No, maybe not, there was a chance she would survive this. If she went into this battle with the attitude she was going to die, then she would. The Book said if she could find herself afterward and regain her essence, the spell would break.
But it also said that once the power was unleashed, it would not be easily controlled and it would consume the person who invoked it. She hated putting the burden of destroying her on Landon and the rest of the coven, but she had to do it.
“Avery, please answer me,” Reid implored.
She couldn’t look at him. The sight of his face and the immense love she had for him would undo her. She would find the strength to come back to herself. She would do it for him, for her family, and her friends, but she couldn’t think about it now.
“Avery, where are we going?” Eric demanded.
“You’ll see,” she finally choked out.
“You had better tell us,” Isla said. “I’m tired of this.”
“All I’m asking is for you to trust me for another hour. That’s it.”
“I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you.”
“Stop it!” Alex said. “We’ve come this far; what difference does another hour make?”
“It’s going to make a big difference if she and her boyfriend kill us,” Shawn retorted.
Reid stiffened beside her, and she saw the distressed look in his eyes when he turned toward her. She wanted to assure him it wasn’t her, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak again.
“What is with the sunglasses?” Sandra asked. “It’s nighttime. Are you hiding something, Avery?”
More than you know, but she didn’t respond. The familiar road rushed past in a blur, and Avery realized they were almost there. It would all be over soon. And for the first time, she allowed herself to think about what would happen. This was going to get ugly.
“Make the next left,” she told Mario as ugly storm clouds built overhead.
He obliged but kept casting her furtive glances in the rearview mirror. Avery navigated him through the back roads until she directed him down a bumpy dirt road and to a house nestled between some large pines and maples. The coven didn’t know whose house it was, but she did.
“Park on the road,” she instructed. She didn’t want anyone inside to know they were here yet.
Rosie leaned over the seat and in between Avery and Reid to look at the old, colonial house. “What are we doing here?”
A rage, so fierce it seemed alive, coursed through Avery as she stared at the home she knew so well. Beside her, Rosie froze before turning to gape at her. She edged away as if Avery were a rattlesnake ready to strike.
“Avery—” Reid started.
“Get out,” she managed to grate through her teeth.
She felt the apprehension filling the van as they stared at her. They were terrified of her, but she couldn’t do anything about it. “Get out!”
She grasped the handle and slid open the door. The November wind buffeted her, but she didn’t feel the chill of it. The air hummed with electricity as the storm built in power. She’d heard something about storms earlier, but she hadn’t been paying much attention. When a branch broke in the woods, Mario and Rosie jumped and turned toward the sound.
“Avery, please tell me what we’re doing here,” Reid said.
She was too close to losing it to respond. Anger and despair washed through her as she stared at the house. The lights downstairs were on, and she saw the flicker of a TV. The only car in the driveway was one she recognized; she wished it wasn’t here, but she couldn’t do anything about it.
When she gripped Landon’s arm, Landon jumped, and Avery wondered if she felt the power oozing out of her. She was keeping it restrained and the cloaking spell in place, but maybe something leaked out.
She had to keep the spell up until they had Regan, and then she could let it all out, but before then, no one, especially Regan, could know how much power was inside her. They would think she was just losing control of her abilities, which was scary enough.
“Come with me,” Avery said briskly. “The rest of you, stay here.”
Landon hesitated before following her to the back of the van. A glance at the rest of the coven assured Avery they weren’t going to follow. Avery opened the back door on the van and removed the duffel bag before taking the note from her pocket.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen to me once we’re inside. If you lose me, and there’s a good chance you will, this note explains how to stop me when this is done.”
Landon’s lower lip trembled as tears filled her beautiful eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I can’t explain it, but the note will. I won’t hurt the coven, that much I will control, but I don’t know what else will happen. It won’t be hard to stop me.”
Avery undid the clasp of her necklace and handed her crystal to Landon who glanced at it when the essence inside shifted. Avery’s life now rested in Landon’s hand.
“I wrote the words of the spell down,” Avery said. “The coven will have to say them together, and then you break the crystal.”
“Avery, I don’t understand.”
“You will soon.”
Avery shoved the note into Landon’s hand and closed her fingers around Landon’s. She had to get it all out, and she had to make sure Landon understood what she might have to do. The power within Avery was starting to come undone as the spirits, sensing they were close to the end, tried to take control.
“There’s a note for Reid at my house, make sure he knows about it, Landon. And tell him I will always love him. Make sure you tell him that,” Avery said.
Tears streamed down Landon’s face as she stared from the note to Avery and back again. “What have you done?”
“What had to be done. It’s going to end tonight, Landon.”
“But at what cost?”
“We always knew there would be a price to pay to defeat him and we wouldn’t all survive. You’ll do what I asked?”
“I don’t know if I can.” Landon’s whisper barely reached Avery’s ears.
Avery inhaled a deep breath as she labored to keep her borrowed power restrained. She needed Landon’s reassurance this would happen before she let go of her control.
