Broken (Keeper of the Flame Book 4)

by Lila Kane

Faye steps forward, sending me an encouraging smile. “None of us will except for Willow. It’s how it has to be. But…it’ll stop Kane from doing this. All of this. If Willow can go back far enough, she can stop it before it starts. She can show us how to do the spell and end it all. Which means she’ll probably still have to come here, and she’ll still meet you. And whatever has already passed that was meant to be, will work out this next time as well.”

  Cheyenne looks out the window, then catches my eye. “They’re back.”

  I abandon the group and race to the front door. Ryan walks in first. He only lifts his eyebrows at me and continues on, probably to find Myra. He’s mad at me. I get it. But he’ll get over it. I hope.

  Logan stops on the front porch. He looks tired. Resigned.

  “Are you okay?” I ask.

  He nods.

  “Did you go after Kane?”

  His jaw clenches and he looks away. “I thought if I could…deal with him, we wouldn’t have to do what you said. We could finally be done.”

  My heart races. No. He went after Kane. What does that mean?

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t get that far. You were right. I can’t kill him.”

  My chin wobbles. I want to pull him close, but I’m afraid he won’t let me.

  “I understand,” he says after a moment.

  He barely takes a step before I throw myself into his arms. His breath whooshes out, tickling my ear.

  “I’m so sorry,” I say, kissing his cheek, then his jaw, and going for his mouth.

  He leans back. “Don’t apologize. I just…I have questions.”

  “Of course. We’ll explain it all.”

  He nods, and kisses me. “Okay. Then let’s talk.”

  It’s not complicated. When we sit in the living room and Cheyenne and Faye take over, there’s not much else to say except that it’s a powerful spell. It’s also one I can do on my own. But even I, the Keeper of the Flame, the one who wields the blue fire, can only do the spell on myself. And it only works one way.

  For me to go back and for everyone else to forget.

  When they finish, I stand next to Faye. “I know this is a huge decision–”

  “Not for me,” Diane says. “I don’t want to remember any of this.”

  “Me either,” Lucy murmurs. “Make me forget.”

  I nod in understanding. “But for the rest of us. We’ve built relationships here. We’ve started our lives.” I swallow, meeting Logan’s eyes. “I know it’s hard, but this is the best option we can think of. So, let’s just…vote.”

  Cheyenne lifts a brow. “Vote?”

  “I don’t want to do this unless most of us agree. If we’re all in disagreement, or we can think of another way–fast–then I won’t do the spell. But if you guys support me on this, uh…raise your hand.”

  Lucy’s hand shoots up. She doesn’t look happy about it, but she doesn’t look upset either. She’s done with this. Same with Diane.

  “Okay,” Faye says, releasing a heavy breath and getting on board. “All in favor, raise your hand.”

  She lifts hers, giving me a small smile. I raise mine as well. With her arms crossed, Cheyenne wiggles her fingers.

  “I’m in.”

  James shoves his hands in his pockets, hunching his shoulders. “This is crazy. It’s…” He makes another noise of disbelief, but finally pulls one hand out and gives a quick wave. “Fine.”

  Myra presses her hands over her face, saying something behind them that’s muffled and I can’t make out. Ryan rubs her shoulders. “If you don’t want to do this, Myra…”

  She uncovers her face and looks at him. “We have to. I hate it. I don’t–I can’t stand to think of forgetting all this. I–it’s home. Here, in Shadow Hill. I have my store and you guys and…” One tear runs down her cheek when she looks at Ryan. “But what other choice do we have?”

  Ryan brushes her tear away and folds her in a hug. He looks over at me and nods.

  Which just leaves Logan. He knows he’s already been outvoted. But he doesn’t raise his hand.

  “You sure you can’t…take someone with you?” he asks.

  “I don’t think so.”

  Faye shakes her head. “The spell is specific. Just Willow.”

  He stands. “It’s going to be dangerous, right? I mean…you’re going to have to stop all this on your own.”

