SHATTERED: SECRET SOCIETY OF SOULS, BOOK 1

by K. C. RILEY

  I called out to her. “Before you go. How did I get here?”

  “From what I understand, Jake pulled you from the lake. It’s always a good idea to have an angel around.”

  Vye winked, and another wave of heat rolled through my face. The light I saw when I drowned. It was from Jake.

  Vye cut a look at Jonas one more time before she left. “I won’t be long.”

  The blues of Jonas’s eyes sliced through my soul like blades through grass. “I’m sorry for everything you’ve gone through. I swear I thought you and your mother were...” Jonas paused. “Had I known, had your mother only reached out...”

  Mom not telling me the truth or reaching out to family made no sense until it did. I wouldn’t have told me anything either. I understood why she started over.

  “It’s fine.” A heavy silence fell over the room, and I rolled and unrolled the bed covers across my lap. I needed to do something to distract my mind from the weirdness. “So, you’re a professor. My friend watches a lot of your videos.”

  Jonas smiled as best as he could. He was kind of on the intense side. “Yes, an archeologist and professor of Folklore and Mythology to be more precise. That’s why I was out of the country. I was looking for something that could help.” Jonas reached for my wrist. “May I?”

  I extended my arm to him. “What do you mean help?”

  He gently held my wrist and studied the mark like he had discovered some ancient artifact long hidden from the world. “Remarkable. For centuries, all the conjurers in our line have carried the same mark, including your mother. But yours is different.”

  I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

  Jonas released my wrist as his face grew solemn. “You have to know I wanted to tell you everything. Your Aunt forbade it. She thought it was best you have an ordinary life. And I completely get it. But you’re more than ordinary, and beautifully so.”

  “The thing that came after me, the Black Mist, my ascension, is it gone?”

  “I’m afraid not. That’s what I was working on when you called.”

  “So, it can come at any time?”

  Jonas nodded. Great.

  “It killed people.” Okay, technically, that wasn’t true. It just killed one deranged vampire who would have ended me. But the point was it could have killed more people.

  “I hate to ask this, but do you have the amulet? I’m afraid it’s the only thing that can protect you and everyone else.”

  I still wasn’t sure if I could trust Jonas. I wasn’t sure who I could trust other than Cassie and maybe Vye. The verdict was still out on Jake. We still needed to talk about the whole feeding on blood thing. I wondered what had happened to Kai. He was innocent. I felt sorry for him, like what had happened to him was my fault.

  “I’m not sure. I threw it to a friend to keep Norah from getting it.”

  “That was smart. Does your friend have it now?”

  Good question. “I don’t know.”

  A chord of paranoia struck through Jonas’s voice. “You have to find out. Your life, and everyone else’s, could depend on it.”

  The bottom line was I needed that amulet and prayed to God that Cassie had it.

  Jonas’s phone rang. “Excuse me, just a moment.”

  “Sure.”

  The nurse came in as he turned to answer it. Between the low grumble of his voice and her asking me a million and one questions about how I was feeling, I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying.

  “Is there any chance I can get out of here today?” I asked her. “I swear, I feel fine.”

  “That’ll be up to the doctor. He’ll be in shortly,” she said.

  It was a hospital, and be in shortly always meant he’ll be in much, much, later. My hands grew antsy and restless. I needed to get to Cassie, and I needed to talk to Jake.

  Jonas ended the call. “I’m sorry, Liz, but I have to go.” He pulled out a business card and handed it to me. “The hotel I’ll be staying at is on the back.” He waited a moment for the nurse to leave and leaned in. “Unlike your aunt, I think it's better to know what you’re up against. The reason I cut my trip short was because I felt when you touched the amulet. Hundreds of miles apart, and I felt it like I was right there. If I could sense it that far away, so could any other supernatural tied to its power. The good news is, the relic I’m looking for will protect you.”

  “What relic?”

  “I can’t say. But I promise you this, I won’t stop until I find it and you’re completely safe. In the meantime, watch your back and trust no one. And find that amulet. You have a natural connection to it. Use it.”

