I grabbed the remaining bag, carried it to the middle of the room, and dropped it on the floor. I lowered myself down to the ground, unzipped the bag, and slid inside. It would be a cold night. The bags would keep us warm enough that we wouldn’t freeze. Darla said she taking care of our every needs. The only reason she didn’t let me freeze to death was because she wanted to use me in another ritual. I zipped up the bag and snuggled against the warm material.
I heard murmuring and realized Jamie was talking. I couldn’t make out what she was saying. I looked out into the dark shadow where the child lay and wondered whose voices she was hearing? What was talking to her?
Chapter 4
Sunlight was streaming in through the open door. I smelled coffee. I rolled over and watched Dean walk into the room with a mug between his hands. There was a wide smile on his face. He made his way to my side and then settled down onto the floor next to me. “Morning, sleepyhead.”
“Morning.” I couldn’t stop from yawning. I had not slept well. I woke feeling tired and weak, and a moment of panic made me look at the black lines on my wrist. They had not moved since last night, at least not enough to notice. I tried to convince myself that I was just tired, that my fatigue was not due to the venom.
I sat up and started to take the coffee from his hands when he moved the cup away and placed it down on the floor. Before I could ask what he was doing, he leaned over and reached for me. He pulled me slowly toward him.
He is going to kiss me. I could see it in his eyes. I should have put out a hand to stop him. One word of protest from my lips and it wouldn’t have happened. But it did. His lips pressed against mine. The kiss was soft and sweet. And it might have gone on longer if a loud noise hadn’t made the two of us suddenly break apart.
Both our heads spun toward the noise.
Luke stood there watching us. The look on his face was murderous. Darla stood just behind Luke, a wide grin on her face. Before I could react, Luke’s hands turned into fists. I watched fire begin rolling down his fingers and up his arm. Even in my sleepy mental state, one thought suddenly blazed through my mind: hellfire. If he hit Dean with it, Dean would turn, and we would all be killed.
I yelled, “Don’t!”
Dean rolled away from me.
A shot of fire came from Luke’s hands and spiraled straight through the air at Dean. Jamie screamed.
I scrambled to my feet, raised both hands, and yelled, “No!” As I did, a wave of blue washed through the room. The blue wave hit the stream of hellfire, and when the two magics met there was a burst of light. The air exploded and a shockwave flooded the room. It hit Darla and Luke, and they were thrown off their feet and into the air.
I fell back down to the floor as a wave of exhaustion hit me. I could still feel the energy tingling in my fingertips. I rolled onto my side and looked for the others.
Jamie was huddled in the corner, crying. Darla pushed herself off the ground and to her feet. When she faced me, her expression wasn’t one of hatred—it was of pure fear.
Luke got to his knees. When he looked at me, there was so much anguish in his expression.
I tried to force myself up, but before I could, Luke got to his feet, turned, and ran out the door.
I looked back at Dean. Whatever magic I’d done had not hit him. He hadn’t changed. There was a scorch mark on the floor next to him. Luke’s hellfire had missed its mark only because I had stopped it.
I took a deep breath and used all my strength to force myself to my feet again. Dean started to move toward me. He said my name, but I took a step back and shook my head. “Check on Jamie,” I said before turning and rushing after Luke.
The men guarding the door had been hit by the wave of magic, too. One guy was rubbing his head. The other was picking himself up off the ground.
I ignored the men and went after Luke. He was already twenty feet from the cabin and heading off into the woods.
“Luke,” I called out.
He stopped and faced me. The look on his face was no longer one of anguish—he was back to being angry. That anger was now directed at me. I should have been scared, but honestly I was just so glad to see him. Before he could say anything, I threw myself into his arms.
“You’re back,” I said. I was hugging him tightly, but he didn’t return the hug. His arms hung motionless at his sides.
“I’m back,” he answered.
I pulled away from him and looked up into his face. “Did you find Mildred?”
“No.” He looked at me for a long moment and then seemed to shake himself mentally. “You seem better.”
“I made a counter-poison that helped.” I raised my arm. The black veins were still there, but they were not as pronounced.
Luke’s eyes swung toward the cabin. Dean was standing in the doorway watching us. “I see he’s still alive and kicking.”
I didn’t know how to answer that. How could things have gone so wrong between us? Luke had been trying to breach the distance between us since we got here, but every time he tried, I turned a cold shoulder to him. I looked into his eyes. Caleb’s eyes stared back at me. My hands were trembling as I pressed them against my throbbing temples. I’d done this. This was all my fault.
Those gray eyes circled in brown blazed at me, full of jealousy. “The two of you looked quite cozy.”
“He brought me coffee, that’s all…” My words faltered. He seemed frozen, watching me.
I inched closer. “I’m glad you’re back. I missed you.”
A look of surprise crossed his face.
I’d been doing nothing but pushing him away since we got to camp. When he left he probably thought I was glad to be rid of him. But the opposite was true.
“Was there any word of Mildred or Wendy?”
He shook his head. “Nothing concrete, but there were some whisperings of a group that’s taking in new members. It’s a lead worth following.”
