by Lyla Oweds
Lily’s mouth opened once again, a reply spilling from her lips as confusion crossed her face. But instead of words, a buzzing vibrated through the area. Julian’s arms tightened over my chest.
“We’re moving to the next memory,” he whispered in my ear. “This is all we could see from what we’ve been given.”
But why, we hadn’t finished with this one. “But—”
My question trailed off as darkness cloaked over us and the buzzing receded. It felt as though we fell through air, causing my heart to lurch, before my feet were on solid ground once again. A light flickered, and my focus snapped to it.
It was Lily again. But she looked different this time. Closer to the defeated, terrified person she was at the beginning of Julian’s ritual.
We were in a damp, dirt-covered room. The walls were dark, and Lily lay huddled in the corner. I only recognized her by her hair and the knowledge that these were her memories. Her arms were wrapped around her knees. Iron chains encircled her wrists and ankles. Dark bruises stood out against her pale skin.
A sound echoed in my ears, and it took a moment to realize it was my heart. This scene terrified me, and I’d knew things would get worse. After all, it was obvious we were getting closer to when she’d died.
And what made matters worse—I could feel her terror. Even though this was only a memory, and she was still alive here.
Why could I feel her?
The sick feeling in my stomach intensified.
“Julian.” His arm was around my shoulders, and my face pressed into his chest. “Julian, I don’t want to see anymore.”
Julian shuddered against me. “I’m sorry, I—”
Lily’s head snapped up, and my breath caught. For an instant it felt like she was staring at Julian and me. But, seconds later, a presence brushed past us. The movement surprising even Julian as he held me to him even more tightly.
I was trembling. A second later, Julian’s warm breath moved past my ear, and his soft voice whispered. “It’s not you, darling. You have a special connection with her. The essence of it must have carried here. Please be brave.”
Distantly, I felt myself nodding. I tried to focus on the feeling of Julian’s thumb rubbing circles over my arm, and I relaxed slightly. The fear had receded, but was definitely still present.
“Are you okay?” A tall, gangly man knelt on the ground in front of Lily. “I’ll speak to my father. Maybe we can use Eleanor instead. You don’t need to be afraid. Everything will be all right. You and I, we’ll finally be together—”
Lily choked back a sob, but the anger in her eyes blazed despite her fear. “That’s not all right. It’ll never be all right!”
The man tilted his head, looking genuinely unsure. “Why not?”
“You’re insane.” Her voice held the underlying hint of panic. “None of this is normal. Your entire family belongs in prison.”
He was still frowning. “It’s necessary. Without us, there’s no one able to protect our people. But I agree, it never should have been this way between us. I wanted you, but father agreed on Eleanor. But we can still make things right—”
“I never would have agreed to marry you anyway!” She sounded slightly hysterical. “And I won’t let you kill her either. That’s why I came here, to stop you. You’re not going to get away with it anymore.”
The man, whom I was beginning to suspect to be James, blinked at her. “But… it’s necessary. What’s wrong?” he repeated. “Eleanor is powerful enough; why not use her? I’ll tell my father—”
“I’m far more powerful than my sister,” Lily sharply replied, her words firm despite her shaking emotions. “If you need to kill someone, leave Eleanor alone. She’s kind, and gentle, and not particularly strong. Even if she fits the requirements, I’m better.”
“Oh, Lily.” James shook his head. “So noble. But we’ve seen her shikigami. Only a strong onmyoji can maintain a contract and support long-term manifestation. Why are you still lying?”
“I’m not lying,” Lily said before she whistled. The sound pierced the room. A moment later, a small, white cat bounded into the space—seemingly appearing from thin air—before it settled at her side. It sat, watching James with unnerving intelligence.
“It’s yours?” he asked, his voice suddenly unsure.
“Perfect.” Another male joined the conversation. I peeked around Julian, spotting the intruder.
He wasn’t scary at all, at first sight. In fact, he was average height, build, and even appearance. But there was something about the manner in which he walked that caused my breathing to catch. His eyes, an icy-blue, had settled past me and onto Lily. And the way his mouth twisted into a smirk filled me with dread.
“Father?” James got to his feet, wringing his hands. “What’s ‘perfect’? We’ve discussed—”
“I wondered how to do this with the least amount of suspicion.” Edward Cole moved toward his son. “It would have taken power we couldn’t spare to divert the gossip if your wife suddenly disappeared. But her snot-nosed sister? Not so much.”
James shifted his weight to his other foot, glancing between Lily and his father. “But…” He hesitated, as if arguing with the man was something foreign to him. “But I don’t love Eleanor.”
“Who cares?” Edward grabbed James’s arm and pulled him out of the way. He moved into his son’s spot in front of Lily, arms crossed as he studied her almost clinically. And as Lily suffered, the edges of panic brushed against the edge of my nerves.
“What can you do?” he asked, as if discussing the weather. “Your sister is adept at aura readings. However, I have a feeling that someone with a shikigami would be much more useful. Are you a fighter?”
The shikigami, Snowball, had hidden itself behind Lily at Edward’s appearance. But at the question, the cat peeked it’s head out and hissed. Likewise, Lily squared her shoulders. “What I can do is none of your business.”
