Darker Days

“There aren’t many in the area. The Belfairs and the rest of their coven, plus a few solitaries. I don’t see anyone offering their aid.” Mom paled as the reality of what she’d just said hit her. “Oh, no…Are they being forced by the Sins?”

“It’s not someone from the coven, and no, they’re not forcing the witch to help them, either. She’s doing it on her own. I think she actually found them. If I’m right, this is the girl Dad took the box from. The one that tripped him.”

“What person in her right mind…” Mom breathed.

“That’s just it. This chick? She hasn’t had her right mind for a really, really long time. Probably not ever.”

I turned to Lukas. Showtime. “The witch they found—it’s Meredith Wells.”

Mom pinched the bridge of her nose and sank into her chair. “Wells? As in a descendant of the witch that trapped Lukas in the box? I looked everywhere, and Cassidy said—”

“Technically, Cassidy lied to you, Ma.” I shook my head, attention still on Lukas. He didn’t look good. Jaw clenched. Fingers knotted. Eyes stormy. “She found a Wells witch. Not a descendant of Meredith Wells, but Meredith herself. Kendra confirmed it.”

“That’s impossible.” Lukas’ voice was icy. “You must have misunderstood. She’s related to Meredith Wells.”

“She’s not,” I said softly. “She is Meredith Wells.”

“She wasn’t in the box.” His fingers curled around the edge of Mom’s desk, muscles in his arms taut like rubber bands ready to snap. “There’s no way she could still be alive.”

“If she had the power to trap you in the box, there’s no doubt she’d have the power to prolong her own life.” Dad snorted. “See? A pain in the ass, those witches.”

“You said you think she’s pulling their strings? Controlling them?” Mom was in all work mode. “What makes you think that? What did she say?”

I wanted to yell at them. We were wasting time chatting about this. We needed to get out there and find this bitch before she did any more damage. Instead, we were standing there playing twenty questions.

“I didn’t realize it at first,” I said with a bit of a bite. “She told me who she was, pretty much told me to stay away from her guy—then said she liked my jacket.”

“Liked your jacket?” Mom asked. “A little strange, but okay.”

“No,” I said, shaking my finger at them. Why were they not getting it? “That’s what did it. On the way home I was attacked by those girls and they wanted my jacket. Would have killed for it. Then Envy showed up to take in the show.”

“You think this Meredith girl sent them after you?”

“More like had Envy send them after me,” I snapped. In the corner, on top of my desk, Smokey let out a low growl. They were starting to annoy me with all the questions. Hadn’t I made it clear? If Mom kept this up, I was likely to start swinging.

Wait…

Swinging?

Horrified, I whirled around. Lukas was pale and shaking and looked ready to collapse.

“Out! Everyone out.”

Dad cursed and stepped forward to grab my arm, but I jerked away.

“You guys out. I’m staying.”

“Absolutely not!” he roared and made another swipe for me.

I dodged him again and turned to Mom, eyes pleading. “I can calm him down.”

She looked torn. Unsure and maybe a little sad, she nodded and grabbed Dad by the arm. Despite his protests, she was able to haul him out the door.

Once they were gone, I turned back to Lukas. My earlier vow to distance myself from him and the feelings festering between us was forgotten. There was a little voice in my head still nagging me to keep away, but I pushed it aside. All I could think about was stopping his pain.

“Deep breath,” I said, tilting his head up. “Don’t be angry. Look at it this way. Meredith being alive is a good thing.”

Red eyes rose to meet mine. “Get—get out. I can’t control it.”

I let my fingers trail along the lines of his face. Across his cheeks and around to his ears, tucking a strand of hair back. “You can. I know you can. You’re amazing, Lukas. You can do anything.”

“No,” he snapped, voice taking on an otherworldly twang. “Get—Ahhhhh!” The scream that ripped from his throat stilled my breath and sent the temperature in the room plummeting. Still, I didn’t budge.

“Deep breaths,” I said softly. No sudden movements. No angry thoughts. I closed my eyes and let the contentment I felt for my life wash over him. The amazing relationship I had with my mom. Seeing my dad again. Meeting him… “You can do this.”

Slowly, the thickness in the air thinned, and Lukas’ breathing evened out. Our eyes met and he leaned close, wrapping both arms tight around me. “My mother was the only one who ever believed in me, Jessie. She would have liked you.”

I smiled and pulled away. “I’m sure I would have liked her, too.”

“What were you saying before? About it being good that Meredith was still alive? If she’s behind all this, that means all the chaos is her fault. I don’t see how that’s good.”

“Yeah, but it also means something else.”

“Oh?”

“A chance for payback. We’ll get her. She won’t get away with it this time. I promise.” Obviously at that moment, I would have said just about anything to keep him calm. But they weren’t just words. I meant them.

She was going down.

…

Mom called Kendra’s mom to tell her what happened. There was so much screaming, Dad and I could hear it in the other room. I half expected us to grow tails and start walking around on all fours. Mom assured Cassidy that we’d get her daughter back, but the witch wouldn’t take any chances. She would involve her coven. Not ideal, but we couldn’t blame her. After that, Mom and Dad left to follow a lead. A call came across the police scanner saying most of the town was down at Shaker’s bar tying one on. The bar had run out of food and was nearly out of beer and it was starting to get ugly. Mom was hoping to snag Gluttony.

So off they’d gone…but not before giving me something to occupy my time.

Since she didn’t want me going back to school and didn’t trust me to keep myself out of trouble if left to my own devices, I was handed a stack of case files as thick as an encyclopedia.

It was almost three-thirty and we’d interviewed three new clients, found a missing person—who wasn’t missing, only hiding to avoid an impending break up with the client—and did some recon for an insurance scam case.

I was bored to tears, but Lukas loved the fact-finding process and was actually a huge help when it came to interviewing. There was a good chance his bullshit meter was better than Mom’s.

We’d stopped at Didi’s, a small place on Main Street, for munchies. A seasonal store, they’d reopened early October and would be around until the last week of February dishing out the most amazing hot cocoa the world had ever seen. My favorite was the mint-spiked hot chocolate they’d introduced two years ago.

Lukas’ eyes drifted closed as he bit into his almond biscotti with a contented sigh. “Food has certainly improved since my day.” He waved the biscotti. “This is unbelievable.”

“Right? They have the best stuff here,” I said, taking a swig of my cocoa. “So… We have Sloth stashed in the basement, and Mom’s hoping to snag Gluttony. We’re gonna run out of room…”

He stopped mid-chew, eyes flying open. “Absolutely not.”

“What?” I said defensively. “You don’t even know what I was gonna say!”

He bit off another piece of biscotti and tried to hide a grin. “I do. And the answer is no.”

At the sight of his smile, my heart hammered just a bit faster. “As if you could stop me, Grandpa.”

He leaned forward, resting both arms across the tabletop. “I can try, demon girl.”