The Darkness Within (26 page)

“Sam, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Let me ask you this, Shannon. What would you have done if you walked downstairs and saw that green snake wrapped around Ethan?”

“I-I don’t know.” She turned and looked at Ethan lying on the bed.

“What about you, Dylan?” My eyes bored into his.

“I get that you freaked out. I probably would’ve done the same thing. But…” Was he kidding? How was there a
but
? “I think we should give Mirabella a chance to explain the spell to us.” I turned away from him, but he grabbed my hand. How many times now had my hand ended up in his? I jerked away from him. “If there’s a possibility that she really can help Ethan, are you willing to walk away from it?”

Not fair. Not fair at all. “Fine. She can explain the spell, but I want to see her spell book. The way she’s guarding it is more than a little suspicious.”

“That’s because you’re new to this stuff. Witches who’ve been around for a while create spell books. They get very protective of them.”

No. That didn’t make sense. “If she wrote the book, why would she need it for the spell? She was using it like a cookbook, like she was reading a recipe. She didn’t know what she was doing on her own.”

“Okay, maybe she didn’t write it.” Dylan shrugged. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Maybe it was her mom’s,” Shannon said.

Her mom’s. That would make sense. “But didn’t she say her mom died from dabbling in dark magic? If that’s true, the book could be filled with the stuff. It would explain the green snake.” I was more suspicious and angrier than ever.

“Don’t jump to conclusions, okay?” Shannon squeezed my forearm. “We don’t know anything for sure, and all this speculating is only making it worse. You’re continuing to think the worst of her, yet you have nothing to go on.”

“I wouldn’t call that green snake
nothing
.”

“Fine. I’ll give you that one. But like Dylan said, let’s hear Mirabella’s side of the story before we go burning anybody at the stake, okay?”

I sighed. She made sense. Damn her. “Let’s do this now, before Ethan wakes up. That way, if we decide Mirabella can’t be trusted, we can get the hell out of here as soon as he’s up and moving again.”

“I think that’s the best we’re going to get out of her,” Shannon said, giving Dylan a half-smile.

He reached around me and unlocked the door. “Then let’s go.”

I walked over to Ethan and kissed his forehead. “I won’t let her hurt you again,” I whispered. I motioned for Dylan and Shannon to lead the way.

Mirabella was in the kitchen making tea. It smelled great, but I wasn’t going near anything she brewed, spell or beverage. “Oh, good.” She smiled at us. “I’m glad you’re here. Sit. I’ve made enough for everyone.” I sat down, but I didn’t relax. And I still wasn’t drinking that tea. Shannon and Dylan didn’t seem concerned at all. Was this all in my head? Were my feelings for Ethan making me act crazy?

Mirabella sat across from me. She poured the tea and set the pot in the center of the table. “Now, tell me what you’d like to know.”

She knew what I wanted to know. “What was the spell you did?”

“Jump right in it is, then.” But instead of jumping in, she sipped
her tea. My impatience grew stronger, making my legs shake under the table.

“Ow, Sam.” Shannon shot me a look. Apparently it wasn’t the table leg I was kicking.

“The spell I used today was to locate the dark magic in Ethan.”

“But you said you sensed it in him immediately. Why would you need to locate it, then?”

“Would you let her talk?” Shannon rolled her eyes at me. “Go on, Mirabella.”

“It’s quite all right. Saman—I mean Sam—loves Ethan. It’s only natural that she’d be protective of him.” She sipped her tea again. “I find tea to be very calming. You should try it.” She held her cup up, motioning for me to drink the tea sitting in front of me. I didn’t move. “I had to locate the exact source of the dark magic. Knowing it’s inside Ethan doesn’t help me. I have to know where it is.”

“Are you saying it’s all in one place, like his hand or something like that?” I’d always felt my magic surging through my body. It had never been concentrated to one spot unless I was trying to heal an injury.

“Something like that. It can travel, but it centers in one location.”

“Where is it on Ethan?” I was afraid of the answer, but I had to know.

