Authors: Brea Essex
“Your powers aren’t nearly strong enough for this. You should leave it to me.”
I didn’t like it, but I didn’t see anything other choice. “Okay…” I finally agreed.
“I won’t let you down.”
“What can I do?” I asked.
“Nothing. Just wait until I’ve mixed the poison and the antidote. Then when all is ready, you will have to bring Logan to me.”
“And how exactly am I supposed to do that?”
“That is up to you. A connection between the two of you still remains. It’s buried deep, but it’s there. You will find a way. You must, otherwise he may remain trapped forever.”
I certainly didn’t like the sound of this. Kill him or I lose him forever? They definitely didn’t sound like good options. I sighed. “I guess I have no choice, do I?”
“Not really.”
“Well, isn’t that just great?” I muttered.
“You understand this is the only way, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess. I don’t like it though.”
“I’ll call you when it’s ready,” she said.
Logan stood before me, lost in fog. “Save me,” he whispered.
I reached for him, but my hand passed through his. “How?”
“Save me,” he repeated.
“I’m trying!” I shouted. “If you know something, tell me.”
“Please…” his voice trailed off as he disappeared.
“Logan!” I jumped out of bed, instantly awake. I looked around frantically, realizing it had just been a dream.
Nuada lay on my bed in her cat-form. She shifted to human, but remained lying down. “Bad dream?”
“Yes.”
“Like the ones Andrei sent you?”
“You mean before he kidnapped me? No, not quite, although there was fog. This time it was Logan.”
She propped her head up with one hand, her elbow digging into a pillow. Her black hair spilled across the bed. “What happened? Did he say anything?”
“Just to save him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Any chance he told you how to do that?”
“No. I asked. He just repeated ‘save me’.”
“Anything else?”
“No, he just said ‘please’ and then disappeared.”
“That’s helpful. Look, it’s obvious his subconscious is still aware of his normal self. He wants you to help him… he just doesn’t consciously know it. Understand?”
I nodded slowly. “I guess so.”
“He’s coming to you the only way he can — in your dreams. Just like he came to you in your dreams when you were trapped in the Shadow Imperium. Even though he’s under the witch’s spell, he still knows how to reach you. Maybe he’ll come again and give you some more useful information.” She studied me for a moment. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way. We’ll bring him back.”
Sighing, I sat back down on the bed. “I know.”
“Good, then let’s go back to sleep. We can worry about it in the morning.” She shifted back to a cat. It wouldn’t be good if my family walked in and saw her as a human. I lay awake for a long time before I finally drifted back off to sleep.
****
Andrei
I dialed Nuada first thing in the morning. How she managed to carry a cell phone when she was in her cat-form was beyond me. Even with all my other powers, I lacked the ability to shape-shift. I didn’t quite comprehend it.
“What do you want?” she demanded when she answered.
“Meet me at the park.”
“Why? Am I supposed to bring Rae? She’s on her way to work.”
“No. Come alone.” I hung up before she could protest further.
When I arrived at the park near Rae’s house, Nuada was already waiting, seated on the tabletop of the lone picnic table. She stared out at the street, pointedly ignoring my approach until I stood in front of her. “What’s this all about?”
“We need to find a way to deal with Serafina,” I told her.
“Deal? How?”
“I don’t know. Trap her, take her powers away… something.”
“I might be able to manage controlling her powers. I don’t think I can actually take them away, but I could probably make her
think
I took them away.”
“How?”
“Let me handle it.”
“Nuada, I didn’t call you here so you could take over. I called you for advice.”
“So you want to ride in on your white horse and save the day? You think that’s going to make Rae love you? I have news for you. She’s already chosen your brother. It’s done.”
“It’s not done. She may have chosen him, but that doesn’t mean it’s over. She chose me first, I just… made some wrong decisions.”
“You’re not going to get her back. She doesn’t trust you.”
“Then I’ll
make
her trust me.”
“Good luck with that.”
I spun on my heel and started to walk back to my car. “Hey, what about the witch?” Nuada called after me.
