhellia, are you okay?”
    I opened my eyes and peered into the eyes
and handsome face of my brother. I whispered, “Whoever killed
Mother knew about her ability—I want to find that person and
destroy them.” I wasn’t going to pretend as if I didn’t hear their
conversation.
    Damien nodded, but changed the subject. “You
need to regain your strength. If we can make it another seven hours
without seeing a trotter, we can go back to our lives.”
    I sighed. “What life, Damien?”
    Gavin came to my side and gripped my hand.
The three of us, closely and distantly related, were gaining
knowledge about each other that would change our existence and the
world.
    I had two missions: Discover and destroy the
entity who killed my mother. And second, I would stand before my
father as an equal match in strength and ability in order to thwart
his plan to take over all planes of existence.

Chapter Sixteen

    Dressed and ready for work, I sat down on the edge my bed and glowered at the inside of
my hand. It was