Otherworld 11 - Waking the Witch (22 page)

“
D
o you think this is going to help?” Leah yelled. “You’ve been poisoned. You have no idea what it is. You get that, don’t you? Please don’t tell me you’re going to get all noble and sacrifice yourself to save the countless innocents I might kill if I’m allowed to live.”

She laughed. “No, Paige hasn’t rubbed off on you that much. You’re still your mother’s daughter. You don’t give a damn about my future victims.”

I held my breath as she walked past me.

“Do you really think I’m going to go on a killing rampage?” she continued. “You know me better than that, Savannah. I don’t enjoy killing. I just don’t mind it. If no one gets in my way, I’ll be happy to live a nice, boring, murder-free life. I even tossed you a bone with Cody, by killing him and making it look like a suicide. I left evidence at his house that’ll finger him as Claire’s killer and will suggest he offed the trailer trash twins, Ginny and Brandi. Then he came here and shot the guard before killing himself. He’ll get blamed for everything—hell, probably even for his wife—and he won’t be around to argue. All the murders are solved and little Kayla can stay with Granny. That’s what you want, right?”

She walked a few more steps.

“You don’t believe me about the poison, do you? You think it’s not fatal. You think you have enough time to get away.”

Her voice kept moving away. I tensed, ready to dart out and get farther. Just get far enough away to start my sensing spell and find Adam.

She’d stopped talking, though, so I couldn’t tell where she was. I strained for the clomp of Jesse’s boots on the concrete. Then I heard the swish of fabric moving along the floor. A thump. Then another. Leah was dragging someone.

My heart stopped. She passed me, dragging the bound-and-gagged body of the homeless guy. I could breathe again and sucked in air a little too hard. She stopped and looked around.

“Close by, I think. Close enough to watch a demonstration? I hope so.”

She pulled a syringe from her pocket. I knew what was coming. And I knew I shouldn’t do anything about it.

Paige would do something without a second thought. Lucas would pause to analyze the situation, but he wouldn’t sit by and watch an innocent man die.

But I
was
my mother’s daughter and I could analyze this situation in the cold light of reason and say, “There’s nothing I can do. Nothing I
should
do.” I was too sick and too helpless without my spells.

Save myself. Save Adam. Whoever this guy was, I couldn’t save him.

It was so simple. Logically, it was so simple. And yet, as the man struggled, his eyes rolling in terror, I realized I wasn’t completely my mother’s daughter. Not anymore.

She pushed the needle into the man’s neck. I leaped forward. The blur spell broke and she twisted out of the way, fingers still on the syringe, pressing down the plunger as I cast a binding spell. It failed. I cast again. It failed.

I ran at Leah. She backhanded me, sending me flying off my feet again.

“Damn,” she said as she walked over to me, lying on the floor. “As much as I liked being a chick, there are definitely advantages to having a guy’s strength.”

She stomped on my stomach and I let out a howl. She hauled me up by my hair and I threw up, splattering the floor with everything in my stomach.

“That might make you feel better, but the poison’s in your bloodstream.”

She whipped me around to see the homeless guy convulsing on the floor. His eyes rolled and I was sure he was screaming, but all that escaped the gag was a horrible mewling sound.

“Doesn’t look too comfortable, does he? It’ll all be over soon, though. For him, at least. That was a double dose.”

I fought to get up. She let me, then delivered a right hook to my stomach and I went down again, doubled over in agony.

She grabbed my hair again and forced me to look at the homeless guy, dead now, wild eyes staring, face and body contorted.

“Kids these days don’t take anyone’s word for anything,” she said. “You need proof. So I provided it. I’m hoping that will be enough, but if it isn’t, I’m willing to indulge you with a second lesson. I have someone else in the back room just dying to help me out.”

Adam. I looked at the homeless guy and threw up again.

