Darker Days

“I had a witch friend who owed me a favor. Lorna Belfair. Together, we trapped Meredith Wells for all eternity. She was put into a deep, magic-based sleep and we buried her in hallowed ground.”

Belfair? Huh. That would explain why Cassidy lied to Mom. Her line had history with Meredith. If she thought the other witch was still trapped, of course she’d never tell us where to find her.

“Buried? As in, you buried her alive?” My stomach convulsed. Just the thought made my blood run cold. Sure, she was a murderous, unhinged bitch, but no one deserved that.

“She wasn’t awake. She didn’t feel a thing.”

“Well, she’s awake now. And let me tell you, she’s pretty damn pissed.” And if it was Simon that trapped her, boyfriend envy wasn’t the only thing she had against me. No wonder she seemed to hate the Darkers.

I didn’t think it was possible for a ghost to pale, but Simon proved me wrong. “You and your mother are in grave danger. She will stop at nothing to get her revenge. She—” At his feet, another spark of white. “How did it happen?”

I rolled my eyes. “Sorry—no clue. I haven’t gotten the chance to chat with her about it over a latte.”

Paulson sighed. Expression sad, he said, “I can’t keep you here any longer, Mr. Darker. Your time is up.”

Another flash. Simon flickered. “You can help Lukas, but you can’t—alone—need help. Talk to V—”

And with a final, brilliant flash, he was gone.

…

“We need to talk.”

Every time someone said that lately, my skin started to crawl. Kind of like when someone yelled fire. You just knew the shit was about to hit the fan.

Lukas had been too quiet on the way back from Paulson’s. I’d suggested taking the bus, but he wanted to walk. Really see the town. We’d gotten back to the office to find it empty—Mom and Dad were still out searching for Sins, I guessed.

He settled on the couch without bothering to flip the lights on, waiting for me to sit across from him. “It’s over, Jessie. We tried, but—”

I laughed him off. “Haven’t you been paying attention? I’m stubborn. It’s not over ’til it’s over.” It was one of Mom’s favorite sayings—and I’d always hated it. Yet at that moment, it was all I could think of, and really, it was perfect. A true blue mantra for the stubborn.

His expression didn’t change. “It’s over,” he repeated. “I’ve been in the box for 147 years. You don’t know what it’s like—but I do. I won’t condemn someone else to that.”

“I told you, we’ll find another way. Simon said there was someone out there who could help.”

He shook his head and stood. Stepping forward, he settled on the cushion next to me. “There is no other way. My only salvation would be to damn someone else. If I do that, then I truly am evil.”

“There are plenty of bad people out there. You don’t know what it’s like—but I do,” I repeated his words with a bit of bite. “Monsters that prey on little girls. Men who butcher their wives. Women who kill their own kids—take your pick. They’re evil. Not you.”

Again, he shook his head.

“I don’t understand. Last night you said—I thought we—” I couldn’t finish. Everything I’d said to Mom that morning was forgotten. Now, all I wanted was to find a way to keep him here. With me.

This was why I had rules. Unbreakable and set for my own sanity rules. I’d crossed the line—big time—and now, I’d have to pay the price. Lukas Scott had pulled me down hard. Was this how Mom felt when she had to say goodbye to Dad? Like the air was too thin, and the ground was going to split open and gobble her up?

“I want to stay. I never imagined meeting anyone like you, and now that I have, do you really think I want to leave?” He tilted my head up, and I fought a shiver. His fingers skimmed along the lines of my jaw, thumb tracing the outline of my bottom lip. It was like heaven. And hell. Things I’d never imagined—feelings I didn’t know could exist—all surged through me. Feelings like this could save a person.

Or ruin them.

“Lukas…”

He shook his head. “Meredith did me a favor. I would have never been happy in my time. I wasn’t meant to be there. When I was trapped the first time, I had nothing to hold on to but rage and thoughts of revenge. This time will be different. Easier. I’ll have your memory to keep me grounded. You’ll be my serenity.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I agreed, that he was meant to be here. Now. With me. But he kept talking.

“But I’m not a killer—please don’t ask me to be. A good man wouldn’t sacrifice others to get what he wanted.” His expression darkened. “No matter how badly he wanted it.”

He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than me.

I remembered what he’d said in the woods by the train tracks. “Maybe it’s my penance. Eternity in the box. I made mistakes—we all do—and maybe this is my punishment. My destiny. To hold Wrath in my heart so no one else has to.”

“Meredith said something at school today. About how she was only able to do what she did because you were viable. What happened, Lukas? What did you do?”

He let go of my chin and pulled away. I wanted to drag his hand back, but I resisted, instead focusing on the sound of his voice.

“She’s right. I was very angry.”

“What were you angry about?”

There was a spark of red in his eyes. A flash. There and gone in an instant. “My father was not the noble gentleman the public knew and loved. He was a monster. Violent and cruel.”

“You hated him.”

Lukas laughed. “I didn’t only hate him, I wanted him dead.” He sighed. “He ruled our home with an iron fist. Treated my mother like a servant rather than a wife.”

I remembered his reaction when he found me in the woods. The spark of rage in his eyes as he told Garrett not to hurt me. He’s a monster! He’d been taking out his anger over his dad on Garrett.

“He hit her,” I whispered.

“I’d had enough of his treatment. Of her—and of me. The night after I found Meredith with the farmer’s son, I confronted my father. I was erratic. Confused. I removed my mother from the house and promised to return to finish him off. I meant it. I would have but—”

“But Meredith got in the way.”

He nodded. “Only hours after I secured my mother at the home of her sister, Meredith found me. Knowing what I know now, I understand it all. You see, it was she who pushed me—the day prior—to take action against my father. I suppose she set me up from the start.”

“I’m sorry,” I said softly. I couldn’t imagine growing up in a place like that. How scared he must have been as a child.

“I deserved what I got,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “Had he been alive when I was released in 1910, I would have killed him without a second thought. Even after all those years, I wanted him dead. It was the first thing I thought of when my feet hit solid ground. First him, then Meredith.”

I took his hand. “That doesn’t make you evil. It makes you human.”

“I was a monster. Just like him.”

There was no point in arguing with him because he believed without a doubt that he belonged in that box. Nothing I could say would absolve him of that.

“Then we do belong together,” I whispered, leaning closer. “Because I’m part monster, too.”

I’d heard it a million times. Whether we like it or not, we all become our parents. Mostly, that had never bothered me. My mom was beautiful and smart. She could kick ass like no one else I’d ever known. She was brave and witty and good-hearted. Did I want to grow up to be just like her? Sure I did. Except for one tiny little thing. I wanted to learn from her mistake. Mistake. Just one. A single decision that had resulted in a lifetime of pain and