Three white roses nestled amongst baby breath gleamed in the moonlight. “They’re beautiful.” I started thinking about the roses in my garden, and how I couldn’t wait for it to be spring so I could smell their beautiful fragrance in the air. I made to open the case, but Rafe took it from me so he could pull the corsage out and slide it on my wrist. He looked oddly nervous, his eyes glued to the roses as if he expected them to blow up or something. “Rafe? What’s the matter?”
“I put a spell on the roses,” he said, still staring at them.
My stomach dropped. “You what?” I held my wrist away from my body, wondering if the flowers were moments away from exploding. “Why the heck would you do that?”
“Relax!” He pushed my wrist down into my lap, keeping his hand on my arm as he gently stroked his thumb back and forth. “It’s not bad, just a tracking spell.”
“Why, are you planning on losing me?” I joked.
“Gabi.” Rafe gave me a deadly serious look. “The last dance we went to, you got punched in the face by a demon. If you think I’m going to let something like that happen again…”
Scary, fiercely protective Rafe was back, and I swallowed hard. I would not let him ruin our night, however. “That’s not going to happen, Rafe. I’m not going to let you leave my side, not when I went through all this trouble to look this good.”
He smiled, and the hardness in his eyes faded away. “Have I mentioned yet how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Nope, and you better fix that mistake or else—” He cut me off by leaning forward and kissing me, making me forget whatever it was I was about to say.
“Or else what?” he asked when we pulled apart.
“Huh?”
Rafe laughed. “That’s what I thought.”
I hesitantly touched the corsage. “So there’s really a spell on this?”
“Yep. It’s pretty basic, nothing fancy—I was never as skilled as Evan, but I can do some spells. This one, after I cast a quick spell on my end, lets me know where you are. There’s a connection between me and the corsage, and the closer I get to it, the stronger it is.”
“And what happens if I drop the corsage?” I asked. “Then you’d find it, and not me, right?”
“Why would you drop it?” Rafe gave me a sad face, complete with an exaggerated pout. “Don’t you like it?”
“I love it, you dummy.” I swatted him on the arm, and we both laughed. “I just… I hope you don’t need to use the spell.”
“Me too, but…” Rafe cleared his throat. “It was good practice. I haven’t cast it in a long time, and I’m happy I still remembered what to do. I didn’t even have to ask Evan.”
“He didn’t help?”
Rafe shook his head emphatically. “No way. Can you imagine that? He would have asked a million questions and been a total pain in the butt and probably intruded on our date and—no. I was doing this my way, by myself.”
“Amen to that,” I said. Who needed Evan tagging along on yet another one of our dates? Not me. “And congrats on the successful spell casting. I’m happy for you.” I beamed my brightest smile at him, which made Rafe flush and turn away, so he was facing the windshield.
He cleared his throat a couple of times. “I-I guess we should get going. To the—to the dance, I mean,” he corrected himself as he pulled the car away from the curb.
Aww, I had embarrassed him! I poked him on the shoulder. “What, did you have something else in mind?” I teased. “A naughty game of hide-and-seek where you use your spell to find me, and then have your way with me?”
“Have my what with you?” he sputtered, nearly crashing into my neighbor’s mailbox.
I burst out laughing.
“Gabi!” Even in the moonlight I could see him blushing fiercely.
Oh Rafe, you are just way too cute…
***
“Gabi, wake up.” Nina shook me until I moaned in response. “It’s almost midnight. We need to get ready.”
I pushed back the covers and sat up, brushing strands of hair out of my face. When Nina had told me to try and get some sleep before our mission to get me the hell out of HQ, I had scoffed. I was too keyed up, too nervous and excited, with my heart racing so hard I was afraid it was going to burst from my chest and the only place I’d be escaping to was the hospital. But, surprisingly, I had managed to sleep, and got to see Rafe in my dreams once more. I hoped that was the conclusion of the winter formal dreams. The next time I saw Rafe, it would be in person.