“Don’t like that idea, I see,” Leah said. “Really got it bad for Fire Boy, don’t you? Can’t see the attraction myself. A nice guy, but nice isn’t right for you, Savannah. Too vanilla. I’d be doing you a favor, you know, getting rid of—”

“What do you want?” I rasped, throat raw from retching.

“I’ve already told you. Call Mommy Dearest.”

“My cell doesn’t work in here.”

“Still haven’t lost your bite, huh? You’re right. It doesn’t. Handy thing, a cell phone blocker. But this call will get right past it.”

“If you think I have a spell to contact my mother—”

“Then draining your spell power would have been really dumb, wouldn’t it? Just concentrate really, really hard and call Mommy.”

“You’re nuts.”

“Mmm, possibly. But I’m pretty sure it will work. Eve is out there right now, looking for me, and she’s always looking out for you. That made things tough, I’ll tell you—getting close to you while she’s hunting me. Luckily, I have two addresses these days. Jesse Aanes and a gal in Connecticut. I let Eve find hideout number two, and she’s been chasing that body ... while I keep popping back here. Now it’s time to give her the forwarding address. You call, she comes, we negotiate.”

“What if she doesn’t hear me?”

“Then you’d better try harder.”

When I said nothing, she yanked my hair again. “Don’t even think about getting noble on me, Savannah. I’ve got Adam, remember?”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I doubled over, concentrating with everything I had.

She relaxed her grip on my hair a little. “That’s better. Now just let out a big old mental distress call and Mommy will come—”

The chattering of metal cut her short. I didn’t open my eyes to see what was happening, just kept focusing, drawing on my power the way I had only once before, when Leah had told me my father had had Paige killed. I pretend that I don’t remember that day, but I do. All of it, as much as I try to forget.

Now I needed to draw on that power again.

More clattering and chattering. Then a squeal as some piece of machinery moved. A crash as something fell over.

“Damn, girl,” Leah said. “Even doped up, you can set a room shaking. You just have to put your mind to it.”

I kept focusing, feeling the energy fill me. Around us, everything rattled and shook. A wind whipped up. Then came an awful, spine-twanging wail. Something whipped past me. Leah sucked in her breath.

“I do believe that’s Mommy,” she said with a chuckle.

The wailing grew louder, coming from every side now. Ghosts? Demons? Earth spirits? I didn’t know. Didn’t care. They were just a byproduct of what I was trying to do. I kept my eyes shut as my power rose.

“Savannah?” Leah’s voice quavered just a little. “Um, you might want to take it down a notch, kiddo. You’re calling up every—”

I leaped up and hit her with a knockback spell. She flew into a metal rack. As she tried to recover, I hit her again and she went down. Around us, spirits whistled and moaned. The very building seemed to shake.

“What the hell are you doing?” she shouted over the din.

“Sending you back where you belong.”

“Then you’d better pack your own bags, kiddo, because if I go, you do, too. There’s no way you’ll make it to a hospital in time. Even if you did, by the time they figure out which poison it is, you’ll be dead.”

“That’s a chance I’m willing to take.”

My voice was eerily calm.
I
was eerily calm. I could hear my mother’s voice, telling me not to be stupid. Save myself. But the voice was faint, overruled by my own.

If Leah was given a free pass, she’d use it. She’d kill anyone who got in her way, and when the day came that she got in trouble again, she’d know how to get help. Come after me. Threaten my friends and my family.

I knew what I had to do.

Leah leaped at me. I hit her with another knockback. I could feel my energy ebbing, the fever burning so hot I could barely see. Around me, the spirits started to fade, my power fading with them.

No time to delay. I’d made my choice. Now finish it.

I cast a binding spell. Leah froze. While holding her, I closed my eyes and concentrated until sweat poured down my face, dripping onto the floor.

Mom? Are you out there? I need you.

I bent over, fists clenched, calling and calling and calling, as I had that day all those years ago, feeling the house shaking around me, the spirits rising, every spirit but the one I wanted and I’d kept calling until finally ...

