Autumn Storm (24 page)

He couldn’t protect her and he couldn’t
reveal who she really was. When he made the promise to Sam, he
never imagined how hard it would be to keep. Today was the first
time he feared for his own soul.

“Cookies,” Autumn said.

Beck laughed. Did she hear the desperate
note in his voice? He summoned his magick and took them away.
Autumn wasn’t in any shape to deal with others.

His mother wasn’t in any shape to deal with
Autumn or him. He winced as he recalled the texts she sent him the
night before when she found Autumn in her house. Angry wasn’t the
right word to describe her. Scared, maybe, like Beck now was.

He released Autumn when they reached the
kitchen at the cabin. She’d stopped trembling, but her nose was
bleeding. He stretched for a towel and handed it to her.

“You okay?” It was a dumb question, but he
didn’t know what else to say.

“I don’t know.” She limped to the breakfast
table and sat down. The empty look that settled across her features
disturbed him.

Beck sat next to her. She was hurting
physically; that he could help. He took her hand and squeezed,
pushing his magick into her body. She sighed.

“I feel like I should do something. I don’t
know what.”

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do
for him.”

She met his gaze. “Nothing?”

“You’re killing me here,” he said, wiping
the last of her tears away. “I think we have to look at the fact he
may not be able to fight the Darkness.” The words were so hard for
him to say. Beck cleared his throat.

Autumn smiled sadly.

“Sorry,” he said. “Not an easy truth.”

“No. I barely know him. I can’t imagine what
you feel.” Confusion crossed her face. “But that’s not true. I do
know him. I just don’t understand how.”

Beck said nothing. He watched her fight the
secrets of her mind. She relented. He’d never felt as bad about
keeping the truth from her as he did now.

“I wish I could help you, too.” She shook
her head and looked at him again.

“You do. I’m not used to being able to talk
to the girls I date.” Realizing what he said, he rushed on. “Or you
know. Girls I’m not dating but might be interested in someday.”

“Every blond you run across?” she
teased.

“Almost every blond.”

Her humor faded. He saw her thought before
she voiced the words and braced himself.

“Beck, I belong with Decker. I don’t
understand how or why.” She fought her mind again. “But I can’t be
anything more than your friend.”

“And if the worst happens to Decker?”

“I don’t think I can ever be with anyone
else. It sounds crazy, but ...I don’t know. It’s what I feel. I
don’t understand it.”

He hadn’t expected the gentle rejection to
hurt like it did. Surprised by what he felt, Beck wasn’t able to
muster a smile. He knew how strong the bond was between Summer and
Decker. He couldn’t help wishing he’d taken a chance on Summer
months ago, instead of trusting his heart to someone like Dawn
instead.

Too late. As usual. And if Decker didn’t
pull out of his freefall, Autumn was likely lost as well, if the
Darkness followed through with its threat. Beck began to suspect
her trial had something to do with Decker. At this moment, he
couldn’t help believing she might not be passing it. He wasn’t
going to lose them both. Autumn may have chosen Decker, but Beck
chose to save her and the Light witchlings over his brother.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, searching his
gaze.

“I think I always knew. If you’re okay, I’ll
take you back.”

She nodded. He felt the pain his words
caused but had to find a way to deal with his own issues. To
fulfill his duties. To save her, even knowing she was making a
choice that might cost him his soul.

He took her to the hallway outside her room.
She squeezed his arm, and he managed to smile as she walked into
her room. Rubbing his face, Beck sighed. His thoughts turned to
Tanya, who allegedly hadn’t been snatched by Decker as he first
thought. The little birdie ratting out Dawn had told him where to
look.

Tanya was a distraction, both for him and
for Decker. He wanted everyone to think they were dating. Part of
him was drawn to her because of how similar she looked to Autumn.
He hadn’t thought twice about pissing off Dawn; they weren’t
supposed to talk to each other anyway.

He didn’t fully believe what Dawn’s friend
Sonya told him. As crazy as his ex was, she wasn’t the type to hurt
someone. She was manipulative and moody but not a killer.

When Tanya went missing, he’d promised her
parents he’d do everything he could to bring her back to them. When
Sonya’s tip turned out to be the latest of the pointless trips he’d
taken, his next step was to involve his parents. His father had
reach and resources capable of helping. If nothing else, his mother
could tell him if Decker kidnapped the girl and if not, could
interrogate people like no one else.

Beck’s magick took him to the north side of
the lakes, close to the border with Canada, to an abandoned resort.
It was boarded up years ago, and the roof of the decrepit building
had collapsed under a previous snowfall. He stood outside it, not
at all certain what he sought. The narrow road to the resort hadn’t
been cleared, and he saw what appeared to be the wide tracks of a
sports utility vehicle leading up to the building.

He crossed to them, ignoring the wind and
snow. He had no idea how many sets of feet were in the mess around
where the SUV stopped. More than a couple, he guessed and followed
them to the building. They led to a side door that had long since
rotted away. He pushed what remained of the door and entered the
quiet, dark interior.

The side door led to what was once a
conference room. A broken table was overturned in the center of the
room and chairs were stacked in one corner. He saw nothing unusual
in the large room and crossed it carefully, eyeing the creaking
floor uneasily.

He opened a door into a hallway and picked a
direction. He opened his magick, trying to identify if any
witchlings were there. A faint whisper answered him. It was too
soft to be a witchling or element, but it was some kind of magick.
He switched directions and followed his senses through the bottom
floor and up a crumbling set of stairs to the second floor.

Stepping over a fallen chandelier, he paused
to listen then pushed open the door closest to him. The hotel room
was free of furniture – except for a single chair with a slumped
over figure tied to it. From the rear, Tanya’s long hair looked
like Autumn’s, except that it was straight where Autumn’s was
curly.

