Hold Tight (The Embrace Series)

by Cherie Colyer

  He appeared in the doorway. “She’s awake.”

  I twisted, slowly this time, until my legs hung over the mattress too.

  “I need to see Chase,” I said, sliding off the bed and stumbling. Josh rushed to my side. He and Kaylee each wrapped an arm around my waist.

  “Easy,” he said. “The doctors are going to freak if they see you’re out of bed.”

  Josh’s gaze flicked to Kaylee, whose eyes had completely glassed over.

  “Chase isn’t, oh God, he’s not…” My knees gave out. Josh and Kaylee kept me from crashing to the floor.

  “He’s alive,” Kaylee said, but her voice cracked.

  “Madison, he got banged up pretty bad,” Josh said. “Your dad wanted to be the one to talk to you.”

  I shook my head and uttered, “No, no, no.” This couldn’t be happening. Chase had to be all right. I breathed in a shaky breath and ripped the IV from my forearm. “Please, I’m begging you, take me to see him.”

  They had Chase behind a glass wall in the ICU. The heart monitor beat at an eerily sluggish rate. Dad sat in a chair with Chase’s tiny fingers wrapped in his. Isaac was on the opposite side of the bed clutching Chase’s other hand. I thought it was odd that Isaac didn’t get up on seeing me enter. Dad followed his gaze to me standing in a dull blue hospital gown between Josh and Kaylee. He rushed to my side and helped me to the chair he’d just vacated.

  “You shouldn’t be walking, princess.”

  Dad hadn’t called me that since my twelfth birthday, when I’d declared myself too old to have a little girl’s nickname.

  I stared at Chase. A few strands of caramel-brown hair escaped the white bandage around his head, and several cuts peppered his cheeks and chin.

  “I did this to him.” My trembling fingers covered my mouth, and tears flowed freely down my cheeks.

  “It was an accident,” Dad said, his voice hoarse. “You can’t blame yourself.”

  But I could. I’d been so worried about Chase eating that candy that I hadn’t paid attention to the road. I had barreled through the intersection as if I’d had the right-of-way, and Chase was paying the price. Kaylee handed me a tissue. Her cheeks were as wet as mine.

  “You have some great friends,” Dad said. “They haven’t left Chase’s or your side for a minute.”

  That’s when I noticed Isaac still holding Chase’s limp hand in both of his. Vanilla and spearmint wafted through the room.

  “I’m going to have to insist only two visitors at a time,” a nurse said from behind me. “Three of you will have to leave.” Her gaze fell on me. “You’re awake.” She scanned the room. “Did you walk here? You really shouldn’t—”

  Josh placed a hand on the nurse’s arm, his mouth moving quickly. The smell of hot apple cider mixed with the scent of Isaac’s powers.

  The nurse’s eyes glazed over. “I’ll let the doctor know you’re up,” she said instead of whatever she’d been about to assert. “I guess you can stay for a few minutes, but this is the ICU, and we’re already breaking the rules by allowing him to stay.” She pointed to Isaac.

  “Kaylee and I will grab some coffee,” Josh said before the nurse said anything else. “Mr. Riley, why don’t you come with us? Give Madison a moment.” Dad didn’t look like he wanted to leave, but he followed Kaylee into the hallway; I guessed it was Josh’s magic that compelled him to. Josh looked at me. “Just say our names when you’re ready to go back to your room. We’ll hear you.”

  I nodded, then shot Isaac a quizzical look.

  “We’ve been taking turns casting a calming spell,” Isaac explained. “It’s kept your father from completely falling apart and the hospital from kicking me out.”

  “But you’re using now,” I said. It wasn’t a question; his powers hung heavy in the air. “Why?”

  “Madison, Chase’s side of the truck took the brunt of the impact. His head hit the door and then the center console. The thrashing caused internal bleeding.”

  “So you’re healing him like you healed my arm this past October,” I said, convincing myself that with Isaac’s help it was going to be okay.

  Isaac rested his forehead on his knuckles. Chase’s hand was still tucked in his. “I can’t. His injuries are too severe. I’m sorry.”

