by Lori Sjoberg
From time to time, Ruby or Jack came in to see if she needed anything. Once, she asked for a cup of coffee, but otherwise she told them she was fine.
This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a dream. Yet no matter how many times she squeezed her eyes shut, every time she opened them she still saw Cassie lying in the bed, barely alive.
A little more than an hour had passed when a pair of male orderlies entered the room, informing her that they needed to take Cassie to the fourth floor for another round of tests. No, Marlena couldn’t accompany her daughter, and no, they didn’t know how long the tests would take, but they didn’t think Cassie would be returned to her room until after visiting hours were over.
With a heavy heart, Marlena exited the room, and she watched with a sense of complete helplessness as the orderlies wheeled Cassie’s bed out of the room and into the nearby service elevator. As the stainless steel doors slid shut, she felt Ruby’s hand lightly touch her shoulder.
“Are you hungry?” The reaper’s voice sounded soft with compassion, her accent barely noticeable. “We can pick something up on the way back to the house.”
“No, thanks.” If she ate anything, she doubted she’d be able to keep it down. “Have you heard from Adam?”
“No, not yet, but he probably didn’t get back to his house until noon. He hasn’t answered my text, so I’m guessing he’s still asleep.”
Made sense. After going nonstop for a day and a half, the man needed time to recharge. And yet a part of her wanted him, needed him near to comfort her and tell her everything was going to be all right. He’d come to mean so much to her in such a short period of time. Even in the middle of all this chaos, just having him around lifted her spirits.
Down the hall, the main elevator doors slid open, and Adam stepped out into the lobby. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, but they were lighter than they had been before. He’d changed into fresh jeans and a gray Henley shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His hair was wet, like he’d recently gotten out of the shower, and he was freshly shaved. As soon as he saw her, his face lit up, and he bridged the short distance between them.
“God, I missed you.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, and the masculine scent of him acted like a balm on her soul.
“I missed you too.” Warmed by his tenderness, she melted against him, going soft against his hard muscles. She could feel the rise and fall of his rib cage with every breath he took.
“How’s Cassie doing?”
“About the same. They took her downstairs for more tests.”
He made a sound low in his throat. “And when was the last time you ate?”
“She had some stew at the house,” Ruby answered for her. “But that was a couple hours ago.”
Adam pulled back far enough to see her face. “In that case, let’s get you some food.”
“No, I’m fine. I—”
“Marlena.” The tone of his voice left no room for argument. “Stew’s the only thing you’ve eaten in a day. Cassie would want you to keep up your strength.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s a cheap ploy to get me to agree.”
“Did it work?”
“Maybe.”
“Good.” He kissed the tip of her nose before shifting his gaze to Ruby and Jack. “Thanks for your help today. I owe you one.”
“Pleasure’s ours,” Jack replied, and he sounded like he meant it. He looped one arm around Ruby’s waist and rested his hand on her hip. “Do you want us to hang around and give you a call when they bring Cassandra back to her room?”
“No, it’s okay, you’ve already done enough. I’ve got the hospital’s number in my phone so we can call and check on her condition.”
“Well, if you change your mind, let us know. We’re only a few miles away.”
Ruby came over and gave them both a hug. “You take care of yourselves, you hear?”
“We will,” Adam said. “Thanks again for everything.”
Marlena watched as the pair walked down the hall and stepped into the elevator. When the doors slid shut, she turned to face Adam. “If you want, we can get something from the cafeteria downstairs. Their coffee wasn’t so bad—”
“No. We’re getting real food from a real restaurant. Now what are you in the mood for? Greek? Tex-Mex? Sushi?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Ugh. No sushi. I suppose Tex-Mex would work.”
“You got it. I know just the place.”
He took her to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant not far from the hospital that looked like it was about to be condemned but made the best fajitas she’d ever tasted. Considering her appetite, that was quite an accomplishment.
“Can we stop by Cassie’s house?” Marlena asked after they’d eaten and the waitress dropped off the check. “I want to see if I can salvage anything.”
She reached for the check, but Adam got to it first. He pulled a few bills out of his wallet and placed them on the table along with the check.
“Between the fire and the water, I doubt there’s going to be anything worth saving.”
“I know, but I’d still like to look just in case.”
He hesitated before answering. “All right. We’ll go, but on one condition.”
Oh, boy. Here we go. “What’s that?”
“I want you to stay at my house tonight. It’s safer than your apartment.” He stretched one hand across the table and laced his fingers with hers. “Will you do that for me?”
When he looked at her with such genuine concern, how could she possibly say no? “Okay, but I’ll need to get some things from my place. Deal?”
“Deal.”
A short drive later, Adam parked his truck on the street in front of the ruins of Cassie’s once-beautiful home. Marlena thought she’d braced herself for the sight, but the reality surpassed her worst nightmare.
The house was a burned-out, broken shell. Only a small section of roof near the fireplace remained, and parts of the adjacent walls were still standing. Everything else was burned to ash, and the stench of smoke fouled the air. Outside, the lawn was a wet, soggy mess from the water and fire retardant foam used to douse the flames. And with storm clouds gathering overhead, it was about to get even soggier.
