"Ouch!" Mira snapped, glaring at Emmit standing in front of her. Once again, she could only tell that it was Emmit because she sensed it—she only saw the erratic shadow of a person, which dimmed the entire world around him.
"It's the smell," Gabriel said, pulling her to her feet.
She was irritated beyond belief and glared at Gabriel as well. Her head was splitting, and she hurt from head to toe.
"Can you give me a minute?" Mira asked.
"I'm afraid not," Emmit said.
The haze was especially thick around them. The city was on fire. In some cases, the ground erupted flames. Looking down at her hand, she realized that she had also been on fire.
"Is it dead?" Mira asked.
"I've got her," Gabriel said. "Grab Jean."
"Jean. What's wrong with Jean?" Mira asked.
"It attacked her," Gabriel said.
"Oh my god," Mira said, trying to look around and catching a face full of feathers. "Is she hurt?"
"Unconscious," Gabriel said. "Come on, we've got to go."
"Is it dead?" Mira asked again as Gabriel helped her across the field.
"It stopped moving, and every part we can see is on fire," Gabriel said.
"Then why are you dragging me across a field?"
"Don't you hear them?"
Chapter 26
Mira listened. She heard the pounding of her heart, the steady beat of Gabriel's, and the sound of his and her feet beating against the ground.
It wasn't until they reached the edge of the park that she heard the howls and growling. It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"I can't keep going like this," Mira said, knowing she was well past her limit.
Gabriel dragged her across the street, pushed open a door, and ducked inside with her. Mira immediately went to sit, but he leaned her against the wall instead. He thrust up her sleeves and ran his hands over her arms. She was about to ask him what the hell he was doing, but he carefully took her hand and peeled back the cloth.
She gritted her teeth and sucked in a breath. When she saw the burns, she winced and looked away.
"Keep it wrapped," he said, folding the cloth gently around it again. "Where else are you hurt?"
Mira closed her eyes and laid her head back against the wall. He lifted up her shirt and ran his hands over her stomach.
"What are you doing?" Mira asked, trying to push him back a little.
"They smell blood," Gabriel said.
Mira grabbed his hand with her good one—she was surprised to find him shaking. "Where are Emmit and Jean?"
"I don't care," Gabriel said, pulling off his shirt. He ripped it, making a long strip and then wrapped it tightly around her arm.
"Are they okay?" Mira asked. "I thought they were behind us."
"We were," Emmit said. Mira saw that he looked like himself again. "I went around through the back with—"
Gabriel spun around and punched Emmit in the face.
Emmit staggered back. Gabriel went to punch him again, but Emmit stepped out of the way.
"What are you doing?" Mira asked. She pushed herself away from the wall and grabbed Gabriel's arm before he could lash out again.
He turned fiery eyes on her, but she didn't let go.
"I didn't agree to that!" Gabriel raged.
"None of us did," Mira said, trying to keep her voice calm. "I'm not sure what happened—"
"He put you in his place!"
Mira looked at Emmit, his face a blank slate, his stance defensive. He had taken off his necklace at some point, maybe to lure the thing away. Regardless, Mira knew he hadn't intentionally put her in the line of fire.
"Not on purpose," Mira said.
Emmit appeared to let out a deep breath, and some of the tightness around his eyes relaxed.
"He should have known," Gabriel snapped.
"It was the magic, wasn't it?" Mira asked.
Emmit gave a curt nod but wisely said nothing.
"This wasn't Emmit's fault," Mira said.
"You're siding with him?"
Mira looked into Gabriel's face, which was twisted up in anger. A tiredness fell over her mind, almost as much as it did her body.
She dropped Gabriel's arm. "I'm done."
Emmit took a step to move toward Mira and found Gabriel's sword pointed at him, blocking the way.
"I'm fairly certain that will actually kill me," Emmit said.
Mira stepped away and, with her good hand, dug around her pocket. She had two spells left. It wouldn't get her to Lance's, but maybe as far as Chris's.
She tucked one away and held the other for easy access. Ignoring the others, she went straight for the door. When she opened it, Gabriel slammed it back shut.
"What are you doing?" Gabriel asked.
"I told you. I'm done. You two can go at it and kill each other, but I'm not waiting here to watch."
Gabriel didn't say anything, but he didn't move, either.
"Get out of my way," Mira said.
Gabriel's wings twitched, and some of the fire died from his eyes. "You're still bleeding."
Mira was unphased. "Bleeding is the least of my problems."
"It won't be if you step out the door," Gabriel said. "Come on."
Mira begrudgingly let herself be led away from the door to a place where she could sit down. "Is Jean hurt?" Mira asked Emmit, who still hadn't moved.
"I think she will be." He glanced at Gabriel, who was studiously ignoring him and wrapping Mira's other arm. "I'll check on her, but I'll be just in the next room if you need me."
Mira nodded.
Gabriel said nothing while he wrapped her arm. "The other cut is on your side."
Mira lifted her shirt and saw that, sure enough, she was bleeding.
Working with the remains of his shirt, Gabriel tried to tie it around her waist. He gave up, struggled with his t-shirt until he could get it off, then wrapped it around her waist.
