by Lila Kane
That might not have gone over so well. Better than kidnapping, though.
“I can check on Myra if you want,” I tell him.
He meets my eyes from across the dim space. He lifts his eyebrows.
“I mean, I know she’s still at your house. But I can make sure she’s okay.”
“But you won’t let me out.”
I stand, dusting off the back of my jeans. “This conversation isn’t really productive anymore. I get that you’re pissed off, but what did you expect? I can’t let you out. Not yet.”
He doesn’t move, just dangles the bottle from his fingertips and watches the water swish back and forth.
I start toward the door, keeping an eye on him nevertheless.
“Yes,” he says.
I stop in another patch of light and turn. “What?”
“Yes, would you check on Myra for me? Tell her I’m fine and I’ll…” He shoves a hand through his hair, which is already askew from who knows how many times he repeated the motion. “I’ll hopefully see her soon.”
I nod, meeting his gaze. “You will. ’Bye, Logan.”
I ease through the opening. I’m about to push the rock back when he appears on the other side.
I slap a hand to my chest. “Logan. You scared me.”
His lips move in a ghost of a smile, features taut with strain. “Sorry. Are you going to come back?”
I think on this for a moment, debating on trying to use some leverage or something here. But it’s not in me right now. Finally, I just nod. “I will. I’ll bring you some more water and maybe some food or something. You still eat, right? Or did that change after the full moon, too?”
He gives a low laugh. “Yeah, I still eat.”
I nod and he backs away. I work for a few minutes to shove the rock farther over the opening, but leaving it partly to the side so Logan has some light. I have to figure this out soon. He can’t stay in there forever.
On my way to Logan’s house, I call Cheyenne.
“What’s up?” she asks in her usual cheerful tone.
“I’m going to Logan’s house. Can you meet me there?”
She sighs. “How did I know you were going to say something like that?”
“I need to check on Myra.”
“Psycho vampire sister who tried to strangle you?”
“Cheyenne.”
I can envision her shrugging on the other end of the phone. “It’s true.” She pauses before speaking again. “You visited Logan, didn’t you?”
Again, I could lie but there’s no point. “Yes.”
“Of course. Your mom‒”
“Just call her Faye.”
“Faye,” Cheyenne corrects, “needs time to look around for those books. I’ll leave her here and be there in five.”
I wait for her in the circle drive, leaning against the car and wondering if Myra knows I’m here. I have the necklace and I’m pretty sure she can’t be too much of a danger to me. Not with how sick she is.
When Cheyenne arrives, she looks around. “Ryan still at home?”
I nod.
“Still in doggy mode?”
I frown and push away from the car. “Yeah. He tried to stop me from leaving. I guess I probably should have left the back door open for him or something in case he needed to, uh, you know, go out.”
She makes a face. “Gross.”
“He wasn’t being very understanding.”
She eyes the house. “Of you wanting to spend time with vampires? Hmm, can’t blame him.”
“I’m not asking you to agree with me. I just want you to understand where I’m coming from.”
She props her sunglasses on top of her head, pausing on the porch. “I get it, trust me. You just haven’t lived here for years like me and Ryan. You haven’t grown up with the myths and stories‒and realities. We’re natural enemies with the vampires. And that logic has been engrained into us our whole lives.”
I reach out and ring the doorbell. “Makes sense.”
“So,” Cheyenne says with a roll of her eyes, “I’ll try to play nice. But if she starts anything like her brother did, I can’t make any guarantees.”
I smile at her. “Thank you.”
Myra opens the door a moment later. I see the whites of her knuckles when she clenches her hand on the door knob. “You brought a werewolf here?”
Cheyenne grins. “Nice boots.”
Myra doesn’t look flattered at the compliment.
“How do you know she’s a werewolf?” I ask Myra.
She crosses her arms, still blocking the doorway. Her eyes are hooded by heavy lids and my stomach twists with sympathy. “I can sense it.”
Cheyenne glances at me with a smirk. “We all have our own abilities. She can sense paranormals and I can sense her feelings right now. I can tell she’s trying not to vomit all over her pretty boots.”
“Bite me,” Myra says.
Cheyenne flashes a smile. “I believe that’s your territory.”
Myra starts to say something else, but I step between them. “Please. We didn’t come here to argue. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Myra narrows her eyes. Finally, she steps back and gestures to the foyer. “I’m fine.”
I step inside, but Myra keeps her gaze on Cheyenne. Her back is straight and she looks poised for a fight.
“Do you have my Book of Shadows?” I ask.
Myra nods. “It’s hidden well.”
Cheyenne glances at me.
“I’ll give it back,” Myra says, “if you tell me where Logan is.”
“I can’t until you give it to me.”
She lifts her eyebrows. “Looks like we’re stuck.”
Cheyenne rolls her eyes but keeps her opinion to herself.
“Who was that you took out of here earlier?” Myra asks.
“My mom,” I say, surprised.
Cheyenne frowns. “You didn’t know who Logan had in his own basement?”
“He’s a big fan of handling things on his own,” Myra says. “He asked me if I wanted to come and stay with him, said he was going to try to help me, but said he didn’t want to get my hopes up. I didn’t even know your mom was in the basement until you came over.”