“I know you can. That’s why I chose you. Promise me, Landon, you’ll protect the coven no matter what it takes.”
Landon bit her bottom lip as tears flowed down her face. Finally, her shoulders straightened, and she managed a brisk nod. “I promise.”
Relief coursed through her and she squeezed Landon’s hand. Landon jumped, and her eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Avery. Releasing Landon’s hand, Avery removed the bag of bones from the van and draped it over her shoulder.
“What’s in the bag?” Landon asked.
“Regan.”
Avery didn’t wait to hear Landon’s reply as she turned and walked back to the others. Even with the sunglasses on, the world was more vivid than normal as she stared at the coven illuminated in the glow of the headlights. Suddenly, she remembered the first time she saw them.
They’d seemed so beyond her and everything she was. She’d been overwhelmed by the beauty and grace they possessed, but she’d grown to love them all. They were her flesh, her blood, her soul, and her history. She would die for any one of them; she would gladly die for all of them. If she had any doubts about the spell she cast, they vanished as a steel wave of determination strengthened her.
“Let’s go,” Avery said as thunder rumbled overhead.
“What are we doing here?” Isla grumbled as Avery led the way through the trees toward the front door.
“Where is here, and whose house is this?” Mario asked.
The wind whipping around her pulled at her clothes and blew her hair into her face. Thunder tore through the sky with a resounding crash that caused the coven to jump. Dead leaves blew across the ground as another tree branch snapped and the swaying trees groaned ominously.
The coven huddled
closer together when the sky split open, and a deluge of rain fell on them. The air around her sizzled, and water never touched her skin. The lightning crashing to the ground behind the house caused the earth to quake.
Avery glanced at the group to find Mario and Rosie gawking at her. Sandra stared at her with a mixture of awe and hopelessness. Tensed, Shawn looked like he was about to jump her. Isla and Eric backed away, but their eyes remained locked on her. Reid walked beside her with his shoulders back and his wet hair hanging into his despair-filled eyes. On her other side, Landon strode purposely forward.
When Avery arrived at the front door, she stood staring at it. The second this door opened, she would lose control of herself, and she couldn’t bring herself to step over that threshold; she had crossed too many tonight. Seeming to sense she couldn’t do it, Landon pushed the doorbell.
Avery’s heart raced as the air around her sizzled. The door was flung open, and a red haze of fury filled Avery’s vision until she couldn’t see who stood there. But she knew who was there; she would always know who was there because, at one time, she’d believed she knew that person as well as herself.
She’d been so horribly wrong.
“Avery!” the voice from the cloud cried. “What are you doing here?”
An all-consuming hatred flowed through her as she spoke. “Where’s the skull?”
She heard the collective gasps around her, but she still couldn’t see anything beyond the red.
“She’s lost her mind,” Mario muttered.
CHAPTER 38
“What are you talking about?” the person from the doorway asked.
The world snapped into focus, but everything remained clouded in red as Avery gazed at the girl in the doorway.
“What’s going on?” someone called from the other room before Tina and Karen emerged from the living room.
“She’s lost her mind,” Mario repeated.
“The pressure has finally made her snap,” Eric agreed.
Avery moved before the thought of doing it registered in her mind. With the deftness of a stalking cat and inhuman strength, she seized Lila by the neck and propelled her into the formal sitting room to the left of the door.
In all the years she’d known Lila, she’d only been in this room a handful of times as the pristine furniture and white throw rug was off limits to anyone under eighteen. Lila’s parents were at their weekly poker game tonight; otherwise, Mrs. Colston would have had a fit if she discovered them in here.
She carried Lila’s squirming body across the room before slamming her into the wall near the fireplace. Lila’s eyes bulged as she thrashed in Avery’s grasp.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” she choked as her fingers clawed at Avery’s hand.
The world turned red again, and her hand tightened around Lila’s neck. “Tell me where it is, or I’m going to kill you.”
“Avery, stop it!” Karen cried.
“Back off, Karen,” Landon cautioned.
“Lila can’t have the skull!” Tina yelled. “Avery, be careful with her neck; she’s still not fully healed.”
“She’s perfectly fine,” Avery growled. “Isn’t that right, Lila?” Lila’s eyes rolled, and Avery realized she was close to passing out. Avery eased her grip as she lowered Lila to the ground. “Miracle little recovery, wasn’t it?”
Lila’s brown eyes filled with fury. “What do you know about it?”
“I know you sold us out to Regan for that miracle.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Lila said. “What do you know about not being able to walk?”
“You were never going to be paralyzed. The doctors said you would walk again.”
“Not in time to save my scholarships.”
Avery thought she’d been infuriated before, but it was nothing compared to what went through her now. Thunder vibrated the entire house as her fingers bit into Lila’s throat. “You sold us out, helped torment and torture us, for a scholarship?”
“No, I did it for my dreams. I worked hard to get where I was, and I sacrificed so much. Do you have any idea how much time I’ve spent in a pool?”
