Burned (Keeper of the Flame) (23 page)

I’m surprised. He’s never said anything about
being able to feel my power. Then again, I don’t really have much.
But still.

Logan leans against the door, smiling at me.
“I can feel your power, too.”

My throat dries.

He nods as if I protested. “I can. It’s
different. Not as calm. But I can feel it.”

“But you don’t have me locked in a room.”

“Do I need to lock you in a room?”

I shake my head.

He laughs and points. “Do you want to see
her?”

Nerves swirl in my stomach. I haven’t seen my
mom in years. She probably won’t even recognize me. And what do I
say to her?
Hey, once we’re done dealing with the vampires, you
want to get a drink?

“She’s sedated,” Logan says.

“What?”

“Like I said, it’s safer.”

I’m torn between outrage and acceptance.
Sedated means she isn’t hurting. She’s just sleeping. And she’s
safe.

“You want to see her now?” Logan asks.

I nod.

He unbolts the door, then pulls a key from
his pocket and undoes the lock. He pushes it open a few feet.

I’m surprised again. The room is dim but
comfortable. A queen-sized bed, a chaise lounge in the corner,
fluffy pillows and a plush comforter. She’s sleeping on her side,
face turned to us. She looks peaceful.

She looks like me.

I’m suspended in the doorway, too scared to
walk in. Rationally, I know she’s not going to wake up. But I still
don’t want to move.

“How long has it been?” Logan asks from
beside me.

“A long time,” I whisper.

“Maybe things will be different now.”

He says it like we can be reunited. Like we
have a chance to get to know each other once the spell is done.
Like he’ll let us go.

For a moment, I believe him.

But I still can’t do the spell. And the first
chance I have to be alone, I’m going to get in contact with Ryan
and Cheyenne. I don’t have much more of a plan than that. Oh, and
maybe break the spell around his house so Ryan can get on Logan’s
property. Just in case.

I back out of the room, almost relieved my
mother’s asleep. I don’t think I’m ever going to know exactly what
to say to her.

Logan locks the door again. When he faces me,
I can’t read his expression. “Ready to get to work?”

“Why is your sister here?”

He glances away. “She isn’t feeling
well.”

I swallow. “I’m sorry.”

“She’ll be fine.”

The emotion in his voice is controlled, but I
can still hear it. He must care for his sister a lot to bring her
here while he’s dealing with me and the spell.

“Are we done here?” he asks.

“Yes.”

He locks the door again and I make a mental
note where he puts the key, what kind of lock is on the
door‒everything I can.

“You’re quiet,” Logan says as he leads me
back up the stairs.

“I don’t know what to say.”

He gestures to the library. “Let’s work,
then.”

My steps slow when we walk inside. My eyes
instantly flash to the desk where Logan and I worked last time. I
swallow. Where we did more than work. I automatically look for the
letter opener, my throat tightening up. But it’s gone.

“Come on,” Logan says, pressing a hand
against the small of my back. “We can’t work if you won’t even go
in.”

I straighten and nod. If he can work in here
after I stabbed him, I guess I can, too.

I sit at the table. Logan perches on the
edge. He drops my bag on the surface. “You can use your book. And I
have your mother’s. We’re looking for something to reverse a spell,
or to restore things to their natural order. Anything that will
take away the curse.”

I stare at him blankly. How am I going to
find that? And even if I do, the spell sounds so gigantic, I don’t
know if I’ll be able to handle it.

“It might help if I could talk to my mom.
She’d probably know more about this than me.”

He shakes his head. “She’s even more stubborn
than you. And she wouldn’t tell me anything. Let’s work with what
we have and go from there.”

I sigh and slump in the seat. I press my
hands over my face. “Logan, please…you don’t understand.”

“I understand you haven’t even tried.
Willow,” he snaps and I pull my hands away. “Look at me.”

I blow out a breath, meeting his eyes.
“What?”

“I need you to try.”

What I need to do is contact Ryan somehow.
And get my mother out of here. And stop Logan from getting the
spell done. But none of those tasks is realistic with him sitting
right here, clearly in distrust.

