Shadow Bend (Witches of Sanctuary Book 3) Page 9

  Grady is on his back, holding a small piece of black fruit in his hands. “I’m okay, Abby. I promise.”

  He sits up, but Abby is still fussing at him. “I thought it killed you.”

  “Felt like it did.” Grady rubs a spot on his chest. “Felt like lightning erupted inside me. It burned.”

  “But you got the ingredient,” I say to keep myself from snatching the fruit from his hands.

  He gives it to Abby and stands. She holds it out, inspecting it carefully. It appears to be in perfect condition, which is good because it’s the only piece of fruit on the entire tree.

  “Guys…” Erika sits in a small ball in the corner, her arms wrapped around her legs.

  Lyric bends down to look at her. “Hey, are you all right?”

  Erika rubs her chest too. “No.”

  I glare at Leo. “What’s happening?”

  “I don’t know. I told you the truth. The rest of the book was destroyed.”

  Erika manages to bring herself to her feet, but she’s unsteady. “I think I have to go with you to find the Bessette Spring. I’m the only one who can retrieve the water.”

  I eye her curiously. “Why you?”

  She rubs her chest again. “Because I’ve been the cruelest.”

  “And what about the chalice the Prescotts have? Who has to get it?” I glance around to see if any other member of the Haunted had the same reaction as Grady and Erika, but Lyric and Talbot look fine. “Where’s Julien?”

  “Over here.”

  Julien is on his knees behind the tree. He’s trying to stand, but he can’t manage it on his own. I run over to try to help him, but he pushes my hand away. “I have to get the cup of Franz E’tour.”

  He doesn’t say why, but suddenly I want to know. If Grady has been the weakest, and Erika the cruelest, then what offense has Julien committed?

  Julien brushes himself off. “Let’s get out of here. We’re wasting time.”

  I grab his arm. “Julien—”

  “Not now, Wilhelmina.” He can’t even look at me. He walks away without a single glance back. “Not now.”

  ***

  The piece of black fruit sits on Seraphina’s counter, staring at me while I repeat the spell to myself exactly as it’s written in my spell book.

  The Demise of Iniquity

  A cloudless day when both the Moon and the Sun can be seen in the sky. The Innocent of the Sun will take the black fruit from the Raven’s tree and combine it with water from the Elder’s spring. The Innocent of the Moon will pour it in the chalice of Franz E’tour.

  Each member of the three Haunted families must drink from the chalice in order of their original downfall.

  Bessette. Prescott. Cote.

  At dusk when the Sun and Moon exchange, their fate will be chosen.

  Julien hasn’t spoken a word since we left the Ridge. I can’t even get him to look at me. Right now, he’s outside somewhere, forming a plan with Lyric. His brother will make sure he’s okay, but I can’t help but worry about him. He already has so much on his plate, and he looks tired today. More so than usual, and I wonder what he’s dreaming about that won’t let him get any rest. Does it have something to do with what he learned about himself tonight?

  My fingers graze the edges of the fruit. It’s shaped almost like a pear, but not quite. It’s too large and the skin leatherish. I’m not sure I want to know what’s at the core of it. It must be something powerful if it can rid the Haunted of the shadow inside of them.

  I move away from it, closer to the fire. I sit next to the hearth and warm my hands close to the flames.

  Reid stomps into the house, the door slamming behind him. “Julien is being completely unreasonable.”

  I want to say “what’s new?” But Reid doesn’t seem in the mood for jokes. He plops down next to me. “You should go talk to him. Talk him into waiting.”

  “Waiting for what?”

  Reid turns around to face me. “He wants to leave now to go find the other pieces to the spell. He wants to perform the spell as soon as possible.”

  “Something happened tonight.” I try to think it through, to put all the pieces together. “The Cote family was cursed with an increased sense of lust. They were known for pursuing those they weren’t allowed to have and breaking their heart, just like Estelle did. Maybe that’s why Grady was chosen to pick the fruit. He said he was the weakest, but what if it really meant he was weak because he let his lust blind him? He pursued Abby despite knowing he shouldn’t, and he broke her heart.”