“You didn’t go investigate?”
He gave me a long look. “I came back for you. I thought we should go together.”
It was my turn to be surprised. He came back for me?
Luke’s eyes swung back to Dean. Dean had not moved.
“Why were you in the cabin?” Luke asked.
“Darla doesn’t trust me to stay put. She says she needs me for the next ritual.”
His eyes narrowed. “Darla told me all about the next spell they have to do, and she never said you played a role in it.”
“She said they got the spell wrong the first time around. She said she needs my blood.”
He looked over at his sister, who was standing just outside the cabin, watching us. A frown creased his forehead.
I put out my hand and touched his arm. “I’m glad you’re back.”
He looked from Dean, still standing in the cabin doorway, back to me, and then without another word he turned and walked away.
* * *
With Luke’s return, Darla could no longer force me to stay in the cabin, but I still had a pair of death dealers shadowing my every step. I sat in the food tent with Dean a few seats to my right. We were watching Darla and Luke, who stood about twenty feet away, obviously fighting. But whatever they were saying to each other, they kept their voices low enough that we couldn’t hear.
Dean hadn’t said much since Luke had returned. Honestly, I hadn’t let him. Every time he tried to say something, I changed the subject.
Freddy walked up to the table and looked over at the fighting siblings. “Looks like it’s going to be a fun morning.”
“Do you know what they’re fighting about?” I asked.
“They’re always fighting. Who’s to say what it’s about this time.” He looked over at Dean. “Hi, I’m Freddy.” He reached out his hand. “So you’re the guy who turns into the incredible hulk.”
Dean took Freddy’s hand and gave a chuckle. “Something like that, except I don’t turn green.”
“That must be something to see.” Freddy shook Dean’s han
d and then sat down.
Dean’s expression turned serious. “It’s not something I can control. When it happens, people get hurt.”
Freddy paused for a long moment before saying, “Roger that. If I see you turn hulk-like, I’ll run for the hills.” Freddy didn’t wait for a reply; he waved his hand in the air and said in a loud voice, “Where’s the food? I’m starving.”
Dean gave me a smile as he got up from the table and walked over to a crowd of people standing at the edge of the food tents. I wondered if they were members of his family.
I looked back at Freddy and watched him consume a plate of eggs someone had put in front of him. “Try slowing down so you can swallow,” I said.
Freddy gave me a wink and then glanced over my shoulder toward Jamie. Two death dealers had escorted her to the food tent. They now hovered a few feet away.
Freddy leaned in and whispered. “I’m sorry. I tried to come see you, but Darla wouldn’t let me. How was your time in there with that thing?”
“Her name’s Jamie.”
His face turned thoughtful. “Jamie? You gave it a name?”
I gave him a hard stare.
He raised a hand. “Okay, looks like there’s hostility all over the place this morning. You people really need to get more sleep.” He looked over at Dean and lowered his voice again, “Or you all need to stop waking up on the wrong side of the bed.”
It was obvious what he was implying. “Dean did not spend the night in the cabin with me—”
We were interrupted as a woman walked over and put a plate of ham on the table in front of us.
Freddy reached out with his fork, stabbed a piece of ham, and put it on his plate. “It’s none of my business who you want to go to bed with.”
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. “I didn’t—”
He raised his hand and stopped me. “I repeat, none of my business. But just so you know, the whole camp is abuzz with gossip about the two of you. I heard how our friend decided to turn your buddy here into a crispy fritter, but you saved the day with a magical wave that knocked everyone on their butts.” He took a bite of ham and then said with his mouth still full. “I always miss all the excitement.”
The whole camp was talking about us? It was bad enough that they hated me, but now they were talking about my love life. I’d thought things couldn’t get worse, but they had. “Luke misunderstood the situation.”
Freddy leaned closer and motioned toward Dean. “You were locking lips with buddy boy, weren’t you?”
I couldn’t deny it. “He kissed me before I could stop him. I didn’t kiss him back.”
Freddy raised an eyebrow and gave me a smile. “I’m sure you didn’t.”
My eyes swung back toward Luke. “Maybe you can talk some sense into Luke.”
Freddy shook his head. “I’m staying out of this one. My mama didn’t raise no fool. It’s never smart to jump into the middle of a love triangle.”
“It’s not a love—” I stopped. Freddy was goading me, and I was rising to the bait. There was no explanation that would make everything better. I’d been kissing Dean, and Luke found me. The whole thing was innocent, Dean kissed me before I could stop him, but how could I explain that to Luke? Then I remembered that Dean had swept me into his arms and kissed me when he first came into the cabin, too. He’d done it in front of the guards. How long until word of that kiss got back to Luke?
I looked down at my plate. I’d lost my appetite.
Freddy gave me a long look. “You feeling all right?”
“I’ve got a splitting headache,” I said, rubbing my temples.
Luke and Darla had stopped talking to each other. Darla stormed off.
Luke stared after his sister. It didn’t take a mind reader to know what he was thinking. His face was full of anger and his hands were balled into fists.
