Asher wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me past the bodyguards and back into the house where Uma and Brody waited.
The room was silent and heavy as we took in the empty house. At least until someone’s phone rang.
Miles pulled out his cell phone and answered it. “Yes?”
Everyone watched him as his brow drew down.
“Are you sure?” he asked whoever was on the phone. “Thanks.” Miles hung up and turned to Uma and Brody. “I might have a location on Jadis.”
Brody straightened to his full height. “How?”
“My people found some strange shipments of salt going to an address outside of town,” Miles said.
Uma raised an eyebrow. “Salt? How is that unusual?”
“Large shipments. Over a thousand pounds of it,” Miles stated.
Uma perked up at the news. “That’s certainly strange enough to warrant some scouting, wouldn’t you say, Brody?”
“I agree. It’s strange.” Brody nodded. “Text us the address and I’ll get my shifters out there to scout out the property.”
“And I’ll send some witches with you.” Uma turned with Brody and started for the door. “We’ll leave your bodyguards outside,” Uma called over her shoulder.
Heart heavy, I turned to Miles. “That tip was from your father’s contacts, wasn’t it?”
Miles looked down at the floor and nodded. “I’m going to give them up, after everything is dealt with.”
I wanted to believe him, I truly did. But was he telling us the truth? Please, let that be the truth.
* * *
I was sitting in the living room of Miles’ house, staring at the fire in the fireplace when Asher found me.
“You okay?” he asked as he sat down beside me on the couch.
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Miles fell back asleep, so that’s good.”
“That’s not what I was asking,” Asher pointed out.
I gave him a small sad smile. “I was just sitting here, waiting for Jake to show up.”
He sighed. “Yeah, about Jake …”
I raised an eyebrow.
“I think you need to tell him to stay away for a while,” he said. “At least until everything is settled with Jadis.”
“You too?”
He nodded.
“I was thinking the same thing.” I shifted on the couch so that my back was against the arm and slid my feet under his leg.
Asher reached over and took the throw off the back of the couch then covered me with it. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t seem to get warm today. Autumn was in full force, but it wasn’t that kind of cold. “It’d be safer for him.”
I pulled the blanket up to my chest and rested my head against the back of the couch. “I know. I was going to talk to him about it.”
“I’m sorry, Ally,” he said softly.
I half shrugged. “It’s only until this is over.”
He snorted. “You know, we keep saying that. And we have no idea when it’ll be over.”
“Yeah, I can barely keep up as it is. Especially not with date nights.”
His hand slipped up to rest on the outside of my knee. “You’re doing good, honey.”
“Thanks.”
We stayed like for several heartbeats.
His face grew somber. “I don’t know what to talk about right now.”
My lips twitched. “Do we have to talk?”
He chuckled. His eyes lighting up. “You sound like Zeke.”
I guess I did. “There’s just never any time to just, be. You know?”
He nodded as he squeezed my knee. “I know.”
My feet ended up in his lap, his hands rubbing the arch of my foot as we sat looking at the fire in the fireplace. It was nice. Peaceful. Exactly what we needed.
By the time there was a knock on the door, I felt ready to talk to Jake.
Asher got to his feet and answered the door.
Jake walked in a few seconds later. Jake was a good-looking guy, his short-styled blond hair streaked with lighter blond highlights.
A polite expression crossed his face, but it never reached his eyes. “What happened?”
I sighed. “Someone tried to kill Rory.”
The blood drained from his face. “What?”
I nodded, tucking my feet back under my blanket. “Rory was run off the road and had his car set on fire.”
“But he’s okay. Right?”
“Yeah.” The ache in my chest easing slightly.
He nodded, then pointed out the large front window. “Why are there people practicing fighting out on the lawn?”
“Shapeshifter practice.”
His eyebrows went up. “Oh, okay. Shapeshifters. Right.”
Jake was still getting used to the new world we had introduced him to. It wasn’t exactly easy to just think in supernatural terms.
Jake leaned towards me. “Are you really okay? That can’t be it?”
I shook my head and opened my mouth. I never even meant to, but I found myself pouring my heart out to Jake. It was easier than talking to the guys right now. They were just as in this as I was. They were facing torture or death. Jake wasn’t. I could unload it all without guilt. I spoke about everything bothering me. Miles, the funeral coming up, my mother, the pressure of dating all the guys. All of it. In the end, I scrubbed my hands down my face. “Sorry to unload like this.”
He gave me a soft smile. “It’s okay, we’re friends, right?”
“I just, I don’t want to burden the guys when they’re stressed out too.”
He narrowed his eyes on mine. “But that’s what they’re here for. To support you, and you them.”
“Yeah, I know.” I wiped my face again.
“Try talking to them,” he said as he squeezed my hand. “You’ll feel better.”
I nodded. “I am. I just lost it a little.”
The warmth in his eyes faded. “So, the fight is still going?”
I nodded. “How is Dylan’s dad?”
“He’s lost even more weight.” Jake sighed. “They’re talking of putting him on hospice care and adding a feeding tube.”
A sigh escaped my lips. “I’m sorry, Jake.”
