Chapter Thirteen
Ifreaked out.
Straining and flailing against the ropes, I screamed myself hoarse—tears soaking my face and gag—as the flames consumed me and the pain—
Wait... The pain?
All around me was fire. Burning, crackling, and roaring so loud, it drowned out the bloodthirsty mob. Smoke filled my eyes and blotted out my vision, but the pain... why was there no pain?
No, not just no pain. Sound suddenly winked out too.
The chanting stopped, the roaring stopped, the crackling stopped, everything stopped. It was as if someone hit pause on the whole horrific scene.
Hold on. Lucifer! He did something! He stopped them from—
“Char?”
Every muscle in my body locked up.
That voice again. The voice I heard in the library that early morning before I was conked on the head. That female voice. That voice belonging to a person who absolutely could not be here.
“Char, can you hear me?” A figure moved through the smoke. “Don’t worry, you’re not hurt, and you’re not going to be. Just give me a second and I’ll get you out of there and away from these squealing pigs.”
Over the shouting and confusion banging around in my mind, I heard a clear and distinctive snap.
My ropes fell away, dumping me on the uneven surface.
I stumbled off the burning but heatless kindling, and dropped on the ground—my legs not even trying to hold me up.
She tsked. “Oh no, you’re still weak from the blood loss.”
Her shadow fell over me, and I choked. Curly golden locks, freckled nose, and that charming, crooked smile. Everything was the same except for one thing. Gone were her green eyes. Staring down at me were eyes that could be called nothing but demon red.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “I have something that will make you feel good as new. The nightmare is over, Charlie. I’m here now.”
“But— But— But you can’t be here!” I burst out. “This is a trick. A glamour. An imp’s illusion! Mom,” I gasped, eyes bugged. “How?!”
My mother smiled at me. That same soft, loving smile I’ve missed for four long years. “When all other explanations fail you, the simplest one is best. You know how I came to be here, sweetheart, because there can be only one reason.
“Four years ago, when I died, I was sent to hell.”
“MOM” FLOATED ME THROUGH the halls on an invisible magic stretcher. And like a stretcher, invisible bands lashed me down. Even if I was strong enough to get up and get away, that wasn’t happening.
“The first thing to know is that you’re safe now,” she said. “From that perverted vampire, from that fae brat, and from that mutt who’s so obsessed with you.”
My goodness, how long has this weirdo been watching me?
“I cast immobilization magic over the entire academy. Normally, I wouldn’t have the power for such a feat, but I’m much stronger these days.” She looked at me. “I know you have a lot of questions—”
“I don’t have any questions for you,” I sliced off. “You’re not my mother. You’re a fake who looks like her. You’re probably Lucifer.”
She laughed softly. “If I were Lucifer, then you naming me would’ve broken the glamour. Is the glamour broken?”
Nope. The impostor was still wearing my mother’s face.
“That doesn’t prove anything.” I turned my head away. “Just means there’s someone else under that disguise. You’re not my mother,” I said, clear and firm. “My mother is not a murderer. My mother would never hit me over the head and abandon me at a crime scene.”
“Ah, yes...” Regret dared to leech into the fake’s voice. “I’m truly sorry about that, sweetie. I hope I didn’t hit you too hard.”
I squawked when the fake brushed her hand across my temple.
“But it was just as I said. You came down too early,” she said. “I couldn’t have you interrupting my work, and I certainly couldn’t stop and explain it to you all right then. I hope you can forgive me.”
“Why should you care if I forgive you? I don’t even know you, and you don’t know me.”
She laughed as we reached a staircase, and descended into the darkness. Where were we going that not even candles wanted to light our way?
“You always were a stubborn one,” she said, chuckling. “When you were five, you announced you wanted a puppy and there was no talking you out of it. Even when your father and I told you pets were too expensive, you turned around and said you’d get the money all by yourself.
“The little rascal you were, you went around to all the neighbors, telling them that your mommy and daddy were poor, so you needed money to buy what you needed. My goodness, when you walked through the door, proudly holding a jar stuffed with over five hundred dollars, we almost had a heart attack,” she cried.
“We had to go around the whole neighborhood, tell them we were not poor, and give the money back.”
She chuckled. “But in the end, we were so impressed with your hustling, we got you a rescue dog. Do you remember her name?”
“Of course, I remember my dog’s name,” I snapped. “But you don’t, Madam Impostor, because whoever fed you that story didn’t.”
