Inheritance: (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (Heart Lines Series Book 2)

by Heather Hildenbrand

When she quieted, she pinned me with a look and said, “I know you. I have seen you and heard you in the winds. I know all about you, little one.”

  “What do you know about me?” I asked.

  “You have the power of the moon inside you but you are empty yet. There is a wall between your heart and your mind. You misunderstand the flow because you are afraid. Out of your fear, you are Void.”

  “I’m … what?” I shook my head, completely confused and more than a little spooked. The creature’s appearance was off-putting enough but the energy inside this little hovel was getting so thick, it was hard to breathe. And she had read my power—and my fear—so easily.

  If I’d ever doubted my own ability to sense magic, this was prime proof I had an innate gauge. It was all around me now, emanating from the creature, swirling through the fabric of my jacket, curling into the ends of my hair and seeping out from the moss.

  I blinked, forcing myself to concentrate. To breathe. This creature wanted to talk in riddles and I suspected I wouldn’t get answers until I learned to decipher it.

  “I am Samantha Knight. I am a healer, my magic gifted from the moon goddess. But I need to understand it,” I said as confidently as I could.

  “She is old magic.” The creature looked at Alex sharply and he stared back at it. Something passed between them.

  I waited and finally, the creature said, “Very well.” It moved and settled, seeming to get comfortable and I wondered just how long I could stay here before the air crushed in around me and I hyperventilated. “You have a gift but you misunderstand it. There is a balance to keep.” It leaned in, sniffing at me and I caught the scent of earth and damp decay. “You are the one,” it said though it didn’t sound happy about it.

  “She’s the one what?” Alex asked before I could.

  “She’s the balance. She’s the yin,” the creature said. It sat back, wrinkling its face in distaste. “I have heard her on the wind.”

  Alex paled.

  I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong but he only shook his head and pressed his lips together.

  “Any more questions for the collector?” it asked sharply.

  “I am the yin,” I said softly, trying to understand through the riddles. But there was no information here. Only more questions. I huffed out a breath and instead of peppering the creature with more questions, I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and summoned what I could of the heat and white light to the surface. If I couldn’t make her understand my words, maybe I could show her my question.

  The air around me sparked and charged with an electric current that either added to my own energy or came from it—I couldn’t tell anymore.

  The creature gasped and cowered in the corner, huddling against the hovel wall behind it. “No, no, no, you are the yin,” it said, shaking its head back and forth.

  Alex put his hand on my arm and I let the energy recede. “I don’t know what that means,” I said, holding up my lit palms. “But I need your help to use this.” Even as I said the words, the light faded and then snapped out.

  “You are void,” it said again and I sighed.

  This had been pointless.

  “Whatever,” I said, backing out of the opening as dead leaves shuffled around me.

  “You are void,” it said again, sharper. I looked up and watched as it leaned toward me, its raspy, rusty voice vehement now. “You are void. You don’t understand and this is what blocks you.”

  I blinked. “Void,” I said again. “As in something is missing.” I remembered Mirabelle saying those exact words to me just before my Remembrance ceremony. “A piece of me that has to be retrieved,” I whispered, recalling her words.

  The creature nodded emphatically. “You must fill it.”

  “But I regained that piece when I remembered,” I said.

  “You are void,” it said again and I slumped back to the ground, frustrated.

  “What am I missing?” I practically yelled.

  “Your magic is the inheritance but it is does not fill the void,” it said. “You are to keep balance. You are the yin. Sushna knows this because Sushna is the yang.”

  Alex muttered a curse.

  “What does that mean?” I asked, looking back and forth between them. “You are … the opposite of me?”

  Sushna nodded and a few clumps of dirt fell to the ground when her face moved. “When you heal, do you feel it?”

  “Feel what?” I asked.

  “The parts of yourself that you have filled?” Slowly, a dirt-coated arm reached for me and I went still, eyes locked on the creature’s face. I felt Sushna’s dirty hand over my heart, pressing gently. “Here?”

