Sandra looked like someone had slapped her as she gawked at Avery before turning to gaze helplessly at all of them. She stalked toward Landon and went to yank the crystal away, but Landon jerked it back.
“I won’t let you do this,” Sandra said.
“You don’t have a choice,” Tlachtga said from Avery. “And it must happen before any innocents die or Avery will be banished to a plane where you’ll never see her again. There is a special place for witches who hurt others with their abilities. Do it, Landon; she trusted you to handle this.”
“No,” Sandra said. “Listen to me, Avery, you can fight these things in you. You can push them out.”
Reid felt a spark of hope as he stepped forward. If Avery could come back on her own, he wouldn’t lose her. “Avery, please,” he implored. “Don’t leave us. You can fight them.”
Those awful eyes turned toward him, but he saw no recognition in their depths before they shifted to Landon. “Do it, Landon, or you’ll all die too.”
“Landon, don’t,” Reid said. “If she can come back on her own—”
“She can’t come back!” A blast of fury lashed against him as Avery spat the words at him. “There isn’t enough of her left to return. Do it, Landon. Now!”
Landon’s lower lip trembled, and rain ran off her face as she dipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper.
“Landon, no!” he shouted.
He lunged at her, but a blast of power hit him in the chest and shoved him back. Avery held her hand out and sending a wall of energy in front of him to keep him away from his sister. She didn’t look at him but kept her eyes locked on Landon’s.
“I can’t control it much longer,” Avery said in her voice. “Please, Landon. I did this for all of you, and I can’t have you guys die too. I know it is a lot to ask, but it must be done.”
Landon unfolded the paper and used her other hand to shield it from the rain. “All of you have to say the words with me.”
Reid’s tears mingled with the rain as he fought against the wall of power holding him back. The harder he struggled to break through, the more he felt like he was sinking in quicksand and it was going to swallow him. “Avery—”
“No, Reid,” the mixture of voices replied. “Avery’s dead.”
“Say it with me!” Landon commanded when more trees burst into flames, and only fifteen feet away, one of them toppled to the ground. Sparks shot into the air as the tree bounced off the earth before settling again.
“With this crystal!” Landon shouted.
Reid closed his eyes against the anguish squeezing his chest. When a warm hand slid into his, he opened his eyes to find Sandra gazing at him with tears in her eyes. The defeat in her gaze mirrored that in his soul.
“With this crystal!” he heard the others shout.
Avery’s gaze remained fixed on Landon while his sister stumbled through the next couple of sentences. He strained to listen to what they were saying, but an odd ringing had started in his ears, and he couldn’t hear anything over it.
“Reid, don’t let her break the crystal,” Sandra said when Landon finished speaking.
The ringing faded away as he turned toward her. “We didn’t say the spell; she can’t do anything.”
“The spell is done; we all said it. You just said it. Landon only has to break the crystal to finish it.”
Was the spell done? How was that possible? He didn’t remember saying the words. His eyes drifted to Avery standing regally beside Landon. She’d somehow made him say the words and taken the memory of it from him.
“Go on,” Avery encouraged when Landon lifted the crystal.
“No,” Reid said.
Landon dropped the crystal on the ground, but before she could stomp on it, he lifted his hand. “To me,” he commanded.
Typically, after what had just happened with Regan his abilities would have been drained, but Avery had funneled enough of Regan’s powers into them that he didn’t feel spent. Landon lunged after the crystal, but it was already in his hand.
Avery lifted her head, and when she turned toward him, he felt the anger emanating from her, but he didn’t stop to think about it as he clenched his fingers around her crystal. He stalked toward Avery, whose face was darkening with every step he took. Something in those awful eyes shifted, and he saw the souls of those within her coiling and rolling over as they shrieked their displeasure.
“Reid, no!” Landon yelled.
He ignored her as he grasped Avery’s arm and drew her against his chest. Her lips skimmed back, and she bared her teeth at him as her power crackled against his skin. Gazing into her eyes, he searched for some sign of her in there, but there was none.
There had to be something of her remaining though; otherwise, she would have just taken the crystal from him and blasted him away from her. He clung to that hope as numerous bolts of lightning struck the earth around them.
“I love you, Avery. Come back to me,” he pleaded.
Before he could think about it and before she could stop him, he pressed the crystal against her chest. There had to be some way to return her essence and push out those things inside her. Avery’s eyes widened as the crystal burned like fire beneath his hands. The scent of searing flesh tickled his nose and smoke wafted from his palm, but he refused to release her or the crystal.
“Reid, no,” she said in her voice. “They’ll kill you.”
“I’m not giving up on you.”
If there were any chance of saving her, he wouldn’t let go. He gritted his teeth as a shout of agony strangled in his throat. A hand fell on his shoulder, and he turned to find Sandra standing behind him.
“Grab onto me!” Sandra shouted at the others.
Around him, the coven grasped each other before grabbing him and Sandra as behind Avery flames shot from the roof of the house. The power of the coven funneled into him and the heat of the crystal intensified until the rain hitting his flesh caused his hand to sizzle. He felt the crystal burrowing deeper into his skin until he swore it touched the bone.
