by Cady Vance
“You can’t go,” he said. “Not until you promise me you’re going to stay out of this.”
I lifted my chin. “You can’t stop me.”
His face looked pained. “It’s too dangerous. Stay here, get some sleep, and I’ll look in on your mother. We’ll figure out a way to make everything okay.”
“You aren’t going to change my mind.” I moved out of the living room and down the hall toward Laura’s room.
From behind me, Mr. Fisher said, “If you try taking Laura with you, I’ll call the police.”
I paused and turned, shock hitting me like a school bus head-on. He looked sad. And very tired. But I knew he wasn’t bluffing. He’d do what he had to in order to keep his daughter safe. I guess I understood, but that didn’t mean I thought it was fair. I didn’t think I had much time left to save my mom. And I didn’t want to face the shaman on my own.
CHAPTER 26
My truck idled while my fingers hovered over my phone. I had so many questions about, well, everything. All it would take was one call to Anthony Lombardi. His business card was stuffed in the cracks of my dashboard.
I turned my truck off to save gas, flipped open the phone and counted the rings, hoping it wasn’t too early for him to be awake.
“Hello?” His voice sounded musical with that one word.
“Mr. Lombardi? Anthony? This is Holly Bennett.” I stared at Laura’s peaceful, white-picket-fenced yard and wondered for the fifth time if calling Anthony was a terrible idea.
“Holly.” The musical tenor fell away, and I thought I heard sheets rustle in the background. “You sound like you’ve smoked a pack of cigars. Something wrong?”
I bit my lip and closed my eyes, resting my forehead on the steering wheel. “Mom won’t respond anymore. She can’t.”
“Mmm. I see. Did you summon the spirit? Did he show you anything?”
“Yes. The building where it happened.”
“Good.” He sighed. “Now, listen. Be careful if you go to this place, but do it soon.”
“Because she doesn’t have much time left.” The words felt like punches against my ears.
“Listen,” he said, and his tone made me brace myself. “There have been a few other cases of shamans getting stuck in the Borderland, and once they stop responding, they have only a few hours left. Twenty-four at most.”
A snake coiled around my heart and squeezed so tight I doubled over on the wheel. I whispered into the phone, unable to force my voice louder. “Twenty-four hours? This happened last night.”
“Well, then you don’t have much time.” The call clicked off, and I pulled the phone away from my ear to stare at it. He’d just hung up. He’d told me my mom had less than a day to live, and he hung up on me?
I blinked away burning tears and backed out of the drive. My breath shook my whole body. Mom had less than twenty-four hours. It was all I could do to watch the road. I didn’t know how to function like a normal person with that information crowding my mind. I brushed the tears off my cheeks, mentally preparing myself for what I needed to do today. Visit the building the spirit had shown me, where the shaman might be.
At home, Mom was the same, although her breathing seemed a little slower than last night. I pulled the blanket tighter around her before I dialed Nathan’s cell.
He answered after one ring.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “I’ve been crazy worried about you guys. Did you get out? Laura’s dad said he’d take care of it. God, Holly, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”
“I’m okay. A little shaken up, but okay. Can I come by?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said. “See you soon?”
“Be there in five,” I said.
When I pulled into the driveway, I drank in the Victorian-style wrap-around porch, the tire swing blowing in the breeze and the apples dotting the yard below low-hanging branches. I was surprised to see Kylie’s little blue car sitting by the curb. Nathan hadn’t mentioned she was there. I hesitated in my truck, thinking there had to be a good explanation, but I couldn’t think of any reason his ex-girlfriend would be at his house so early in the morning. Unless…
I shook my head and hopped out of my truck. As I walked up the drive, I wondered if I’d made a mistake in coming here. But then Nathan opened the door and smiled, and all my doubts fell away. He rushed down the steps, and my feet pounded the pavement toward him. When he reached me, he threw his arms around me and pulled me tight to his chest. My feet lifted off the ground as I buried my face in his cookie-scented t-shirt. I closed my eyes, melting in his arms. It felt nice, safe.