  I shoved the word out, my voice hoarse. “Yes.”

  “You cannot heal until you are whole. The wound exposed must be healed by blood.”

  “Blood?” I repeated, and even though it was the exact answer Mirabelle had given me, I prayed I’d heard wrong. My heart thudded in my chest as Sushna nodded.

  “Blood. The life force inside you. You think to heal means to give but you don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?” I asked.

  “You are a taker,” Sushna croaked. “You take it from them and its yours. Into your blood. Into your life force. You are the yin. I am the yang. I am the giver.”

  Whatever I’d been expecting, it hadn’t been that. I sat back, dazed at what she was proposing. Beside me, Alex was uncharacteristically silent. I wanted to look over, to check on him, assure myself he was okay. But my head spun with Sushna’s words.

  And deep down, there was a Knowing that she was right.

  I looked at Sushna, my fear slowly transforming to trust as I felt the truth of what she’d just told me. “You are the yang,” I said slowly, trying to understand. “The giver. What does that mean? What can you do?”

  Sushna smiled a muddy smile. “I can show you… if you ask me.”

  “Sam, no!” Alex yelled but I was already nodding.

  “Yes. Show me,” I said, leaning in.

  Sushna’s eyes lit.

  Outside our little hovel, the forest quivered.

  “Time to go,” Alex said suddenly, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me to my feet. I stumbled backward in an effort to keep up as he hurried us back into the forest and away from the old woman.

  All around us, the trees bent and leaned, their branches moving in a wind that didn’t exist. Stretching. Reaching for Alex and I. There was a collective hum from them and their movements slowed but they didn’t stop, only whined louder in a quivering vibration that sparked fear all the way into my bones.

  I stared in fascinated horror as the creature crawled out and stood among them. Sushna.

  I watched as she grew to twice the height she’d been a moment ago. Without Alex shoving me, I would have frozen solid in surprise and fear and, frankly, a curiosity that probably would have gotten me killed. Alex ushered me back the way we’d come, his knuckles white with his grip on my jacket.

  But when the creature spoke, I heard her as if she spoke into my ear. “I am The Witherer. And you invited it.”

  When the pain hit me, it was like nothing I’d ever felt before.

  I screamed, shocked at the sound that tore from my throat as searing pain ripped through my insides. Like needles and fire and a thousand knives against my heart, it burned and ached until I felt my knees buckle and my legs gave.

  Alex caught me, muttering a constant string of curses against my ear as he stuffed his spear gun away and lifted me into his arms, running in the direction we’d come.

  I clung to the sound of his voice, wailing and crying and writhing in his arms against a pain so fierce I accepted and even welcomed death. Anything if it meant breaking free of this.

  In the distance—and also still in my ear—I heard Sushna laughing hysterically. Alex picked up the pace, jostling me, though it was nothing compared to the internal attack. Just before he slipped back through the small opening leading back to the trail, I caught sight of the c
reature.

  Sushna stood at least six feet tall, all traced of mud and decay gone. Instead, she was fresh-faced and clear-skinned and radiant as she stared back at me with wild eyes. Leaves still clung to her golden hair and tattered dress but she looked more like a wood nymph than a mud-monster.

  Our eyes met and she gave one final laugh that I felt into the depths of my soul—and then Alex ducked out of her deadly reach and she was gone, along with the searing and debilitating pain she’d offered me as a parting gift.

  I sighed, melting against Alex’s arms and curling in toward his chest, needing the comfort of his heated skin against my own clamminess. In the absence of pain, I was exhausted.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  I nodded, wrapping my arms around his neck and hugging him tight in silent gratitude. I didn’t trust my voice. And my skin still smarted as if I’d been scorched—or sunburned from the Equator, maybe.

  “Why did she…?” I managed after a moment.

  Alex’s expression was a hardened mask. Only his eyes held any hint of emotion and in them was pure fury and pain. “What you said at the end… when you asked her why she is the yang, it was what she needed you to say in order to hurt you.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. Why would she need me to ask?”

