by Laken Cane
Basilia pulled open the door and as soon as Abby had stepped through the doorway, she grabbed her arm. “Are you all right? What’s wrong?”
Jewel appeared suddenly behind Basilia, and her eyes widened. “They broke the alpha and flung him into Waifwater Woods.”
Basilia gasped and put a hand to her chest. “What?”
“They took my love, Mama,” Abby cried. “The council took Eli.”
Her mother drew her into her arms. “Oh, no. Oh, Abby, I’m sorry, sweetheart. You found someone to love you and they snatched him from your arms.” She straightened and pushed Abby gently away. “We will not cry. We will make it right.”
“We will kill them all,” Jewel said.
“Indeed,” Basilia agreed.
“I don’t want revenge,” Abby said, wiping her eyes. “I want Eli.”
“They should be punished for killing him,” Basilia said. “You have your wand. Go after them.”
“Mother,” Abby said, feeling as though the effort of listening and talking to Basilia was simply too much. “We do not just kill people.”
“They’re wolves,” Jewel said.
Abby simply stared them both down, too frustrated to speak.
Basilia pulled her farther down the path. “Come in for tea. We’ll discuss it.”
Abby clenched her fists. “There’s nothing we can do, is there? There’s no way to get Eli out of Waifwater Woods.”
Despite the ghost and his tracking abilities and his deal, Abby could not leave Basilia and Jewel alone in the pocket. She could not.
Basilia shook her head. “No. I’m sorry, Abby.” Then she brightened. “But we can concoct something to help you forget him.”
“I don’t want to forget him,” Abby said, resolute. “If his memory is all I’m left with, then I’ll cherish it.”
She turned away.
“Where are you going?” Basilia asked, her eyes full of sorrow.
“Home,” Abby whispered. Her mother couldn’t help her. No one could.
Basilia gestured at her cottage. “Let me take care of you. Come inside, darling.”
“Not right now, Mama. I need to just…I need to be alone.” Alone was a terrible way to be. Alone while the love of her life roamed Waifwater Woods.
No.
“I will walk her out,” Jewel said, and entwined her fingers with Abby’s.
“I never told him I love him,” Abby said, when they were walking back down the path.
“He knows how you feel.” Jewel squeezed her hand. “And when you see him again, you are to tell him.”
But Abby wasn’t lingering in denial. “No. I’ll never see him again. But I’ll go to the woods and I’ll scream it every single day. Maybe he’ll hear me.” She looked at Jewel, hopeful. “Do you think he will?”
When they reached the door, she and Jewel faced each other, silent. Finally, Jewel seemed to decide something, and she gave a small nod. “I told you I keep many secrets.”
Abby stared into the demon’s lovely face, and her heart began galloping hard and fast. “Jewel?”
“It is dangerous, but it is possible.”
Abby clutched the girl’s hand. “Tell me what you know.”
“There is a path into the woods where your alpha has gone.”
“Inside the pocket?” Abby whispered.
Jewel nodded. “The pocket is part of the woods, Abby. Our father made a doorway there just in case he…” She hesitated, something Jewel did not usually do. She was nothing if not unflinching.
“Father made a connection between the pocket and the woods?” Abby wasn’t sure she could bear so many different shocks all on the same day. “How do you know? Why did he create it? Why did—”
“Shhh,” Jewel said. “Be quiet and I will tell you.”
Abby nodded.
“It is an escape route for our mother,” Jewel said. “If Acadia finds the pocket, we can leave through the second doorway that leads into the woods. Her sickness will not return as it would if she stepped through your door.” She tapped on the glowing wood of the door. “If she steps through this door, she will turn to dust before your eyes and she will be no more. So he created a second door for her. It is not ideal, but in an emergency…” She shrugged. “If the pocket implodes, the woods are waiting. And if you go in through that door, I can lead you back home.”
Could that be true? Could she bring Eli home?
“Wait.” Abby’s voice wobbled, but at least it made it through her throat, which was so thick with tears it hurt her to talk. “Does Mother know? How do you know?”
