“Hold still,” Faris said, and a sharp pinch in my arm made me clamp my teeth together. I refused to look at what he was doing and in doing so, ended up looking at Doran. He seemed . . . confused. Deanna was pissed, Will was resigned, Mer was tired, and Frank was scared. But it was the confusion that held me tight.
“All done.” Faris slid a thumb over the injection site and I stepped away, putting pressure where his thumb had been. A full vial of blood stared back at me. “Give it to the troll. Let’s see what happens.”
The troll slowly lifted his eyes to me. “Not all trolls are bad, Tracker.”
I shrugged. “Not all demons, either. But I have to go with the majority.”
Deanna took the needle and changed the tip, then handed it back to Faris. He lifted the troll’s arm, found a vein, and slid the needle in. My stomach rolled watching the needle pop the skin and then the plunger depress. I gave a shiver and looked away.
Alex butted up against me. “Growdy gross. I hates those needles.”
I dropped a hand to him and steadied myself. “Yeah, me too.”
He turned his big eyes up at me and wrinkled his nose up. “Pamie listening.”
Pam? Everyone else was looking at the troll, not listening to Alex. No, that wasn’t true. Faris’s eyes met mine and then flicked to the door of the tent. Why wouldn’t she just come in?
Only one way to find out.
CHAPTER 5
Pamela
Alex ratted me out, the stupid wolf. I hurried away from the tent, ducking behind a vehicle when I heard Rylee call me. She could Track me, but why bother when I was right here? At least, that’s what I was hoping. I peeked over the edge of the car in time to see her duck back into the tent.
I ran to my own little tent and grabbed a bag. Peta, the sweet little cat stared up at me. “I have to go, I’m sorry.”
She gave a soft purr and clawed at my bag. “I can’t take you with me.”
Ignoring me, she leapt up to my shoulders and draped herself across them. A sigh escaped me. “Fine. But I can’t be looking out for you too.” I scratched the top of her head and secretly I was pleased. Peta was coming with me, even though she obviously was with Rylee. At least someone chose me over her.
I stuffed my bag with clothes, the food I had stashed, and the little bit of money I had. Not much, really. I hooked the rucksack straps over my shoulders and Peta adjusted herself so she cradled between me and the bag. “Ready?” I asked her.
“Ready for what?”
I spun to see Frank standing in my doorway. “Go away.”
He pushed his glasses up with one finger and then slid a hand through his too long hair. “What are you doing, running away?”
“And if I am?”
“I thought we were friends, Pam.” His voice reached out to me and I shivered. We’d shared a few kisses in the last six months, but that was it. I shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to be friends with.”
“Pamela, come on. Stay.” He took my hand, tugging me gently into his arms. I shivered again. I liked Frank, more than I thought I would. We had a lot in common. No real family left, and trying to learn how to use our abilities without any mentor.
Still, he had defended Rylee more than once.
Which meant he chose her over me.
“I have to go. There is only one person who can train me and I have to go to her,” I whispered.
“Then I’ll come with you. I can’t let you go alone. What if you get hurt?”
I wanted to laugh, and then did. “And what, if I die you’ll bring me back as a zombie bride?”
He smiled down at me. “Maybe. Let me pack my bag. Wait for me?”
I finally nodded and he ran from the tent. “I can’t wait too long for him, Peta.”
She gave me a “purp” of understanding. Frank didn’t make me wait, though. He was back in no time, a rucksack on his back.
“After you.” He gave me a silly bow and I strode in front of him, trying not to laugh. He let the tent flap shut behind us. “Wait, I forgot something.” He darted back into my tent and then out again. Nothing in his hands.
“What did you forget?”
He cleared his throat. “Ah, it was silly, I don’t want to say.”
“No, you can tell me.”
He blushed. “Just an old thing my mom used to do. When you go on a trip, you say the name of the one you love before you leave your house. You have to say, ‘This person is my home, no matter how far I go’ so you will always have a place to come home to, even if it isn’t here.”
