by Lila Kane
I touch his cheek. “Okay.”
We get under the covers with the lights out. Logan pulls me close, his breathing in my ear. He’s tired, I can tell. I can feel it. While my body is humming with energy, his is fading out.
His lips find mine, but less urgent than I expect. Brushing my fingers on his cheek again, I say, “Sleep. I’m right here.”
And he doesn’t argue, just keeps his arms around me and falls into a deep sleep. I listen to his breathing, trying to match mine to his. I even try a small spell to make me fall asleep. But nothing works. After I’m sure Logan is fully asleep, I ease from his arms, leave the den, and hunt down my Book of Shadows.
When the sun rises, I start a pot of coffee. Not for me. I don’t need the caffeine. But the others might. I leave my Book of Shadows on the counter while I make my way around the kitchen, gathering items for breakfast.
I haven’t found anything in my book about blue fire, but there are other things I want to discuss with the group. And, of course, there’s the spell. The binding spell. The same one our ancestors did originally to bind all the paranormal powers in town.
I make a note in my book. We need that same spell, but stronger.
I’m halfway through pancakes when James wanders into the kitchen, his hair sticking up at all angles. His shirt is askew and he gives a wry smile. “Couldn’t sleep?”
I forgot he was sleeping on the couch in the living room. “Sorry. I should have been quieter.”
“As long as you have coffee, I’m good.”
“Sit. I’ll get you a cup.”
He sits at the table, rubbing a hand over his face. He starts to say something, but his words fade to the background as something else takes over my vision.
It’s a young girl and two boys running in a garden. Not just any garden, the gardens at Logan’s house. The girl can’t be more than three, and her brothers are chasing her. She screams in legitimate fright when the bigger one catches her, but then the younger boy reaches them and takes the girl into his arms, soothing her.
The sound of something shattering snaps me out of my reverie. I jump back as the coffee cup I’d been holding breaks into a dozen pieces on the floor.
James gets out of his seat, but Logan runs into the room in a blur. He stops in front of me, face a mask of concern. “What is it?” he asks.
I shake my head, not sure what just happened. I had a vision. But it was…more like a memory. Just not mine. In fact, I’m pretty sure the children in my vision were Kane, Logan, and Myra.
“I just…I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head again. My cheeks grow warm. “Clumsy,” I murmur, reaching down automatically for the shattered pieces of the mug.
When a small sliver slices through my finger, I hiss in a low breath. Logan steps around the pieces and grips my waist, setting me on the counter.
I gurgle out a laugh. “Logan.”
He doesn’t smile. Instead, he points to my bare feet. “I don’t want you to cut yourself again.”
“I’ve got it,” James says.
The others start filing into the room, one by one. All except my mom. I need to check on her, but Logan is in front of me again.
“Let me see.”
“It’s nothing,” I murmur, staring at the spot of red on my finger.
Silver flickers in Logan’s eyes. His jaw tightens, and I flip my hand over so he can’t see the blood anymore.
“I’ll take care of it,” I say, scooting to the edge of the counter.
He stops me with his hands on either side of me. “It doesn’t bother me. Hold on a second.”
“What’s going on?” Cheyenne asks, rubbing her eyes. “And who made all this food?”
“Willow,” James answers, brushing up the last of the ceramic pieces.
“Didn’t you sleep last night?” Myra asks. Ryan’s behind her, hands rubbing the kinks out of her shoulders. “And…is that blood?”
I peer down at my hand. The blood is smeared, but when I wipe it away, it doesn’t come back. Logan takes my hand and narrows his eyes.
“Did you do that? Heal yourself?”
“No. I–”
But he’s right. The cut is gone like it never happened.
“You cut yourself?” Cheyenne asks.
“And healed herself,” Logan says. “Without the fire.”
“Did you do a spell?” Cheyenne demands.
I shake my head, feeling nerves suddenly racing through my stomach.
“So, your cut healed on its own,” Cheyenne says, tapping her finger on her lips.
Myra meets my eyes. “Kind of like a vampire.”
Chapter 3
My heart clutches. I look up, staring straight into Logan’s eyes. Picturing the flash of silver in them.
“Oh my God,” I whisper. “What if…what if the spell did something? I mean, I had to use everyone’s power. Everyone in the circle. And then you and Ryan jumped into the circle, too, and–”
Logan squeezes his hands on my knees. “How about we don’t jump to conclusions. We don’t know what’s going on, or if anything happened at all.”
“Something happened,” Cheyenne says. “The whole town could be a goddamn zoo right now.”
Myra rolls her eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.” Then she looks at me. “Are you feeling different? A little wolfy maybe?”
Cheyenne glares at her.
“What?” Myra smiles a cat-like smile. “It wasn’t a werewolf reference. It was a shapeshifter one.”
Ryan shakes his head at her, trying to look stern even though his lips are twitching.
“I feel…” I shrug. I can’t forget the vision. Or the blue flames. Or how much energy I have. Honestly, I say, “I feel different.”
“We’re going to figure this out,” Logan assures me.
I give an automatic nod. “I know. But the most important thing is the rest of the town. Let’s eat breakfast and talk about it.”