A faint whisper. “Savannah ...”

My head jerked up, eyes flying open.

“Mom?”

I struggled to focus. My eyes burned. My legs ached holding me up. The building seemed to sway.

“Savannah ...”

A shape appeared, so faint I could see only an outline with a weird blue glow dangling at its side. But I knew it was her. I knew.

“I heard you were looking for someone.” I waved at Leah. “I got her for you, Mom.”

I struggled to smile. The room flickered, like the lights were about to go out. Beside me, Leah’s eyes blazed and it took everything I had to hold the binding spell as she fought to get free, to tell my mom about the poison, to make the deal.

“Don’t listen to anything she says, Mom,” I said, my voice hoarse, every word a struggle. “She’s going to lie and tell you I’m in trouble. I’m okay. Adam’s here. He’ll get me help. We figured everything out and foiled her plan. So don’t listen to anything she says. Just take her away.”

The figure moved toward me. I called on every ounce of strength I had to stand tall, not to let her see how sick I was. She leaned toward me, embracing me, and I felt it. I swore I felt it.

“So proud of you,” she whispered.

“Take her,” I said. “My spells aren’t working so good—something she gave me. But I’m fine. Just take her before the binding breaks. And whatever she says, don’t listen.”

My mother moved away then, and that weird blue glow rose. Leah’s eyes rolled. Absolute terror filled them and I drank that in, let it fill
me.
The glow sliced down like a blade, passing right through Jesse’s body, leaving no mark. A scream. A terrible scream. Then Jesse’s body fell over, Leah’s spirit gone.

“I’m okay, Mom,” I said again, barely above a whisper. “Don’t listen to anything she—”

I hit the floor and the world went dark.

“S
avannah?” The voice was unrecognizable, choked with panic. Hands gripped my shoulders. “Come on, Savannah. Wake
up.
Just open your eyes. Please open your eyes.

I tried. I really tried. But the most I could do was flutter my eyelids enough to see Adam bent over me.

“That’s it. Just stay with me. Please stay with me.”

“Jesse...”

“He’s fine. He’s gone to call an ambulance.”

“I...”

“Don’t talk. Just stay with me, baby, okay? Stay with me.”

Everything went dark again.

I FELT LIKE I’d been dropped ten stories onto the subway tracks, electrocuted, then run over by a half-dozen trains. My muscles ached. My head pounded. Each breath took effort. I could hear the
blip-blip
of machines and smell the stink of overcooked lasagna, laced with antiseptic. Even with my eyes closed, the light scorched my eyeballs. Cold air blew over me, freezing everything except one hand, which was warm, cupped in someone’s. Fingers brushed hair from my forehead. Touched my cheek. Rested there a moment, then brushed the hair back again, lulling me to sleep.

When I woke again, someone was rubbing my shoulder, murmuring something I couldn’t make out.

With effort, I cracked open my eyes. It was Adam, pale under his tan, eyes bleary, hair standing up, like he’d been running his hands through it.

“You look like hell,” I whispered, throat aching with the strain.

He let out a shaky laugh, hand tightening on my shoulder.

“Not going to tell me I look worse?” I whispered.

“No.” He bent down, lips brushing my forehead. “You look great.”

I squeezed my eyes shut against a different ache. I wished he’d joked back. And I was glad he hadn’t.

“Guess Dr. Lee found an antidote, huh?” I said.

“He always had it. We just needed to know which poison it was. He figured it out from your symptoms and had it ready when we arrived. It was close, though. Too close.”

I craned my head to take in the room. I was in Dr. Lee’s clinic in Portland.

“Paige and Lucas aren’t here,” he said as he straightened. “I called a few times, but they must have been out for the day. They’re probably back by now. I’ll go call—”

I gripped his hand as he tried to walk away. “No.”

“They should know.”