  “If you’re trying to scare me, you’re doing an awesome job.” I sank further down into the bed and yanked the covers over my head.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve been told I can be a bit intense.”

  To say the least.

  Jonas’s voice muffled through the blankets until he tugged them away to reveal my head. He smiled warmly. “You’re strong, stronger than your mother. And believe it or not, stronger than Norah. You just don’t know it yet, but you will. You’ll be fine. You’ll see.” Jonas turned to leave as everything swung back to creepy.

  “So where exactly are you going? I mean, in case I need you.”

  Before leaving out the door, he said, “I almost forgot.” Jonas pulled out a phone he brought back over and handed it to me. “I heard yours was broken. It’s brand new.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I also took the liberty of having it backed up with the photos from your old phone, the ones with your mom.”

  “You didn’t have to,” I said, half surprised and confused.

  “Yes. I did,” Jonas replied. “I’ll be in South America.” He was back at the door. “I won’t be long. I promise.”

  After Jonas left, my stomach swirled between who I could trust and who I couldn’t. I was tired of being afraid of what I didn’t understand. And the only real reason I didn’t understand was because no one was telling me the entire truth. All I had was their version of it, Mom, Jake, my newfound relatives, and, most of all, the Blood Book.

  I rubbed the mark at my wrist. The image of Norah’s rotten lips sucking the life out of me soured the taste in my mouth. Jonas was out of his mind if he thought I was going to just sit here and wait for him to come back. If the Black Mist could come at any time, I needed the amulet now.

  Vye entered with her arms draped over Cassie’s shoulders. “Look who I found.”

  Cassie’s smile cracked through the tension of confessions and revelations that settled in the room. “It’s about time you woke up.”

  “I’ll give you two a minute.” Vye took off out the door.

  My guess was that she wasn’t done with Jonas yet.

  Cassie looked anxious, like she hadn’t slept in two days. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but your uncle is kind of hot.”

  It was good to know she was still herself.

  “Ewwww,” I groaned. Jonas was handsome for an older guy, but he was also my uncle.

  She sat down in the chair next to the bed and eyed the shiny new phone in my hand. “How are you feeling?”

  I tried to shake the image of her dad shooting me from out of my head. “Like I’m ready to go.” I felt terrible about everything that happened to her because of me. There was still no way I could tell her anything about her dad. “Your phone. I think I left it at Miss—”

  “Ellington’s? No worries.” Cassie dug into her pocket and pulled it out. “I found it before all hell broke loose.”

  “Sorry. For everything.”

  “I know, but we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “A lot went down while you were out.” Cassie’s brow furrowed. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

  “Throwing you the amulet.”

  “Yeah, it wasn’t me that caught it.”

  I was doomed. “What do you mean? Did it fall in the water? There was no w
ay Norah had it.”

  “No. It was Meghan.” Cassie lowered her voice to a whisper. “It doesn’t make sense. She didn’t catch it. Not exactly. It was more like she summoned it. The amulet flew straight to her hand, and she ran off with it. You never said anything about Meghan having powers.”

  “I never got the chance.”

  Stunned and pissed, I told Cassie how Zander was a crazy vampire and kidnapped Meghan and me to get to the amulet. Only a witch could retrieve it. I then told her how he killed Duke and Charlene, both of whom were after the so-called Devil’s Gold, and how the Black Mist devoured him. She couldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t stop there. I finally had to tell her the entire truth about Jake and where Meghan was getting her powers from, but she didn’t seem fazed by it at all.

  “We’ve got to get our stories straight,” Cassie said. “Boyd, Mason, Jake, we all agreed we were out partying at the lake. You went for a swim, caught a cramp, and Jake dived in to save you.”

  “Everybody knows I’m scared of water. At least, I was. The video, remember?”

  Cassie shrugged. “All the better. That’s what we’ve been telling everyone. Particularly, the grownups.”

  “Speaking of Jake, did he really save me?”