  “Then the doctors will fix him,” I insisted. “Isaac, look at me!”

  His glassy gaze swept the room before meeting mine. “The doctors don’t know how he’s managing to hang on.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Chase’s vitals drop the moment I let go of his hand. My powers are the only thing keeping him with us. I knew you’d want to say goodbye—”

  “Don’t!” I choked out, covering my ears with the heels of my hands. “Don’t talk like he’s going to die. He can’t die! I won’t let him!” I had promised Mom I’d look out for Chase. I couldn’t lose him too. “Call your parents,” I demanded. “They’ll know a spell. They can fix him.”

  Isaac looked at me with pity. Like I was some irrational child throwing a tantrum over a dead goldfish. Well, this wasn’t a damn fish, and I didn’t need pity. I needed help.

  “Call them!” I yelled.

  A tear ran the length of his cheek. “My parents were here, Madison. There’s no spell to bring a person back from the edge. I’m lucky to be able to delay…” He didn’t finish his sentence.

  What was the point of having powers if we couldn’t use them to save the people we loved? And how was I supposed to use my magic with positive emotions when life took everything from me? What incentive did I have not to give in to the dark?

  Maybe that was the answer.

  “What if we were stronger?” I stroked Chase’s forearm. “I have enough anger in me to be stronger.”

  Isaac closed his eyes. His sorrow rolled off him and mixed with mine. “It’s not a matter of what emotions fuel us,” he replied. “It’s a matter of what is and isn’t in our power. This isn’t.”

  “I don’t believe that.” I’d seen Isaac lose control once, and the amount of power he’d had was frightening. “I need to try.”

  “You’ll taint your soul.”

  “I don’t care,” I said through clenched teeth.

  “Believe me, I know.” He paused. “And neither did I, but my parents said that it wouldn’t matter. Witches don’t have the ability to choose who lives and who dies.”

  “I can’t lose him,” I whispered, swiping at my tears with the sheet.

  There had to be a way to save Chase. I already knew that we couldn’t turn back the hands of time, having asked Isaac this once before. He had commented that even if it were possible to rewind the calendar to a specific date, my past self wouldn’t know what was going to happen in the future, so I wouldn’t know to do something differently. He hadn’t said our present selves couldn’t tamper with the past, though.

  “What if I went back in time?” I asked. Isaac’s gaze locked on mine, but he held back his reply and let me finish. “I could visit the day I first read The Fae and stop myself from casting the spell. If I don’t summon Reed, Chase won’t eat the candy, and I won’t get distracted while driving.”

  He dragged a hand through his hair. “It’s too risky. Manipulating time, creating a wormhole, it’s dangerous business. I don’t know of anyone who’s ever done it and come back to tell about it.”

  Thrilled he hadn’t said it was impossible, I said, “I’m willing to take that chance.”

  “But I’m not. Madison, it would take a full coven of experienced witches to work a spell like that. We’re already down one witch because I can’t leave this room.”

  I shook my head. “I won’t accept that I have this gift but am powerless to help Chase.”

  “Madison, there’s no way for us to cheat death. I’m sorry.”

  “Us? We can’t?”

  Isaac hadn’t said it was impossible for someone else to cheat death. He took a deep breath, and I could tell he was trying to keep a poker face. It didn’t work.

 
“Can a faerie?” I asked.

  “No. They don’t save humans. They snatch them.”

  “Your friends said I’d find you here,” a voice said from behind me. “I’m Dr. Peters.”

  An older doctor walked up to me. He had olive skin and short gray hair. He shined a light in my right eye, then my left. “I must say you’re recovering much quicker than I had anticipated. How about we finish this examination in your room? If everything checks out, I’ll let the nurse know I’ve given you permission to stay with your brother.”

  He held an arm out, indicating for me to go first and pretty much saying, I insist.

  To Isaac, I said, “Don’t let go of him.”

  “I won’t.” When I didn’t stand, he added, “I promise.”

  With my fingers wrapped around the arms of the chair, I pushed myself up, glad I was steadier on my feet. The doctor trailed behind me.