  I stand and Reid stands with me, following my logic.

  “Erika said she must get the water from the fountain because she’s the cruelest. The Bessettes sought power, and Erika killed her own father to gain it. So, that would leave Julien with the Prescotts’ artifact.”

  Reid’s face is sad. “The Prescotts were known for their greed and selfishness.”

  My heart aches for him. “Julien thinks he’s been selfish.”

  Reid sighs, taking a quick glare back at the closed door. “Go talk to him. I’m not fond of the idiot, but I don’t want him ruining our chances to get this right because…”

  Because of me.

  Reid can’t say it, but I know what his words would be. All of this is because of me, and I have to make it right. We all deserve it. I give Reid a kiss on the cheek and grab my coat. “Keep an eye on that fruit,” I say, not really trusting the evil-looking thing to stay in its place.

  Lyric’s and Julien’s voices are close. They’re still arguing. Talbot and Sadie stand on the steps, peering around the corner, obviously spying on them.

  Sadie grabs my arm. “I think you need to talk to him, Willa. I think the stress of this has finally gotten to Julien.”

  “I know.” I rush down the steps and around the house. Julien is practically in tears, and when he sees me, they finally come gushing out.

  He sits down on the ground as if giving up. Lyric looks around at me, exhausted. “You take a turn. He won’t listen to me.”

  Julien’s face is in his hands. He’s trying to drown out the sobs.

  Lyric squeezes my shoulder and whispers to me. “Good luck.”

  When he’s gone, I go over and hold my hand out to Julien, but he doesn’t take it. So, instead, I reached down and drag him up to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go somewhere and talk.”

  “No, Wilhelmina.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because—”

  He tries to pull away. To go where, I’m not sure. Darkness has already set in. I hold him steady in front of me. “Talk to me, Julien. You’ve always been able to tell me what’s bothering you.”

  “That’s the thing, Willa. I shouldn’t have done those things.”

  “You weren’t being selfish. I know that’s what you think—”

  “No, that’s what I was told. Tonight, in that cavern, it told me that I had to be the one to get the chalice because of my selfishness.”

  “And how do you think it means me?”

  “Because I’ve always known you’d be better off without me. It isn’t a secret, Wilhelmina. You want to know the real reason I wish I would have never stopped by your tent that day? Because your life would have been better without me in it.”

  “Don’t say that. I was meant to come back to Sanctuary—”

  “For Reid.”

  “For both of you.” Now I’m starting to get angry. Reid was right. He’s being unreasonable.

  Julien tugs at his shirt, like there’s an invisible force inside of him he’s trying pull out by a string. He cringes and more tears spill out. I can’t bear to see him like this. It reminds me of that day in my driveway when he was fighting against his Mr. Hyde and it was literally killing him. I reach for him again.

  “No.” His voice is coarse and hateful. “Don’t touch me.”

  “Julien—”

  “I want you to complete the spell, Wilhelmina. I want this shadow…this evil out of me. I want to be able to let you go.�
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  “Okay. We can do that.”

  I can’t let my voice break.

  My heart is shattered, but I can’t let my voice show it. Not right now. Maybe not ever.

  Julien is still heaving. “Then go convince them we need to leave tonight. Let’s get this over with.”

  “I understand you want to be done with this…” I say, not allowing myself to admit it includes myself. “I can’t imagine how it feels to know you still have that evil inside of you.” I can’t break down. I have to be strong for him. “But going into the caves tonight would be dangerous. Lyric and Talbot are still reviewing the maps you found in Charleston. They think they know where the spring is, but they need to find the best and safest way to get there.”

  “That doesn’t mean I can’t go get the chalice tonight.”

  “You can do that if it will make you feel better. If you want to go running off…alone…without your family and your friends, that’s your decision to make.” My lips are trembling, but I know I have to finish. “But you should know something before you go.”

