by Lila Kane
“I’m not–I’m not doing this to pay you back. I’m just trying to figure this out–”
“That’s what I said, too.”
A lump forms in my throat. “You’re right,” I whisper.
His arms drop from around my waist. He runs a hand through his hair and gestures to the door. “We should get back to the others. Morgan thinks you should all talk and practice a few spells to see how well you guys work together.”
It’s hard to find fault with Morgan’s logic. Especially right now. When Logan looks defeated. When I know there’s a space between us.
“Logan,” I whisper.
He doesn’t answer, only opens the door and starts to the kitchen.
In the garden, the sun is shining. Both Logan and Myra are wearing dark sunglasses that block their eyes from the brightness. Myra’s also got on a long-sleeved shirt, despite the heat, and Ryan has asked her more than once if she’s okay.
Logan won’t talk to me. I can’t blame him, but it still hurts.
In our circle of witches, James and Morgan seem to be the most engaged. We’ve made the buds on the rosebushes bloom, clouds block the sun, and changed James’s shirt from blue to green and back again. It feels like a game, but I know it’s for a bigger purpose. To see how well our powers work with each other’s.
“Let’s try something harder,” Morgan suggests.
Faye narrows her eyes. She’s sitting cross-legged like the rest of us on the grass. Morgan says it’s a closer connection to Earth, which James agreed with her, and as much as she annoys me, she knows a lot. “Something harder?”
Morgan folds her hands gently in her lap. “Yes. Because we’re supposed to be controlling the lives of every paranormal in this town. You want to do some huge spell with the four of us. You know we’re going to have to do more than make roses bloom.”
“Willow already broke the spell by herself,” Myra said. “Why can’t she just put it back into place?”
Morgan’s lips purse. She glances at Logan, and I feel a twist of jealousy. I know there’s more to their relationship than meets the eye.
“Because we don’t want to just put the spell back into place,” Logan explains calmly. “We want to take away paranormal powers altogether. Forever. So that this can’t ever happen again.”
Everyone starts talking at once. Faye and I are the only ones who don’t say anything. We both look at each other. I can’t read her expression, but I can tell she has something to say.
“I didn’t know this is what we’d decided for sure,” Ryan says. “It was just…an idea.”
“A good idea,” Cheyenne says. “If we want all this to stop. And if we want to stop Kane.”
Logan glances at me, and then away when I meet his eyes. My heart squeezes painfully. I wrap my fingers around the ring dangling at my neck like it’ll somehow erase the hurt between us.
“And what if it undoes what Willow did to help Myra?” Ryan asks.
“And takes away all our powers,” James adds.
“But then stops Kane forever,” Cheyenne says. “Besides that, we’re all linked to Shadow Hill. If we put the spell back into place, we’re still stuck here. Some of us. Maybe even all of us.”
“So, I’ll stay,” Ryan says simply. He shares a tender look with Myra, and it’s hard not to melt inside with what I see there. It’s love, plain and simple. He’s willing to do what it takes to keep her in his life.
I drop my chin, even as the others begin to protest.
Faye finally speaks up. “That’s no life to live.”
“I’ve been doing it my whole life. I have everything I need here.”
Cheyenne frowns. “That’s how I felt, too. But this–all this–has been my whole life. I’ve made my place here, but only because I didn’t have a choice. If I stay, it’s because I want to, not because I’m forced to.”
“I don’t mind being stuck here,” Ryan murmurs.
Myra links hands with him. “Me either.”
Logan glances at me, and then away again. I know he’d stay here in a heartbeat if it meant keeping us together. I also know he wants this to be over as much as I do.
Cheyenne paces behind our circle. “That’s not the point.”
“Try it on me,” Diane says.
Everyone stops, then stares. She’s standing back from the group, lingering on the edges like she’s not quite sure whether she’s one of us or the enemy. Her hands are locked together in a white-knuckled grip.
“What do you mean?” Morgan says coolly.