  Kaylee and Josh weren’t in my room when Dr. Peters and I got there, but Josh’s coat was draped over one of the chairs. I figured they were still with my dad. While I followed the doctor’s pen with my eyes, I stewed over being powerless to help my brother when he needed me the most. Then when I took slow, deep breaths, I tried to figure out what type of creature would have what it took to give life: God, but he wasn’t on speed-dial. Angels would have the power of heaven, but if they existed and were willing to step in to save my brother, they would have done something already. And I crossed reapers off automatically, being that they schlepped souls to the afterlife.

  Dr. Peters draped his stethoscope around his neck. “Are you experiencing any pain?”

  “No.” I sniffed. Not the kind he meant, anyway. “I’m okay.”

  “Madison, I know what you’re going through is very difficult.” He wrote a name and number on a slip of paper. “Dr. Cooper is a therapist. I’d like for you to make an appointment with her. She can help you through this tough time.”

  “I don’t need a shrink.”

  He tucked the paper under the pitcher of water on my bedside tray. “In case you change your mind.” He typed something into a computer mounted on a portable cart. “Just promise me you won’t bottle your emotions up inside until they turn into a demon you carry the rest of your life.”

  “A demon?”

  “Metaphorically speaking.”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, Madison, I’m happy to say you’ll be able to go home tomorrow.”

  “Great,” I replied, but he had just given me the answer to my problem, and I had no intentions of sticking around that long.

  Chapter 21

  The Deal

  As soon as Dr. Peters left my room, I threw open the narrow closet door and sighed with relief when I saw my dusty rose backpack. By the neatly folded pair of sweatpants, long-sleeved T-shirt, and other items tucked inside, I knew Kaylee was the one who’d packed it. I changed quickly and then searched Josh’s leather jacket for his keys. I’d made it to the door when I realized it would be cold outside. A moment later, I was wearing the jacket too.

  I kept my head down and calmly strolled past the nurses’ station. At the end of the hall, I slammed my finger against the elevator button and waited for it to make its agonizingly slow ascent from the lobby.

  My plan to summon a demon was crazy; I knew that. And just because I could call an audience with one didn’t mean the thing would be able to stop death, but I was desperate for a way to give Chase a second chance.

  After several long seconds, the elevator stopped on my floor. Josh’s muffled voice came from behind the closed doors. I glanced down at his keys clutched in my fist and his jacket draped over me. No way were they going to buy that I needed fresh air. With no time to do much of anything, I flattened myself against the wall to the right of the elevator and prayed they’d step out and turn left without looking around.

  “What if Isaac taught us whatever it is he’s doing?” Kaylee asked as she stepped out of the elevator. “We could take shifts and buy us more time to look through the books you two have.”

  Josh’s long strides had him walking next to her in moments. “We’ve asked our parents, who’ve asked the people they know and trust. There just isn’t a spell to keep a person’s soul from crossing over. It’s the laws of nature. When your time’s up, it’s up.”

  “But he’s only six.”

  I scurried into the elevator before the doors closed. My knees shook so badly I could barely stand. I reached the lobby and headed straight for the wide front doors, hoping Josh had parked in the same lot as when Kaylee had been a patient; I wondered how long it would take him to notice his jacket was gone. A nurse in a pink smock turned her head as I passed. I picked up my pace and practically ran to the exit.

  The winter breeze smacked me in the face when I stepped outside. Large fluffy snowflakes drifted down from an ash-gray sky. I stopped on the sidewalk and focused on my powers, knowing that if they were on the tip of my tongue, they’d heighten my senses.

  When the familiar tingling sped through me, I pressed the unlock button on Josh’s key fob. It took a few tries, but I finally heard the faint click I’d been listening for. The silver Mustang was one row over and about six cars back. Once inside it, I quickly adjusted the seat and started the engine. I heard Josh’s voice in my head calling my name. It had to mean he was onto me. Without wasting any more time, I backed out of the parking spot and sped toward the exit.

