Reid lets me go, stalking toward Lyric, who continues to hold his hands in the air. Reid grabs him, throwing him mercilessly on the ground. His hands clench around Lyric’s throat. “Tell me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now, Cote.”
Lyric tries to say something, but Reid cuts the air off from his lungs. Lyric claws and pulls at Reid’s hands, but it’s no use. Reid is bigger and stronger even without the use of his magic. “At least now we know who’s been following us. Delivering notes for his good-for-nothing brother.”
Lyric manages to roll over, releasing the hold of Reid’s death grip just long enough to gasp a breath of air. “What? No.” Then he sees us all circled around him. “Well…yes I followed you here tonight, but that’s it.”
“Liar.” Reid grabs his shoulders, shoving him back to the ground. “You’ve been helping your brother try to get to Wilhelmina.”
“Me? Help Julien? No. That’s why I came here. I had to get away from him.” It’s obvious Reid doesn’t believe him, so Lyric tries again. “It’s true. Julien is dangerous.”
“No shit.”
“You don’t understand.” Lyric tries to scoot away from Reid, digging his palms into the dirt. “I lived with my father in Charleston for three years. He was an evil man. The curse and his desire to kill Julien consumed his every thought. He made patient, calculated moves, though. If you met him on the street you’d never know he carried the curse. He waited years for the right opportunity to bring Julien back.”
Reid reaches forward and grabs the front of Lyric’s shirt. “What’s your point?”
“The curse is different with my brother. I don’t know if it’s because he came so close to killing Wilhelmina that night after he changed, but he’s losing it a little more every day. My father was evil, but Julien…he is madness unleashed. He killed three of his own guards last week. He would have killed me.”
Reid pulls Lyric to his feet, wrapping his shirt into his fist as he looks him straight in the eye. “How do I know Julien didn’t send you here?”
“Because I’m next in line,” Lyric says, his words coming out breathy and jagged, “and I’m scared.”
I recognize the fear in his eyes. It’s the same fear I saw in Julien when he talked about the curse. The fear that kept him from telling me about his inevitable fate. It haunted him every day. The thought of knowing what awaited him.
Lyric tries to pull away from Reid, looking directly at me. “My mother remarried when I was just a kid, after she figured out my father really didn’t love her and her young son would grow up to be a psychopath just like him one day. She’s out there somewhere hiding from me.”
Reid finally loosens his grip, giving Lyric just enough slack to turn toward me. “She’s hiding because she knows if Julien is killed and the curse takes me, I will come for them.” Lyric’s eyes are pleading now. “I have a little sister. I don’t even know her name. I’ve only ever seen her once. Tucked away in the arms of my mother as she abandoned me on my father’s doorstep. I know, though, if the curse passes to me, it’s that little girl’s life I’ll want to take. I feel it every time I let this monster inside of me come out.”
“What do you want us to do, Lyric? Let Julien live so he can continue to stalk Wilhelmina until he finally kills her?”
“No,” I say, reading the look on Lyric’s face. “He knows. He knows there is another way.”
Lyric nods. “When Roux Bessette enlisted my father’s help to find your mother, I weaseled my way into every room. I eavesdropped on every conversation. Roux thought I had some kind of hero complex toward him, but I was only looking out for myself.”
Reid finally lets his grip on Lyric go. “What did you hear?”
“That Roux’s family has something you want. Something that could change all our fates. A book of spells.”
Reid eyes him warily. “We already know this. So why do we need you?”
Lyric’s smile is small. “Like I said. I made sure I heard every conversation. I know what you’re looking for isn’t going to be found in this old shed.”
Reid shakes his head. “I find it hard to believe that one of the Haunted wants to help us out of the goodness of his heart.”
Lyric shakes his head. “No goodness. I want your protection from my brother. I’ll help you find the Book of the Moon. Then you save us all. You save that little girl from me.”
Reid wanted to say no, and honestly, so did I. Lyric’s eyes are too familiar. They evoke too many memories I want to forget. We have no other choice, though. The book isn’t here, and there is nothing that will lead us to it. If there was anything significant in the Besettes’ old house, it had already been taken a long time ago. The information Lyric possesses is our only lead to finding the Book of the Moon.
