Burned (Keeper of the Flame) (18 page)

“Ryan.”

“What? You keep hanging out with him anyway,
might as well just go on over.”

“You’re a jerk,” I say, turning away.

He catches my arm. “If it keeps you safe, I
can be the bad guy.”

“You already were when I got here.” My voice
is low. “And neither of us liked it.”

I can tell the comment stings. He stares at
me, long enough I’m uncomfortable again.

“Let’s just take a break, okay?” I start down
the stairs again. “I’m going to head over to the library and
brainstorm with Cheyenne. I want to find my Book of Shadows and see
what I can do in the meantime to stop Logan.”

He follows a few steps but doesn’t come all
the way to my car. “Be careful.”

“I will.”

I find my keys in my purse in the front seat
of the car. Like Logan said, it’s all there. I check my phone
quickly and find a few messages. I unroll my window and call after
Ryan.

He turns before he gets into his truck.

“Have you tried calling my mom again?”

He dips his head a moment before nodding. “I
did.”

“Still no answer?”

“Sorry. No.”

“Thanks.” I give him a wave before pulling
away. I’ll have to get her number from him.

And then I’ll call every hour if I have to
because I need some answers. And the other part of me…it just wants
to make sure she’s safe.

“Men are stubborn,” I announce when I walk
into the library.

Cheyenne brightens when she sees me. “Yeah?
Man troubles? Give me details.”

I drop my purse onto her desk and set my
phone beside it.

“Wait.” She stands. “How did you get your
stuff back? I thought Logan took it all.” Her eyes widen. “You
didn’t go see him, did you?”

“No. No,” I say again firmly. My ponytail
swings when I tilt my head back and sigh. “Ryan brought me to one
of his houses and said I could live there for now. Logan found me
there.”

“Like found you in the house when he knocked
on the door or found you outside when you should have been
inside?”

“Don’t start with me,” I say. “You know I
can’t just hide in the house all day. I have to do something.”

She taps one finger against her lips
thoughtfully. “Standing out in the open when there’s a vampire
after you doesn’t seem like the most logical choice, though.”

I scowl. “And what would you do? Sit in the
house all day and hope Logan decides to give up?”

She laughs. “No. I’d do something. I take it
Ryan found out and went all big-strong-protector on you.”

“Pretty much.”

“And Logan?”

I lower my voice, trying to mimic his. “‘You
have two days or else.’”

“Or else?”

I wave my hand, dismissing it. “Whatever‒that
was about the gist of it. Two days until he expects me to work with
him on this spell. Why is he so determined to become a full vampire
anyway? So he can live forever?”

She sighs, walks over to the shelves by the
window and straightens a few books. “Who knows what motivates
someone like him. Immortality. Power. Boredom.”

“I need your help with something,” I tell
her.

She turns and props her hip against the
counter. “What?”

“I guess…a spell? Or some way to find my Book
of Shadows.”

“
Your
Book of Shadows.”

I nod.

“It makes sense that you’d have one. I’m
pretty sure every new witch gets one at a certain age. But then,
you didn’t know you were a witch, and it probably would have been
your mom who would’ve given it to you. She didn’t happen to call
and point you in the right direction, did she?”

“No.” I glance away. “Ryan still can’t reach
her. But I had a dream. One of my ancestors told me about my Book
of Shadows.”

She smiles. “Messages from beyond. You know,
Willow, my life has gotten so much more interesting since you came
to Shadow Hill.”

“You’re not mad?”

“That you came here?”

“No, that I came here, got stuck here, and
started this whole mess. The first part of reversing the
curse.”

She bites her lip in thought. “No. I mean,
yeah, I don’t want to turn into a hairy beast every full moon
or”‒she frowns‒“everything else that comes with it. But it’s not
your fault. It was going to happen eventually. Now at least we’re
forced to try to do something about it. Maybe something more
permanent.”

“Like what?”

She smiles. “I have no idea. But stopping
Logan is a good start. And so is finding your Book of Shadows. It
will be more helpful than your mother’s because it’s for a Keeper
of the Flame. The spells will be more specialized. Plus, it seems
like you’re already in tune with your ancestors. You can draw
information and power from them.”

