“No! Not again!” He straightens and a flicker twinges through my hand. He’s fighting back. It’s not enough to stave off the inevitable, but perhaps to slow the process. I’m hesitant to draw more energy than I already am from the circle.
Another twinge courses through me, this one stronger. This isn’t Seth—it’s something different.
Through a gap between tarps covering the windows, the moon peeks out from behind the clouds.
The council. They’ve begun the unbinding ceremony.
Seth’s energy is being drawn into the crystal, but it’s not enough, not yet. His soul will be the last thing to go, and if I can’t get that, there’s nothing to stop him from continuing to do exactly what he’s been doing. I have to finish this.
Another jolt. Something within me snaps. The power I can access diminishes. One person has been severed from the link.
There’s not enough time.
Praying the consequences won’t be too severe, I draw more energy from those still bound together. If I can finish this before the spell is broken, we’ll have won. Seth won’t be able to hurt anyone, not any more.
Another link snaps. My control over the spell wavers. In my peripheral vision, I see the Devoted pushing themselves to their feet.
Another link is gone, and another.
The crystal slips from my grip, gliding across the room and into Seth’s outstretched hand. I’ve lost track of how many people have been separated from the link. It doesn’t matter anyway. We’ve lost.
“I believe this belongs to me,” Seth murmurs. The crystal glows milky white as he reabsorbs his lost abilities. Hands grab me roughly under the armpits and drag me back toward the pole I was tied to. As the Devoted affix knots around my wrists once more, Seth tosses the crystal up into the air where it hovers ominously. It begins glowing red and I close my eyes a split second before it explodes, raining down tiny shards of quartz over the factory floor. “Now, I believe it’s time to end this. You don’t want to join me. I had hoped you would, but it’s clear you’re too stubborn. You’re a liability.”
He crosses the room, eyes locked on me. “I think it’s fitting you should be first,” he says quietly. “I can’t promise this won’t hurt. But if it’s a consolation, the pain will not last long.”
I swallow. “Because I’ll be dead.”
“I’m sorry it’s come to this.”
This is it. This is how I’ll die. Seth will siphon off my abilities, and when they’re gone, he’ll kill me. And after he’s done the same with my friends, he’ll return to Clearwater, he’ll take it over. From there, who knows? Will he give the ordinary people a chance to leave, or will he simply kill them as well?
It’s little consolation that my mom probably won’t have to live without me for long.
Once again, the energy inside me surges, but not at my command. It’s being pulled from me. Seth will absorb my power, adding it to his own. And if he’s strong now, once he’s got the circle’s abilities, he’ll be unstoppable.
Seth’s face screws up in concentration. He presses his hands to my head. His features twist into a mask of fury. What’s happening? Why is he so mad? Is my power not what he thought it would be? Did he think he could get more from me? Because it’s nearly all left me now…
Seth stands, turning. It’s only then I realize what’s angering him. He’s not the one who took my power. My father stands in the center of the room, the ruby in his ring glowing brightly.
Without warning, Dad sends a jolt like electricity straight at Seth.
The vessel spell is working.
Seth sends a wave of energy at Dad, knocking him off his feet. The electricity arcs and breaks as Dad falls onto his back.
Every fiber in my being aches to help him, but I’m completely drained, completely ordinary. All I can do is watch. And hope.
Dad works to push himself to his feet as Seth approaches, holding his hand out, palm up. A red light hovers a few inches above his hand, growing in intensity and size with each step he takes. A split second before he launches it, I realize what it is: a fireball. I shout at my father, but just as the ball starts in his direction, he leaps impossibly high, landing ten feet away from the crater the red flame leaves behind.
Two nearby members of the Devoted make a move toward Dad, but he immobilizes them before they take more than two steps. Seth sends a shock of purple light in Dad’s direction, but Dad pushes off the ground and flies at Seth, landing a punch square on his jaw. Even from where I’m standing, I can hear the crack of bones breaking. Seth holds his face for a moment, but when he removes his hands, there’s no trace of blood. Instead, one of his Devoted grabs his jaw and moans. It’s his siphoning spell—it must be. He’s stealing health and leaving his injuries for his followers.
