“About your future with the Order, of course.”
“Right. My future.” I glanced over my shoulder, looking for Trace. He was still with Nikki, talking privately. Damn that stupid heifer for monopolizing his time!
“Sure thing, Uncle Karl. Tomorrow sounds great. I'll just check my schedule and then, you know, get right back to you.” My phone buzzed in my hand, causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.
“Goodness, Jemma. What's gotten into you?”
“I'm just stressed out about everything that's going on,” I blurted out and then quickly tried to cover up my blunder. “You know, with school exams and everything. Will you excuse me, Uncle? I have to take this,” I added, pointing to my still-vibrating phone.
“Of course.” He took another drag of his cigar. “Enjoy the rest of your evening, Jemma. You never know when you'll get another chance like this.”
My eyes rounded out as I backed away from him. What the heck did that mean? Had he just threatened me? Turning away, I hit the green button and put the phone to my ear.
“Hello, angel,” greeted Dominic on the other end of the line.
“Something really weird is going on,” I said in a panicked whisper. “I think my uncle just threatened me.”
“I thought you were attending a social function.”
“I am. He's here too, and so is Trace's dad.” I glanced over my shoulder at where we'd just been standing, but the spot was already vacated. “I think they're up to something.”
“Who?”
“My uncle and Trace's dad! And God only knows how many other Council members are here.” I looked around nervously, trying to spot any familiar faces or suspicious persons-of-interest.
My eyes immediately fell on Nikki. She was alone now and walking clandestinely, like she was Nancy-freaking-Drew, looking over her shoulders as she skirted towards the wall of forest that kissed the edge of Taylor's backyard.
“What did he say to you?”
“I don't know, something about enjoying my night,” I said distractedly, following her.
“Oh, well, yes, that sounds highly suspicious,” he said sarcastically. I could hear rustling in the background.
“It was,” I insisted. “'Enjoy your night, you might not get another chance',” I repeated, trying to mimic his eerie tone. “Where are you anyway?”
“He actually said you might not get another chance?” he asked. “I'm close.”
“Or that I never know when I’ll get another chance?” I tried to recall his exact words but couldn't get my thoughts to run in a linear fashion. “Whatever. It was creepy and it sounded like he was trying to threaten me, or like, warn me about something.”
“Speaking of which. We need to talk, love.”
“About what?” I asked, watching curiously as Nikki reached the border of the forest and then flipped open her phone.
“About Engel.”
“Can it wait? I'm kind of in the middle of something.”
“Well, he's back in town, and that isn't even the bad news. You decide if it can wait.”
My heart skidded to a full stop and then exploded into overdrive. I quickly scanned the sprawling yard for Trace and spotted him alone at the bar, ordering a drink.
“What's the bad news?” I asked, turning my attention back to Nikki.
“For starters, he isn't working with the Dark Legion. I'm not sure that he ever was. He appears to have his own plans.”
“Which means he's still after the Amulet,” I guessed.
“It's a little more involved than that.”
“Meaning what?”
“Not on the phone, love. Can you slip away?”
“I think so. I just need to get Trace,” I said distractedly, watching as Nikki took one last glance over her shoulder and then slipped into the woods through a thin, skeletal opening. “What the hell is she up to now?”
“Who?”
“Nikki,” I answered, rushing towards the spot she'd just disappeared into. “She just took off into the woods. She's up to something! I'm going to follow her.” My heart thwacked hard against my ribcage at the thought of finally outing her.
“I strongly advise against it.”
“And why is that?” I asked without bothering to slow down.
“You don't know nearly enough about her to attempt to take her on. How do you know you're not walking into a trap?”
“I don't,” I answered simply. Stopping at the edge of the woods, I peeked over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching me. “She's up to something and I’m not about to let her get away with it. Besides, I have the Amulet, remember?”
“You're getting careless, love.”
“I know what I’m doing, Dominic. I'll call you right back,” I said and then hung up before he could say anything else.
I only had a few seconds to make a decision. There was no time to think twice about it or run back for reinforcements. Nikki was definitely up to something and this was my one chance to finally out her for the red-handed witch she really was.
I pushed through the pines and stepped into the woods.
40. SEASON OF THE WITCH
Skeletal branches scraped against my skin as I weaved through the dark forest, peering around looming pines and evergreens that seemed to reach all the way up to the pitch-black sky. The fog was dense, swimming along the forest floor like smoke, beckoning me forward into the land of the lost as I tried to gain some kind of visual on Nikki.
In the space behind me, I could still hear the muted sounds of the orchestra playing the echoes of a ghost song I couldn't name. Unknowing party-goers dancing contently among a slew of liars and cheaters who would gladly feed them to the enemy in the name of keeping their precious secrets.
A branch snapped up ahead of me, pulling my attention forward again. The tip of Nikki's blue dress caught my eye right before it disappeared around the bend of a narrow path that twisted and turned its way deeper into the woods.
