Firewalker (19 page)

It took a moment for someone to respond. Tristan crossed to Rowan and shoved him to the floor. “You bastard,” he said, standing over Rowan.

“Tristan,” Lily began, taking a step forward to intervene.

“No, Lily. I thought Rowan was doing this big noble thing by going home, but you didn't say anything about us having to burn you to get him there,” Tristan shouted.

“Yeah, I have to agree with Tristan on this,” Breakfast said hesitantly. “I mean—what do we do? Tie you to a stake?”

“Yes,” Lily answered. Breakfast's smile dissolved. “It's pretty intense.”

“Okay, time out,” Una said, pulling on Tristan's arm until he moved back enough to allow Rowan to stand. “I'm sure Rowan would never do anything to endanger Lily's life, so why don't you tell us what level of damage we're talking about here. Bad-day-at-the-beach kind of burn, or meltdown-at-the-power-plant kind of burn?”

“She'll be okay if you three are properly trained,” Rowan answered calmly. “Look, this isn't going to happen tomorrow. Lily still needs to
find
my world.”

“Don't worry about that,” Lily replied, looking away. She knew Lillian would guide her if she decided to worldjump. In fact, there was little chance Lily would be able to ignore Lillian once she entered the spirit world.

“How are you going to find Rowan's world?” Breakfast asked.

“It's called spirit walking. Your spirit leaves your body and you send it into parallel universes. It's a talent that runs in certain families,” Lily answered, looking at Breakfast meaningfully. “My mom and your uncle do it all the time without even trying.”

Breakfast put a hand to his head. “Oh, no way,” he said slowly as understanding dawned on him. “My uncle's actually
in
another world?”

“His spirit is,” Lily replied.

“Sweet,” Breakfast said appreciatively.

Rowan regarded Breakfast through calculating eyes for a moment, and then looked out the window. “The sun's almost down,” he said. “As soon as Juliet gets here we can go to the beach and get back to combat training.” Something caught his eye. He went to the window and moved the curtain. “There's someone sitting in the car parked across the street.”

Tristan was by Rowan's side in a moment. “That's Scot's car,” he said. “I'll handle him.”

Una's arm shot out and she stopped Tristan. “Breakfast. Why don't you go out and have a chat with dear old Scot?”

Breakfast hurried outside and crouched over the driver's-side window. After a few minutes, the car drove off and he returned with a troubled look on his face.

“What'd he say?” Lily asked.

“He really wanted to talk to you, Lily. He looked pretty strung out,” Breakfast replied.

“He's not going to stop,” Rowan said darkly. “The farther you push him away, the more desperate he'll become.”

“Well, what can I do about it?” Lily asked, frustrated. “Let him sit with us at lunch?”

“Claim him,” Rowan replied.

A short, surprised laugh burst out of her. “You're joking.”

“I'm not.”

“Do you have any idea what he tried to do to Lily?” Tristan asked angrily.

Rowan glared at Tristan, silencing him, and then looked at Lily. “Unclaimed, Scot's a wild card. Claimed, you can do whatever you want with him.”

Lily stared at Rowan with her mouth open. “That's why
she
claimed Carrick,” she whispered.

Rowan nodded slowly. “And Gideon before him,” he added. “You have to start thinking tactically, Lily. Claiming isn't just about surrounding yourself with loving people who adore you. It's about keeping your enemies in check. You need to claim Scot as soon as possible. Today.”

Lily's stomach turned at the thought of being inside Scot's mind. “I can't, Rowan.”

Rowan backed off, but he looked at Tristan. Lily was miffed to see understanding pass between the two of them. Somehow, Rowan always seemed to end up with Tristan on his side.

Juliet arrived, shedding books and winter layers as she made her way from the garage to the living room. She paused when she sensed the tense atmosphere. “What'd I miss?” she asked.

While her mechanics explained the whole sordid mess with Scot to Juliet over dinner, Lily and Rowan stayed quiet. She could feel Rowan's mind constantly brushing against hers, asking for entry, until she snapped.