Avery screamed, and her hands clawed at his arm as she tried to yank it away. Her crystal glowed until the blue light of it suffused her face and reflected in her eyes. “She’s ours,” a male voice snarled at him.
Reid felt the power swelling within Avery; if she released it, she’d knock them all on their asses, or she’d kill them. With no idea of what else to do, he enclosed his hand on the back of her head and yanked her forward.
She screeched like a cat when his mouth descended on hers, and he kissed her. He used that kiss to funnel every ounce of the love he had for her into her in the hopes that love would help her fight to return to him.
He recalled the way the fire danced in her hair and shone in her eyes as she sat across the fire from him on the first night they met. She’d been shy and hesitant at first, then frightened of them, but there had been a strength in her he admired when she walked away from the coven.
His heart hammered as he recalled the excitement and rightness of their first kiss and the first time they were together. He remembered her strength and determination every time they fought Regan. And he pictured the warmth of her smile, the sweetness of her laugh, and the way her hair tickled his skin when she rested her head on his shoulder.
There was so much he loved about her, and he refused to lose that love. He hadn’t realized how alone he felt until Avery walked into his life; hadn’t known how much he could love someone until Regan nearly took her from him.
And now, Avery had taken herself away from him so she could destroy Regan.
He deepened the kiss, but she didn’t melt against him like she usually did. Instead, she continued to twist and claw as the stench of burning flesh increased.
“Hold on, Reid!” Sandra shouted in his ear.
He had no choice but to hold on; he was pretty sure his hand had fused to the crystal. Breaking the kiss, he rested his forehead against Avery’s. “I’m never letting you go,” he whispere
d. “I love you.”
In response, she released a blast of power that knocked the rest of the coven on their asses, but he remained standing as the glow of the crystal deepened.
CHAPTER 44
Sandra propped herself on her elbows to stare in amazement at the brilliant, blue light suffusing Avery and Reid. Smoke spiraled around Reid’s hand as he gazed at Avery with a look of love that robbed Sandra of her breath.
Don’t give up, she pleaded.
She’d grown to like her cousin more than she ever thought she would when they first encountered the mousy girl, but Avery had left that girl behind to become a fighter Sandra admired. It would break her heart to lose Avery, but it would destroy Reid, and she couldn’t lose two of her friends.
Pushing herself to her feet, she groaned when her battered body protested the movement, but she refused to give up as she staggered back to Reid. She was almost to him when her legs gave out, and she fell to the ground.
Leaning forward, she grabbed Reid’s calf and bowed her head as she dragged up the last dregs of her power and pushed it into him. Around her, the rest of the coven came toward her again. Landon knelt beside her and rested one hand on Sandra’s shoulder and the other on Reid’s leg while the rest of the coven grasped Reid.
Power swelled around them, but it was nothing compared to what Avery exuded. The throbbing pulse of Avery’s vast magic vibrated the air as ten lightning bolts hit the ground in rapid succession throughout the woods. More sparks shot into the air, and flames erupted while thunder rolled.
• • •
“Let her go!” Reid commanded. “Avery is not yours to take. You’ve led your lives; let Avery live hers.”
Avery bared her teeth at him. “Regan denied us our lives; why should she keep hers?”
Reid fought off the hopelessness trying to consume him as he sensed the rage behind those words. These spirits helped destroy Regan, but they were bitter and full of a hatred that had festered for years.
“We need more power to fight them,” Landon said, but he felt the strength of the coven draining while Avery’s continued to burn like the wildfires spreading around them.
Karen and Tina staggered toward them and grabbed the coven too. Avery screeched and tried to twist away from him. Karen and Tina may not have abilities, but their life force and love for Avery added power to the coven.
“She should keep her life because she’s loved, and she never gave in to Regan,” Reid said. “She deserves her life!”
The crystal flared until he couldn’t stop himself from screaming. Avery’s shriek echoed throughout the night and pounded against his skull as the crystal broke apart and tumbled from his hand. Horror filled him, and he jerked away as he realized he might have just killed her.
Avery’s head tipped back, and her mouth opened as her eyes rolled back. Her scream was choked off by the wave of shadowy forms flowing from her mouth. He wanted to pull away from her, but he refused to let go as the spirits poured from Avery.
They filled the sky as they hovered over them before darting away and vanishing. Then, from all around them, more spirits rose sinuously from the ground and floated toward the sky. Hundreds of them pulled themselves from the earth, and he swore one of them was Talia as it hovered over him before turning and slipping into the night.
“The spirits from the Nightmare realm,” Landon whispered.
“They’re free,” Sandra said.
Two more bolts of lightning hit the ground before the rain eased to a patter and thunder rolled in the distance. Avery’s head dropped down when the spirits stopped pouring from her. When she stared unseeingly at him, he clasped her cheeks.
“Avery?”
“Reid,” Avery whispered, but she still didn’t seem to see him.
Then that hideous color faded from her eyes, and he found himself gazing into her brilliant blue eyes once more.
“Avery?”