Diane swallows and steps closer. “You want to try out the spell, right? To see if you can stop us from being…you know, what we are. I don’t want to be a werewolf. So, try your spell on me first to see if it works. If you can do it with me, then maybe you can do it with everyone.”
I meet Logan’s eyes. It’s an option. Putting the spell back in place is one thing, but taking away powers is another, and it’s probably a huge spell. If we could test it…
Shaking my head, I stand, “I don’t know about this.”
“It’s our chance to find out if it works,” Cheyenne says.
“What if it doesn’t? What if something goes wrong? I might hurt her.”
Diane’s chin hardens, though I can feel her fear. She knows about the blue fire. She knows I can take her life with the snap of my fingers.
Morgan shrugs. “You won’t know unless you try.”
I whirl on her. “Are you serious? You’re willing to risk someone’s life for a test?”
“Seems to me like we’re all risking lives every minute we stand here and do nothing.”
“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” My fingers buzz with blue as I face her down. “You haven’t been here for all of this and dealt with it like we have.”
She stands smoothly and folds her arms. “And it looks like you’ve done a bang-up job. If everything is going so well, why’d you have your boyfriend call me?”
“We needed another witch–” James begins.
“Come on, Morgan,” Logan says at the same time.
“What?” Morgan gets in my face. “Either you have what it takes or you don’t. This is a war, Willow, and whining about it isn’t going to solve problems.”
“And I take it, you’re going to solve problems.”
“Why else would Logan call me?” She sends him a flirtatious grin. “He knows what I’m capable of.”
And she says the last part so suggestively, my fingers sizzle with lightning sparks of blue.
“Willow,” Faye warns, touching my arm.
“If all you can do is cause problems,” I say, my voice low, “we don’t need you here.”
She smiles so sweetly, it makes my teeth hurt. My hands flex and it’s all I can do to stop from lashing out at her.
“Hmm,” she purrs. “I think at least one of you needed me here. Or, rather, wanted me here.”
“Morgan,” Logan warns.
“Oh, come on, she knows there’s something between us. And–”
Morgan yelps when blue fire shoots from my fingertips and scorches the ground at her feet. Flames lick the sides of her shoes as she dances backward, looking part panicked and part impressed.
She waves her hands over the tops of her feet, muttering a chant under her breath. Soothing red waves flow toward her feet, but it only seems to fuel the fire. The flames shoot higher, and panic lights her eyes.
“Put it out,” she demands.
I slap a hand over my mouth. I hadn’t meant to do this.
Logan starts for Morgan, but Myra grabs his arm. “No, you’ll catch on fire too.”
“Put it out!” Morgan screams.
Logan looks at me. “Willow, stop!”
I hold out my shaking hands, trying to focus. Trying not to panic. I will the fire to go away, to come back to me. After a moment, the flames lower to the ground, crawling along the grass and leaving trails of ash in their wake. The fire zooms back to my hands and vanishes.
; Logan reaches for Morgan, setting his hands on her arms. “Are you okay?”
She meets my gaze just briefly over his shoulder. Instead of accusation, I see triumph in her eyes. Then she’s clinging to Logan. “It burns.”
He leads her to the rock wall, setting her down gently and kneeling at her feet. The entire area where she stood is ash. The grass is dead, burnt to a crisp.
Faye grips my hand in support. It’s hard to feel relief when I so clearly lost control.
“I told you I was going to hurt someone,” I murmur.
She starts to say something, but she’s cut off by Logan’s hiss of breath. Morgan’s feet and shins are blistered and red, all the way down to her toes. She winces and closes her eyes, saying to Logan, “Don’t touch, don’t touch.”
Logan spins around. “Do something!”
I swallow and start forward immediately.
With a shake of his head, he says, “Not you.”
The words jolt me. He doesn’t want me to help. He’s afraid I’ll hurt her worse. Or maybe that I’ll try to make it worse instead of better.
