Raven Ridge (Witches of Sanctuary Book 2) (15 page)

“What do we have to do with it?”

“I told you. The Haunted were compelled with this urge to seek us out. To bond with us because we can save them.”

“How?”

“The spell we’ve been looking for all this time. It’s called the Iniquity spell.” I find the spot in the text again and read it out loud to Abby.

You must perform the Iniquity spell before the next solstice to purge the blackness from their heart forever…or it will return and claim them in death.

I look back at her, urging her to see the terror and determination in my stare. “The evil inside of him is being stripped away. That’s why he’s in pain. We have to find the Book of the Moon and perform this Iniquity spell before the next solstice, or Julien will die.”

I clench around the stand, my fingers gripping the cold metal. The tears leak out despite my effort to hold back the pain.

If I don’t succeed…Julien will die. He’ll die because I forgave Estelle Cote.

Abby’s arms wrap around me, the pressure of her hug enough to keep my emotions and fear from spilling out. “We’ll save him. We will find that book.”

I want to believe her. I want to believe in happy endings. I want to believe this light that dwells inside of us will conquer the darkness in the end.

Right now, believing won’t bring me my book. It won’t save Julien.

Chapter 15

The Connection

I walk back out holding the Book of the Sun close to my chest. Reid, barely awake, stands in the middle of the room with Sera and Delphine. Abby holds onto my arm, keeping me steady. Reid places his palm on his chest and winces. He feels my heart break.

I take a few deep breaths, but it doesn’t calm me. Nothing will. “Julien is breaking free of the curse.”

Reid steps forward, his brows narrowed. “How?”

“The Raven has repented. She’s changed. The evil that once dwelled inside of her has been broken down by years of watching her family suffer. She asked for forgiveness, and we granted it.”

Reid watches me, reading my features. “Why do I feel like there is more to this than just waiting for Julien to come back for good?”

“It’s only temporary. The Changing has started. Once it’s complete, we only have so much time to perform the Iniquity spell to cast the evil out of him for good or he’ll die.”

“How much time do we have?”

I flip through the book, scanning for the right part. “From the day Julien completes the Changing we have until the Winter Solstice.”

Reid runs his hands through his hair. “The Winter Solstice is next month.”

I nod. Reid walks toward me, and I clench the book tighter to my chest. I don’t want him to feel the pain inside of me. It isn’t fair. He takes the book and hands it back to Delphine, then pulls me closer. “We’ll save him.”

“How?”

“We stick to our plan. Julien, or, well, the other version of him, has the Bessette family history. You convince Julien to cough up the name, we track down your book, and we find out how to save him.”

“What about the other original Haunted? George Bessette and Luther Prescott are out there in there animal forms like the Raven, watching while their family suffers.”

“Luther Prescott has been watching his family die for decades. If Zeke’s death didn’t thaw his heart, nothing will.”

I sit on the edge of the rock wall outlining the fireplace, trying to piece this plan together. “So, we go talk to Julien and find out the name of the other Bessette brother.”

Reid sits next to me. “I don’t believe I’m going to say this but, I think you should go talk to Julien alone.”

“What?”

Reid reaches over and gently places his hand on my knee. “You really think Julien is going to volunteer any kind of information to me?”

“It’s to save his own life.”

“Maybe so, but I think it will be better for both of you if you went without me.”

My eyes narrow at him. “You still think I have doubts about us?”

Reid’s gaze turns to the ground. “No. I just think you both deserve a chance to talk without an audience.”

The front door swings open, and Sadie rushes through it. “I was just at the circle with Lyric. Julien is in control. He’s weak, but he’s coherent enough to talk.”

Reid stands up, and then holds out his hand to help me up. “Now is your chance.”

My hesitation speaks volumes. I’m not ready for this yet. The twinge of pain in my chest is deep, just like the blade that Julien’s monstrous alter ego shoved there. My fingers flex over the sore spot on my ribs. Reid squeezes my hand. “I’ll be here, if you need me.”

Just let me know.

As if I needed a reminder that he could sense the turmoil bubbling inside of me. “Okay.”

Abby walks over to me. “I’ll drop you off on my way to go see Grady.”

I nod. “Let’s just get this done.”