A funny, warm kind of heat curled up in me. “Whose name did you say?”
He wouldn’t look at me. “Does it matter?”
I grinned. “No, I guess not.”
I shouldn’t have been happy leaving behind all my family and those I loved. But I kind of was. A part of me wanted to escape all that I’d seen and the ties to everything that had happened in the past.
Especially with Liam and Rylee.
This was the only way.
“So are you going to tell me where we’re going?” he asked, his fingers brushing mine as we walked. Getting out was easy, no one would stop us from leaving the triage center. There weren’t even any guards. Too many had died, and those left were dying.
“Does it matter?” I wrapped my fingers around his and gave them a gentle squeeze. He squeezed back.
“No, I guess not.”
We both laughed at the silliness of repeating ourselves.
I was afraid to tell him, though, if I was being honest with myself. Milly had told me a long time ago where she would pick me up, when I was ready to be with her. Ready to fully train. She could only do so much for me in my dreams. So I knew where I was going, I just didn’t want to think about it.
The streets were eerily quiet, even for the middle of the night, everyone hiding in their homes or just plain dead. Frank tightened his fingers on mine and he pulled me to the right, ducking us both into an alley. Before I could ask him what he was doing, he put a hand over my mouth then pointed with his chin. I looked out of the shadows, and my blood chilled.
Three people hulked down the street. They looked normal, but the red glow in their eyes said it all. Demon ridden. I wanted to say we’d go after them, we’d be able to stop them, but Frank held me tightly. And the feel of his arms around me was nice.
He whispered in my ear. “They’re going after Rylee, I bet. I think we should try and stop them. Or at least warn her.”
I twisted in his arms, anger surging through me. “No. She’s a demon slayer, let her do her job. She doesn’t need us.”
Frank’s eyes met mine and I saw the uncertainty in them. So I kissed him. Frank softened against me, his hands coming up to cup my face, and for just a moment I forgot where we were. Then he was talking again and I had to force my brain to catch up.
“What?”
“I said, they’re gone.” He gave me a crooked smile. “Any time you want to distract me, feel free.”
I blushed, and even though he couldn’t see the burning in my cheeks in the dark, I still looked away. “Let’s go, we have a long walk.”
He peered out of the alley, checking both ways before standing straight and holding his hand out to me. I took it, and he didn’t let go. My heart fluttered. Will would always be the one I had a crush on, he still made me weak in the knees. And maybe even Doran a little bit too. But Frank was sweet and kind and he really liked me. “I’m glad you came with me.”
He stopped and gave me a big grin. “Me too. An adventure together.”
A ways down the street, Frank found a car with the keys in it, and gas in the tank. It started smoothly and the engine was very quiet which was good. Not that anyone would be looking for us yet, but better to be on the safe side.
Frank sat in the driver’s seat. “Okay, now you have to give me some direction, if I’m driving.”
“We’re headed to the country. Take a right here.” I pointed out the window, sweat gatherin
g in the hollow at the base of my spine the closer we got to our destination. Frank might not notice right away where we were going, but he would soon enough. Peta sat on my lap, watching things go by the side window, her tail twitching now and again. We didn’t talk, and when we hit the bumpy, rutted road that led to the castle, his face tightened. Like he’d suddenly sucked on a dozen lemons all at once. My nerves got the better of me and I giggled. “Frank, that is an awful face.”
“Pam, why are we here? We can’t cross the veil, you know that. And even if we could, the castle is still on fire.” He parked the car and turned the engine off. Pushing his glasses up his nose, and straightening his hair, he seemed to be nervous again.
I took his hand. “We aren’t going to the castle, just the open plain.”
“Not a whole lot better of a place since it seems to be where giants hang out.”
“Blaz killed the last one,” I said.
He shrugged. “And the last one killed the one before that. There could be another.”
