Chapter Nine
Walker
W hen Cady’s screams filled my ears, I thought I was having a nightmare. I jolted upright in bed then realized I could still hear them, and my magic surged to life. As I raced across the short hall and into her bedroom, I moved quicker than ever before.
Tears poured down her agonized face, and her tiny limbs thrashed against an unseen adversary. I reached out to touch her but hesitated. Magic pumped in my blood, and I didn’t want to electrocute her. I touched the metal door handle again to make sure I was safe then pulled Cadence into my arms.
“Cady-Cat,” I whispered, “wake up. It’s just a dream.”
Sunrise shined through her window. In hopes that the light would wake her, I pulled the white curtains farther open with one hand. She continued to thrash.
“Med…” Cadence whimpered. “Medy…”
Suddenly, she went limp in my arms. Her neck arched awkwardly over my arm, and I clutched her closer.
“Cady,” I whispered.
I placed two fingers against her wrist. Much to my relief, her blood pulsed. Cady surged upright, and the glow of her eyes rivaled the gleaming sun.
For a heartbeat, she looked at me without an ounce of recognition. Then, her face softened, and she reached for a hug. I cradled her in my arms, but relief and dread tangled my stomach. Someone pounded on the door.
Gently, I pulled away from Cady.
“You okay if I get that?” I asked.
Her face was red and puffy, but her tears had finally stopped. She nodded. Slowly, her magic receded from her gaze, and her eyes returned to their normal, vibrant hue of green.
On edge, I trekked to the front door of the apartment and yanked it open. Thea stood in front of me with her fist raised to bang on the door again. She took in my appearance and quickly fixed her gaze back on my face. I realized I stood in nothing but my boxers, and my face grew warm.
“I heard the screams,” she said. “Is everything okay?”
I was grateful to focus on the real problem at hand.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Cady had a nightmare.”
I stepped aside so Thea could come in, though I was surprised Freya hadn’t beaten her to it. Witches milled in the hallway, but I ignored them. Thea was a talented healer, and I trusted her to look after my sister. I turned around, ready to get back to Cady, and tried to close the door, but a hand slapped against it. I recognized the magical presence of the witch before I turned back.
Freya.
Her hair was wilder than usual—sticks and leaves were caught in the curls. Her face was unusually blotchy, and her copper eyes shone like red-rimmed pennies. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but I didn’t notice any wounds or signs of a fight on her. Arion, in cat-form, stood beside her. Freya surveyed me.
“You’re okay,” she said and sighed. “You’re okay.”
I nodded. “Are you?”
For a moment, I expected her to hug me, but she swallowed and shoved past me.
“You should put some clothes on,” Freya snapped.
As she entered my living room, she paused.
“Is Cady crying?” she asked.
I nodded. “She had a nightmare.”
Freya cursed and hurried into my sister’s room. Feeling even more out of the loop than normal, I quickly threw on some jeans and a white t-shirt, then hurried back to Cadence and Freya. As I stepped into my sister’s now crowded room, I caught the words that made dread pool in my stomach.
“—dream-sharing,” Thea said. “You two have done this before?”
The healer stood by Cady’s bed, where both my sister and Freya now sat. They both nodded.
“We dreamed about a betrayal of the coven,” Freya said quietly, “before learning what Josephine had done.”
I leaned against the wall and studied Freya’s wild appearance once more. Learning about whatever awful thing they’d dreamed could wait a beat.
“What happened to you?” I asked her.
Freya met my gaze and quickly looked away.
“I spent the night at my cottage,” she answered.
“Alone?” I asked. My concern heightened. “I would’ve gone with you. Someone should’ve.”
Freya hadn’t been back since the golems had rampaged it. She hadn’t been eager to investigate the damage of her childhood home. The mess, however, wasn’t what had kept her from it.
I still remembered walking into my house for the first time knowing my mother’s love and laughter would never fill it again. Opening that front door had opened the floodgates of loneliness and grief. Luckily, Cady had been at my side.
Freya shouldn’t have faced that kind of pain alone.
Freya frowned. “I wasn’t aware I needed an escort. Besides, Arion was with me—he was how I got back here so quickly. And that’s not the point. I had a dream, and I…I just knew I had to get back here.”
Realizing she wasn’t going to explain her rationale for going to her dead mother’s home alone, I moved onto the topic at hand. I studied both Freya and Cady.
“What exactly did you dream?” I asked.
Cadence shivered. “There was a woman. She was so beautiful, but there was something wrong with her. Really, really wrong.”
“I only caught a glimpse of her smile,” Freya added, “but she was laughing. Cackling.” Her voice grew quieter. “And there was so much blood.”
As we stewed in that creep-fest, I remembered something.
“You were saying ‘med’,” I told Cady. “Over and over again.”
“Like, medical?” Thea asked.
I shook my head. “No, she said ‘medy’ once before she snapped out of it.”
“There’s more,” Freya said quietly. Her gaze met mine. “She said, ‘he’ll pay. He must pay.’”
I shivered.
“We need to tell the Elders about this,” Thea said. “I mean, is there any world in which this isn’t about Walker and the High Witch’s quest?”
“It has to be connected,” Freya agreed, “but I don’t see what bone the chimera has to pick with Walker.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed off a supernatural creature without doing anything to provoke them,” I argued.
Knowing I was referencing her, Freya winced. I decided to change the subject.
“Did you see the pendant?” I asked.
“Sort of,” Cady answered and grimaced. “I think I saw an actual chimera. It was vicious and ugly and mean. Its eyes were red. Bright red. It had the head of a lion, but it howled like a wolf at the moon.”
My thoughts drifted to Ryder and how on earth he was connected to any of this. I couldn’t make sense of it.
