I cast a quick glance at the van. That life was gone, and my new one was sitting inside that van, waiting for me.
I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about how far I’d come. But there was also a sadness as the reasons for my lustrous ways flittered into my thoughts when I caught sight of the cords connecting us to the Shadow Realms and had to fight the pull I felt toward them.
I was not here for the monsters. I was here for my best friend.
The sound of footsteps crunching fallen leaves peaked my interest. I looked up and saw Ash striding down the pathway leading to our school. She was dressed in her uniform and had her backpack thrown over one shoulder and her other arm donning a sling.
My heart pounded as I stood and made my way toward her.
7
Meeting her on the other side of the playground, I let my gaze fall over her, guilt consuming me over the injuries she’d sustained because of me. Once again, I thought about healing her, but I wasn’t sure if the use of my healing magic would alert Orphelia, and I didn’t want Ash suffering anymore at my hands. I really needed to study more. “Hey. How are you feeling?”
Her movements were stiff, which sent a whole load of guilt coursing through me. “Been better. But I’ll heal.”
“You know I could probably heal you,” I said, not being able to help myself. I was a sucker for those in pain—especially ones I cared about so much.
She shook her head violently. “No. You can’t.”
I frowned. “I can. But don’t worry. I’m not going to do anything without your permission.”
Ash sighed, a smile forming on her lips as she reached out and grabbed my hand. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, because I want to get that out of the way straight up. And I don’t blame you for what happened. I chose to go with you, and these injuries are the result of my decision.”
They were the result of me seeing my ghost of a mother, but I wasn’t going to divulge that piece of information to her. She didn’t need any more of my crazy. “Still, I feel like it’s my fault.”
She linked her arm with mine and began to walk toward the seats overlooking the pond, which once used to be filled with ducks but was now a barren waste land with way too many plastic bags and other waste floating in the stanky water. “I don’t regret my decision, and if it can help me help you, then it was completely worth every second of what I’ve had to go through.”
I drew my brows together in confusion. “Helping me would be to stay as far away from me as possible so I know you’re safe.”
She pulled me down onto the seat I’d been occupying before she arrived. “You might think differently after what I have to tell you.”
Frowning, I twisted around to face her, a sickening feeling rising into my chest. “What have you done?”
She grinned. “I have a message for you from Lana.”
8
Eyes going wide, I stilled, a mixture of fear and hope rushing through me at the mention of Lana’s name. Then it hit me, a chill running down my spine as I realized Ash was now in too deep to climb back out. Lana had been in contact with Ash, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to keep her safe—other than abducting her and sticking her in a padded cell, away from the world and everything that could hurt her.
I sounded just like Finn.
Swallowing hard, I prepared myself for the worst. “What did she say?”
Ashley dropped her bag onto the seat, making herself more comfortable. “She came to see me during one of my check-ups at the hospital. She said she’s sorry, and she had no idea what her family was doing. Lana told me to tell you that she doesn’t stand with them. She was adamant about that. And she gave me this to give to you.” Ash reached into her sling and withdrew a folded piece of paper, which she handed to me.
Nerves rattled my body as I cautiously opened the letter, relief flooding through me when it didn’t explode in my face or release some demonic energy to possess me.
Ash leaned closer to me. “I’m guessing you know what all this means, because I have no clue.”
I smiled. Of course, she’d read it.
Kali,
I know my word doesn’t mean much to you, but I hope my actions do. I never meant to hurt you, and if I’d known the truth, I never would’ve been a part of the deception. I had no idea there were others, and I think my parents kept that from me knowing I wholeheartedly believed in what I thought we were fighting for.
In saying all this, I hope you got what you needed, and I would like to help if you can find it in your heart to place your trust in me once more.
Stored in the library are resources that will help our fight, ones that are ancient in text and sacramental to those within the Society. I can help get you these, but unfortunately, it will require witchcraft to unbind them from the estate. I’m sure your friends can assist you with that.
Security is rife through the facility right now, and although you might fear this would not be a time for striking, it is in fact perfect. The last of the moon will purge the darkness, and the new moon will birth the start of a new era. Come in the seed of the night with a distraction so big that no one will see it coming. Deception is your friend, one that the people will believe to be the truth. Come for the sword, and I shall wait in the shadows of the night with what you seek.
For now, we have to go through our friend, but I hope that will change one day. I know it’s a lot to ask of her, but we are fighting for a bigger cause, one that will affect us all. And I would never ask for something that is not freely given.
Your ally,
L
Ash pointed to the last paragraph on the paper. “She’s talking about me in that part.” Ash quickly added, “And before you get all shitty for Lana involving me, you can get over yourself and whatever idea you’ve got about shutting me out for my own safety or whatever. Because I am in this with you, so you can just deal with it.”
I stared at her in disbelief. Then a laugh bubbled up my throat, spilling out. “You had that whole speech planned out, didn’t you?”
