Blood Magic

by Jennifer Snyder

The drive home seemed to take forever. Mostly because of the eerie silence we’d rode in and the knowledge that things were not okay festering through the air. My cell was dead. Which left me feeling even more panicked since I couldn’t send or receive messages to learn anything about whatever had happened. Ivette hadn’t budged on keeping whatever happened to herself even though everyone had tried to get her to tell us more than once. In the end, she’d insisted it would be best to learn everything when we reached her house, because we could do nothing to remedy the situation while confined to a car.

  Aunt Rowena’s tarot spread floated to the surface of my mind, and all I could do was try to guess what kind of terrifying chaos we were returning home to find.

  When we pulled up in front of the Montevallo mansion, the sun had long ago set, but I was still able to make out Mina’s car in the driveway. It was parked behind Julian’s, and at the sight of it, I knew something horrible had happened.

  “What’s goin’ on?” Benji asked. He shifted into park and cut the engine on my car. “We’re home. You can tell us now.”

  “Let’s go inside,” Ivette insisted. “It would be best if Mina or Julian filled you all in. They know more details than I do.”

  Had her eyes drifted to me when she said that? Was it something to do with Aunt Rowena?

  My heart kicked into overdrive as a rush of adrenaline shot through me that was so strong nausea pooled in my gut. My legs shook as I slipped out of my car and started toward the front door of the Montevallo place.

  Benji was at my side in an instant. He gripped my hand in his and gave it a genital squeeze.

  “Whatever it is we’ll handle it together,” he promised. “I’m here.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded. My mouth was too dry for me to form words.

  As we let ourselves into the house, my gaze landed on Mina. She sat on one of the brown leather couches with her legs crossed at the ankles and her arms folded over her chest. So much remorse filled her eyes when they landed on me that I felt my knees begin to buckle.

  “What happened?” I asked. I forced my legs to carry me into the living room. “Is everything okay?” I knew it wasn’t. We all did. Still, I asked anyway because I wanted so badly to be wrong.

  “I wish I could say it was.” Mina licked her lips. “But I’d be lying. I’m sorry, Ridley. There’s no easy way to say this, and even though I don’t know how to tell you what happened, you know I’m not one to beat around the bush.”

  I nodded. “I know. Just tell me.”

  The remorse in her eyes shifted to utter sympathy, and I swore I could feel my heart already breaking before she even said a word.

  “Rose is missing.”

  “What?” My brows pinched together. “What happened? Why didn’t anyone call me?” If it were true Aunt Rowena or Raven would have tried to contact me.

  Fear crept in. My phone was dead. Maybe they had tried to contact me but were unable.

  “They tried. When they couldn’t get a hold of you or Benji, they called me,” Mina said.

  I released Benji’s hand and narrowed my eyes on him. “Why didn’t you answer? Why didn’t you tell me they were trying to reach you?”

  He tossed his hands up in front of him. “I didn’t know.”

  “How could you not know?” I demanded.

  He pulled his cell from his back pocket. The screen was dark and unresponsive. “It’s dead. I told you earlier my phone was actin’ weird. I didn’t even know it was close to bein’ dead. I swear.”

  “What’s being done to find her?” I smoothed a hand across my forehead. “What happened?”

  Mina stood and walked to where I was. “Nobody knows where she’s at and no one knows what happened. She was at the inn one minute, and then your aunt swears she was gone the next. She sent her upstairs for something and she was just... gone.” She grabbed hold of my free hand and squeezed it tight. “Eli is looking for her now. So is the bulk of the pack. We won’t stop until she’s found. I can promise you that.”

  She was at the inn one minute and then gone the next, the words looped through my mind. What did that even mean? How could she vanish?

  Bram. Bram. Bram.

  His name thundered through my veins in sync with my fast-paced heartbeat. He’d taken her. I was certain.

  My gaze dropped to the amulet dangling from my neck, and I inhaled a deep breath. Bram had made this personal and now it was time to show him who he was messing with.

