Chapter Twenty-Six
Iheard the door open and Shannon gasp. “No freaking way.”
My mom turned to me. “What the hell is this?”
“Mom, did you think I didn’t notice you eyeing up Jora’s SUV the last time you came up?” My mother blushed.
“It was nice.” She pouted.
Shannon ran up to us. “Who’s it for?”
I ignored her. The SUV was fully unloaded and the delivery guy was walking over.
“I am looking for a Mrs. Maclean.” I smiled as my mom turned to me.
“An Ainsley Maclean.” She whipped her head back around to face the driver.
“I’m guessing that’s you.” His chuckle was soft as he walked over and dropped the keys into her hands. “Hope you like it.” Then he was gone.
My mom turned to me. “I might have gotten you a new car, too.” I grinned. “But I’m going to go help Lynn and Toya pack, so I’m going to go. Go look at it.” I pushed her towards her new car and turned away.
Shannon was pouting behind us. “You bought your mom a new car?” I nodded as I went to go past. “This isn’t fair.” She stomped her foot like a child.
I paused. “Why isn’t it fair?” I looked back at the red SUV.
“I don’t even have a car.” She crossed her arms as she watched my mom get in.
“Well, you can have her old one.” I laughed as I walked inside. Leaving her to pout and scream. I ran upstairs to find Lynn laying in my bed, blankets wrapped around her, and Toya rubbing her back. “How is she doing?” I closed and locked the door behind me.
Toya sighed. “She cried until she fell asleep.” She turned to face me. “I’m worried about her.”
I nodded as I walked closer. “She’s strong. She will bounce back.” I knelt down and brushed the hair out of her face. Lynn’s eyes snapped open and I could see the anger in them. Anger and accusation.
Her nostrils flared, like she was scenting me, so I waited. “You didn’t sleep with him.” Her words were soft and confused.
I smiled softly. “Of course I didn’t. Even if he wasn’t your mate, which he was, he was a scumbag.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. A tear fell from her eye and down her nose. “Then why?”
I ran my hand down her hair. “Then why, what?”
She opened her eyes, and this time they were full of pain, rage and hurt. “Why didn’t you kill him?”
I smiled as I pushed her hair back again. She was pissed at me but it was okay. “Because. We are going to get you back up to full strength and then you are going to kill him.” She blinked at me a few times. “After everything he did to you…don’t you want that?”
She nodded. She was getting choked up. “Yes, yes, I want that.” She looked down at the damage he had done, at her body. “But I am too weak.”
Toya rubbed her back again. “We will help fix that.” Toya smiled. “Nothing a few good meals and some rest and training won’t fix.”
“I can’t stay here. Not with him.”
“And you won’t.” I leaned over and kissed her temple. “I’m going to fix that right now.”
“How?”
I stood and turned to look at the closet. “Magic.” I went into my dresser and grabbed the candle I had there. It was a scented candle that I rarely used, but for this, it should do the job. I looked at Toya. “The book?”
She pointed to the closet. “I moved it in there so I could lay Lynn down. She was shivering so much I was worried about her.” I nodded.
I entered the closet and knelt down in front of the door before dropping the baggie of spices and the candle. Then I opened the book and found the spell. “Nix, I need you to send this to Wendy’s wolf. She needs to carve these exact symbols into the door frame.”
Nix forced herself to the surface, gazing at the page, and then she disappeared. I knew without asking she was headed down the bond to speak to Wendy’s wolf directly. No mind linking to be overheard. No texts being monitored. It was the safest way we communicated, with no one knowing.
I sat and waited for Nix to come back. While I waited, I reorganized the closet. I wanted clothes in front of the door, but not the full racks like I had it. I moved the front rack closer to the door, and moved the back rack up.
I had almost finished as Nix stepped out of the trees. What are you doing? Her voice was amused, but I moved the last few things and then opened and closed the door a few times, making sure nothing would get in the way.
I am just making sure we can come and go as needed. I turned back to the book. Is it done?
Nix nodded as she came closer to the barrier. Yes, she has finished the carving. I waited and watched so that I could tell you where she carved what, just in case it was important.
