A Stitch on Time 5 (22 page)

“Saul,” I whispered, sneaking a glance his way.

He turned to look at me, bright blue eyes shadowed with concern. I threw his concentration off and the undead creatures swamped him, dragging the demon under.

“No.”

“Sierra, Sie—” a muffled voice echoed before being drowned out by a thumping car door.

Great, now this concoction was making me hallucinate.

“You’ve had enough fun for one night, Duff,” the woman said.

Duff forced me towards a parked car near Saul’s BMW.

A tall brunette wearing a tailored festive yellow dress stood in front of the car. Black pantyhose gave her a stylish edge and her straight hair skimmed the tops of her shoulders. She had blue eyes, thin lips and a scowl that reminded me of posh characters in period pieces. Her skin was pale and glowed vibrant, even in these surroundings.

She looks so out of place.

I knew who she was. She might look older than the memory Oren had shared with me, but there was no denying this was Jacinta Mills, the callous head of the Alliance.

“What are
you
doing here?”

“Sometimes if you want the job done properly, you have to oversee it yourself.” Her cultured accent seemed vaguely Australian.

The closer Duff dragged me, the more my stomach dropped. I couldn’t stop thinking about Saul. Was he all right? What had those zombies done to him? Damn, why hadn’t I used my dark patch? Were those damned bolts fucking with my head, or was I just slow?

I met Jacinta’s eyes and found nothing but cold determination. This woman had a mission, and nothing—or anyone—was going to stop her. But what was she here to do? Was she going to kill me herself? And knowing Duff was not just Alliance but also
Obscurus
confused the situation.

When we reached her, she grabbed my jaw with cool fingers and turned my face this way and that. A distasteful pout hardened her features. “You are the spitting image of Pepita. I’m going to take an insane amount of pleasure in snuffing you out. Disease killed her before I got the chance. She was lucky.”

This woman was worse than I’d expected. What kind of demented bitch would say something so cruel? I tried to force my face away but she gripped my chin harder.

“Look at me when I’m talking to you, young lady.”

I clenched my teeth and forced myself to glare into her cold eyes, while contemplating all of the ways I could make her suffer.

“I’m going to do to you what I should have done to her,” Jacinta said.

“I thought the order didn’t go live until the end of the month.”

“Yes, well, I changed my mind.”

“Why do you hate me so much?”

She intensified her grip. “I hated you before you were born.”

“Because I’m a reminder that Oren loved my grandmother and not you?”

Jacinta released her grip long enough to slap my face, making my ears ring. “Your grandparents were delusional, and didn’t know the first thing about love.”

“Yet, after all these years, you’re still jealous.” It was never a good idea to bait a scorned lover, but I couldn’t help myself. This woman had caused a lot of problems for Grandma and Oren. If she was going to take her revenge out on me, I wanted to hit her where it hurt.

She smiled before delivering another slap. “You are a foolish girl.”

“That’s probably your first mistake. I’m not
just
a girl!”

Jacinta considered me with a glare. “You don’t deserve to inherit the immense amount of power Pepita illegally acquired. That’s why I’m going to take it.”

“Get in line,” I spat. “There are plenty of freaks wanting to do the same.” Was it possible that in spite of her worldly experience, and having the demented Duff by her side, she also didn’t know my grandmother had already moved on? It made sense since Mace didn’t know, either. My Strophalos was drenched with blood so no one could see it.

Actually, my fingers weren’t twitchy for the grid. Had the bolt severed my connection?

“Has the poison had enough time to do its job?” Jacinta asked Duff.

“It’ll take at least another hour to seep into her very soul and separate the spook catcher power from the rest of her.”

I tried to shake him off but for an old, skinny dude he was very strong.

“That’s fine. We’ll just take her with us.” Jacinta released my chin and headed for the car. “I know just the place to conduct our business.”

As I struggled to keep my feet grounded, a line of lightning arcs across the top of the chain-link fence caught my eye. When the sparks hit the ground, Mace shifted from energy to man a lot faster than the last time I’d seen him.

“What in the name of Legion is going on?” Mace said. As he approached the group, he glanced my way and flashed a disgusted glare in Duff’s direction.