She chuckled. “Of course, I did. I’ve known you most of my life. And you’ve known me just as long, which means you should know there’s no convincing me otherwise.”
I smiled at my best friend, hating that I’d dragged her into this mess but loving her for not giving up. She was the most supportive person I knew, and I loved her even more for it. “If you ever get second thoughts or it becomes too dangerous, I want you to know you can back out at any time.”
Ash nodded. “It’ll never happen.” She shuffled closer to me. “So, what does it all mean?”
I gave her a rundown on everything that had happened since the accident, including our theory on where my mother was. I watched her face go from shocked to outright disbelief as she listened intently to every detail as it unfolded. By the end of my story, she was lit with a rage that only came from someone who really cared.
“Those fucking bastards,” she said, bewilderment consuming her eyes. “I can’t believe they almost did that to you.” She shook her head, still trying to come to terms with what I’d just said. “I can’t believe there are more like you.”
I leaned back in my seat and refolded the paper. “Me neither. But there are.”
A frown line creased her forehead. “Do you believe Lana is telling the truth?”
I shrugged. “I really have no idea. I mean, I thought she was my friend, but then she sent me up to see Orphelia. Then again, she saved my ass and gave me the key so her family could never take me for their own.” I stared at the pond, not really seeing anything in front of me. My mind was consumed with the details of that night and everything that had happened since. “I owe her my life.”
“Then I think you know what to do.”
She was right. I did know what to do. I just wasn’t sure The Circle of Embers would agree with me.
After a few minutes of silence, she said, “Hey, do you think there are others out there like you that haven’t been tainted
yet?”
I nodded. “Nessa said something about the others back when I first met her, which made me think they might have more. Or at least other possibilities.” I groaned. “This is all so confusing.”
She chuckled. “Right. And you’re the one who’s supposed to know everything.”
I barked out a laugh. “Hardly. That’s just the bullshit the Society fed me. The reality is so much worse—the not knowing, that is.”
“Listen,” I said, glancing over my shoulder at the van. “We’re going to have to split, but I want to meet up with you again soon. If Lana contacts you in the meantime, can you tell her I’m working on a plan?”
Ash nodded then winced. She lifted her hand to her collarbone.
“Let me take the pain away.”
She raised a brow. “You know how to do that without healing me?”
Of course, I didn’t. “Fine. Have it your way. Deal with the pain.”
Ashley stood then picked up her bag and gently swung it over her good shoulder, once again wincing at the movement. “When this is all over, you can heal the shit out of me. But for now, this is the only way Lana’s able to meet with me without drawing unnecessary attention from the Society.”
I stood. “You can count on it.”
9
“What did she want?” Finn asked the second I climbed into the van. I didn’t even have a chance to close the door before he was grilling me.
Choosing to make him wait the appropriate amount of time, I slid the door closed then returned to my seat beside Max. I almost laughed at the frustration Finn was trying to hold in. “Lana gave me this.” I leaned forward and handed him the letter.
Finn opened it and read it aloud. As expected, there were suspicious gazes all around, including from my brother.
He handed me back the letter. “I don’t know if we can trust Lana anymore.”
“I don’t think we have much choice.” I ran the tip of my finger across the fold of the paper. “If we want to win this war, we need all the help we can get.”
Nessa leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “What do you think Lana is referring to?”
“The books in the library,” I replied, immediately feeling a connection to my words. “I felt them when I was getting a grilling by Lana’s mom, Gina. I don’t read anything I’m not forced to, and even then, I’d rather watch the movie or documentary or whatever, but these books… There was something drawing me to them, as if I needed to devour the words within. So yeah, I think taking a chance on Lana is something we need to do.”
“All right then.” Nessa sat up straight. “We need to make a plan. Is your friend happy to be the go-between?”
I nodded. “For now.”
“Does she understand the risks involved?” Kade asked.
“Ashley won’t care,” Finn said. “She’d do anything for my sister.”
That was the truth, but it was strange hearing Finn understand the connection between us when he’d been gone for so long. Plus, there was the whole “wanting to keep Ash out of this life” thing he’d berated me for. Obviously, he’d had a change of heart.
Probably had something to do with our Mom.
“And are you okay with letting her in?” Max asked, seeing a side no one else had. He knew just how much what happened to Ash had eaten me up, and now I was letting her right back into the middle of the fire—and poking her with a stick.
Sometimes you had to burn to ignite.
But I’d make damn sure she could walk through fire without getting hurt.
“She knows what she’s getting into, so who am I to tell anyone they don’t have a right to fight for what they believe in?”
Finn’s hooded gaze landed on me. “The last person on earth after the way you carried on when we first brought you in.”
Night had fallen by the time we got back to the village. The days were getting shorter, and the nights were sticking around longer than what was normal for this time of year.
Evil was at play, and it was infiltrating our world on a much larger scale.