As everyone grabs their seats and pulls up extra chairs, Logan boxes me in at the counter. He takes my hand and examines it. “Does it hurt?”
“No.”
“You really healed it, then?”
“I think so.” Somehow. But it wasn’t like I’d tried. I’d done it before in the past, but I’d had to put effort into it. This just happened all on its own. Myra’s right. Just like a vampire.
“And the other thing?” Logan asks. “The…blue?”
I look at my hands again. It scares me to think I could have changed something about myself permanently.
“Willow?”
I swallow and look away. “I don’t know.”
He starts to say something else, but I gesture to the table. “Come on.”
“So, what’s the plan?” Myra asks. She drizzles syrup on her pancakes, and then does the same on Ryan’s.
He smiles at her and my heart twists. She’s healthy, and they’re happy, and they’re going to hate what I’m about to suggest.
But another voice says it for me. “We need to put the spell back in place.”
Everyone looks to the door to the kitchen, where my mother stands. She’s found some clothes and brushed her hair, but she still looks tired.
“Mom.” I start to get up, but she waves me back down. Ryan grabs another chair so she can join us at the crowded table.
“She’s right,” Myra says. “We need to put the spell back into place.”
Ryan sets his hand over hers. “That’s not really an option, is it? After what happened last time?”
I shake my head. “That still doesn’t make sense to me. Reversing the spell shouldn’t have changed what I did with Myra.”
“It depends on what spell you were doing,” Faye says.
I stare at her, confused. “I was doing a spell to put it back into place. Everything our ancestors had done. I was trying to bind the paranormal powers again.”
Faye nods. I push a plate of pancakes at her and she smiles. “Yes, but what specifically were you thinking when you were doing that
spell?”
“I…” I shake my head. “About our ancestors, I guess.”
“Was there more?”
I rub my forehead. “I don’t remember. I was just trying to fix everything.”
“Wait.” Cheyenne leans in. “Fix everything. What do you mean?”
“I guess…I was just thinking that I wanted to put everything back to how it was when I got to Shadow Hill. Before we were stuck here. Before everything happened, and the spell was in place.”
“When Myra was still sick,” Logan murmurs.
I put my hand over my mouth. “Oh no…you’re right. I was trying to stop all that from happening.” My eyes flash to Myra’s, the weight of guilt settling on me. “But not helping you. I wasn’t trying to take that back–”
“I know,” she soothes, smiling at me. “Willow. Even if you had, it’s–”
“Don’t say anything about the bigger picture,” Ryan interrupts her. He rubs his thumb over her knuckles. “I’m sorry, but I’m sick of hearing it. I know it’s selfish, but to me you’re the bigger picture.”
Faye blinks. I lower my chin with a smile.
“You’re kind of sweet, you know that?” Myra says to Ryan.
“Can we get back on track?” Logan asks.
I glance at Logan, trying to give him a reassuring smile. He wasn’t this serious when I first came to Shadow Hill. But he had an ulterior motive then. To keep Myra safe. Now he’s trying to protect me, and my love for him is so strong, it fills me from my feet to my head. He’s trying to fix the mess that was partly his fault, and I can see it’s wearing on him.
Touching his leg under the table, I say, “The spell. Right. We need to put the spell back in place.”
“Or,” Cheyenne says.
We all look at her.
“Or what?” Logan asks.
“Or we do a different spell.”
“What kind of spell?”
She leans back in her seat with a slow breath. “This might be our chance. To do a different spell. To…I don’t know. Make our own spell. Stop this for good. Not just bind the powers like last time, but to get rid of them completely. To stop Shadow Hill from being a hot spot for paranormal activity.”
“Is that possible?” Ryan asks, looking at Faye, then James. His eyes settle on me. “We could stop all this? Forever?”
“If we have a circle powerful enough.” Faye bites her lip. “We might be able to.”
“A circle?” I ask. “Like what we had at the clearing? Because I’m pretty sure Kane’s not going to want to be a part of that. We need twelve, and we’ll be short.”
I think of the man at the border and the blue flames. He might have been on our side if we’d been able to talk to him, but he hadn’t even had a chance.
Logan squeezes my hand. I flash him another smile, but don’t feel better.
“Twelve works for a larger circle,” James says, nodding, “and it was what we had at the time. But we can do it with only four.”
“Four?” Myra asks. “How?”
Faye smiles. “If they’re all witches.”
“There aren’t any other witches in Shadow Hill, though,” Cheyenne points out. “Just the three of you. Which is great we’re all on the same side, but how are we going to get another witch?”
Logan clears his throat, dropping his chin. “I might have someone.”
“That woman you called to help?” I ask.
He doesn’t meet my eyes. “Yes.”
“Call her.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” Myra asks. “This whole mess is complicated. And it’s going to be a lot more so if we don’t get this fixed.”
“I agree,” James says. “Another witch would help.”
“And in the meantime, I think we should catch any of the other paranormals we can. Either help them if they’ll let us, or try to…I don’t know. Lock them away.”
“How the hell are we supposed to do that?” Ryan asks. He nudges his plate aside. “Put them in jail?”
“Put them somewhere they can’t get out. Somewhere I can do a spell and keep them in, or somewhere that has locks.”