  I smile at him. “I won’t be on my own. I’m going to need your help. I’m going to need everyone’s help because I still have to do a spell to stop all this. I have to come back to Shadow Hill. I’m going to find you guys.”

  “But we’re not going to have any idea who you are,” Ryan says.

  “You will,” I say, trying to keep it light because I’m afraid I’m going to start crying like Myra, “because I’ll tell you I know about your shapeshifting and the hawk. That you have a closet full of flannel shirts and boots.”

  He lets out a quiet laugh at the memory. At how I’d hidden in his closet my first week here in Shadow Hill when I was looking for answers.

  Myra sniffles. “And you’ll tell me how you know my secret dream of wanting to own my own bakery.”

  I nod. “Right. I’ll make you guys listen to me, I’ll make you believe, and then we’ll fix this.”

  “And I’ll help,” Faye says. “I was always waiting for you to call or to come visit when you finally found out who I was. When you do this time, I’ll be waiting for it–even if I don’t remember this.”

  Logan walks over and slips his arms around me. “Will you remind me that I proposed to you?”

  Sadness swamps me. “Logan,” I whisper.

  He brushes his lips on my cheek. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

  “I want to visit the store one last time,” Myra says.

  I swallow hard, stepping back from Logan, but keeping his hand in mine. “It’s probably not a good idea.” I glance at my mom and Cheyenne. “Kane could come at any time.”

  Her face goes pale. “You mean, you’re doing the spell today? Like…soon?”

  “Right now, if you’re ready,” Cheyenne says, grabbing the spell book. “She knows what to do.”

  Logan lowers his chin, shaking his head over and over. “I can’t…” His voice is hoarse. My heart splits in two. “I need a minute.”

  No one says a word, just files out the door. I still hear Myra sniffling, sure she and Ryan are going to be having their own moment as well. Her relationship with Ryan formed not too long after mine did with Logan, and I know it goes just as deep.

  I vow to myself I’ll do everything I can to get them back together.

  “You’re handling this better than me,” Logan says, staring at our linked hands.

  I’m not. I’m barely holding it together. “I wish I was the one forgetting.”

  He gives a choked laugh. “Trust me, it doesn’t feel much better on this side of things.”

  “What if…” Oh God, I’m going to cry. I can’t stop it. “What if you don’t want me? What if I find you and you hate me or–”

  “No, Willow.” Logan clutches me close, kissing my jaw, my cheek, my mouth. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “You’re not even going to recognize me,” I sob, tears running down my cheeks.

  “Sweetheart…” He picks me up and walks to the couch, sitting down and cradling me in his lap. “I knew you were the one for me at the beginning. I’ll recognize you here.” He points to his heart. “And you’ll remind me, right? Tell me about the gardens and how I always planned on asking someone to marry me right in the same spot I asked you.”

  I hitch a breath, but the tears won’t stop. “It’s not going to be the same. You might not want me like that anymore.”

  “Shh.” Logan seals his mouth over mine. “I’ll always want you like that. No matter how many times we have to do this.”

  A laugh escapes. A pitiful one, but Logan’s right. Something in me tells me this is forever, even if we have to keep starting over.

  “
We’ve done it once before,” Logan says, “when you didn’t remember me. And you still knew. You still believed, right?”

  I nod. He’s right. Even when Kane erased my memory, something still sparked in me when I saw Logan. I knew we had something.

  I wrap my arms tight around his neck and kiss him with everything I have, everything I am. His tongue brushes mine, and a sob escapes.

  “I love you,” I say.

  “I love you, too.”

  I smile. “I’m coming for you. I’ll make you understand. And I won’t stop until things are right. With Myra, and Kane, and Shadow Hill.”

  “I believe it. I know how determined you are.”

  Footsteps run down the hall, and we both turn, alarmed.

  Cheyenne bursts into the room, spell book in hand. “They’re coming. I can feel it. We have to do this. Now.”

  I get off Logan’s lap and kneel at the coffee table. Cheyenne dumps the book on the surface and all I can think is that I didn’t get to say goodbye to everyone.

  Faye lowers herself next to me and grasps my hand. “I’ll give you my power.”