Faye gives my hand another squeeze, and then she walks to Morgan to help. James joins her and they usher Logan to the side to do what they need to do.
Diane stares at me as I back away. I doubt she’ll be volunteering to help me after this. I might accidentally set her on fire.
When I turn to the trees, heading in the direction of the clearing, Cheyenne catches up with me. “Where are you going?”
“I just need to be by myself for a few minutes.”
“I’ll know if you leave the circle,” she warns.
I spin to face her. “Are you serious? What? You think I set someone on fire so I can distract you guys and leave?”
Cheyenne lifts her eyebrows. She remains calm. “No, I don’t think you set someone on fire–at least not intentionally. And I know you, Willow. You’d leave because you want to help that girl, not because you want to cause problems. But leaving will cause problems and you know that.”
“Sounds like you know everything.”
She smiles. “And it sounds like you’re absolutely right. You need to be alone for a few minutes. Stay close.”
She turns before I can say anything. Before I can curse her and yell and get out my frustration. It feels like me against the rest of the group. I’m all alone. Even my mom, who is always on my side, can’t help me now. She has to stay with Morgan–the one who started all this in the first place.
I wish she’d just leave.
I reach the clearing where I broke the spell for Kane. It buzzes with energy, making my hands blaze blue again. I’m connected to this spot. Finding a scorched mark at the edge of the circle, I step inside. It’s where I was standing that night. Where I got the blue fire.
The wind stirs, I hear the rustle of leaves, and spin to find Logan behind me. I release a sharp breath.
“What are you doing?” he demands.
“I needed some space.”
“Are you leaving?”
“What do you mean? Leaving Shadow Hill?”
“No, leaving the house. Going somewhere.”
My stomach clenches, but I keep a straight face. I don’t want him to see how much he’s hurting me right now. “No.”
But my mind’s already coming up with scenarios for tonight. I need to get that girl out of the hotel before Kane does permanent damage. She’ll do better with us. Or Logan can influence her to forget all this, and we can get her somewhere safe.
“Faye said Morgan should be fine.”
“Good.”
He crosses his arms. “Don’t you care?”
“She provoked me.”
“So that gives you the right to try to kill her?”
My mouth drops open. “I wasn’t trying to kill her. I–I lost control. I keep telling you guys this fire is dangerous and–”
“So, it’s our fault that you set her on fire.”
“It was an accident,” I say, my voice coming out a whisper. “I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
He holds my gaze.
“But,” I continue, “she knew exactly what she was doing.”
“So now it’s her fault. She wanted you to take her life. Interesting.”
The sarcasm in his tone make my fingers buzz. I take a few steps back and squeeze my hands together. “I don’t trust her.”
“She’s here to help, Willow.” Logan sighs and shoves a hand through his hair. “Because we need help.”
“No, she’s here because of you. And maybe even–”
I break off. No, I can’t say for sure she’s here because of Kane, though I’m almost positive now that she is. Even worse, I’ve shown her what the fire can do. Now she can report back to Kane.
“She’s here because I asked her to come,” Logan says. “But she wants to help.”
“I don’t trust her,” I repeat.
“Well, I do.”
He turns and strolls from the clearing, heading back to the house. A very small part of me is tempted to turn and go the other way. Confronting Kane, helping the girl at his hotel, anything is better than staying here and trying to work with a liar. But I can’t just walk out on our group. I can’t do that to Cheyenne especially.
But there’s no way I’m going to stand back and let her trick everyone. Especially not Logan.
I follow him to the house and seek out Faye so we can make a spell to find out who Morgan really is.
Chapter 11
“It’s not working,” Faye says with a frown.
I stop next to the table she’s sitting at in the library. Her hands are hovering over one of Morgan’s scarves that we casually pulled from her room earlier in the day. It wasn’t an easy feat considering I didn’t want to use magic and the house was overflowing with people.