“Really?”

“In theory. I’ve read about this as much as
possible, read journals from the witches who used to live here, and
studied the history. Your mom is the only practicing witch I’ve
ever known, and when I say ‘practicing’ I say it loosely. She did a
few earth spells here and there but not much. That was the whole
reason she stayed away from you and your father. She wanted you to
have a normal life.”

I swallow and fold my arms. She still could
have told me what was going on. She still could have visited or at
least given me some kind of explanation.

“Look,” Cheyenne says, “I know it’s a lot to
take in. But I want to help. I think it’s good to start trying to
get answers. We can do a location spell.”

“A what?”

She pulls a drawer open at her desk and hauls
out a stack of books. “Here are the best spell books I could find.
Yes, you’ll want your Book of Shadows and we should try to get more
information from your ancestors, but this is a good start. We can
do a spell to find the Book of Shadows.”

“Maybe it’s in my mom’s house. That sounds
simpler.”

She nods. “We can look. But if we don’t find
it today, we might want to try the spell. Logan gave you two days.
It will help to have a more concrete plan by then.”

“It would help if my mom would answer her
damn phone, too.”

A smile skims her lips. “That’s true.”

I start paging through her books, feeling
overwhelmed. I’ve never done a spell before in my life. But I have
talked with witches. I have seen them perform spells. At least I
have a little knowledge.

I pull in a breath. I can do this. I don’t
have any other option.

“You’re going to let me help decorate your
place, right?” Cheyenne asks.

I look at her. “It’s temporary.”

“You still need to feel comfortable. And how
temporary is temporary really? At the very least, you need
furniture. I can help. I know a guy.”

“What does that mean, you know a guy?”

She laughs. “He runs a consignment store. He
has furniture. He’ll probably give us a discount on pieces that
aren’t selling.”

“Oh.” I think about it, then nod. “Okay. Just
a few things, though.”

She stands again, grabbing a sheet of paper
and sliding on a pair of glasses. “Good. Let’s make a list and I’ll
see what he has.”

“But the spell‒”

“We’ll get supplies, too, and do the spell
this afternoon or tonight. I can leave at three.”

~ ~ ~

The bed frame was easy. But Cheyenne and I
aren’t so adept at muscling a queen-sized mattress up the front
steps and onto the porch. Her “guy” delivered the big furniture in
his truck but had to get back to work. So now we have a truckload
of pieces on the front lawn.

“I really wish you could levitate this thing
or something,” Cheyenne says, grunting.

“Don’t you have super strength?”

“Yeah, I can lift my end easily, it’s your
end we’re having a problem with. I don’t want to just drag it
across the floor.”

Her voice is muffled on the other side of the
mattress inside the door.

“What the hell?” I hear from behind me.

I glance over my shoulder and see Ryan. His
hands are on his hips and he’s frowning.

“I said I’d help you this afternoon.”

I give him the sweetest smile I can manage.
“It’s the afternoon. Will you help?”

He makes a noise of frustration low in his
throat and takes my end.

“Is that Ryan I hear out there?” Cheyenne
calls.

“Let’s go,” Ryan says in return.

Between the two of them, they haul the
mattress in easily, and then the rest of the furniture. I’m not
sure if it’s so effortless for Ryan because he’s a shifter or just
because he’s built, but he makes moving furniture look easy. And
good.

It’d look better with his shirt off, but I
can’t complain too much.

He walks into the bedroom as I’m making the
bed ten minutes later. He folds his arms and leans against the
wall. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as frustrating as
you.”

“I guess I’m really making an impression,
aren’t I?”

He narrows his eyes. “That wasn’t a
compliment.”

“Where’s Cheyenne?” I ask.

“She said she needed alcohol and supplies. I
didn’t ask questions.”

I finish putting on a pillowcase. “We’re
doing a spell tonight.”

He appraises me with a long look. “What kind
of spell?”

“A location spell. For the Book of Shadows. I
figure if I dreamed about it, it must be important.”

“Is it dangerous?”

I smile. “Are you concerned about me?”

A muscle flexes in his jaw. “You know I
am.”

