“Areyoualright?”
IhadexpectedFelixeventually.Ifoundastranger.Ilookedupfeelingthesnot andtearsonmyfaceandjuststared.Themanwastallandhandsomeandmaybe 30.Hewasoneofthosewhoseeyeshadglintedoddlyinthecandlelight.
“Ofcourseyou’renot.”Hereachedoutandliftedmetofeet,shutthetoilet, and sat me down. A moment later a cool washcloth had been pressed into my hands.“I’mMarkusThorpe.Gwendalynismylittlesister.”
Ilookedup.Ihadsomanyfeelingsaboutthat.IwishedsohardthatIhadleft herintheground.IwouldtradeherinasecondforChrysie.Ididn’tcareifthat mademeamonster.
“Idon’tsupposeithelpsmuch,butthankyouforsavingmysister.”
Ijustshookmyheadandpressedthewashclothintomyface.Itdidn’thelp.
AndIdidn’thaveitinmetopretendlikeIwouldn’texchangethetwoifIcould.
“We’llfindyourcousin.”
Butshewasinpieces.
“It takes a lot to kill a vampire. Even a baby one. I knew that Gwennie was alive. Even when it seemed she must have been dead. I believe you when you saythatChrysieisalive.Don’tgiveuphopeyet.Ifthere’sachance,wewillfind her.Findherandendher.”
Ishookmyhead,fightingforwordsandlosingthemuntilIsaid,“Idon’twant hertobedead.Idon’twanttohavetofaceElspeth.Ormyselfagain.Ineedher tobealive.HerbeingaliveismyfairytalebecauseIcan’thandlethetruth.”
He reached out a hand and touched my cheek. So gently. So kindly. “I will havefaithforyou.”
I threw the washcloth into the sink and went out to the foyer to meet my remainingfriends,white-facedandhorrified.Theireyeswerewideandstricken andguilty.Justlikemine,Iwassure.Justlikemine.
“Wewereidiots,”Itoldthem,knowingMarkuswasbehindme.“Let’savenge
her.”
Myvoicecrackedonavenge.AndatearrolleddownJessie’sface.Cyrussaid nothing, but his jaw was clenched so tightly you could see the flex of the musclesagainstthepressurehewasputtingonhisteeth.Felix’seyeswerered.I didn’tknowifhehadbeencrying.Ididn’tcare.Ifhehadn’t,hewould.Weboth lovedChrysie.
MylungsshudderedandIcaughtasobinmythroatasIsaid,“Let’sgo.”
Wewalked,Markuswithus,towardtheexitofMartha.
“Sealup,”ItoldMarthaandastheothersleft,thewardssnappedintoplace.
NoneofthemwouldbegettingbackinsidemyhousewithoutFelix,Jessieorme
—thethreeofusleftwholivedthere.
“Let’sgo,Markus,”Elizabethsaid.
“I’llbestickingwithRueandherfriends,”hesaid.
Elizabethnoddedandcircledherfingerforthosegoingwithher.
The five of us waited outside until Martin and Portia left my house. The second they left, the wards snapped fully into place and Portia gasped against howtightlyMarthahadshutherselffromthem.
“I’msorrythatyoucouldn’ttrustus,”Martinsaid.
Ihadnothingtosaytothat.
“Let’sgogetourpieceofChrysie,”Isaid.Nothingelsemattered.
“That was dark magic that Elizabeth used,” Portia said to Martin. “Can we trusther?”
“It is not truly dark when the blood sacrifice is willing and does not take a life,”Martinsaid.
“Youarequibbling.ThosewordswereinCrimeanGothicandthatlanguageis onlyusedinwitchcraftfordarkspells.”
“Nomagic,”Martincountered,“isevilinandofitself.”
Itookalongbreathandthensaid,“Idon’tgiveaflying…”
“Rue,”Felixsnapped.
I looked at him and knew he needed me to calm down. I took a breath and thengroundout,“Let’sgogetChrysie,please.”
“Rue,I’mtryingtolookoutforyou,”Portiasaid.“Icareaboutyou.”
“I don’t believe that,” I told her. “You don’t know anything about me. And youdon’tlikemymother.You’veknownmeforafewmonthsandI’mabrasive andrude.Stoplyingtome.Stopplayingme.Let’sjustgetChrysie’sbodypart andburyit.”
CHAPTERELEVEN
Iwantedittobeashack.Oracave.Orahell-strickenmeadowinthewoods, coveredinshadowsthatdidn’tbelong.Butitwasn’t.Itwasayellowsuburban house with a wrap around porch and an old swing-set in the backyard. There wereflowersbloominginthefrontthatwerecertainlypromptedalongbymagic.