  He stands there, suddenly as still as stone.

  I swallow to get rid of the lump in my throat. “You might have been selfish in all of this, Julien, but I promise you, whatever selfishness you’ve shown pales in comparison to my own. I could have let you go a long time ago. I have no excuse. There is no evil inside of me that forced its will upon me. I have only myself to blame for the pain I’ve caused you. And I’ll have to deal with the consequence of it, and maybe that’s what this is. But, Julien, if I’ve learned anything from coming to Sanctuary, it’s that the point of family, of friendship, is that it’s always there when we deserve it the least.” I hold my hand out to him again. “Let’s do this the right way. Together. And when we’re done, I’ll let you go.”

  He stands there and stares at me. “My equal.”

  I smile. “Always have been. I can’t believe you couldn’t see it.”

  He finally takes my hand. “A couple lonely, selfish, reckless idiots who wouldn’t know what was best for them if it knocked them in the head.”

  “Best friends,” I say, correcting him, and he rolls his eyes.

  I hug him because he lets me. His voice is soft in my ear. “I need to be free. I need to finally know what I feel for myself.”

  “And we’re going to set you free. I promise.”

  Chapter 11

  A DAY OF MAGIC

  Burnt eggs.

  Reid must be cooking.

  I’m not sure what time I finally fell asleep last night. I couldn’t stop worrying about Julien and the fact that we only have four more days. He finally calmed down and agreed to go along with Lyric and Talbot’s plan, but he still looked upset. He’s carrying around this pallet of pain on his shoulders, and it’s threatening to crush him beneath its weight.

  Four more days.

  I pull on a sweatshirt over my t-shirt and make my way downstairs. Romeo is asleep on the back of the couch. Reid stands in front of a plate of black—maybe it isn’t eggs—something, scratching his head. I wrinkle my nose at the smell. “Need some help?”

  His gaze shoots up to me. “Hey, I thought you were going to sleep in.”

  “With this delicious smell in the air? How could I resist?”

  He grimaces. “I know. Sorry. I gave it a shot, but it turns out I really do suck at cooking.”

  I wrap my arms around him from the back, snuggling him close to me. He’s so warm. That’s why I woke up. It was the absence of his warm body up against me that made my eyes pop open. “You don’t suck at it. You just haven’t been taught how to properly make it do your bidding.”

  He glares over at the black pile of mush. “Cooking isn’t like casting spells.”

  He smells so good…like mountain air and fresh linens. It must be his shampoo.

  “You’d be surprised.” I reach around him and pick up the plate and go dump it in the trash. “What time is everyone meeting?”

  Reid turns around, leaning back against the counter. “They’re already gone.”

  “What?” I drop the plate in the sink with a thud.

  “Yeah. Sadie and Talbot went with Erika to start mapping out the caves in the section they believe the fountain will be found. Abby and Lyric went with Julien to the Prescotts’ Grand Hall.”

  “Oh.”

  Reid bends down to catch my gaze that has drifted to the floor. “We are sitting this one out. You remember us discussing that, right?”

  “Yeah.” I flip the water on in the sink to rinse the plate for something to do. “I just…I guess I’m not used to being left out.”

  Reid comes to me. “You aren’t being left out. This was a choice, and I think it was the right decision.”

  I turn the faucet off, but keep my hand attached to the handle. “It doesn’t feel right, knowing they’re all out there without us.”

  “You need the rest, Willa. And I think Julien needs the space.”

  Reid has an odd look on his face, but before I can even ask, he leads me into the living room and sits me down on the couch. “Lyric came by this morning and said Julien’s dreams are getting worse.”

  “How?”

  “Lyric can only hear one side of the conversation, but as far as he can tell, he thinks whatever Julien’s talking to is trying to convince him to hurt you.”

  “He would never do that.”

  “I know, and Julien doesn’t even remember the dreams when he wakes up, but there is obviously something evil still in Sanctuary, Willa, and it knows you are its biggest enemy.”