He pulled back, let me down and looked into my eyes. “You okay? You look like you haven’t gotten any sleep.”
I realized I was still wearing my crumpled t-shirt from the night before, and during my short stop home I’d forgotten to brush my teeth and wash my face. I patted my frizzy hair self-consciously. I didn’t want to look in a mirror. I knew if I did, I’d see my hazel eyes streaked with red, and under them, dark splotches on my usually pink skin.
“It’s been a long night, and it’s going to be an even longer day. I have to go to Boston again.” Then, I looked over my shoulder at Kylie’s bright blue car and asked the question I was afraid to ask. “Is Kylie here?”
He nodded. “She’s staying here for a couple of days.”
Staying here? My face must have reflected my shock because he pulled me into his arms again.
“We’re just friends,” he said into my hair. “She's going through some family problems right now, and she needs a friend. Her parents are missing.”
Missing? “A girl doesn’t just stay the night with her ex-boyfriend unless she’s hoping something will happen.” The words popped out of my mouth.
He pulled away when the front door opened. I glanced around him to see Kylie standing on the porch, glamorous even in a t-shirt that looked several sizes too big for her. It looked like Nathan’s shirt. The snake around my heart coiled even tighter.
She brushed her perfect, glossy hair out of her eyes and frowned when she saw me. “What’s going on?”
“I’m wondering the same thing,” I said.
“Holly,” Nathan said, lowering his voice. “I swear Kylie and I are just friends.”
“We are?” Kylie asked. Her frown deepened, and she crossed her arms over her chest.
I took a step back, forcing myself not to run as fast as I could away from here. It was all I could do not to let tears ink out of my eyes. After everything that had happened, I couldn’t deal with this right now.
“Looks like you two need to work some things out.” I took another step back, and my feet stumbled on the pavement. “See you later, Nathan.”
“Don’t go.” His green eyes drooped, no smile in them for once.
I shook my head. “I’m not going to stay when you guys clearly need to talk.”
“Why are you going to Boston? Do you need help? This is something about…your mom, isn’t it?” His eyes were pleading with me to stay, and I didn’t understand how he could expect that from me. Not when Kylie was here. Not when whatever was going on.
“Later.” I gave into my urge to run. I turned around and sprang into my truck, jealousy and pain blinding me as I reversed and spun onto the street, pulling away from Nathan, pulling away from the best thing that had happened to me in a very long time.
***
I pulled on my hoodie as I drove down the interstate, windows down and hair blowing in the wind. I pushed in my tape adapter so I could listen to Laura’s old iPod and try to distract myself from what I was about to do. To distract myself from what I’d left behind.
As the mile markers whizzed past, it finally sunk in how stupid what I had planned was. Walking into the building connected to a dangerous shaman was a mathematical equation for dumbass. If my life had been a movie, and I the heroine, I would have been laughing at myself and my stupidity.
But I didn’t know what else I could do. It wasn’t like I had a lot of options.
My cell phone rang. It was Laura. I pushed the speaker-phone button and paused the iPod.
“Hey, Laura.”
“I can’t believe my dad told you to go without me,” she said. I heard a door slam, and I knew she was being dramatic for his sake. Normally, I would have cheered her on, but I couldn’t blame him for wanting to keep his daughter safe from dangerous shamans.
“That’s not exactly what happened.” I slowed as a semi passed, shaking my truck. “He told me not to go, and he said if I took you, he’d call the cops on us.”
She made a grunt like she didn’t believe it. “No way he would have done that.”
“He looked pretty serious about it.”
“Yeah, well.” Springs squealed as she plopped onto her bed. “Are you on the road? Should I follow you? I have my car.”
“No, I don’t want to piss off your dad.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter. I wanted her to come with me so bad, but I also didn’t want to put her in danger any more than I already had. “I didn’t tell him where I was going, but I wouldn’t put it past him to follow you if you left the house.”