Another freaking laugh floated through the darkness.
I craned my head around, unease filling my chest. “Okay, seriously, who are you and where are you taking me?”
“I am your mother, Charlie. I know it’s hard to accept, but it’s me. As for where I’m taking you,” she said. “I’m taking you to the reason you came here.
“I’m taking you to Adora.”
She snapped her fingers, cutting off what I’d been about to say.
Light flooded the narrow staircase, beckoning us into a room with high ceilings held up with dusty rafters clinging with cobwebs. She shut the door behind us and then left me parked in front of it as she drifted away. I couldn’t see anything but the door, part of the wall, and the ceiling.
“What are you doing?” I wiggled under my unseen binds. “Let me out of here.”
“In a moment.”
Clink. Clink. Ting. The sounds of her messing around with something reached my ears.
“First, I need to explain how we came to be here,” she said, “and I need you to listen without overreacting. All of this will make sense if you just listen.”
“Just listen?” I strained harder. “Look, Fake, I don’t care about your reasonings. You said you would bring me to my sister, so where is she?” I twisted my neck trying to see the rest of the room. “Is she here?”
“I will bring you to Adora,” she replied. “She is safe and unharmed, and you have my word on that. And yes, I know you’re thinking the word of a putrid demon is worthless. You’re thinking I’m vile and disgusting, and to even be in the same room with me is sickening, but—”
“No, I’m not thinking that! What is up with you? Keep your self-loathing to yourself, lady! I’m not prejudiced against demons or anyone else.”
“No, you’re not.” There was an odd note in her voice. “I really did raise a wonderful young woman.”
I rolled my eyes again. “Will you quit it with that, already? I know you’re not my mother, so try that scam on someone else,” I said. “Tell me whatever it is you think I need to hear, and then take me to my sister.”
“Thank you, sweetie. I appreciate you trusting me.”
I heaved a gusty sigh—irritation crawling under my skin. What was with this weirdo? Why won’t she give the pet names and tender voice a rest already?
“But, first...” Her footsteps carried her closer. “Drink this. It’ll replenish the blood you’ve lost. A few sips and you’ll feel better instantly.”
She pressed a bottle to my lips, and I snapped them shut, not even pretending like I was going to drink a single drop of the mystery gray sludge I peeped in that bottle.
It was her turn to sigh. “Honestly, Charlotte, when did you get so distrustful?” She lowered me down a fraction so that I was floating just below her chin. Meeting my eyes, she drank a hearty gulp of the sludge. “See? It’s harmless.”
It took more coaxing, but when a minute passed and she didn’t crumple to the ground screaming, I figured it wasn’t poison.
I took a few sips, found it tasted surprisingly okay, and then gasped as strength flooded through my body. My brain fog cleared, my dizziness vanished, my noodle arms remembered they were held up by bones—not wet wheat.
“Potions,” she bragged, moving away and out of sight again. “Demons can create magical potions too, but they don’t. Potion-making requires patience and precision, which doesn’t suit creatures that want everything done with a snap of a finger.
“Our people have always hated demons,” she hissed. “No— We’ve hated every stinking, rotten, preying supernatural that invaded our world and made us afraid in and out of our homes. It’s because of them that my ancestors and yours were forced to trade in normal lives for a legacy of blood and pain.”
I stilled. “My... My ancestors?”
“Yes, Charlotte. You are my smart girl, so I’m sure you’ve pieced some of this together already, but you are a witch, and so was I, and so was your grandmother, and her mother, and the women before her.”
“No.” I dismissed her nonsense completely. Letting it tumble through one ear and right out the other. “You’re lying.”
“I’m not lying, baby, but I understand why you think so.
It’s because the mother you know would’ve told you something so important,” she said, “and it’s true, I should’ve.
I’ve had four long years in hell to rake over every wrong and every regret, and that is what I regret the most—not telling you everything.
“But I’m telling you now whether you want to hear it or not. You are a witch, and not just any witch, you’re the sole and most powerful descendant of the Avos coven.”
I yawned loud and exaggerated. “Is story time over now?”
“Watch your attitude, Charlotte, I’m still your mother.”
Wow, this psycho was really committed to the bit. But despite her nonsense, I did fall quiet. If not interrupting her meant she’d tell her lies faster, then that was fine with me. All I wanted was for her to shut up and take me to Dora.