Reid snatches Lyric by his shirt and starts dragging him through the clearing. “If I find out you’re lying to me…that you’re using this as a way to get closer to Willa to help your brother…I’ll kill him. I’ll rip Julien’s throat out with my own bare hands, and then I’ll watch while you take on his curse.”
Lyric grits his teeth while he stumbles trying to stay on his feet. “I’m not lying.”
Reid smirks before giving Lyric a hefty shove forward. He rolls halfway down the hill toward the valley leading back to Frog Hollow. “We’ll see about that.”
Reid follows him down and jerks Lyric up by the neck of his shirt and leads him not so gently all the way back to Frog Hollow and onto the porch of our house. He glances over his shoulder at us. “Willa, come with me. The rest of you stay outside until we’re finished with him.”
Abby looks around him at Lyric. “What are you going to do?”
Reid shoves Lyric up the steps. “Just a little lie detector test.”
“No,” Abby says, jumping forward. “There are easier ways. Let me call Mom.”
“No.” Reid’s voice is stern. “Not tonight. Lyric here is not going to have a choice but to tell me what I want to know.”
I run up the steps after him and into the house. I stop at the entryway and turn around. “What is he going to do?”
Abby shrugs at me. “It won’t kill him.”
I hurry into the house to see Reid dragging Lyric into the kitchen. He shoves him into a chair. “Don’t move.”
Reid goes over to the giant wooden cabinet in the corner. I inherited the old family heirloom from my mother. The deep cherry stained wood has a green tint to it. Reid jerks the double doors open, running his fingers down the long rows of tiny drawers. Inside one of the drawers at the top Reid retrieves a vial of black sludge. I cringe at it. “What’s that?”
“It will break down the barrier that keeps Lyric’s memories secret.” Reid shakes the vial and then throws it at Lyric’s chest. He catches it, turning the container back and forth, watching the slow ooze slide across the glass.
“And then what?”
Reid smiles at him. “Then Willa here will be able to see them, to make sure you’re not lying for Julien.”
Lyric hesitates, but then pops the top off the vial. “I told you I’m telling the truth.”
Reid crosses his arms over his chest. “Then drink it.”
Lyric downs the black sludge, almost choking half of it back up. “Ugh. That tastes worse than it looks.”
Reid motions me over. “C’mon, I’ll walk you through it.”
I shoot him a glare. If he would tell everyone his secret, he could perform this spell himself. “Why won’t you let Abby call your mom and let her hypnotize him like she did Julien?”
“I don’t want to merely hear it. I want you to see the truth with your own eyes.” Reid takes my hand, leading me over to Lyric. Reid positions me in front of him. “Both of you think about a common memory. Think about the first time you met. The night Willa walked into your dad’s bar.”
We each nod and Reid takes my hand, placing it on Lyric’s temple. “Once you can see his memory of that night you can take the rest. Once the pathway is open, you
make him show you any memory he’s ever had.”
I look over my shoulder at him. “How do you know this?”
He rubs my shoulders. “Your mom taught me three spells before Roux killed her. This was one of them.”
“What are the other spells?”
Lyric groans. “I feel sick.”
“Another time,” he says, nodding toward Lyric. “The potion is working. Do it now. Think about the memory.”
I close my eyes and try to recall that first night with Lyric. It was only a few months ago, but I’ve tried too hard to forget about everything that happened that night. Lyric tended the hole-in-the-wall bar that night while his father threw a big party downtown to celebrate the capture of Julien. It was before Lyric knew his father planned to kill him too.
The memory suddenly reversed. Instead of Lyric, I see myself. The magenta ball gown I wore is large and poofy as I sat down on the stool.
I don’t want to relive the rest of this memory. I don’t want to hear my own voice as I desperately plead with Lyric to save Julien’s life. I know how it ends. I force myself past it, through the shifting scenes and flashes of thought that look all too familiar. Then I find Lyric’s most recent memories.