Rafe! My heart began pounding again. After our initial plans in the autopsy room, Nina, Philip, and I had returned to Nina’s rooms, while Kain had headed off to the library do to some more research after promising he’d meet up with us tonight. Once I had a moment to process what we had planned, doubts had started to creep in. Big, freaking doubts, like, “OH MY GOD WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING!” I wanted to believe what Philip had said about Charles only bluffing when he said he would hurt my dad and sister if I didn’t behave, but… How could I risk their lives like that? But on the other hand, how could I stay here? I was being given the chance to leave. Of course I’d run straight out that open door without looking back!
But my dad and sister were still in Vermont and would remain there until after New Year’s, giving us almost a week to figure out what we were going to do. First I would contact Rafe, tell him what a giant idiot I was, and hopefully between all of us, we’d come up with a solid plan. I knew Rafe. He would never let Charles hurt my family. I hoped Charles would back off once he learned I was a potential ticking time bomb with only a limited amount of healings left, but what about his dead wife? He’d already killed his supposed best friend to become the freaking director, so what would stop him from forcing the annoying teenage girl to sacrifice her life for his wife?
I kept my fears quiet, though. Like I said, I wanted—no, needed to leave HQ. The rest of the stuff? I agreed with Philip. We’d figure it out later.
And hope for the best.
Yeah, I know. World’s crappiest plan. But what choice did I have? I wasn’t going to sit around and wait to die. Me and HQ? We were through.
I climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face. After brushing my fingers through my hair, I braided it quickly and rejoined Nina in her room. I took the scarf and coat she handed me, winding the blue-and-white fabric around my neck before pulling on the dark coat and zipping it up to my chin. We weren’t bothering with bags; Philip had enough money to buy us train tickets, and if we wanted any food, we’d get it at Penn Station. I already knew I wouldn’t be able to eat, my stomach a mess of knots that made me both nauseous and dizzy. I wished I had Philip’s confidence, but doubts kept creeping back, like weeds in my mother’s garden. I pulled and pulled, but more and more sprung back up.
But, again. I was leaving. It was a good start. Now we just needed to make sure everything worked out, with a happy ending for me, my family, and my friends.
“Gabi.” Nina put her hands on my shoulders, staring into my eyes. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll be fine.” She blinked a few times, but her voice remained steady.
I shook out my ice-cold fingers and nodded. “You’re right.” My voice betrayed me by wavering all over the place.
She gave me a small smile (it was unusual seeing Nina so nervous) and pointed her chin toward the door. “Ready?”
I sucked in a deep breath. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Thirty-four
Dressed in a black fleece winter coat, Philip was pacing in front of the elevator, which wasn’t suspicious at all. I scowled at him and he came to a halt, jabbing a thumb at the down button on the elevator. “You’re good?” he asked.
I nodded, afraid if I spoke, I’d throw up all over his sneakers.
God, I was so nervous!
As planned, Nina got in the elevator first; she was going to leave HQ and meet us outside, a block away. Philip had the more difficult task of breaking me out. Truthfully, I was glad I wa
s going with him. Silly pink obsession aside, Nina had definitely proven herself to be a friend, but there was something about Philip that almost made me grateful for being brought here against my will. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have met him. It had only been a few days, but I felt like I had known him for much longer than that.
Now he stood in front of me, his hands shoved in the pockets of his coat as he bounced on the balls of his feet. “You remember what I said?”
“Stick close to you,” I replied. “Really, Phil, you think I’m going to go wandering on my own, so I can get lost in Manhattan? I already told you I don’t know where to go!”
He flashed me a crooked grin. “I keep forgetting that you’re a country girl. You live on a farm, right? With pigs and sheep?”
“No!” I shoved him. “I live in the suburbs, thank you very much, and no one has pigs! We have malls and buses and normal streets that aren’t confusing—”
“How are numbered streets and avenues confusing?” Philip shot back. “When this whole mess is over, I’m so taking you all over Manhattan so you can see how simple it is!”