And why do I feel so betrayed?
“Henry gave me his thoughts,” Jewel said. “Before he sent me here. Our mother does not know. She would be tempted to…” Again, she paused. “To go there, maybe. If the day comes, I will tell her.”
And at last, Abby understood why Jewel was being so hesitant. “He’s in there, isn’t he?” she whispered. “That’s where he went when he disappeared.”
“Perhaps,” Jewel said. “But when I listen, the voices are too chaotic for me to separate one from the other.”
Abby took a deep breath. She was hopeful, afraid to hope, and just plain afraid. “Then how will you lead me home?”
Jewel looked surprised. “I will hold the thread of your voice when you go in, and I will not let it go. We are connected anyway. I can do it.”
“You hear their voices?” Abby stared at her sister, horrified. Hurt. Stunned.
“There are many lost inside Waifwater Woods.” Jewel’s eyes glowed red and black. “I hear them. But I would not guide them here if I could. Only you.” She twisted her hands together and a ripple of pain crossed her face. “They are…annoying.”
Abby was frozen in shock, unable to think clearly as her thoughts battered the walls of her mind, all clamoring to be heard at once. “Can Father have been inside Waifwater Woods all these years, Jewel?” For a second, rage choked her. “And you didn’t tell me?”
Jewel tilted her head, a spark of genuine bewilderment lighting her eyes. “Why should I have told you? It would have served no purpose. I am not certain he is inside the woods.”
Abby sighed. Jewel was not like other people. She did not think like other people.
“I believe,” Jewel said, interrupting Abby’s thoughts. Her anger. “That you are missing the point, Sister. Your alpha may not be lost to you.”
Abby gasped, her eyes flying open. “Eli,” she breathed. “I will bring him home.”
Jewel lifted her chin. “No. You will go in after him. You will find him. And I will bring him home.”
Chapter Eight
“Mother will be furious,” Jewel said. “I will tell her it was your idea.”
“Jewel, there’s something else.”
Jewel narrowed her eyes; when she tried to slip inside Abby’s mind, Abby was there to block her.
“What else?” Jewel asked.
Abby gave her an abbreviated version of her meeting with Trace Ferrell. “It’s the only way I can find Eli. Trace says he can track him. Maybe he’s lying but…” She shrugged. “If he’s telling the truth, it could save me a lot of time and trouble.”
Jewel nodded. “You might never find the alpha by yourself. The woods are endless and malicious.”
“How would you know?”
Jewel squinted. “One would think.”
“Yes,” Abby said, unconvinced. “One would.”
“Bring him to me,” Jewel said. “And then I will decide.”
Abby studied her curiously. “You know how to do the spirit transfer spell?”
“Of course.” And though she tried her best, surely, not to scoff, the girl couldn’t hide her disdain.
Abby grinned. “You always were too smart for your own good.”
“I am extremely intelligent. I have learned this by sneaking into other people’s minds and comparing myself to them.”
“You’re only ever around Mother and me,” Abby said.
Jewel li
fted her eyebrows. “Yes.”
“Brat,” Abby said, tugging her sister’s hair. “What a brat you are.” She paused at the exit door. “Can you soften the blow with mother? Tell her as gently as possible what we are about to begin. Meanwhile, I will pack supplies and fetch the ghost.” She took a deep, cleansing breath. “We’re really doing this. We have hope, Jewel.”
Jewel peered at her through thick hair so black it was almost blue. Her red-rimmed eyes seemed, for a second, to glow like banked coals, and the color of shiny emeralds sparkled in the red and brown depths. “Hope,” she repeated, as though the word were foreign to her and she was trying to learn to pronounce it.
Abby patted the wand in her pocket, a habit she’d picked up after her mother had created the wand of obedience for her. Always checking to make sure it hadn’t somehow disappeared.
“But are you sure you want the ghost in there with you?” Jewel tapped Abby’s temple. “He may steal your memories. There’s not enough time to learn how to keep your thoughts from him.”