“I doubt it.” I opened my door and jumped out, then reached back in and grabbed my bag. Fear nipped at me, but I said what I had to say. “If you don’t want to come with me, I understand. I appreciate the ride out here. Come on, Peta.” She leapt out ahead of me and trotted down the path, as if she knew where she was going.
I shut the door and walked around the front of the car, the headlights blinding me for a minute. Long enough to not see Frank get out of the car too.
“I’m coming with you, Pam. Wherever you’re going, I’m going.” He grabbed his own bag, flicked off the car lights and shut the door with a slam. The sound echoed in the empty air.
He grabbed my hand again and led the way into the forest. “When did you get so bold?”
Frank laughed. “It’s easy. I’m trying to impress you.”
I blushed, but didn’t let go of his hand, despite the fact we were both sweating and our skin was sticking to one another, neither of us let go.
The forest was cooler than the city, but not by much. A breeze wafted through the trees, bringing us the scent of green things.
“Who is this person who can train you? I thought the druids were the only ones left capable? I thought you were like the last witch alive or something like that.” Frank stepped into the imprint of a large foot. I followed him, not worried. It was an old print from months ago, its edges blurred and fuzzy from rain and wind.
I thought about my answer for a good minute before giving it to him. “Another witch contacted me. Someone who understands what I’m going through.”
That made Frank stop. “Going through? Who could possibly understand what we’re dealing with?”
It was my turn to be confused. “Excuse me?”
Frank gave a short sigh. “Look, who could understand what it is to be either of us, right now? We’ve seen and done things no other teens ever will, and on top of that, both of us are trying to learn how to control our own magic. There isn’t anyone out there who could possibly understand what we’re going through. And if they say they do, I’d call them a liar to their face.”
We stared at each other, and for just a split second I thought he might be right. I pushed that away, though. “Okay, perhaps that is too much, but my point is, it’s someone who can train me better than Deanna can.”
He shrugged and tugged me forward so we were walking side by side. “I’m trusting you, Pamela.”
My heart warmed again and I thought about all the times I’d wanted Rylee to trust me. “Why do you think Rylee didn’t take all of us with her?”
That seemed to slow him down. “I don’t know. I just know that if she didn’t, there was a reason.”
“Like maybe she doesn’t trust us,” I snapped, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.
“Maybe she had cause to.”
I sucked in a sharp gasp as if he’d slapped me. “You don’t think she should trust me?”
“No, no, I meant—”
I hit him, punching him in the arm as I yanked my fingers from his. “That is an awful thing to say!”
“I didn’t mean it like that! I’m sure she trusts you. But she has no reason to really trust me. She hardly knows me. And we don’t know why she left. Maybe she was trying to kill Orion on her own so we wouldn’t get hurt.” He was talking fast, trying to get me to believe him. I stalked ahead, arms swinging and bag banging against my back. Peta glanced back, a glitter of her eyes in the dark night air and the white tip of her tail the only thing visible. I waved her forward.
“She should have trusted us. All of us. She says we’re family, but that’s not true if she doesn’t trust us.” Tears trickled out of my eyes but I dashed them away. I was done crying over Rylee, over the one person who said she’d look out for me.
No, that wasn’t true, she wasn’t the only one. I stumbled as the trees gave way to the open plain. Ahead of me was the still burning castle. I put a hand to my chest, the air in my lungs suddenly gone.
“Wow, I didn’t think it would still be burning.” Frank came up beside me, his fingers brushing against mine. I clutched at them and threw myself into his arms, sobbing. He held me tightly, but all I could see was Liam, the copper knife, and his blood on the floor. I’d killed him, my friend, a man I thought of as a brother. I couldn’t control the sobs, and my legs went out from under me.
“Easy, easy,” Frank whispered, lowering me to the ground. We sat until the sky lightened and my crying eased off. Hiccupping, I wiped at my face.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I miss him too. He saved me, remember?”
I blinked at him. That was right. Liam had gotten Frank away from the crazy Arcane Arts division of the FBI who had been trying to kill him. It seemed like so long ago, and yet it had been less than a year. A lifetime had passed since then.