  “Black wings that glowed like a 500-watt light bulb. Yeah. Me, Boyd, and Mason, we saw everything.”

  At least, that explained why she wasn’t surprised when I told her Jake was a fallen angel with fangs.

  My hands got antsy again. “Where is he now?”

  “He’s got it bad for you. Fallen angel or not, he’s been going out of his mind waiting for you to wake up.”

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “Don’t know. As soon as he heard you woke up, he took off.”

  Jake and I were right back to square one. Again.

  At least there was still a chance to get the amulet, I hoped. “Has anybody seen Meghan? And how’s Kai? Is he—?”

  “Normal? Kai doesn’t remember a thing. Jake dropped him off at his hotel. I think he left for Los Angeles yesterday. As far as Meghan, there’s something I need to show you. Come with me.”

  “Like this?”

  “You’re in a hospital. You’re fine.”

  That was easy for her to say. She wasn’t the one walking around with half her ass out. Cassie gave me a hair clip to keep the gown flaps closed. I threw on a pair of socks and followed behind her. She still wasn’t telling me where we were going.

  “By the way,” I said. “How did Josie take the news about all of us having a party up at Shadowick Mountain without her?”

  The expression on Cassie’s face said it all, not good.

  Cassie and I turned a corner. Aunt Vye was nowhere to be found and holy crap, I couldn’t believe I called her aunt.

  We took another turn down a fluorescent-lit corridor until we reached the elevator. The first thing I noticed was how quiet the hallways were. It was dead quiet. No pun intended. We got off on the third floor when Cassie’s phone beeped. It was Josie.

  “Don’t you think we should tell her the truth about Zander?” I asked.

  “We can’t. Not yet. One wrong move and Aunt Sheriff will be all over this.”

  “Are you guys talking?”

  “Kind of. It’s more like she talks, and I listen.”

  I felt terrible about having to lie to Josie. I then thought about Duke and Charlene, if anyone had found their bodies. There had to be a way to say something to the police without sounding crazy or being charged for second-degree murder. Remember what happened the last time you tried to tell the police the truth?

  For now, she was right. Mum’s the word.

  Cassie peeked down the hall, grabbed my hand, and swooshed me behind her past an empty nurse’s station. She then opened the door to a room. Room 438.

  It was déjà vu all over again. The number, the synchronicity, and what lay inside.

  Meghan was strapped to the bed, mumbling out of her mind. Her eyes sat lost in the deep red circles that were around them. Her hair was all over the place, and she was as white as a sheet. It was a scene I was all too familiar with, the very thing I never wanted to see again.

  “What happened to her?” No one deserved this. Not even Meghan.

  Cassie shrugged. “I don’t know. The nurse said they found her wandering through town. Said she was screaming her head off about angels, demons, and how she became one with something called The Power.”

  “Meghan was all out of juice. Normal. The only way she could have summoned the amulet was if she drank Jake’s venom.”

  “Yeah. But what happened when she touched it?”

  That was another story, one Meghan couldn’t tell us. I leaned in closer to see if I could understand what she was saying.

  “There’s no time,” Cassie interrupted. “Check the closet, her clothes, maybe.”

  I checked for the amulet. There was nothing there. Cassie went through the nightstand drawer. We even checked around Meghan’s neck. Nothing.

  “Meghan, where’s the amulet?” I asked.

  Meghan didn’t answer.

  This time I spoke slower. “Where is the amulet?”

  Meghan lifted up her head. Her eyes became sharp and focused. “Can’t you see it? It’s beautiful. It’s everywhere.” Meghan smiled in both euphoria and madness. “The one is the many, and the many is the one.”

  “Yep, she’s cracked,” Cassie said.

  I cut her a look.

  Cassie apologized. “Sorry.”

  The words that came out of Meghan’s mouth. The one is the many, and the many is the one. I heard it before. In the tunnel of angels when Jake kissed me.

