Spectral

by Duffy, Shannon

  “It’s not real, Chase,” I yelled. But then I remembered just how real the vision I’d had on the plane was. It didn’t seem like a vision at all. It had felt like reality. I knew whatever Chase saw felt completely real. I closed my eyes, willing myself to create the shell to surround us. As weak as I knew the shell would be, I hoped it would stop Vladimir from getting through and continuing to create the hallucinations.

  I focused, thinking of being inside a protective shell. I imagined back to the day at the ocean and in the cave with Roman when I’d first discovered I’d picked up some of his power.

  Chase stopped screaming and the room fell silent. He sat up, groaning, surveying the room. “You did it,” he said in awe, standing by my side.

  “I can’t maintain it,” I moaned, feeling my energy zapping.

  Dad’s eyes grew wide as he scanned the room looking right through us. Vladimir pointed a finger at him, yelling. But his words were muffled like we were underwater. I’d done it. Not only could they not touch us, but they couldn’t see us either. Dad and Vladimir weren’t frozen like what had happened when Roman had created a protective shell, but I was getting stronger. It must be because it’s getting closer to my birthday.

  I started to tremble until I bounced against Chase in sporadic convulsions. Sweat rolled down my face. “Get ready, Chase. It’s crashing.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  I dropped to my knees, completely drained, gasping for air. The barrier I’d created dropped. Dad and Vladimir turned back to face us. Chase charged toward Vladimir, knocking him in the face with a left jab and then a right upper cut. Chase’s fists continued to slam into Vladimir’s face, a sickening smack of flesh against flesh rang out, and he stumbled backward with a groan. Chase lunged forward, steadied himself, and then followed through with a high kick to the face. Vladimir’s eyes rolled back in his head before he dropped backward onto the ground unconscious.

  “Try pulling that shit again and I won’t be so nice,” Chase hissed through gritted teeth, narrowing his eyes. I’d never seen Chase angry before. Whatever vision Vladimir had shown him, really pissed him off. I had to admit, watching Chase being so strong and protective was hot. I caught my breath and stood beside Chase, facing Dad.

  Chase motioned for Dad to come forward. “C’mon, Viktor. Either fight me, or let us go.” He edged toward Dad, fists raised.

  I blinked repeatedly trying to clear my vision as Dad floated several feet in the air. Oh my God, Dad can levitate!

  I ran to the door and pulled the knob. It was locked. I turned, looking up at Dad, “Let us go!” I kicked the door with my foot.

  “I wouldn’t do that,” Dad said, in a way that sounded more like a warning than a suggestion. He floated back down to the floor, giving Chase a scowl.

  Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside. I widened my eyes toward Chase. “Someone’s coming!”

  Chase ran to my side and pulled me away from the door. I closed my eyes, trying to summon a shell to form but I couldn’t. I hadn’t fully recovered from the last time. I was still too weak. My hands trembled, and nausea gripped my insides.

  A clicking sound came from the door, and then it opened.

  “Good to see you again, Jewel,” Aunt Eva said as she sauntered into the room and ushered Mrs. Snow in behind her.

  When Aunt Eva saw Vladimir on the floor, she gasped. She fumbled in the pocket of her black blazer and pulled out her cell phone. She motioned with her pointer finger for me to wait a minute while speaking Russian into the phone.

  Soon, two men entered the room. One dragged Vladimir out, and the other stood like a faithful watchdog by Aunt Eva’s side. Aunt Eva gestured toward the small man who stood beside her. “Say hello to Dmitri.” He wasn’t much taller than me.

  Chase scoffed and scowled at him.

  Aunt Eva turned her glare back on me. “You’ve been such a disappointment.” She waggled her finger in front of my face. “To think, this is the gratitude we get for keeping you safe all these years.”

  Heat coursed through my body. Did she really think she did me any favors? Mrs. Snow nodded in agreement, her bright pink lips turned up into a smirk.

  Who the hell did she think she was, anyway? Taylor’s dad was right. Her mom had definitely crossed the line into psychosis. Who in their right mind would volunteer to be a part of this chaos?

