One Night With a Witch (Keepers of the Veil #5)

Chapter 9

9

T he world compressed around Avery as if someone shoved her into a hamster ball. She hated phase one of a dimension hop. The pressure intensified inside her head and chest until she thought she d explode. Then it was over.

Phase two, the blindness upon arrival, was good. Annoying, but good. It meant the hop worked. She gasped in air. Yet, no matter how much she sucked in, her lungs wouldn t be satisfied, even after her vision returned to normal. She palpated her throat, swollen and raw.

The rug beneath her was old, not dirty, but barely used. This house on a remote Florida swamp might ve been in her family for generations, but few of them spent much time here. With so little time before death claimed the women of her family, not from disease but usually murder, they preferred the real world dimension to here. This place was reserved for emergencies.

Sobs exploded out of her. Tears drenched her face, not that she had the energy or care to wipe them away as they trickled into her mouth.

Eli tried to kill her.

No, her Eli hadn t. A necromancer. She d always thought necromancy was about raising spirits from the dead or bringing the dead back to life, not stealing souls. Who knew.

Her Eli had broken through long enough to give her the break to escape. Him being forced to attack her would be a memory he d use to torment himself for the rest of his. The man excelled at self-flagellation. If the demon didn t destroy him, the act of him being forced to try to kill her might.

She remained on the floor, staring at the light of midday dance across the cracks in the plaster ceiling long after the hiccuping sobs retreated. The view out the back window across the porch showed the small waves of the bayou rolling beneath gray skies. The sky opened up, and rain slashed down. Droplets pounded the metal roof and porch.

She tried to rise but wobbled. Her mind hazed to darkness. A bit later, she opened her eyes and found herself still on the floor.

Had she passed out? How long?

Bout time you woke up. She heard a woman say. It s quieter than a mouse peeing on cotton in here and it s starting to freak me out.

Who s there? Avery s voice came out raspy. Vertigo prevented her from sitting upright.

High heels click-clicked toward her until she saw pale green pumps near her nose. Moments later two familiar blue eyes stared into hers close-up.

You okay? Shannon pursed her lips. He tried to choke you. I guess that s what you get for trying to handle things on your own. Love drives us to stupidity. Or maybe it was ego that made you think you could handle him and that sickness inside him by yourself?

You sound like your mom, bless her soul. I wanted to see him. I might ve thought I could do something. She felt tears leaking again. I couldn t help him.

Shannon pinned her with a hard glare before standing. No crying on my wedding weekend.

Your wedding. She moaned. We ve ruined it.

Not yet you haven t. Now, get off the floor.

Avery didn t have the oomph to do more than roll to her side and meet Shannon s gaze. How long have I been here?

Almost twenty-six hours. Time to go home.

A day? I missed the rehearsal? I swear I rolled over a few minutes ago. How could she have possibly conked out for a day? Never in her life had she slept that long. Why re you here? How re you here? Thought you hadn t tried to travel to anyone else s dimension. Usually each witch could only travel to one alternate dimension, and they couldn t travel to each other s, except Shannon. Little perk for being daughter of the head honcho Pleiades.

As the only one who could get to you, I had to try it. Takes an emergency for us to try out unknown abilities. Shannon waggled a finger in the direction of her neck. I thought Will was supposed to be watching you to make sure nothing like that would happen.

Will Oops. I forgot to text him when I got back to my room after the party. I got preoccupied with researching exorcism.

The boys are going to have a conniption about that bruising. Pretty sure whether or not Eli s in his right mind, they ll kick the crap out of him for that. I might.

He ll probably kick the crap out of himself. I m fine. She massaged her sore neck. A try for a smile failed. Nothing inside her wanted to smile.

Oh, you re a million miles from fine. You look more pitiful than a three-legged dog.

I ve jumped dimensions before and it didn t drain me like this. I feel rundown. She raised up on her elbows, but fell back to the floor, depleted of...everything.