Adam cut the truck’s engine. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nodded, unable to push the words past her lips. Swallowing back the rage and grief, Marlena unfastened her seat belt and climbed out of the truck. She paused for a moment to scent the air, reassured when she found no trace of Jeremiah Brentwood or his accomplice. Shoulders squared, she walked across the muddy front yard, past the blackened stalks of what used to be bushes, and ducked under the yellow caution tape.
In her mind, she could still see the way it looked before the fire. The kitchen where Cassie created her potions and the dining room where they ate with the twins. The living room where they used to watch movies and talk for hours. The couch in front of the fireplace where she used to curl up and read books.
Gone. All gone. While the woman who’d been Marlena’s main reason for living clung to life by the skin of her teeth. She prayed for Cassie to fully recover, but in her heart she knew the odds were stacked against the witch.
Shit, no holding it back now. Every time she thought she’d run out of tears, she rediscovered the well had no bottom. Her vision blurred, and a sob tore from her throat. It felt like someone had reached into her body and carved her heart from her chest. She closed her eyes and let the tears fall, her chest heaving and her whole body shaking as she gave herself to the pain that always came when she thought of her daughter dying. She knew all about the agony of losing someone close, and she hated that it might happen again.
Adam gathered her into his arms, pulling her snugly against the warmth of his body.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get through this.”
She sobbed harder, leaning into the comfort he offered, pressing her face against his strong chest while he murmured words too low to make out. Eve
ntually, her tears subsided, but he didn’t let her go. She sniffed, easing back far enough to peer up into his face.
And there, in the depths of his deep brown eyes, she saw concern and affection, but she also saw her future. She loved this man, trusted him with everything, and he’d never dare to betray her. A part of her would always mourn the loss of Christopher, but it was time for her to let go of the past and make room in her heart for the future. The knowledge rocked her to the core and left her momentarily speechless.
Adam leaned forward, pressed a kiss against her forehead. “Come on. We better start searching before the rain starts.”
As he released her from his embrace, Marlena’s focus snapped back to the unpleasant task at hand. He was right. Already, she’d felt a few drops of rain, and the sky rumbled with the promise of more. Daylight was giving way to dusk, and they probably had only an hour at best to search for items not destroyed by the fire.
Carefully, they poked through the ruins of the house. It seemed surreal to see so many memories reduced to blackened blobs. She found a few salvageable items mixed with the soot—a ceramic dog figurine Cassie kept by the mantel, a bronze candleholder, and several pieces of silverware. But the rest of it was a total loss, too charred or waterlogged to be of use to anyone.
As they turned to leave, she remembered something and froze in her tracks.
“What is it?” Adam asked, his gaze darting around as if searching for signs of danger.
“There’s one more thing I need to check.” She turned around and strode to the part of the house where the living room used to be. Her eyes stung as she walked past the remains of the couch where they’d found Cassie unconscious and near death. Ignoring the catch in her throat, she continued, testing the warped floorboards with her feet until she found the one she was looking for. She went down on one knee and pried the board up.
There it was, the fire safe Cassie had installed years ago when the house was remodeled. Originally, she’d planned on putting it upstairs, but the security consultant had persuaded her to encase a larger model in the concrete foundation instead.
“What’s in it?” Adam asked as he knelt beside her.
“I don’t know. Guess we’ll find out in a minute.” She retrieved her phone from her back pocket and pulled up the combination for the safe. After she entered the last number, the lock disengaged, and she tugged the heavy metal door open.
Inside was Cassie’s passport, an envelope full of cash, some of the witch’s favorite pieces of jewelry, three leather-bound journals containing her notes on the craft, and an old photo album.
“I’d wondered what happened to this,” Marlena said as she held the album up to the light. She cracked open the yellowed pages, and tears filled her eyes at the sight of so many memories. Cassie at eight, wearing pigtails and a sailor dress while sitting on Santa’s lap. At fifteen, with her long, wavy hair pulled back in a high ponytail and tied with a scarf. Each flip of the page triggered a flood of fond memories from another time in her life.
“We moved the year before she entered high school,” Marlena said as she flipped to a picture of Cassie during her senior year. The young witch had switched out the ponytail for a big bouffant that was back-combed to within an inch of its life. “She was getting to the age where people wouldn’t believe she was my daughter.”
Not to mention, they didn’t look anything alike. Sooner or later, someone would have started asking questions, and in her experience it was better to leave before it happened. But try explaining that to a fourteen-year-old girl who didn’t want to say good-bye to her friends. The little witch had been furious with her, not speaking to Marlena for over a month after the move.
When the dust settled, Cassie no longer called her “Mama” in public, opting for “Aunt Marley” until she graduated and went away to college.
Marlena closed the album, and the smell of old paper tickled her nose. As she stood to leave, she caught the faint scent of something foreign in the air. She froze. The hair on her arms stood on end and all of her senses went on high alert.
“What is it?”