Kicking off my shoes, I picked up my dress and started running after her, my feet crunching against the slush of earth and twigs and dead leaves I couldn't see under the thick skin of fog. My feet pounded hard against the ground, colliding with branches and rocks that sent sharp stabs of pain shooting up through my feet and legs. It was as though the forest were alive and well, and openly playing for Nikki's team.
I slowed down my pace as she came further into view. She was walking at a steady clip, weaving her way through the woodlands with an obvious motive and a clear destination. The further I walked into the woods, the louder my heart became, banging against my ribcage like gunshots sounding off inside my ears.
My eyes shifted from her to something further up ahead; a glimmering wall that fell from the sky like a translucent sheet made of soft blue lights and air.
The Magical Barrier.
What the heck was she doing near the Barrier?
I knew she was involved in casting the spell with Caleb and could have easily been checking on it to make sure everything was alright, but this was Nikki after all, and something was telling me her intentions were far less noble and pure than that.
She came to a full stop in front of the ghostly wall and waited, fidgeting with the phone in her hands as she gazed through the sheer Barrier.
It looked like she was waiting for someone. But who?
Hungry for more clues, for answers, I shuffled forward towards a thick, moss-covered oak tree, rooted in its yesteryears just a few feet away from her. I already had a good enough view, but I needed to get closer still. I needed to get close enough to testify against her in the court of Trace's eyes.
A branch snapped beneath my foot, freezing me mid-step.
Nikki spun on her heels at the sound of my fumble. Her narrowed, aquamarine eyes immediately fell on me as a sliver of a smile appeared on her deceitful mouth. “Well, isn't this rich,” she said, casually strolling towards me.
I brought my strangling foot to the ground and silently cursed the branches that decorated i
t. “What the hell are you doing out here, Nikki?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” she sneered as she crossed her thin arms across her chest. “Do you stalk all your boyfriend's exes, or am I just the special one?”
“If by special you mean a rocket-sized hemorrhoid in my ass, then yes, you're extremely special, Nikki.”
“Is that what I am?” She put her hand to her chest and feigned surprise. “Gosh, Jemma, I didn't know I was affecting you so very much. It's nice to know my efforts are paying off.”
“What are you doing out here?” I demanded again, choosing to ignore her obvious bait. “Who are you meeting?”
“None of your damn business.”
She tried to turn away from me but I quickly grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.
“You're standing in the middle of the woods right next to the barrier that happens to be keeping everyone I care about safe right now, and you think it's none of my business?”
“Get your damn hands off me!” she said, slapping my arm away.
“I know you're up to something, Nikki, and I’m not about to let you get away with it, so you might as well just call it off.”
“What makes you so sure I’m up to something?” she challenged. “Are you a Seer now too?”
“Yeah, I'm a seer. I see a wicked bitch in front of me that gets off on messing with people's lives.”
“I bet your boyfriend would disagree.”
“Actually, I happen to know for a fact that he wouldn't,” I retorted, each word slow and measured to ensure she got the point. Trace was on my side of the line. Not hers.
Her eyes darkened with fury. “Well, I guess we can't all be as special as you, Daughter of Hades.”
My stomach bottomed out.
“Didn't think I knew about that, did you?” The corner of her lip pushed up into her rosy cheek. “It's actually quite poetic if you think about it. I mean, I already knew you were a boyfriend-stealing skank, but who knew you were actually the she-devil herself?” Her biting laughter reached out through the air like a whip and slashed at my skin.
“Screw you, Nikki. You're just mad because Trace doesn't want you anymore. He wants me now.”
“Yeah, and how long do you think that will last?” She laughed again, little bursts of mockery peppering the delicate space inside my ears. “It's only a matter of time before he wakes up and realizes what you really are, and when he does, he's going to leave your sorry ass and come crawling back to me.”
“You're so delusional,” I said, refusing to let her know that she was even remotely affecting me. “Trace doesn't want you anymore, Nikki. He doesn't want anything to do with you. We laugh about how pathetic you are all the time,” I added, wanting to cut her the way she was cutting me.
“You're lying,” she seethed, though her voice was shaking when she said it, and I could tell I was getting to her. “Trace would never do that to me.”
“Well, maybe not to your face,” I shrugged innocently. “He just doesn't have the heart to tell you himself.”
“You're such a bitch.” Her gaze shifted over my shoulder at the sound of my name being called in the distance. We both immediately recognized the voice as Trace's.
“See. He calls my name now, not yours.”
“Well, let's see how long he calls it when he's standing over your casket, you stupid bitch.” Her lips curled into an evil grin that sent chills running scared all throughout my body.
“Are you threatening me?” I asked, instinctively taking a step away from her. She was a Caster after all, and God only knew what she was capable of.
“More like promising you.” She uncrossed her arms and tilted her head to the side. “I think I’m really going to enjoy this.”
“Enjoy what?” I asked, taking another backwards step.
“Watching them all fight over who gets to put you in the ground first. Right where you've always belonged.” Her eyes flared like two warning signs.
