Dark of Night

by Emily Goodwin

  Lucas nods and steps away, blowing out the candles. I call Kristy and sit on the couch in the living room, anxiety creeping down my neck with each ring. Finally, she answers.

  “Hey,” she says. “I was just about to call you and see how things went with the vampire business last night. Did you find out who’s trying to mess with Lucas’s business?”

  “No, but there’s been a new development in the vampire issue.” I feel a little jittery again, suddenly anxious to get back home.

  “Ohh, do tell.”

  I look at Binx, knowing there’s no good way to let your best friend know you were kidnapped by vampires other than to just spit it out. “I stopped for gas, thought some lady was being attacked by vampires, so I went to help her. She sprayed me with pepper spray and then a vampire hit me in the back of the head, knocked me out, and tied me up in an old swimming pool somewhere in Chicago.” I blink and see the wardings in front of me. Telling Kristy I don’t think I’m really a witch is a face-to-face conversation.

  “What?”

  “I was kidnapped, and there’s bounty on my head. Another vampire wants me, but he wants me unharmed at least. Don’t worry, Lucas and I are on it. And he saved me.”

  “Why didn’t you use your powers?”

  “One of the vampires used to be a witch and put hagstone around my neck.”

  “Holy shit. You’re okay?”

  “Yes. I’m still a little freaked out from being kidnapped, and the fact that other vampires know I’m a witch is, well, concerning…for both me and for Lucas.”

  “Yeah, it is. I…I don’t even know what to say.”

  “One thing at a time, right?”

  “Right. So…what are you going to do now?”

  “I’m coming home,” I tell her. “And then after work I’ll see if there’s any sort of spell or charm that can deflect vampires without it affecting Lucas.”

  “Don’t worry about work.”

  “I’ve called off a lot of shifts.”

  “I think being kidnapped is a good excuse not to come in,” she assures me. “Clark asked for as many shifts as possible the rest of this month anyway so he can go to Florida next month. I’ll text him now.”

  “Thanks. If he can’t come in, let me know and I’ll come home.”

  “I will.” She lets out a breath. “What do you think the vampires want with you?”

  “We’re not sure. They still hold a big grudge against all witches. Maybe a public execution? Or tie me up and charge to let others drink my blood?”

  “It won’t come to that. I’m more worried about Lucas, to be honest.”

  “He seems very capable of taking care of himself.”

  “He is.” I get up and go to the window, looking at the thick metal blinds. “We’ll be fine.” I close my eyes and the waves of anxiety come back. “I’ll let you go. Call me if anything else weird happens at home, okay?”

  “I will. Don’t get kidnapped again.”

  “I’ll try,” I laugh. I sink back onto the couch after ending the call, unable to shake the feeling that I’m standing in the middle of a sinking ship, surrounded by sharks. Lucas is strong, but there are other vampires his age…and older.

  Chapter 25

  “What are you going to do with that?” Lucas asks, taking his eyes off the road for a second and looking at the hagstone in my hand. The sun just set, and we’re heading back to Thorne Hill.

  “Keep it. These are hard to come by.” I flip the stone, feeling the etchings with my thumb. “Binding spells are effective but take time and concentration. You just slip this baby around someone’s neck and bye-bye powers.”

  “Is it dangerous to keep in your house? Someone could use it against you.”

  “No more dangerous than a human owning a gun. And I’ll keep it safe, don’t worry. I’m good at concealment charms.” Yawning, I wrap the leather cord around the stone and put it in my purse.

  “Close your eyes,” Lucas tells me, reaching over and placing his hand on my thigh. “Get some rest before we get to your house.”

  “I have a hard time sleeping in cars,” I tell him, though I do feel like I could lean my seat back a bit and take a nap. “But closing my eyes sounds nice.”

  “Do you want to get food before we get to your house as well?”

  “No, I have stuff at home to eat. And then you can eat.”

  He pushes his hand between my thighs and grins. “I plan to.”

