“So that’s what you’ve come for? To take me back to that place? To those people?”
He nodded.
“No way.” I took another step back. “I don’t want to go.”
I didn’t care about hurting his feelings anymore. He was a scary guy and he came from a scary place. I didn’t want anything to do with him or his Caldronon. He could burn my head off if he wanted to, but there was no way I was going with him.
He set his jaw. “You don’t have a choice. Michaela, you belong to the Caldronon. You’re one of us. We’ve been waiting for you to come back.”
“Waiting for me? All this time? Why’d you come now?”
He eyed me warily. “I didn’t know where to find you before.”
I bit my lip, already knowing the answer to my next question. But I couldn’t help it, I asked anyway, “How did you find me now?”
“You called me,” he said simply.
I narrowed my eyes, knowing, but not exactly. “I don’t understand. I called you? How did I call you?”
He looked pained, like he didn’t want to talk about this. “You called me to help you save that guy—Gage.”
I stared into his eyes, my voice softening. “You helped me?”
He clinched his jaw. “Yeah, I helped you. What, you thought you did it by yourself?” He laughed a little, but it was a sad laugh. “Why though? Why’d I help you—that I don’t know. I mean, you love him, right? I helped you save the guy you love?”
I didn’t understand why it made him look so sad, but I nodded. “I love Gage.” With all my heart I loved Gage.
“Yeah.” He gave another sad little laugh. “That’s what I thought.”
I kept swaying one way and then the other. He was like the devil, coming to take me to hell, but then again, he was this really nice guy that I could possibly like under other circumstances. It was hard to decide which person he really was—good or bad—but either way I was indebted to him. He helped me save Gage.
“Thank you so much for helping me.”
He peered out into the dark ocean, like I didn’t say anything. “I made you sick, did you know that? I used your power and your strength to come here and find you. I was like, punishing you—trying to get you back for loving someone else.”
I had no idea what to say. He couldn’t possibly expect me to uphold a promise I made when I was seven years old, a promise I didn’t even remember making. Still, he was hurt and I hated that. I didn’t want to be the cause of his pain.
“Look, it’s late,” I told him. “Could we talk about this tomorrow?”
He gazed at me, looking pensive. “Michaela, you just don’t get this, huh? You think I’m bad? You think I’m scary? I’m not. I don’t even want to hurt you. But the others—you called the others. They’re not like me—they’re not in love with you.”
CHAPTER 24
Walking home from the docks, I felt shaky. It wasn’t ‘cause I used my powers earlier, either. It was because I was scared, a mess. The Caldronon was really coming. I’d always been afraid they were, but now Logan even said it.
What could I do? How could I possibly fight them?
A cloud of doom hovered over me, followed me home.
When I finally got to my house, I saw Gage sitting on his front curb. Kinda weird. The cloud seemed over him too. I silently walked over and sat beside him.
“Hey.” He looked happy to see me. That was good ‘cause a second ago he looked like the saddest, loneliest person on the planet. And this was coming from someone who had confirmed knowledge evil Cloaked People were coming to get her.
I already knew the answer (only one thing got Gage this down) but I asked it anyway, “Fight with Addison?”
Gage rubbed his face in his hands. “War with Addison.”
We were silent a moment, lost in our own painful thoughts. Mine was that I may never see him again, ever, this moment might be our last.
“Do you want to come in?” Gage asked.
The invitation warmed me.
We went down to his basement and played pool and jammed on his guitar. We used to do stuff like this all the time, now we hardly ever did. Addison would have a seizure.
“Maybe you could just stay here tonight,” Gage said as he lay back on his bed, tossing the junk from it to the ground. “I have an extra sleeping bag. We could both sleep on the floor, like we used to. Wanna?”
“Um—I don’t know.”
He grinned. “What? You’re afraid I’ll attack you? I won’t. I promise.”
