Never Look Back

by Sheri WhiteFeather

  Allie blew out the breath she'd been holding. "Maybe the employee who closed the store forgot."

  "Maybe." He walked over to the museum entrance, which was secured with a wrought-iron gate, a lock he still had to pick. On the other side of it was another alarm, a much more sophisticated system, set up to protect the museum.

  Allie knew the layout. Daniel had briefed her and Raven, using the diagram he'd made.

  "This is getting weirder," Daniel said. "The gate isn't locked."

  Raven stepped forward. "Do you think the other alarm will be disabled, too?"

  "Most likely." Daniel turned toward Allie. "Someone probably knew we were coming. And he or she is making it easy on us."

  Chills crept up her spine. "It could be Zinna."

  "Or Rory or Fallon," Raven put in.

  Daniel squinted. "Are both of you ready to find out?"

  She nodded, skimming Raven's hand, knowing they didn't have a choice. It was now or never.

  Daniel went first and checked the alarm. Just as they'd suspected, it wasn't engaged.

  Allie took charge from there. "We're probably going to have to fight our way out of this. If Zinna is waiting for us, she'll put entities in our way. Monsters, bewitched animals, whatever she can conjure."

  "Is that what she did to you and your sister last year?" Daniel asked, as they waited to step farther into the museum.

  She nodded. "Raven, you need to be exceptionally careful. Until the curse is broken, Zinna has a supernatural hold on you." She turned back to Daniel. "You go for the amulet, as we originally planned. Only instead of picking the lock on the case, you can smash the glass if you need to. You have a hammer in your backpack, don't you?"

  "Yes." He removed the tool and looped it inside his belt. "I brought spiritual items, too." He handed Raven a plastic bottle with an image of the Virgin Mary on it. "It's holy water, blessed by a priest. You'll probably need this more than I will." A second later, he gave Raven a turquoise rosary. "This, too."

  Raven fingered the strand. "Did you know turquoise beads were used by the Apache as protection against witchcraft?"

  Daniel shook his head. "I've had that rosary for years. I use it in church every Sunday."

  Raven thanked the other man. "I'll return it afterward. And someday, I'll have an important gift for you."

  "You already offered me something special," Daniel said, shooting a quick glance at Allie.

  She took a shaky breath. She knew he was talking about her. "We need to get going, guys. And be ready for anything."

  They turned the corner and took cautious steps where scattered security lights cast shadows over the museum floor.

  Nothing happened.

  The building was as quiet as a tomb.

  "This is creeping me out," Daniel whispered.

  "Me, too." Allie led the way, heading toward the Native American exhibits. The witch energy was strong. She could feel it blasting through her veins.

  They reached the display of The Vanessa, but still nothing happened.

  "What should I do?" Daniel asked.

  "Pick the lock," Allie told him. "Maybe we'll be able to switch the necklaces and get out of this without any trouble."

  "I hope so." Raven frowned at the stuffed owls, as though waiting for them to blink, to come alive.

  Allie was on edge, too. Why would the security systems be disarmed if no one was waiting for them?

  Daniel went to work on opening the case. She'd heard that picking locks required more than mechanical skills. Analytical thinking was involved, too. Daniel was deep in thought, exploring the device carefully, with a small packet of tools at his disposal and a freestanding flashlight.

  She could tell the lock on the case was more complex than the one at the entrance.

  "Are you having trouble?" Allie asked.

  "No, but this is going to take a few minutes."

  "That's fine." She studied the owls. They were dead still. "There's nothing supernatural happening."

  Suddenly a distant sound, like someone rattling a door, jarred the silence.

  The thief started. "What was that?"

  "I don't know." Allie glanced around. Raven was looking in all directions, too.

  The sound intensified.

  "Someone might be locked in Rory's office. Either that or Zinna is playing a trick on us." She told Raven to stay with Daniel. Then to Daniel she said, "If anything dangerous happens before you pick the lock, break the glass and give Raven the amulet. Make sure he has it."

  Daniel frowned at her. "You're not going off on your own."

