Raven Ridge (Witches of Sanctuary Book 2) (17 page)

I take his hand off my hip. “What?”

He blows out a breath. “I know things have been more than a little insane since we made things official.”

“I swear, Reid Thomas, if you ask me if I’m still sure about it, I will—”

Reid holds up his hands. “That’s not what I was going to do.” His fingers dip inside his front pocket, and he pulls out the chain with the sun pendant. He puts it around his neck. “There’s no reason to hide anymore.”

I touch the pendant that lays against his chest and smile. Finally.

I keep my hands there, flat against his chest. The thud of his heart beats steadily beneath my fingertips. He takes my hands in his, intertwining our fingers. “Earlier, you thought Erika is after me, but I asked Talbot. Willa, it was Erika who left that note stabbed to the door of Rooster’s. Erika who messed with the sensor in my truck that day on Raven Ridge. It was her who carved Lyric’s arm up with a knife. She did it all for one reason. She wants me, but she wants to go through you to get me.”

“Then let her try.”

Reid’s eyes go wide and urgent. “Erika wants you, Willa, and she wants you dead because of me.”

“Then she better be ready for a fight.”

Reid grabs my shoulders, his forehead falling against mine, and his eyes are closed. A vision pops in my head, just like that day on the creek bank.

It’s Reid, and he’s searching the rooftop in Charleston. So many dead bodies. His heart misses a beat every time he spots a new one in the distance, but they’re all Francois’ guards. Zeke took care of all of them.

He climbs to the tallest rooftop, to a garden. That’s where he finds the blood. My blood, he knows it must be, and the knife Julien used to sear through me. He glances around, searching for me, panicking. The tip of a shoe peeks out from around a flower box in the corner. “Willa!” He screams my name, rushing toward the body, but it isn’t me. It’s Zeke. Lifeless and beaten.

The pain that shatters him is unbearable. His thoughts are almost unreadable. Flashes of images. Zeke. Me. A constant battle as he tries to figure out what to do. Who to save? The vision blacks out.

I open my eyes to find tears on Reid’s lashes. “That’s the first time I’ve let myself think about it since that night,” he says roughly. “I thought you were dead too, Willa. That, or Julien took you so he could torture you more. I spent hours thinking that. I knew I would never get to tell my best friend goodbye, never get to tell him how much every moment I spent with him meant to me. It wrecked me. But the thought of losing you…losing the chance to tell you everything…”

Reid cups his hands around my face, his lips brushing easily across mine. “Don’t change your mind about me. Don’t put yourself at unnecessary risk. Don’t do anything that will make me miss out on the moments I have planned for us.”

“Willa!” Someone screams my name from downstairs. It sounds like Lyric. Reid holds me in place.

“Promise me, Wilhelmina. Promise me this won’t be the last time I kiss you.”

The screams become louder and louder. My lips press tight to his, holding this moment one second longer. “Yes, I promise.”

Lyric bursts through the door, and I’m already running toward him. “What is it?”

He shakes a piece of white paper at me. “It’s Julien. He’s gone.”

“What do you mean gone?”

“I took him over to Sera’s house to get a shower, because, you know, he’d been stuck in that circle dying for two days. I heard the shower kick off, and I kept waiting, but he never came back downstairs. When I went to check on him, all I found was this note.”

I snatch the paper out of Lyric’s hand and read it.

Willa,

I’ve gone to see Erika. I’m going to get your book back. The only reason you need it is because of me, because you need to keep this curse from killing me, but I can’t let you risk your life for me again. Not after how close that monster in me came to killing you.

I heard every word you said on that rooftop. You kept your promise. You forgave me, and you loved me anyway. It was the only thing I ever wanted. Someone to believe in me, to trust me and return the way I felt about them. You might not have felt it, but I did. I felt the way you loved me in every smile, every laugh we shared together. Especially in that kiss. Thank you for taking a chance on the weird boy who wouldn’t tell you his name.

I love you, always.

Julien

I bite my lip hard, clenching the paper in my fist. “That idiot.”

Reid moves up beside me. “What does it say?”

I press my lips tightly together to keep from screaming. “He went to Shadow Bend alone.”

Reid rolls his eyes. “Geez. You’re kidding me?”

Lyric takes in a deep breath and starts pacing across the room. “Look, I don’t expect you guys to save him again, but he’s my brother. I have to go help him.”

Reid clenches his teeth. “We can’t let you do that, Lyric. We’ll go with you. We’re in this together. We’ve lost too much to risk you too.”

Lyric smiles in his panicked state. “Does that mean you like me? Are we, like, friends now?”

Reid snorts. “No. You’re a Cote. I hate you by default.”

Lyric wrinkles his nose, and Reid playfully punches him in the arm. Yeah, they are friends now. “Go tell the others. We need to leave as soon as possible.”

Lyric nods and rushes out the door. I start to follow him, but Reid takes my hand. He brings it to his lips and brushes them across my knuckles. “You’re not getting out of my sight tonight. I won’t lose you again.”

I grip his hand in mine, our silent unity unbreakable. It’s time to go save Julien. Again.