I shook my head. “If Dr. Lee says I’ll be fine, then let them finish their vacation.”

His mouth tightened. “They
should
know, Savannah.”

“They will, when they get back.” I managed a smile. “If they get mad, blame me.”

Blame me.

I thought about Michael. About Claire. About that security guard. About the homeless guy.

“Savannah?” Adam leaned over me, face drawn with fresh worry.

“Just tired. Don’t call them, okay?” I tightened my grip on his hand. “Just stay.”

I DRIFTED OFF into nightmares. I was back on the scenic lookout with Michael. He was kissing me, telling me he wanted a third date, and over his shoulder, I could see Leah ready to push him over the cliff, and I tried to tell Michael to run, to get as far from me as he could, but he only laughed and kept kissing me.

The scene changed and I was in the sawmill with Adam, searching for Jesse. I told Adam to let me handle this, that it was my problem and he needed to get out, get away from me, but he just kept saying he’d protect me. Only he was the one who needed protecting ... from me.

I knew what happened wasn’t my fault, but I felt like it was, like I should have figured out something was up with Jesse.

Leah had chosen her target perfectly. Jesse was telekinetic, so she could use her powers and I’d never be the wiser. Lucas knew him and trusted him, which was an instant stamp of approval for me. And, in life, Leah had been a deputy sheriff, meaning she could pull off even the PI parts with ease. She’d found the perfect disguise and there was no reason I shouldn’t have fallen for it. No way I could have stopped her sooner. No way I could have saved Michael. But I couldn’t stop thinking it.

Every time I opened my eyes, though, Adam was there. Nothing I could say would make him leave my bedside. Finally, one of the nurses must have heard us arguing about that. She came in and said she had to work on me and he couldn’t be there. It’d be about an hour, so he should go get something to eat, and she’d have someone notify him when he could come back up.

I drifted off again as soon as Adam left. I couldn’t rest with him gone, though. I started dreaming that Leah was in my room, and I kept screaming at myself to wake up, but I couldn’t.

Rage boiled up inside me, impotent rage at Leah for everything she’d done. It roiled until it exploded and the room flashed against my eyelids. A cry of pain. A crash. Then the sound of running feet, a nurse saying “You can’t be here,” a voice protesting, not Leah’s, but a young woman’s, insisting she was a friend. The nurse hauled her out, and the dream slid away.

JESSE CAME BY, and we pieced together what had happened to him. He didn’t stay long. It was awkward, because I kept thinking of him as the guy I’d worked with, only he wasn’t. This was the first time I’d met the real Jesse Aanes. It felt weird talking to him now. But I was glad he was okay.

“I’M READY TO go,” I announced the next afternoon as I brushed my hair. Given how long my hair was—and that I’d been tossing and turning for almost twenty-four hours—the brushing was a major chore. I figured if I could accomplish that, I was ready for anything.

“When you can stay awake for more than an hour, we’ll consider it,” Adam said.

I swung my legs out of bed. “It’s been sixty-five minutes. Bring the Jeep around front—”

He grabbed my legs and pushed them back under the covers. “I was being sarcastic.”

“Too bad, I’m holding you to it. Now let go—”

“If you can’t make me, then you’re clearly not ready.”

“It’s always easy to find you two,” a voice said from the door. “Just follow the sounds of bickering.”

A red-haired woman in her late forties walked in, garnering a double take from a passing orderly half her age. If I pointed it out, she’d say it was only because he recognized her from her TV spots, but the truth is that Jaime Vegas is gorgeous. Even in a casual blouse and slacks, she exudes glamour.

She sailed over to my bedside, giving me a hug. She’d called Adam when he was still in the ambulance, and between them—and with Jesse’s help—they’d pieced together the story. She’d been checking in every few hours since, undoubtedly relaying the updates to my mom. I didn’t ask if Mom was with her now. There are rules about that sort of thing, and we were careful not to bend them too often or the Fates would
ensure
my mother couldn’t make contact with me.

