A Girl Named Calamity (Alyria 1)

I swallowed. “Hi . . .”

“Are you here for something specific?” she asked as she walked out from behind the counter. Did she not notice the oddity of everyone being gone?

“Why are you and I the only ones in the city?”

“I don’t know . . . is everyone else gone?” she asked in a way that made me feel like she knew exactly where everyone was.

A shiver ran down my spine. “You didn’t notice?”

She sighed. “No. I’ve been . . . shut in for a while now.”

It felt like there was a lot of meaning behind those words. But I couldn’t think of anything to say with the thick tension in the air.

“Do you realize the trouble you are in with the man you travel with?”

My eyes widened. “What do you know of him?” I asked even though my legs were itching to leave. My body knew there was something not right about this, but I needed to hear what she had to say about Weston.

“I know that he wants to open the seal, and now he has your blood. He could make you do anything he wished if he chose to without compelling you. Compulsion can only be used so many times before its use is ineffective. Blood magic has no limit.”

I swallowed. Nausea was beginning to settle in my stomach. I chose not to think about this, having it said to my face was hard to handle.

“There is only one fix to this problem. You must ingest some of his blood. He could not control you anymore if you did.” She scrunched her nose up as if she hated the idea of someone controlling me.

That was all it took? I had drawn his blood before and didn’t see it being a problem again. But where was he?

“How do you know all this? Did you take it from my head?”

She shook her head. “I could never read your mind.”

I blinked. “Then how have you always known what I was thinking?”

“Because . . .” Her smile sent a shiver down my spine, “you’re not the only one thinking them.”

I jerked. “What are you talking about?” Goose bumps covered my skin, and I had the urge to start backing up to the door.

“Calamity, it’s time.”

My heart fluttered fast at those words.

“Time for what?”

“For . . .” Her smile was malicious, “all your dreams to come true, of course.”

Or all my nightmares . . .

I shivered and took a step back.

“And what are all my dreams?” I managed to get out.

“We can’t know that.” She shook her head. “No, we can’t. Not until you are . . . dead.”

I flinched and backed up, bumping into the door. “What?” I croaked.

“Oh, dear. Don’t worry; I’m not going to kill you.” She laughed. My heart beat out of my chest with fear and the urge to run, but my feet were frozen to the floor.

> “Although I want to more than anything, I couldn’t do it.”

“Why?” I asked, breathless as my lungs tried to keep up with my heart.