Abby hesitated, then nodded, resolute. “I’m sure. I’ll carry him into the woods, he’ll leave me and find his body, then return to lead me to the alpha.” Even to her desperate ears, the words were unbelievable. So much could go wrong.
“It will be all right,” Jewel promised. “But you don’t have to be the ghost’s vessel. We can use Becky.”
Abby had completely forgotten about Becky Bates. But… “No. Becky was a friend. Mother won’t have it. Besides, we can’t force her into those woods.”
Jewel leaned toward her. “If you knew what was in her thoughts, you would not care so much about Becky Bates,” she murmured.
Abby swallowed past the sudden lump of fear lodged in her throat. “Is she a danger to you? To Mother?”
“Not to me,” Jewel said, offended at the very notion. “But if she gets the chance, she is a danger to our mother.”
Would she get a chance? Basilia was canny, and she was angry and hurt over Becky’s betrayal. But was there a possibility that Becky could get close enough to hurt her mother?
Yes. There was always a chance—especially since Basilia was the one who kept the empath imprisoned. She took care of her—fed her, clothed her, spoke to her. Every single day.
“Becky asked to speak with me,” Abby decided, finally. “I won’t push her into the woods, but I’ll find a way to control her.”
Jewel shrugged. “All right. Come with me.”
Abby hadn’t seen Becky since the day she’d betrayed them with the demon hunter, Mel Damon. Basilia swore she’d never release the girl. But if Becky convinced Basilia there were reasons for her actions, or that she’d changed…
It was risky, having her there in the pocket. Very risky.
But Becky Bates couldn’t be released unless she died or was shoved into Waifwater Woods.
Jewel led her through a field of wildflowers, over a gentle rise, and into a small, dense woods. “There,” she said, finally, pointing.
The empath’s prison was a tiny area surrounded with invisible walls—or nearly invisible; Abby saw the air wavering around the girl and knew those were her impregnable cell walls—with sparse furnishings neatly spaced and a thick evergreen for shade.
It almost looked like the girl was relaxing under a tree, maybe having a picnic, reading a book…
Until one looked closer.
Abby stood silently beside Jewel, staring at the prisoner, and her heart began to hurt. Becky had been her friend for many, many years, and she felt the absence of that friendship like a physical pain.
She made sure the shields surrounding her mind were up, and she walked on to face Becky Bates.
Becky sat with her back to Abby and Jewel, but Abby knew she was aware they were there. None of them spoke for a few heavy minutes until finally, Becky stood and walked to the barrier.
Abby swallowed hard as Becky stared into her eyes, but she didn’t break the contact. She gazed calmly back, and she neither moved nor spoke.
“I’m glad you came,” Becky told her.
“You might change your mind when you discover why I’m here.”
Surprise lit Becky’s usually blank eyes. “Basilia didn’t send you? You came on your own then. To visit me.”
Abby studied the other woman’s face. “If it were up to me, you’d be dead.”
Becky gave a slow smile that widened even as Abby curled her lip in disgust. “You never could lie to me,” the empath said.
“You’re a monster.” Abby gave her wand a habitual pat. “I’m not sure how I didn’t know.”
Becky dropped her smile. “You did know, Abby. You simply refused to believe it.”
“She doesn’t have the ability to feel the way you do, Sister,” Jewel said. “It is not her fault.”
Becky nodded. “The little demon is correct. I don’t know how to be as you are. I try, but I can’t seem to manage. Inside my mind is chaos. I am not good.”
“Nor bad?” Abby said, with a snort of derision.
“Oh, no. I’m definitely bad. Or what you would define as bad,” Becky said, calmly.
“I don’t understand how an empath can be so…awful,” Abby said.
“It’s because you confuse empath with empathy,” Becky told her. “I can read people. I can know what you’re thinking, how you’re feeling, how you will react. But I don’t empathize with you. It’s very simple, really.”
“You seemed to empathize plenty with Mel Damon.”
“True,” Becky said. “Why not? He could charm even Acadia the demon witch. I am not the first woman to turn on her friends and family for a man.” Then she murmured, “Or herself.”
