Starfire (Grim Gate 2)

“How do I look?” I ask Ethan once I’m dressed. I went with jeans and a sweater again since it’s colder than yesterday.

“Beautiful,” Ethan says, looking away from whatever video game he’s playing. “As always.”

“Good answer.” A smile comes to my face, and I check the time on my phone. “I’m gonna get going a little early. I might have to drive around to avoid parallel parking.”

“You lived in a somewhat busy city your whole life and can’t parallel park?” Ethan pauses his game and gets up, playfully shaking his head at me.

“I backed into someone’s car. Twice. It’s scarred me from parallel parking. Do you know how embarrassing it is?”

“I can only imagine. Have fun and be safe. You’re armed, right?”

My head bobs up and down. “I have the enchanted dagger, two sage smudge sticks, and a bag of black salt.”

He kisses me once more and then I say bye to Hunter, crouching down so I can give him a hug. “I wish you could come with.” I rub his soft ear against my cheek. “Eventually. I’ll work my way up from just befriending Rene, to being the weirdo who takes her dog everywhere.”

Hunter’s tail wags and I give him another hug before heading out the door. Not familiar with the part of town this restaurant is in, I enter the address in my GPS, turn on a podcast, and start driving. It’s dark by the time I get into town, and I put my car in park, keeping the engine running and the heat blasting while I grab my purse from the floor of the passenger side and check my hair.

I’m reaching over to grab it when I realize—I don’t remember driving into town at all. Slowly, I sit up and fear tingles through me. My eyes go to the glowing screen before me, looking at the map. I’m six miles from my destination.

What the hell?

Suddenly feeling like I’m being watched, I grab the steering wheel and throw my car into reverse. I’m in a little gravel parking lot, and the street is behind me. That’s all I know. But as soon as I start backing up, something else comes into view and I realize exactly where I am.

A graveyard.

CHAPTER 10

Car in reverse, I hit the gas. The tires spin on top of the icy gravel of the graveyard path, struggling for traction. Finally gripping, the car rushes backward onto the main road. Putting the car in drive, I’m about to speed the hell out of here, but a thought pops into my mind. I slam on the brakes, making my Prius slip on the slick road, but I barely notice—my thoughts too preoccupied with my current situation. If I drove myself to a graveyard with no memory of doing so, I was brought here for a reason. Hands trembling, I pull back into the little gravel road leading into the graveyard. Suddenly, another thought enters my head that scares me even more.

I don’t remember driving here. Who knows what—or who—I hit while I was in whatever trance I was in.

My throat feels like it’s closing up, and I have to force down a swallow as I get out of the car, grabbing my phone to use as a flashlight. I have a few missed texts from Rene, no doubt wondering where the hell I am, but I ignore them for now. My entire body is cold with fear, yet nerves cause sweat to drip down my back.

Leaving my door open, I get out of the car and scramble to the front. I do a quick scan and see no major damage. There are no dents, no cracked headlights, and no blood smeared on the hood. I drop down, shining a light under the front bumper. I don’t know what I’m looking for. Hair? Torn off pieces of flesh? Yet, I see nothing.

I’m on my hands and knees when I hear the irrefutable sound of someone walking on the gravel path behind me. I jump up so fast I hit my hand on my front license plate. The pain stings but I don’t have time to cradle my hand against my chest, looking at it to make sure I’m not bleeding.

There’s no one behind me. Light from my headlights illuminates the graveyard in front of me, casting tall shadows that anything could be hiding in. I take a quick step backward, eyes darting around. My dagger is in my purse, which is still in the car. Dammit. I should have grabbed it before I stepped out.

Heart in my throat, I dart back to the car, feeling vulnerable as I reach in and grab my purse. The car door shuts behind me and, at the same time, the sound of a stack of books being dropped onto hard ground reverberates off the trees. Reaching into my purse, I pull out the dagger and quickly take it from its sheath.