  I lean the seat back just a bit, adjust the air vents so they’re not blowing on me, and mentally call Binx into my lap. He gracefully jumps from the back seat and settles on my chest. I run my hand over his sleek fur and let my eyes fall shut.

  Lucas is listening to an audio book, and I stay awake and pay attention for three chapters before I fall asleep, slipping into the same dream I keep having.

  The demon.

  Being surrounded by hellfire.

  The blue-eyed man just looking at me, not speaking. Not moving. Not giving me a single fucking clue to why he keeps pulling me back here. I watch myself almost burn and feel the same desperation take me over.

  “What the hell do you want?” I yell over the crackling flames. The blue-eyed man doesn’t so much as blink at me. “Hello?” I wave my hands in his face. “If you don’t give me some sort of indication to why you keep showing me this dream over and over, I’m going to make a nightmare charm and never have this dream again.”

  Suddenly, everything plays in reverse as I stand there, watching myself move in backward motion. Everything speeds by, not stopping until I see myself standing in the threshold of the door, with Evander desperately trying to get me to step through.

  The blue-eyed man took me back here for a reason, but I have no idea what that reason is. Shaking my head, I turn to look for him.

  And then a loud bang echoes through the forest. The gates of Hell were opened at that moment, and shit hits the fan from here on out. Evander’s voice echoes behind me, muted as if he’s talking underwater. I whirl around, not wanting to see Lucas get stabbed through the chest.

  Something glows on the forest floor yards away, something I didn’t notice before. The sound of dragging chains reverberates around us, and more sparks light up the ground, looking like metal chains dragged on pavement, sparking and popping off little embers.

  I take off, running toward the demon. This is just a dream…he can’t hurt me, right? The smell of brimstone fills my nostrils, and the red sparks are fading fast. They’re gone by the time I get to them.

  “Dammit,” I mutter, dropping down to my knees. I push leaves away, looking for something—anything—that will let me know why the hell I keep coming back here.

  “You could just show me,” I mutter, standing and wiping the dirt off my hands. I’m about to will myself to wake up when I feel it…the same strange pulsing of energy. I hold out my hand and follow the pull, moving a few yards forward, not stopping until I get to the charred and rotted circle in the forest where the demon manifested.

  The pulsing increases to a steady hum, and this time, I see it.

  I know why the blue-eyed man brought me back.

  Suddenly, I startle away, sitting up so fast I almost knock Binx onto the floor.

  “Bad dream?” Lucas takes one hand off the steering wheel and takes my hand.

  “You could say that.” I push my hair back and let out a breath. “I know what’s wrong with the Ley line.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah.” I swallow hard. “And it’s bad. Really bad.”

  Lucas steals a glance my way. “How bad?”

  “When the demon came here straight from Hell, it left a crack in the earth. And that crack runs right into part of the Ley line.”

  “Yeah…that is really fucking bad.”

  “That’s why people were acting like assholes and why I can feel the energy pulsing. It’s leaking out, tainted by Hell, of all things.”

  “Now we know what’s wrong…we have to figure out how to fill the cra
ck. You can fill it, can’t you?”

  I smile and flip my hand over, lacing my fingers through Lucas’s. “I’m not sure. It’s not like I can just go throw dirt in it and fill it up. There’s a real crack in the earth but the damage isn’t just physical. There’s a rift in the energy, and it’ll take a spell to fix it.”

  “But you can fix it.”

  “Yeah,” I say, trying to believe myself. “I’ll figure out a way to. Because if I don’t and the crack gets worse…the whole town will be doomed.”

  “She’s not answering.” I pace from the window to the kitchen table and back again. I’ve called Kristy three times since we got back to my house.

  “Maybe she’s sleeping?” Lucas asks, trying to keep me from freaking out.

  “It’s not that late, and she’d answer.”

  “Do you want to go check on her?”

  “Yes,” I say, feeling a big sense of relief. “I do.”

  “Then let’s go.” Lucas gets up and grabs the keys to my Jeep.

  “Pandora,” I call, wanting her to come with and stay at Kristy’s just to be safe. “Binx and Freya, check the woods but be careful of the Ley line.”