  James joins us. “Me too.”

  “I–I–” My eyes meet Myra’s. “I’m so sorry.”

  “We’ll meet again. I promise.”

  I nod, trying to focus. Logan touches my shoulder, another point of contact, and I draw strength from him.

  “Hurry,” Cheyenne says, pointing to the spell.

  I read the words, chanting them under my breath. Faye and James join in, and we weave a spell that’s going to change our lives forever. Logan’s hand is warm on my shoulder, and suddenly I remember his ring around my neck.

  I start to open my eyes, but then I hear my name.

  “Willow.”

  Just a soft voice, deep and curious.

  “Willow,” it says again.

  My eyelids flicker once, then twice, then finally open. My cheek is mashed into a pillow on the couch.

  “What?” I mumble. “Logan?”

  “Who’s Logan?” My dad’s eyes crinkle. “A boyfriend?”

  My throat dries. I sit up so fast the room spins. “Dad!”

  He’s caught off guard when I throw my arms around his neck. “Willow.”

  “Oh my God, you’re here. It worked.” I pull back, touching his cheek, then his shoulder. “You’re really here.”

  I take a moment to look around, and realize I’m in our apartment. The one we shared before he died.

  “What day is it? What year?” I fumble in my pocket for my phone.

  “Willow,” Dad says, concern in his voice. “What’s wrong?”

  I recognize the same picture of a UFO on my phone’s home screen, and press the calendar. My breath whooshes out. One week.

  It’s one week before my dad’s death.

  That means Kane is probably already planning on coming for him.

  “You have to leave. We have to go now,” I say, standing. I rush to his bedroom and open the closet.

  “Willow!” Dad says. “What are you doing?”

  “Where’s your suitcase? We need–”

  “Stop. Willow.” Dad catches my shoulders. “Stop for a minute. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “You’re in danger. So am I, I think. I just…wasn’t here when they came looking for me. And they hurt you instead, because you wouldn’t tell them where I was.”

  “What?”

  I take a slow breath. “Okay, listen. Things are about to get really strange. But you have to believe me. Someone’s going to come here to hurt you, so we need to leave.”

  He pushes his glasses up on his nose. “How do you know this?”

  “The same way I know there’s magic. The same way I know I’m a witch, and so is Mom.”

  His mouth opens in surprise.

  “The same way,” I continue, “I know she’s in Shadow Hill. I need to talk to her.”

  “I, uh, how do you know? I mean–did she call you? She said–”

  “No, she didn’t call me, and trust me, I’m not happy about how this all went down but we don’t have time for that now. Do you have her number?”

  He hesitates. “I don’t know…”

  “I can find it if I need to.” I walk to the other room, pulling my phone out of my pocket again. I’m ready to dial information when he stops me.

  “No, you’re right. You need to know.”

  “The number,” I prompt, ready to dial.

  He tells me and I enter it, waiting for the phone to ring on her end.

  “I’m going to tell her a crazy story, and you’re probably not going to believe it, but it’ll explain everything,” I say.

  I pace while I talk, waiting for Faye to answer. Finally, she picks up.

  When she says hello, it’s with hesitation. She probably recognizes the area code.

  “Hi,” I say, feeling emotion rise up at hearing her voice. I only just left her and I miss her already. “It’s me.”

  “Willow?”

  “Yes. It’s Willow.”

  “How did you get my number? Did–”

  “Dad gave it to me, but only because I asked.”

  “Willow.” She sighs, but it sounds more worried than frustrated. “You really shouldn’t be calling me.”

  “It’s dangerous. I know. And I know why you stayed there, and guess what? I even know your neighbor, Ryan.”

  After a short pause, she says, “What? How?”

  “You’re going to have to keep an open mind here. Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “Of course.”

  So, I start at the beginning, telling her about Dad’s death and the note I got to come to Shadow Hill. I tell her about Ryan and Cheyenne and having breakfast at her house. I tell her how peaceful it was listening to the creek from her backyard, and I know she believes me because of the noises she’s making on the other end.