Mira bit her lip, trying not to grin. She tried to remind herself that she was mad at him, but that didn't seem to be working.
Gabriel was still scowling. "What?"
"Nothing."
"None of this is funny."
"You're right." Mira tried to keep a straight face.
His scowl seemed to deepen.
"It's just that, I finally got you to take both your shirts off."
He blinked at her, as though not believing what she’d just said.
Trying to lighten Gabriel's mood, she added, "I think it was worth the trouble."
He shook his head and pulled her into a hug. "I promise to never wear a shirt again if it keeps you out of trouble."
"You know what promises mean here, right?"
"Oh shit," Gabriel pulled back, looking for the tell-tale line of silver, but nothing appeared.
"I think that means it's going to be impossible to keep me out of trouble."
He smiled weakly and shook his head. He settled down next to her before moving her onto his lap where she shifted to get more comfortable.
He held one of her arms out, checking the wrappings.
"That better work. You're out of shirts, and you can't have mine."
"I really hated doing that," Gabriel said.
"I really hated you getting so upset," Mira said.
"What we did—"
"What that thing in the city did," Mira corrected.
"I thought we were going to lose you."
Mira rested her head against his chest.
"I'm not sure why I didn't know."
"Know what?" Mira asked.
"Everything, really. From the moment they set the house on fire, it felt as though something was missing. I should have known beforehand that you would get hurt. I could have stopped it."
"Maybe the promises wear off?" Mira suggested.
"Maybe," Gabriel said. "This time I'll work on the wording."
"It could also have something to do with that." Mira gestured to his wings. "Have you seen them?"
"It's not something I regularly look at, no." He spread them wide behind them.
The feathers at the top were still pure white, but the cascaded down to gray. At the bottom the tips were dark.
"That didn't happen until here," Gabriel said.
"I don't think so. I think it started that night you went to my store, hoping to find John. Your energy was all erratic. It's been that way here, too."
"Well, it's over now. Maybe it'll go back to normal."
"Emmit might know." She wished she could take it back the moment she said it.
"Maybe I'll ask him later," Gabriel said, surprising her.
She smiled.
"I said maybe," he stressed. "How are you feeling?"
She thought about it and opted for, "Tired."
He seemed to be willing to accept that—he didn't push anyway. "Let's get home."
"How long have we been here?"
"Too long."
"True, but do we still have a way home?"
"Let's go find Harker and find out."
Mira was reluctant to let go of Gabriel, but she forced herself up, and they went into the back rooms where they found Emmit and Jean.
"Is she okay?" Mira asked.
"She's not awake yet," Emmit said, getting to his feet.
"Will we be able to carry her?" Mira asked.
"That won't be an issue," Emmit said.
"Is there someone still at Lance's? Waiting to get us out, I mean."
"There should be someone there."
Mira's heart sunk. "But not guaranteed?"
"We've been gone for more than two days, but they should still be checking every hour. I'm not sure we can wait there for that long, though. It's too exposed."
"His house is big," Gabriel said, "but it's not that big. We had no trouble last time," Gabriel said.
"Yes, but in this world, Lance's house—along with a large part of the neighborhood—has been destroyed."
Mira rolled her eyes. "I left a few walls."
"Did you leave them on fire?" Emmit asked.
Mira ignored him. "You opened the path here. We have two witches—at least we will when Jean wakes up. With our help, can you open the way back?"
Emmit shook his head. "I can only find the reflection. Going to the reflection of this world would be a mistake."
"There's another—never mind," Mira said. "Lance's it is."
"How's your hand?" Emmit asked.
Mira scrunched up her nose. "I'm trying not to think about it."
Emmit handed her the water bottle, which was almost empty. While she sipped, he looked her over.
Mira passed the bottle to Gabriel.
"You take it," he said.
"We have a long way to go," Mira reminded him. "I have two spells, and then I'm useless."
Gabriel shook his head.
Mira relented. "Emmit, your turn." She hadn't seen him drink anything since they’d arrived, but it was something easily missed. He was still inspecting her. She shook the bottle at him.
Once again, he moved with unsettling speed. He gripped her under her chin and stared into her. Through her. This time she didn't glare. He was frowning and looking for something—though what it was she didn't know.
"Harker." There was a warning tone in Gabriel's voice, but only a trace of anger.
Emmit's frown turned to Gabriel. "You will keep a close eye on her?"
"What do you think?" Gabriel asked.
Emmit stepped away again. Mira felt unsettled. She didn't know what he was looking for. It's possible he was trying to determine if she could make the trip. Mira hoped that was all it was. With everything that had happened, she wasn't sure she wanted to know if he was searching for anything else.
They all three ate something, but to Mira, it only seemed to remind her of how hungry she actually was.
It took Emmit a while to figure out the best way to carry Jean through the city. Mira was concerned about the woman not waking up, but at least Jean was alive.
They moved slowly at first, but then with more confidence when nothing stirred around them.
Mira couldn't help but look back every now and again. The city burned, but what did that mean in a reflected world?
The first two miles were slow. The third even slower. Gabriel led, but never moved too far away from Mira. When she pushed herself as far as she could, she called for them to stop.