“Uh, the only way that is happening is if you buy me a meal and dessert.”
Philip rolled his eyes. “Duh, that’s what your boyfriend is for.”
“No, that’s what all my friends are for,” I told him with a smile.
“Has anyone ever told you that you’re extremely high maintenance?”
Before I could respond (with something snarky), the elevator arrived again, the doors opening with a low chime. Inside, Kain leaned against the wall, studying his nails with a bored look on his face. “Going down?” he asked, even though he knew the answer.
“Yeah,” Philip said, letting me go in first. He waited until the doors shut before pressing the button for the first floor. I swallowed hard, but said nothing.
As the elevator began its descent, Kain quietly said, “I’m placing a spell on both of you, similar to a glamour. Anyone looking at you won’t see you. It won’t quite trick a hunter with the Sight; they’ll notice something, but there’s a second layer to the spell that tells them to ignore it. Hopefully by the time they realize something’s amiss, you’ll be on your way to Penn.”
“Okay,” Philip said, looking pale and sweaty.
“I’m afraid the magic is going to make you a bit peaky, Philip,” Kain continued, “but the spell will wear off rather quickly, so move fast. Or, as fast as you can while knackered.”
Philip’s mouth hung open. “I only understood half of what you just said. Since when did you revert to being British?”
“English,” Kain corrected with a cocky smile, letting his accent show. Philip stared at him like a star-struck fanboy, and I elbowed him in the side to bring him back to reality.
He gave me an evil look. “What?”
“Sorry for interrupting,” I said with an evil look of my own, “but have you forgotten the mission? Or should I just leave you two a—”
Philip clapped a hand over my mouth, his eyes flashing warning threats at me. I gave him my best innocent look, but he didn’t remove his hand until the elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened to reveal the lobby.
“Have a good night,” Kain said, tipping his head toward us. “And do try to stay alive, won’t you?”
As soon as I stepped out into the lobby, the good mood I had experienced from bantering with Philip evaporated. My heart started racing again. I wanted a few moments to gather my nerves, but Philip hooked a hand under my elbow and steered me toward the front doors, which were directly across from us.
The lobby was a long rectangular room, with a shiny brown-and-gold patterned floor and a high, vaulted ceiling. The cream-colored walls were bare, and besides a couple of mahogany tables with fake potted plants (fake?! The horror! I could see the waxy, dust-covered leaves from across the room, and they made me grit my teeth in annoyance. How hard was it to get a couple of real plants and water them from time to time? Stupid lazy hunters.), the room was absent of furniture. I imagined at one time there had been an area set up for customers checking in or out of the hotel, with maybe a long desk and some comfortable chairs, but that most have all been removed once Silver Moon had taken over.
We passed a door on our right, and behind the window pane, I could see a set of stairs. I had actually been secretly scared that Philip was going to suggest we use the stairs instead of the elevator. I definitely wouldn’t have made it more than a flight or two before asking him to carry me.
It was a good thing we were taking the subway to Penn Station. All that walking? No thanks! Philip had said it wasn’t that far, but I knew he was lying. Manhattan blocks were like, five times the length of normal blocks. Not far my butt.
The lobby seemed like it was miles long as we cautiously made our way along the length of it. I kept expecting a hunter to pop up and demand to know what we were doing, but somehow we made it to the door without anything happening. Philip and I exchanged a quick glance before he reached for the door and pushed it open. I had been hoping they had one of those cool revolving doors, but it was just two normal doors, how boring. And yes, I was totally focusing on the wrong things. If I didn’t, I’d probably start screaming, throwing up, or having a panic attack. Or maybe all three at once! Four steps led to the pavement, and then we were there.
Outside of HQ.
We did it.
“Don’t start celebrating yet,” Philip muttered, pulling me down the street once more. I wanted to stand around, gawking at the apartment buildings and all their pretty holiday decorations as I fully comprehended the fact that I had escaped from HQ. But Philip was right, we should at least, you know, walk away from the building before jumping up and down with glee. With my luck, Charles was looking out one of the windows right now, and he’d see me shaking my butt.