  Binx growls in protest.

  “I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “And if anything happens, I’ll call for you.”

  Lucas opens the back door and stiffens, tipping his head up and smelling the air.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “Scrapper demon.” He inhales again. “And something else…something I’ve never smelled before, but it reminds me of the scent in the air before it rains.”

  I go to the door and hold out my hands. “It’s the Ley line. I can feel the energy vibrating off of it. Dammit. Can you still smell the scrapper?”

  “I’m surprised you can’t. This one is ripe.”

  “I wonder if it’s—holy shit.” I look at Lucas. “The Ley line alone can’t make demons level-up like that. But demonic energy coming straight from Hell could. And then mix it with the energy from the Ley line and it’s one hell of a power shot and not a good one.”

  “Let’s get the ugly motherfucker before it gets to the Ley line.”

  We start forward, running through the yard and into the woods. Lucas follows the scent of the scrapper, and now that we’re getting closer, I can smell it too. I’m getting winded easily today, probably an aftereffect of losing so much blood yesterday and not getting much sleep last night. I push through, gulping in air. Then the feeling of summoning power from within takes over, and magic sizzles down my hands.

  I inhale deeply, no longer winded. Adrenaline pumps through me, and my sights zero in on the scrapper. Lucas and I slow to a walk, staying hidden behind trees.

  “It doesn’t look supercharged,” I whisper.

  “It’ll be an easy kill.” Lucas draws his fangs.

  “Wait.” I grab his wrist. We’re about a mile away from the door, and the scrapper isn’t slowing down. “If it does go to the Ley line, I want to see what happens.”

  Lucas nods, and we carefully creep along behind the scrapper. I swat away mosquitos and hold my breath, not wanting the scrapper to hear me and not wanting to smell it anymore. The energy around feels electric, coming off in waves that cause anxiety to wash over me. It’s dark. Oppressive. Evil. All the things that have gone wrong in my life are suddenly in the front of my mind, from being sold to a medical laboratory to the Pop Tart I opened up the other day that didn’t have enough frosting. Rage floods my veins. I drop down to the ground and press the palms of my hands into the soil, grounding myself and getting rid of the bad energy.

  “I can see why people turned into assholes,” I mutter. “Are you feeling it too?” I look up at Lucas, almost nervous.

  “Feeling what?”

  “Good,” I sigh and stand back up. The scrapper is inching closer to the spot where the demon rose from Hell. The faint smell of brimstone still hangs in the air, and my stomach twists as I look around this spot in real life. I’ve been here in my dreams many times, but I haven’t seen the scorched earth in person since that day.

  Lucas steps close behind me and rests his hand on my shoulder. We’re behind a large oak tree, watching the scrapper continue to move slowly through the forest. It suddenly stops, goes rigid, and falls to the ground, twitching.

  “Did it step over the crack?” I ask, shaking my head. No dark fog rose out of the earth. Nothing sparked or glowed or even made a sound.

  “Its heart is beating faster.” Lucas moves forward, arms held away from his body in anticipation for a fight.

  “Is that a good or bad thing?” I conjure a string of magic and follow behind, keeping my eyes on the ground. In my dream, the soil was split, showing me the exact place where the gates of Hell scraped over the earth and made a magical tear. But standing here right now…I see nothing.

  How can I close the crack and fight demonic energy that I can’t even see? Now my heart is beating faster.

  “Get back,” Lucas tells me, holding out his hand to stop me. I purse my lips and sidestep away, holding my hand up higher. The string of magic shapes into a bright blue ball, and I toss it up into the air. It hovers above the scrapper, with tendrils of magic pouring off and burning the scrapper’s flesh.

  “Show-off,” Lucas grumbles.

  I shrug. “Don’t hate me ‘cuz you ain’t me.”

  He turns to me and lets out a snort of laughter. “Fuck, I love you.”

  The scrapper starts twitching, arms and legs jerking back in unnatural movements. It’s changing, getting bigger and stronger and more powerful.