I could feel my face turning red. It wasn’t that, far from it. But I used my powers earlier tonight, and there was always a pay back. Sometimes really scary things happened. Other times I just had horrible nightmares. In either case, I didn’t want him to be a witness to my punishment—or even worse, a participant. It would kill me if he had to suffer.
“Maybe another time,” I mumbled, though of course, I longed to stay.
Gage stared up at me, like he wanted to ask why. But he didn’t. Instead he started messing with his amp. Just to show off, I played Fade to Black from beginning to end. It sounded really good. Maybe too good. I worried I used my powers on it. Sometimes when I’m concentrating really hard it just happens. Music is like that though. It’s kind of magical. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish the true sound from a little push.
Undecided, I looked up at Gage. Then whoosh! My heart fluttered. ‘Cause Gage was watching me. The way he was gazing, it was as though he’d been doing it a long time.
“What?”
He was quiet. “You sounded good.”
“Yeah?”
He nodded, his eyes never leaving mine. “You should be in a band.”
“Thanks.”
Then we were silent. We just stared at each other. And it was as though we were under a magical spell. Gazing into his eyes, I was almost certain he felt the same way as me. It was cool. But weird. I’d wanted this moment ever since I met him. I ached for it. But now that it was finally here, I had no idea what to do.
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about starting a band,” I said, just to say something. “Maybe an all girl one. I could get Kelly Blake to sing . . .”
The way he was gazing into my eyes, it was as though he was going to kiss me. Just thinking about it made my heart beat out of control. He was going to kiss me and I was going to find out what it was like to feel his soft, pink lips press against mine. I was gonna …
“Yeah, Kelly Blake,” he murmured, drawing in close. “… She’s a good singer.”
His lips just barely pressed against mine, when …
Smoke!
I saw smoke!
It was coming from Gage’s bed! Where we were sitting! Confused, I watched as ominous grey streams floated up to the ceiling. My vision was clouding, changing. Through the increasing smoke I could see an image of the Caldronon. It was like I was watching them in a dream. Only I was pretty sure it was for real. Dressed in hooded cloaks, they formed a circle, holding hands. They were chanting. All at once, there was a gust of wind and every candle in their circle lit up, making their cave aglow with fire.
I jumped to my feet.
“Gage, get up!” I told him.
He looked perplexed, stunned, like he was trying to figure out where the smoke was coming from. How it was coming. “What the—?”
“Gage! Get! up!”
Alarm dawning, he jumped from his bed just as it burst into flames. For a moment we both stood where we were, amazed, watching the inferno that used to be his bed. Then we both headed for his bathroom, colliding at the sink. For a confused moment we fought over his water cup, then I ran to the bathtub, filling a trashcan with water.
Frantic and stumbling, I made my way back to his bedroom, then stopped, frozen in my tracks. The room was dead calm, the bed unscathed. But here’s the most incredible part—Gage was lying on it, asleep.
CHAPTER 25
I left Gage’s house without my shoes. I wanted to go back for them. My feet were c
old and the street was full of tiny rocks and pebbles that jabbed into my souls. But I couldn’t turn around. I kept plodding towards my house. I was being dragged by my hair. I mean that literally. Only no one was around doing the dragging. Any time I slowed down, even for a moment, I got a painful yank.
“Stop it!” I yelled in frustration.
If anything, the grip on my hair tightened, pulling me onward. I knew it was Logan. And it made me furious. I hated that he was able to lead me around like this. It was humiliating.
Stumbling through the front door, I yelled, “What do you want?”
The house was dark. And quiet. The only sound was my own voice echoing through the empty foyer. I wasn’t quite as mad as I was a moment ago. Now I was kind of scared.
“...Logan?”
Again with the hair pulling. Now he was leading me up the stairs. When I got to my room, the door was thrown open and I was shoved inside. At the foot of my bed sat Logan, looking mad, outraged.
“I’ll never save him for you again, Michaela.” His eyes were on fire. “I mean it. If I ever even see you with him I’ll kill him.”