“Ah, Mason, I was expecting you,” Jacinta said, which made my blood run cold. All my worst suspicions were coming to pass.

“You were? I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.”

“Not getting an invitation ensured you would turn up,” Jacinta said.

“Clever.” He stopped beside me, staring daggers at Duff’s grip on my sweater. “What are you doing to Sierra?”

Jacinta took her time to answer. “I’m tired of waiting, so I’m taking what’s rightfully mine.” She reacted just like Maya had when she’d invoked her own ritual—self-righteous.

“She’s not yours,” Mace said.

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. Your personal obsession with this girl is beyond disturbing. A being like you shouldn’t have wasted so many years trying to win her over.” Jacinta shook her head in obvious disgust. “Mace, step aside or I will snuff all of that energy you’re hording quicker than you can replenish it.”

Great, now they’re fighting about who gets to kill me first!

“I—
we
—need her to get Legion across—”

Jacinta snorted. “You’re pathetic. Have you ever asked yourself why you’ve wasted so much time getting this done? I thought getting your kin back into this patch was your only concern, yet a child has bested you at every attempt.” Her eyes shone with mockery. “For thousands of years, you searched for a way to do it, and when you finally get the chance you decide to fall in love instead of using her as the sacrificial lamb that she is.”

“Shut up! You have no idea what you’re talking about—”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong. I know exactly what it feels like to fall in love with the wrong person.” She clenched her jaw, as if stopping herself from further confessions.

I couldn’t believe this exchange, and as much as I’d tried to weasel my way out of Duff’s grasp, the old bastard held on for dear life. He didn’t seem affected by Jacinta’s words, but my skin crawled. I looked at Mace,
really
scrutinized him and thought about what he wanted most in this world and how he’d failed and even suffered betrayal at the hands of his fellow freaks—all because of me. I’d never believed he loved me, though he’d said it enough times since we embarked on our tumultuous affair.

Was Jacinta right? In spite of my never believing a word, did Mace want me in his own twisted way? He turned to stare into my eyes, and even with the creepy lightning bolts, I saw the truth. It made me recoil.

“Sierra’s mine!” He grabbed hold of my injured hand and pulled so hard Duff’s grip dropped. The old man stepped back, disappearing from sight.

“She’s an abomination, and certainly doesn’t belong to you,” Jacinta said. “Look at her, ask her if she loves you.”

“You’re going to ruin everything—”

A spear pierced Mace’s midsection, and he hit the ground face-first.

Duff stood behind him with a satisfied smirk. “That won’t kill you, but it’s got to hurt.” He started to drag me backwards but a whip wound around his neck and yanked him off his feet. Saul flicked his arm back and sent Duff into the air, over the chain-link fence.

I raced for the BMW but stopped when it went up in flames.

“There’s only one car left,” Jacinta said, extending a hand out. “Come with me and I’ll grant you three wishes.”

“You’re a fucking genie as well?”

“I’m a lot of things.” Her vicious smile sickened me. “So, what do you say?”

I pulled the boline from my thigh holster and stabbed her in the gut. When I slid the blade out the moonstone glowed warm in my palm.

Jacinta glared at my weapon, the car door opened and she tumbled into the backseat.

“Sierra, let’s get the fuck out of here!” Saul appeared out of nowhere and grabbed my hand, forcing me away from the crazy bitch and the witch already running towards us.

“We don’t have a car!” I yelled.

“Oh, yes we do.”

Diana’s Terraplane knocked Duff off his feet as it sped to a halt, sending plumes of dirt into the air. The door swung open. “Get in!” Diana called.

“Sierra!” an all too familiar voice yelled, but before I could see who it was, Saul pushed me into the vehicle and jumped in. The door slammed shut and I got on my knees to look out the back window. Mace was lying on the ground, but Jacinta limped out of the car to meet Duff. A thick bloodstain swelled on her yellow dress. She reached into the backseat and seemed to struggle with something.

My blood froze when I caught a glimpse and I recalled the voice I thought I’d imagined, twice. “Slow down,” I said.

“Are you nuts? We have to—”

“Diana,
please.
”

“Just do it,” Saul said.

The car slowed and I didn’t look away, tried to keep from blinking until Jacinta dragged Willow into the open. “No,” I whispered, tears already dripping down my face.