“This sucks,” she said. “I feel useless.”
“Can you check on my mom later?” I flicked my blinker to change lanes. “I'm hoping to be back after lunch, but I don’t know how long this will take.” All I knew was I needed to find this building before night fell.
“Alright,” she said, sounding grumpy. “I still don’t like the thought of you doing this on your own.”
“It was the building where my mom got attacked.” I rubbed my tired eyes. “He might not even be there.”
“What does your Intuition tell you?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I said. “Which is a good sign. I think if I were heading into trouble, I’d be getting chills and a headache like last night.”
“Okay,” she said, “but if you start feeling that way, can you not go in? Wait a day or something? We can figure out a way to go without my dad finding out.”
“Sure,” I said, crossing my fingers with the lie. If I waited…well, I just couldn’t do that.
We hung up. I turned the iPod onto my favorite song, and put it on repeat.
My eyes tried to slide shut as I drove. Lack of sleep from the night before was finally wearing me thin. I blinked about a million times, forcing myself to focus on the road. On the white lines flying past. On the fields of grass blowing in the breeze.
I gasped when my entire body began to sing. The truck buzzed and glowed around me, my Wonder Woman toy bouncing a happy beat. It was like she danced to the music. The air tasted sweet and delicious. Cars sparkled in the sunlight. My body hummed with energy.
The spirit was feeding again. My neighbor’s life was eeking into mine, all my senses going into overdrive. Then, the slow roll began, signaling it was over, and the intensity dropped away. I let out a breath of relief, even though it left me aching for more. I shook my head hard to get those thoughts out of my mind. I tried to stop myself from being grateful for it, but I was awake now, eyes open wide, mind clear.
My song turned over into its ninth time on repeat, but I still didn’t believe everything was going to be alright. Not when my entire life was unraveling. Not when I was using someone else’s life as my own so I could survive. Not when I had enjoyed it.
And not when I was no longer sure I was the heroine of my own story.
CHAPTER 27
The red needle hovered on empty. Everything inside me wanted to push the pedal harder, get to the building as fast as I could. I didn’t have time to stop, I couldn’t afford to fill my gas tank, but I also didn’t have time to run out of gas on the side of the road. So, I flicked my blinker and steered toward the off-ramp. Just off the highway, I found a bustling ten-pump travel plaza, a squat, dull gray building surrounded by hunkered automobiles tubing gas into their metal stomachs.
As I stepped out of my truck to a blast of diesel fumes, a familiar red Mustang crawled into the spot beside me. Nathan. I blinked. Nathan? The ocean rushed in my ears. He climbed out, and his green eyes met mine over the top of his car.
“Nathan?” I found my voice. “What are you doing here?”
He moved around the side of his car and stopped only inches away. My eyes flew down to his red polo shirt. A black patch stitched with a yellow letter “R” was attached to his shirt by a safety pin, covering his usual Polo emblem. I looked back up at him, eyes wide.
He took my hands in his and leaned closer. His warm breath thawed my cheeks. “I didn’t know how else to show you how I feel other than becoming your own personal Robin.” He tapped the patch with his forefinger. “See? I said I’d never wear a Robin costume, but here I am, wearing one for the whole world to see. Well, maybe just a gas station, but still. I’m wearing it for you.”
The corners of my mouth quirked up, and the heat spread from my cheeks to my heart. “You followed me?”
“I headed toward Boston and hoped I’d catch up.”
My attention was drawn to the Robin patch again. My heart squeezed, but this time, in a good way. I realized I’d been stupid for not believing him about Kylie. He’d shown up here wearing a Robin patch just to show me that he cared. A part of me melted a little inside. I wanted to pull his head lower and press my lips against his. I wanted him to know I felt the same.
“You’re such a nerd,” I said.
“I know.”
I inched closer, and the small smile bloomed into a full-on grin. “Where did you even get that thing?”