Seth sends a blast of ice, but Dad deflects it, sending one particularly large icicle back in Seth’s direction. It impales Seth’s side but disappears with a wave of his hand. In the same instant, the twenty-something blonde Lexie fought earlier drops to the floor.
Dad and Seth continue trading spells and deflections. While Dad manages to shield himself from most injuries, his body slowly begins erupting in bruises and bloody cuts. Seth, on the other hand, heals from each hurt at the cost of one of the Devoted. I have no idea how long Dad can keep this up. Now that the crystal is gone, I don’t know that he even has a plan to stop Seth. It’s possible all he’s doing now is distracting Seth, hoping somehow the rest of us will be able to get out.
But we have no abilities, no way to get through the ropes holding us. And if the council has already broken the binding spell, how long will it be before it disperses our combined abilities into nature, leaving Dad completely defenseless.
Despite the fact that Seth is drawing energy from others, he appears to be tiring. His spells are not as accurate as they once were. Dad stops throwing spells at all, opting instead to merely deflect. When Seth sends another red fireball in Dad’s direction, Dad sends it off to his right, straight at Crystal, who is just able to avoid it. Dad takes advantage of Seth’s momentary break in concentration to send a shock of blue electricity straight toward his core. As Seth twitches and shouts, the twenty-something woman convulses on the ground. Seconds later, a guy with graying hair falls beside her, also twitching. When they finally go still, I assume they’ve passed out, but there’s something about the angle of their limbs, about the way their eyes are unclosed and glassy.
“He’s killing them,” Owen murmurs.
He’s right. Seth is drawing too much energy from them, sacrificing their lives to keep his own life force intact.
For the time being, he can’t be killed. But with the crystal broken, what other option do we have?
Bolstered by the energy from the now-dead Devoted, Seth neutralizes the electricity Dad sends his way. He raises his arm and brings it down, as if slashing a whip through the air. Dad hollers in pain, bringing his hand to his head. Blood gushes between his fingers. Unlike Seth, Dad’s cut doesn’t heal. Blood streams down his forehead, into his eyes. I don’t know how much more of this he can take.
“Crystal!” I call.
She stands, staring wide-eyed at the fight. She doesn’t flinch. It’s like she didn’t hear me at all.
“Bess!” I try.
That does it. She jumps, eyes swinging to us. I take the opportunity.
“Crystal, if you’re still in there, I need your help. Can you do that? Can you fight just a little longer?”
Her eyelids flutter but she doesn’t respond.
“Come on, Crystal. Think of all we’ve been through together. Think of everything I’ve done to help you. Now I need you to return the favor.”
Another flutter of the eyelids. She takes one jerky step forward, then another.
“Crystal, get over here!” Lexie snaps. “I know we’re not exactly best friends all the time, but I’m your cousin. If you don’t get over here and help, he’s going to kill me, Crystal!”
Crystal’s body comes to
a complete stop. She stands still as a statue for a beat before shaking her head. When she opens her eyes, I know it worked—Lexie got through to her.
“What’s going on?” she asks, surveying our captive state.
“Later,” I insist. “First, you’ve got to untie us.”
She nods, stooping to my side. “These are really tight.”
“There’s a knife,” Griffin says, “in my front pocket.”
She crosses to him and, after a few moments of effort, eases it out. She flips it open and points the blade toward his hands, but Griffin shakes his head.
“Krissa first.”
I’m surprised by his insistence, but I don’t say no. Crystal’s back at my side in an instant, working the knife against my ropes. Dad throws another fireball in Seth’s direction, but Seth evades it. Moments later, Dad goes flying across the room, slamming into a wall.
The ropes binding me slacken and I pull free. “Okay, now you can get started on the others.”