“He saved me, more than once. And I helped him get past his hang-ups with witches.” I stared at the castle, thinking of all the moments I’d had with Liam. Of watching him smile at Rylee, or laugh when Alex did something goofy. Which only started the tears again.
“Come on,” Frank helped me stand. “If we’re going to meet this mysterious person, we should do it quickly so we can get back.”
I didn’t correct him. My heart didn’t have the strength at that moment to do anything but walk forward. Milly had given me explicit instructions when it came to this particular spell. We got to the middle of the open plain and I stopped. “Here, I have to call her.”
Frank let go of me and I crouched, then pulled out a few clumps of grass so I had a bare patch of ground. Quickly, I drew a pentagram in the loose dirt, and then in the middle of it, I placed a small brown curl. It had shown up in my tent the morning after I first spoke with Milly through a dream. I probably would never know how it got there. But that didn’t matter as long as I could call on her.
“Millicent, I bring thee to me,” I spoke softly, but I heard Frank’s gasp. I pressed my fingers to four tips of the pentagram and allowed a pulse of magic to slide through me, into it. “Millicent, I bring thee to me.”
Standing, I stepped back from the pentagram.
“Please tell me you don’t mean Milly, the one Orion owns.”
“Orion doesn’t own her,” I snapped. “And she’s free of him, she told me.”
He grabbed my arms and spun me to face him. “You believed her?”
I stared into his handsome face, and saw he didn’t believe me, didn’t think I could make a good decision. “I trust her. She cares for me. Just go, I don’t need you here.” I shoved at him and there was a “tsk” behind me.
Frank’s eyes widened and I turned to see a shadowy figure of Milly standing in the center of the pentagram. I smiled at her, suddenly feeling shy. “Hello, Milly.”
“Pamela, who is this?”
That stumped me. “You remember Frank, don’t you?”
Her eyes sparkled with pleasure. “Of course, the necromancer. You’ve grown a great deal since I saw you last . .
. Frank.”
I wanted to pinch him, to point out how nice she was. To say see, I told you so.
“I want to come live with you now, Milly. Rylee is back and she still doesn’t care about me.”
Beside me, Frank stiffened. “That’s not true.”
Milly smiled at us both. “I will send my friend to pick you up. Frank, you are welcome to come too. Pamela would like that. Wouldn’t you, Pamela?”
I nodded, but couldn’t look at him. “Yes, I would. Very much.”
Milly clasped her hands in front of herself. “Wonderful. I’ll see you both very soon.”
There was a soft pop and her image disappeared.
Frank didn’t waste any time. “You can’t trust her. Even if she wants to help you; she is owned by Orion. You know that.” He grabbed my arms and spun me around to face him. I didn’t fight him, just lifted my hand and made a flicking motion that sent him tumbling away from me. Harder than I meant to. I slapped my hands over my mouth in horror as he hit the ground and lay still.
“Frank, I’m sorry, I didn’t meant to—” I let out a strangled squawk as a hand shot out of the ground and grabbed my ankle. Slimy and cold, it gripped me tightly. I shot a blast of fire at it, and then there were more hands, all of them reaching for me. “Frank, stop it!”
He groaned and I realized he wasn’t even really awake. I’d knocked him out. Then why were the zombies showing up? I didn’t have time to think about it. Each second that passed had more hands shooting out of the ground, pushing themselves out faster than I thought possible. I kicked at one hand, shot a stream of fire at a group of hands and then I was grabbed from behind. “FRANK!” Peta ran to him and licked at his face, butting him gently with her head and even patting him with her paws. But that was the last I saw of them.
A zombie picked me up, wrapped its arms around me, and squeezed. I struggled against the slimy, peeling skin, the flesh rotten and stinky. I gagged and fought to get myself under control. I couldn’t use my magic if I couldn’t think straight. But there was so much going on. Too much.
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