Lyric sneaks down a dark hallway, peeking into an empty room, only to be overwhelmed with relief. Julien is gone again. That means he can sleep in peace. Lyric wants to escape, the need to leave desperate. He tried that already, though, and Julien threatened to break his neck. Now his brother has guards posted at every exit. They follow him everywhere.
Next is a flash of one of Julien’s tirades. Similar to the scene we witnessed at the abandoned house. Chairs and tables overturned, drapes ripped to shreds. Julien paces back and forth in the room, threatening to pull his hair out at the roots. He rambles about something, but Lyric is too scared. He hunkers down in a corner, hiding, hoping Julien forgets he’s there.
Then finally I see Lyric leave. He shoves clothes into a small bag and slips out the window of his bedroom in the middle of the day. He falls three stories, his ankle turning over upon impact of the hard concrete beneath. It’s a small price for freedom. He spends days running, hiding in the woods, afraid he’d be too easily tracked if someone saw him or he stopped to ask for help. He finally hitches a ride on the side of a train transporting coal and makes his way to Sanctuary.
The vision suddenly disappears and I realize it’s because Reid has removed my hand from Lyric. Lyric falls out of the chair to the floor, grabbing his stomach and groaning. I step back away from him. “What’s wrong? Did I do that to him?”
“Memories don’t like to be taken,” Reid says, whispering over my shoulder, “especially the bad ones.”
I try to go to Lyric, but Reid stops me. His grip is firm on my wrist. “What’s the verdict?”
“He’s telling us the truth. He’s as scared of Julien as I am.”
Reid lets go and I go to him. Lyric continues to roll on the ground and moan. For the first time Reid looks repentant for what he’s done to Lyric. “How long will this last?”
“He only drank a small vial, so just a few more minutes.”
I try to lift Lyric’s head but he pulls away, turning over on his stomach as he tries to choke up the liquid he drank. “I don’t like this spell. I can’t believe my mother taught it to you.”
“Well, she didn’t so much teach me as used it on me.”
I look back at him in disbelief, but he smiles. “I was stubborn back then too. Katherine gave me no choice but to admit the truth about myself.” He glances down at Lyric to make sure he’s too preoccupied to pay attention. “She knew what waited for us. She knew we’d need each other.”
Lyric slowly stops wriggling and yelling. He drifts into a restless sleep. Reid walks over and picks him up off the floor. “He’s fine now. He just needs to sleep it off. He’ll feel like crap tomorrow, but at least now we know we can trust him.”
I touch Reid’s arm, making him turn around. “In Lyric’s memory, there was a section where Lyric saw Julien missing from his room. He did that every so often. Then when he would return, he’d be in these mad fits of rage. He must be making trips here, and when he fails, it drives him crazy.”
Reid’s face falls a little. “We knew it was Julien. Don’t worry, with Lyric’s help we’ll find that book.”
I nod, allowing Reid to go lay Lyric on my couch.
I knew it was Julien who left that note for me on the door of Rooster’s too, and Julien who loosened the sensor in Reid’s truck on Raven Ridge. I just didn’t want to believe it. Now I do.
Now I’m scared.
Chapter 8
Stolen Time
It’s a miserable fall morning in Sanctuary. Especially for Lyric. Something between ice and rains pelts the window of the bookstore. It’s gray and foggy outside, but Lyric sits huddled in the giant red chair by the window, the hood of his jacket up, wearing a pair of blacked out Ray-Bans.
If you could order emo on a stick, it would come in the form of Lyric Cote. I brought him to work with me because I want to make sure he recovers from the spell I put him under last night, but I’m starting to regret it. Lyric has done nothing but complain about everything since his eyes popped open at dawn.
It’s too cold outside, and the rain is too rainy. The coffee I made him is too strong, and the smiles I give him too nice for someone who ripped his thoughts out of his head like a dying man searching for water in the desert.
His words, not mine.