***

The rain brought in a wicked chill that revealed each individual breath I took in a gusty puff around my lips. I place my hand on the rough bark of the giant oak at the top of the hill. I can faintly see the outline of the ceremonial circle. A low blue flame circles it. Julien’s slumping form is barely visible. I wish, even if that wish only granted me a moment, that I could take on his pain and allow him to be free. I move closer to them, but then pause.

“Wilhelmina?”

It’s Julien’s voice. Everything from the tone to the lyrical cadence of his accent is different than when that monster is in control. Lyric stands outside the circle, his hands shoved in his pockets. He turns to me, his eyes red and swollen. He motions for me to come closer. Lyric takes my hand and squeezes it. “I told him about the Changing.” He looks slowly between us, a deep sadness in his eyes. “I’ll give you two a moment alone.”

Lyric disappears over the hillside and I turn back around. Julien still sits with his back to me. “So, as I’m to understand it, I’ve been temporarily set free of my curse.”

“Yes.” My voice is small and weak. This is wrong. This isn’t how this reunion should be. Formal and emotionless. Despite all the other things that complicated our life, we were friends first. It was his uncontainable smile and undeniable charm that caught me in the first place. “I will save you, I promise. I just need you to tell me the name of the Bessette who has my book.”

Julien laughs. It’s deep and fake. He stands, wobbling to his feet. He turns, his lips tight. “I’m not a charity case, Wilhelmina. I don’t need you to save me.”

Tears instantly sting my eyes. “Julien, please don’t do this.”

“Why? It’s not like you believe the way I feel about you, or the way you feel about me is real.” Julien throws his hands out in frustration. “Lyric told me. The Changing. This insane nonsense about the Haunted being attracted to the Innocent.”

“It’s real, Julien. It’s in the book.”

Julien stalks to the edge of the circle, his eyes cold and narrow. “I admit my initial curiosity toward you might have been superficial. It might have been some supernatural pull that drove me to your tent that day.” He takes a deep breath, his hands shaking. “But you don’t get to brush off the way I feel about you. You don’t get to act like this pain ripping me apart isn’t real.”

I take a step back, my gaze falling to the ground. I can’t look at him like this. “Julien—”

“I never knew acceptance until you offered it to me.” The stern tone of his voice forces my attention back to him. “I never understood loyalty until you gave it to me. I didn’t think I was capable of honesty. Selflessness. Sacrifice. The things that make a person human and good.” His voice breaks and so does everything inside of me. “The only reason I can live with myself is because of the change you made in me.”

Tears sting my eyes. I try and fight them back, but it’s no use. They’ve been building up for too long.

Julien’s brass exterior fades. The pain finally overpowers the anger. “I love you, Willa. You know that. You’ve always known it.”

I stand there. The tears leak down my cheeks. I don’t bother to wipe them away. More will follow. Julien reaches for me, but the blue flame around the bottom of the circle flares in front of him, and he stumbles back. I rush to the edge of the circle. The Innocent won’t let me enter, but I stand there on the rim.

Julien moves as close to me as the circle will permit. I want to reach for him again, but I know better. So close, but completely unattainable as he’s always been. His eyes are soft when he looks up at me. “You can love him, Wilhelmina. I won’t stop you, but don’t you dare act like the way I feel when you look at me, when you touch me, and in those rare, fleeting moments when you allow yourself to love me back is some mythical fluke.”

I didn’t think that. I couldn’t. The initial spark might have been false, but everything after it was real. It’s real in us all. I saw the look in Zeke’s eyes when he proposed to Sadie. No amount of magic could create that kind of love. I see the way Julien looks at me now.

“We were friends.”

“That’s funny. That wasn’t friendship I tasted on your tongue that night in the chapel.”

I take step back. It was the tone of his voice. It changed. It slipped effortlessly from wounded and pained back to anger. That’s when I spotted it. The black rim around the blue iris.

Julien bites his lip, closing his eyes in obvious pain. The monster is there. He might not be strong enough to be in complete control, but he is still there. The Changing hasn’t completed yet. I can’t talk to him when that evil thing inside of him is contorting his emotions. It wouldn’t be good for either of us.

He turns away from me. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean that.”