That particular thought had me power-walking down the block.
I glanced over my shoulder at HQ, to see if anyone was chasing us, but the street was empty. The building is actually really nice looking, I thought with surprise. I guess I had expected a dark and gloomy castle, but instead, with its old-fashioned architecture, it looked like a hotel I would want to stay at.
The front door was flanked with four columns, and each column had large, rectangular lanterns mounted on them. They were lit with light bulbs (boo, boring!), illuminating the pavement and part of the building with a soft, yellow glow. Above the columns was some swirly type of design, and possibly text, too, but it was too dark and we were already too far away for me to make it out. The brick building stretched twelve floors high, with rows of windows on each floor. There were more designs by the roof, but we turned a corner before I could study it any further.
And honestly? Pretty or not, I would not mind one little bit if that was the first and last time I ever saw HQ’s exterior.
“We’re on Eighteenth Street right now,” Philip explained as we continued walking, “and we have to get to Thirty-fourth.”
“A.k.a. a million miles away.”
He gave me a look. “We’ll take the subway at Sixteenth, get out at Penn, catch the Amtrak train that I already bought tickets for, and, in a few hours, you’ll be home.” Philip’s hand found mine and squeezed it reassuringly.
I squeezed back, trying to ignore the flock of butterflies that had suddenly hatched in my stomach. The light turned green and, still holding hands, Philip and I crossed the street.
Chapter Thirty-five
A strong wind blew, but I barely felt the cold as Philip and I walked down Eighth Avenue, heading for the subway station. I was focused on the fact that we had left—easily, too—and were on our way home. We would head straight to Rafe’s apartment (since, thanks to Evan’s rude magical assault, I was without my house keys or my phone), explain the situation, and figure out our next move. I also hoped there would be time for some make up kissing, but Rafe would probably be too embarrassed with Philip hanging around. Although after watching him flirt with Kain, Philip totally owes me some P
DA of my own with Rafe!
We passed a few pedestrians, and some stores were still open, but I knew if it had been earlier in the day, it would have been much more crowded with last minute holiday shoppers. Nina had actually pointed out that it would be easier to blend in with the crowd, but Philip didn’t think we would have been able to escape without being noticed during the day. So middle of the night it was. At least the trains and stuff were still running, although I imagined we would have been able to get a taxi to Penn…
Speaking of Nina, we should have met her by now. At least, I thought so. I forgot what block she was supposed to be on. I glanced over at Philip, wondering if I should ask him, when I noticed how pale he looked. “Are you okay?” I asked.
“It’s Kain’s damn spell,” he grumbled. “It’s getting weaker, but I still feel like I need to hurl. Peaky my ass. What the hell does that even mean, anyway?”
I shrugged. “I dunno, it’s probably British for, ‘the intense need to puke’. You know how polite they are.”
“It’s not polite, it’s weird,” Philip said.
“Really.” I eyed him carefully. “Then why did you look like you were about to swoon when he used his accent? His real one, I mean.”
“I wasn’t swooning!” Philip scowled. “I’m not some stupid girl in a romance novel, okay?”
“Gabi!”
I halted in my tracks, whipping my head to the right. Philip stopped as well. “What’s the matter?”
“Did you hear that?” I demanded, turning in a slow circle. Someone had shouted my name—I had heard it, I knew I had. Where had it come from? Up? Down? Behind me?
Had it been Nina?
“No, I didn’t hear anything.” Philip tugged at my hand, pulling me forward a few steps. “Gabi, we can’t stop moving. If we stop, someone—”
A figure in black with a hood drawn over his face darted up to us, quick as a flash. Just as fast, Philip shoved me behind him as he raised a hand, catching the other person’s fist before it could collide with his face. They struggled for a few moments, and then Philip pushed the other person away. The hood fell down, revealing Jonathan. My stomach clenched in fear. How had he found us?
The Soul Healer Page 16