“Comic Con last year.” He lips curved up, seeing the grin on my face, and raised his voice over the roar of truck engines. “I’m sorry about Kylie. She really is having some problems right now, and I thought she knew we were just friends. It was my mistake for giving her the wrong idea.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, too. For assuming the worst. Are her parents really missing?”
“Yeah, for a few days.” He sighed. “At first, she thought it was their usual disappearing act. They’re jetsetters. But they missed some swanky party last night, and Kylie finally decided something was wrong.”
I remembered their room, the half-carved rune on the floor, the open safe. “I have a bad feeling that their disappearance has something to do with the shamans in town.”
“I was afraid you’d say that.” He noticed me shiver, and he rubbed his hands up and down my arms. Even through my thick sweatshirt, my skin sparked from his touch. “Speaking of shamans, why are you going to Boston? You never told me.”
My shoulders slumped to the ground, and the small flash of happiness I’d felt disappeared. “I’ll explain on the way after I get gas.”
“I have a full tank.” He opened the passenger door. “Hop in.”
***
Nathan and I did a drive-by of the building the spirit had shown me, cruising down Belleview, a street I’d definitely label as being on the “wrong side” of town. Every building seemed broken down and abandoned. Boards were nailed to windows. Broken glass littered the stoops. Graffiti was scrawled across every surface.
Nathan locked the doors and kept driving, and I wondered where we could park his new, shiny car that was safe. I didn’t see anyone strolling along the sidewalks, but that didn’t mean they weren’t hidden in the shadows watching.
I wished I had more of a weapon than my fists. I patted my backpack sitting next to me. I did have my knife, and Anthony’s dagger. I didn’t know if I had the balls to use either on someone, but it made me feel safer just knowing they were there.
“Doesn’t look like anyone has been in that building for a long time.” Nathan slowed the car as we passed again.
“That doesn’t mean no one is there.” I shivered just thinking about some crazy shaman hiding out in a barren building.
“Now what?” Nathan pressed his foot on the gas as we left the building behind.
I frowned at our surroundings. “I guess find somewhere relatively safe to park.”
Several blocks la
ter, Nathan slowed again. Here, the streets weren’t empty, the buildings looked lived-in. Graffiti was still everywhere, but I didn’t feel like we were in a dead zone anymore.
Nathan parked in front of a run-down apartment building, and I hopped out to pay a parking meter. Two guys ambled past, laughing loudly. On the other side of the street, a woman hurried by weighed down by grocery bags. Seemed normal enough. When I hopped back inside, Nathan raised his eyebrows in a question-mark.
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
I rubbed my eyes, hoping I could force some sort of brilliant idea into my brain. “I need to go into that building and see what’s in there. I don’t know who or what I’ll find. The only good idea I have is to use the Shadow spell.”
“We, you mean.” He reached over and took my hand. I hadn’t realized it was shaking until then. My shoulders relaxed just the slightest as I met his gaze.
“Okay.” I nodded. “We.”
“Team Awesome.”
“That doesn’t sound nearly badass enough.”
“The Nerdtastic Shaman Seekers?”
“Nerds aren’t exactly known for invoking fear, you know.” But I grinned. I couldn’t help myself. Not around Nathan. I leaned across the console and weaved my arms around him. He buried his face in my hair and sighed. The tantalizing scent of guy’s deodorant mixed with cinnamon bloomed a longing inside me, but now wasn’t the time to give in to that.
After I reluctantly pulled away, I unzipped my backpack and took out my supplies. I’d never done a spell in a car before, and I felt a little “off” doing it here, especially in front of someone else, even if it was Nathan. I wanted to be sitting on a flat floor, items surrounding me in my usual pattern.
I hoped it wouldn't screw up my concentration.
“I’m going to try making you Shadowed, too.” I placed the candle on the seat next to me. “But there’s no guarantee that it will work. If it doesn’t, you should stay in the car.”
“Holly,” he said.
“I’m serious. No visible people walking into that building.”
“Fine, but I don’t like it,” he said, watching me light the candle.
