Crest (Book #2,Swift Series) (20 page)

Blake and I didn’t speak when Collin left. My eyes were focused on the building and my heart stopped when I saw Collin disappear through the front door. I glanced at Blake and saw that his eyes were focused on the building as well.

It had been over fifteen minutes since Collin went inside and the guilt of letting him go was beginning to get to me.

 “Blake, I can’t stand this. What if something happened? I’ve got to go in there and find out.”

Just as I stood up, Blake pulled me back down. “Let’s just give him a few more minutes. I’m sure Collin can be quite persuasive when he wants to be.”

I felt like that was a dig at me, but again, I didn’t question him. Instead, I sat back down; knowing that Blake was right, though I still couldn’t stop the guilt from coming. If Collin ended up getting hurt, or even worse because of me, I don’t know how I’d ever forgive myself.

A few long minutes passed and I glanced back over at Blake. He stared at me for a few seconds before he stood up, knowing what I wanted to do and knowing there was no chance of talking me out of it.

“Okay, let’s go.” Blake took my hand and we began to walk out of the alley and towards the store. Just as we were about a hundred feet from the entrance, the door to the store opened and a figure came into view. Collin stood facing us and was yelling at someone inside.

“They’re here!” Collin yelled.

My body froze. My mind not understanding what was happening.

“Meredith is out here!” he yelled louder, pointing over to Blake and I.

It took me a few seconds to process what he was saying. I just couldn’t believe he would do this to me. Before long, there were three men standing beside Collin; all of their cold, dark, soulless eyes focused on me.

Traitor!
I screamed to myself. This was all a trick! He lied to us!

 A small scream escaped my lips as Blake picked me up and we began to fly. He flew fast and hard. It was the fastest he’d ever flown with me. I began to feel nauseous and tucked my head into his shoulder. It felt like we were on a rollercoaster; up, down, hard right, hard left. I knew that people must have been after us and Blake was trying to lose them. We finally landed and I glanced around the familiar room. My heart jumped to my throat when I realized we were back in the clock tower.

“Blake, we can’t be here. Collin knows we’re here!” I screamed. “I’m so sorry. I thought we could trust him!”

“Hey, calm down.” Blake’s voice was soft.

Calm down?! How could he be calm?! Collin had lied to us and gotten me to trust him. I’d told him where we were hiding and now he would tell Jude as well as everyone else that was after me and, worst of all, our hopes of getting Abby were gone.

“Just breathe, Meredith.” He was standing in front of me and rubbing his hands up and down my arms in a soothing motion.

“How—how are you so calm?” I asked, staring up at him.

“I trust him,” Blake said, his tone firm.

“Collin?” I questioned.

Blake nodded.

“But he gave us away. He showed them where we were?”

“True, but I think that was part of his plan.”

Just then, I heard a door open and slam shut, then a loud thudding sound come from behind me.

I turned around and gasped, seeing Collin standing there, holding a large object covered in a blanket.

“Oh my God...” I mumbled. Blake and I both ran across the room and lifted the blanket back enough to reveal Abby’s face.

“Abby!” I yelled at the sight of her. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping heavily, but as much as Blake and I called her name, she wouldn’t wake up.

Blake took his sister from Collin’s arms, brought her across the room and laid her down.

“What happened to her?” I turned to Collin.

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. She’s under a spell, but I’m not sure which one.”

“Will she be alright?” I asked him.

“I don’t know, Meredith,” Collin said, taking a couple steps towards me.

“What the hell was that back there? You told them where we were?!” I pushed him in the chest and he stumbled back a little.

“Hey, I told you I had a plan. I needed a distraction. What did you think? They were just gonna let me walk out of there with her?” He threw up his arms in frustration.

“Well, you could’ve at least told us,” I countered.

“Oh, yeah right, like Romeo over there would’ve really let me put you in any danger. Come on, love. I’m smarter than that.”

“Meredith,” Blake called. I didn’t turn around. My eyes were locked on Collin’s and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do more—punch him or hug him.

“Meredith,” Blake called again. “He’s right. He knew that I would’ve never agreed to his plan, but he knew that you would’ve done whatever it took to save Abby. He got her. She’s here now.”

When he finished, I turned around to face him. I noticed that his face held some relief, but for the most part, his eyes were still full of worry. I glanced down at Abby’s body lying on the floor and sadness consumed me. What had they done to her?

“I’m sorry Meredith. I thought I was doing the right thing–” Collin began.

“Don’t.” I held my hand up, stopping him. “You don’t have to apologize.
I’m
sorry. I should be thanking you, not yelling at you. You risked your life going in there. Thank you... thank you for saving Abby.”

Collin exhaled loudly. The nervousness he held was now replaced with relief.

“Do you think you could help us figure out what spell she’s under?” I asked, feeling guilty for even asking him after the way I treated him.

“Of course.” He paused and a grim look spread across his face. “But first, there’s something else I need to tell you—something else I overhead at Jude’s.”

I swallowed hard, not liking his tone or the look on his face.

“You may want to sit down for this,” he suggested.

I took a couple steps back and sat next to Blake. Blake wrapped his arm around my shoulder as Collin began to talk.