My smile disappears. I walk over and take his
hand. It’s warm and strong around mine. “I’m sorry. No, I don’t
think it’s dangerous. But you can stay and watch if you want. Just
in case.”

He brushes his thumb on my jaw. “I think I
will.”

Before I can lean in, he turns and strolls
out of the room. I deflate. Yeah, so he’s still mad at me. I get
it. Once we do the spell and have a plan, we’ll all have a little
more breathing room. Hopefully. And I can make it up to Ryan.

Cheyenne returns with a load of bags. She
dumps most of them on the coffee table and hands another to
Ryan.

“I bought some beer since you helped move,”
she says.

He pulls out a six pack with a grin. “Looks
like I’ll be staying for a while.”

I roll my eyes, but I’m glad he’s staying.
I’m nervous about the spell. And even more nervous I’ll see
something I’m not prepared for.

“I bought wine, too,” Cheyenne says, “but
it’s kind of early for that. Maybe we should try the spell
first.”

Ryan returns and pops the top on a beer
before handing it to me. “Not too early for beer. Relax.”

It’s good advice, but my stomach’s filled
with nerves. I take a long swallow of the beer and crouch at the
coffee table with Cheyenne. She pulls out candles and a handful of
crystals.

“I have no idea what to do with this,” I say.
When I saw witches in the past do their spells each one had their
own routine. Some used crystals and some used herbs and others just
candles and the outdoors. “I hope it’s all up for
interpretation.”

“As far as I know, it is. Ryan, can you get
the blinds? We need…ambiance.”

She helps me set up the candles while Ryan
darkens the room. We place them in between the points of the
pentagon shape drawn on a mat in front of us. She slips open a book
a skims her finger over the page. “You’ve seen someone do a spell
before, right?”

I nod. “Relax, stay open, call to the
elements, focus on what you want or say some words to activate a
spell, and then close…it.”

“Close it?” Ryan asks, lifting his brows. He
sits on the couch, his beer hanging from one hand while he
scratches his chin with the other.

“Yes,” Cheyenne says. “Give thanks to the
elements, kind of a blessing or whatever, and then Willow’s
done.”

“But I’ve seen it done more simply without
all the pomp and circumstance. For now, I’ll go by the book.” I
take another swig of beer. “Okay, let’s do this before I change my
mind.”

Cheyenne fiddles in her bag for a lighter.
Inspired, I channel the same energy I did today with Logan. Just
the idea of him makes anger spark and I find the flames easily. I
shoot them toward the candles.

The candles light, flickering high once
before settling to a normal size. Both Ryan and Cheyenne jerk
back.

“Shit,” Ryan says, scooting over on the couch
some. “Give a guy some warning. Almost spilled my beer.”

I send him a nervous smile, amazed it worked
so well‒and so precisely. I didn’t set anyone on fire.

“Ignore him,” Cheyenne says. “You did good.
Now, relax and call the elements.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes,
focusing my energy, trying to make sure I have complete control of
it. I don’t move for so long, I finally feel a hand on my back.
Ryan.

“I call on the elements,” I say. “Earth, air,
wind, and fire.”

Cheyenne nods at me from across the coffee
table. The flames flicker and it’s like I can feel energy all
around me. In the air, in my body, underneath me. All the way down
to my fingertips.

I say a simple spell seeking the location of
my Book of Shadows and add, “As I will, so let it be,” onto the end
because it sounds more official.

The flames flicker again. I don’t know what I
expect. Maybe a whisper, a flash of a location‒something
subtle.

Instead, it hits me hard, knocking me back
against the ground. I close my eyes as visions flood my brain.

A sliding panel, dark, dank walls. And a book
shoved in between a crack. It’s cold. Cold enough, I‒

“Willow.”

My eyelids flutter, my chest heaving with
sharp, heavy breaths. Two faces hover over me. Cheyenne and
Ryan.

“Willow,” Ryan says, “wake up.”

His hands are brushing my cheeks, distracting
me. I try to push them aside.

“I was just starting to see something,” I
mumble.

He catches my hands in his, eyes serious.
“You were out for five minutes.”