  The next time I heard Josh, he was yelling, and it wasn’t in my mind. I glanced in the rearview mirror. He ran toward me as Kaylee stood motionless in the middle of the road, her hands over her head. I floored it, spinning the back tires and cutting off a red sedan as I fishtailed around the corner.

  Deals with demons were made at crossroads. From what I had read in Earthly Elements, I knew crossroads were located near Devil’s Gates: a place where the veil between our world and Hades was the thinnest. Devil’s Gates tended to be located in areas where the supernatural were known to walk. Gloucester fit that description, and thanks to Josh’s and my trip to gather crossroad dirt for a spell we’d cast in October, I knew where one was located.

  You didn’t have to possess powers to make a deal with a demon. Creatures from hell weren’t picky about whose soul they trapped. I wasn’t sure how many human years it cost to make a deal, though. I imagined it depended on who you were and the size of the deal. Say you wanted to become the best blues guitarist this side of the Mississippi River—maybe that would cost you ten years. If you wanted wealth, twenty. Or maybe instead of taking years like poker chips, a demon granted you years to live. Ask to be the youngest person to become president of the United States and get ten years to live: two to campaign, eight to serve, and then your time is up. Or if you wanted to be famous, you’d get twenty years. I played all kinds of scenarios in my head, drawing on what I’d seen on television and in movies.

  The snow came down heavier the further I drove, but it wasn’t sticking to the road. I kept hearing Kaylee’s, Josh’s, and Isaac’s voices in my mind until I finally ripped my hemp bracelet from my wrist. I spent the entire drive contemplating what a life was worth. How many years would it take to let Chase grow up? I’d find out soon enough.

  A dilapidated red barn stood watch over the barren countryside, announcing I’d reached my destination. I pulled off the dirt road and then rifled through Josh’s glove compartment; he didn’t have anything in there I could use to dig in the damp dirt. I rummaged around the trunk next, deciding the tire iron would work well enough. I wrapped my school ID and a few strands of hair inside an orange rag Josh had obviously used to wipe grease off his hands.

  “Here’s hoping demons aren’t as judgmental about the items used to summon them as faeries are.”

  The wind picked up, sending snowflakes whirling around me with no real direction. I walked straight to the center of the intersection and started to dig. The soil wasn’t as solid as I would have expected. About four or five inches down, I discovered a dingy red scarf already buried th
ere. When I pulled it out and unwrapped it, I found a picture of a black man in his twenties, a clear plastic baggie of dark hair, a dried sprig with dark purple flowers, bones from a small animal, and a tiny jar of deep black dirt.

  I’d been right. Deals were struck at this crossroad. It also let me know I had come short of a few items. I added the dried flowers, bones, and dirt to my things and placed them in the hole. Next, I pushed the loose soil over everything and stood waiting.

  “Come on,” I said, not sure what to do next. With my arms crossed over my chest to ward off the chill, I anxiously turned every second or so.

  “You are one of the last people I ever expected to see here,” a smooth voice said from behind me.

  I spun to find Caden standing about ten feet away from me. My jaw dropped at seeing him. He had on his dark green pea coat, and his hair was disheveled. He looked exactly like I remembered him, except his eyes now burned bright red.

  Looking into a demon’s gaze—even if he was someone who had been in my house—was unnerving. I needed to get this over with, but anxiety had my mouth spilling my thoughts instead of sticking to why I was there. “I knew there was something off about you, but this—” I waved a hand up and down in awe. I had expected the crossroad demon to be a crotchety old man with scarred skin, red horns, and possibly a spiked tail. I’d seen Caden’s ass—no way was there a tail tucked inside his jeans. “Do crossroad demons always stalk the local high school scene, and are they all as good-looking as you?”

  The corners of his mouth tugged upward. “You know, flattery isn’t necessary. I’d stick around even if you were a foul-mouthed wench who hadn’t bathed in days.”

  I was too dumbstruck by what he was to think of an appropriate quip.

  He went on. “And I do what I must to keep an eye on my business associates.”

  I thought about that a moment. “Ben made a deal with you?”