The Darkness Within (27 page)

“Hmm. The originals are classics, but why not?” I snuggled into him, and we watched what turned out to be a
Dark Shadows
marathon. There was still plenty to make fun of, and we compared the actors to the original cast. We pretty much dissected every part of the
series. Even though the show was different, being together was very much the same.

It was late into the morning when I woke up in Ethan’s arms. The clock on the nightstand read 11:56. I’d slept for hours, even though I’d stayed up half the night.

Ethan rolled onto his side. “Morning.”

“Hey, you.” I snuggled into him, as if I hadn’t spent the entire night in his arms. “How are you feeling today?”

“Good. Really good. I got through the entire night without feeling like the dark magic was trying to creep to the surface. I really think that spell Mirabella did is working.”

“That’s great.” I wanted to believe that was true. Nothing would’ve made me happier, but I was on edge where Mirabella was concerned.

“I should jump in the shower and get something to eat. Then Mirabella and I can get in another session. Maybe we’ll even get to work on it more than once today. I’m so eager to get this over with. I want to be able to hold you like this forever and not worry about anything bad happening.”

“Ethan.” I raised my eyes to his. “I know you’re excited because you’re feeling good, but…” How did I tell him this? It was going to break his heart.

He raised my chin with his finger. “What is it? What’s bothering you?”

“You know you collapsed after the spell yesterday, right?”

“Yeah. I figured it took a lot of my energy to fight this magic in me. Passing out is probably totally normal. You shouldn’t worry about it. I’ll even ask Mirabella if it will make you feel better.”

“No. That’s not it. At least not all of it.” I kissed him before going on. I had to get that kiss in before he either got upset that Mirabella had tricked us or angry with me like the others. It could go either way.

“Sam, you’re kind of freaking me out now. What’s going on?”

“I wish I knew how to say this without upsetting you. I don’t want you to be mad at me like everyone else is.”

“Why would they be mad at you? What happened while I was passed out?” Worry lines creased his forehead as he stared at me.

“A lot, but it actually started before you passed out. Right before.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. My hands shook, and my
heart pounded. “Okay. Shannon and Dylan convinced me to go upstairs with them to get something to eat. Watching the spell was kind of boring because everything was happening inside you. We couldn’t see or hear anything.”

He nodded. “It must not have been fun for me either, because I can’t remember it.”

“None of it?” How was that possible? Ethan hadn’t hit his head when he fell.

“No. Maybe I’m really wiped from it. I’m sure it will get easier. Go on. Tell me what happened.”

“Well, we went upstairs, and I didn’t feel right. Something about Mirabella was bothering me. We don’t really know her, and she was doing a huge spell that none of us could be in on. I didn’t like it, and I really didn’t like that she insisted there had to be a connection between you two.”

“Sam, that’s what the spell called for. It’s not like she’s making this up or deliberately trying to keep you in the dark.”

“Are you sure?” I paused, letting him think about it. I wanted his opinion. His unbiased opinion before we talked to Shannon and Dylan.

“What else? I can tell there’s more.”

“Tell me what you think first. I really want to know.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know everything yet, so I can’t form a reasonable opinion.”

That made sense. “Shannon and Dylan kept defending Mirabella. Dylan’s feeling all guilty for making her live a life of solitude thanks to the dark magic she got from him. And Shannon,” I scoffed, “she thinks Mirabella is the coolest witch ever.”

“But you don’t trust her and you…”

He knew me well enough to figure out I hadn’t stayed in the kitchen. “I went back downstairs. I only wanted to keep an eye on you, but when I got there, that green snake thing was circling you and Mirabella.”

“I did it again, didn’t I?”

What? No! He felt responsible. “It’s not your fault. It was her spell. And when she saw the snake, she wasn’t the least bit concerned, even though it was totally trying to attack me.”

“I attacked you?” He let go of me and leaned back on his pillow. His hands raked his hair.

