Broken (Keeper of the Flame Book 4)

by Lila Kane

  Vance? She must be talking about the vampire from last night.

  “Yeah,” hisses the man. “We were there. We saw everything.”

  Turning around, I catch Cheyenne’s eye, feeling sick again. She shakes her head, as if to say, Don’t go there.

  But I already have. If I’m going to hurt people to get what I need, I’m no better than Kane.

  My vision goes blurry. Just like this morning, unbidden images invade my mind. But this time, it’s of the two shapeshifters standing in Myra’s store. They’re younger, maybe mid-teens, and they’re terrified. The girl screams when someone tears through their house.

  “It’s okay, just run. Hide. You’ll be safe,” someone assures them. Their mother? “You’ll be safe.”

  The boy grabs the girl’s hand and they dart to the back door. But not before their mother screams. Not before her throat is ripped by vampire teeth.

  “Willow!” Logan’s voice calls my name, urgent and concerned.

  I brace my hands on my knees, breathing in short spurts. What the hell? That’s the second time today.

  Cheyenne walks over to put her arm around my shoulders. “What is it?”

  I straighten. Logan’s still holding onto the man, but he looks like he’s about to let go any minute.

  “We should let them go,” I say, quiet enough Cheyenne lifts her eyebrows at me.

  “What was that?”

  The woman grits her teeth. “She’s bluffing. She’s going to let us go and then kill us. Or one of them will.”

  Ryan gives the woman’s arm a shake. “Keep it down. No one is going to kill you.”

  “He might,” the man says, glaring at Logan. “Or her. She’s already half-crazy with bloodlust.”

  I glance sharply at Myra. She’s clenching her stomach, and her face is pale.

  “Oh my God. Myra.” I rush to her but she holds up a hand.

  “I’m not killing anyone and you know that.”

  James catches my eye. “She shouldn’t be in here. We have to get them some blood or something–”

  “Do not insult me by talking like I’m not here,” Myra says, glaring at him.

  “See?” the woman says. “They’re all crazy. Someone’s going to get hurt. Someone’s going to snap–”

  “Shut up!” I yell. I press a hand to my eyes, suddenly feeling weary. “Dammit. Just…I know your mom was killed by a vampire, okay?”

  The woman’s eyes widen. The man’s jaw shifts when he says, “You don’t know nothing.”

  I nod. “He came into your house when you were teenagers and killed her before you could get away from the screams.”

  The woman’s face falls. She slumps in Ryan’s arms. He stares at me like I’ve said something wrong. “How do you know that?”

  “It’s not important,” I murmur. “We don’t have time for this. Please,” I say, appealing to the woman, “tell me if Kane’s still there. You don’t want him to hurt someone else’s family, do you?”

  She won’t meet my eyes. But after a moment, she mumbles, “He was still at the house when we left.”

  “Was he planning on leaving Shadow Hill?” Cheyenne asks.

  “No. He said he likes this town and he might stay for a while.”

  I meet Logan’s eyes. They’re hard. “We need to find him.”

  He nods. “Fast.”

  “You’re going to let us go, right?” the woman says.

  I sigh. “Yes.”

  “What?” James asks. “They were helping Kane–”

  “Only because he said he’d help us find the vampire who killed our mother. But you saw him kill that werewolf,” she says, glancing at me. “I don’t think he wants to help us anymore.”

  “No, he doesn’t. Let them go,” I say.

  Ryan hesitates, but finally releases the woman. Myra and Logan do the same with the man.

  “Leave Shadow Hill,” I say as they stumble for the door. “And don’t come back.”

  Chapter 4

  “In case I haven’t already told you, I think this is a really bad idea,” Logan says. But he continues to drive to his house anyway.

  “We don’t have time to argue about this right now.”

  “You don’t look like you feel well.”

  He’s right. I don’t. The energy keeps coming back, buzzing through me. But now, instead of energizing me, it feels like it’s wearing me down. Every time I use my power, I get a burst of strength and then feel worse afterward. Not to mention the visions I keep having.