It makes me edgy and nervous. All these people around. A few I’m still unsure about. One I don’t trust outright. It makes me feel like our tight-knit group is unraveling at the seams.
“What do you mean?” I ask. My gaze travels to the door when I hear voices.
“The spell.” Faye closes her eyes, concentrating. “It’s like…she’s blocking it somehow. Or–”
The door bursts open. Morgan’s face is flushed with rage. “What the hell are you doing?”
My mom’s eyes flash to the scarf and back up. Then her expression goes smooth again. “A spell,” she says calmly.
“Against me,” Morgan concludes. She glares at me. “Can’t even do a simple spell? You need your mommy to help?”
“It wasn’t a spell against you.” Faye holds out the scarf for her.
“Then what was it?”
Faye stands, joining me on the other side of the table. “For our peace of mind. We’re all putting our lives in each other’s hands.”
I’m grateful to my mom for being vague. I told her as much as I could about the vision I had earlier and, just like me, her suspicions over Morgan’s goodwill were heightened.
“If you do anything to hurt me,” Morgan says, “there will be consequences.”
“No one is trying to hurt anyone. We’re trying to save people. I think we should try to do the spell tonight.”
She just stares at me. “The one that takes away all paranormal powers. I thought we were going to test it on the werewolf first.”
“Okay, then let’s do that.”
“So, you can set her on fire, too?”
Faye, in her usual way, sets her hand on my arm. Maybe it’s to soothe. Maybe it’s to hold me back. But she’s had to do it a lot lately, and I’m starting to wonder when I became such an aggressive person.
I grit my teeth and try to stay calm. “So we can solve this before it gets any worse.”
Morgan runs the scarf through her fingers thoughtfully. “Looks to me like the only one making things worse around here is you. I mean, I come here to help and you burn me. Everyone here is afraid of you. And so far, I’ve seen no hint of anyone else, paranormal or otherwise, who seems to w
ant to cause any problems.”
Her words make me freeze. My fingers begin to buzz and I tuck my hands in my pockets, afraid her words will come true. Everyone is not scared of me, are they? Sure, the werewolf is a little, but that’s only because she’s not part of our group, right? Because she was on Kane’s side before and we’re against him.
But everyone else?
Unease gnaws at my stomach. I could kill them in an instant. One flash of the blue fire and they could be like the vampire in the clearing. Or Wes.
If I lost control…
“See,” Morgan says. Her eyes actually look sympathetic. “You know what I’m saying is true. Your fire is dangerous. Maybe we should be working on taking away your powers.”
“No one is taking away anyone’s powers,” Logan says from the doorway.
Morgan spins around, as surprised to find him there as we are.
“The blue fire might be what we need to fight Kane.”
Morgan’s face stays completely blank, but I notice a stiffening in her shoulders. I exchange a glance with my mom, pretty sure she noticed the same thing.
“You do know what he’s capable of, right?” I ask her. “Kane?”
She blinks at me, looking like she has no idea.
Logan steps into the room, and it hurts me when he defends her. Again. “Morgan’s never met Kane. But she’s heard about him. And she knows what I’ve told her.”
Morgan nods solemnly.
Liar!
Logan looks at the book on the table where my mom was sitting. “Are you working on a spell?”
Morgan pipes up before I can. “That’s exactly what they were doing. A spell against me.”
“What?” Logan whips to face me.
“It’s not what it sounds like,” I say automatically
His mouth opens, closes, then opens again before he says anything. “So, you were doing a spell?”
“It was a bad idea,” Faye murmurs. “We’re sorry.”
I glance at her, incredulous. She’s sorry? She nudges me and I try not to stumble. What?
She sends me a look that says, Don’t make things worse.
Logan shoves a hand through his hair. “This is ridiculous. We’re supposed to be a team and you’re doing spells against each other. God, Willow, we don’t have time for this.” He faces Morgan. “I’m sorry. This isn’t–trust me, we’re trying to do the right thing here. We’ve just…all been through a lot.”