“What are you talking about? Gage? You’ll kill Gage?”
“Yeah.” Logan eyes were ablaze with anger. “I’ll kill him. You’re mine, Michaela—not some stupid mortal that can’t even put out a fire. Next time I’ll let him burn. And if you try anything stupid like you did tonight, I’ll let you burn too.”
Totally baffled, I just stared at him. I had no idea what he was talking about...unless he was saying the fire at Gage’s got out of hand. And he somehow put it out, saving Gage and me.
Logan growled. “That is what I’m saying.”
I stared up at him. “You can read my mind?”
“Sometimes.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Enough to know you’re afraid of me. But yeah, I saved you—and your boyfriend. I put out the fire.”
I bite my lip, begrudgingly. “It was just his bed. We could have put it out.”
Logan laughed. “That’s all you remember? I wish you remembered everything. I wish you could remember your boyfriend screaming in flames, and you trying to use your powers to save him.” He was quiet for a moment, studying me. “I don’t get you. You’re strong, but you’re totally unskilled. Don’t you ever use your powers?”
I looked away from him, pretending there was something interesting outside my window. “Not very often.”
Using my powers equaled bad. I learned that a long time ago. My powers were linked to the Caldronon. My powers called them.
I stared out into the darkness. “Bad things happen when I use them. You came because I used them.”
His lips curled into a bitter smile. “And I’m such a horrible thing?”
I didn’t comment. ‘Cause to me he was a horrible thing. He came from a past I didn’t remember. A past I didn’t want to remember. It was full of scary Cloaked People and dark, evil things too horrible to imagine. I knew because I saw them in my nightmares. I saw them when I’d used my powers.
“Look, I don’t understand,” I said. “Why don’t I remember the fire growing, or Gage being caught in it or any of that?”
Logan shrugged, like it was no big deal. “I put a spell on your boyfriend to make him forget. It must have been too strong. I guess it worked on you too.” He added grimly, “Or you wanted to forget.”
I sat on my bed, contemplating all of this with my stomach in a ball of knots. It was hard to believe he was able to do all those things he said. It was hard to believe he chose to.
Not entirely convinced, but just in case, I murmured, “Thanks for helping me.”
“Why don’t you trust me?” he asked. “What would I gain by lying to you?”
Ugh! Good question. I shrugged, feeling lame. “Nothing, I guess. It’s just—why would you be nice to me?”
He didn’t answer. Instead he gazed at me. Extensively. It made me uncomfortable. Start to fidget. Feeling awkward, I mumble, “Anyway, thanks.”
“Sure,” he said, his eyes still on me, never leaving mine.
Suddenly, the room was totally silent. There was a lot of tension. I just wanted him to leave. It wasn’t that I was ungrateful. I was grateful. I was, but this day had gone on and on. I was tired. I’d had enough.
The way he was gazing at me, so intently, made me feel funny, self-conscious. I didn’t know how to act. He was watching my every move, drinking me in. Maybe Summer thrived on that kind of attention. She was that sort of person. But not me. I felt as though I was being suffocated.
He ran his hands through his hair, something he seemed to do whenever he was nervous or agitated. “Look, I know you’re tired, I know that. But I’m tired of waiting for you. I haven’t made this a secret, Michaela. I want you to come back with me.”
My heart stopped. I shook my head, unable to speak.
He watched me, warily waiting.
“No,” I shook my head again, “no way. I have nightmares about that place. I have nightmares about you. I wake up screaming.”
Once I said it, I wished I hadn’t. Or at least I wished I hadn’t been so fervent about it. He wasn’t that bad of a guy, not really. It was just he was psycho, burning my head, and pulling my hair, and saying he was going to kill Gage. I figured it had something to do with that ceremony we went through when we were kids. It warped his brain.
“Look,” I said, trying to placate him, reason with him, “thanks for your help. I mean it. I appreciate it more than I can say. But I can’t go with you. I just can’t. Please. You don’t seem that bad right now. Can’t you just please go away?”