“So Leah’s back in her hell dimension?” I asked as Jaime settled on the edge of my bed.

“Nope. She got an upgrade to a worse one.”

“And Mom?”

Jaime’s grin faltered. “She’s ... not in the best place right now. Kicking herself silly. You know Eve. She can pull the whole ‘I don’t give a shit’ routine, but when she makes a mistake, she beats herself up worse than anyone else could.”

“Sounds familiar,” Adam said, giving me a look I ignored.

“We’d argued about telling you that Leah was out,” Jaime said. “I wanted to. Eve didn’t. We had Leah in our sights—or so we thought—and she was a thousand miles from you, so Eve didn’t want to freak you out, freak Paige and Lucas out, spoil their vacation ...”

“Tell Mom it wouldn’t have made a difference. Even if I’d known Leah was free, I’d never have seen her in this until it was too late.”

“I’ll tell her. And she has a message of her own to pass along. She says that what you did was incredibly selfless and brave, and if you’re ever tempted to do anything like that again, remember she’s waiting on the other side to kick your ass for the rest of eternity.”

I laughed, but it came out a little ragged, my gaze sliding to the safety of the window.

“Did I miss something?” Adam asked.

“She’s warning me not to tangle with psychotic hell-escapees,” I said. “Which is good advice in general, and—”

“What’d Savannah do?” he said, cutting me off as he turned to Jaime.

I tried to protest, but Jaime told him. As Adam realized what she was saying, his face went rigid, eyes blazing, his fingers heating on my arm. When she finished, though, he turned to look at me, and his expression ... It was respect and it was pride and it was anger and it was something more, too, but before I could figure out exactly what it was, he glanced down, rubbing his chin, the fingers rasping against his beard stubble.

“Yes, you need a shave,” I said.

The corner of his mouth twitched a little, but he still didn’t look at me.

“Your mom’s right,” he finally said, voice gruff. “It was an insanely brave and insanely stupid thing to do, and if you ever consider it again, remember I’m on
this
side, and if you survive, I’ll kick your ass for the next fifty years, okay?”

“Okay.”

I smiled and he looked at me, and our eyes met, and my heart started beating so fast I could barely breathe.

“Oh, would you look at the time?” Jaime said, jumping up. “I promised Elena I’d call with an update before three.”

“I’ll call her myself,” I said quickly, and Adam looked away just as fast, saying he’d get my phone, then go grab us all something to eat from a café across the road.

“They have chocolate chip cookies,” he said as he handed me my phone. “They look
really
good.”

I made a gagging noise and he laughed, and whatever had been in the room a moment ago had passed.

As he teased me, though, a nurse stopped and popped her head into the room.

“You got the cookies, then?” she said.

We all stared at her.

“I heard you talking about cookies ...” Her gaze moved down the hall. “No, they’re still here. Just a moment.”

She came back carrying a box that made my stomach clench. Taste of Heaven cookies.

“Your friend dropped these off earlier,” the nurse said as Adam took the box.

“Friend?”

“A young woman. She came in to see Savannah. She knocked over the bed tray and Linda gave her quite the tongue-lashing, I’m afraid. She left these and took off.”

“When did this happen?” Adam demanded.

“When you went for dinner last night,” I murmured. “I thought I dreamed it.” I turned to the nurse. “What did she look like?”

“Mousy little thing.” She colored. “I shouldn’t say that. She was very sweet.”

“Did she leave a name?”

“No. She was about your age. Long dark blond hair. Turned-up nose.”

I thanked the nurse. When she left, I turned to Adam. “The new girl at the commune.”

He frowned. “I thought Leah ...”

“Killed Tiffany? She said she didn’t—and she wouldn’t bother to lie. Seems we have a witch-hunter after all. So can we leave now? Before she comes back and kills me in my sleep?”

He grabbed my shoes and jacket from the closet.