A loud sound reverberated through the room as Edward kicked Lily. It took a moment to process, but when it did, Julian had already turned me to face him, touching my face. “Breathe.” His voice was soft, but even I didn’t miss the barely restrained fury when his eyes flickered behind me. “There’s nothing we can do,” he said, as if speaking to himself. “It’s only a memory.”
A pang shot through me—resistance. And indecision. I glanced at James. He was watching the scene with an almost impassive look on his face.
I found it hard to believe he was in love with her if he could stand and watch.
It felt like an eternity passed before the sounds died down. And when I finally looked, Lily had curled into a ball. Edward circled her, as if he was a predator finishing off his prey.
“You’re not a fighter.” Edward paused, scratching his chin. “If you were, you’d have done something. In that case, what are you? Every onmyoji has a specialty, or even two. It’s a topic that causes enough discord in your group, and jealousy. So, what’s yours?”
Lily was silent a breath, and I was afraid she wouldn’t answer. My fingers held on to Julian’s shirt so tightly I was afraid they’d break. My thoughts silently begged her to tell him. If only so I wouldn’t have to witness that again.
I was a terrible person.
Just when I thought Edward would lose his patience—his fist raised and his face turning purple—she spoke.
“Divination.” Her voice was quiet, but grew in strength with every following word. “I came here because I’d foreseen a calamity upon this house. I was worried for my sister’s welfare. And so, I did a reading.”
Edward’s face had grown pale, and he stepped back. “Why you—”
“These methods aren’t sustainable. Each generation requires more magic. You know what is going to happen. Your world will collapse, and so will your family. Your brand of magic will end.” She spoke in a trance-like tone that made the hair on my arms stand up.
But she wasn’t done. She lifted her face from her arms, her burning eyes fixated on Edwar
d Cole. “One day, someone in your line will go after the wrong girl. She’ll hold a power you cannot hope to control. And with that, the hope for your line will die.”
“Shut up!”
Before I could blink, Edward had kicked Lily across the face. A breath later, the scene, once again, fell into darkness.
The fall felt longer, but was over as abruptly as it’d begun.
This time there was no slow awareness. No time to adjust. Julian’s hands tightened over my shoulders, a solid grip of support. And it was necessary, because the first thing we heard was the screaming.
A room—a kitchen—swam into view a second later. And as I’d feared, the screams were coming from Lily. She was tied to a wooden table, her head awkwardly extended over the edge. She was squirming as a handful of men conversed with each other. They didn’t even seem to notice her.
The floor was covered with hand-drawn symbols, barely visible in the dim lighting. Yet, somehow, they stood out regardless.
James was there, the only person who noticed Lily’s struggles. He stood in a corner of the room, glancing between the girl and his father. She began to bleed from where the ropes had rubbed her skin raw, and his focus remained there.
Edward said something indiscernible to another man, and turned back to a table beside Lily. This table held an assortment of cutlery, and my attention drifted to a large pot that waited over the hearth.
Disbelief made me feel numb. Human sacrifice was one thing, as deplorable as it was. But surely they weren’t going to…
“No…” The fact this wasn’t real didn’t matter. I pushed away from Julian’s arms, desperate to stop this from happening.
A man in a pinstriped suit walked past us, and I reached for him. Trying to do anything to help.
But my hand passed through his form, my fingers grasping thin air. The momentum of my movement carried me forward, and I was halfway to the ground before Julian grabbed my arm.
I turned to him. “We have to help her!”
“Bianca…” Julian didn’t even glance at Lily. “We can’t. She’s already dead. This isn’t real.” He seemed cold at the moment, as if he’d already given up. He pulled me to him and his finger touched my chin. “Darling, watch me. It’ll be over soon.”
“No—” Despite his words, I’d glanced back. Just in time to see the first slice, the line of blood as it appeared across Lily’s throat. The cut was deep, and the sight of it—and the sound of Lily’s broken scream—was horrifying enough to jar me into silence.
One of the men pushed a bowl under the head of the table, to capture the blood before it touched the floor. And Lily whimpered as Edward approached the table with another knife.
I couldn’t believe she was still conscious.
Edward raised the knife, chanting under his breath as his focus zeroed in on Lily’s chest. Her breathing was quick and shallow, a visual representation of the fear and panic racing through me.
Blackness swam along the outside of my vision, and my stomach roiled. The feeling intensified as the mummering of voices grew louder.
I couldn’t look away, even though I wanted to so very badly. But then, as if my unspoken plea was heard, darkness covered my eyes. Julian had moved, and my face was now pressed against his chest. His hold over my shoulders was solid as he turned me from the sight.
But he couldn’t hide the screams. Nor the sound of flesh ripping from bone as Lily was murdered next to us. All he could do was whisper into the crook of my neck. Telling me how very sorry he was for bringing me here.
My heartbeat began to slow as Lily’s voice quieted. The fear that had overcome me diminished until there was nothing left at all.
It was almost as if I, too, had died.
The world moved again. The same falling sensation washed over me, before it was over. I clung to Julian, not looking. Confused. Because what more was left to see?