  She challenged him. "Yes, I am. We need to know who or what we're dealing with."

  The knocking continued. "So we'll all go."

  "No way. You have to get that lock open, and Raven has to stay near the amulet."

  Daniel remained protective. "If you're not back in five minutes, I'm coming after you."

  Her stomach fluttered. He was looking at her with too much emotion in his eyes. "Just make sure you have Raven and the real amulet with you."

  His acquiescence was a silent nod.

  She shifted her attention to Raven, and her lover moved closer, kissing her softly on the mouth. "Be careful."

  "I will."

  "You can kiss Daniel, too," Raven whispered.

  Her heart went haywire. "What?"

  "For luck," Raven said just as quietly.

  They didn't have time for this, she thought. But God help her, she wanted to kiss Daniel.

  She shook her head at Raven. "I can't."

  "But Daniel is in love with you." His words were barely audible. "The way I'll always love Vanessa." He paused to smooth her veil. "I can tell by the way he looks at you."

  "I still can't kiss him." She kept her voice low, too. "Not here. Not like this."

  She glanced at Daniel. He was working on the lock, doing his damnedest to get it open. She doubted that he knew that she and Raven were talking about him.

  Raven stepped back, and she left the counterfeit necklace with Daniel, so he could switch it with the real one once he opened the case.

  Their gazes locked, and they stared at each other. But just for a second. Her heart went haywire again. Was she in love with him, too?

  She turned away, taking a cautious path to Rory's office. She couldn't think about love. Not now.

  She passed the Wicca exhibits. Luckily the energy felt positive, safe.

  By the time she reached her destination, all sorts of vibrations, good and bad, flowed through her. The museum was filled with too many types of witchcraft, and all of them seemed to be vying for her attention.

  Standing outside of Rory's office, she listened to the insistent rattle, the sound of someone trying to get out.

  She put her hand on the doorknob and it turned easily.

  Too easily.

  The door wasn't locked.

  Allie opened it cautiously, preparing to battle with whatever was on the other side.

  And discovered Fallon alone in the tiny room, staring at her as if she were a vampire who'd come to suck her blood.

  Allie stood perfectly still, and the college student backed away, whispering some sort of protective chant. The words weren't clear. But Fallon seemed truly afraid.

  "It's me. Allie."

  "Oh, my stars." The blonde sagged against the desk, catching her breath. "Why are you made up like that?"

  "First you tell me why you're here. And why you were rattling a door that wasn't even locked."

  "It was locked. I swear it was." Fallon looked delicate in the dim light. She wore white pants and a pink blouse. On her his wrists, she sported her usual Celtic bracelets. "After Rory left, I was supposed to close the store, to set the alarms. But I didn't."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I was going to borrow The Vanessa and try to break the curse. But I got stuck in here when I was looking for the key to the display case."

  "Rory doesn't keep the keys to the exhibits in his office."

 
"Yes, he does. Or that's what he told me." Fallon glanced around. "Did Rory set me up?"

  "I don't know." Allie wasn't sure what to believe. "Why didn't I see your car in the parking lot?"

  "I used a glamour spell to make it look like it wasn't there." Fallon heaved a shaky breath. "I didn't want to get caught, for anyone to know I was here."

  "But here I am."

  "Lugh must have sent you. I've been calling to all of the Celtic deities, especially Lugh. He's the greatest of Celtic Gods."

  Allie wanted to believe Fallon. She wanted to believe those deities would keep them safe. "Let's go."

  "Where?"

  "To borrow The Vanessa and break the curse." She took Fallon's hand, determined to keep a close eye on her, to pray she was as innocent as she seemed.

  They stepped out of the office, and Fallon squeezed her fingers. "Thank you, Allie."

  "For what?"

  "Trusting me."

  Allie didn't say anything.

  Fallon kept talking. "You must be really powerful. Why else would the office door have opened for you? The Gods are on your side."

  Once again, Allie remained quiet.

  They turned a corner, and suddenly shadows seemed to be looming, rising like monsters preparing to strike.