  Meghan’s voice got louder. “Don’t you get it?” She laughed wildly as she chanted the same thing over and over. “I am the Power, and the Power is me.”

  “We better go,” Cassie said. “She can’t tell us anything. Not like this.”

  “It’s me. I am the Power.” Meghan went into a raging scream that shot my nerves into overdrive.

  A nurse came in as we ran out. “What are you doing in here?” she yelled behind us, “This is a restricted area. You don’t belong here.”

  Cassie and I ran past the elevator and flew down the staircase as fast as we could until we were back in my room, panting out of breath.

  Vye stood waiting by an empty bed with the doctor. “What on Earth have you two been up to?”

  I could barely breathe. “Just getting some air and a couple of laps around the hospital.”

  “In your socks? And you should be in bed.” Vye stared at me like I had lost my mind.

  I shrugged and smiled, still breathing heavily. “I feel fine.”

  “I’m gonna go,” Cassie said. “I’ve got a buttload of homework to catch up on.” She walked backward toward the door before she left. “I’ll get those assignments to you. And call me later.”

  I nodded.

  After Cassie left, I argued with the doctor that I was fit enough to leave then and there. He insisted they keep an eye on me all day before deciding to let me go. Vye went back to work and promised to check on me later in the afternoon. I spent the next hour or so going in circles wondering what the hell Meghan had done with the amulet. And what had it done to her. I tried to sleep, but every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was Auntie Norah with her lips on my mouth or Cassie’s father shooting me. I surrendered to the thought of needing therapy for the rest of my life.

  Vye had left some magazines she bought for me in the chair. I picked up the one on the top and tried to read an article on nutrition, 5 Ways to Get in Shape this Summer. Honestly, who cared? One, summer was over. And two, the more I tried to read the article, the more I thought about Jake. With everything going on with Meghan and the amulet, with me, how could he just leave?

  22

  I got the thumbs up to go home from the doctor and got dressed. Vye arrived around 6:30 p.m.

  There was something I needed to do. Something I had been avoiding since coming to S
hadowick.

  We got in the car. “Can we make a quick stop? The cemetery?”

  Vye nodded her head. She didn’t say a word the entire ride. She just sort of let me be. I was grateful for that. Once there, she asked me if I wanted to be alone. I thought about it for a second. The truth was I did. But Vye was also Mom’s big sister. From the look in Vye’s eyes I got the feeling it was as important for her to say goodbye as it was for me. Besides I had no idea where Mom was buried. Not exactly.

  “I don’t mind,” I said.

  The corners of Vye’s mouth creased into a soft smile. “I think I know where she is.”

  Shadowick Cemetery was nothing like the desolate witch’s graveyard where Sir Isaac was buried. I followed Vye through a labyrinth of manicured headstones plotted across a sparse forest of thin trees and a meadow of lights that burned like fireflies. Each tombstone had its own lantern. No one was forgotten. No one was abandoned. And no one was ever alone in the dark. My heart swelled at the thought of getting closer to Mom, and within minutes we were there.

  I knelt down on the soft earth and ran my fingers over the etch marks of her name. Vye stood quietly behind me.

  “Jenna Maverick. She kept her name the same,” I said.

  “Looks like she did. Serene Jacobs died a long time ago. Seems right she would keep Jenna Maverick.”

  There was a mason jar full of fresh lilacs at the base of Mom’s headstone. Jonas was my first thought. I placed the flowers he gave me in the same jar.

  The scent of pine and oak blew across the grounds.

  “How did you know she was here?”

  Vye pointed to the headstone in the adjacent plot. “I figured this would be the one place she would come back to.”

  I got up off my knees to take a look. “Annabelle Jacobs. Who was she?”

  “Your grandmother. She died when your mother was about ten years old.”

  “What was she like?”

  Vye chuckled. “Oh, your grandmother had a mouth on her. But she was loving, kind, and sweet like your mom.”

  The faint sound of something buzzing flew around me. Before I knew it, hundreds upon hundreds of dragonflies with glowing tails were flying all around us.