His expression darkened. “Isn’t there something you can do? A spell? Anything?”
I shook my head. “I can’t heal people. I don’t even think the witches can. I’m sorry.”
He swallowed hard and looked at the fire. “Yeah, everyone’s sorry.”
He turned back to me, that polite expression plastered to his face once more. “It sucks, but we’ll manage. We always do.”
“I would help if I could,” I said softly.
He winked. “I know, sweetie.”
I sighed.
His eyes narrowed at me. “Lexie …”
“Riley got taken because of me,” I reminded him. “She’s now been converted into a vampire. Our families are hopefully out of the line of fire, but I need you to stay away from here until this is over. I won’t fuck up your life too.”
His expression darkened as leaned towards me. “Do you guys have any kind of plan to get out of this yet?”
I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know.”
He nodded. “You really think I need to stay away?”
My throat tightened. “It sucks, but it’s what’s best for you.”
He seemed to struggle with something before he scooted closer and I tugged him into a hug.
“You’re probably right,” he murmured.
My eyes stung as he squeezed me.
“Be safe, okay?”
“As long as you do,” I whispered.
“I will.” He let me go, got to his feet. He cleared his throat as he looked down at the wooden floor before turning and walking away.
I watched as he left the living room, my heart heavy. It was what was best for him. Safer. Lately, safer always seemed to be away from me. I closed my eyes and let out a slow, deep breath. It’s not me, it’s Jadis. It’s not me, it
’s Jadis. I’m not the one making this situation, only responding to it.
I was still sitting there fifteen minutes later when the front door opened and closed.
“Evelyn’s help should be here tonight.” Uma strolled into the room from the foyer. “And—what’s happened?”
I shook my head. “Nothing, I just told a friend to stay away from us until this is over.”
“Oh, good idea.” Uma sat gracefully onto the other couch.
“Now, what’s this about backup?” I asked. I didn’t remember talking about it.
“While you were at the hospital I called Evelyn. She’s sending us some help. To keep you safe,” Uma explained as she crossed her legs sideways. “She’ll be here tonight.”
I nodded, deciding I didn’t want to know the details. “And what do we do in the meantime?”
“Well, there’s nothing to do now but wait. And have you practice.”
“Zombie raising now?” My eyebrows went up.
She shook her head. “Magic practice.”
I groaned. “I just sent my family away so they don’t get killed, doesn’t that get me a day off?”
“No, young lady, it doesn’t.” She got to her feet. “Come on.”
Cursing under my breath, I shoved the blanket back and followed her down to the basement.
“Do you have your stone?” Uma led me into a barren warded room that the witches used for practice. A protective circle was painted on the cement floor.
“Always.”
Uma sat inside of it on one side. “Good.”
I sat on the other. “So, what are we working on today?”
“Control,” Uma stated.
I sighed. “Maybe I just shouldn’t do magic?”
Uma met my gaze. “Do you really want to not be able to protect your men? Yourself?”
I growled. She had a point. “Okay, fine.”
I didn’t miss the smirk that flitted across her face. “I thought so.” She settled herself a bit more. “Close your eyes and find your center without dropping into it.”
I cursed under my breath as I closed my eyes. Deep breaths in, and slow breaths out. I had enough practice finding my center without needing much time. When I was at that place that was me, right before dropping in, I held myself in that spot before memories surged.
“Here.”
“Good job,” she said. “This is what we call your grounded state. Your connected state to who you are. This is where all magic is done for humans. This is your workspace.”
“Workspace?”
“This is where the energy from ley lines or stones goes to. You change it through your channels for magic, you make it yours. Then your will is what controls it. Do you understand?”
“Channels are a funnel for energy, turning it into stuff I can use,” I summed up.
“And your will is the control,” she confirmed. “Now, staying in that state, take out your stone. It’s time to learn how to use that energy.”
I pulled the small orange stone out of my pocket and palmed it. Energy ran up my arm, raising the hairs.
“Drop your barriers a tiny bit,” she instructed. “Let the energy in.”
The energy was hot as it moved through me to my center, like a whirlpool that didn’t drain.
“That’s enough,” she said. “Close your barrier.”
I did as she said.
“Now, this is the tricky part. You need to visualize what you want. You need to feel it, smell it. Will it to exist.”
“What do you want me to make?” I asked, still feeling that whirlpool of energy as it turned from orange to gold.
“We’ll start easy with ice,” she said. “I want you to make a patch of ice on the cement.”
Keeping my eyes closed, I placed my fingertips on the cold floor. I pictured ice. The crisp bite of it on the air, the feel of that slickness under my fingertips. The surface of a frozen lake. That vortex of energy began to move through me to my fingertips. The stinging, dry feel of ice appeared beneath them. Keeping my eyes closed, I focused on the energy moving through me.
“Good,” she said in a calm voice. “Now, stop the flow.”
“How?” I asked.
“Stop picturing ice and let your mind go back to that center state,” she said.