  Fuck.

  Part of me was hoping I was wrong about the Ley line feeding demons Hell power. Because it’s a little terrifying happening right before me.

  “Can I kill it now?” Lucas asks, and I nod, moving the ball of energy up so it won’t burn him as well. Zooming forward, Lucas goes to punch his hand through the demon’s chest and pull out its heart.

  But the scrapper is stronger than the others. It lets out a roar, so loud it hurts my ears and echoes throughout the forest. Slashing a hand through the air, its jagged claws slice right through the flesh on Lucas’s face.

  “Hey!” I shout and bring the ball of energy down on the scrapper. It looks up only to be blinded, its own face burning as the energy drips down like molten lava. Lucas speeds around the scrapper but comes to an abrupt halt.

  He turns his head down, looking at the ground before dropping to his knees. Shit, no! The Ley line…it’s doing something to him!

  “Lucas!” I shove my hand forward, telekinetically moving the scrapper aside. “Get up! Don’t let the energy get to you.”

  The scrapper gets up, growling, and takes a running leap at me. I hold out one hand, creating a shield out of energy. The scrapper pushes against it, and I have to bring my other hand up to keep a hold on the shield. Fueled with pure evil energy, the scrapper is strong.

  Lucas is already strong.

  If he gets infected…no. I can’t even go there. Because if he did, I don’t know how I’d fight him without killing him.

  “Lucas!” I shout again. I plant one foot into the ground, being pushed back from the force of the scrapper against the shield. “You’re stronger than the Ley line. Get up!”

  Lucas looks away from the ground and meets my eyes for a second.

  “Yes! Get up, please!” I beg and send a wave of energy through the shield. It hits the scrapper and sends it backwards. I take the small distraction to rush forward, lunging at Lucas. I crash into him, knocking him back against the dirt.

  Landing on top of him, I conjure magic at my fingertips and grab his wrists, pushing them to the ground.

  “Lucas!”

  He blinks, shakes his head, and grins. “I know you want me to fuck you in the woods, but it’s not really a good time.”

  “Thank god.” I roll off of him, springing to my feet and looking for the scrapper, but it’s gone. Lucas is up and next to me just as fast. I grab his wrist again and pull him away from
the crack. Or what I think is the crack.

  “It tried to pull you in.”

  He nods. “I never felt anything like it before.”

  “How did you resist?”

  “I thought of you, and it kept me from reaching in.”

  “In? Into what?”

  “I can’t explain it.” He sweeps his hand at the ground. “I didn’t see it in real life, but I saw it in my mind. The earth was split open and red light was glowing inside.”

  “I saw that in my dream. It’s here, but not here.”

  “So the crack isn’t on this plane?”

  “Something like that. The whole multiple dimension thing is really complex and confusing, and I try not to think about it too much or it’ll give me a headache.”

  “How are you going to close it when you don’t really know where it is?”

  I shake my head. “I…I don’t know. Maybe if Binx shadows through he’ll be able to—” I cut off when something crashes through the woods behind us. Lucas grabs me and pulls me to him, baring his fangs. I turn, and my heart skips a beat.

  “What the hell is that?” Lucas growls, ready to attack.

  I run my eyes over the creature. It’s human-like in stature but has long clawed arms that almost drag on the ground and end in long, twisted claws. It stands hunched over, with back legs bent at the haunches, and its face is long, resembling a deer…if that deer had rabies and was in a Steven King novel. It pulls its lips back, showing off long fangs, and thrashes its sharp antlers at us. I’ve only seen them in books, and the one standing before us is three times the size of the ones I’ve read about.

  Fucking hell, it’s been supercharged.

  “That,” I start, taking Lucas’s hand so we can run, “is a wendigo.”

  Chapter 26

  “Run!” I tell Lucas, and he picks me up, moving at vampire speed through the woods. He’s faster than the wendigo, but with it being hopped up on demonic energy, there’s no telling if we can outrun it or not. I tuck my head against him and mentally call for my familiars, warning them against the wendigo.