Chapter 19

THE TOWN SQUARE

Darkness descends on us as we take our caravan toward Shadow Bend. The cab of Reid’s truck is quiet. Even Abby and Lyric in the back seat don’t speak. I can’t even hear them breathe. We follow Sadie’s car as she leads us to the Prescotts’ homestead. Sadie called Zeke’s mother, and she had no idea her daughter was back in town. Sadie said that must mean Erika has taken up residence in the Prescotts’ grand hall.

Reid had only ever heard about the magnificent hall resembling that of kings of old. Sadie has seen it, though, on one occasion. Zeke’s tomb lies in the underbelly of the grand hall, hidden deep within the borders of Shadow Bend. Zeke’s mother allowed Sadie to go inside and be with her new husband as they put him in his final resting place.

Sadie’s car suddenly stops, the brakes squealing as it skids sideways on the road in front of us. Reid jerks the wheel and goes into the opposing lane to miss them. Sadie’s car turns around. Jade rolls down the passenger side window as they approach us, coming the opposite direction. “What the heck?” Reid says, rolling down his window.

“Change of plans. Carolyn just called me. Erika is on Main Street with a gang of guards. They’re tearing it apart.”

“Go,” Reid says, jerking the truck into reverse.

He whips it around and we head toward town. I grip the door handle. Erika is in town and she’s mad. Does that mean…?

Reid takes my hand. “It will be okay. We’ll get him.”

I bite my lip. “And what if it’s too late?”

“We’ll get him,” he says again, but I’m not sure how much either one of us believes it.

We park at the edge of town, and I jump out before Reid can even put it in park. I run toward Main Street. The others are tight on my heels.

A gang of goons marches down the street, vandalizing everything in their path. Store owners and patrons run from the buildings, their screams masked by the yells and bolstered cheering of the men throwing stones through the glass and turning over benches. “Bring us the Innocent,” is their chant. In the middle of the street, twirling around in a flowery dress with navy tights and tiny ballet flats, is a girl. Her soft blonde hair dances in the breeze as she skips. There is something very wrong about her. Her smile too bright, too satisfied to be witnessing the utter devastation happening to the town.

That can’t be Erika. She looks so innocent and so…not the definition of evil. She looks like she should be selling Girl Scout cookies, not wreaking havoc. I’ve been looking for the Big Bad Wolf when it’s been Little Red Riding Hood the whole time.

Reid grabs my arms, and I look over at him. “Stay with me.”

Erika turns around from admiring her disaster and spots us. She holds up her hand. “Stop!”

The men drop what they’re doing. They pause in the broken windows of the storefronts, and walk out the doors carrying loot with the bats and crowbars they used to break everything in sight. Smoke billows out the top of a store on the corner. Delphine and Sera step up beside me. “You distract her. We will go put the fire out. If we don’t, it will take the whole of Main Street within the hour with this wind.”

I nod, but keep my attention on Erika. My power stings within me. A prickling vibration that sears from my fingertips to my toes. It’s building without me having to even make the conscious effort to do it. Erika will pay for this.

Sanctuary is my town.

I step slightly ahead of the others. I want her to know I’m the one she is to fear tonight. “I’m here,” I call out loud enough for everyone on the street to hear.

The smile on Erika’s face vanishes. Gone is the innocent persona of a young girl. She is one of the Haunted. How easily the veil of their mask can fall. Just like Grady in the shed. Her frolicking skip is gone, replaced by a sauntering swag. “Well…it took you long enough, now, didn’t it?”

Someone screams from inside one of the stores, and I grit my teeth. “Call off your guards. This is between you and me.”

“Is it?” She taps her chin, grinning wickedly at me. “Because I’m sure I took out one of your little minions just an hour ago.”

My fists clenches as my heart jumps into my throat. “What did you do to Julien?”

She laughs. “Nothing. Yet.”

Erika snaps her fingers, and one of the guards drags Julien out of the alley. His nose is bloody and he can barely stand. At least he’s alive. “Let him go. He doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

“Oh, but he does. You see, I came back to this wretched town for one thing. Now, I didn’t want to resort to all this violence to gain your attention, but when you send one of your lackeys instead of showing up yourself, well, that pisses me off.”

“What do you want?”

“Now. Now.” She twirls the hem of her dress around like a small child would their new Easter frock. “Don’t get in a rush. Don’t you want to know what I’m willing to offer you first?”

My lips press tight together as her grin grows wider. “Cote and your precious book…for him.” She points at Reid, her smile turning soft and warm. “Hello, sweetie. It’s been a long time.”

My teeth clench. “No deal.”

“Oh.” She glances at Julien. “That was quick. I bet that sears in your gut, now, doesn’t it? Even after you tried so hard to impress her by recovering her precious book, she still chose him without even a moment’s hesitation.”

“Erika.” It’s too much. The anger is only fueling the power. It’s going to burst out of me, and when it does, it won’t be pretty.

She snaps her fingers again, and another guard walks up behind her and hands her a book. My book. The Book of the Moon that has been thought to be lost forever. It’s real. The answer to ending this captured between its faded pages. I have to get it. I have to end this for all of us. “There are more of us,” I say, holding my hands out to showcase my family standing behind me. “You can either hand them both over, or we will take them.”