Her hand throbbed, and little stabs of pain made her very aware of the fact that she had several cuts. She intended to lean against the wall for a short time before moving on, but even the thought of pushing herself away forward made her more tired.
"I don't suppose you all know of any witches that live in this area of town?" Mira said, forgetting her plan to stay on her feet. She cradled her hand to her chest, trying to ignore the thudding of her blood rushing under the burns.
"Most of them tend to live away from the city," Emmit reminded her.
With Gabriel's help, Emmit sat Jean on the ground.
"Tyler's house isn't too far out of the way," Emmit said.
"There's nothing there," Gabriel said. "We tried last time we were here."
Mira closed her eyes. She would do just about anything for a warm, safe bed.
"I could take her ahead," Emmit said.
"No," Gabriel said. "Maybe we should detour back to Chris's and get some rest."
"We need a witch’s house and a reflection," Mira said, not opening her eyes.
"You made it back the first time through a reflection, right?" Emmit said.
"Yeah. Mira had a piece of a black mirror at her shop," Gabriel said.
"I'm assuming that Tyler's house had the magic removed when he was taken," Emmit said. "Does anyone know where they brought it?"
"Jean said she never went far," Mira said. "Maybe they have stuff at the church?"
"I'm afraid I left a bit of a mess in that area," Emmit said. "Every creature for miles is there, except for the ones that were attracted to the city."
"We're back to Lance's, then," Mira said. When she opened her eyes, she took note of Emmit and frowned. "You're going shadowy."
Emmit took a step back and drew the chain out from under his neck. The glow was less prominent than it had been.
"I'm out of time," Emmit said.
"Can it be, I don't know, recharged or something?" Gabriel asked.
"Not from here," Mira said. She struggled to get to her feet and took Gabriel's hand for help. "How far away is my house?"
"At our pace, it'll take hours to get there," Emmit said. "I need to get away from you all. Gabriel, you’ll need to carry Jean?"
"Can you make it to Lance's house?" Mira asked.
"They check once an hour," Emmit said. "If I have to wait, I'll attract every beast from miles around. It's possible that no one else could get through." He looked toward the city. "I'll go back the way we came. It will lure everything away and give you all the best chance."
"You can't do that," Mira said. "You won't be able to get to Lance’s."
"That was the original idea," Emmit said.
"No. We'll stick together and go to my house." Mira didn't wait for a reply, but started to move in that direction.
"You can carry Jean?" Emmit asked.
Mira turned around. She pursed her lips, but when she went to cross her arms, she bumped her hand and her face reflected her agony.
Gabriel winced and moved beside her, rubbing her shoulder in sympathy. "Do you have anything for pain relief at your apartment?"
"I can make something—as well as something to keep us awake. But to do that, we need to get moving."
"I can carry Jean," Gabriel said. "You and Emmit go ahead."
"We should all stick together," Mira said.
"I can move faster on my own with Jean," Gabriel said. "I'll catch up."
"When I take off the necklace, they will come for us," Emmit said. "Being inside a building isn't going to stop that."
"She has a strong circle," Gabriel said,
sounding resigned. "Maybe that will help."
Emmit lowered his voice and leaned toward Gabriel. "I may inadvertently distress Mira when I'm no longer hidden."
"I'm standing right here," Mira complained. "And I've already seen you with the necklace off."
"This is hard enough," Gabriel said. "Help me get Jean situated, then get going."
"I don't like the idea of splitting up," Mira said. "You'll be alone with Jean to watch after."
"You two need to look out for each other." Gabriel pulled Mira close and kissed her.
"I don't want to leave you out here alone," Mira said, her voice cracking.
"He needs you," Gabriel said. "I'll catch up. I promise."
Emmit helped situate Jean so Gabriel could still have use of his sword, then Gabriel took off at a trot.
"Are you ready?" Emmit asked.
Mira watched Gabriel moving quickly away. "No, but we should go anyway."
"We have farther to go than last time. This may be a bit disorientating."
Mira shrugged. "It can't be worse than anything else today."
"That shouldn't have happened."
"None of it should have happened," Mira said. "But the sooner we get out of here the sooner it will be over."
***
Disorientating wasn't a strong enough word. Emmit had Mira on his back. She tried to keep her eyes open for a few moments, but the shadows and colors that didn't quite belong made her stomach churn.
Mira was surprised when Emmit stopped before they reached her house. Emmit was out of breath and looking pale.
Mira was surprised that they needed to stop to rest. Emmit was out of breath and looking pale.
“Are you all right?” Mira asked. “We can walk for a while.”
“I don’t think the magic will hold out,” Emmit said.
“Will it really be that bad?”
“I would rather us not wait to find out.”
The next stop they made was outside of Mira’s apartment. Mira slid off Emmit and had to hold on until the vertigo dissipated.
As he steadied her, Emmit looked around. “It appears that your apartment has suffered damage on this side.”
She looked at the large hole where a door used to be. “John has quite a few options when it comes to monsters willing to help him.” Then she saw that the arm holding her up appeared to be more shadow than flesh.
Spellbound Murder Complete Trilogy (Spellbound Murder Box Set Book 1) Page 74