“Forget I asked. I’ll take care of it,” I called over my shoulder.
I heard her jump lightly from the tabletop and sprint across the grass toward me. She was practically silent, but I had good hearing. She grabbed my bicep and I allowed her to haul me around to face her. There’s no way she could have deterred me if I hadn’t let her.
“I think there’s a spell,” she informed me.
“What does this spell do?”
“I’m not entirely sure,” she admitted. “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never used it before.”
“Then how do you know it will work?”
“I don’t. But it’s worth a try.”
“Fine. Let me know what you need. We’ll meet again soon.”
“When?”
I shrugged loose of her grip on my arm. “I’ll call you.” I left her standing in the middle of the park as I reached my car, got in, and pulled away.
Raena
My heart sank when I walked into work the next morning. Bianca was standing behind the counter. “What’s she doing here?” I asked Cady.
Cady ignored me. Bianca answered in her stead. “
She
,” she said, pointing at herself, “got a job here.”
“You don’t need a job,” I said. “I know you don’t.” Her parents had more than enough money.
“Neither do you. That’s right, I do my research,” she said, responding to the incredulous look I knew was on my face. “I know all about your inheritance. But you probably work just to take your mind off your pathetic life.”
“So why are you working? Are you saying your life is as pathetic as you claim mine is?”
She snorted, sounding completely unlike herself. I had never known Bianca to make such an unladylike sound. “Hardly. My life is nowhere near as miserable as yours.”
If she only knew she was probably right. “So why then?”
Rolling her eyes, she responded, “If you must know, my parents thought it would be good experience for me.”
“They’re right. Maybe it will teach you to stop being so horrible.” I knew I was antagonizing her, but I couldn’t help it.
“Truth be told, I took this particular job to keep an eye on you.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.” She stepped closer to me. “You’ll regret you ever tried to steal Logan Conner from our friend Sera. They’re supposed to be together. Everyone knows it.”
“
Our
friend?” I glanced at Cady. “Surely she isn’t including you in this ridiculous statement.”
Cady shrugged. “So I’m friends with Sera now. Deal with it. It’s not like you and I were ever really friends to begin with.”
“Of course we were, Cady. We were best friends.”
“You certainly never acted like it. You were too caught up in your own little world and your own guys.”
Maybe that was true. I had been distant, especially after I returned from the Shadow Imperium. It had changed me.
“I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “Can’t I do anything to make it up to you?”
“No, you can’t. It’s too late. I gave you chance after chance. There’s no going back.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“See? Even your so-called best friend doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore,” Sera’s voice came from the door.
I whirled. “Why are you doing this?” I asked her.
Her eyes narrowed. She murmured something under her breath and everyone froze except for the two of us. “You stole Andrei from me. You need to pay.”
Was she serious? “What? You’re in love with Andrei?”
“If you must know, yes.”
“If I must know? You just flat-out said that you’re in love with him.”
“Still, you stole him from me. You took the love of my existence from me, so I’m taking yours.”
“Look, you can have Andrei. I don’t want him, at least not like that. He’s my friend, that’s all.”
“But he’s in love with you.”
“He knows that I love Logan. There can never be anything between Andrei and me.”
“He still tries for you. I know he pledged himself to you.”
Uh-oh. How did she know about that? “That’s not true.”
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you’re a terrible liar? Don’t worry, I won’t tell the Queen.”
“Why are you being so cooperative?”
“Oh, I have my reasons.” She left without another word. Everyone unfroze as soon as the door swung closed behind her.
I looked back at Cady and Bianca. “Stare much?” Bianca sneered.
No way could I stay here and put up with both of them. I’d have to call my manager later and give her my apologies. I fled the store.
****
Logan
I looked up as Sera climbed into my car. “Hey. Did you get the bread?”
She leaned over and brushed her lips across my neck. Her breath felt hot against my skin. “Let’s go back to your house,” she whispered.
I gripped the steering wheel. “I don’t think so.”
She sidled closer and slid a hand up my thigh. I jumped, my head hitting the roof of my car. Grabbing her wrist, I moved her hand to rest on her own leg. “What are you doing?”