She smiled at him before her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed.
“Avery!” he cried.
He caught her before she hit the ground and swung her into his arms. Staring down at her prone figure, he took in her sweeping lashes against her pale cheeks. A burn mark, in the shape of her crystal, exposed the muscle of her chest.
“Is she alive?” Karen whispered.
Reid held his breath when Shawn placed his fingers against her delicate throat. “Yes,” Shawn said.
Reid’s breath exploded out of him.
“Oh, thank God!” Tina said.
“We have to get out of here, now,” Landon said as the distant wail of sirens filled the air; they were coming steadily closer.
“Go,” Karen said. “We’ll handle this.”
“You should come with us,” Isla said.
“We can’t,” Karen replied. “Lila’s parents knew we were here, and Tina needs medical attention.”
“I’m… I’m fine,” Tina choked out before a round of racking coughs shook her.
“Yeah, you’re great,” Karen said as she knelt at Tina’s side. “Smoke inhalation is no joke; you’re going to the hospital. Go,” she said to the rest of them. “We will handle this.”
The coven hesitated before nodding.
“Call us if you need anything,” Sandra said.
“We will,” Karen assured her. “Take care of Avery.”
“We will,” Reid promised.
Mario knelt at Karen’s side and kissed her quickly before rising to follow them to his mother’s van.
CHAPTER 45
Avery stirred and opened her eyes to stare at the wall across from her. Warm arms encircled her, and when she looked down, she recognized Reid’s strong, calloused hand on her stomach.
She stared at the white bandage covering her chest while she struggled to recall the details of everything that happened. Then, though she’d only been one of the many spirits within her, she remembered the agony of her crystal burning through her flesh.
Lifting her hand, she rested it against her chest, but Reid clasped it and pulled it away. “Leave it be,” he murmured in her ear.
“Your hand,” she whispered when she saw the white bandages covering his other hand. “I did that to you.”
He didn’t say anything, and when she turned to face him, she almost sobbed with the love that flooded her. His beautiful silver eyes were heavy-lidded with sleep, and his chestnut hair hung in disarray around his face, but a beautiful smile curved his mouth. His gaze ran over her face as he brushed back a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear.
“Why did you do that? I could have killed you,” she whispered.
“No, you couldn’t have.”
“Those other spirits could have!”
“You never would have let them.”
“Reid—”
“Shh,” he soothed as he tenderly kissed her. “It’s done, Avery, and you’re here.”
“Am I?” she asked, afraid to believe it. She’d been so sure she was going to die that being here now seemed like a dream.
“Yes,” he said as he clasped her chin. “And we have the identical scars from your crystal to prove it.”
“How did I survive? The warning on the spell said that if I lost control, then I would be lost. And I lost control, Reid. I felt all the power oozing out of me, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.”
“Because love is stronger than hate,” he said. “After discussing it with the coven and our parents, that’s the answer we came up with. Most of those spirits hated Regan and were willing to destroy anything to kill him, including you, but we all love you and refused to let you go. They couldn’t fight that.”
Tears welled in Avery’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks. “I was willing to die for all of you, but I never stopped to think that you’d all be willing to do the same.”
“A thousand times over,” he said and tenderly kissed her.
“Is Regan really dead?” she asked when he pulled away.
“Yes. There is no coming ba
ck from what happened to him. Plus, we watched the spirits from the Nightmare realm break free, including Talia. He’s dead.”
“Talia’s free?”
“Yes.”
“How are Tina and Karen?”
“They’re fine. Tina spent the night in the hospital for smoke inhalation, but she’s fine, and they handled everything with the police and fire. Of course, they said they had no idea how the fire started.”
“Of course,” she murmured.
“And Lila?” she croaked the question and held her breath. She was more afraid of the answer to it than she was to the one about Regan.
“She managed to escape the fire and is in the hospital; she had a setback and is in a wheelchair again. Tina, Karen, Landon, and Mario went to see her yesterday.”
“Yesterday. How long have I been out?”
“Three days. We didn’t take you to a hospital because we had no way to explain any of it, but we’ve all been making sure you received some nourishment, and with Rosie’s poultices, your burn is healing well.”
“Three days,” she whispered before shaking his head. It didn’t matter; she was alive and here. “What did Lila say?”
“Not much. Karen and Tina said that, even if it makes them look like the worst people on earth, they’re never going to see her again.”
“Why is she in a wheelchair again? Did something happen to her in the fire?”
“No. Some of her recovery was due to Regan and his dark magic, but they’re gone now, and she’s paying the consequences for it.”
“I see,” Avery muttered. “Did the storm hurt anyone else?”
“No. There were a few forest and house fires, but Lila’s house is the only one that burned to the ground.”
“Good.”
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Tired and sore, but I feel good,” she said with a smile.
“And power wise?”
Avery frowned as she contemplated this. She felt the caress of the air against her cheek and the power in it, but it was the same strength as what she felt before she cast the spell. “I feel like me again. There’s no extra power kicking around in there, and it feels wonderful.”
Dream Walker (The Coven, Book 3) Page 23