  But we had to get to the border and do a spell. We couldn’t let anymore paranormals out of town. I tried to ignore the ashes that were still there from the vampire last night. And I’d ignored Logan when he suggested my mom help with the spell instead. I didn’t want her feeling worse either.

  “We do have a plan, right?” When I don’t answer right away, Logan reaches for me and touches my hand. He keeps his eyes on the road, especially as the trees start to thicken, but his fingers tighten around mine. “You’re not just going to run in there without a plan.”

  “I’m going to try to do a spell on him. With James’s help. Something to knock him out until we do have a plan.”

  “You think that’s going to work?”

  I nod, though I’m not sure. I feel more powerful, but I’m also afraid I’ll have to zap Kane. And if I do that, I might catch him on fire. Even though Kane is despicable, I’m not sure I’m ready quite yet to kill another vampire. Especially not Logan and Myra’s brother.

  Logan slows the car when we reach the end of the long drive. There’s still a magical border around the house that stops Logan, Myra, Ryan, and Cheyenne from getting in. And since Kane doesn’t have any witches left, I doubt anything has changed. Which means James and I should still be able to get on the property.

  Alone.

  We all hop out of our cars. Before I can walk to the others, Logan shakes his head at me. “This is a bad idea.”

  “We don’t have much choice,” I say.

  He tugs my hand, pulling me closer. My feet crunch on the gravel when I step up to him. “This can wait.”

  “What if it can’t?”

  His eyes dip to my throat. He knows exactly what I’m talking about and he isn’t being forthcoming with information. He’s feeling it. The need for blood. And if he is, and Myra is, and that vampire last night was, then there’s no doubt that Kane is. And I wouldn’t put it past him to act on it.

  Unless he already has.

  I touch Logan’s cheek. “We’re going to have to do something about this.”

  “This isn’t your problem.”

  He says it quietly, with little emotion, but it still makes me defensive. “It’s entirely my problem because I’m the one who broke the spell. You wouldn’t be in this place if I hadn’t.”

  “And if I hadn’t brought you here at all–”

  “Sorry,” Myra interrupts, “but Cheyenne doesn’t think he’s here.”

  I step away from Logan, staring into the trees. I don’t feel the buzzing in my fingers. That’s been my indicator recently that there are other paranormals around. “She might be right.”

  “But you’re not sure?” Logan asks, squinting his eyes. He puts on his sunglasses again, and ignores me when I frown at him.

  It’s not that bright out with the cloud cover, so the daylight must really have some sort of effect on vampires.

  “We don’t have time to be sure.” I look at James. “You ready?”

  He nods.

  Logan grips my hand. “Willow–”

  I press a kiss to his cheek, evading when he tries to grab me and hold me close. “No time.”

  He growls low in his throat and it makes me smile slightly. One thing at a time. I have to take care of Kane first.

  “Let’s go.”

  James and I walk up the driveway. Ten steps in and my fingers start buzzing. They glow blue at the very tips.

  When I lift my hands, James glances over. “You think it’s Kane?”
/>   “It don’t know.”

  He scans the area. “We should probably check the clearing, too. It didn’t sound good when we left last night.”

  “Good idea.”

  When we reach the house, the buzzing gets worse.

  “That vampire–or werewolf–near the border last night,” James begins.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I don’t mean the blue fire and the…” He clears his throat. “I mean, who do you think made him into a vampire?”

  That thought hadn’t occurred to me. As far as I know, there were only a few other vampires on Kane’s team of people. Someone had done it. Which meant they knew what they were doing. And they were fine with changing people to vampires.

  Or maybe whoever it was had just lost control briefly.

  “I’m not sure,” I whisper.

  “Do you think Logan or Myra…?”

  I whip to face him. “Hell no. Neither of them did that.”

  “That’s not what I’m suggesting.”

  “Then what are you suggesting?”

  He swallows. “Just that…they might have the same sort of tendencies.”