“It’s okay. I know you would never intentionally say something to hurt me.”

Julien holds his hands on his ribs as if fighting back pain. “I would never hurt you.”

I know what he’s thinking…the memory that neither of us can forget. His gaze drops down to my ribs. My wound still stings, even now when it has no reason to hurt anymore. “Julien, I don’t have much time. Once the Changing is finished, I only have until the Winter Solstice to save you. You took the Bessette genealogy book from us at the Raven’s Tower. I need it back.”

Julien shakes his head. “It wasn’t me.”

I twist my hands in front me, the pressure of time bearing down on me. “Yes, Julien. Lyric said he knew you were there. He could feel you.”

“He could feel one of the Haunted. He could feel their evil following you. One of them carved that word into my brother’s arm, but I promise you, Willa, it wasn’t me.”

“Then who?”

Voices erupt behind us and I whip around. People are yelling over the hill. Lyric comes running up the hillside. “Willa! Help me.”

I run for him, leaving Julien in the circle. Once at the edge of the hillside, I see Grady. He’s on his knees, his hands covering his face. Lyric is back at his side, shoving his shoulder. “Where is she?”

“I don’t know,” Grady yells back.

I slide down the hill to them. “What happened?”

Grady looks up at me, claw marks down the side of his face. “They took her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Abby,” Lyric screams, glaring at Grady. “He let them take Abby.”

“Who?”

Lyric stalks over and grabs Grady by the hair, jerking his face up, pointing at the claw marks. “The Haunted. How many humans do you know can make marks like this?”

I move down onto my knees in front of Grady. He shakes from head to toe. I grip his shoulder to hold him still. “Who took her?”

Grady’s eyes round to the size of saucers. “The Wolf.”

Chapter 16

STOLEN TIME

I grab Lyric and shake him. “Go get the others right now.”

A black outline has developed in Lyric’s eyes. He’s angry at Grady, and I get that. Grady isn’t one of us, though. If it really was the Red Wolf, George Bessette, Grady would have been no match for him. I pull Grady to his feet. The claw marks on his face are pretty deep and need to be healed. I shove Lyric with one hand. “I said go. If you want to save Abby, then we need to find them now.”

Lyric backs away slowly, but he isn’t happy. If he doesn’t get away from Grady, he’ll lose his control. Guaranteed. I give him one last stern glare, and he finally whips around and disappears into the trees.

Reid. We need you! Lyric is coming after you.

I help Grady back up the hill to the circle. Julien stands on his toes, trying to see us. Grady makes it almost to the circle’s edge before collapsing. Tears well in his wide eyes. “Lyric is right. I’m a coward. I should have been able to stop them.”

His hands are soaked in his own blood. I try to pull them down away from his face so I can get a better look at the damage. Julien cringes at the sight of him. “What happened?”

“Abby is gone.” My voice breaks at the thought. Actually, everything inside of me breaks. It’s happening all over again. I’m losing them all, one by one. “They were attacked by a wolf while they waited for me to come back.”

Julien crosses his arms over his chest. “George Bessette?”

I nod. “I’m pretty sure this is his way of letting us know he has no intention of letting us end this curse.”

Julien paces back and forth inside the circle. “He wouldn’t have been able to handle Abby on his own, though, not in his animal form. He had help.”

I take off my jacket and use it to wipe away some of the blood from Grady’s face before placing my palm over the deepest of the cuts. “Did you see anyone else?”

Grady shakes his head. “No, but the Wolf attacked me first. I couldn’t see anything.”

“The Haunted Bessette brother must be here,” Julien says, grinding his teeth. “That’s who took the book in the Raven’s Tower. That’s who took Abby.”

The marks start to slowly disappear across Grady’s cheek. “We have to find her,” he croaks.

Julien looks directly at me, ignoring Grady completely. “If the Bessettes are in Sanctuary, then they’ll be on their old land.”

“We’ve been there. We searched the Bessette homestead the night we found Lyric.”

“Search it again.”

I pull my hand away from Grady. The bright, pink skin of freshly healed wounds covers his face now. I stand and push my hair out of my face. “You really think they would go back there?”