“No, you won’t.” She glances over at the guard behind Julien, and he pulls out a knife. He holds it up to Julien’s throat. “Because if you make one move I don’t agree with, your little Haunted friend will meet the same fate as his father. I’d hate to see one of your allies back there suddenly turn on my side.”

Abby takes a step closer to Lyric, and he takes her hand. My hands raise by my side, an almost involuntary action. I can’t hold it any longer. The power shoots out of my fingertips, and for the first time it isn’t an invisible force. Sparks of gold follow it like a shooting star. When it reaches Erika, my fingers twist together, catching her by the throat. The others immediately spread out, prepared to take down the other guards upon my command.

Because right now…in this moment…I’m not just the leader of the line of the Moon. I’m the leader of the Innocent. Our fate rests in my hands, and I won’t let them down. I tighten my fist, increasing the pressure of her throat. I want to spark fear in her. I want her to know I will kill her. Her feet leave the ground as I pull her to me. I walk up to meet her floating body that thrashes and kicks while trying to evade my wrath.

My vision brightens, the scene around me turning vibrant shades of color. This is a new level of strength. It would be so easy to let it take her. To reap the vengeance I deserve. I bring her down in front me. “Give me what I want…or die.”

She claws at her neck, desperate for air. I know the feeling all too well. That strike of fear, the thud of your heart in your chest. Erika bares her teeth at me and I tighten my grip. “I said now!”

She tries to take in a gasp of air, but nothing reaches her lungs. Nothing ever will again. She holds her hand out and snaps her fingers. The guard takes the knife from Julien’s throat and then shoves it in his chest, directly into his heart. Erika smiles.

My hold on her drops. She gasps on the ground, laughing between gulps. “Me or him? You better choose fast.”

“Julien!”

I don’t think twice. There isn’t even a hesitation. I run for him. The guard jerks the knife out of his chest. Julien falls to the ground, and the guard disappears after Erika. Julien screams. His shirt is already soaked through. I throw myself down next to him. “Julien.” My hands shake as I try to roll him over. “Stay still. Stay still.”

“Willa.”

I ease his shirt up and wipe away the blood in an attempt to find the wound.

Julien’s fingers clasp around my wrist tight. “Willa,” he says again, gasping for breath.

His lips shake as I press my palm against him. “I’ll save you. I promise.”

“Ahh!” He jerks as I press down.

I pour everything inside of me into him.

His grip on me tightens. “I…love you.”

“Don’t say that.” The wound is deep. So deep. It’s draining me too quickly.

Julien gulps, his leg jerking.

“No. No. No. You can’t die. Please, Julien. I can’t lose you again.” I look up at the sky, willing Contessa and Elizabeth to hear me as tears blur my vision. I try to piece together the torn fibers of Julien’s heart. “Please,” I beg. “I know you’re watching us. Help me. Help me save him.”

Nothing happens. My power still slips away. My everything not enough to save him. His grip on me loosens.

“No. Not like this.” I place both hands on his chest and close my eyes. “Take everything. Take every ounce of my power. Take it forever. Take me. Just let it be enough to heal him.”

It scorches through him, pulling him together, but it wanes. Still not enough. Julien gasps again and his hand jerks, twisting in the hem of my shirt.

My head falls on his chest. “Julien…please.”

His other hand winds in my hair. His fingers clench in it. “I’m…sorry.”

“No. Don’t apologize to me. I caused this. I should have told you how much I care about you. You’re my best friend. I love you. I need you in my life too.”

His chest heaves up, his fingers clasping over mine. It’s not going to be enough. The others surround me. Abby pulls me away and I grab onto him. “No.”

“We have to go after Erika. We have to get the book,” Abby says as windows around us start to break again.

“I won’t leave him here. I have to save him.”

“Willa…”

No. He isn’t dead. That isn’t what that sound in her voice means.

Reid tries to pick me up, but I cling to Julien. My fingers clasp around the neck of his blood soaked shirt. “No!”

“We have to get that book, Willa, or he’ll be dead anyway.”

“I’ll stay with him,” Abby says, trying to keep a straight face. She can’t. I can see it there, that desire to promise me she’ll save him. She doesn’t say the words, though. She can’t lie to me.

Julien.

My Julien.

I collapse in Reid’s arms. He keeps me on my feet. “She killed him,” he whispers in my ear. “Are you going to let her get away with that?”

My body is paralyzed.

Reid takes my hands and turns me around to face him. “I’m not going to let her get away with that. Are you?”

I can barely see him for the tears.

He wipes them away, holding my face steady. “We’ll avenge him, Willa. Together.”

Avenge.

Revenge.

The pain starts to twist and burn, snaking its way into my limbs, bringing them back to life. I will seek my revenge on Erika Prescott. I will avenge my best friend for her malice. My feet steady. Anger contracts my muscles, and I stand, fists clenched. I give Reid one solitary nod. “Which way did she go?”

He squeezes my cheek, then kisses it.

Follow me.