“What’s wrong?” Saul glared out the window and his features darkened. “Shit.”

“We have to go back.”

“No way,” Diana said, stepping on the accelerator.

“But she has my sister.”

Chapter Eleven

I slumped against the seat, barely aware of Saul strapping the seatbelt around me. I didn’t feel the pain in my shoulder or hand. I was in shock, trying to figure out how Jacinta had captured my sister. I should’ve called earlier, checked in to let Oren and Willow know what happened and who I’d encountered. Now it was too late.

“Did you see those guys I was up against?” Saul asked, sitting close beside me and taking my left hand.

I nodded, pressing my head against the window.

“They were zombies summoned by a necromancer.”

That made sense. Jacinta summoned them to keep Saul busy, and as much as I wanted to ask him a hundred questions, I just couldn’t muster the energy to say a single word. Actually, I couldn’t even feel the buzzing connection we’d had before. I stared at the hand held by his and there was no sensation—no warmth, no comfort, not even the shine of color.

“You’re not having much luck lately, are you?” Diana tossed a bandage from the front seat. She looked into the rearview mirror, meeting my gaze. “At least we’re not being followed.”

“We’ll have to get this cleaned up, but covering it should help.” Saul wrapped the bandage around my palm, concealing my extinguished Hecate connection. “I know you’re probably wondering where those zombies came from, so I’ll tell you. That land is very old, and there must be countless of dead bodies buried beneath. Jacinta’s so strong she can drag anyone out of their grave.”

“Yeah.” My voice sounded robotic and even saying one word scraped my throat. I’d lost Ebony to the Lamia, Papan to the police, Conrad to a crazed vampire, and now Willow to her insane grandparents. I cleared my throat. “Saul, they have my sister.”

“Are you sure?” Diana asked. “You’ve got poison flowing inside your veins, you could have imagined her.”

“She’s right. I saw her too.”

“How did they get the girl?” Diana slammed on the brakes and stopped the car in the middle of the road. “I thought you said she was protected by the witch.”

“She was,” Saul said.

Their conversation made my stomach churn because they were right. Oren was supposed to be with Willow. “Get me home.”

Diana turned back towards the windshield and continued down the road.

“They won’t hurt her,” Saul said.

“She put an order on both our heads. She plans to kill her.” Besides, Jacinta had her own agenda that might not include the ritual to get Legion into this patch.

“Or she might just use her as leverage to get you,” Diana said.

“I won’t let anyone else die because of me.”

“You don’t have any control over this. The
Obscurus
have long-term plans, and they’ll use anyone they can to get what they want,” Diana replied. “They don’t value lives the same way you do. You care about people and feel responsible when something happens to them, but it’s not your fault. The
Obscurus
won’t hurt your sister until they get what they really want.”

“That was the Alliance, not the
Obscurus
.”

Diana met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “I’m afraid they are interchangeable.”

“No. My grandfather is part of the Alliance, as well as some other good friends of mine.” Talking hurt, I should probably go back to being silent. My vision blurred at the edges, and a viscous black liquid oozed onto the bandage.

“Shit, calm down,” Saul said, not letting go. “You’re going to speed up the poison’s effect otherwise.”

“Good, if it pours out of me, then—”

“It doesn’t work that way,” he interrupted.

“What
will
work? Get this crap outta me.”

“Just sit back and relax.”

“Saul, don’t tell me to relax when everything’s going to hell, okay? I know what this is—it’s like that Eye of Wakh amulet. It will eventually strip my power.” I cringed at the thought. Maya had temporarily taken my spook-catcher skills, and it had felt like losing a limb. I didn’t want to experience that again.

“Actually, this is much worse.” His eyes darkened with anger.

“Tell me what’s really going on. Please.”

Saul sighed, then said, “The amulet is made from the hide of a demon able to steal powers via several means. It’s quite effective, but what’s coursing through your body is actually its ichor. When injected directly into the bloodstream, a small amount can go a long way.”

Diana focused on the road ahead, avoiding my eyes when I tried to catch them in the mirror. “Someone’s gone to a great deal of trouble to juice a wakh demon in order to inject their poison into you.”

“Who has access to something so gross?” The thought of having tainted demonic blood flowing within me made me want to puke.