Luke had powers now that he didn’t truly understand and didn’t have control over. When he saw Dean and me together, he’d lost his temper and used hellfire. I had to get Luke to believe that there was nothing going on between Dean and me. I had to do it before someone got hurt.
I looked over at Dean. He looked so calm sitting with the other death dealers eating breakfast, but I’d seen firsthand what he could morph into. I shuddered at the thought of what would happen to Dean if he were hit full on by Luke’s hellfire. I looked around the camp. If Dean turned into a monster in this crowded camp, how many would die? I had to try to contain the situation before it got out of hand.
But Luke and Dean weren’t the only people I had to worry about. Gage was out there somewhere, scheming. Gage was wielding powerful dark magic, magic he created with the help of the demon, and now the demon was gone—at least for the moment. But Gage was not the type to just give up. He was a man on a mission. His main objective was to bring the Legion over to our plane of existence. If he succeeded, our world would be thrown into chaos, and we would be forced to fight the demons again. The war that took place a hundred years ago would begin again. We didn’t have the same knowledge about the demons as they did back then. There were no demon hunters we could turn to for help, no one to rescue us from the dark creatures if they appeared.
My eyes swung back to Luke. He’d started to pace back and forth. Every inch of his body language made it clear that he was barely containing his anger. The throbbing in my temples increased. Now on top of everything else I had to somehow talk down a jealous boyfriend. A boyfriend who might, given the first opportunity, try to solve his problems by throwing hellfire.
* * *
I told them I was going back to my tent to rest. It wasn’t true. I had only walked halfway through the camp before I had to stop and rest. My energy was starting to wane a bit. The counter-poison had kept the poison at bay, but was it starting to wear off? How long did I have before the poison took hold of my body again?
I looked at the lines, which had risen to just past my wrist. They seemed to throb in time with my pulse, sending small waves of pain and spreading the venom in time with the beat of my heart. I was exhausted, but my mind was buzzing, and I knew I’d never be able to sleep. I refused to spend my afternoon chasing Luke all over camp, but the situation was never going to get any better if he wouldn’t let me explain. Would he even believe me once I did?
He had always been jealous of Dean. And, if I was going to be honest with myself, he had reason to be. When we’d been in the asylum, Dean had kissed me a few times, and I’d kissed Dean back. Why had I? No matter how much I tried to tell myself I didn’t have feelings for Dean, it wasn’t true. When Dean had burst into the cabin, joy had filled my heart. I was so happy to see him alive.
I had to talk Luke down somehow. In his current state, with all the anger that blazed through him now, I was afraid he’d do something he’d regret. My hand went to my thigh. I knew firsthand what Caleb was capable of, but Caleb wasn’t in control anymore. Luke might look like Caleb, but inside his true self was still holding on. He’d come back for me, and he’d really just had a jealous fit when he saw Dean and me together; those were the things that showed me Luke was in there and that he truly cared for me.
I shook my head and leaned against a tree. I hit my hand hard against the rough trunk.
“Boy trouble?” It was Darla.
I knew she’d taken great pleasure in bringing Luke to the cabin, knowing that Dean and I were together and that her brother would flip out when he saw us. The look on her face had been like a Cheshire cat’s when she watched Luke confront the two of us.
“This whole mess is your fault,” I hissed at her.
She laughed. “Dean’s a good-looking guy. You two make a cute couple. “
I turned and faced her. “Are you trying to get someone killed?”
“Dean can’t hurt Luke.”
“He can if Luke blasts Dean with hellfire! You haven’t seen what happens when Dean changes. People get killed.”
She looked away but not before I saw the uncertainty in her eyes. “My br
other was only trying to scare him. To warn him off.”
“You’re a fool,” I said.
Her voice rose in anger. “He’s a fool for ever falling for you.”
Did she honestly seek me out just to get her digs in about Dean? No, I knew Darla better than that. She wanted something.
She straightened her shoulders, the anger leaving her eyes. “I want to talk to you about the child.”
“Her name is Jamie.” Jamie was currently sitting on the ground close to Dean and Freddy. She was looking over at me and when she saw my attention swing her way she raised a small hand and waved. I waved back.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do by befriending that thing,” Darla said.
“I’m not trying to do anything,” I answered truthfully. “She was scared staying in the cabin by herself. You let her out.”
“My brother believes that thing should be allowed to roam around. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to let it out.”
Darla’s eyes scanned the area, and a worried crease formed between her brows. Not for the first time I wondered if the elders and her uncle knew what she had done. “It’s not a thing—it’s a harmless child.” Did I truly believe that or was I just saying it to contradict Darla?
“Says you,” Darla spat back.
“I made it human. You’re the one who found the spell. You said she isn’t a demon anymore.”
Darla looked uneasy. “In theory, yes.”
“So what’s the problem?” I demanded.
“We have no idea what it’s capable of.”
“She’s human.” This time I said it with more conviction.
“It was created by a demon.” Darla’s voice turned cold. “A demon lived inside it.”
“And now that demon is gone, banished.” But for how long? “Do any of the elders know you did the spell?
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