Cheyenne’s voice goes sharp and heated. “Do you know why Willow’s mom was in the basement? Do you know why Willow was here? Your brother wasn’t just having friends over for company‒he kidnapped Willow. How can‒”
“Stop.” I shake my head at Cheyenne at the same time Myra starts coughing. It sounds so painful, I wince.
“Oh, hell,” Cheyenne says. She grabs my arm. “Come on, let’s get some water.”
“I’m fine,” Myra chokes out.
Cheyenne ignores her and I steer her toward the kitchen. When I reach for the cupboard with the glasses, she lifts her eyebrows. “Wow, you sure know your way around Logan’s kitchen.”
I scowl at her but don’t answer. I’ve already told her Logan wasn’t exactly a tyrant when I was here. Sure, I was his captive, but he didn’t hurt me. He fed me and made sure I was comfortable and charmed me more than I’m comfortable admitting.
I fill the glass with water as Myra wanders into the kitchen. She takes the glass from me and drinks most of it before seating herself on one of the stools at the counter.
“He told me you were going to help,” Myra said. Her eyes are rimmed in red, but she holds my gaze. “He told me there was a chance you could reverse the curse. When I got here to Shadow Hill, I could feel the change. I felt better. I still feel better than I did before. I actually…” She looks down at her water. “I actually let myself hope for a while. Let myself believe maybe I could get better.
“That probably made me overlook the truth of it all,” Myra continues. She gives a choked laugh. “I mean, come on, it’s not like I didn’t know what he was doing. Trying to reverse the curse. It’s what my other brother has wanted for years. But Logan…” She sighs, holds her hands out in appeal. “He was trying to help. In his
own weird way.”
I glance at Cheyenne, but she only shakes her head. I guess convincing her is going to take more work. And Ryan…well, he might never be convinced.
“I want to help,” I tell Myra.
She doesn’t say anything. This time she’s the one who glances at Cheyenne.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Cheyenne angles her head toward the hallway.
I sigh and follow her, leaving Myra in the kitchen. When we stop in the hallway, Cheyenne shoves her hands in her hair and closes her eyes. “Are you kidding me, Willow?”
“What?”
She opens her eyes and shakes her head. “You want to help her?”
“I don’t mean reverse the curse, I mean see if there’s something I can do to help her feel better.”
Cheyenne narrows her eyes. “What, like a healing spell or something?”
“Or something. I mean, if I can do other spells, I might be able to do this, right? And it’s a lot better than unleashing all kinds of evil. Obviously Myra and Logan don’t want the curse reversed necessarily, they just want to make her feel better. Maybe this is how we can keep the spell intact and make Myra and Logan happy.”
Keeping the spell intact means all paranormal power is limited. The vampires can’t become full vampires, werewolves won’t change at the full moon, and so on. It’s in all our best interests to put the spell back in place.
She taps her fingers against her lips. “Maybe.”
I laugh. “That’s all?”
“What else am I supposed to say? It might work. Or you might tell Myra you’ve trapped her brother and she might try to nibble on you‒”
“I heard that!” Myra calls from the kitchen.
Cheyenne’s eyed widen. “See? Or”‒she lowers her voice‒“you might let Logan out and he’ll nibble on you, too. I don’t think he’s going to be happy about how things turned out.”
“Then I’ll convince him that this is the best plan.”
“You’re crazy.”
I smile at her. “One of my more endearing qualities. Tell me you’ll help me.”
She folds her arms.
“Come on,” I coax. “You know you want to. You said your life was more interesting since I came to Shadow Hill.”
She lifts her eyebrows.
“I’ll make a love potion for you, and then you can make all the cute guys in Shadow Hill fall in love with you.”
She laughs. “All the cute guys in Shadow Hill already are in love with me. I’m an independent woman, I don’t have time for romance.”
“Come on, there’s got to be something I can bribe you with.”
“Maybe…” She glances to the kitchen. “Myra’s boots.”
“I heard that!” Myra calls again.
I roll my eyes. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 3
I steel myself for seeing my mom again. I have the feeling if given too much time to think about it, I’d come up with a million ways to tell her how disappointed I am in her for leaving me and my father. So instead I decide to stick to the facts. I need to do some spells and she’s the only other witch I know right now.
I follow Cheyenne up the steps to my mother’s house, clenching and unclenching my fists. I’ve been in her house a few times this past week but never when she was home.
She still looks tired when she meets us at the door. Her hazel eyes are the same shape as mine and our hair color matches almost to a tee. My father always used to tell me how much we looked alike. It always made me angry, too. After all, what good was looking like someone you barely even knew? Someone who didn’t want to know you.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Faye says. She gestures to the couch. “I found a journal from someone in the original coven who did the binding spell.”
Cheyenne sits but scoots forward at the information. “You did?”
Faye nods, her eyes straying to me. “It was the spell they did to bind the original four powers in Shadow Hill.”
“If we know the spell, can’t we do it again to make it…you know, intact?” I ask.
“I’m not sure. I’d know more if I could look at my Book of Shadows. And it seems to be missing.”