  “You don’t have much faith in people, do you?”

  He shrugs and looks away.

  “You’re not telling me everything, are you?” I ask. He seems guilty. In fact, he hasn’t been saying much since the hospital last night.

  “You really think this is the best time for this?”

  He’s right. But dammit, I don’t need anything else to worry about. And if I can’t trust James fully, that’s just one more thing on my mind.

  “If we see him,” I say, vigilant again, “no talking, no hesitating. I start the spell, you lend your power, we knock him out.”

  “Got it.”

  I try the front door. It’s unlocked. My breath eases out nervously. James follows me inside. The place is a disaster. Like there was a wild party in here last night. Or worse, a terrible fight. There are pillows all over the living room, and the furniture is upturned.

  My fingers buzz even more. There’s a trail of blood on the ground in the hallway. James motions for me to follow it. It leads to the kitchen, where there’s a body lying next to the island counter.

  I tense at first, and then see it’s another one of Kane’s group. A werewolf. She’s in bad shape, though. I swallow hard, and avert my eyes from one of her legs. It’s almost torn completely off. She’s wheezing in and out shallow breaths and clutching her stomach.

  There’s blood everywhere, and I don’t even want to see what she’s holding onto. Probably her intestines.

  “He–he–” Blood gurgles from her mouth and drips down her chin.

  “Don’t talk,” I whisper. “Did Kane do this?”

  Her head jerks in a nod.

  I glance at James. His eyes are wide.

  “Is he still here?” I ask her.

  She shakes her head, then coughs. More blood gurgles out.

  “Help me,” I say to James, grabbing onto the girl’s hands. “We need to try to heal her.”

  He puts his hands on top of mine, even as he says, “I think it’s too late.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  I whisper words under my breath. The girl starts convulsing, body bucking up and down on the floor. “No, no…just one more minute…”

  But then I’m overcome with another vision, one of the same girl at a wedding. She’s wearing a rose-colored dress and helping someone else in a veil. Her sister? She’s smiling, and she doesn’t look anything like a werewolf. Just an innocent girl with her whole life ahead of her.

  “Willow!”

  When I come out of the vision, the girl is still. Blood drips down her cheek and her body is twisted at an odd angle.

  “No, no, no…” I grasp her hands tighter, but they’re limp in mine. “James, help me!”

  “Willow, she’s gone–”

  “No, she’s not. Do something!”

  But he just sits back on his heels, his hands covered in blood. He shakes his head, but I can’t accept it.

  “Wake up,” I murmur. I chant under my breath until I feel the energy start tingling my fingers. My hands light up, a bright blue so fierce, James looks away. “Wake up, wake up.”

  The girl doesn’t move. I fight a wave of nausea and appeal to James again. “I need more power. Help me.”

  “Willow, you need to stop. What if Kane come back?”

  “Damn you. Don’t you even care?”

  I drop my chin as the blue fades from my hands. It’s not fair, and it’s all Kane’s fault.

  My phone rings from my pocket. I listen to it ring, and then let it fall silent. I slowly get to my feet, looking around the room. Myra can’t come in here. Neither can Logan. Not with all the blood.

  I wobble slightly on my feet, and brace my hand on the countertop. It slides because of the blood. My phone rings again. Snagging a dish towel, I wipe what I can and then answer.

  “Logan,” I breathe, emotion swamping me.

  “What’s going on? Are you okay? Is Kane there?”

  “No, he’s…he killed her.”

  “What?” Logan says something with his head turned away from the phone. When he talks to me again, he says, “Undo the spell, Willow. The protection spell around the house.”

  “I…” I look around. There’s so much blood. “I don’t think you and Myra should come in here.”

  “I don’t care. I need to be in there with you.”

  I swallow another wave of nausea and slide down the side of the cabinet. My whole body feels drained.

  “Willow,” James says, walking over.

  “What’s wrong?” Logan asks. “Willow, undo the spell. No–tell James to do it.”

  “I think I’m going to be sick.” I try to get to my feet.

