Lucas nods and steps away, blowing out the candles. I call Kristy and sit on the couch in the living room, anxiety creeping down my neck with each ring. Finally, she answers.
“Hey,” she says. “I was just about to call you and see how things went with the vampire business last night. Did you find out who’s trying to mess with Lucas’s business?”
“No, but there’s been a new development in the vampire issue.” I feel a little jittery again, suddenly anxious to get back home.
“Ohh, do tell.”
I look at Binx, knowing there’s no good way to let your best friend know you were kidnapped by vampires other than to just spit it out. “I stopped for gas, thought some lady was being attacked by vampires, so I went to help her. She sprayed me with pepper spray and then a vampire hit me in the back of the head, knocked me out, and tied me up in an old swimming pool somewhere in Chicago.” I blink and see the wardings in front of me. Telling Kristy I don’t think I’m really a witch is a face-to-face conversation.
“What?”
“I was kidnapped, and there’s bounty on my head. Another vampire wants me, but he wants me unharmed at least. Don’t worry, Lucas and I are on it. And he saved me.”
“Why didn’t you use your powers?”
“One of the vampires used to be a witch and put hagstone around my neck.”
“Holy shit. You’re okay?”
“Yes. I’m still a little freaked out from being kidnapped, and the fact that other vampires know I’m a witch is, well, concerning…for both me and for Lucas.”
“Yeah, it is. I…I don’t even know what to say.”
“One thing at a time, right?”
“Right. So…what are you going to do now?”
“I’m coming home,” I tell her. “And then after work I’ll see if there’s any sort of spell or charm that can deflect vampires without it affecting Lucas.”
“Don’t worry about work.”
“I’ve called off a lot of shifts.”
“I think being kidnapped is a good excuse not to come in,” she assures me. “Clark asked for as many shifts as possible the rest of this month anyway so he can go to Florida next month. I’ll text him now.”
“Thanks. If he can’t come in, let me know and I’ll come home.”
“I will.” She lets out a breath. “What do you think the vampires want with you?”
“We’re not sure. They still hold a big grudge against all witches. Maybe a public execution? Or tie me up and charge to let others drink my blood?”
“It won’t come to that. I’m more worried about Lucas, to be honest.”
“He seems very capable of taking care of himself.”
“He is.” I get up and go to the window, looking at the thick metal blinds. “We’ll be fine.” I close my eyes and the waves of anxiety come back. “I’ll let you go. Call me if anything else weird happens at home, okay?”
“I will. Don’t get kidnapped again.”
“I’ll try,” I laugh. I sink back onto the couch after ending the call, unable to shake the feeling that I’m standing in the middle of a sinking ship, surrounded by sharks. Lucas is strong, but there are other vampires his age…and older.
Chapter 25
“What are you going to do with that?” Lucas asks, taking his eyes off the road for a second and looking at the hagstone in my hand. The sun just set, and we’re heading back to Thorne Hill.
“Keep it. These are hard to come by.” I flip the stone, feeling the etchings with my thumb. “Binding spells are effective but take time and concentration. You just slip this baby around someone’s neck and bye-bye powers.”
“Is it dangerous to keep in your house? Someone could use it against you.”
“No more dangerous than a human owning a gun. And I’ll keep it safe, don’t worry. I’m good at concealment charms.” Yawning, I wrap the leather cord around the stone and put it in my purse.
“Close your eyes,” Lucas tells me, reaching over and placing his hand on my thigh. “Get some rest before we get to your house.”
“I have a hard time sleeping in cars,” I tell him, though I do feel like I could lean my seat back a bit and take a nap. “But closing my eyes sounds nice.”
“Do you want to get food before we get to your house as well?”
“No, I have stuff at home to eat. And then you can eat.”
He pushes his hand between my thighs and grins. “I plan to.”
I lean the seat back just a bit, adjust the air vents so they’re not blowing on me, and mentally call Binx into my lap. He gracefully jumps from the back seat and settles on my chest. I run my hand over his sleek fur and let my eyes fall shut.
Lucas is listening to an audio book, and I stay awake and pay attention for three chapters before I fall asleep, slipping into the same dream I keep having.
The demon.
Being surrounded by hellfire.
The blue-eyed man just looking at me, not speaking. Not moving. Not giving me a single fucking clue to why he keeps pulling me back here. I watch myself almost burn and feel the same desperation take me over.
“What the hell do you want?” I yell over the crackling flames. The blue-eyed man doesn’t so much as blink at me. “Hello?” I wave my hands in his face. “If you don’t give me some sort of indication to why you keep showing me this dream over and over, I’m going to make a nightmare charm and never have this dream again.”
Suddenly, everything plays in reverse as I stand there, watching myself move in backward motion. Everything speeds by, not stopping until I see myself standing in the threshold of the door, with Evander desperately trying to get me to step through.
The blue-eyed man took me back here for a reason, but I have no idea what that reason is. Shaking my head, I turn to look for him.
And then a loud bang echoes through the forest. The gates of Hell were opened at that moment, and shit hits the fan from here on out. Evander’s voice echoes behind me, muted as if he’s talking underwater. I whirl around, not wanting to see Lucas get stabbed through the chest.
Something glows on the forest floor yards away, something I didn’t notice before. The sound of dragging chains reverberates around us, and more sparks light up the ground, looking like metal chains dragged on pavement, sparking and popping off little embers.
I take off, running toward the demon. This is just a dream…he can’t hurt me, right? The smell of brimstone fills my nostrils, and the red sparks are fading fast. They’re gone by the time I get to them.
“Dammit,” I mutter, dropping down to my knees. I push leaves away, looking for something—anything—that will let me know why the hell I keep coming back here.
“You could just show me,” I mutter, standing and wiping the dirt off my hands. I’m about to will myself to wake up when I feel it…the same strange pulsing of energy. I hold out my hand and follow the pull, moving a few yards forward, not stopping until I get to the charred and rotted circle in the forest where the demon manifested.
The pulsing increases to a steady hum, and this time, I see it.
I know why the blue-eyed man brought me back.
Suddenly, I startle away, sitting up so fast I almost knock Binx onto the floor.
“Bad dream?” Lucas takes one hand off the steering wheel and takes my hand.
“You could say that.” I push my hair back and let out a breath. “I know what’s wrong with the Ley line.”
“You do?”
“Yeah.” I swallow hard. “And it’s bad. Really bad.”
Lucas steals a glance my way. “How bad?”
“When the demon came here straight from Hell, it left a crack in the earth. And that crack runs right into part of the Ley line.”
“Yeah…that is really fucking bad.”
“That’s why people were acting like assholes and why I can feel the energy pulsing. It’s leaking out, tainted by Hell, of all things.”
“Now we know what’s wrong…we have to figure out how to fill the cra
ck. You can fill it, can’t you?”
I smile and flip my hand over, lacing my fingers through Lucas’s. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I can just go throw dirt in it and fill it up. There’s a real crack in the earth but the damage isn’t just physical. There’s a rift in the energy, and it’ll take a spell to fix it.”
“But you can fix it.”
“Yeah,” I say, trying to believe myself. “I’ll figure out a way to. Because if I don’t and the crack gets worse…the whole town will be doomed.”