“Take it from someone who grew up here.” Suddenly he’s that Julien I remember. My friend who confided in me. The one who trusted me to have his back. “Land is a big deal. If the Bessettes are in Sanctuary, they will be there. Somewhere.”

Reid and Sadie rush up the hill toward us with Lyric. Julien instantly backs away from me. Reid comes and grabs me, as if scared he might show up and find me missing as well. Grady pushes himself up to his feet. Sadie’s hands clasp over her mouth when she sees the healed wounds across Grady’s face. “So, it’s true? The Wolf really took Abby.”

My chest tightens. “Yes. I think the Bessette brother is here. Julien didn’t take the book, which means they’ve been here for a while.”

Reid nods, holding in the panic. “We have to go back to Rickamore Road.”

Julien glances at me. “I told you.”

Reid’s head darts up, as if just realizing Julien is there. “No one asked you.”

Julien rolls his eyes and looks back at me. “Let me out of here. I can go with you. Abby risked her life to save me from my father. I owe her.”

Reid steps in front of me. “You’re not going anywhere, Cote.”

I step out from behind Reid, holding his arm. “I think what Reid is trying to say is the Change isn’t complete. You could still lose control at any time. Especially if you get upset.”

“So, what? I just sit here and wait?”

Reid points at him. “As long as even an ounce of that monster still exists in you, then you’ll stay in there and rot.”

I place my hand on Reid’s chest, but it does no good.

“Or have you forgotten about that knife you sent through Willa’s chest?”

Julien tries to fight it. I can see it on his face. The absolute concentration and effort to keep in control. The monster comes back. His eyes flash black. “And I’ll send one through your heart before it’s done.”

“Try it.”

I have to hold Reid back. When even that won’t work, I finally send a shock of electricity through my hand to his skin. Reid winces, and that’s it. It’s enough to stop him, though. I push him a safe distance away from the circle.

I wave my hand in the air to catch Julien’s attention, but his vengeful glare won’t leave Reid. To think I thought the rivalry was over. It’s worse. So much worse. “Look, you two. Abby is out there somewhere. She needs us. We don’t have time for this.”

Julien backs away, and Reid’s resistance vanishes. Reid straightens his shirt, his jaw still clenched tight. “Come on, let’s go.”

I give Julien a small, sympathetic smile. He completely deflates, and the blackness all but disappears. He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “Hey, Reid.”

Reid stops and looks back. Again Julien struggles to find the right words. “I hope you find your sister. I really did just want to help.”

Reid huffs, and when I walk past him, he sighs. “Maybe next time.”

Julien nods. “Let’s hope so.”

Reid takes my hand, and we all walk down the hillside. I can still hear Julien behind me.

“I really hope so.”

***

The broken-down Bessette house looks even worse in the pale evening light. The porch is covered in a mass of orange and yellow leaves. I ease across the broken boards, jumping over the fallen door that still lays shattered on the porch. I follow Reid, who makes his way around the strewn furniture.

Someone else has definitely been here. Everything has been moved, each piece of old furniture perfectly placed to replicate an abandoned house. There is no longer any sign of the temper tantrum that occurred here. No freshly splintered wood or muddy footprints. The gaping hole in the floor is partially covered to conceal it from anyone who might glance in the front door. “Help me with this,” Reid says, motioning toward the cabinet blocking the hole.

Lyric climbs over the table and grabs hold of the edge of the cabinet, helping Reid push it forward. Once out of the way, Reid jumps down into the hole and starts feeling beneath the floorboards. He knocks against the wood, his hand following the path of the boards underneath until finally he pauses. He bends down to peer under the floor.

“What is it?” Grady impatiently crosses his arms over his chest.

Reid jerks his hand, and the board pops out of place easily. He smiles as he throws it over his shoulder. “Just what I thought. Those boards are a new addition. Toss me a flashlight.”

I lob it over the table to him. Reid lies flat on his stomach in the hole, shining the light underneath the house. “Holy crap. You’re not going to believe this.”

I quickly climb over the furniture and down into the hole with him. He motions toward the flashlight beam. “Look at this.”

I get down on my knees and squint around the light next to my face. There is a three-foot difference between the flooring of the house and the ground beneath it. About five feet from where we lie in the opening is the tiniest hint of a top of a ladder that descends into a large hole directly beneath. Reid was right. There is more to Rickamore Road than this old house. Reid raises up and smiles at Lyric and Grady. “Neither of you has any trouble with tight spaces, do you?”