“Behind his eyes.” Mirabella ran her finger along the rim of her teacup. “It’s highly unusual, but it’s almost like the dark magic is using his eyes to see what’s going on around him.”

I swallowed hard, thinking of the times Ethan had stared off into space. The way his eyes had focused on that tree. It made sense. Did that mean Mirabella was telling the truth about her spell? “What does this mean? Will it be harder to bury the magic inside him if it’s centering behind his eyes?”

“Yes.” She said it like it was obvious. “I’m sorry. I forgot you’re new to this.”

“How did you know that?” I’d never mentioned that I’d only recently become a witch. I hadn’t even told her where Ethan got his dark magic from.

“I can tell. Feel it, really. Your magic is borrowed, but it’s strong. Doubly strong, if I’m correct.”

“She has the magic of two witches inside her,” Dylan said. “Ben’s and Rebecca’s.”

“Oh.” Mirabella’s eyes widened. “How did you get their magic?”

No way. I wasn’t telling her what had happened.

Shannon put her tea down. “Sam died. Nora brought her back, but as a killing machine, and then Nora sent Sam after our coven. Sam killed Ben and Rebecca and absorbed their magic.”

“Shannon!” She’d blurted out my secrets like she was rattling off a shopping list.

“Huh? Oh, sorry.” She put her hand to her mouth. “It sort of slipped out.”

Mirabella cocked her head to the side. “Well, this is interesting. Here you are questioning me and my methods with Ethan, and
you
are a known witch killer.” She stood up and raised her hands like she was about to attack.

I jumped to my feet, ready to summon my magic and protect myself from whatever spell she was about to throw at me.

27

“W
HOA
!” Dylan knocked over the table, pushing it toward Mirabella. Finally, he was siding with me. “Everyone relax. There’s no need for magic. Sam isn’t a witch killer anymore, and it wasn’t her fault to begin with.”

Mirabella glared at him for a moment. “After all you’ve done to me, you’re going to stop me from making sure of this for myself?”

“What do you mean
making sure
?” Shannon asked, still sitting in her chair, but looking like she was in shock.

“I have a simple spell to see if Sam means me harm. I think I’m more than justified in wanting to use it right now.” Mirabella looked back and forth between Shannon and Dylan. To my surprise, they both nodded.

“What? Like hell she’s doing a spell on me!” I ran out of the room and up the stairs, slamming the bedroom door behind me. I locked it and slumped down against the door. This was all unraveling so fast. First Ethan got hurt, and now Shannon and Dylan were willing to let some witch with dark magic do a spell to see if I was evil? I sobbed, pulling my knees to my face and resting my forehead on them. How did everything get so messed up?

“Sam?”

I jerked my head up at the sound of Ethan’s voice. “Ethan!” I jumped up and rushed to him. “You’re okay?” He was sitting up in
bed. I held his shoulders, looking him over. “Do you hurt anywhere? What did she do to you?”

He wrapped his arms around me. “I’m fine. Relax. I think the spell worked, or it’s starting to work. I know Mirabella said it would take a few sessions before I was fixed, but I feel good. Stronger almost. More like me.”

I squeezed him, breathing in his scent. “You’re really okay?”

He pulled me back, staring into my eyes. He didn’t say anything. Instead he let his lips do the talking. He kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my nose, and rested on my lips. I melted into him. It felt so good to be close to him like this again. He pulled me closer until I was in his lap. My hands were all over him, his hair, his face, his chest. I wanted to touch every part of him and make sure he was still my Ethan, that Mirabella hadn’t harmed him in any way.

We stayed in each other’s arms for the rest of the day. I didn’t care about Dylan or Shannon or Mirabella. For one day, it was just me and Ethan. He didn’t protest, though as the sun set Ethan’s stomach grumbled in hunger. He laughed. “Guess I’m hungry. I’m going to go downstairs and get something to eat.”

I grabbed his shirt, tugging him back to me. “No. You stay here. You need rest. I’ll get you some food.”

“Are you sure? I’m really okay. I feel fine.”

