Everything hurts.My eyes burn. Each breath feels like fire. My head is throbbing from where I was hit, and my arms and legs are tightly bound to a wooden chair. I’m in the dark, and while I can’t see even an inch in front of me, the air smells dank and damp, like I’m in an old basement or something.I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to get them to stop burning. My breath leaves in a ragged huff, and I can’t concentrate enough to call Binx…even if he could hear me from this far away.Because I have no idea where I am.Pulling on the ropes only makes them tighter. Whoever tied me up has done this before. I close my eyes again and try to feel the knots. If I can get a general idea of how they’re bound, I can telekinetically undo them.“I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”A voice rings out in the dark, soft and feminine, with a hint of a Russian accent.“What do you want?” I ask, voice hoarse from inhaling the pepper spray.“I think you know,” the woman says. She has to be a vampire since s
“Callie,” Lucas whispers, cradling me against his chest. “Can you hear me?”I want to open my eyes and tell him yes, but I can’t. I’m too weak right now, and if I open my eyes, I’m pretty sure I’m going to puke.Suddenly, I’m in the forest again, and he’s not really with me. My head lolls to the side and the dream takes over, pulling me back to the ring of hellfire. The same thing plays out just like before. I watch myself, tied to the large tree, coughing from smoke, ready to give up because I don’t know how else it will end. The demon raises its arms, and the flames grow higher and higher, so hot the heat feels like it’s going to melt the skin right off my face.The blue-eyed man is there, but this time he’s not looking at me. He’s staring at the tree. I step through the flames and feel the same overwhelming sense of familiarity washing over me.“Who are you?” I whisper, not expecting him to so much as look at me.But he does.His eyes meet mine, and he reaches out, hand going to my
“That feels better.” I sink onto the bed, eyelids heavy. Lucas is next to me, and his hands go to my shoulders. We just got out of the shower, and I want so badly to fall back against the mattress and go to sleep.I’m exhausted, feeling a similar type of depletion as when I commanded the hellfire. My mind is whirling, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not really a witch…or not just a witch.“And that feels amazing.” My eyes close and my head falls forward as Lucas massages my muscles.“Lay down,” he tells me. “Get some rest, my love.”Nodding, I let him pull me down to the bed. He covers us both up and keeps rubbing my back. Right when I’m about to drift to sleep, I feel the same panic I did when that vampire rushed at me and sank her fangs into my neck.My eyes fly open, and I’m hit with anxiety, crippling every muscle, every single nerve in my body.“Callie?” Lucas inches closer. “What’s wrong?”“What isn’t wrong?” I roll over, needing to feel his cool skin against mine. “Other
My purse falls from my lap as I get up, sprinting back up the stairs.“Lucas,” I call, using magic to throw open the master bedroom doors. “Monica knows I’m a witch.”Lucas gets out of bed and speeds over, putting his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “She does.” His face tenses, and he speeds away again, getting his phone. He calls Eliza, but she doesn’t answer. Ending the call, he throws his phone down on the bed and draws his fangs.“What’s wrong?”“Dominic is at the bar with Eliza and the prisoners.”Dominic is Monica’s boyfriend, and if he had anything to do with this…shit. “Do you trust him?”“No,” Lucas says with no hesitation. “I trust Eliza and you. That’s it.”I swallow hard. “I’m going to the bar.”“It’s too dangerous.”“I won’t be alone.” I motion to Binx. “And I won’t let my guard down this time. If Dominic is the one who put the bounty on my head, we need to know.”Lucas curls his fingers into fists, and he turns, seething with anger. “Eliza is there with them
“Oh my God.” I squeeze my eyes shut and spin around, stepping back through the door. I’m never going to unsee Eliza bent over the desk while a dark-haired vampire plows into her. I’m so stunned I just stand there in the hall, not able to concentrate enough to pull myself back into my body.The office door flies open, and Eliza stands in the threshold, zipping up her dress and glaring at me.“What the fuck are you doing?”“Funny you should ask,” I say with a nervous laugh. “I came to check on you. But you seem to be doing just fine.”“She really is a witch.” The other vampire, who I assume to be Dominic, pulls up his pants. “I didn’t think Monica knew what she was talking about.” He steps forward and waves his hand through me.“Hey.” I jerk back. “Don’t do that. That’s…weird.”Dominic tips his head, staring at me. “I’ll be damned. I’ve never seen this before.”“What do you mean you came to check on me?” Eliza puts her hands on her hips and flashes her fangs.“Lucas called and you didn’
“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 t
“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.Lucas slows to a stop, and I look up. We’re at the house—our house—and there’s no warding here. Lucas jumps onto the front porch. I push out of his arms and go down the steps, holding out my hands.“Elementals vocationem ore exíbit gládis acútus: hanc domun praesidio! Custodrie moneia malo!” I spread my hands apart, setting a line of magic around the house. The wendigo barrels out of the woods, sprinting right at us. Lucas leaps in front of me, putting himself in the line of fire.The wendigo runs into the warding and bounces off, roaring in frustration. It leans in, coming as close as it can to the warding without getting zapped.“I thought wendigos were extinct.” Lucas takes a step b
My heart aches, and my stomach twists with worry. Lucas is strong. He’s fast. He’ll be able to get to the house before the wendigo can catch him…and honestly, I don’t even know if a wendigo would go after a vampire.They eat the living. Vampires are dead.I close the door and turn around, coming face to face with all the hunters. My familiars stand in front of me, sitting tall and swishing their tails, letting everyone in the room know they will shift into shadow form and fuck shit up if they have to.“What’s going on out there?” Melinda asks, gritting her teeth and pushing up against the stairs. “You said it was…was something.”“It is something.” I go to the window, wiping away dust, and look out. The Ley line is pulsing again, and I hope each burst of energy doesn’t further fuel the demons. “What are you doing here? Coming into Thorne Hill is suicide.” I whirl around, cocking an eyebrow. “The Grand Coven was just here. Consider yourself lucky I’m the one who ran into you.”“Why? So