Grady’s eyes narrow. “You know I’m claustrophobic.”

Lyric snorts. “Of course you are.”

Grady flexes his fingers into a fist. “I didn’t say I wasn’t going.”

Reid stands all the way up. “Look, you two. There is a passageway down there. I don’t know where it goes, or who we will find when we get there. I do know if we want to save Abby, we have to work together. It’s not easy working with someone you don’t like.”

“Or trust,” Grady adds, glaring at Lyric.

“It doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.” Reid stares at both of them. “Trust me, I’ve done it.”

Lyric rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to hurt the big baby.”

Grady’s normally pale cheeks flush a vibrant red. I immediately jump back and grab Lyric’s arm and pull him down into the hole with me. “You first.” I shove him a little too hard to get my point across. Provoking Grady isn’t helping get Abby back. Reid shines the light underneath the floor again, and Lyric slides toward the opening. He flips onto his stomach and drops his feet into the hole, catching the rungs of the ladder. I follow after him, quickly scanning for any sign of spiders, or something worse waiting for me in the darkness. Reid touches my shoulder, and I glance back. The pressure of his fingertips on my skin increases. “Be careful. I’ll be right behind you.”

I smile, returning his touch. I’m scared too. The reality of what happened in Charleston is still so fresh in all our minds, the weight of everything we lost heavy in our chest. Abby’s disappearance has put us back on alert. We can’t lose her. I look at Reid, allowing my stare to linger just a moment longer. I know I can’t lose him either. Ever.

I slide feet first then push myself backward toward the opening. The ladder is steel, and sturdy as if secured into the ground. Lyric flips on a flashlight and I carefully maneuver myself down the ladder. I drop deeper into the ground. The dirt around me turns to stone, and then it disappears entirely. The ladder leads into an open cavern beneath.

Once I make it to the bottom, Lyric swings his flashlight around and starts to check out our surroundings. The cavern is small and pitch black. Lyric scans the perimeter as Reid makes his way down. As soon as Reid hops off the bottom rung, Lyric darts the light toward him. “Did you know the caverns in the mountains ran this deep?”

“No, but the fact doesn’t surprise me. Willa, care to give us a little more light?”

I stare at him, still unsure why he won’t openly use his powers. Almost everyone knows now. I open my palm, allowing my energy to pool into it, forming an orb of orange glowing light. Lyric nods to the north, ignoring Grady’s descent into the room behind Reid. “The cavern looks to end just around the corner. We have to go south.”

“South would take us into Raven Ridge, wouldn’t it?”

“Not necessarily.” Grady dusts off his pants. “The Bessettes’ land might be narrow, but they used to own the entire crooked hollow down this road. If this cavern keeps due south, we will stay mostly on their land.”

Reid walks to the edge of the opening, peering around the corner toward the narrow path in the rock. “But where will this take us?”

“One way to find out.” I step past him to take the lead, and he grabs my arm. I expect him to scold me, or for him to try to convince me to let him lead the way, but he merely smiles at me.

“I’ve got your back.”

“I know.”

I squeeze through the tight space between the rock and follow the rugged path through the cavern. It’s much longer than the one we navigated that night in Raven Ridge. We start walking at an incline, until finally I have to climb up an embankment of rocks. I spot light at the end, and rush toward it. I slip, scraping my knee, but I don’t care. I need fresh air. We emerge at the edge of a cliff face in the mountainside. Nothing but forest surrounds us. I’m not sure how deep into the mountains we’ve gone, but this place has been untouched for a very long time.

Reid dusts himself off, looking around, surely coming to the same conclusion. We’re lost. “Look,” Lyric says, pointing into the trees.

“What is it? I don’t see anything.”

“Look up.”

Sure enough, at the top of the tree line, smoke rises directly into the air. Somewhere, hidden amid the thick forest, must be a house…and someone is home. “Let’s go.”

Grady cuts me off. “Are you sure?”

That panicked edge to his voice is back. The same one from the night we talked about coming to Rickamore Road. “Do you want to find Abby?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s go.”