  “We only have four days left until the Winter Solstice. I can’t worry about the scary things out there for me. We have to concentrate on finishing this spell.”

  Reid squeezes my hand. “I promise you, they have it under control. If they succeed and find both ingredients today, we need you rested and prepared.”

  I know it makes sense. But there is so much at stake. No one else mentions how close we are to the—not deadline, because that sounds like a horrible pun. My breathing starts to get tight, and I know a panic attack when I feel one. Maybe that’s why the others don’t talk about it? Maybe that’s how they all seem so calm and collected when I’m a constant bundle of nerves. They just don’t think about it.

  I take small breaths, assuring myself that maybe I can do that, at least for a couple hours.

  “Okay. So, what are we doing today? Going on our date?”

  “If you want. I mean, we don’t have—”

  I kiss him before he can finish. It’s the kind of kiss I’ve been waiting for. The kind with implications. The kind that gets to the point quickly. “There is only one thing that can keep my mind off what they’re all doing out there today, and that one thing is you, Reid Thomas.”

  His breath is deep. “Go get dressed.”

  My fingers press against his chest, and I give him a playful wink. “Are you sure that’s what you want?”

  He laughs against my ear. “I’m trying to do this the right way. At least, as much as my willpower will allow. Now, go get dressed. Wear something warm.”

  “Fine.” I would kiss that boy into submission sooner or later.

  Definitely sooner rather than later, because I wasn’t lying to him. He is the only thing capable of keeping my mind occupied today.

  I go upstairs and take a shower. By the time I get myself presentable and back downstairs, Reid has a plate of freshly baked muffins sitting on a plate. He grins, showcasing the delicious goodness. “Mom stopped by to remind you that she has everything under control and for you to have fun today. And she brought muffins.”

  I pick one up and start to take a giant bite. Reid catches my hand with the muffin only an inch from my mouth. “You realize she probably laced these with some kind of forget-your-worries potion, right? I mean, we are related. We do stuff like that.”

  I grin at him. “Seraphina wouldn’t do that.”

  I take a giant bite, and suddenly I fear maybe Reid knows his mother
better than I do. That tinge of anxiety in my chest vanishes. I hadn’t realized I was grinding my teeth until I suddenly stopped.

  Reid smirks at me. “I warned you.”

  I hand him the other half of the muffin. “You should try it. It’s good stuff.”

  “I don’t need it. I know they will be fine without us for one day, and Mom is right. She has everything under control.”

  Normally, I might find some kind of counterpoint, because this is Sanctuary, after all, and nothing is ever really under control. I can’t think of any reasons, though. In fact, I can’t bring myself to care at all. I take another giant bite of the muffin. “This is amazing. How long do you think it will last?”

  “A couple hours? She wouldn’t have used much, or it would have masked the natural smell of the muffins.”

  I hum appreciatively into the center of the muffin’s fluffy goodness. “And we wouldn’t want that.”

  “Of course not.”

  I should have been annoyed with Seraphina, and Reid too, for that matter. He must have slipped a lot of his potion into Leo’s drink that day to make sure it will last. Luckily for Leo, though, he hasn’t been stupid enough to make it take effect. Reid takes my hand, leading me toward the back door. Snow has turned the grass a crystal-like white. It sparkles beneath the daylight that threatens it from behind the clouds.

  “It’s going to be a chilly ride. You can keep yourself warm, though, right?”

  “Yeah.” I follow him through the backyard, still confused. “What are we driving, exactly?”

  The dock by the lake appears over the hill, and then I see it. The boat. The first night Reid came to my house, he disappeared by the lake. It was too dark that night for me to figure out exactly how he escaped, but I’ve sort of always known he had a boat. I wasn’t positive of it until now, though.

  “Where do you keep it?” I ask, curious now. “I’ve never seen it docked at Sera’s house.”

  His grin is mischievous. “You’ll see. C’mon, we don’t want to waste any time.”