“Okay.” I nod. “But I might not be able to do
too much unless I know how the original spell was done.”

He straightens. “We’ll cross that bridge when
we get to it.”

I open my Book of Shadows, paging through the
first part fairly quickly.
Shapeshifters, vampires,
werewolves
, and the list goes on. All information I need to
know but don’t have time for right now.

My hand freezes when I get to the next
section.
Protecting an Area
. I quickly turn the page before
Logan notices. I
need
that spell. If Logan’s property is
protected from other supernatural beings, myself excluded, then
maybe I can figure out how to reverse it.

“What?” Logan asks, narrowing his eyes at
me.

“Nothing. Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“I…” I think quickly, then smile when a
legitimate idea occurs to me. “Selena.”

He hops off the top of the table and stands
behind a chair. “What about her?”

“I keep seeing her‒especially when I’m at the
Shadow Hill Hotel.” I leave out the part about how she gave me my
necklace. About how she keeps trying to help me against vampires.
“Maybe if I could…try to contact her again, she’ll help me.”

“Help you how?”

I stand, start to pace. “I don’t know. Either
tell me how to reverse the spell or what original spell was done in
the first place.”

He folds his arms, looking like he doesn’t
believe me. “Can you do it from here?”

“I can try.”

“Is she the one who showed you where your
Book of Shadows was?” he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know. It was just a
vision.”

A scary, breath-taking vision that had
knocked me out completely. But it worked.

“You look nervous.” He steps closer and my
breathing quickens. “Tell me.”

I drop my chin to my chest. I’m more scared
of it not working than it working, but I still need him to keep
trusting me. “It’s just…last time I kind of passed out.”

He frowns.

“And stopped breathing. For just a
minute.”

There. Now he’s going to know this is a risk
for me, too. Maybe he’ll give me more space.

His eyes meet mine, none of the influence
there now. Just blue. And concern. “Do you think we can find
another way?”

“How fast do you want to figure this
out?”

His jaw clenches.

“I know,” I say before he can. “Fast.”

“Can you do it?”

I take a deep breath. “I think so.”

“Here? Now?”

I glance around. “Can I have something to
drink first? Water?”

He nods. I expect him to tell me to come with
him to the kitchen, but he gestures to the chair. “Stay here.”

I sit obediently and fold my hands on the
table. He leaves and I hear the lock turn on the outside of the
door. I don’t care, this is right where I want to be. Alone.

I reach into my pocket and pull out
Cheyenne’s library card.

I rush the projection, shooting myself toward
the library. I appear next to Cheyenne’s desk. Ryan’s there, too,
and he feels my presence right away. He turns, sees me, and his
eyes widen. Cheyenne straightens in her chair, and then smiles.

“That was fast,” she says.

“No time. I’m at Logan’s. I’m fine‒and so is
my mom. I’m going to try to contact Selena to see if she can
help.”

“Willow.” Ryan reaches out and his fingers
brush my arm. Warm and strong. I want to lean into him, but I can’t
lose focus. “That’s dangerous.”

“Logan thinks she’s going to help us. It’s my
best chance at figuring out a way out of this. Maybe out of his
house, too. I’m also going to try to get rid of the protection
spell around his property.”

Ryan reaches for me, pulling me close. I bury
my face against his chest, wanting to sink into him and forget all
about Logan, my mom, and the spell. Something tugs at me. Before I
can say goodbye, I’m ripped from Ryan’s arms.

My eyes flash open just as Logan walks
through the door. He gives me a curious look and I try to cover up
my unease with humor.

“You said stay here, so I did.”

He lifts his brows. “Didn’t expect you to
listen.”

Logan hands me the water and I drink a long
gulp because I don’t know what else to say. I have a plan, but I’m
not going to be able to do anything if he hovers. I casually flip
through the pages of the book, passing the protection spell
again.

I need to remove the supernatural boundaries
around Logan’s house. I think I might only need to voice it, but
I’m not sure my powers are strong enough. I feel like I’m getting
in over my head.

“What do you need?” Logan asks. When I shoot
him a curious look, he adds, “To talk to Selena.”