But the knife clatters to the ground. Crystal’s eyelids flutter again and when she opens them, I know it’s Bess who’s looking back at me. On instinct, I punch her and push her to the ground. Given the opportunity, I know she’d just tie me up again. I grab the knife and survey the room. All of the Devoted I see are on the floor. Has Seth used the energy of all of them? How many are there outside the walls of this factory? Anya never gave a specific number—and even if she had, her information is more than a decade old. Are there people all around this town falling dead? And what about Sasha and Elliot?
Seth draws nearer to my father, who’s struggling to push himself off the floor. He raises his hand, preparing to deliver another blow. The final blow. I’m certain of it. And I’m also certain of what I need to do.
Before I can second-guess myself, I run flat out toward Seth. A golden glow gathers in his palm. He’s going to incinerate my father, right in front of me. The man I’ve missed for the last five years, the one who’s only just come back into my life, Seth is going to kill him.
But not if I stop him first.
I clutch the knife in my hand so tightly it hurts. Just a few yards from Seth, a scream rips itself from my throat. I launch myself at his back, the blade aimed at the spot where his heart should be.
Warmth gushes over my hand and I crumple with Seth to the ground. His breath comes in gurgling gasps as he attempts to roll over, to look at his attacker.
His green eyes are open and vulnerable—like the guy who arrived at Jodi’s shop, looking for family. He’s surprised. A trickle of blood drips from the corner of his mouth. “You…”
What about me is unclear. Seth doesn’t finish his thought. His gurgling breaths cease and his eyes glass over.
And as I look at his lifeless body, a sick sense of satisfaction wells inside me.
Chapter Thirty
I stare at my hand the whole drive home. The clouds have mostly passed, leaving the full moon to shine high in the sky, casting more than enough light to illuminate the remains of Seth’s blood, caked in the creases of my skin.
I killed him.
Any time I thought those words in relation to Zane, I’d feel sick. I’d remember the spell, my good intentions, I’d try to convince myself that if only he hadn’t used the crystal so much, if only Lexie hadn’t attempted to use her magic against me in the hospital, maybe he would have made it through. I’d try to convince myself it hadn’t really been my fault.
There’s no denying it this time. I stabbed a knife through Seth’s back. I pierced his heart. I watched as the light faded from his eyes.
And yet I can’t dredge up an atom of guilt or regret.
I’m glad the binding spell has been broken. It’s far easier to wall off my thoughts and feelings this way. Not that I think anyone wants to know what’s going through my head right now. Not like we don’t have bigger issues.
Since untying me, Crystal hasn’t resurfaced again. When Bess saw what happened to Seth, she flew at me, attempting to gouge my eyes out, to scratch me, bite me. I fought her off until Dad ended the vessel spell, allowing me use of my abilities again. I managed to knock her unconscious, and we’ve kept her that way since.
When we pass the town line back into Clearwater, I’m almost surprised that it looks exactly the same as when we left it. How can it be the same when everything has changed?
Lexie and Bridget sit in the front bench seat, Crystal between them. Lexie holds Crystal’s head in her lap. “Anya will know what to do.” She’s said this at intervals the whole drive. I hope she’s right. I have no idea what Seth did to her to make her think she’s someone else, and I’m surprised the spell outlasted its caster.
If Anya doesn’t know how to fix it, maybe Jodi will.
My heart jumps in my chest. Jodi. She can come home now. And when she returns, things can get back to normal.
I can’t help snorting at the thought. Normal. What is that anymore?
Dad has barely cut the van’s ignition when the front door of Jodi’s house opens, revealing my mom and Anya. I wonder if they’ve been staring out the window since we left.
Fox carries Crystal into the house as my dad explains what’s happening to Mom and Anya. I watch Anya’s face for anything—some flicker of understanding or certainty. What I see is not comforting.
“Why would she be becoming Bess Taylor?” Anya asks. “That’s never been something the Devoted mentioned happening.”