Smart. I leaned down and grabbed the book from the floor. I didn’t even think of that. Okay. I paused, ready to start. Which one first?
Nix pushed forward. She pointed at the first symbol, a weird-looking N. She did this one on the bottom.
I shifted my hand into my claws and carved the N into the baseplate of the door frame.
Nix pointed at the circle with a line through it.
This one is in the middle of the left-hand side.
I carved mine in the same area. This one, a sideway S with a few dots, is on the top.
I stood and went to carve the symbol above the door but Nix stopped me.
Not there. She did it like the bottom on the top plate.
Like the sides. I nodded and carved it into the crossbeam on the frame.
And the last one was the star she did directly across from the circle.
I finished the carving, then knelt at the candle. I lit it with a thought, then I stared at the flame, watching it get stronger. I opened the zip top and pulled out the spices I needed and put them in the correct order.
I got off my knees and settled cross-legged in front of the candle facing the doorway.
I took a deep breath before I grabbed the thyme.
“Isther net bu for sha.” I sprinkled the thyme over the flame.
I picked up the tumeric next. “Lor sha pen todo senic.” I tapped the orange powder over the flame and the flame crackled.
I grabbed the mint next, the dried leaves cracking in between my fingers.
“Lorna si ca shi fan clo.” I crumpled the leaves and sprinkled them into the fire, watching the flame spit ash.
I took a deep breath, focused on my flame.
I grabbed the sage leaves from the bag and held them over the candle.
“Norte ble ahsen clo nic she cle.” That was the last of the spell, but I knew it was incomplete.
I pictured the other door. With the same symbols carved into the doorway and the path I needed.
“Penta sen cor la du. Cli na t`or pinta.” I dropped the last leaf, and the candle exploded in a burst of light.
I screamed as I leaned back, raising my hands to cover my face.
“Amy!” Toya screamed and ran into the closet and stopped behind me.
“Are you okay?” I waited to feel the burn, or glass hit me, but there was nothing.
“Amy?” Toya sounded a little confused. I lowered my hands to find absolutely nothing.
I looked around, dumbfounded. The candle, the spices, everything was gone.
I was left untouched. My closet was fine, but all of my supplies for the spell, gone.
I patted my legs, just to make sure, but I was whole.
Toya walked over and crouched next to me. “What happened?”
I looked up at her with my mouth hanging open. “I don’t know.” I stood up and looked around the floor. Toya followed my eyes.
“Where are the spices and the candle?” She looked back at me. “I thought you were doing the spell.”
“I did…” I looked around again, confused. “I did the spell. The candle exploded.” I spun in a circle, but everything was still clear. “What the fuck…”
“Did it work?” Toya frowned.
“I…don’t…know.” I turned to face the door.
“Are you going to check?”
I looked back at her and then shrugged. “I guess.”
She laughed. “Why are you so rattled?”
“I don’t know.” I looked around again. “No, I do. I’m fucking confused.
One minute I was watching sage burn and then the next the candle was exploding.
And I’m not talking about a small thing, like glass breaking or whatever.
It was big.” I waved my arms. “The flame shot up, the glass exploded out. I honestly thought I was a goner.”
Toya looked around. “But…” She looked back at my face.
“Exactly. Everything is gone. Not a speck of glass, wax, or any bit of spice to be found. There are no burns, not ash, nothing.” I spun in another circle. “I feel like I am going insane.”
“Have you ever done the recall spell before?” I shook my head. “Maybe it’s a part of the spell? Maybe it makes it work?” She shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t know.” I turned to face the door. “But there is only one way to find out.” I walked to the door. I looked back at Toya. “What if it didn’t work?” My stomach was a bunch of knots. We needed this to work.
Toya lifted her shoulder. “Then we drive back to school and run back.” She was so matter of fact about it, it calmed my nerves.
I turned back and closed my eyes, and opened the door.
Only to run face first into another fucking door.
“Ow.” My eyes snapped open, and I rubbed my forehead. “What the fuck?” I placed my hand on the wood and tapped on it, making sure it was solid.