  “I really wish you didn’t bother, Eva,” I said. “My own family could’ve done better, I’m sure.” I waved a dismissive hand. I was glad to tell her I knew she wasn’t really my aunt.

  “So you have been snooping around,” Aunt Eva’s eye twitched. “Your family is weak.” She scrunched up her nose. “We’ve only wanted to protect you from those who’d have liked to kill you.”

  I rolled my eyes. I figured she meant the Augusti Forza, but I really wasn’t up for humoring her with what else I knew or didn’t know. She was trying to make it seem like they’d done everything for me, when I really knew whatever they did was all because of what they could get.

  “We need to collect a sample of your blood,” Aunt Eva pointed to the medical bag in Mrs. Snow’s hand. “Elizabeth will do the honors.”

  Dad cocked his head and then stepped forward, blocking me. “What’s this about, Eva?” His voice had an edge to it. “What’s her blood got to do with anything?”

  Aunt Eva tapped her red shoe against the tiled floor, one hand placed on her hip. “That, Viktor, has nothing to do with you. You’ve done your part; played your role, so to speak.” She stared at him intently, “I’ll take it from here.”

  “She’s my daugh—” Dad broke off, sighed, then began again. “Her blood’s not needed for her quickening into our coven. There’s no reason to take her blood, Eva.”

  “No reason for you to be concerning yourself,” she said in a firm tone.

  “Nobody is touching Jewel,” Chase readied his fists, preparing for combat. “You guys are out of your freaking skulls.” He dropped his hands a second, and gazed at Mrs. Snow. “And what happened to you? You’ve obviously been drinking the Kool-Aid. Does Taylor even know about this?”

  Mrs. Snow looked to the floor and then back at Chase. I could’ve sworn I saw a flash of momentary guilt cross her face. But just as quickly she regained her composure. Running a hand through her cropped blond hair, she cleared her throat. “Taylor has nothing to do with this. This is about me for a change.”

  Yeah, choke on those words.

  Chase shook his head in disgust and then pointed to Dmitri. “Listen, small fry. Back off and let us out of here or you’re toast.”

  Dmitri held up his hand and blasted Chase with a ball of surging air. Its electrical force crackled and sizzled as it shot through the air in a blue flame. It skimmed my shoulder, and I stumbled backward with a shriek, grasping where it struck. Shooting pain twisted down my arm like I’d been hit with lightning. Chase lay in a crumpled ball on the floor.

  “Chase!” I yelled as I ran and fell to my knees at his side. If I’d only gotten part of the blast, I could only imagine what it had done to Chase. My insides churned.

  A hole had been seared through his shirt at the chest and a mark blazed red on his skin. Chase may be strong but he was no match for witches with unearthly powers. His face grew ashen and he wasn’t breathing. Panicked, I tried to remember everything I’d learned about first aid and CPR. I blew into his mouth several times, but nothing. Goosebumps spread across me like wildfire. I felt for a pulse, relieved to find one, but I knew if he didn’t start breathing soon, his heart would stop, too.

  I glared at Aunt Eva. I wanted to rip her head off and feed it to wolves. She made me sick, literally. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself for Chase’s sake. “If I let you take my blood, will you help Chase?” I asked through gritted teeth.

  She nodded once, and gestured for Mrs. Snow to take my blood.

  “Chase first!” I insisted.

  “I will see to Chase,” Aunt Eva hissed. “You hold out your arm for Mrs. Snow like a
good girl.”

  Dad paced the room, muttering under his breath as I sat at the edge of the bed and allowed Mrs. Snow to draw blood from my arm.

  “Hurry!” I called to Aunt Eva as I watched the color draining from Chase’s face.

  I watched over Mrs. Snow’s shoulder as Aunt Eva held her palm above Chase’s chest. She made circular motions with her hand as she chanted a spell.

  Mrs. Snow withdrew the needle from my arm, having taken two vials. “In case one goes missing,” she said pressing a cotton swab into the inner curve of my arm.

  “Aren’t you a multi-tasker,” I glowered at her.

  Chase stirred and drew in a deep breath. I scooted past her and ran to his side. “Chase! It’s okay.” I fell to my knees beside him and stroked his blond hair back. “You’re going to be all right now.”