He isn’t in a good mood and hasn’t been since he ran outside to release the entire contents of his stomach onto my unsuspecting mums. I continue to fill out my stock forms for a supply order as Romeo plays with the small bell on my counter.
Ding. Ding.
It’s Romeo’s favorite toy, and though it’s annoying, I’ve grown accustomed to it. Lyric…not so much. “Could you please make that cat stop ringing that damned bell?”
Lyric clutches his head and groans again. Reid said the aftereffects of the spell felt like a giant hangover, which from the expression on Lyric’s face, sounds about right.
Romeo scratches his paw in the air at Lyric and hisses. When Lyric looks up, Romeo does it again to make sure he gets the point. “That would be cat talk for ‘I’ll ring my bell if I feel like it,’” I say, smiling at him.
Lyric leans his head back and starts to groan again as Romeo continues to play with his bell.
Ding. “Your cat is trying to kill me.”
Ding. “Just put me out of my misery. Reid is never going bring that potion to make this go away.”
Without looking up, I send a book on the counter flying across the room toward Lyric’s head. He barely darts out of the way as it flies over the back of his chair and hits a bookshelf on the other side. “Hey.” He shoots me a dirty look. “That almost hit me.”
I shrug. I meant it to hit him.
Lyric grumpily turns around in his chair and stares back out the window. “I’m serious, Wilhelmina. Where is Reid? He promised me a feel better potion two hours ago.”
I throw another book at him, but this time he catches it easily. The Haunted have panther-like reflexes. I sigh and put down my pen. There will be no working with Lyric here. “Reid had a meeting this morning. He said he’d stop by on his lunch break.”
Lyric wrinkles his nose. He doesn’t believe me.
The doorbell rings, and I’m beyond thrilled to see Abby come in with her co-worker, Haley. “Hey, guys.” I quickly round the counter, happy for any kind of distraction.
Abby gives me a quick hug. “Good morning. I brought Haley by to get that recipe book she ordered for her mom.”
“Sure, it’s in the back. Give me a second and I’ll go find it.”
“That’s okay,” Abby says, smiling knowingly at me. “I’ll go grab it and check her out for you. Reid told me you were babysitting this morning.”
Abby trots into the back room without even a glance at Lyric. He huffs behind me. “I’m not a baby. I don’t ha
ve teen after my age anymore.”
I smile over my shoulder at him.
“Willa, do you care if I read through that catalog of travel books again?” Haley asks, her smile smaller now as she twists her fingers impatiently next to me. “My mom still has this insane notion she needs to go to Spain this summer.”
I wave her on. “Sure, you know where it is.”
Haley wanders over to the stack of catalogs I keep on the table in the back and sits down to look through them. Lyric instantly waves me over. I roll my eyes and drag myself to him. “What now?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I’ve been here for less than twenty-four hours, but every person I’ve seen today keeps looking at me like that.” He tries to inconspicuously nod toward Haley.
I glance over my shoulder. Haley isn’t reading the catalog. She’s staring at Lyric. She quickly darts her eyes away.
“It’s because you look a lot like your brother.”
“That doesn’t explain the scowl.”
I glance back at Haley, and sure enough, she’s staring at Lyric again, her lips contorting into a grimace.
I turn back to him and sigh. “You know how in Charleston no one really knew about you? Or at least the other you.”
“Yeah.”
I lean over and whisper in his ear. “In Sanctuary…everybody knows.”
Lyric bites his lip, contemplating something. He takes off his glasses, and I see his eyes flash black, the slim rim of red growing around the iris, and his grin suddenly turns wicked. Wickedly sexy. He pulls his hood down and smiles at Haley. “Hey, girl.”
Damn those Cote boys and their mad flirting skills. Haley gasps and turns away. I shove Lyric’s shoulder. “Stop it. You are not allowed to do that here.”
“What? I thought you said everyone knew.”
“It doesn’t mean we want the other you getting any ideas. No using your influence on any unsuspecting civilians,” I say, pointing my finger at him like a scolding mother. I really do feel like a babysitter now.
Raven Ridge (Witches of Sanctuary Book 2) Page 8