Stop it, Rowan. I don't want you in my head right now.

Show me what happened between you and Scot. I saw a fragment of that memory when you claimed me, but not the whole thing.

Why? You're leaving. I'm done sharing myself with you.

She felt the sting in Rowan's chest as keenly as he did. Worse, even. Lily realized that the problem with loving someone more than she loved herself was that when she hurt him, she was the one who was hurt the most.

When it was dark, the group went down to the beach and built a bonfire. They trained until dawn. Rowan barely let any of them sit for a moment to rest.

“Dude. We have school in the morning,” Breakfast complained, panting.

“When you get to school, you can take energy from Lily,” he replied unsympathetically. “With a witch to fuel you, you can go days without sleeping or eating.”

“And what about me?” Lily asked.

Rowan wouldn't meet her eyes. “I have herbs that will keep you energized. You'll be fine.”

You want them trained as soon as possible so you can leave as soon as possible, right?

He didn't answer her, but she could feel that sting in his chest again. Hurting him hurt her, but she couldn't seem to stop doing it.

When Rowan finally said they were finished for the night, Lily and Juliet trudged up from the beach alongside each other with the rest of the group several paces behind.

“I'm actually okay with the no sleeping thing,” Juliet said, yawning. “Been having horrible nightmares, anyway.”

Lily's skin pricked. “About what?” she asked in a low voice.

“Dad. He was getting—”

“Tortured,” Lily finished for her. The sisters looked at each other, their faces mirroring the other's dread. They both broke into a run at the same time.

“Lily, wait,” Rowan yelled.

They didn't stop. Lily and Juliet ran side by side, their fear entangled. “Please, no. Please make it have been a dream,” the sisters chanted under their breath.

When they were still a block away, the sisters could see a police cruiser and an unmarked car parked outside their house. Their legs got rubbery and heavy as they stumbled across their front yard. They saw their mother standing at the door in a tatty old bathrobe, surrounded by officers and Agent Simms. Samantha's hair was a ball of angry red tangles and her eyes swam with confusion that bordered on hysteria.

“Girls!” she called out, the pitch of her voice sliding up to a shriek. “It's your father!”

Lily and Juliet stopped running at the same time. They knew instinctively that running wouldn't help anyway. Their father was already dead.

 

CHAPTER

8

The police were there for hours. Tristan and Rowan got questioned first. Rowan, because he didn't have any form of identification he could give to the police, and Tristan, because the authorities had gotten accustomed to suspecting him of foul play where the Proctor family was concerned. Rowan handled the questions calmly. Tristan was defensive and confrontational, especially with Simms.

At some point, the police turned their attention to Lily. They told her that they knew about the bonfires on the beach. They'd also heard that odd things were happening down there. Strange, howling noises had been reported, and eerie, pulsing lights had been seen from a distance.

Lily could barely discern their muffled questions through the monotonous hum that had taken over her mind. She saw their lips moving, but it took time for her to string their words together. In her thoughts she played the “nightmare” she'd had about her dad over and over.

The beating he'd taken had been real. The blood. The begging. Carrick's face looming above—watching the pain he inflicted with such hungry interest. And she had ignored it. She could have found him, saved him, but she hadn't believed it could be real. She hadn't believed Lillian would ever go that far. Her father had never understood why he was being hurt, but Lily understood.
Now
she did, anyway.

“Miss Proctor? Lily?” an officer asked.

“She's in shock,” someone else answered.

Lily realized they were talking about her and sat up straighter. “Bonfire,” she repeated. She looked at the faces of the officers and realized that she was alone with them. They'd separated her from the rest of the group.

Rowan?

There you are! You fell so deeply into yourself I couldn't reach you. You really scared me. Don't give them any information, Lily.

I don't even understand what they're saying.

Good. Say that to them. Say you don't understand what's going on. Say we were on the beach for fun.