“Jude talked about the first day he saw you. How he had been crossing time, looking for an Astoria and trying to take their powers. He mentioned the day he saw you walking with her.” Collin nodded his head towards Abby. “He said that he’d never felt a power as strong as yours. He said that even though he was shielding himself... a spell used by dark magic in order to stop other witches from sensing him, he noticed that it didn’t work on you... You could still sense him. He knew at that point that you were an Astoria, but not only that, that you were the most powerful one he’d ever tracked. He never wanted anyone’s power more. A few days later, he revisited the area he last saw you and planned to take you, but when he got there, he only found Abby. When he asked her about you, Abby wouldn’t tell him anything, so he decided to take her with him. I think he must have been there that morning at Jackie’s, the day you woke up feeling ill. He must have put Jackie under a spell that morning, causing her to forget that he was even there. I’m assuming he put you under a spell, too. I think he was trying to keep you asleep or something until he could figure out what to do with you, but the spell didn’t work. You’re too powerful and it just left you groggy and feeling ill for a while.” He shrugged. “I really don’t know what I’m talking about. It’s merely a lot of guesses. I just had a lot of time to think about everything when I was sitting out by the dumpsters in the alley.”

“Wait,” I said, wondering something. “Why would he leave? Why not just take me with him that morning?”

Collin shrugged again. “Honestly, I think you scare him. He knows deep down that you’re more powerful than him; even if he has an Astoria’s power—”

“What?!” Blake and I shouted in unison.

 “Probably should’ve led with that little detail, eh?” He frowned. “When Jude went back to 1905 and couldn’t find you, and after bringing Abby here, he continued his quest to find an Astoria since he wasn’t sure if he’d ever find you again.”

As I began to put together what Collin was saying, a gasp involuntarily escaped my mouth. “He killed another Astoria and that’s how he’s able to suppress everyone and put them under these powerful spells to come and find me.”

Collin nodded, confirming what I’d said. “And you would think he would be satisfied with the power he has now—but he isn’t, Meredith. He wants more. Your powers are the strongest he’s ever seen and he won’t stop until he has them.”

I glanced at Blake and it was clear that he realized the enormity of the situation.

We sat around, discussing the possible spells Abby could be under. She was breathing, but that was about all she was doing. She wasn’t responding to me or Blake’s voice. She just laid there, looking peaceful as if she were in a deep sleep.

“It may be a trance spell,” Collin suggested. Blake and I looked towards him, wanting more of an explanation.

“I’ve never heard of it. What is it?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, you wouldn’t have. It was developed in the 1950s by a witch who practiced dark magic.”

“Well, how do you undo the spell?” I asked.

Collin’s face fell. “That’s what makes it such a great spell. Only the witch who cast it can break it... or once the witch dies, the spell will be broken. Jude must have cast it on Abby in case she ever escaped... or was rescued. I guess he didn’t want her talking about his plan.”

None of us had spoken about Jude being an Astoria and what we were going to do about it. Or the fact that he still wanted to kill me. I think deep down we all knew that there were only two options: run or fight. Blake knew that there was no way I would run again, especially with the condition that Abby was in. So instead of arguing about it, I think we were trying to avoid it for now and concentrate on helping Abby.

The sun was rising, casting a bright glow into the top of the clock tower. The sounds from our growling bellies were beginning to become a distraction. Collin offered to go and get us some food, saying that he could leave and be back faster, since he knew the city better than either of us.

A few minutes after Collin left, Blake came and sat beside me. “Meredith, I know you’re going to hate me for saying this, but I just have to say it. We need to get you out of here.”

This was the conversation I had known was coming just as much as he probably knew what my answer was going to be in return. “I won’t leave Abby like this.” I shook my head. “If it takes me staying here and fighting Jude, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

“Meredith, if she knew the danger you were in, she would want you to be as far away from here as possible.”

“Probably.” A small grin formed on my lips, picturing Abby giving me a lecture about how stupid I was being right now. “But that’s why I won’t leave without getting her back. I want her to be here again, lecturing me, teaching me. Plus, Jude isn’t going to stop. If he wants me dead, he’s just going to keep coming for me until he finds me. I won’t live my life running. We’ve been through this discussion before and you know how I feel about it. I won’t run, end of story.”

Blake closed his eyes, trying to calm his frustration; his breaths were deep and heavy. “Meredith, we are leaving this place if I have to fly you out of here kicking and screaming.”

Really? Were we back here again? Normally, Blake’s protectiveness was genuine and made me feel safe and secure, but this was pushing it. This was beginning to feel like smothering. I knew his job was to keep me safe and I knew that his desire to keep me safe went way beyond that, but my reasoning was plain and simple. I refused to live in fear. Even more so, I refused to leave Abby in the comatose state she was in. She was like this because of me and I would fight to free her from this spell if it was the last thing I did.

“Meredith, I think Blake has a point,” Collin said. I turned around and saw him standing there with a small bag of groceries. It amazed me that he got back so fast. I didn’t even hear him return. “You’re strong, but Jude’s stronger. He’s one of the most powerful witches I’ve ever known and that was
before
he obtained the Astoria’s power. He’s been a witch for a lot longer than you. He knows more spells than you do and now that we know he’s been practicing dark magic, it wouldn’t be much of a fight between the two of you.” He set the bag of groceries down and made his way over to us.

I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. The negativity in the room was suffocating, but I tried to keep a positive attitude, even if I was the only one. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I have my teacher here then,” I said, giving him a pointed look. “You’ll teach me how to fight him. Even Jackie said that you were the best teacher around and you’ve even created spells of your own. If you teach me, Collin, I can do this.” It was a little frustrating because I felt like it was Collin’s job to give
me
a pep talk, not the other way around.

“No. No way, Meredith. You’re
not
going to stay here and fight him. We’ll find another way to save Abby,” Blake said, his voice rising with each word. “I hoped that you would make the right decision and we could leave without arguing, but now I can see that’s not going to happen, so I’ll just have to tell you—there’s no way you’re staying here and fighting him. I won’t allow it.”