She held one finger in the air. “I don’t know. Give me a minute.”
She closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and drew the scent into her lungs. In all her years, she’d never smelled anything like it. Not human, and it wasn’t a shifter. Try as she might, she couldn’t pin down what kind of creature it came from, which surprised her, considering how many different beings she’d encountered over the course of her life. This one felt ancient and immensely powerful, with an underpinning of malevolence that sent a shiver straight down her spine.
Following the scent, she picked a path through the debris until she reached what used to be the base of the stairwell. She crouched, using her bare hands to sift through the sodden mess covering the floor.
There, just beneath the charred remains of a paperback novel, was a fist-sized clump of dark hair. With the fading light, it was hard to make out the exact color, but the texture was coarse like the hair on a horse’s tail.
Whatever it was, she suspected it was responsible for the attack on Cassie. The only question was what to do about it. A couple ideas popped into her head, but she’d need help from the coven to make it happen. With that thought in mind, she powered up her phone and started dialing.
Two hours and a couple dozen phone calls later, the witches of Cassie’s coven were gathered for an emergency meeting.
With Cassie’s house reduced to ashes, the witches decided to assemble in Gina’s home. Everything in the house was neat and clean, but comfortably lived-in. An afghan was tossed over the back of the sofa, and a dog leash hung from a hook attached to the inside of the front door. There was art on the walls along with clusters of photos, presumably of family and friends. The faint scent of cinnamon clung to the air, giving the place a warm, homey feel.
Outside, rain drummed against the roof and pelted the windows. As each witch arrived, she added another umbrella to the growing collection on the front porch.
With the exception of one witch who was away on vacation, every member of the coven was present and accounted for. They were packed into Gina’s cozy living room, some standing because there weren’t enough places to sit. The twins were on the couch next to Elsie, murmuring to each other in hushed tones. They both looked stressed out, and who could blame them? Not only was their close friend and coven leader in the hospital, but they’d also lost nearly everything they owned in the fire. The rest of the coven appeared equally anxious, looking to Gina and Marlena for guidance.
“Might as well get this show on the road,” Adam said, his hand a warm, solid weight at the small of her back. Gina flanked her other side, providing a unified front.
Marlena swallowed hard, her stomach twisting in knots. All her life, she’d stayed in the shadows to avoid bringing attention to herself. Now here she was, with a reaper by her side, about to assume a leadership position among a coven of witches.
She slanted a sidelong glance to Gina. “Ready?” she asked, and the witch nodded.
Marlena clapped her hands to get the coven’s attention, and a hush fell over the room. “I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice. And thank you, Gina, for allowing us to use your house for the meeting. By now, I’m sure you’ve already heard about what happened to Cassie.”
Every witch in the room nodded, while a number of them peppered her with questions.
“How’s she doing?”
“When can we see her?”
“Is she going to be okay?”
Marlena coughed to clear her throat. “She’s still in ICU, and the doctors say it’s going to be touch and go for the next couple days. I’ll let you know as soon as they move her to a regular room where she can have visitors.” The memory of her daughter hooked to IVs and machines never failed to make her eyes sting. She blinked back the tears, forcing herself to concentrate on what she had to do. “The reason I called you all here today is because I found something that mig
ht belong to whoever was responsible for the attack.”
Marlena held up the bag containing the matted hair before passing it to Gina. She’d meant to let the witch inspect it before the meeting, but with everything going on she’d simply run out of time. “I found this at Cassie’s house. Can any of you ladies identify who or what it belongs to?”
Gina opened the bag and rubbed the hair between her fingers. Dipping her head, she sniffed. “Whatever it is, it’s not human.” She frowned. “It’s giving off a really strange vibe, like it’s not even from this world.”
That was what she was afraid of. The prospect of Cassie’s assailant escaping justice made her sick to her stomach.
“If it’s still around, there might be a way to contain it,” Gina said before passing the bag to Elsie.
“Are you crazy?” one of the witches exclaimed. “If this thing was strong enough to put Cassie in the hospital, how the hell are we supposed to take it down?”
Anxious murmurs erupted throughout the room. Half of the coven balked at the idea of taking action while the other half insisted there had to be a way.
“Our coven leader was attacked.” Gina’s commanding voice rose over the crowd, and a hush fell across the room. “We cannot allow that to go unanswered. It’s our duty to stand for Cassandra. We can do this, ladies. I wouldn’t tell you that if I didn’t think it was true. But if it’s strong enough to do this much damage, it’s going to require our combined power to bring it to justice.”
“I’m in,” Antonella said as she rose from her seat, and Maria declared, “Me too.”
“Count me in,” Ramona said.
Jordan stood. “Yeah, just tell me what to do.”
One by one, the witches chimed in, until the entire coven had pledged their support. Marlena bit her bottom lip, touched to see the witches so willing to volunteer to fight an unknown enemy. “Thank you, ladies. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“There’s no need to thank us. It’s the least we can do. The coven takes care of their own.” Gina shifted her focus back to the witches in the room. “All right, ladies, gather around. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