“Oh. Uh…usually she talks to me when I’m at
the hotel.”

“We’re not going to the hotel.”

I glare at him. “I know that.” At least for
now. “But I’m trying to figure this out, okay? All this is still
new to me. Probably some candles and maybe‒the necklace.”

Logan folds his arms. “Why?”

“Because it links me to her since she’s one
of my ancestors. Hopefully it’ll help me to communicate with her‒or
get in touch with her or however it works.” When he doesn’t
respond, I say, “Come on. It’s a small necklace. There’s not much I
can do with it. I’ll give it back when I’m done‒even though it’s
mine.”

“Fine.” He moves to the door. “Candles. I’ll
be right back.”

His footsteps fade and I flip to the page on
protecting an area. Just like I thought, I’ll only need a few
words.
And
a piece of the property. I glance around. It’s
not just the house that’s protected, it’s the entire patch of land
on this side of the road. I’ll need something from outside.

I curse under my breath when Logan comes
back. One thing at a time. First, I have to contact Selena.

Logan scatters the candles on the table. He
reaches in his pocket again, but I take the liberty of lighting the
candles with my magic. They flare up first before flickering like
normal.

His eyes capture mine. “Do not even
think
about using these candles as a weapon against me.”

“Still mad about the letter opener?”

He props his hands on the table and leans in.
“You’re lucky I heal fast.”

I smile at him. “You’re lucky I don’t press
charges.”

He laughs, low and deep. “Maybe we should get
this done first. Then we can argue.”

“Fine by me.”

I sit at the table and hold out my hand.
“Necklace, please.”

He pulls the handkerchief from his pocket and
passes it over. I take the necklace out. It hums warm in my hand.
I’ve never felt that before, but it’s a symbol. That it’s mine.
That it belongs to me. And that Selena and I are linked.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Be patient. Let me
focus.”

He nods, waiting on the other side of the
table.

I stare for a long moment at the candles,
making my breathing even. Then I squeeze the necklace and close my
eyes.

“Selena,” I whisper.

I try reaching out with my mind.
Can you
hear me? I need you
.

Tendrils of ice snake into my body. I shiver
and squeeze the necklace tighter. I hear Logan say my name, but I
can’t open my eyes.

Willow…
Her voice whispers into my
mind. Then she says,
Follow me
.

I’m behind the panel in the Shadow Hill Hotel
again. This time, her cool fingers grip my wrist and pull. I
stumble after her through the tunnel, walking blinding, torn
between terror and curiosity.

I try to speak, try to tell her what I need,
but my mouth won’t work. We stumble several more feet until the
room opens up. A see a dim light from farther away. Selena releases
me and I walk toward it, trying to get my bearings.

Soon I can see where the light is coming
from. An opening. We’re in a cave.

Look
, Selena whispers.

I lift my head. And all around me, the walls
of the cave are sparkling. Specks of purple and white glimmering in
the light.

Amethyst.

Bring him here
, Selena says.

Air fills my lungs. There’s pressure on my
mouth. My eyelids flutter.

“That’s it,” Logan says. “Breathe,
Willow.”

I pull in a shaky breath, Logan’s face coming
into focus. I’m lying on the floor in the library, propped up by
Logan’s arm. He’s shaking his head.

“You weren’t lying.”

I blink, staring at his strong jaw. I cough.
“Why would I lie about that?”

“You stopped breathing,” he says, closing his
eyes briefly. “I didn’t‒”

He breaks off and I shift in his arms.
Amethyst. The cave. I have to get Logan there. And I have to tell
Ryan and Cheyenne that’s where we’re going.

I sit up, clenching an arm around my stomach.
I’m still holding the necklace in my other hand.

“I don’t feel very good,” I mumble.

He eases back, looking unsure.

I stand, gripping the chair by the table. “I
need‒”

I dart for the door, keeping my arm around my
stomach. I run straight to the bathroom and slam the door behind
me. I hear Logan’s footsteps outside.

“Willow?” he asks, concern in his voice.

I almost feel guilty when I groan, faking how
badly the episode made me feel. This might be my only chance. I
yank the library card from my pocket and close my eyes.