  And then they saw Rory. He stumbled forward, his clothes torn, his skin scratched.

  Like marks from an owl.

  "Run!" he screamed at Allie. "Get away from her!"

  But it was too late. Fallon tightened her grip.

  Right before Allie was thrust straight into hell.

  The shadows turned to demons, foggy shapes with fire-red eyes. They flew at Allie, swirling around her and Fallon. The college student was smiling, leering at her through the mist.

  Lying bitch.

  Allie broke free of Fallon's hold, the fundamentals of close-quarter combat pounding in her mind.

  She went into the warrior stance. She wasn't an expert. But she'd learned the basics: to create permanent damage to her opponent's body with every technique.

  Only most of her opponents didn't have solid bodies. The demons circled Fallon, protecting her.

  Allie balled her hand into a fist and pushed her arm through one of the entities, trying to get to Fallon. The evil creature turned poker-hot, scalding her skin, turning it an angry shade of red.

  Shit.

  She pulled back, and the burning sensation went away. She glanced at Rory and saw that he was trying to break the glass on a fire extinguisher, but he was too shaky to accomplish the task. His wounds, the claw marks from an owl, dripped blood down his arms.

  Allie rushed toward him, grabbed the breaker bar and shattered the glass.

  "Use it," he said, slumping to the floor.

  She knew what he meant. Blast the demons. Freeze them with the chemical inside the extinguisher.

  Would it work?

  Allie realized they were in the neo-Gothic section of the museum, an area that focused on the beliefs and practices of modern Satanists.

  The demons really were from hell.

  Fire and brimstone.

  Determined to beat the odds, she said a Christian prayer, drawing on the crucifix Daniel had given her, relying on the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Then she pulled the pin on the locking device and aimed the extinguisher at the circle of creatures rallying around Fallon.

  Squeezing the handle, Allie used the extinguisher like an automatic weapon. The chemical shot out, hitting the red-eyed entities, freezing them in place.

  But the blast only lasted about forty seconds, not long enough to keep them immobile. They swooped Fallon into the air, shielding her from Allie's wrath, from the prayers she kept reciting her in mind.

  "Come on." Allie grabbed Rory's wounded arms and dragged him to his feet. She couldn't leave him in the satanic section.

  "The curse is real," he muttered.

  There was no point in saying, "I told you so." The man was weak and bleeding. "I have to get to Raven and Daniel," she said instead. "To The Vanessa."

  Rory held on to her, and the demons followed them, floating in the air, with Fallon as their passenger.

  "We need to go to a safe section," Rory said.

  By "safe," he meant an area that housed positive witchcraft energy. "I can't do that." She couldn't leave Daniel and Raven alone. She had no idea what was happening to them, if Zinna was toying with them, too. Playing her sick game. "I'll take you to a safe area."

  When they came to the Gardnerian Wicca section, she left Rory there. Ancient artwork of sky-clad rituals lined the walls, where the witches were naked, clad only to the sky.

  It beat the hell out of red-eyed, mist-bodied demons, Allie thought. She took off running, her boots echoing on the hardwood floor.

  The creatures dashed after her, bringing Fallon with them. When Allie reached the Native American section, she saw Daniel and Raven fighting off the taxidermy owls. The birds had come to life, their eyes glowing, their talons sharp and fierce.

  The Vanessa was still locked inside its case.

  Or was it?

  Daniel might have switched the amulets by now. Allie couldn't tell.

  An owl came toward her, and she grabbed its wing and tore the flesh. Behind her, the demons hissed. She spun around and saw that Fallon was on her feet.

  The blonde smiled. "Zinna adopted me."

  "No kidding?" Allie lunged forward and kicked Fallon square in the knee, using a move that made the little twit buckle.

  The demons went crazy, coming after Allie.

  "Holy water," Daniel shouted at Raven.

  The age-old warrior, who was battling a Pueblo witch that had sprung into action from a faded sketch on the wall, reached into his pocket and tossed the container to Allie. She flipped the lid and squirted the demons with the holy water.