WasthatwhatthewitchplannedtouseChrysie’sbodyfor?Someoff-season
flowers? I stared at the house and I was so very angry. And sad. So sad. The sadnesswasanocean,lappingatme,pullingmedown.
“Useyourwitchsenses,”Martinsaid.“Lookattheauraofit.”
I closed my eyes, focused my will, and cracked them open again. The shadowsthatdidn’tbelongwereback.Therewereruneswritteninbloodonall thewindowsanddoors.Thewardswerestrong.Itchangedthewholeflavorof theplacefromprettylittlefamilyhometohorrorstory.
“Ohmy,”Felixsaid.Hisheadcockedandhesaid,“ThatruneistheruneIuse ontheengineofourcar.It’sfordisguise.Iuseittokeepusfromgettingpulled overforexpiredtags.Itreflectstosomethingelse.”
“Iwouldguess,”Portiasaidslowly,“thatthisisthetruestronglocation.And ElizabethandtheshiftersorLeanderareatadisguisepoint.”
“Doesthatmean,”Iasked,“thatChrysiemightnotbeinthreepieces?”
Hopewasrisingaswellasthememoryofthatfeelofherinmyheartstrings.
ThememoryofwhatIhadfelt.
“She could still be in two,” Martin said, carefully. I knew he was trying to softentheblow.
“Buttwopieces…”
“Thatcouldbeafinger,”Felixsaid,hoperising.
“Or something else you could live without,” Markus said, squeezing my shoulder.“Thereispowerinhope,Rue.Feelit.Letitfuelyou.”
“We’ll need it to power me if this is where the dark witch is. She threw me withawordandagestureofherhand.Acrossaclearing.”
“ShewasfueledbywhatshetookfromGwendalyn,”Martinsaid.
“Andwhataboutwhatshe’stakenfromChrysie?”Felixsaid,staringtowards thehouse.
“Whatabouthowwe’rejuststandingouthere,staring?”Cyrussaid.“Surely wewanttolike…hideinthebushes?”
“Wehavetogothroughthewards,”Portiasaid.“There’snowaytodisguise breakingthroughwards.It’sbasicallyabatteringram.”
“Shewon’tbelookinganyway,”Isaid.“Wehaven’tcrossedthealertbarrier yet.Thenshe’lllook,butrightnow…she’ssecureinherdenof…whateverthat is.”
Iletmywitch-sensesgo.Icouldn’thandlelookingatitanylonger.
Jessietookalongbreath.She’dbeensoquietsinceChrysiehadbeentaken, and she said, “St. Angelus is a broken town. This stuff didn’t happen in Jacksonville.”
Itwassotrueitwaslaughable.SoIlaughed.
“Dark witches settle wherever they think they can hide,” Portia said a bit defensively.
“Thereweren’tanyonSageIsland,”Isaid.
“OrinHumboldt,”Felixadded.
“Howdoyouknow?”Portiasniffed.Shesteppedforwarduntilhertoeswere
directlyontheothersideofthewarningbarrier.
“Thereareclearsignsofdarkwitchesifthey’rearound.Wehaveknownthat some were operating,” Martin said. “We did. We just didn’t find them. St.
Angelushasbeenbrokenforalongwhile.”
“Thi
sisourhome,Martin.”
“Sowhat?”Isaid.“Let’sgogetChrysiebeforethenextpieceisherhead.”
Isteppedacrossthebarrier,lettingthewarningshriek.Icouldn’thelpthat,but I could and would yank that spell apart. The moment I was past that barrier, I droppedtomykneesandformedapentacle.MartinandPortiamightbebetter trained than me, but I was certain that they wouldn’t be faster in creating a pentaclethanIwas.
Martindirectedtherunestoputinit,andIdrewthemasfastasIcouldgo.We crowdedinasfastaswecouldbutMartinandPortiacounteredseveralattacks beforeIwasfinished.
“Weneedtoworkasateam,”Portiasnarled.
“Weneedtoquitdithering,”Icountered.
“Weneed,”MartinsaidsteppingbetweenPortiaandme,“tounifyourpowers, break the wards, and work as a team. That teamwork will include Markus and thechildrengoingforChrysiewhileyouandIfacethewitch.”