I didn't have a chance to say anything back.
Arms came out from behind me, plucking me off the ground like a poison that needed to be eradicated.
“Get the hell off—” My command was quickly killed by a hand clamping down around my neck, pressing down and squeezing as if to encase my throat in a tomb. I tried to scream out for help, for reprieve from the sudden onslaught, but I couldn't pull in enough air to accomplish the feat.
Panicked, my eyes darted back to Nikki, pleading with her for help, for allegiance, but she just stood there motionless, watching my attack like a horror movie she was dying to see.
This is what she wanted all along, what she'd been working towards since day one. And now here she was, watching contently from her front row seat.
Fingers ripped through my hair, grabbing at the roots and using them as an anchor to yank my head back. My gaze snapped from Nikki to the pitch-black sky peeking out through the thick canvas of trees and overgrowth, and then to the silver blade that appeared in my peripheral. It glinted murderously, blurring out the rest of the world as it caught the light from the moon and reflected its deathly message back to me.
Realization hit me like a train.
He wasn't some random Revenant that wanted a taste of my blood, and he wasn't here on behalf of an ex-cheerleader with a sour score to settle. He was here to make sure I didn't make it out of the forest alive.
A startling burst of adrenaline shot through my veins, screaming at me to fight for my life. I bucked wildly against his back, my feet swinging relentlessly as I tried to kick out his legs from under him, to break his hold on me. He tightened his grip, dragging us further back into the brushwood, his breathing coming out fast and heavy in my ear as he struggled to keep me contained—to keep me in position.
Jerking my head back once again, he lifted the blade in front of my eyes as if to taunt me with it, as if to warn me of what was coming, before lowering it beneath my chin.
I felt the cold steel press against my neck and gasped as he pushed down and then slid the blade across my neck, from one side to the other, as easy as slicing through warm butter.
And then he released me.
My hands shot up to my neck, covering myself as I spun around to look my attacker in the eye, but the coward was already gone, darting back through the woods from which he'd come, back towards the flock of unsuspecting party-goers.
Hot, wet liquid seeped through my fingers and down my neck. My gaze fell to the strange, wet sensation coating my body like a blanket.
Blood.
My blood.
Everywhere.
I tightened my hold around my neck, trying to stop the wound from pouring out, but the harder I pressed, the more blood came pulsing out of me. I turned back to Nikki, my eyes wide and petrified as I fell to my knees at her mercy.
“Hheee...” I tried to speak but the sound was being distorted by a strange gurgling, choking noise. It took me a few moments to realize the sound was coming from the back of my own throat.
Nikki just stared down at me in silence, not saying a word and not moving a single muscle to help me. I was literally going to bleed to death at her feet, and that was if I didn't drown in pool of my own blood first, and all she could do was stand there with that stupid look on her face and watch.
“What is this?” boomed a voice from behind her—from the other side of the Barrier.
I knew that voice. I feared that voice.
Nikki turned to Engel, her shoulders raised as if she were going to shrug the whole thing off.
“She...someone...I—”
“Speak, foolish girl!” snapped Engel as a wall of vampires moved up behind him.
“Someone jumped her from behind! I don't know what happened!” she shouted, backing away from the Barrier and the army of Revenants.
“Bring her to me,” he ordered, his voice rattling through the forest like thunder. “Bring her to me now!”
Nikki hesitated, her eyes bouncing between Engel and me and then back again.
“I will not tell you again, child.”
All expression disappeared from Nikki's face as she straightened her back and stepped towards me. The vacant look in her eyes confirmed that not only was she going to hand me over to my sworn enemy, to a murderous, centuries-old vampire, but she wasn't even going to think twice about it.
I tried to retreat from her, to run away from her and save myself, but my legs quickly gave out, causing me to tumble back onto the ground. The blood was pouring out of my neck at unsurvivable speeds, weakening my body and slowing down my breathing. My heart wanted so bad to get up and run, to fight to the death, to go out with my fists blazing, but I couldn't even find the strength to keep an even pressure on my neck.
My eyes blinked tiredly as Nikki closed the gap between us. Blackness seeped in through the corners of my eyes, darkening my world until only specks of my former life remained.
The sickening sound of dry leaves crunching under Nikki's feet barely registered as she calmly bent down beside me. There was no remorse in her eyes, no love lost at all. I may have even noticed a smile.
And then, there was nothing.
41. AS I LAY ME DOWN
My lids fluttered weakly, struggling to stay open as though the weight of the world were resting on them. I fought hard to push away the darkness, to stave off the sleepy confusion that had seeped into my fragile mind, but I could only hold onto my consciousness for tiny gaps of time.
I knew I was still in the forest; I could smell the pine, taste the dense fog in the air, see the twisted limbs of trees...
But I wasn't alone.
I was being carried off against my will; carted away from the warmth of the protective barrier and the raging party just beyond it. Away from my heart's keeper, and everything else that was good in my life. I was being hauled off to my death, forced into my final resting place.
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