He shook his head, his eyes full of pain. “Not without you.”
The way he said it made my heart sink. He was totally serious. He’d truly come to get me. “What if I don’t go? Then what? You’ll burn my head off?”
Looking discouraged he gazed out the window. “I know you don’t understand, but I love you—I don’t have a choice. It’s not something I have power over.”
My heart ached a little. I did understand what he was feeling. Kind of. I loved Gage. It hurts to love someone that doesn’t love you back. But the thing was, my feelings for Gage were because I knew him and I knew how great he was. Logan didn’t even know me. He hadn’t seen me since we were kids. He just had some bizarre, delusional feelings because he drank my blood and took some crazy oath. He was messed up.
“But to answer your question,” he said, still looking out the window, “I’ll take you back with me any way I have to. I don’t want to hurt you. I really don’t. But you’re kind of strong. It seems like the only way I have influence over you is to somehow cause you pain.”
“Well, you did that. You nearly burned my head off. Believe me, you caused me pain.”
He wet his lips, not looking pleased. “I can cause you a lot more.”
CHAPTER 26
I didn’t wake up this morning until Summer dragged me out of bed. More than being tired, I just didn’t want to get up. Logan and the Caldronon were out in the world doing terrifying things. I just wanted to hide under my covers, never come out.
Once I was finally up, I just hung out in my room listening to music, Summer my only contact to the outside world. She would come in every once in a while and start pacing around, touching my things. She was agitated because Logan hadn’t called. She was driving me nuts.
“How can you just sit there like that?” she asked when it started to get dark, finally noticing I hadn’t moved the entire day. “You’re like, catatonic.”
I didn’t bother to answer. She was pretty wrapped up in herself at the moment. It wouldn’t take much to get her mind off me. “He hasn’t called yet, huh?”
“No!” She moaned, flopping down on my bed. “I guess he won’t. What’s the matter with me? Why don’t guys like me anymore?”
Ugh! “Summer, it’s not you. You just choose losers.”
It was true. The last two guys she’d gone with had been major mistakes. First, there was Justin, the two-timi
ng sleaze ball; now Logan, the weirded-out warlock. She just needed someone normal, but Summer didn’t really go for normal. She had to have boyfriends that were ultra cool—or at least appeared that way. Like, Justin. He was super rich. It didn’t matter to her that he treated her like crap, as long as he bought her expensive presents and took her to fancy restaurants. It was really sad she cared so much about appearances. Underneath all her superficial-ness Summer was alright, pretty much. It was just she wasn’t comfortable without a guy to complete her wardrobe.
“Logan’s not a loser.” She sighed. “He’s really sweet. I know I’ve only known him a couple of days, but I really like him.”
I chipped the polish off my toenails, feeling kind of guilty. It was probably my fault Logan hadn’t called. I did tell him to stay away from her, and I still wanted him to, of course, but I didn’t want her to feel like less of a person because of it. To tell the truth though, I didn’t really think he was avoiding her because I asked him to. I mean, he laughed at me when I made the request. What worried me was maybe he wasn’t paying attention to her because he was planning something awful to make me go with him back to the Caldronon.
“There’s a party at Stocker Little’s tonight,” I said, thinking maybe a party would get her out of my room and off my back—maybe even cheer her up.
“Yeah, I know.” She sighed. “Gage’s been calling you all afternoon—he wants to make sure you’re going.”
I chipped some more polish off my toenails. I hadn’t talked to Gage since last night. Every time he called I had Summer tell him I wasn’t feeling well. The thing was, I kept thinking about what Logan said—about Gage burning in flames. The thought made me sick. It made me want to throw up. If Logan hadn’t been around to put out the fire…well I didn’t want to think about it. But it was hard to concentrate on anything else. The Caldronon set the boy I loved in flames. They were vicious, evil. And they were coming to get me—maybe not physically, but obviously their presence wasn’t required. They were able to send calling cards.
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