Portiatookadeepbreathandnodded.Foramoment,Iwasstartledtoseeher handswereshaking.Shewasafraid.IpausedandwonderedifIwastoo.Ittook memomenttodecide.No.Iwasn’tafraid.Itwasn’tfoolhardiness.Iwasjusttoo furious for fear. I suspected that was bad. Especially cause I hadn’t taken my potionyet.Ilookedatmyfriendsandwedownedourpotionsoneafteranother.
“Whatwasthat?”
Ideclinedtoanswer,butIcouldseethatthefourofuswereonourtoes.
MartintookhispowerinhiscontrolandreachedforPortia,thenMarkus,then myself and the others. It didn’t matter when you bound your wills together if MarkuswasashifterandCyrusandbarelymagicalhuman.Whatmatteredwas
thatawitchboundourenergies.
Hegaspedashefeltwhatwasflowingthroughthefourofusandthenshook hisheadatme.“Youshouldbecarefulwithyourpotions,Veruca.”
“It’sRue,”Isaidthroughthebond,“andweshouldgogetChrysie.”
Hefeltattheedgesofthewards.
“There,” Portia said. Her eyes were filmed with white. We probably all had filmed over eyes with the binding that Martin had used. All of us were seeing throughhiseyes,andyes,Portiawasright.Theconstructionofthespellshifted there along the edge of the house and with the right pressure, we’d be able to punchthrough.
“There’s probably a trap,” Felix said, sounding far away. “She got Rue, ChrysieandmewhenwecameacrossGwennie’sspirit.”
“Ifitwas,Gwennie,”Jessiesaid.“Giventhenumberofgraves.Aloneinthe dark.”
“They can worry about them later,” Cyrus said, startling Felix and me.
Usually,hewassoquietbuttherewas…wasthatloveinhisvoice?Suddenlythe reason they always fell behind became clear. I could feel their bashfulness but thenMartinpunchedthroughthewardsandthetrapcamehurtlingatus.
Weweregoodatwitchcraft.WeweretheHallow.Andpeoplesaiditlikethat for a reason. My pentacle was solid and the runes that Martin gave me were excellentchoices.Theycombinedenergiesinwaythatmadeawallofwilland magicaroundus.
Anditcrumpledlikepaper.Asitdid,itthrewusapartaseasilyasifagrenade hadbeentosseddirectlyintothemiddleofthepentacle.
I landed on my chin and slid along the cement, my skin grated against the sidewalk. I lost vision for a second but the potions I had taken gave me the ability to stand. It was the four of us standing with Markus coming up slowly, armbroken.Buthereacheddowntohiswristandyankedhisarmstraight.
Hetiltedhisheadandgrowled,“Shesmellslikemysister.”
BecauseIamatleastpartiallyevilandbecauseIwantedmycousinbackand becauseIneededadistraction,Isaid,“Makeherpay.”
He ran at the dark witch, and I ran for the crack in the shadows where the wardshadbroken.Idartedthroughwithmyfriendsamerebreathbehindme.
“Chrysie!”Jessieshoutedassoonaswewerethrough.
“Chrysie!”therestofechoedoneafteranother.
Weweren’ttryingtohide.Weneededtograbherandrun.
IheardashoutandaslamandknewthatMarkushadbeenthrownagainstthe house.IassumedthatPortiaandMartinwereunconsciousordead.Rightthen,I didn’tcare.IcaredonlyaboutfindingandrunningwithChrysie.
“Ohmygods,Rue!Felix!”IturnedtowardsJessiehopingthatshehadfound Chrysie.Idartedthroughshadowsandahallwayandaroundacornerintoatiny bedroomwithbarsonthewindows.
Therewasacreatureinthecorner.Itwasgnawingatthestumpontheendof itsarm.ItwascoveredindirtandscrapesandbloodandIdidn’trecognizeitfor amomentasChrysie.Shewassowhite,youcouldseeheragainstthedarkness of the room. Her eyes were red and blazed without any sign of who she was.
Chrysie.MyChrysiewasgone.Allthatwasleftwasthemonster.
IthrewmybackpackatFelixandsaid,“Thepotions.”
IdartedatChrysie,foundchainsthatwerespelledandsimplyletmyfuryand magicloseonthem.ThosechainswentthroughChrysie’swrists.
“Ohgods,ohgods,ohgods,”Cyruswhispered.
ChrysieleaptatmeandbitdownonmyarmwhereIhadbeencut.Iscreamed, but I tucked her face into me, letting her have my blood until Felix was there withthefirstpotion.Wepriedhermouthoffofmeandheldherdownwhilehe starteddribblingpotionsintohermouth.Shedrankoneafteranother,lappingat themlikeananimal.
