“Stop it,” Shay ordered. The knife in his heart gave a vicious twist.
“Pretty, shining, sparkling tinsel,” he murmured. “So festive, fluttering in the wind. His favorite. You couldn’t save him because you were too busy fucking that slut, so every year you invade the stores like the other losers. But you’re all alone, Samuel Shaymore, so sad and alone, celebrating a holiday no one will celebrate with you. Your father would be so ashamed....”
Fury and grief collided together, adrenaline shooting through his body. Shay pointed his weapon at the man’s face.
“Good thing he’s dead and you can’t disappoint him anymore.”
“Shut up,” he screamed.
“Sam, don’t let him do this to you.”
Shay glanced at Kelly and saw the pity and anger tightening her face. “Kelly, get back, now!”
“You went from rebelling against the old man to trying to make him proud. Do exactly as he would have wanted. That’s the only reason you became a SEAL. You rescue others but couldn’t save your own little brother.”
A beseeching look from his twin. “Please, Sammy, save me. Please, it’s hot. It’s so hot, and you promised to sing for me. You promised, you lied...”
“Oh, Sam,” Kelly whispered.
“Oh, Sam,” the other mocked. “You saved yourself and let them die.”
“Don’t listen to him. This bastard wanted you as a sacrifice because of your courage and honor, remember?”
Shay’s fingers curled tightly around his weapon. Courage. Honor. He was a U.S. Navy SEAL and a powerful Phantom Mage, not some ass-kicked whimpering fool....
He was a soldier, and no one caught him off guard....
Goddammit!
“Kelly, down,” he yelled, spying the move, seeing the stiletto the fake Shay fished out of one boot.
Shay dropped and fired as his twin threw the knife. The blade landed in the wall, where Kelly’s chest would have been.
Blood dribbled from the hole in his twin’s forehead as the man stared sightlessly at the ceiling. Shay put a finger against the man’s neck and checked his pulse to make certain.
And then the corpse shimmered and shifted into a square-jawed man with features nothing like his, a body that had gone to fat. The duplicate’s true form.
Taking a deep breath, he expunged the grief and shame, purging it from his system.
“Sam, are you okay?”
“Fine,” he snapped. “Next time, listen to me when I tell you to stay back. Do I have to save your life twice?”
Hurt filled her wide blue eyes. Shay rubbed his nape. “I’m sorry, Kelly. But you need to listen to me when I give an order.”
Her gaze fell to the dead man. “We have to bury him before someone finds the body.”
“No need,” he said curtly. “Stand over there, by the door.”
Summoning his powers, he directed a sizzling current of energy at the corpse. It imploded, leaving behind a mound of gray ash. He went to the wall and leaned against it. Gods, he was exhausted.
Kelly placed a reassuring hand on his arm as he holstered the pistol. He hated how she kept looking at him as if expecting him to break down and cry.
Not him. That was saved for one precious day every year.
“We need answers,” he muttered, more to himself. “Someone here has to know something.”
“Even if we could question the villagers, it’s useless. They’re enchanted. There’s no way to break the spell.”
He remembered the book of spells. “Maybe there is.”
A hardened soldier walked beside her, gaze scanning the area, his muscled body tensed and coiled for action. When they reached the shop, they found the book of spells still open on the counter, and Sam slid on black gloves he’d found in his pack. With extreme care, he turned the pages. “The spell to enchant them has to be in this book, so the counterspell must be here, as well.”
Kelly shook her head. “You won’t find it like that. Every Arcane spell has a counterspell, but they’re hidden.”
She pointed to the spidery writing. “This is a book of darkness, so the opposite would be...”
“Light,” Sam finished.
Outside, he placed the book on the ground in the direct sunlight. Nothing happened.
And then she walked around the book to read it upside down. Faint writing appeared around the edges of each page.
“Here.”
Sam squinted and shook his head. “Singing chant. I can try this, but I’m no Arcane. I can’t carry the correct notes.”
“I can.”
Lifting her hands skyward, she closed her eyes. Power hummed through her body. She recited the spell, calling on the good, strong light to cast away the darkness of sleep holding the townspeople hostage.
Kelly opened her eyes and caught Sam’s sharpened gaze. “I felt something in the air. Let’s see if it worked.”
“Wait.” He knelt down and leafed through the pages. “We need to find a spell to contain this book, keep the dark magick at bay.”
Sam scanned the pages and tapped the parchment. “Here’s a locking spell. Try this.”
Stunned, she stared at him. They’d been in such a hurry before, she’d failed to notice.
“Sam, this is a book for Arcanes. How can you read the spells? They should be obstructed to an Elemental. My ancestors guarded this book from your people.”
He glanced down. “I’ll be damned.”
Expression guarded, he touched the book. “Doesn’t matter now. Chant the spell and lock up the book. We need to take it with us.”
After, they gathered their packs and went into the street. People looked dazed as they stumbled down the sidewalks, shaking their heads as if dispelling a long sleep. Sam went still and swore.
Kelly’s heart dropped to her stomach.
The dark enchantment holding the townspeople hostage had cloaked them, as well. People of all ages and races walked the streets. Dark-skinned. Pale. She glimpsed a redheaded girl about her age accompanying an Asian boy. They looked like college students.
A golden haze surrounded each person. Kelly gasped.
“They’re not locals. They’re Elementals. How did they get here?”
His jaw turned to granite. “The rogue Arcanes probably rounded them up to make the mass extermination easier.”
Kelly stopped a woman wearing skinny jeans and a scoop-necked yellow shirt. She looked American and about eighteen years old. The girl hoisted her backpack, looked at her and smiled.
“Are you an Elemental?” Kelly asked in English.
The girl beamed. “You headed to the festival, too? Sweet. I heard there’s a record number of attendees this year. This town rocks. None of those slimy Arcanes for miles.”
The insult stung. “I’m an Arcane,” Kelly said.
Immediately the girl squinted, as if examining Kelly’s aura. Her expression changed. “What the hell do you want, bitch? I’m late meeting my friends.”
“Whoa.” Sam pushed himself between the girl and Kelly. “Easy now. We’re looking for answers. What brought you here?”
The girl’s eyes narrowed as she scanned him. “I can see your aura. You’re one of us.”
