Lucas dusts off a creaky old chair and turns it around. He sits down, joining Evander and I at a breakfast table left here from the previous owners.“Our best bet is to leave the hunters here and go back to my house,” I say. “We need supplies to kill the banshee and to set some sort of trap for the wendigo that’ll hold it still long enough for Lucas to cut out its heart.”“And then figure out how to close the rift in the earth,” Evander adds ruefully.I nod. “Once we’re back at the house, one of us should astral project to the Academy and alert the coven. Someone there might know something, or at the very least we can cast a collective circle around the area and that will hopefully keep anything else from coming out.”“You do realize what that means?” Evander leans forward. “Only a few of us know how powerful that demon was, Callie. By telling the whole coven there is a crack from Hell leading to the Ley line, they’re going to know the gates of Hell were opened.”“And they’ll know you
“Evander?” I repeat. “Hey…talk to me.”He jerks his head up, and his chocolate brown eyes are jet black.“Evander?” I shake my head. “No, no, no…” His hand is still on the ground. I didn’t notice it before but now I feel it. The pulsing of the Ley line, traveling through the ground. I jump back, staring at the ground. I can’t see the energy, but it’s there…and it infected Evander.The banshee screams again, but Evander doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t react at all. Slowly, he gets to his feet.“Can you hear me?” I ask, heart racing. Binx snaps the neck of the scrapper he’s fighting and comes over, getting a read on Evander’s energy. Evander looks Binx up and charges at me. Binx knocks him to the ground and Evander jumps up, holding out his hands to cast a curse on me.“Stop!” I yell at Evander. “You’re still in there! You don’t want to do this!”Binx shadows around Evander, and I take a few steps back, looking behind me as the banshee’s screams ring out again. Two more scrappers drop, and F
The energy ball hits the ground, shattering into a million little balls of bright blue light. They sink down into the earth, filling the crack. The white light pushes the negative energy away, sending it back down to the pit of Hell.I stand transfixed, too scared to breathe. If this doesn’t work, then I don’t know what will. And if it doesn’t work…then maybe I really am evil.“No!” the demon shouts, using Evander’s voice. I jerk my head around, holding my hands steady over the crack, needing to power the energy. The demon lunges for me, but Lucas is faster. He wrestles him to the ground.“Don’t hurt him!” I yell, suddenly feeling drained. Another string of magic sizzles around my fingers, and I push it down into the ground. The air starts to vibrate, but it’s not suffocating this time.The little stream of energy that was trickling off the Ley line retracts, breaking contact with the crack. Right away, the feel of the forest is back to normal…but it doesn’t solve the demon problem. G
Lucas comes into the bedroom and pulls his shirt over his head. After dropping Evander off through the door, Lucas and I went back to the house to release the hunters. They’re on their way to the hospital to check on Melinda.“How do you know those hunters?” Lucas asks as he undoes the button on his jeans.“We met like ten years ago. I was home for the summer at my parents’ and was looking to be a little rebellious in a normal way. Easton and his sister were passing through town and invited me to a party. I went, my teenage heart thought he was the cutest boy in the entire world, and we started hanging out.”“You didn’t know he was a hunter?”I shake my head and unhook my bra. We’re stripping down to shower. “And he didn’t know I was a witch. The group of hunters they run with were in that part of Chicago looking for a witch to kill. When Easton and Melinda realized it was me, Melinda refused to do it.”“But the hunter tried?”“Kind of. I stopped him before he could try.”“Would he ha
Dark of NightCopyright 2019Emily GoodwinChapter One“What do you see when you look at this one?” The doctor holds up a card, showcasing an ink splotch that’s twisted and creepy, with eyes that follow you no matter where you go.I look at it, heart hammering away inside my chest. The mess of ink on the white paper reminds me of the monster that lurks in Nana and Papa’s basement, the one that tried to get Abby and Scott to go downstairs with it. The one I stopped from attacking my siblings by throwing a ball of light at it.But even at the young age of ten I know I can’t say that. I look at the card, remembering Abby’s screams like it was yesterday. Feeling Scott clutch my hand, eyes full of fear.I swallow hard and shift my eyes to the man in the white coat. “The tree in our backyard,” I tell him.He doesn’t react, doesn’t show the slightest of emotion. He puts the card down and picks up another. This one resembles a house, with a star-like drawing at the center. My heart lurches,
Chapter Two“Hey, Rene.” I slide onto a barstool, smiling at a pretty red-headed vampire.“Hey, Callie,” she replies cheerfully. “Red or white tonight?”“I’m in the mood for red.”Rene smiles, flashing her fangs. She keeps them drawn most of the time while she works, saying it helps with tips. “Same.” She winks and turns, grabbing a wine glass and a bottle from the fridge under the bar.The Taproom is busy tonight, as it usually is. For a hipster bar located in one of the more expensive parts of Lincoln Park, this place does very well for itself.“Thanks,” I say, taking the wine from her. Rene tends to other customers while I sip my wine. I pull my phone from my purse and scroll through social media, not looking for anything in particular but keeping myself entertained enough while Lucas talks with Eliza in the office.Kristy calls, and I finish my wine and answer. It’s too loud to hear her, so I tell her to hang on and slip out the back and into a little alley that runs behind the bu
“This is not going to come out, is it?” I look down at my shirt. “Of all the nights I didn’t wear black.” Grimacing, I pull my shirt over my head, trying not to get blood on my face. “I guess I’ll just toss it.” I roll my shirt up the best I can, keeping the blood and guts on the inside, and put it in the kitchen garbage, tying the bag shut and putting it in another to make sure the smell of blood isn’t detectable.My pants come off next, and I think these are salvageable. I take them to the laundry room and rinse them in the utility tub before throwing them in the washing machine. Wearing only my bra and panties, I pad my way upstairs and into the bathroom.Lucas is still at the bar, cleaning up my mess. I wanted to stay and help, but he reminded me how suspicious it would look if someone else from the VC showed up and I was covered in vampire blood. It’s a good point, but I still felt bad leaving. He should be here soon, thanks to handy vampire speed.I get in the oversized shower a
“I take it everything went well with your sister.” Lucas looks up from his computer. He’s in his office, hair damp from the shower I unfortunately didn’t get to take with him. Abby stayed for nearly an hour, eating another grilled cheese while we talked.“Very.” I cross the room, and he pushes away from his desk, scooting his chair back enough for me to sit on his lap. He’s only wearing gray sweatpants, which is sexy as fuck to me for some reason. “She’s bringing Penny to our book event at the store tomorrow.”Lucas smiles and runs his hand through my messy hair, brushing it to the side and exposing my neck. “They’ll both have fun.”I wrap my hands around his shoulders. “I think so.”“She’s been trying hard the last few weeks to reconnect with you.”“I know,” I sigh, picking up on his unspoken question. “I’d like to stay in touch with her. She is my sister, after all, and there aren’t many people who know me or the shit that—” I cut off, realizing what I’m about to say.“I don’t know