Once my stash was gone, my gaze met Felix’s and we turned to Chrysie together.Shehadnotcomebacktous.Itookmyownbloodandwrotearunefor sleep on her head and then ordered, in proto-Romanian, “Sleep until I wake you.”
“Whatdowedo?”
Therewasstillsoundsoffightingoutside.
“Werun,”Isaid.“Markuswillhearusifhe’sstillalive.Theycanruntoo,if theyknowwegotaway.”
“OhHecate,”Cyrusmoaned.
“We’llgooutthecrackinthewardsandoverthefence.We’llrunthroughthe backyardsandstealacar,”Felixsaid.
Inodded.Jessiegrabbedmyarmandwrappedapieceofhershirtaroundmy
gnawed-onforearm.FelixliftedChrysieasifsheweighednothing.I’dhavefed mypowerintohim,butIneededittoplaceashieldinbetweenusandwhatever camethroughthewards.
Itookadeepbreathandnodded.Felix,holdingChrysie,wasjustbehindme.
JessieandCyrusguardingourrear.Icreptthroughthehousefilledwithshadows
that didn’t belong to a place with windows at high-noon. We shuffled forward, peekingaroundeverycorneruntilwefoundourwaytotheedgeofaward.
Iheardagrowlandthensawamassivedogbetweenusandtheexit.
“OhHecate,”Cyrussaid.“Whatdowedo?”
I pulled a knife from my wrist sheath and in proto-Romanian ordered, “Fly true.”
Ilettheknifeflyandwatcheditsinkintotheeyeofthedog.Itwhimperedand fell.Inproto-Romanian,Iordered,“Die.”
AndthenIcreatedacageofether,thenecromancer’smagicInevertouched, butthistimeIdidandIshovedthespiritofthedogthroughthethinningmaking sureitwasdeadbystealingitsspiritbeforeitcompletedbreakingthebondonits body.
“Whatinthefieryhells?”Jessiesaid.HervoicewashorrifiedandIshrugged.
Whatever it took. Whatever it took to get Chrysie free. Maybe that made me a monster,butwhenhadInotbeenone?
I crossed the room, pulled my knife out of the body of the dog and peeked around the crack in the wards and saw Portia kneeling next to a crumpled Martin.Shethrewsomethingatthedarkwitchanditrebounded.Ius
edthesame momenttopulldownapieceoftheneighbor’sfencewithmywill.Ilookedupat Felix.Henoddedandranthroughit.JessieandCyrusfollowed.
Ididn’t.Iwilledthefencebackintoplaceandtookallofmyanger,lettingit fillme.ItfilledmeuntilIwasburstingwithit.AllthemagicIhad,allthemagic frommyvial.EverythingIcouldpulltome.AndIdrewawardonthehouse, ordering,“Burn.”
AndthenIran.Notaftertheothers.Theyneededtheirretreatcovered.Iranat thedarkwitch,theknifeI’dusedtokillherdoginmyhand.Betweenmyrushat herandthefire,thedarkwitchdidn’tseemtonoticethatmyfriendsweregone.
“Iwillkillyou,”shesaidasIjoinedthefray.
“Try,” I ordered. And then I laughed at her and hurled myself forward. Not with magic. Just with my knife. It would have killed me, but Portia was ready withherownspellandsheshotitatthesametime,buryingsomethingintothe bodyofthedarkwitchwhoshriekedandjumped.
Backintothefireofherhouse.
Ispunandwatchedherdisappear.
“Shemusthaveanexit,”Markussaid.“Thatisn’tacreaturethatwouldself-immolate.”
“You’realive,”Isaid.
“Asareyou.WasthatyourcousinIsaw?”
Inodded,tookashudderingbreathandthenasked,“IsMartindead?”
“Justinjured,”Portiaanswered,strugglingtoherfeet.“Weshouldgetoutof herebeforesomeothertraptriggers.”
At her words, the house exploded. I held up my hand and used what little powerremainedtoblockthefirefromtakingthefourofusout.Astheflames brokeandmetontheothersideofus,mygazemetPortia’s.
Shetookholdofmyhand,fedmeherpower,andIremainedconsciousuntil
theexplosionended.
Whichwaswhenthedarknesstookme.
CHAPTERTWELVE
It was the perfect, impossible coolness of my sheets that informed me I was home.MypaininformedmeIwasalive.Iwasn’tsureifitwasstupidblindluck oriffatejusthadsomethingworseinstoreformethandyingoutsideasuburban house. But it was the sound of Felix snoring that told me that Chrysie was ok.
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