  A pissed off Caraway witch who was hell-bent on taking him down.

  Chapter 12

  “It was Bram,” I insisted.

  My hands clenched at my sides so hard my nails dug into my palms and my teeth ground together. If he hurt her…

  “Why do you think he took your cousin?” Hazel asked.

  My mind spun through reasons until it settled on the one that made the most sense. “Because he thinks it gives him the upper hand,” I said.

  “How was Bram even able to get to her?” Benji asked. “Obviously he’s here in Mirror Lake, but there’s no way your family would’ve let him take Rose. He wouldn’t have been able to even get close to her.”

  “Benji’s right,” Julian insisted. “If I remember correctly, there are spells on the inn which keep evil from being able to enter.”

  “There are,” I said.

  A cold sensation centered itself in the pit of my stomach and suddenly I couldn’t breathe. The house had been trying to keep him out… it was letting us know evil had somehow slipped inside its walls by making shit break every two seconds. Puzzle pieces clicked together in my mind.

  “He was staying as a guest at the inn,” I whispered. “That’s how he was able to get close to her.”

  I turned to leave the room, heading for my car, without saying another word.

  “Where are you goin’?” Benji asked. He’d blurred from where he’d been standing with the others to being inches away from me using his vampire speed and placed his hands on my waist, forcing me to a standstill. “Whatever you’ve got planned I want in.”

  “I’m going home. I need to make sure Bram was staying at the inn as a guest. I need to figure out what happened and where Rose was taken.” My words came out sounding raw and panicked but I didn’t care. It killed me Rose had been pulled into all this.

  “Let me drive you,” Benji pleaded. Concern and an intense desire to help festered within the color of his eyes. “Let me come with you, Rid. Let me help.”

  “Okay. Let’s go.” The words didn’t sound like mine when they fell from my lips.

  Three minutes later I was in my car with Benji driving, and Hazel and Ivette in the backseat as we flew down moonlit streets heading toward Caraway Inn. Mina was behind us in her car with Julian as a passenger. I had no clue what Roman and Octavia were supposed to be doing. All I cared about was figuring out if my suspicions about Bram staying at the inn were true and finding Rose.

  It didn’t take long for us to reach the inn. I stared at it as we pulled into the tiny parking lot. Everything about it looked as it always had. Nothing hinted at what had happened within its walls tonight.

  Benji parked, and I didn’t hesitate in exiting my car and making my way to the front door. Benji was at my side in seconds. The others not far behind. When I stepped inside, the energy of the house reminded me of an elastic band being stretched to the point of snapping. Everyone inside was on edge.

  I made my way to the kitchen where everyone congregated. Raven was who I sought when I couldn’t find Aunt Rowena. She stood at the sink, rinsing dishes while guests chatted about where Rose could be and tried to remember anything suspicious they’d recently seen. Talk of Officer Dan floated around and I knew he’d been here to take statements. I also knew he would more than likely have to create a cover-up story for the cause of Rose’s disappearance since it was supernatural related.

  It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done so. Officer Dan was used to this sort of thing. He was one of the few humans who knew he shared hi
s hometown with supernatural creatures. He was on our side.

  “Hey,” I said as I entered the kitchen, my gaze only on Raven. “Where’s Aunt Rowena?”

  “She’s upstairs,” Raven said and then she mouthed the word attic to me.

  Ellen pulled me in for a hug before I could respond to Raven or ask how she was doing. The scent of incense lingered on the older woman’s clothes and it tickled my nose.

  “Oh, honey,” Ellen said. “We’re all so sorry to hear about little Rose.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I untangled myself from her grasp.

  “Ivette, do you think you could help me?” Raven asked, eyeing the guests. “It’s getting late. Some of us should already be in bed.”

  I knew what she was insinuating—that she wanted Ivette to compel the guests to go to bed.

  “Oh, absolutely.” Ivette smiled. She stepped to Ellen first and looked deep into her eyes.