That was because I hadn’t told him about the green snake making an appearance during the spell. I wanted to enjoy this time without Mirabella getting in the way. “I’m positive. I’ll be right back.” I tried to get up, but he pulled me in for one last kiss.

“Hurry back.” He flashed me a devilish grin. Yeah, he was feeling better, all right.

“I will.” I smiled at him as I left the room. I hoped everyone else was asleep, but I knew it was still too early to get that wish.

“Hey,” Shannon said, getting up from the living room couch. “How is he?”

Mirabella was sitting in the chair across from Shannon. She looked at me, waiting for an answer. I walked by them and headed for the kitchen. This time I found Dylan making sandwiches. “Want one?”

“Two, actually.” I wasn’t really happy with him or Shannon, but
he already had one sandwich made, so letting him finish the second would save me time and get me back to Ethan sooner.

“He’s awake?”

“Yup.” I went to the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water, checking the seals to make sure Mirabella hadn’t tampered with them.

“Is he okay?” Dylan put the knife down and stared at me.

“Do you care?”

Dylan’s fist collided with the counter. “What the hell, Sam? Of course I care.”

“Really? So it’s just me you’re willing to throw to the wolves?” I slammed the refrigerator door.

“I didn’t throw you to the wolves. I just understand why, after hearing you’ve killed witches, Mirabella wanted to confirm you don’t do that anymore. It wasn’t unreasonable. You would’ve insisted on the same thing in her place.”

“Maybe, but the difference is I’m part of your coven. You’re supposed to stick up for me.”

“I did. I knocked over the table when I thought she might hurt you. I wouldn’t have let her.”

“How do you know she wasn’t pretending she wanted to use a simple spell to see if I was going to hurt her? She could’ve said that so you’d step aside and let her kill me.”

“I wouldn’t have let her. I won’t let you die again. I’ll protect you with my life if necessary.”

Whoa. I wasn’t expecting that. “Is that proper coven protocol? If one of us is attacked, the others would lay down their own lives to protect them?”

He looked away. “Something like that.” He put the sandwiches on a plate and shoved them at me. “Here. Go eat. Take care of Ethan.” He walked out of the kitchen without making a sandwich for himself.

My heart and mind raced as I tried to figure out what had just happened. Dylan was such a mystery to me. He went from angry with me to… I took the sandwiches upstairs, not looking at anyone as I walked past the living room. Ethan was lying with his hands behind his head.

“That was quick, but I still missed you.” He definitely sounded like himself again. If only things were back to normal. If only we were back in our cottage together.

I sat on the bed, placing the plate between us. “Let’s play ‘Where would you rather be?’”

“Okay.” He moved the plate onto the nightstand and pulled me into his arms. “Right about…” His lips brushed mine. “Here.”

“Good answer.” I gently pushed off his chest.

“Well, you obviously have a different answer, so spill.” He grabbed his sandwich and took a big bite.

For once I didn’t pick Myrtle Beach with Ethan. “Do you remember when we stayed up all night watching old horror movies and eating popcorn with Gummy Bears in it?”

He laughed, covering his mouth since it was full. “We were laughing so hard because the special effects were ridiculously awful.”

“And then we watched episodes of the original
Dark Shadows
series, and Barnabas’s fangs fell out.” I laughed until my sides hurt, remembering how much fun we had making fun of the low-budget show. But we loved it. We’d watched every episode about five times.

“That was a good night.”

“Yeah, I even forgot that I had my first chemo treatment the next day. You were always able to make me forget anything bad.”

“You do the same for me, Sam. Right now, all I can think about is you and how perfect you are. I’m not worried about what’s going on inside me.”

“Yeah, but talking about it means you’re still thinking about it. I’m not doing a very good job distracting you.”

“I know how we can change that.” He raised an eyebrow, and I was expecting him to put his sandwich aside and pull me in for another make-out session. But instead, he reached for the television remote. He flipped through the guide until he found the horror channel. And there was
Dark Shadows
. Not the originals. The remake. “What do you think? We’ve never watched these.”