The clouds had cracked open, and rain was pelting down, drenching the land with its tears.
We had just over twenty-four hours to plan our mission, and I was dead tired, ready to crawl into bed and stay there for the next week. I hadn’t spent a single moment training with Max, yet I was completely exhausted by the knowledge I had to cram into my brain in such a short time.
Nessa had added a few more books to the pile I needed to read through in order to learn as many spells as I could before we went on our recovery mission.
It wasn’t Nessa who had placed this pressure on me. I’d done it all on my own. Because what I wasn’t telling anyone was that if given the chance, just a glimmer of hope, I was jumping through the veil into the Shadow Realms and bringing back my Mom.
Yet the more I read, the more I was confused. From what I could see, I could pass through, but I couldn’t take anyone with me—either way.
There had to be something—anything that would allow me to bring her back. There were always loopholes, and I usually sniffed them out a mile away.
I flipped the page, scanning the words, trying to burn them into my memory before quickly moving onto the next.
The door to my container opened, and Max slipped inside, carrying an assortment of food on a tray and a couple of blood bags for the mix.
He set the tray down on the end of the bed then sat next to me on the floor, a bag of blood in his hands. “Thought you might need a little something to get you through the night.”
My chest gave out with a little pang, still unable to believe I was lucky enough to have him in my life, to care for me when others wouldn’t have. To feed me when others looked away. At times like this, he really did seem too good to be true.
And the problem was, things that seemed too good to be true generally were.
Sometimes—just sometimes—I feared that whatever we were would come crashing down into a reality of despair, and he would end up being like all the others. Either that or I would stuff things up by doing something stupid.
I was renowned for that.
“Is everything okay?” Max asked, gesturing to the bag of blood in his outstretched hand.
I shook my thoughts away. “Uh, yeah. I was just thinking about tomorrow.” I took the bag from him and opened the cap, the smell of blood arousing the part of me that wanted to be set free.
Right now, I had to rein it in and focus on trying to find a solution to one of my many problems.
I closed my lips over the bag then forced myself to take slow sips when all I wanted to do was squeeze the crap out of the bag and devour the blood as quickly as huntressly possible.
Max ran his fingertips over my thigh all the way down to my ankles before lifting my legs and placing them on his lap. “Maybe you should take a break.” I was all over the idea and was about to climb onto his lap when he began massaging my feet.
I groaned as he worked through the knots. I didn’t even know feet could get knots. Maybe it was just a me thing, but whatever he was doing was relaxing the shit out of me.
Readjusting the pillows behind me, I lay back against them, the book resting against my chest, allowing myself just a few minutes reprieve before I continued the pursuit of finding a way to bring back my mother.
That ended up being a mistake.
I jolted awake, eyes scanning my dimly lit surroundings, daylight filtering in through the shades covering the one and only window.
I was under the covers in my bed, which I most certainly hadn’t fallen asleep in. The last thing I remembered…
I twisted around, the corner of my lips tipping up when I saw Max on the floor, sound asleep on top of an open book. Then it hit me, sheer panic clawing away at my insides. I’d fallen asleep and had wasted the entire night I should’ve spent searching for the answers I so desperately needed.
Flinging the covers off the bed, I jumped to my feet and paced the short distance to the books
and back again. I ran my hands through my hair, having no idea what I should be doing now. There were too many books to read, too much information I needed.
If only there was a spell that would fling the book I needed at me—and open it to the right place, and highlight the passage.
Feeling defeated, I slithered to the ground and leaned against the base of my bed. I picked up the book I’d been reading last night and continued from where I had left off, skimming the pages trying to find the spell I needed—or loophole to be more accurate.
A knock at my door sent a new frustration coursing through me. I didn’t have time for people.
With a flick of the wrist, I opened the door, eyes going wide when I realized what I’d just done.
Mason stood in the doorway with Kade beside him, their mouths hanging ajar, just as shocked as I was.
“Tell me you didn’t open the door,” I said, the book falling from my lap as I scampered to my feet.
Mason held up his hands. “It wasn’t us.”
“Looks like you’ve learned a thing or two.” Kade entered the room, his gaze drifting over the books strewn across the floor and one lump of a hunter still fast asleep on top of one.
I’d always assumed Max was a light sleeper, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Yet he was still sound asleep, oblivious to what was going on around him. Then again, maybe he was just exhausted. It would be so like him to stay awake to some godly hour to help me out.
Kade softly kicked Max’s arm with his foot, but it had no effect. “Rough night, huh?”
“Do you have any idea how much there is to learn?” I said, trying to crawl out of the endless pit of despair I was slipping into. “And there’s so little time. We have to be there in…” I searched the room for a clock.
“Fifteen hours,” Mason said as he sat on the edge of my bed, picked up a book, and began flipping through the pages. “So, what else have you learned besides opening up a door?”
“Nothing of any real use.”
Shadow Realms- The Complete Series Page 36