  “What room was the handyman guy staying in?” I asked Raven, unable to remember the name Aunt Rowena had said he’d given.

  Raven flashed me a funny look. “The amethyst room. Why?”

  “I’ll tell you later,” I said. I started for the stairs but stopped, and glanced at Raven from over my shoulder. “Describe him for me.”

  Raven’s brows pulled together. It was clear she had no clue why I cared but described him anyway. “Dark blond hair. Greenish-blue eyes. He’s tall, muscular, and had a thick southern accent. Why?”

  “Later,” I said before bolting toward the stairs.

  From the description and the strong gut sensation I’d had since learning Rose was missing, I knew Bram and the handyman were the same guy. He’d had to of fooled my family with magic somehow to hide his true identity.

  “Bram and the guy you asked about are the same person, aren’t they?” Benji asked as he jogged up the stairs behind me. “You were right about him bein’ here as a guest.”

  “I’m about to find out.” I took the stairs two at a time and then speed walked down the hallway to the amethyst room.

  The door was shut, but it wasn’t locked. I twisted the knob and swung the door open, opting to apologize later if I was wrong.

  I wasn’t.

  The room was empty. It didn’t look as though anyone had been staying here at all. The problem was: This guy had supposedly been here for at least two days. He should have some of his things spread around the room.

  “He’s not here,” Benji said as he poked his head into the room.

  “Nothing is,” I said.

  I stepped into the room further, searching for a suitcase tucked away somewhere. There wasn’t one. There wasn’t anything. All the drawers were empty. The closet was clean. There was no trace anyone had been staying in this room at all. My gaze drifted to the bed. It was still made the way Aunt Rowena liked which meant no one had even slept here.

  However, there was a scrap of paper and something black resting on the pillow.

  “Look.” I pointed to the note.

  I stepped closer to the bed. The instant I noticed the something black was a feather, my stomach dipped and I knew I’d been right.

  That was all the evidence I needed to know Bram was the handyman, and he had Rose.

  He’d fooled everyone. How? A cloak. A glamor. Some sort of a spell?

  My fingers shook as I picked up the feather and then the note. I read it out loud, “You have someone I want and now I have someone you want. Care to trade, love? All you have to do is say yes, remember I’m always watching.”

  I spun the feather between my fingers. He was always watching… as his familiar was? My gaze drifted to the window. Through the lace curtains, I was able to make out the shape of a crow. It sat perched on one of the bare branches to the old oak right outside, watching.

  Footsteps approached the room. Raven peeked inside. “Where’s Mr. Addington?”

  That was the name Bram had given. Was it his real last name or one he’d made up?

  “He’s not here.” I flashed her the note and feather. “He’s not who you think he is either.”

  “What do you mean?” Raven asked. She moved into the room and took the note from me. “I don’t understand. What do you have that he wants?”

  “Me,” Hazel said. She stood in the threshold of the door, staring at us. Julian and Mina were behind her. “He wants me.”

  The guilt in her eyes tugged at my heartstrings. It shouldn’t be there. That guilt was mine. I hadn’t been strong enough to fight his magic the first time we’d met and had told him my name because of it.

  I hadn’t done a lot of things I wished I had up to this point.

  My fingers spun the black crow feather as my mind raced with self-doubt and rage. How could fix this? How could I save Hazel while at the same time save Rose? How could I get back at Bram and gain the upper hand? The feather fell from my fingers and as I bent to catch it, an idea came to me—I needed to take his sight.

  “We need to take out his familiar,” I whispered, hoping the bird outside the window wasn’t gifted with Bram’s vampire hearing. “It’s the only way we’ll be able to gain the upper hand in any of this. If he can’t see us, then he can’t know what our next move will be. He’ll be just as blind to what we’re doing as we are to what he’s doing.”

  I squeezed past Hazel and the others, stepping out into the hall. I made my way to the stairs for the attic. I needed a spell to take out Bram’s familiar and I was relying on Aunt Rowena to know which one to use.