  “Let me talk to James,” Logan snaps.

  I drop the phone, sliding in blood as I stand. My stomach lurches. James grimaces, but says nothing as I run outside, straight to the gardens.

  I only make it halfway before I double over and vomit onto the grass. Barely anything comes out. I heave again, my body shaking with the exertion. Then I stumble several feet toward the rosebushes before collapsing on the grass.

  Logan finds me in the same spot, my cheek turned into the coolness of the grass. My eyes are closed when I hear him say my name. I didn’t pass out, but the world swirls around me when I open my eyes, so I clutch strands of the grass and hold on until it goes away.

  “Sweetheart,” Logan says, voice close to my ear. He’s kneeling in the grass next to me. “Are you okay?”

  “Don’t let Myra go in the kitchen,” I mumble, keeping my eyes closed.

  “Too late.”

  I stir, trying to roll over. “I need to clean it up.”

  Logan presses his hand against my back. Just as much to steady me as to stop me from getting up. “It’s okay. Ryan and Cheyenne have got it. Just relax for a minute.”

  Opening my eyes, I shift until I can see Logan’s face hovering over mine. “I can’t. Kane’s still out there.”

  He sighs. “Willow. Please don’t fight with me.”

  My mouth twists into a pout. The rest of my body will barely move, so I stay where I am. “I’m not.”

  “You’re sick. You need to rest.”

  “I’m just fine.” But I turn to my side again because my stomach is starting to twist. I try to push myself up with my arms, but they don’t want to work. “I just–I need–”

  I vomit again, right there on the grass next to me. My whole arms shake this time, barely holding me up.

  Logan rubs my back. “You can’t keep going like this.”

  I reach behind me to push him away. “This is gross. Just give me a minute.”

  “No, I’m taking you inside.”

  “Probably not a good idea unless you want me throw up on you.”

  He turns me to face him, scooping his arms under me. “I’ll risk it.”

  “Logan–” My
stomach lurches when he lifts me, but I manage to keep it together. “This is terrible.”

  He tucks my head against his shoulder. “Close your eyes. I’ll be quick.”

  I do what he says. I feel the world rushing by me. There’s a quick exchange of voices at one point, but I ignore it all. The most I can do is focus on not being sick.

  A few seconds later, we’re inside Logan’s room, a place I haven’t been in what feels like forever.

  “Sleep,” Logan says, heading for the bed.

  I shake my head, then stop when it makes the room spin. “I need to clean up and get back down there.”

  “There’s not much else we can do at this point.”

  Logan carries me into the bathroom and sets me on the toilet lid. He starts the water in the bathtub. “I’ll help you.”

  My limbs feel so weak at this point, I can’t argue. “I’d feel better if my mom were here instead of at Cheyenne’s. James fixed the protection spell, right?”

  Logan nods. “Yes. I’ll take care of your mom. Can you get undressed or do you need me to help?”

  I smile at him, feeling some of my old self returning again. “I think I got it.”

  He stands. “I’ll be back.”

  When he’s gone, I strip and step into the water. I let it fill up to my shoulders before turning it off. It smells like roses. I hadn’t even seen Logan put anything in, but I notice a bottle of bath salts on the ledge of the large tub.

  A location spell. That’s what I need. Then I can find Kane. At this point, he’s our biggest problem. And as for the rest? Logan and Myra having to be vampires? Cheyenne a werewolf and Ryan a shapeshifter? For the rest of his life?

  We have to be able to fix it. But we still need a circle. A fourth witch.

  I hear a light knock on the door before Logan comes back in. He walks straight to the tub and kneels next to it, holding out a glass of water with lemon. “You feel better?”

  I accept the water. “Thanks. Not so dizzy anymore.”

  “Good. Ryan and Myra are going to get your mom. Cheyenne’s almost finished cleaning the kitchen.”

  “The clearing–”

  He frowns and looks away. “James is checking it out.”

  “What? What aren’t you telling me?”