Diana shrugged. “Hunters, mostly.”

My head spun.

“Sierra, there’s something else.” Saul held my bandaged hand in both of his and met my gaze. “They might not know you’ve inherited the full extent of your power, but this stripping poison will take everything.”

“Is that why our connection has stopped?”

He nodded.

“Is this a permanent thing?”

Diana stopped the car and surprised me by climbing over the seat and settling on my other side, so I was sandwiched between them. “It’s not permanent if we stop the poison from running its course.”

“How do we do that?”

“Jacinta must have had an immediate ritual in mind so we have to hurry, or everything will literally pour out and leave you empty of all your gifts,” Saul said.

“No.” Was he saying that this gunk was actually my spook-catcher talent and Hecate connection leaking out of me? “Will I die?” This couldn’t be the end—not when I needed to help Papan, get those girls out of the Tower, rescue my sister, and…

Diana’s eyes flashed pink. “There
is
one thing we could try.”

“That’s too risky,” Saul said with a shake of his head.

Her eyes were fixed on mine, but she answered him. “We have no choice.”

“There’s no guarantee it’ll work—”

“Saul, we either try to save her without delay, or we don’t.” Diana glared at him. “We both know the only reason she hasn’t died yet is because this vehicle is a pocket dimension and is slowing the process. As soon as she steps outside, her organs will start to shut down so fast that her gifts will be the least of our worries.”

“Diana, I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to like it, Saul—just accept it.”

I was getting a headache from their exchange and everything was starting to take on a surreal edge. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?” My mouth felt crowded with cotton, making every word harder to voice. “Stop talking as if I’m already gone.”

Diana met my gaze. “I might be able to help, by possessing you.”

I squirmed. She wanted me to serve as a medium. When Roger Hocking temporarily took over my body to save his wife from a demon, I’d become trapped inside my own shell. He’d done things I’d never be able to access via my own memory.

“Sierra, I don’t like it either, but it’s the fastest and less painful way of extracting the poison and saving your life,” Saul said.

“Uh…” My mouth felt so dry I had to swallow a few times.

“We don’t have much time,” Diana said.

I didn’t want to rush this, needed to consider the consequences and find arguments to deny it…but the bottom line was, I trusted these two. I might have just met them but we were kin, just like Burr.

“Okay,” I blurted, before I could change my mind.

Saul loosened his grip on my hand. “Sit back, relax and we’ll do the rest.”

I wish you’d stop saying that.

The twitch of his lips confirmed he knew exactly what I was thinking, and still found me amusing.

Diana took my wounded hand from him and a pink light emanated from within her, making her aura shine in a way I’d never seen before. I freaked out and my heart sped up.

“Hush.” Her melodic tone helped calm my nerves. “That’s it, my child. You’re making this a lot easier for yourself by opening up.”

Warmth crept into my palm and raced up my arm, flowing like a river, soothing away all my apprehension and fear until there was nothing left but peace. I released everything—cleared my mind of thought, worry, loss and responsibility. All of it escaped my pores and Diana’s comforting aura filled the empty spots, much like the shadows and phantasms before I decimated them. This didn’t feel dirty, or wrong. It felt like my mind and spirit were being soothed and purified.

I’d allowed the Goddess passage into my ruined shell and the effects were gentle. Her warm aura rushed over me and I sighed. When it reached my injured shoulder I felt a pinch of pain and jerked. I tried to move, but warm hands held me down.

“Don’t close yourself off, I’m losing my grasp.”

My hand was burning, rejecting her healing and forcing me to thrash against Saul and Diana. I struggled to close my hands together, to expel the Goddess just as I’d done to the demons. I didn’t want the intrusion, any bit of comfort was gone and a scream tore from my throat.

“Sierra, don’t lose your trust in me. I’m not going to hurt you,” she said.

I wanted to keep it together, to listen to her wisdom but the pain was immense.

“Don’t try to expel me.”

“What’s going on?” Saul sounded concerned.

“I’m not sure,” Diana—or Hecate—said. “Sierra, don’t fight me. Don’t leave—”

Darkness fell over me like a shroud, and my first thought was that I’d conjured my dark patch. But this felt different, and I was sinking fast.

Hecate, help me!