  “Do you remember when you tried healing me the other night? Do you remember how it drained you?” I nodded. “Sushna says it’s because magic like hers, and like yours, the old magic, has to be invited.”

  “And I invited her,” I said, finally understanding. “But what was that exactly? I mean, what is it she did?”

  Alex looked down and I watched as his mask fell and the pain he’d been holding back spilled over, contorting his expression. Worry lines on his forehead and knitted brows and a deep frown marred his face. He leaned down and kissed me softly along my jaw and then on my mouth. It wasn’t hot or hungry—more like a reassurance that I was all right.

  “Centuries ago, Sushna roamed the Earth, doing as she pleased. She took down entire villages in a single night. Feeding from it. You saw what it cost her, though. So she ended here in the forest where she waits. And the victims are fewer but the cost is less.” He paused and then said, “Her gift is pain.”

  “She gives pain,” I said.

  Alex nodded, his expression contorted in a pain of his own. “Yes.”

  And suddenly it all clicked together. She was the yang. A pain giver. I was the yin. The pain taker.

  And just like that, I knew what I had to do.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Alex

  The venom was like molasses inside me. It coated my organs and the inside of my skin until it was all I could feel of my own body as I walked.

  Sam trudged slowly beside me, both of us quiet from exhaustion as we made our way back to where I’d parked the truck. The return trip felt like it took twice as long. We were close, though. The woods had opened up and I’d veered us around the public trail, careful to keep away from any hikers. We didn’t need a concerned citizen noticing how rough up we both looked with our haggard faces and limp movements. Besides, I felt like shit and anyone who stopped me now was getting staked—werewolf or not.

  The venom had kicked things up a notch since we’d left the enchanted barrier separating Sushna’s domain from this one. Suspicion crept in that the old hag had done something to cause this, but deep down, I knew it was just the end hastening toward me. And fast.

  Urgency washed over me, to stop Sam and talk to her. To make things right before it was too late, but like the stubborn-ass I was, I ignored it. Besides, she wasn’t safe yet and I hadn’t yet lined up a replacement for when I was gone. Until that happened, I was determined I wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Weird,” Sam muttered beside me.

  “What is it?” I asked, my voice hollow and monotone in the wake of my lethargy.

  “Indra,” she said, holding up her phone. She’d been fiddling with it for the last half mile, trying to get service. Ever since I’d asked her to check in with RJ and Edie to let them know we were okay.

  “Who is Indra?” I asked, trying to hide my own irritation. I didn’t have the energy left for small talk. But I wasn’t about to tell her that.

  “She’s a client of Mirabelle’s. She has a shop in Creeper Alley that sells exotic statues and religious artifacts mostly, but she orders things from us for her own rituals. Usually full moon stuff,” Sam said, frowning as she read something on her phone.

  I waited, figured she’d tell me when she was ready. Sam bit her lip as she typed out a quick response. A moment later, I was rewarded with an explanation—and a distressed expression to go with it. “The text says that her store was broken into last night.”

  “When was the last time you were there?” I asked, suddenly on alert as I thought about the strange break-in at Kiwi’s. Sam’s scent, although faint, had been there. And it was a possibility, since Sam had made deliveries there in the past that same faint scent had drawn whoever this was to Indra’s store.

  “A week or so before I left for Guam,” she said. “Why?” I didn’t answer. Not enough information. “She’s asking us to come take a look,” Sam added.

  “All right,” I said in a tight voice.

  Sam looked up at me and paused, her eyes flicking over my face and body, assessing. “Maybe I should drop you at home first,” she began.

  I scowled at her and did my best to feign a level of physical health I knew damn well was gone for good at this point. “I’ll make you a deal,” I said, already tossing her the truck keys. “You forego the lecture and fussing over me and I’ll let you drive.”

  Her eyes widened. “Seriously?” she asked in disbelief.

  I know, I couldn’t believe it either. “Don’t make me change my mind,” I said.