She reached for me again. “Don’t fight it, Logie. Come on. Your parents aren’t home, are they?”
“Actually, my mom is.” I pulled as far away from her as the car door would allow. The window was rolled down and I leaned out of it slightly. I didn’t want this, did I?
“That’s okay. We can be quiet… maybe.”
What was going on with her? “Sera, cut it out. This isn’t funny.”
She started running a hand through my hair and placed a hand on my hip. I pushed her hands away, hitting the car horn in the process. The noise startled me, as did a voice outside the car, saying, “Oh no…”
I whipped my head around to see who had spoken. Raena was walking past my car. “Raena, I…”
Even from this distance, I could see the tears filling her eyes. I felt bad, even though she was a little crazy… wasn’t she? I couldn’t remember anymore. “Raena, it’s not what you think.” I had no idea why I was trying to defend myself to her. Sera was my girlfriend. Raena was practically a stranger, for all she claimed… wait. Hadn’t Raena once said we were dating? Was she telling the truth? Was I cheating on her with Sera? My thoughts were a jumble and I couldn’t make sense of what was true.
I tried once more to push Sera off of me. I kicked my car door open and fell out, collapsing on the ground. I stared up at Raena. “Forgive me,” I whispered to her.
“Logan?” she asked incredulously. “Is it really you? Do you remember?”
“I-I don’t know what I remember. Something’s wrong here. Help me,” I begged.
The tears rolled freely across the planes of her cheekbones now. I could feel tears streaming down my own face as well. My head felt like it was in a vice. I clutched at my temples, rolling into a ball on the cement. Was I dying? The pain was unbearable.
Sera’s voice invaded my thoughts. I could hear Raena yelling, but I couldn’t make out any words through the excruciating haze invading my body. I strained to hear, even though it intensified my misery. “I told you to stay away from Andrei, Raena. You stole my man, now I’m stealing yours.”
Andrei was hers? What did this have to do with him? I was losing consciousness quickly, but I felt as though I needed to hear what was being said.
“Look at what you’ve done, Raena,” Sera continued. I tried to look up. She was pointing down at where I was currently writhing on the ground. “It’s because of you that Logan is in misery. This is your fault.”
Now a fire was taking the place of the pain in my brain. Sera still spoke, but I could no longer hear. I slipped closer and closer to the edge of consciousness, but I didn’t quite tumble over. This was Raena’s fault? All this pain? Was she a witch?
The fire finally died down and I began to feel normal again. Instead of fire and pain, I was filled with a fury that was directed entirely in one direction — at Raena. A litany of
her fault, her fault, her fault…
ran over and over through my head. I dragged myself up from the ground and glared at Raena. She was crying. “Stop the tears, Crazy. Don’t pretend like you didn’t do this to me.”
“Wh-what?” She hiccupped.
I gestured toward the ground. “
You
did this to me. You tried to get me all to yourself. You tried to take me away from Sera.” I moved closer to her. “Admit it. You’re a witch.”
Her tears stopped, but a look of fury replaced the feigned anguish on her face. “Me? A witch?” She laughed. “
She’s
the witch!” She pointed at Sera.
“Stop making ridiculous accusations. Now leave us alone.” I slung my arm across Sera’s shoulders. “Let’s go,” I told her.
“I’m going to help you, Logan!” Raena shouted after us as Sera and I walked to my car. “I promise I’ll break this spell.”
I glanced back at her. “You’re the only one that can.” I reached for my door handle, wondering why I had said that. I shrugged it off. If she was really a witch, then it was true. She could end whatever spell she was trying to put on me.
I looked at Sera, who was shutting the passenger door behind her. “Seatbelt.”
I started my car and we drove off, leaving Raena watching after us as we left the parking lot.
Logan
The wings had come out again. The excruciating pain began, and then there they were. I had to figure out what was going on with me. I hunched over my computer, wings spread wide, typing furiously on the keyboard. Books were spread all across my desk and strewn around my room. All my research seemed to be pointing to one of two possibilities: I was either an angel… or a devil.