Chapter 23
Orion takes the keys from my hands and coaxes me into the passenger seat. “You had to do it, sis. She’s a wild card.” He slams the door shut and waves to the guys as they head over to Malik’s car.
“We’re going over to Malik’s,” he says as he revs the engine to life. “Now, tell me exactly what went down between you and Aria.”
My lips open and shut, but no words escape. Tonight was too much. The messed-up part about everything is that I miss Joelle already.
After what I said to her, she’ll never want to talk to me again—which was the goal. The longer she stays in my life, the more likely it is the vision will come true. But if we take this detour, then she won’t have the opportunity. I’ll make sure to stay away from her until after the full moon.
“Earth to Mikaela,” Orion says, waving his hand in front of my face. “Man, you’re really out of it.”
My first urge is to snap, What do you expect?! But I don’t even have the energy for that. All the adrenaline previously pumping through my veins has dissipated. I’m left as a shell of a person.
“I didn’t get anything from Aria.” I sigh. “She kept denying her family’s involvement.”
“And your ear?”
I reach up. The bleeding has stopped. Now only a crusty scab remains. I focus healing energy into the wound, and slowly, it disappears, and new skin stitches itself together.
“She tried to kill me, Ri. That knife was headed straight for my skull. It was only luck that I stepped out of the way in time.”
“Nah,” Orion says. “Not luck. That was skill. You’ve always been able to sense those sorts of things.”
He’s right. I silently thank the ancestors for my gift.
The speedometer ticks past the speed limit as his grip on the wheel tightens. “Seems like the universe is trying mighty hard to take you out.”
“Tell me about it.” I sigh again. “What do we do now?”
He glances over at me. “You’re the one calling the shots.”
I lean my head against the window and stare at my reflection in the side mirror.
My mother stares back at me, made immortal in my features.
I like to think that she would know what to do, but she was only human and made mistakes, too.
She thought she was invincible heading out into the storm that night, but I’m well aware that I’m not.
I need guidance from the one person left to give it.
“We’ll tell Gramps.”
I’ve kept the demonology book from him, too afraid that he’ll take it away from me. He didn’t want any of us to have knowledge of demons, and now I’ve got the ultimate guidebook hidden in my closet.
Once he finds out about it and Aria’s stunt tonight, he’ll have no choice but to tell the rest of the Council. They’ll want to strike the Hightowers.
Ahead of us, Malik’s taillights flash on and he jerks a turn onto a side street. “That’s weird,” Orion remarks, flipping on his turn signal to follow. We both hop out of the car as soon as he puts it in park.
Malik stumbles out of the driver’s seat and races around the front of the car.
“What’s going on?” Orion yells.
“It’s Chris! I think he’s choking or having a seizure!”
I step back as Orion and Malik pull Chris from the passenger seat. His body is limp as they set him down on the pavement. He gurgles as his eyes roll back in his head. Golden light pulsates rhythmically in his veins. Spittle flies from his lips as he begins to convulse.
“Protect his head!” I rush forward to kneel by his side as Malik cradles his head. A painful shock jolts my fingers as I touch Chris’s skin. That familiar darkness sends my stomach roiling.
Orion’s backed up against the car, gripping the open door. Malik looks sick as he holds Chris’s head.
Not again! Everything in me wants to recoil in the opposite direction, but I’m responsible for the witches of my coven. I can’t sit here and do nothing.
“I know neither of you have seen this before, but we have to act fast.” I beckon to Orion. “He’ll die if we don’t help him.”
“I—I…” Orion stammers, frozen in place. He’s in shock.
“Malik, help me.” I place my hand on Chris’s chest, choking back the hot rush of stomach acid and bile. “Have you ever healed someone before?”
He shakes his head. “No,” he says. “I’m not any good at it.”
Fuck! “Okay, fine, fine.” I close my eyes and reach down into Chris’s body. Barely any of his own magic remains. It’s been smothered by the swirling darkness within. I grit my teeth and shove my magic into his body, trying to remove the darkness, as I did with little Marian.
My eyes open as Orion kneels across from me, placing his hand over mine.
“Keep going,” he mutters through gritted teeth.
We work together, sinking every atom of extra energy we have into Chris’s body.
The darkness retreats against the tide of our magic, but then a screeching roar assaults my eardrums, forcing me to fall back onto my heels.
My head pounds as the ringing caused by that sound in my ears begins to subside.
When I open my eyes, Chris is still. The pulsating golden light is gone, replaced with an inky blackness that crisscrosses his skin.
A symbol is carved into his forehead, the backward C with an odd cross in the middle.
The very same one carved into Mr. Peterson’s skin. The demon’s mark.
Malik is frozen, still clutching Chris’s head. Across from me, Orion leans back on his hands, sucking in shallow breaths. None of us speaks.
Chris is dead. We were so close to saving him; I could feel the darkness fading until it rose back up with a vengeance. That didn’t happen when Gramps and I saved Marian. The demon’s hold on Chris was too strong, or maybe I was too weak.
Aria must have done something to him. It isn’t a coincidence that we were just with her.
Chris’s head thuds to the ground as Malik scrambles backward.
He grasps both sides of his own head, tears running down his cheeks.
“What the fuck just happened? He was fine!” Malik shouts.
“He was stuffing his face with cookies and talking about asking Lizzie out. And now he’s fucking dead. It doesn’t make sense.”
Oh God, Lizzie. They’ve been dancing around their feelings for so long now. This is going to break her.
Orion doubles over and vomits. Sweat beads on his forehead as he clutches his stomach. “Those fuckers have to pay,” he spits out between gags. “All of ’em.”
He’s right. We’ve lost too much to turn the other cheek. I pull out my phone and call Gramps. This has to end.