“Yes,” Avery said because she’d been there for many of those practices and meets. She’d sat in the stands with Karen and Tina, cheering for Lila as she destroyed her competition.
“I was not going to let all of that be for nothing!” Lila shouted.
“Oh, Lila,” Tina breathed.
“How could you?” Karen whispered.
When the coven moved closer to Avery, she caught a brief glimpse of the astonishment on their faces.
“You don’t know!” Lila cried. “Don’t act all superior when you have no idea what it’s like to work for something your whole life only to have it ripped away by one stupid mistake.”
Avery couldn’t bring herself to speak as she glared at the girl who’d been her best friend since second grade. The depth of Lila’s betrayal was pushing her close to losing control, but no matter the suffering Lila had inflicted, Avery couldn’t kill her. They’d been through so much together, and as much as she wanted to hate Lila for everything she’d done, she could never forget the countless laughs and memories they shared.
Displeased with her unwillingness to kill Lila, the spirits within her churned as they sought to break free.
“Talia’s dead because of you,” Avery said.
“Talia’s dead because she was a threat to you! Regan did you a favor,” Lila spat.
“Who are you?” Tina whispered.
Avery was wondering the same thing. She’d spent nearly as much time in this house as her own over the years. Lila had slept in her room, shared her secrets, giggled about boys, held her when she cried, and whispered her hopes and dreams. She’d also listened as Avery and the others struggled to come up with a plan against Regan and watched them suffer, all while helping to destroy them.
“Where is the skull?” Sandra demanded as she stalked forward.
Landon seized Sandra’s arm and halted her. Sandra shot her a look, but when Landon gave a subtle shake of her head, she relented to Landon’s grasp.
“Where is it, Lila?” Avery inquired.
Lila tilted her chin defiantly as she released a snort of laughter.
“She’s not going to tell you,” Regan said from behind her.
Avery glanced at Regan as Karen and Tina edged away from where he’d materialized in the doorway of the sitting room. In spirit form, Avery could see through him to the hall beyond. She’d known he would appear, and she’d just hoped it would be as a spirit and not inside the body of some poor human. She would be able to get him out of the person, but she had no idea how they could explain all this to that person once they were free of Regan.
“You made her have nightmares too,” she stated.
He lifted one shoulder in an elegant shrug. “I had to cover our tracks. Lila understood; didn’t you, dear?”
“Yes.”
Avery turned her attention back to Lila who smiled smugly at her; Avery smiled back. “I have secrets too,” she whispered.
Alarm flashed through Lila’s eyes as she trembled in Avery’s grasp.
“I think she will tell me her secrets.” Avery felt like a snake stalking her prey, and she was more than ready to strike. “Won’t you, Lila?”
“No,” Lila said defiantly, but she continued to shake.
“How is this possible?” Tina demanded. “How could Lila have released Regan? She’s not a witch; she doesn’t have any powers.”
“Oh, it turns out that’s a fairly easy explanation,” Avery replied flippantly, her tone not revealing the fury coursing through her. “Lila is a descendant of witches. Years ago, one of her ancestors left Cape Cod and their coven behind. I’m not sure how many years ago it was; I’m guessing a few centuries as what little power she has is very weak, but I can sense it now.”
“Wait,” Mario said. “How do you know she’s descended from someone who left one of our covens?”
; “Because Lila knew about the witches on Cape Cod, but she believed they were only stories her mom told her, until she met my parents. She suspected I was a witch before I even knew they existed, and after my initiation, she knew I’d become one; she told me so. If you remember, Lila remained behind when we went to retrieve Regan’s skull from the cave. That was when Regan came to you, wasn’t it, Lila?”
Lila glared at her in response.
“After we unknowingly fed him some of our powers in the Nightmare realm, he was strong enough to connect with you because you do have some witch blood in you,” Avery continued. “And he knew you would have enough to release him from his skull once we bound him to it. I’m guessing you released him at the end of summer when you left us because you said you had to return home for more tests and therapy, but you went to Canada instead, didn’t you, Lila?”
Lila had the nerve to smile at her. “I told my parents I was staying with you and took a bus.”
It took everything Avery had not to punch her in the face. Instead, she leaned closer to the smaller girl. “If I were you,” she whispered, “I’d start acting a little more contrite. Things are not going to go your way.”
“She can’t hurt you, Lila,” Regan said.
“You went to Canada and got the skull.” Avery continued to ignore Regan. “In return for Regan’s promises that you would be the same as you were before the accident. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not,” Lila said.
“And he told you how to release him before we bound him to the skull.”
“Very clever, Avery,” Regan said. “Although, to tell you the truth, I’m a little disappointed you didn’t figure it out sooner.”
“So am I, but then I’ve recently learned I’m not the best judge of character. Plus, I never suspected my best friend would betray me.” Avery couldn’t keep the raw anguish from her voice, but she held back the sob lodged in her throat. “I should have let you die in that pool.”
Lila’s eyes widened when she realized Avery was serious.
Dream Walker (The Coven, Book 3) Page 19