More knocks pounded against our door, and soon our apartment was filled with Elders. Despite the early hour, each of them was dressed for the day. We gathered in the living room and pulled chairs from the kitchen for everyone to have a seat. I offered one to Freya, but she declined it. Worry nagged at me. Cady seemed more and more herself, but Freya only grew more distant.
The Elders questioned Freya and Cady about their dreams. They fit together like a puzzle. Cady saw a single chimera howl, whereas Freya heard a swarm of them answer in return. Cadence felt an ancient, spine-tingling magic, and Freya saw a wicked grin and bloodshed.
They painted a really lovely picture.
“This must be the creature you seek,” Gloria said.
The Elder’s gray hair was swept into an impeccable bun, but her blue eyes were wide with concern.
Lyra placed a tan hand over Gloria’s pale one. “Hecate has not abandoned us yet. She still sends our coven visions.”
Gloria pulled Lyra into a hug. I couldn’t help but notice how Gloria inhaled the other witch or how Lyra clutched her tightly. They quickly pulled away and slipped back into their usual, aloof selves.
“And Hecate sent the dream to me for a reason,” Cadence said. “I’m supposed to go on this trip.”
I waited for a refusal to this point, but no one said anything. Not even Freya argued.
“Oh, come on,” I said. “She’s barely twelve years old! You can’t expect her to go with us. I think one vampire-visiting-field trip before thirteen is enough.”
Cadence shook her head. “Walker, I’m ready for this. Watch!”
One second, Cady sat on the couch beside Thea. The next, magic buzzed in the air, and a swirl of pink light appeared before her. She leaped through it before I could stop her.
“Cady!” I yelled.
Thunk.
I spun to the kitchen, where Cadence sat and shrugged.
“I haven’t perfected the landing,” she explained, “but I can summon portals.”
“Already?” Freya asked then snapped her mouth shut and wiped the disgruntled expression off her face. “Very impressive.”
I fought the urge to laugh at Freya’s poor attempt at hiding her jealousy, though it was nice to see that even the Heir struggled to keep up with my sister’s magical aptitude.
Regardless of how badass she was, Cady still didn’t need to hunt the chimera.
“We’ll take a vote,” Anise declared. She wore her usual frown and simple dress. “All Elders in favor of the child joining the quest raise their hands.”
Six hands raised.
Anger and fear warred inside me and stirred my magic. I stormed out of the room, away from the witches and their damned votes, before anyone could stop me.
Getting out of the apartment building and into the sunshine eased some of the tightness in my chest, but magic brimmed beneath my skin. I wished I could go lose myself on a horse, but I settled for walking farther and farther into the forest beyond the apartments.
“Damn,” a familiar, male voice greeted. “I thought I didn’t want to go on this trip.”
I stopped in my tracks and faced Ryder. He leaned against a tree with a black duffel bag over his shoulder. For once, he wore clothes—a black shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. He also wore his signature, cocky smirk.
“I’m fine with going,” I said, “not so fine with my baby sister coming with.”
At the thought, my magic grew even more potent. It heated my veins and hummed in my ears. If someone touched me now, they would get zapped. I almost wished Ryder would try.
“Eh.” Ryder shrugged. “From the looks of things, she’s probably better off than you are.”
I hated that he was right. Cadence shouldn’t be responsible for protecting herself.
That was supposed to be my job.
“Besides,” Ryder added and sighed. “Frey won’t let anything happen to the kid. Neither will I. Cady’s pretty cool if you overlook her family tree.”
Despite his rudeness, some of my panic eased at his words. It felt good to know there was someone looking out for Cady other than her out-of-control brother.
“Cadence is packing your things,” Freya said from behind me.
I turned and faced her. She had picked the debris out of her hair and plaited it into a neat braid. She had also gotten dressed in a fitted green turtleneck, black jeans, and her leather jacket. Jewelry glittered around her neck and on her fingers. Her face was once again even-toned, but stony—stonier than I had seen it in weeks.
“And she’s packing hers,” I said, “because she’s going now.”
Freya nodded.
“How can you be so even keeled about this?” I snapped.
Freya swallowed. “It’s what’s best for the coven. It’s what has to be done.”
Forgetting Ryder, I drew closer to her and breathed in her ginger and lavender scent. It settled some of my frayed edges.
“Sweetheart,” I said softly. Freya stiffened. “What happened at the cottage? Tell me what’s wrong.”
Tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll fix it.
For a heartbeat, pain fractured the carefully uncaring mask she donned. Freya swallowed it, and the glimpse of the girl I had come to know disappeared.
“You can’t call me that, Walker.” Walker, not cowboy. “We can’t do this anymore. Everything else is far too important. The Elders were right.”
“Do what?” I asked. “Care about you?”
Want to kiss you until I eclipse everything else? Until you make me feel alive and whole instead of like a shell of what I once was?
“Not like this,” she whispered and shook herself. Resolve lined her face. “We’re coven members. That’s the most important bond we share. That’s the only one.”
I sputtered, opening my mouth and closing it like a fish out of water. That’s how I felt. Moments ago, I had Freya.
How was I supposed to un-have her?
“Man,” Ryder mused. “Did I look this pathetic when you dumped me?”
Freya frowned at him and quickly turned away, toward the apartments.
“We leave in ten,” she called over her shoulder.
I stood frozen in place. For once, my magic was silent. It came alive for Freya, but I guessed it fell silent for her too.
Ryder clapped a hand over my shoulder, and I stiffened.
“She’s cold when she wants to be,” he said and sighed. “My dad told me not to mess around with a witch. They’re dangerous, and not because of their spells.”