“You didn’t attack me. That thing did, and I don’t think you conjured it. Mirabella was controlling the spell. It was her. The snake had a head and everything. The green magic that comes from you has never had an actual snakehead. It was different.”

“Or the dark magic is getting worse instead of better.” Ethan sprang to his feet.

“What are you doing?”

“This can’t wait. I have to go find Mirabella and do the spell again. I have to get rid of this before something else happens. Before I hurt you.”

“Ethan, no!” But he was out the door and running straight for the witch who probably wanted me dead.

28

I
FLEW
down the stairs after him. “Ethan, stop.”

Mirabella was in the living room drinking tea. “Well, look who finally woke up.” She smiled and stood up. “I guess that spell really wore you out. I think it’s best that we start right away, since your recovery seems to require quite a bit of sleep.”

“Ethan, we have more to talk about.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Mirabella.

His stared into my eyes, pleading with me to understand. “I have to do this. We can talk later.”

I didn’t know how to make him stay. He was as drawn to Mirabella as the others were. “Please.” My voice shook.

“I really think it’s better this way.” He kissed my forehead and pulled away from me.

“Wonderful.” Mirabella put her tea on the silver tray on the coffee table and walked over to Ethan, taking his arm. “Let’s get started. Sam, you can help yourself to lunch in the kitchen.”

“Ethan hasn’t eaten yet, either. Why not wait until after lunch?” My attempt to stall was pathetic, but I was desperate.

“I’ll see to it that he eats something. I can conjure food from anywhere.” She laughed like she’d made a joke.

Ethan mouthed, “I’ll be fine. Go eat.” But I wasn’t having it.

“Great, well, I’ll come with you. You can conjure food for me, too.” I took Ethan’s other arm and walked with them. We didn’t fit through
the door to the basement, so I let them go first. I preferred to keep Mirabella where I could see her.

Ethan stood by the fountain again and waited for Mirabella. She was busy creating fruit and salad out of thin air. “Best to eat light when you’re doing heavy-duty spells. I wouldn’t want you to feel queasy.” She placed the tray of food on the couch.

“I’m okay,” Ethan said. “I’d really rather start the spell and eat later.”

“But it took you so long to recover last time. It could be hours before you wake up and get some food in you. You shouldn’t let your strength go down. I’m sure Mirabella would agree.” I flashed her a phony smile.

“No need to rush, Ethan. Go right ahead and eat. I have to get my spell book anyway.” She walked back upstairs.

“I’m surprised she lets that thing out of her sight,” I mumbled, more to myself than Ethan.

“Why do you say that?” He was already digging into the food. So much for not wanting to eat.

“Yesterday, she held on to the book like it was her baby. It was weird, like she was hiding something.”

“I don’t know. She’s a witch, an old one. I’m sure she’s collected a lot of spells over the years. And now with us roaming around her house—especially me with this dark magic inside me—I’m sure she wants to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”

What if I thought the wrong hands were hers? I ate some strawberries while Ethan inhaled the rest of the food. He was definitely hungry.

“Here we go.” Mirabella returned, holding the book in the air like a trophy. “All set, Ethan?”

“Yeah. I hope I didn’t eat too much.”

Mirabella eyed the plate. “I’m assuming Sam helped you with that.”

Ethan shrugged and turned a little red. “She ate the strawberries.”

Mirabella laughed. “Well, I guess it’s good that Sam insisted you eat first. You obviously needed it.” She turned to me. “Sam, I’d prefer it if you kept your distance while I do the spell with Ethan.”

“Why? Afraid of what I’ll see?”

“I don’t want to bring up the ugly incident in my kitchen yesterday, but I don’t like the idea of a witch killer hovering around when I’m in a vulnerable state.”

“Wait a minute.” Ethan put his arm around me. “Mirabella, Sam isn’t going to hurt anyone. She’s no more a witch killer than I am.”

I’d forgotten to tell Mirabella how Ethan had gotten his power. I would’ve loved to throw it in her face now, but I wouldn’t do that to Ethan.