Faye arches a brow and looks at Logan. “What about that room you had me in? The one in the basement at your house?”
Logan has the decency to look contrite. “It could work, but Kane is still there as far as I know.”
“Then it’s time we get your house back,” I tell him.
Myra’s eyes light. Logan frowns.
“There’s probably no way I can try to dissuade you, is there?”
“We’re running out of time. We need a plan and this is a start.”
“Let’s do it,” Myra says.
Cheyenne nods. “I think it’s a good start. Finish eating first. You’re going to need your energy.”
“You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you?” Logan asks.
I sit in his passenger seat as we head toward Main Street. “I couldn’t. And besides, I wanted to do some research with my Book of Shadows.”
“What for? We already know how to do the binding spell.”
I nod, staring out the window. “I know.”
He touches my hand. “Then what?”
“The blue fire. I was just…trying to see if it mentioned anything in there. What it means.”
“Maybe it doesn’t mean anything. Maybe it’s just…a result of doing a spell so big.”
It is a result of the spell, I know that. But more than making my powers stronger, I think I also took something inside of me when it happened.
“I wish you’d talk to me,” Logan murmurs.
He squints his eyes, flipping his visor down to block the sun.
“I am talking to you. What’s wrong?”
“I want you to talk to me.”
“No, with your eyes.”
He frowns. “Nothing. Could you just–hand me those sunglasses?”
I pull them from the console, passing them over, and watching his face as he turns from the sun.
“Logan,” I whisper.
A muscle works in his jaw. “It’s nothing.”
“What else is different?”
“It’s just…the sun. It’s brighter.”
“Your eyes. Your teeth. You’re probably faster and stronger, too.”
He turns another corner and shakes his head. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’ve got it under control.”
“I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you.”
“Same goes. I need to know what’s going on, Willow.”
I press my hand on the dashboard when he turns onto Main Street. Then my breath catches in my throat. “Oh, no. Logan, stop!”
“What?”
He slams on his brakes in the middle of the street. Someone honks. “Myra’s shop,” I say, pointing.
The windows are smashed, glass everywhere. I see movement from within.
“There’s someone still in there!” I reach for the handle, jumping out onto the street.
“Shit, Willow–”
But I’m already running to the store. I hear the screech of his tires and Logan’s voice calling through the window. Ryan and Myra and the others can’t be too far behind. This might be our chance to catch one of the paranormals.
I stop just outside the door and peek through the slivers of broken glass. There are two people inside. Kane’s people. A man and a woman I recognize from his house. I think they’re both shapeshifters, which relieves me slightly. I don’t want to deal with another vampire–not with blue fire at my fingertips.
Logan arrives at my side, his hand on my arm. He looks like he’s ready to chide me, but then he sees the figures inside.
“You take the one on the left, I’ll take the right,” I whisper.
“Or we could try to reason with them.”
I frown.
“You do remember I can’t hurt them?” he asks.
Shit. I forgot. Shapeshifters can’t get hurt by vampires. When I spot Ryan’s
car, I wave my hand urgently, and then walk inside.
Logan’s right behind me, and I can hear him grinding his teeth.
“Hey there,” I say.
They’re both immediately alert, poised for attack.
“Hey,” Logan tells them holding up his hands. “We don’t want any trouble.”
“Willow?” one of them says.
I smile. “Yep.”
The woman relaxes slightly. “That was badass. You totally blew up the whole clearing.”
“Not on purpose,” I murmur.
“Shut up,” the man says. “Kane’ll kill you if he knows we’re talking to her. She’s a traitor.”
“I’m not,” I say. Logan glances at me warily. “Kane was just using you. Now that he got what he wants, he doesn’t care what happens to you.”
From behind me, I hear a gasp and Myra’s shrill voice. “My store!”
When I look back, the shapeshifters are already lunging. The woman leaps on me and the other attacks Logan, teeth bared. Myra runs by in a blur, coming to Logan’s aid, and out of nowhere, Ryan’s there, yanking the shapeshifter off me.
“Get off!” she screams, swinging wildly.
She breaks free and goes for the door. I fling my hands in that direction, surprising Cheyenne, who’s arrived with James, and blue fire engulfs the doorway.
The shapeshifter gasps and freezes. Her eyes are wide, full of fear and awe. “Blue fire,” she whispers. She meets my eyes.
“What?”
Logan and Myra haul the man to his feet. He stares at the door, then murmurs, “Shit.”
I walk to the woman, standing directly in front of her. “What does the blue fire mean?”
She lifts her chin and turns her head away.
I raise my hand, letting the flames flicker. I hear her breathing quicken.
“Don’t hurt her!” the man shouts.
The flames vanish. I step back. Hurt her? Hurt her? I don’t want to hurt her. I just want answers.
“We don’t have time for this,” Logan says. He asks the shapeshifter, “Is Kane still at the house?”
The man spits in Logan’s face. With a growl, Logan has him on his back. But the shapeshifter fights back, punching Logan and surging to his feet again.
“Stop!” I shout.
“We’re not telling you anything,” the girl says. “You’ll kill us just like you did with Vance.”