“I don't understand what's going on,” Lily parroted numbly.

The officers exchanged looks. Simms sat down opposite Lily, and the look on her face was of real concern. “The nature of your father's death points to certain ritualistic practices,” she said carefully.

“What does that mean?”

“Tell us about your friends Rowan and Tristan,” Simms said, ignoring Lily's question.

Lily shook her head slowly. “Tell you
what
about them?”

“Well, for instance, who had the idea to start building bonfires?”

“I'm pretty sure kids have been building bonfires on the beach since there was a such thing as fire,” Lily replied. “I don't know who suggested it first.”

The officers exchanged more looks. “Have you ever heard of Wicca?”

Lily burst out laughing. “I'm sorry,” she said, collecting herself. “This is
Salem
. Of course I've heard of it.”

“Your father was beaten savagely by an unusually strong person and he was found with symbols cut into his skin,” Simms said. Her tone turned on a dime when she saw Lily flinch. She looked at Lily with compassion. “You know your mother is very unstable.”

“Where is she?” Lily asked urgently.

“Sleeping. Your sister, Juliet, gave her a sedative when she got, ah, confused,” said one of the other officers gently. They pitied her. Lily could see it in their eyes.

“You know the sooner we catch whoever did this, the easier it will be on her,” Simms continued. She always knew there was more to this story, and now she was determined to hear it. “I know you have relationships with these two boys, and that your group of friends got very close very quickly. You may feel loyalty to them, but think about your mother. Please, talk to me. Tell me what happened to you. You didn't go to some Native American holistic clinic, did you. Lily, there's a
cauldron
hanging in your fireplace. Tell me what Tristan and Rowan did to you.”

“We go down to the beach to party. That's it.”

Simms nodded, disappointed. “Did you know I was from Beverly? That's why I got your case—because I understand the area and know the people. I used to party on that beach. Same spot, too.” She gave Lily a conspiratorial look, like they were buddies. “But in my day we used to go there to drink, smoke, hook up, and eat takeout. Every now and again someone would have weed. You know what the strange thing is about
your
bonfire?” Again, Simms's tone changed swiftly. “No empties, no cigarette butts. Not even a hint of marijuana. We couldn't even find a Taco Bell wrapper. Just footprints in the sand.”

Lily kept her mouth shut and slid back into her own head. Everything around her turned into static. Simms put a card in her hand, in case Lily “remembered” anything else. The police officers stood up, milled around, wandered in and out of the room, until finally one of them said something about being sorry for her loss, and they all left. Lily sat in her chair, not really seeing or hearing anything. She could feel her coven waiting for her in the living room. They were worried, sad, and stricken. She smelled the smoke from a fire being stoked in the fireplace.

Lillian. How could you? He was your father, too.

I've had to make a lot of tough decisions in my life. I've had to sacrifice my personal feelings many times. But I remember what I'm fighting for. Come back, Lily. Come back and no one else has to die.

Did you think killing my father would make me agree with you? Sympathize with you?

No. You'll always hate me for this. Just so you know, I didn't order Carrick to hurt him first, and he will be punished before the end. Hate me or not, you'll agree with me once you know the whole truth.

You better watch your back, Lillian. Carrick isn't the only one who's going to get punished for this.

Lily shoved Lillian out of her mind like she was slamming a door. She stood up and went into the living room. Juliet was crying on the sofa. Breakfast sat on one side of her, scared out of his mind, and Una sat on the other side, holding Juliet's hand. Tristan and Rowan were standing in front of the fire, waiting for Lily.

“What the
hell
?” Breakfast said, his voice shaking.

“They have no physical evidence any of us were involved,” Una said in a level tone. “There's no way they can pin this on us. Period.”

“They can make our lives miserable, though,” Tristan said quietly. “And they can do it for as long as they want. Agent Simms made that clear.”

Rowan shook his head and sighed. “Lillian didn't have Carrick kill Lily's father to get you all in trouble. She did it to send a message.”