  When I reached the attic, I found Aunt Rowena sitting on the floor in front of a dusty trunk. There was a map of Mirror Lake spread out before her and she dangled a scrying crystal above it. Tears streamed down her cheeks as whispered words flew past her lips in rapid succession. She didn’t look up when I stepped into the room followed by the others. Instead, she continued to scry for Rose even though it was clear she wasn’t having any luck.

  “You’re not going to find her,” I said. “Not with a basic scrying spell. I know who has her and his magic is too strong for that.”

  That got her attention. She lifted her eyes to lock with mine.

  “She’s right,” Julian insisted. “He uses ancient magic.”

  “This is what the cards were trying to tell me,” Aunt Rowena said. There was a tremor in her voice that shook me to my core, but it was the look in her eyes that gutted me. “This was the chaos and heartbreak coming.”

  “I know,” I said. “And, I’m sorry.”

  “Tell me everything,” Aunt Rowena insisted. “Who he is, where he came from—everything.”

  I licked my lips. “Okay.”

  I told her everything from beginning to end. All about Adele and Hazel. About Bram. About the amulet and the crows. When I was finished, she only had one thing to say, “Now, tell me what your plan is.”

  I held up the feather. “We start with this.”

  Chapter 13

  Every book pertaining to the craft we owned was in the attic with us. Some were in stacks that stood ten or eleven books high, while others had been tossed sporadically around the room.

  None of them contained a spell like I was searching for, though.

  “There’s nothing here,” I said as I set another to the side. I took off my glasses and rubbed my tired eyes. I’d been flipping through books for the last hour. Benji, Hazel, and Raven had helped while Julian, Ivette, and Mina left to go help Eli and the rest of Mina’s pack search for Bram’s location the old-fashioned way. “That was my last book to look through.”

  I glanced at the empty bookshelves we’d pushed against the windows to block Bram’s familiar from seeing what we were doing.

  “There’s nothin’ here either,” Benji said as he closed the book in his lap. “What now?”

  “There has to be something we can use. Maybe on the Internet?” Raven suggested. “I’ll get my laptop and look.” She stood and left the attic to retrieve it.

  “Maybe there’s something in the secret compartment in the stairs,” Aunt R
owena said as she paused the scrying she was doing. She’d resorted to trying every scrying spell we had, but none of them worked. Whatever magic Bram was using was blocking her. “There might be something among the artifacts to help me get through whatever cloak or ward he’s placed on Rose and her location.”

  How had I forgotten about the secret compartment in the stairs?

  It was something the spirit of one of our ancestors had led me to once. There had been a bracelet among the objects Mina used to go up against Roman when he was the Midnight Reaper.

  “You have a secret compartment in the stairs?” Hazel asked. Her eyes were bright when I glanced at her. “That’s cool.”

  “Yeah. It’s filled with ancient artifacts from our ancestors. Don’t ask why it’s in the staircase though. I have no idea. You’d think they would’ve found a place up here in the attic for it instead.” I stood and headed for the stairs, ready to see if there was anything tucked inside that might help keep Bram’s familiar from tracking us.

  “Maybe because it’s closer to the herbs in the kitchen?” Hazel guessed. She followed behind me. I could sense the excitement pulsing off her in waves. “So they could perform spells without having to carry everything up here.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Benji said as he started down the stairs behind us.

  “What are some of the artifacts?” Hazel asked. “And what are they used for?”

  “Even I don’t know what all of them are used for. They’re mostly objects our family has forgotten,” Aunt Rowena said.

  “Hey, where are you guys going?” Raven asked when we made it to the third floor of the inn and came face to face with her.

  “To the compartment in the stairs to see if there’s anything there that can help us,” I said.

  Raven’s eyes widened. “Oh! I forgot about that!”

  She dashed back to her room to drop off her laptop and then met us on the stairs. When we reached the bottom of the steps, I made my way around to the side of them and counted until I stood in front of the seventh step. I pried the top off with my fingers and felt magic from the objects disperse into the air.