But the energy wanted to go out. It didn’t belong in me. A surge of energy moved up my arm as I tried to stop thinking of the cold. Of my breath as it fogged when I exhaled, the snow falling from the sky. It wanted to be what I saw. The power shook me through and through as I fought to break my mind free.
“Lexie, you need to stop,” she ordered. “Open your eyes.”
I did to find a frost covered Uma. Snow fell between us to the ice-covered floor. The entire circle was frozen, right up to the line.
“The energy,” I rasped. “It won’t stop. It wants out.”
Uma’s gaze narrowed. “Send it back into the stone, Lexie.”
I stared at the stone and focused with everything I was. That vortex inside me stopped spinning. It shot down my arm in a painful arc. “Fuck!” I dropped the stone and held my hand.
A small red mark stained the middle of my palm. The snow stopped falling as Uma took my hand and examined it. When she looked up, there were worry lines around her eyes. “From now on, we’re working with your eyes open.”
I swallowed hard. “I think that’s a good idea.”
“You have lots of power and little control.” Uma dropped my hand.
“I noticed.” My breath finally stopped fogging.
Uma sighed. “That’s not good. We have a much longer road ahead of us than I imagined.”
My gaze snapped to hers. “What? Why?”
“If this is you at just learning—” She shook her head. “You need to practice for hours at a time.”
“Seriously?” All day practicing?
She nodded. “Do you understand how dangerous you are right now? Your abilities have grown. A bad dream, a surprise, stress, even anger—any of these could cause you to instinctively react.”
“And hurt people.” I nodded. “I get it.”
“Now, put the stone away.” She shifted a little more to get comfortable on the hard floor. “I want to teach you how to pull energy from the environment. It’s slower and will be sufficient for control practice.”
I tucked the stone into my front pocket.
“Go back to your workspace.”
I dropped down to that quiet, still part of me again.
“Now, crack your barrier.”
Again, I did as I was told, this time keeping my eyes open.
“Feel the energy around you. The earth beneath you, solid and strong,” she said.
I placed my hand on the floor and focused on the feeling of solid support. My energy trickled down into the cement and sought something below that. The soil. Green light danced into my mind. “I feel it.”
“Now, pull on that energy.”
I gave it a small tug. A trickle of green energy moved up through the cement and to my fingertips. Only a little. Not nearly as much as the stone. Not nearly enough to do anything with. Along my skin, the air stirred. Energy crackled along the back of my hand. There was more around me than below me. I turned my wrist.
“Lexie, what are you doing?”
“The air …” I whispered as the feel of it increased on my fingertips. “It’s full of energy.”
“Lexie.”
I pulled from the air. That energy sizzled up my arm and filled the space inside me. Goosebumps rose along my skin as the temperature dropped. It was the strangest feeling. Every inch of exposed skin tingled and sang with energy.
“Lexie, break off from it,” she ordered.
I slowly raised my barriers.
Worry lines had appeared on her face again. “How did you pull from the air?”
I shrugged. “The same way I did from the earth.”
She shook her head. “You shouldn’t be able to do that. No one can pull energy from the air e
xcept—”
“Except?”
“Ghosts,” she stated. “Ghosts pull energy from the air.”
Dread reared up to claw my chest. “What does that mean?”
She eyed me. “If it is your necromancy, then you could be a lot more than we ever thought.”
I swallowed hard. “Again, what does that mean?”
She met my gaze. “You could be even stronger than you are now.”
“Is that good or bad?” I asked softly.
Her brows knit together, the worry plain on her face. “I honestly don’t know.”
Chapter 8
Tara
Dad pulled into a gas station after being on the road for hours. Needing to pee, I climbed over a sleeping Tank and opened the door as soon as the SUV came to a full stop, then ran for the station, racing towards the restroom sign.
Thankfully, it was clean.
On my way out, I made a point to stop and grab a packet of licorice. The gas station attendant took my money without a word. His gaze was fixed on a small old VCR television set that was playing a black and white movie on the back counter. I stepped out of the store just as another SUV pulled into a spot in front of our car at the pumps. Something about it had me hurrying back to Dad’s side as he filled the tank.
No one got out of the other vehicle.
“Get in the car,” Dad ordered.
My heart jumped as I hurried to do what he said, only for another car to pull in behind us. “Dad.”
“We’ve got another one,” Maria announced as she got out, her hand under her jacket at her waistband. “Get in the car, Tara.”
I hurried into the vehicle, slammed the door, and hit the lock while Maria moved to the front of the car and Dad moved to the back of the car. “What the hell is going on?”
Tank and Kita were suddenly awake and moving. Tank moved between me and the door while Kita moved to Jess’s side. Both of their ears were up, their hair on end.
“We were followed.” Lucy shifted, pulling out several vials of colored liquid. “Here, if you get grabbed, break it on their skin.” She forced one into each of our hands as she watched the windows.
I shared a look with Jess. Her eyes were wide, her face pale, but the way she moved to Kita’s side let me know she was ready for whatever came next. Okay. Okay. I turned to my own door and waited as no one got out of the car in front of us. How the hell did they find us? We’d been driving all day. Dad used an old paper map, not even turning on the GPS!
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