I stand and start pacing. “It’s not here. Logan has it.”
She glances at me sharply. “How did he get it?”
“I sort of…took it from your house.” I try not to sound so guilty. Like I’m in trouble with my mom‒which is exactly what’s happening. “And then Logan sort of took it from me.”
She frowns.
“Look,” I say, putting my hands on my hips, “you weren’t here. I had no idea what was going on and I needed answers. So I found them where I could.”
Faye’s eyes soften, but her voice does not. “I kept you in the dark for a reason.”
“That wasn’t your choice to make. You didn’t just take away my family, you took away my heritage. I kept making fire and I had no idea why.” I draw in a shaky breath. So much for not wanting to talk about our past. “Did you even know about Dad?”
“I heard about him passing,” Faye says, dropping her chin. “I’m sorry.”
“You heard and you didn’t do anything? You didn’t call or come for his funeral. How could you? How could you do‒”
“Willow,” Cheyenne says.
“What?” I ask. “I’m in this mess because of her and the least she could have done was called. Or told me what was going on. Sent a letter or something‒since being around me clearly isn’t something she wants to do.”
I hate that my voice is unsteady. That my mom is standing here, taking it, instead of fighting back. Or arguing with me. I want a fight, I want to scream and blame, and instead she’s nodding like what I’m saying makes perfect sense.
I swallow hard and turn to the door. “I can’t do this. Not now.”
“Wait.” Faye’s voice is quiet but authoritative. “Please, Willow. Don’t go yet.”
Frowning, I turn to face her. I cross my arms. “What?”
She bites her lip, another characteristic we share. Another thing to add to the list of what makes me angry about her. I don’t want to share anything with this woman. But now, she’s the only parent I have left.
“There’s a bigger picture here,” she says. “I want to do whatever’s necessary to stop the spell from being broken. If we have to stick to that for now, that’s fine. Whatever you want.”
Cheyenne shoots me a look of appeal as if to say, If she can do this, why can’t you?
I run a hand over my face. “Fine.”
“We’ll need my Book of Shadows,” Faye says.
“Or mine,” I say.
Her mouth opens and closes soundlessly. After a moment, she says, “Where did you get your Book of Shadows?”
Not from you. But I don’t say it out loud even though she’s the one who was supposed to give me my book in the first place. “Selena showed me where it was.”
Faye’s shoulders tense. “Selena…as in our ancestor Selena?”
I nod, point to the necklace. “She gave me this, too.”
Faye sinks into a chair and drops her head in her hands.
“What?” Cheyenne asks.
Faye doesn’t say anything, just shakes her head.
“I’m not up for this shit,” I tell her. Cheyenne looks at me again. “I’m sorry, but if you have something to say, then just say it. Otherwise, I have stuff I need to do.”
“Selena was a very powerful witch,” Faye says. “Yes, she was instrumental in working the original binding spell because she was a Keeper of the Flame, but her motives for that spell weren’t…” She sighs. “They weren’t warranted. She lied to the rest of the coven in order for them to help with the spell.”
I sink to the couch on the opposite side of the room. “But I thought she‒and the rest of the witches‒wanted to stop the vampires.”
“They did. And they were right to do so. The vampires weren’t being responsible with their power. Or at least some of them.
But Selena…” Faye sighs. “She wanted the spell for revenge. She put hatred into that spell and her magic was dark. I imagine that dark magic is being carried over. To you.”
“I don’t understand,” I say. “Selena’s been helping me. I wouldn’t have gotten out of Logan’s house if not for her. I wouldn’t have found the cave.”
“I’m just saying, you have to be careful. You’re already connected to her through blood. If she can reach you through spirit, that bond is only going to get stronger.”
“Then maybe that will give us the help we need to stop this.”
“I can’t tell you what to do, but‒”
“No, you can’t.” I stand again. “That ship has sailed.”
The room goes silent. Maybe I’m unwilling to accept Faye’s advice on principle. She hasn’t been there to give me any for years. But Selena helped me. She didn’t seem evil, she seemed sad. Like she hoped that things turned out better for me than they did for her‒even though I really don’t know what happened to her. More research I need to do while I’m here, I guess.
“So…” Cheyenne says. “The Book of Shadows. Myra said she’d give it to us if we tell her where Logan is.”
“That’s right.”
Cheyenne smiles. “Tell her, that’s fine. She won’t be able to get him out.”
“Why not?” Faye asks.
“I did a spell to trap him in the cave.”
“And it worked?”
I frown. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it?”
“I’m just surprised that you had that much power so fast. I…” She tries a smile, but it comes across as more of a grimace. “I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always good at everything you tried.”
I don’t answer. I don’t know how to feel about that. Maybe she’s kept track of me throughout the years. Maybe she remembers from when I was younger. I’m not sure I want to know.
“Why don’t we talk with Myra again?” Cheyenne asks. “Try to make a deal.”
I nod. “I’ll talk to her.”
“Tomorrow.”
I narrow my eyes at Cheyenne. “Why tomorrow?”
“Because everyone needs to rest. And tomorrow maybe Ryan will be back to his normal self. So there will be more of us for the worst-case scenario.”