Here. Shannon thrust a plastic wrapped Twinkie into Avery s hands while devouring one herself in three bites. There s no greater pick-me-up than processed carbs. Did you know you have three cartons of these gems in the pantry in addition to six jars of salsa? Guess your parents secret to recouping after a hop is dipping Twinkies in salsa. Eww.

More likely they re the few things that d survive a nuclear holocaust without expiring. I ve never restocked here. Maybe I should. It just seemed so permanent to make changes here. She collapsed back to her back, staring at the ceiling, uninspired to move.

I know, but this place is about you now. Your parents have been gone for almost six years. Clean up, rebuild, restock, and whatever. Time to get off your lazy ass and survive, which means you need to come back with me.

Avery forced herself to ignore the vertigo to sit. She turned the Twinkie in her hands, not one of her favorite junk foods. The plastic wrapping fought being separated from the cakey concoction. She d had a Twinkie a time or two over the years, but it hadn t been long enough ago to forget the faux-whipped-cream filling. One bite and the white stuff coated her mouth in a strange waxy substance that no amount of swallowing or tongue movement would eliminate. The list of items she d eaten that tasted worse was short. Then she reached the end where there was no more faux cream, just a sad bit of stale yellow cake. If she d remembered, she would ve skipped the end like she skipped the end on a hot dog.

That hit the spot, she said sarcastically.

Shannon gave her a smart-assed grin. They re terrible. I m wondering if those things actually do expire after a few years.

Why do you think I m so sapped? The Twinkie didn t help. It s doing awful things to my stomach, though. Even saying that drained her of energy.

Shannon pulled her into a brief hug. Oh, honey, Eli s slipping away. This is serious. You bonded with him. Soul to soul.

I guess I did.

Shannon sat on the floor next to her and took off a pump. She massaged the ball of her foot. Did he say anything about it?

Before he tried to push me away, which I think he did to protect me, he told me I had his soul. I m not sure about love. He d admitted he loved her, hadn t he? No, he said he didn t know what love was. But she was the one in his soul. That meant soulmate, right?

The boys have been so stupid about Eli and you, trying to keep you guys away from each other. Shannon shook her head and clucked. If they d only listen to us about these things.

She massaged the pain in her chest, which ached a lot more than her neck. How do I know if this is real? That the gods intend for us to be the ones for each other?

Shannon s face scrunched up. Can t answer that for you. Guess you have to find out.

I don t know that he s still in there, Shannon. I saw that thing inside him. It s hideous. Skinny with white eyes and her mouth was pierced so many times it could barely close from the metal.

Shannon said softly, Merck has a plan.

You think it ll work to save him?

Shannon s gaze dropped. Maybe.

All right. We ll try to go back, if I can rev the energy. I need water first. Avery heaved herself to a stand by use of a nearby sofa and staggered to the bathroom. The large amount of water she sucked down from the sink didn t entirely eliminate the Twinkie aftertaste. She swished twice and still had a hint of the pastry s filling on the roof of her mouth.

The bruising on her neck reminded her the man she knew as Eli wasn t Eli anymore.

You drown in here? Shannon peeked her head into the door.

I m ready to go. She stumbled backward to fall to a sit on the toilet.

Good. We ve got to get back. I m not sure how long they can wait for us. Shannon nibbled on a nail.

I m not sure I can make it back. She cradled her head in her hands.

Shannon pulled her off the toilet to a stand. Avery, I love you, honey, but you re not going to destroy my wedding weekend by losing your soulmate and dying. It s just not allowed. It s also not allowed for you to miss the wedding. I plan to have a picture of all seven of us on my mantle. Seven, not six.

How do we get back to the beach house? Steering was a crapshoot, at least for her. She d been just as likely to end up at the beach house in South Carolina as the San Diego Pier.

I m driving.

You think he s really the one for me? She d always wanted it to be reality.

We didn t know the full extent of everything or why Nicole pushed us to send you to Paris. If you hadn t gone, then he might not be clinging to life by whatever thread he can. So, let s jump back to help him.

You didn t say save him. She frowned.

I don t know if we can, but we have to try.