  I watch Dad sink to the couch out of the corner of my eye. He doesn’t make a sound, just watches me pace and tell the story.

  When I finally finish, it’s completely quiet. In the living room and on the other end of the phone.

  “Say something,” I instruct.

  “Willow,” she whispers. “I know you’re a good storyteller–I’ve read your articles–but this…”

  “It’s real. I swear. There are things I know that I shouldn’t.”

  “Yes,” she murmurs. “Cheyenne and Ryan. Shapeshifters and werewolves. Oh my God. I knew you were the Keeper of the Flame, but blue fire? You have to–to hide or find somewhere safe.”

  “I need your help.”

  “Of course. Absolutely. Anything.”

  “If you could come here, or meet me. There’s someone else I need to see.”

  “The vampire?” Dad asks from the couch.

  I nod to myself and say to both of them, “I need to help Myra, heal her, and make sure Logan knows what’s going on. We need…” I close my eyes, feeling the flutter of worry creep in. “We need to have our group together. We’re strongest that way.”

  “I understand,” Faye says.

  “And then after that, we’ll go back to Shadow Hill, and end this.”

  We make arrangements, and when I hang up, I go to my computer.

  “What are you doing?” Dad asks.

  “I need to find Myra and Logan. He’s not in Shadow Hill yet, so…” My computer turns on and I sit at the desk. “If you could pack, that would be good. We’ll find somewhere else to stay, and go from there. I’ll make a protection spell and–”

  Dad’s standing behind me, frozen.

  “What?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “You…You’re so different. You know you’re a witch now. And it seems like you know spells and…”

  I smile at him. “I learned a lot. It’s a good thing. Please, trust me. Get packed and I’ll answer any more questions you have.”

  He gives a vague nod and wanders into his bedroom.

  Myra’s easy to find, and I jot down her phone number. I start to track L
ogan next, but change my mind. Once I reach Myra, she’ll know where to find him.

  Struck by an idea, I reach up to grasp the necklace I always wear. I pull the chain from under my shirt, and my heart stops when I see the ring. It’s still there–the ring Logan gave me. It was all real.

  Tears well in the corners of my eyes. I miss Logan so much…

  Rubbing my eyes, I force myself to focus. I’ll see him soon–I have to believe that.

  My hand trembles on the paper as I stare at Myra’s information. What next? I need to get them together. And I need to get them to hear me out.

  Taking my phone out of my pocket, I call Myra. With my hand still shaking, I wait for her to pick up.

  Chapter 18

  “Do you want me to go in with you?” Faye asks.

  She sits in the passenger seat, hands folded in her lap, looking exactly like the last time I saw her. She’s still adjusting to our new relationship, surprised by how much I know about her. Surprised by how easily I forgave her. And, obviously, surprised at how strong my powers are.

  I keep having to remind her I’ve had weeks to work on them. I’ve had help. A lot of help–some of it from her.

  “No. That’s probably not a good idea. They might feel threatened.”

  She glances at the building, Myra’s home in San Francisco. “But…what if they’re dangerous? I mean, they sort of kidnapped you.”

  It makes me smile, even though it shouldn’t. “They sort of kidnapped you, too.”

  She shakes her head. “None of this resonates with me. It’s not my past.”

  “And it won’t ever be.” I see a car pull up, and nerves swirl in my stomach. “That might be them.”

  “Willow–”

  “It’s okay, I’ll be safe.”

  I watch two people leave the car and my heart leaps. Logan gets out first, followed by Myra. She looks the same, with long dark hair and an easy smile. And Logan…everything about him makes me feel right. I’m doing the right thing. I’ll make it all right, and Logan and I will be together.

  “You really loved him, didn’t you?” Faye asks.

  “I did.” I smile at her. “I do. Stay here, okay? I’ll let you know how things go.”

  She nods as I get out of the car, and then locks the doors behind me. I hurry after Logan and Myra, inside her apartment building and up the stairs while they take the elevator. I know which apartment number is hers. Second floor, two doors down. I hear the elevator ding and it’s all I can do to stay calm.