  “Hey, Maple Leaf,” Chase whispered faintly.

  I sighed, relieved he was okay. “I’m not really Canadian either, remember?”

  He smiled weakly. “You’re still my Maple Leaf.” His voice came out weak, but at least he was breathing and talking.

  Aunt Eva brushed her hands against her skirt, straightening it. The faintest of smiles broke across her ice-hard expression. “Sorry to interrupt your little reunion, but after dinner I expect answers as to where the dagger is.” She pursed her lips. “If I don’t get them…” She fanned her hand down through the air in front of Dmitri. “My friend here will be more than happy to oblige in breaking up your love fest a bit more permanently.”

  Dmitri grunted. He so didn’t look the role of a bodyguard at about 5’8” and packing only about 150 pounds, but I knew better. When it came to witches and their powers, his was intense.

  Aunt Eva snapped her fingers. They all moved out the door and left Chase and me alone in the room. The click of the lock on the steel door sealed us in place.

  ***

  By the time Dad returned with a trolley of food and clean clothes for us, Chase seemed pretty much back to himself. The red mark on his chest had vanished and the only memento of what had happened was the hole in his shirt.

  We’d both showered and were glad for the fresh clothes Dad offered. The blue jeans, navy hoodie, and Nike’s were a welcome change over the pink flip-flops any day.

  Chase scarfed back his food and I managed to eat a little, too, despite the churning in my stomach. I didn’t know what I’d tell Aunt Eva when she returned. I figured I had no choice but to tell her the truth about Roman taking the dagger back to the Augusti Forza. I mean, I needed the dagger to go through the quickening. And I needed to go through the quickening to survive. Aunt Eva definitely seemed more capable of getting it back than I was.

  But still…Dad had seemed shocked about Aunt Eva wanting a blood sample. What did my blood have to do with anything? What exactly was she up to? I couldn’t trust her. I’d face my fate on my own terms.

  Dad sat quietly at the end of the bed while we ate, his green eyes glossed over and occasionally twitched. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he said. “All of this craziness.” He ruffled the sheet on the bed and then looked back at me.

  Chase stopped eating and laid down his fork. “Then why is it?”

  “Please let me talk to my daughter.”

  I shook my head, “I’m not your daughter.”

  Dad frowned. “In my heart you are, and always will be.”

  I brushed my hair aside, and then pointed to the spot on my neck where he pricked me with the needle. “This is how you treat your daughter?” I rolled my eyes and let my hair tumble back down.

  “I only did that so I could bring you here safely without a fight.” He shook his head. “It’s true that we took you—”

  “Kidnapped me, you mean.”

  He nodded once. “Yes. But I see now it was a mistake. I don’t know what they’re up to. Eva has let her power go to her head. She wants our coven to be the dominant one. When word came about your birth, the millennium Spectral…” He paused and looked at me, uncertainty on his face. “I don’t know how much you know. Am I scaring you?”

  “I’m kinda past that, Dad. I know what I am.”

  He closed his eyes and expelled a drawn out sigh. “Yes well, we only took you for the benefit of our coven. It was selfish, but your mother and I intended to love and protect you as our child. But it was wrong.” He bit his lip and massaged his temple, gazing blankly at the bed linen. Dad seemed sincerely sorry, but I couldn’t forgive him for what he’d done. I watched as he fumbled with the sheet, eyes glossed over, and I wished I could comfort him, but I just didn’t have it in me. I was too mad.

  He cleared his throat and looked back at me. “I can see that Eva doesn’t have good intentions now, and I don’t like it. She’s up to something, and I have a bad feeling about it. There’s no sane reason for her to need a blood sample from you.”

  I wasn’t sure if sane and Aunt Eva were two things that exactly went together. It kinda made sense that she and Mrs. Snow suddenly seemed like besties. I rolled my eyes. With everything happening around me, I honestly didn’t know who was sane and who wasn’t anyway. I remembered Roman had said the Russian coven planned to harness my powers somehow. I bit the nail on my thumb, thinking. I worried if the blood sample had anything to do with that. Then I remembered Dad levitating earlier. Not that levitating made him psychotic, but it sure wasn’t normal either.