“I think this is something he started before the night of the binding spell,” I explain. “He wanted to bring Bess back. He said Crystal looked a lot like her. Maybe… Maybe once he met her he thought he could have Bess back. But now that he’s gone, shouldn’t his spell be broken?”
Anya presses her lips together. “Yes and no. If what you’re saying is true, this consciousness has been living inside Crystal for weeks. It’s taken root on its own. It was a spell that put Bess in there, but that’s not what’s holding her. Whatever sliver of her that’s in here is putting up a fight to stay.”
“But you can fix it, right?” There’s a degree of pleading in Lexie’s voice.
Anya stares at Crystal, who is sprawled on the couch. “I’m not sure. I’ll need some time.”
Lexie gapes at Anya like she’s lost her mind. “And what? We’re just supposed to sit around here and wait?”
Fox shakes his head. “No. Someone has to go check on the council. They broke the binding spell, but we still have our abilities. I’m not about to wait around to see if they just haven’t gotten to that part yet.”
He has a point. Dad and Anya were unclear about what would happen to the council once Seth was defeated without them. Do they realize yet that he’s dead? Do they still have their powers, or has the spell that created them deactivated since the threat is gone?
“I’ll go,” says Felix. His dad is a member of the council. Even though their relationship is strained, it’s in Felix’s nature to care.
Griffin crosses to his brother. “Me, too.”
Lexie and Bridget exchange glances. Both of their fathers are council members, but they each have a reason to stay behind. After a beat, Lexie sighs. “You should stay. If Anya needs help creating a spell, you’re the best one for it.”
Bridget squeezes Lexie’s hand. “I’ll do everything I can.”
Lexie nods. “I’ll text with news on your dad.”
The four of them leave and Anya and Bridget head straight for the greenhouse. Tucker gravitates toward Crystal, sweeping strands of hair off her face at intervals. Bria and West sit on the adjacent couch, their expressions tired but vigilant. Although Crystal has remained unconscious thus far, they’re prepared to put her back under in case she manages to wake up.
Dad’s voice drifts in from the kitchen. He’s talking to Mom, no doubt filling her in on the night’s events. My eyes stray to my red-stained hands. I don’t want to see her face once she finds out what I’ve done. It’s not that I’m ashamed—on the contrary, I’m not sorry for what happened tonight
. I don’t regret it. I did what had to be done and saved my father’s life, my life, and the lives of my friends. And while I know on some level Mom will understand that, she’ll also be horrified, worried about how the event will affect me. I can’t deal with her concern right now.
I exit the living room and pad toward the stairs. Out the corner of my eye, I notice Owen shift as though he means to follow me, but he stops short. Even though we’re not linked anymore, he’s still psychic and can probably sense I want to be alone.
Once in my room, I head straight for the bathroom. Turning on only the hot tap, I plunge my hands under the streaming water, watching as flakes of dried blood merge with the flow and create a pink wash that rushes into the sink.
Seth is gone. Jodi can come home. Indeed, she may already be on the way. The circle is no longer bound. It’s entirely possible the elder council won’t disperse our abilities. All these things should make me happy or, at the very least, relieved. Instead, I’m numb. I killed a man tonight—the evidence is washing down the drain. I should feel something, but I don’t.
I come back downstairs only when Owen tells me I’m needed for the spell that could help Crystal. The front door opens as we reach the first floor and Lexie and Griffin enter the house.
Dad emerges from the living room, eyes wide and expectant. “Well?”
“They’re at the library,” Lexie reports. “They were unconscious when we got there, but Felix is waking them up. After they finished the unbinding spell, Sasha and Elliot showed up and knocked them out so they couldn’t do anything else.”
Dad glances back into the living room. I don’t have to be able to see in to know he’s looking at Anya. “And Sasha and Elliot?”
“Alive,” Griffin says, not hiding a curl to his lip. “Weak and unconscious, but alive.”
Anya appears in the doorway, her face awash in relief and something like concern. “It’s possible the barrier around the town protected them somehow.” She shakes hear head as if clearing an unpleasant thought. “Well, we should probably—”
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