Sonya was right. Beck stood for a long
moment. If the person was alive, he’d sense her. Heart quickening,
he went to the blond girl and crouched beside her. She was dead.
Her skin was pale, her clothing bloodied. She’d been stabbed
multiple times, and her blood had soaked her clothing and pooled
around the chair.

The magick he heard calling him came from
her amulet and the soul trapped within. Beck stared at her, unable
to move for a long minute. Finally, he reached out and took the
necklace off her.

He’d never had to take a Light soul before.
It was part of his duties, to collect the souls of those Light
witchlings that died. He held up the amulet. It was dull, lifeless,
like the witchling to whom it belonged.

Sadness filled him for more than one reason.
Tanya died because of him. He’d been trying to throw Decker off his
scent, so his twin didn’t pursue and hurt Autumn. Sonya said Dawn
was furious at him for seeing someone when she wanted him to take
responsibility for his new family. Beck used Tanya and put her
innocent life in danger.

Would there be a day when he didn’t screw
up?

Swallowing hard, he pulled out his cell
phone and texted his mother.

I need you and dad where I am now,
he
told her. She’d know how to find him; she always did.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself
then clicked his newest contact and called.

“Hello?” Sonya’s voice was soft.

“You were right,” he said.

“Oh, god.”

“Yeah.” Beck studied Tanya’s face. He wanted
to remember her every time in the future he endangered someone who
didn’t deserve it.

“Beck, I think there’s more.”

He waited.

“Dawn was furious when she left a little
while ago. I think she’s gonna hurt someone else. I don’t know,
though. I never took anything like this seriously.” Sonya’s voice
filled with tears. “She talks about a lot of stuff like this, and I
thought she’s venting, that’s it. She doesn’t have it in her to
hurt
anyone. Alexa does, but …”

As he listened, he realized he’d have to do
something about Dawn. He had no idea what, since she was probably
carrying his kid. She deserved jail at the very least but the idea
of his daughter being born in prison …

Beck cursed. “Please let me know if she says
anything else, especially if it involves Autumn. Call me right
away, no matter what time,” he said. “You did the right thing,
Sonya.”

Sonya mumbled something through her tears.
The warm-cool touch of his mother reached him.

“I’ll give you a call later. I’ve gotta take
care of this.” He hung up and rose to face his parents.

His mother paced forward and bent, looking
into the girl’s face. Always business-oriented, she turned to
him.

“You have the amulet?”

Beck nodded and held it up.

“Claim it,” she ordered.

He placed it on the ground and crushed it
with his heel. He had no idea what was supposed to happen. A
trickle of warmth crept up his leg, and the room pulsed brightly
for a few seconds. The light died. The soul was claimed. His mother
nodded in approval.

“My first,” he said miserably. “My fault,
too.”

“You didn’t do this, Beck,” his father said,
clasping his shoulder.

“Dawn had something to do with this. I guess
she got jealous.”

Michael’s face grew grave. “Are you
certain?”

“Mostly.”

“She’s not the type to do her own dirty
work,” his mother said from the window.

Beck turned to her with a frown.

“She’s come close to breaking the Laws but
never has.” She shrugged. “Not much I could’ve done, until she
crossed them.”

“You knew she was a bad egg?” Beck asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That’s not the way it works.”

“So it’s okay for me to knock up a crazy
girl running around killing people because she’s jealous?” he
demanded, anger rising.

“You know by now that you must let people
choose their own paths. Even your family.”

Her calm words stung. Beck didn’t say what
he wanted to, that he’d at least tried to protect those he loved.
His mother’s gaze was steady. He began to realize just how
different the Masters and Mistresses of Light and Dark really
were.

“I’ll take care of this, Beck,” his father
said. “The police will need helicopters to get up here.”

“What do I do?” Beck asked. “What
can
I do?”

“It’s out of your hands,” his mother
answered.

“I promised her parents I’d bring her back,”
he whispered. “What do I do now?”

“You tell them you were wrong.”

He winced. His mother’s words were unusually
gentle. Death was different to a Dark Mistress than it was to him.
His father was on the phone already to organize a recovery effort
while his mother’s gaze grew distant.

She was thinking of Decker. Beck almost saw
it. It infuriated him. Here he stood, struggling with his duty and
his guilt, while she was focused on Decker.

“You have a tomorrow, Beck,” she said,
reading his thoughts as only she was able to. “Her parents are
witchlings. They need to hear from the Master of Light what
happened to their daughter. You owe it to them, and you alone can
bring them any sort of comfort. It’s what you do.”

His anger faded. She was right.

“Okay. I’ll go,” he said. No part of him
wanted to perform this part of his duty. “What about Dawn?”

“Let the police handle the
investigation.”

Surprised by his mother’s response, he
studied her. She was as likely as Decker to go off and kill
someone.

“That baby’s probably mine,” he reminded
her. “Don’t do anything, mom.”

“I’ve got enough on my plate for today. When
you’re back, we’ll talk.”

That scared him. Beck glanced at his father,
not envying the man who somehow managed to keep his mother from
becoming some sort of homicidal maniac. Not wanting to provoke her,
Beck took himself to the place he’d been earlier in the day.

The house of Tanya’s parents. He lingered at
the front door of their Cape Cod style home in Georgia. His hands
shook. He had no idea how to tell them what happened. Did he
mention to them that it was his fault?

The door opened before he was ready. Tanya’s
mother looked like her daughter with large, dark eyes and long
blond hair. She was smiling as she opened the door, expecting good
news.

He had no idea what to say. After a moment,
the hope in her eyes faded.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Can we talk?”