  “You can really levitate?”

  Dad smiled. “And you will be able to also, once the time comes and you shine in all your Spectral glory. Anyone who uses their power on you essentially bestows it on you as well.”

  “And when does all this Criss Angel voodoo supposedly all happen to her?” Chase asked Dad around a mouthful of his burger.

  “When I’m seventeen,” I answered with a shrug. “Just a couple more days.” No sense holding back now.

  Chase stopped chewing a moment, and then swallowed hard.

  Dad shifted, “I guess since you’ve been finding things out early, and hanging out with certain people, you’ve been able to pick some power up already.” He winked at me. “Pretty impressive, sweetheart. But that’s what we’ve tried to avoid all these years. We didn’t want you to find out too early what you are.”

  I scowled. “Why not? Ruin your whole charade, Dad?”

  Dad looked at the steel door and then back at me. “When I walk out of here, I’m leaving the door unlocked.”

  Chase’s eyes widened. He pushed the tray away and stood. “Are you serious?”

  Dad looked sick but he nodded. I could only imagine what letting us escape would mean for him. Dad reached in his pocket and pulled out a small, white folded piece of paper. “Here,” he said, passing it to me.

  I took the paper and began opening it.

  He clasped his hand over mine. “Not now. There’s no time. Aunt Eva will be back with Dmitri soon. It’s directions to your family’s coven in Venice.” He squeezed my hand. “But Jewel. There’s a group of people you need to watch out for.”

  I nodded. “I know. The Augusti Forza.”

  His lips parted and he gazed at me, surprise evident on his face. I suppressed a smirk. It felt good to know I managed to crawl out from beneath their bed of lies and secrets.

  “And other covens,” he added. “Be aware of anyone following you. Check your surroundings. Trust no one.”

  Seriously, after everything I’d been through, I doubted I’d trust anyone ever again. It was a foreign word to me now.

  I smiled up at Dad, realizing he did love me in his own way. I knew he was taking a big risk in letting us go and I hoped they wouldn’t punish him. He needed to get home to Mom and Jayden. Jayden—I missed my little brother so much that just thinking his name made my stomach twirl.

  “How’s Jayden, Dad?”

  Dad patted my hand, “Jayden’s fine, honey. He’s at home with your mom and Grandma Raine. You need to worry about you now.” He leaned over to hug me and I let him, although I couldn’t quite bring myself to hug him back.
There was just too much resentment to let go of. I didn’t know how I could feel so much hate and love all at once for the same person. I was a jumble of emotions threatening to bubble over. My eyes stung, so I pulled back and twisted my hands together in my lap.

  Dad tousled the top of my hair as though I was a little girl and sighed. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out two passports and a wad of cash, and then handed them to me. “I made these passports for you. I downloaded Chase’s picture from the school basketball team’s online site. You guys will need them to get out of the country. And that’s all the money I have.” He stared down at his hands. “I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful,” he said, his voice breaking. He looked me directly in the eye. “And you’ll need to bring the dagger.”

  I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn’t know where it was, but he stopped me. “Don’t tell me where it is,” he said. “She’ll know if I’m lying.”

  Aunt Eva’s a built-in lie detector. I knew it.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chase and I leaned against the door after Dad left, checking our watches every couple of minutes. Dad had told us to wait ten minutes so that he had time to distract the others. I sunk my passport, half the money, and the directions to my real family’s coven deep into my pockets and Chase took his passport and did the same.

  I honestly had no idea how we’d ever get to Italy or what to do when we got there. Even if we managed to find my family, it seemed completely dangerous. I mean, wouldn’t every coven and their dog be lurking in the shadows? It just seemed like the obvious place to look for me.

  But then again, maybe not everybody knew where I was from. I was kidnapped as a baby. Other covens might not know I really belonged in Italy. The thought comforted me just a little.

  And it’s not like I had many other options. Not even my family could help me without the dagger. My heart began to sink again. I would have to come up with a plan, but first I had to get out of there.

  I looked up at Chase as he held his ear to the door beside me. “So what was it exactly that Vladimir made you see?” I asked him.