Julian continued to hold me, but this time he fell to his knees. I’d fallen with him, unable to support myself. Nothing felt real, only the feeling of his shirt against my cheek. Inside, there was only emptiness.
But, slowly, horror began to spill into the space that had been left behind.
Chapter Twenty-One
Bianca
Free
I heard voices over my head, but nothing held my attention. I’d barely regained my bearings. As my mind strove to block out the trauma, a familiar tingling sensation brushed against the back of my neck.
Lily.
Julian’s arms had loosened as he spoke to the others. They seemed to know what happened. And not much time had passed between when the shadow hit us and this moment. To the others, Julian and I hadn’t even left, and it’d been only seconds.
But it hadn’t been. And we hadn’t been here.
I’d never forget the feeling of helplessness. The way that every second felt like forever. It had been real. And with that experience, I’d never felt closer to her.
She was calling me. Something was happening to her. She was struggling, and she needed me now.
I choked back a sob and pushed from Julian. The movement startled Titus, who’d been kneeling directly behind me.
The sudden light was disorienting—the lamps had been turned on at some point. Titus called my name, but I ignored him. My vision seeking out someone else.
Someone who would give me answers.
I spotted my target. He remained cross-legged on the floor, watching me curiously. Our eyes met, and for a moment, the past was forgotten. I needed him.
“Something is wrong with Lily.” I prayed he had the answers I lacked. “She’s in the attic. But why is she hiding?”
Bryce’s mouth dipped, a calculating expression crossing his features.
“Now wait a minute,” Brayden protested, glancing between the two of us. “You know as well as I do what happened. She can’t block it, she’s emotional. We need to discuss this. She’s in no condition to—”
“Come on.” He was on his feet and had grabbed my hand within a blink. For once, I didn’t flinch at his touch. My mind too distracted by my need to get to Lily. Instead, I followed as he pulled me toward the stairs.
“What are you doing?” Titus stepped in front of us, cutting off our progress. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“We’re helping the ghost.” Bryce sounded calm even though his hand tightened over mine. “It’s what she wanted to do all this time, isn’t it?”
Damen moved to Titus’s side, his narrowed gaze not leaving Bryce. “She can’t—”
“If you’re going to do this, do it right,” Bryce snapped. “I won’t play mediator. Not if she’s here. You need to stop holding her back.”
“We’re not holding her back.” Miles stepped behind us. “You’re the one who wanted to send her away because she had bruises. You were trying to send her back to her dorm.”
“That was before. This was your idea, and don’t forget it,” Bryce replied. “So, do it right, or not at all. You had to have known that Lily was vanishing. Your little pet would have sensed it ages ago. That’s why you’ve been rushing this.”
Lily was in danger? But… I had no idea. I thought she was only trapped. Why wouldn’t anyone tell me?
My gaze fixated on Damen, who turned pale. “That’s not…” he started. “Baby girl, that’s not what we meant…”
“What can I do?” I peered up at Bryce, ignoring Damen. “How can I help her?”
Bryce pushed forward, since Titus and Damen no longer blocked our path, and pulled me after him as we headed to the attic.
“The ghost, Lily, that you’re so concerned about has been expending her own energy to communicate with you.” He glanced back at me, pausing as he placed his hand over the doorknob. “She’s been trying to keep the others away. Even though one managed to mark you, sightings have been rare. Have they not?”
Rare? The many incidents over the last week were considered rare? But then I noticed the lines of his face, and I realized that Bryce was, in
fact, being very serious.
“It should have been worse?” My voice shook as apprehension filled me.
“The desire to protect the archetypes is instinctual.” He opened the landing door. “People eligible to rank are usually born with the desire to maintain balance.”
“How can you tell how powerful she is?” I asked, following Bryce. “She’s dead.”
“A person’s power isn’t only tied to their physical form.” Damen moved next to me as Bryce opened a second door at the top of the stairs. His hand brushed over my wrist, and he gave me a pathetic look that caused my heart to pound. In his eyes, an unspoken question haunted me.
I pulled my hand away. “I’m mad at you. We’ll talk about this later.” And with that, I followed Bryce into the room.
As we entered, I glanced around, trying to spot her. I had no idea what I was doing, but it was a comfort to know that Bryce and Brayden were here. They knew more than me. Despite Bryce’s arrogance, I doubted he’d lead me astray.
But the attic was empty.
Dusty boards lay in every direction, covering the floors, walls, and the ceiling. Unopened boxes were pushed into corners, leaving the center of the room bare. And the only light came from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling.
“I felt her earlier, but I don’t see her now.” Bryce frowned, circling the area. “Brayden?”
Brayden was the last to arrive, and at his brother’s question, he shook his head. “I don’t feel anything.”
“She’s here,” I replied. Goose bumps had erupted over my skin. The hair on my arms stood in the air. Julian, moving behind me, draped a folded blanket over my shoulders. Titus and Miles were near the stairs now, both seeming out of place. Damen had brought Kasai back out, and the onmyoji and shikigami were glancing around the room.
Everyone looked as confused as I felt. Normally, I’d be worried they thought I was lying, but that was the furthest concern from my mind. I was too worried about Lily to even remember that I was angry at them.