Indeed.
Abby hardened her heart.
“I’ve come to decide whether or not you’re a danger to my mother,” Abby said, crisply changing the subject. “And I believe you are.”
“And?” Becky asked. “Will you kill me because of that perceived danger?” Something dark flashed through her eyes.
Abby couldn’t identify it and didn’t care to try. “I’m not a killer.”
Becky placed her palm against the invisible wall. “Abby, please. I asked to see you because I…”
Abby lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes. “What?”
“I need a favor.”
Abby gave a burst of surprised laughter. “I doubt I’m the one to ask for a favor, Beck.”
And finally, Becky looked away. “I am sorry,” she whispered.
“Yes, well,” Abby said, clearing her throat. “What do you want?”
Becky wiped her eyes. “I want you to bring Toad to me. He’s been alone for too long. Without me…well, you can imagine. It would be the same with your dogs.” She looked at Abby. “Don’t make him suffer for my sins.”
“Oh.” Abby bit her lip, frowning. “Your poor cat. I haven’t seen him.”
“He’s there. Call him. Call him and he will come. Then bring him to me. Please, please, Abby.”
Abby said nothing.
“Do you want me to beg?” Becky dropped to her knees. “I will beg.”
Abby slapped the invisible glass. “Get up, Becky.”
Becky stared up at her. “Will you bring him?”
Abby had realized one important thing while talking with Becky. The empath was already causing Abby to soften toward her, to make her believe Becky wasn’t really the monster she’d been while with Mel Damon.
And that had been during a ten minute visit.
She’d had weeks to work on Basilia.
If Abby didn’t get Becky away from her, Basilia would cave, and she would be hurt.
“I’ll take you to him,” she decided.
Becky’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I’m going to send you into Waifwater Woods.” Abby kept her voice even. “And Toad can go with you.”
Becky took a step back, her lips parted. “Waifwater Woods?” But she didn’t sound afraid. Her breath quickened, and she put her fingers to her mouth. She darted a
quick glance at Abby, then Jewel. She said nothing more.
Abby didn’t have to be a mind reader to know the empath was excited about leaving her cell in the pocket, but was afraid to voice that excitement lest it be considered a reward instead of punishment and be snatched from her.
But Abby wasn’t taking the dubious gift back. She turned to Jewel. “I need the wheelbarrow.”
Jewel looked confused. “You’re taking her now?”
“I have to fetch the ghost. If Becky enters the woods from outside the pocket, I have a small hope that I won’t meet up with her when I go in.”
Jewel thought for a moment, then nodded. “I see your point.” She jogged away, and Becky and Abby ignored each other until the girl returned with the wheelbarrow.
“Why don’t you just float her out?” Jewel asked.
“It would be tiring to float her all the way to the woods, Jewel.”
“Oh,” Jewel said. “Of course.” Again there was a tiny scoff in her voice, as though she would have had no trouble floating Becky to Waifwater Woods and had only just realized that Abby wasn’t quite that strong.
“I don’t trust you not to run,” Abby told Becky, “so I’m going to paralyze you until we reach the woods.” She also didn’t want Becky alerting Basilia.
“Do whatever you need to do,” Becky said, her voice soft.
Abby pulled her obedient wand from her pocket and turned to Becky’s cell, then zapped open the door. Almost before the flare of power had dimmed, Becky leapt from the cell and began running away, her legs pumping furiously.
Abby rolled her eyes, sighing, then pointed the wand and mumbled, letting the power build—but only for a second. She wanted to paralyze the silly woman, not knock off her limbs.
Becky crumbled to the ground immediately and lay like the dead.
“When I return,” Abby told Jewel, “I’ll bring Trace and we’ll...” She shivered, and for a second, her voice failed her. “Go. We’ll go.”
Jewel nodded. “All right, dear. I will be ready. See that you are.”
Chapter Nine
She reached the door with the feeling that Basilia was right on her heels and would yank Becky from her grasp, but finally, she shoved the wheelbarrow through and slammed the door behind her. She stood still for a long moment, panting.