  They sizzled like hamburgers on a grill, then crumbled into a pile of ashes.

  She tossed the plastic bottle back to Raven, knowing he needed as much protection as possible.

  All of the Native American exhibits were coming to life. A clay image doll, which had grown as tall as Allie, was pounding her with its fists.

  Fallon stood up and ran to The Vanessa. She removed a gun from a holster beneath her shirt and smashed the glass, grabbing the amulet.

  Was it the real one?

  Raven and Daniel didn't react, but how could they? They were engaged in physical fights, just like Allie. She realized it was part of Zinna's game, of her amusement.

  Fallon could have taken the amulet before now, especially since she was armed, but Zinna had wanted her to do it in front of Allie, to prove that Allie couldn't win. That she couldn't save Raven.

  Like hell.

  Allie shattered the image doll, breaking the clay into jagged pieces, using the combat techniques she'd been practicing for a year.

  She glanced at Daniel and saw that he was sparring with a skinwalker, a shape-shifting Navajo witch, another being that had come to life from a drawing.

  The skinwalker was exceptionally strong, but so was Daniel. Fearless Fly kicked ass.

  Allie dove after Fallon, who had the amulet clutched in her hand. If it was the genuine necklace, then she couldn't let Zinna's groupie have it. And if it was the fake, her best ploy was to pretend it was real.

  She struggled with Fallon, fighting for control.

  And then Zinna appeared, taking the shape of a human-size owl.

  As she swooped down from the ceiling, the building rattled, the museum shaking as though it were located on an earthquake fault.

  While Allie dodged a falling beam, Zinna went right for Raven, pinning him against the wall and tearing open his shirt, clawing his chest the way she'd done a hundred years ago. He sagged to the ground, caught in the witch's spell.

  Daniel was next.

  Then Allie.

  Her great-grandmother slashed her arms, sending a stream of poison through her veins. She fell forward, weak and bloody.

  One. Two. Three.
/>   Zinna was winning.

  Chapter 17

  Allie wasn't paralyzed, but she could barely move. Daniel and Raven were in the same condition.

  Allie didn't think that Zinna's power had returned to its full force, but even with a portion of her magic restored, she'd captured them.

  Her great-grandmother shifted into human form. The only owl-like features that remained were the golden color of her eyes and the two silver streaks of hair that framed her face.

  She was tall and slim, dressed in clothes from the era in which she'd lived and died. As an owl she was a solid being, but as a person, she had a translucent quality, misty, like a ghost.

  She looked right at Allie. "You're on the wrong side, Allie-cat. Isn't she, Fallon?"

  "Yes, she is." The blonde moved forward, limping a little, affected by the knee injury Allie had given her. She held up the amulet she'd taken from the case, dangling it like a hypnotist's pendulum. "We're going to rule the supernatural world."

  Suddenly Zinna merged with Fallon, and they became one person, one evil entity. Even their features had fused. Fallon's eyes turned gold, and the front of her hair became silver.

  "Zinna is part of me now," she said to Allie. "We belong to each other."

  She walked toward Raven, but she was no longer limping. She knelt in front of him. He tried to kick her, but his legs were too weak.

  She put her face next to his and kissed him on the mouth, deeply, sexually, forcing her tongue down his throat. Allie knew it was Zinna who was trying to seduce him.

  He wasn't physically strong enough to push her away, to defend himself. But when it ended, he spit at Fallon, degrading Zinna through her groupie.

  Fallon screeched like an owl, letting Zinna's nonhuman voice rumble from her chest. The she slammed the back of Raven's head against the wall, punishing him for what he'd done.

  As weak as he was, Allie knew he was still immortal. But only until Zinna took the rest of his soul. Then he would die a painful death, where the witch would torture him forever.

  "It's time," Fallon said, swinging the amulet once again.

  Allie glanced at Daniel. He was slumped on the floor beside her. He met her gaze, and she saw the truth in his eyes. Fallon was flaunting the counterfeit amulet.

  Raven had the real one.