“What?” Toya came up behind me. She peered over my shoulder. “Is that another door?” I nodded. “Well…” She nudged my back. “Open it.”
I puffed out my cheeks. “If I don’t come back, I’m blaming you.” I opened the second door quickly, slamming the door against the wall.
“What the fuck!” Wendy screamed.
“Holy shit, it worked.” I whispered as I stared at my friend.
“It worked.” Toya clapped behind us.
“Amy!” Carly came running, and I opened my arms. “Hi baby.” I hugged her to me and then pushed her back as I crouched down. “Have you been a good girl for Aunt Wendy?”
Wendy smiled and nodded. Carly bounced. “We played board games.”
Wendy sighed. “She beat me every time.” I chuckled.
“Good.” I looked up. “We have all the stuff here. We can hand it through, but we will have a guest with us at the cabin for a while.”
“Who is it?” Wendy leaned against the wall.
“It’s the sad warrior.” Carly looked up at me. “She is sick.”
I nodded. “Exactly right.” I booped her nose.
“But now that we have this path, we have some rules.” I pushed her back a few steps, so that she was on the cabin side.
“Stay over on this side unless there is an attack. Then you can come to hide on this side. But never ever come over here, unless you have to. Okay?”
Carly nodded. “I know. I’m not safe over there without you.”
“Right again.” I smiled. “Okay. Can you go sit on the bed while we bring stuff across?” She smiled and ran back to my bed, and crawled up into it. She took a deep breath and I knew she was smelling my scent mixed with her dads. She crinkled her nose. “What’s wrong?”
“Your scent is wrong.”
I chuckled. “Smart kid.” Toya came back with the first bags. “Here. Wendy, these are the bags your mom left for you.”
“Thank you!” She grabbed the bags and headed back to her room.
Toya left again as I watched Carly curl up into my bed. I walked over to her and stroked her hair. “How are you doing, Car?”
She snuggled her face into a pillow. “I’m sad, but I’ll be okay.” She looked up at me. “Can I have this pillow? For the shirt you gave me.”
“Of course, baby. You can have whatever you want from here. The blankets, the pillows, anything.” She jolted up.
“Seriously?”
I just nodded. “Did your daddy tell you about the sad warrior?”
She nodded. “The room next to Toya’s is for her. He said she will need to feel safe because of everything she had to go through.”
I furrowed my brows. “There’s a room next to Toya's?” She nodded. She hopped up and grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hall. We stopped at a door I had never noticed. “What the…”
“My daddy made it that way. Unless you have a reason to come here, your head won’t see it.” She opened the door and I went to walk in, but Carly pulled me back. “Daddy said no one but the sad woman should enter, so she feels safe.”
I crouched down and kissed her head. “You are so smart.” She smiled and then I headed back to the closet. Toya had dropped a few of my bags in the room and she was coming through with her stuff. “That’s everything?” She nodded.
“Yeah. We just need food and Lynn.”
I nodded. “I have a plan for that. I’m going to go grab Lynn and bring her to her room.” Toya just nodded. I looked down at Carly. “There is a hamper with your dad’s clothes right there. Why don’t you bring it to your room? Then you can come back in here and take what you want. How about that?”
Carly bounced over to the hamper and grabbed it. “Thank you.” Then she was gone.
I smiled as I walked back over to my bedroom and crouched next to the bed. “Lynn?” She cracked her eyes open. “I’m going to take you away from here. Somewhere safe, okay?”
“Swear it.” Her voice was ragged.
“I, Amy Maclean, swear I am taking you off pack lands away from Derek where you can stay in peace.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded. “Before I can take you there, I’m going to need some of your blood.”
“Why?”
“To add you to the protection spell. But I promise, as soon as you get there, you will be safe.” She nodded and held out her wrist.
I looked around and grabbed the first thing I could find. A dish I used to hold my jewelry. I dumped out the few rings I had in it. “This might hurt.” I shifted a claw and sliced her wrist. I watched her blood fill the dish. But something was wrong. “Why aren’t you healing?” I hadn’t cut that deep.
Her voice was soft. “Wolfsbane.”
Fuck.