“I understand you want to defend her, Ethan. That’s perfectly normal.”

“No, it’s not just that. I mean, I’d do anything for her, yes, but I was talking about how I killed for my power, too.”

Her eyes widened, and she stepped away from us. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Her face turned stone-cold with anger. “I thought I was helping an innocent, and here you’re no better than she is.”

“It’s not like that.” Ethan stepped away from me and toward Mirabella. “I was dying. I didn’t have a choice. And Nora…she was the reason I was—”

“Nora?” Mirabella cocked her head to the side. “Nora was the witch whose powers you stole?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to. She cursed Sam and me, and the only way to break the curse was to kill her. I was dying because of her. I didn’t want to do it, but that thing she turned me into took over.”

“So it’s Nora’s dark magic inside you. That means she’s dead.” Something about the way Mirabella looked—like she was almost happy—really made me shiver.

“I didn’t think you really knew Nora.”

“She was in Dylan’s coven. She was the one who contacted me and asked me to cure Dylan.”

“Then you
did
know her—before you met Dylan, I mean.” That was certainly interesting. The fact that Mirabella knew Nora lost her even more points with me.

“We met briefly before that. It was at a meeting.”

“What kind of meeting?” I wasn’t letting her get off that easily.

“For witches. What else?”

“Why would Nora go to a meeting without the rest of her coven? That doesn’t make sense.”

“She told me she was looking to find a new coven with stronger witches.”

“I bet you two hit it off.” I was baiting her, hoping she’d walk into my trap.

“Not at all. I found her arrogant and power-crazed. All she wanted was information about dark magic. Of course she’d heard of my mother and sought me out at the meeting. She cornered me and started asking all these questions. I didn’t like her one bit.”

“Then why did you agree to help Dylan when she called you?” Ethan asked. Good. Maybe he was starting to see what I saw—something wasn’t right about Mirabella.

“I wasn’t going to help her at first.” Mirabella hugged her spell book. “But then I realized I wouldn’t be helping Nora. I’d be helping Dylan. I couldn’t punish an innocent witch just because I didn’t care for Nora.”

Ethan nodded. Maybe it did make sense. I wasn’t sure. I needed a crystal ball to predict the future for me. Even with all my witchy powers, I couldn’t tell what was going to happen if Mirabella did another spell on Ethan, and that sucked.

“You’re still going to help me, right?” Ethan asked. “I mean, now that you know it was Nora, you understand why I had to do what I did.” He paused. “Don’t you?”

Mirabella sighed. “Yes, Ethan. I understand. I know how Nora was. I know what she was capable of. I believe you had nothing to do with what happened to you. It was Nora’s fault, not yours.”

Ethan’s shoulders relaxed.

“What about me?” I didn’t really care if she liked me or believed me, but I wanted to hear her answer anyway.

“Same goes for you, Sam. Though I wish you’d extend me the same courtesy and show me a little trust in return.”

Ethan reached for my hand. “She’s right, you know.”

Maybe she was. I still didn’t know, and because it was Ethan’s life on the line, I couldn’t give in that easily. Although I could make her think I was. “Yes, you’re right, Mirabella. I’m sorry. I love Ethan. I get sort of crazy when it comes to protecting him.”

She nodded. “I understand completely.”

“I’ll stay by the stairs and promise not to interfere with the spell.” I stood up, but Ethan stopped me.

“Thank you.” He kissed me before taking his place in front of Mirabella.

I kept my word and walked over to the stairs. That much I could give her, but if anything went wrong, if any green snakes appeared, I was getting involved. “Oh, Mirabella, before you start, could you tell me why the green snake appeared during the last spell?”

“Certainly.” She folded her hands. “The spell located the center of the dark magic, like I told you. After I found it, I had to shift it.”

“Why?” Ethan asked.

“Because it was behind your eyes, keeping tabs on everything you saw and did. That’s a very dangerous thing.”