  She pressed her lips together and made a zipping motion. “Let’s go,” she said and I sighed in relief, ignoring the sharp ache that came with knowing how short time was for me now. I’d felt tired plenty of times before after a fight or a workout, but this felt different. Bone deep and permanent. No amount of sleep was going to bring me back this time.

  I did everything I could to keep my pace steady and the truth out of my expression. Faint goose bumps pricked at my skin and I stiffened, quickening my pace rather than turn back to face it. Thank God we were almost to the road. With any luck, I could finish out the day, brief RJ and Edie and set them up as Sam’s protection, and then collapse when I knew for sure that Sam was safe.

  I climbed into the truck, happy to ride shotgun after all so I could keep watch. The sun was setting fast and the twilight seemed full of hidden dangers. Sam fiddled with the seat belt and it took everything I had not to yell at her to hurry. But I didn’t want to alert her to what I’d sensed out there. Instead, I scanned the shadows that grew long across the trees—and saw the quick flash of yellow eyes as they moved in and out of the brush.

  Sam cranked the engine, flicked the headlights on, and adjusted the mirror. I wanted to kick something in impatience. When we finally pulled safely onto the road headed for Half Moon Bay, I exhaled until my shoulders sagged.

  “Alex?” Sam asked uncertainly as I leaned my head back against the seat rest.

  “We have a deal,” I snapped.

  “Right.” She looked torn but in the end, she fell silent.

  I was glad. I had no desire to admit to anyone that I’d just turned tail and run from a werewolf for the first time in my life. Then again, it would probably also be my last.

  It was dark by the time we got back to town. Sam parked at the curb at the mouth of what she called Creeper Alley and cut the engine. A street lamp washed us in orange light but the alley itself was dark. Neither of us spoke. I knew she wanted to and I also knew she’d waited until getting here on purpose. Stupid short-term deal. My head ached like a mother…

  “You’re worse,” she said quietly.

  I unbuckled. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Alex.” She grabbed me
before I could get my hands around the door handle, and I bit back a nasty reply. I didn’t want to hurt her but dying in her lap wasn’t exactly going to help things. “I can help,” she added.

  I turned back, an invisible fist squeezing my heart tighter as I looked at her. Desperation and worry were evident in the lines around her eyes and mouth. Her gaze was clouded but direct and there was something about her.

  “You figured out how to use it,” I said, pride and awe mixing with surprise—and then finally, fear. All I could think about was my mother…

  “Please let me heal you,” she whispered, reaching for me.

  I pulled out of her reach and shook my head. “No.”

  Tears filled her eyes, threatening to spill over and ruin my resolve. “You would rather die than have me wear another scar for you—?” she began.

  “I would rather die than see you damaged,” I said.

  Her bottom lip trembled and I growled at this whole insane fucking mess we were in. At all the things I hadn’t told her. Because if I did, I knew she’d only insist harder that I let her help me and she’d probably talk me into it too. She only had to bat those lashes…

  “Sam, you don’t understand. I’ve seen magic damage people. There are worse things than death.”

  “Like Sushna?” she asked.

  I nodded, glad for that example. “Like Sushna,” I agreed.

  “And Vera Gallagher?” she added and I blinked in surprise.

  “How do you know about what happened to Vera?” I asked.

  “Tara told me about her, but Alex—”

  Sam’s phone rang, interrupting us. I caught sight of RJ’s name on the screen and nodded at her to answer it. When she reached for the phone, I got out, glad for the distraction from the argument I knew we were about to have.

  Limbs aching, I grabbed my spear gun from the bed of the truck, only slightly comforted with a weapon in my hand. It wasn’t a good sign that it felt so damned heavy in my hands.

  I walked slowly, listening as Sam let RJ know where we were. She hung up and caught up to me as I made my way toward the mouth of the alley. It was empty of other patrons—a strange contrast to Halloween, when I’d been here last and seen it packed full of people. But it was late and the stores had all closed up already. Tuesday made for an early night for the magical community of Half Moon Bay apparently.