I paced the day away, wearing a track from my room to the kitchen as I spent the next several hours waiting for someone, anyone, to come home. Even Meira's bus passed our house without stopping.I fretted over trying to find my mother. Why couldn't I ever convince her to carry a cell phone? If it had anything to do with computers or technology, Mom was way old fashioned. Which meant I was stuck in the dark, soon to be literally, with no idea what was going on. My tentative tries to reach her with my mind found nothing which meant she was either heavily shielded or I was doing it wrong. And since my telepathy was fed by my air magic, something I'd never really learned to use long range, I knew I was pretty much out of luck unless I stumbled on the answer by some happy accident. Trouble was, most of my accidents had nothing to do with happy.I did call around to Meira's normal friends, but no one had seen Mom or my sister.When the sun set, I expected Uncle Frank and Sunny to rise. At
When I felt Mom trying to stand, I helped her. I stood next to her as she faced the coven and, more specifically, Batsheva. I tried to feed her but she blocked me, so I stopped. She wavered as she stood there, but her shoulders sat square. She was herself. I couldn't ask for more than that."Well?" Batsheva demanded, voice throbbing with emotion. Her face twisted to a mask of grief. I thought she was laying it on a little thick. "Explain yourself! Explain this horror!"Mom faced her, calm and poised. "I cannot," she said.A breath rippled through the coven, a regret. Batsheva seized it and used it like a weapon."You are our leader," she spoke to them as she did to Mom. "You were to keep us safe, protected. This cleansing was your idea! We warned you," she said, "attempting a spell so powerful this close to Samhain was dangerous. But you wouldn't listen!"The witches who could muttered, anger growing, accusations building. I held on to my mother and prayed I could protect her if i
I'm pretty sure I broke almost every driving rule and traffic law out there on that ride home. But luck was with us. The road was quiet. We avoided the police and the Mustang still had an intact transmission by the time I pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition.Not that I planned to kiss the pavement or anything, but I was happy to be home.Mom stayed silent on the drive. Aside from the soft crying that eased as Meira hiccupped her way to exhaustion and the hum of the radio, the car was quiet. Even Gram stopped her endless chanting, something I was grateful for.I managed to get my mother out of the car and into the house. It was so still, it seemed like even the house knew we didn't belong there anymore.I maneuvered Mom into a chair and turned to Meira and Gram."Meira," I said softly, "stay with Mom, okay?"She climbed up into Mom's lap as I led Gram through the house to her room. She followed, more docile than I had ever seen her. I left her there, sitting on he
A strong hand gripped my arm and spun me around. I was face-to-face with Brad. It took me a minute to comprehend what was going on as my two lives overlapped, giving him ample time to speak his mind."I don't get it," he snapped, angry and hurt, radiating it like a broadcast signal so even my demon shrank away in guilt. "I try to be your friend, more than your friend and you don't care! I gave up my whole life because of you, Syd, my friends, pissed off my dad, my coach! And what do you do? Ditch me for some other guy!" He shook he was so mad.Um, what? Since when? It's not like we were officially dating or anything.I pulled my arm free. "What are you doing here?""I wanted to see you." There was a desperation in his eyes that worried me. It went way past anything he should be feeling. Unless he was the kind of guy who fell for girls who stood him up?"Not good timing." I felt terrible about it but I had way bigger stuff going on than him at the moment. "Besides, I thought you we
I don't know if I would have stayed there and let Dominic take us at knifepoint, but I didn't get to find out.The part of the shield generated by our mother seized on the scorching power of my demon and freed her to act.My demon roared. Everything went to slow motion. I barely took the time to bend as I simultaneously lifted Meira into my arms and spun, taking the hallway at a dead run from a full stop before I even had a chance to know I moved. I had no idea what was happening behind me and really didn't care.Time sped up back to normal as I slammed open the front door and hit the sidewalk running, Meira clutched desperately to my chest. I didn't know where I was going, what I would do when I made it there or even how I would figure any of that out. All I could focus on, breathe in, feel in every corner of me, was flight.If it hadn't been for the spell of protection, I would have stayed behind to fight. But the compulsion to protect my sister was so powerful I had to get away,
I would have kept screaming, until my mind went, until I couldn't breathe. It was too much, way too much. I went through hell and found myself right back in it. For the first time since the whole thing started I fell apart and let myself go.I don't know if I would have gotten myself stopped if Jared hadn't snapped me out of it.He jerked the wheel hard to the left, digging the seatbelt into me, throwing me into the car door."Syd!" He yelled. "Stop!"I did. The final betrayer was Jared. It had been Jared all along. He had the good grace to look embarrassed."Hold it together," he snapped.I started to laugh, a choking sound torn from my sore lungs and throat."You're kidding, right?" I said. "You're really freaking kidding me.""I'm sorry, Syd. But, there are bigger things happening here than you know about. Darker things. And I haven't had a choice from the moment it all started.""We always have a choice," Meira whispered. I, for one, agreed with her."That's right, Jared,
It wasn't until Sassy cried out and I felt the presence of my father I grasped the full extent of what Batsheva planned. She floated the granite effigy of Haralthazar into the circle before closing it tightly behind him. His statue settled in the pentagram, cold and lifeless, but an open vessel for his presence.Sassafras cried out again, ending in a hissing, snarling growl. He pulled himself free of Meira's arms and dragged his horribly damaged cat body toward the statue, useless back legs lurching along behind him.He worked his way forward with his front paws, claws tearing at the dirt as he went. I wanted to cry at the trail of fresh blood he left behind, to throw a fit, curl up in a ball and make it all go away. But I didn't. I watched our brave and broken Sassafras as he gathered the last of his strength and used it to get to Dad.The statue warmed, the stone becoming flesh, real, and I knew why they kidnapped Sass. They needed a demon focus, someone to channel the unfamiliar po
I found standing easier than I thought it would be. In fact, now that I understood the rules, I was calmer, more centered, ready to do what I had to do to save my family.I reached out for Dad and touched his power with mine. He was in agony but shielded me from most of it. I knew it cost him. I pulled back and reached for Jared. I touched the rim of the circle and the vampire blood magic holding me back. I struggled to understand and opened up to let my demon have a look. Through her, we were able to see how we were different, how combined we could break the hold on us. If we only had a source big enough to feed from. That very power source gloated in a ball of light on the other side of the barrier."You can't, Syd, can you?" Batsheva goaded me. "Your demon is tied to your father and he can't defend himself, either. It's over and you know it."She focused her drawing on me. I staggered as she starting pulling my power away. I reached out with my demon. We sliced a thin hole in the