“Hey!” I caught her before she face planted.
“I had a psychic vision.” Holly shuddered.
“What did you see?” I demanded.
“Willow.” Holly gulped in air. “I saw and felt Willow.”
As I gripped Holly’s shoulders, I looked deep into her eyes and in a flash—her vision became mine.
In a jumble of emotions and a quick flash of images, it passed. When it was over, I shook my head and found that Holly was gripping my arms every bit as hard as I’d latched onto hers.
“I know where she is,” I said.
Holly nodded. “Leilah took Willow to the barn on the McBriar property.”
I jumped to my feet. “I’m going, right now,” I said, running for the door. “I’m not waiting for the cops. I’m going to go get my daughter.”
“Wait!” Holly hissed, running after me.
“I won’t wait!” I whispered furiously. “Don’t you dare try and stop me!”
“I’m not,” Holly said, urgently. “I’m coming with you.” She grabbed my hand. “You may need backup.”
Without another word the two of us slipped down the hall, and I led the way out a side door. Once we cleared the house we went running through the dusky light, heading for the family garage.
“Take Julian’s car,” Holly suggested. “He leaves the keys in the glove box.”
“Good idea.” I ran toward the black Mustang. Holly shoved open the garage door and I started up the car. The engine rolled over with a powerful purr. I shifted the car into gear and rolled forward, pausing only long enough for Holly to hop inside.
“Let’s go,” she said, buckling herself in.
I nodded and steered the car to the end of the driveway. I pulled onto the street and kept to the speed limit, as to not draw any undue attention to ourselves. Once we cleared the neighborhood, I stomped on the accelerator.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Julian’s sports car hugged the roads and allowed me to drive much, much faster than I normally would have dared. With a summer storm brewing to the west, I drove like a woman on a mission…and I was.
Holly had been silent during the trip until we reached the entrance to the McBriar Wedding barn. That’s when we both saw that the fancy, decorative gate for the wedding barn was closed. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, punched the gas anyway, and drove right through the wooden gate.
“God damn!” Holly’s breath exploded out much the way the gate had.
Gravel shot out from beneath the tires of the car as I raced to the top of the drive. The car came skidding to a stop, spinning to the side like a stunt in some cop movie, and I barely took the time to put it in park before jumping out and running full steam toward the closed barn doors.
Willow was inside. I knew it! I grabbed the metal decorative handle on the door and got a nasty burn. “Shit!” I jumped back and shook out my hand. “What was that?”
Holly went forward with her palms up and out in front of her. Sensing the exterior of the door from a few inches above the surface. “It’s another spell,” she said. “A barrier spell, and it’s designed to keep people out.”
I’d never run across anything like that before. I shook out my hand again, suddenly noticing that what I’d thought had been a burn on my hand, wasn’t a burn at all. I’d cut myself, and blood was dripping from my fingers and into my palm.
“Now this, I can use,” I said, half to myself.
“What are you thinking?” Holly asked.
“That this is no time to be squeamish,” I said. My stomach lurched as I considered my options. While blood magick was a line I had never wanted to cross, it would practically guarantee my success in getting past the barrier.
I told Holly to stand clear, took a few precious seconds and dug down deep. Chanting under my breath, I began to raise power. I lifted my bloody hand and pit my magick against the barrier spell. “By my will, by my blood; this barrier will fall. By my will, by my blood; this barrier will fall!” I chanted.
Pressing the palm of my hand squarely against the center of the barn door, I repeated the spell for the third time. I pushed my magick against Leilah’s, using all the love I felt for my daughter, and the barn door suddenly went flying back.
The implosion from the displacement of the spell’s energy hit me right in my solar plexus. I staggered back, and the barn door shot off to one side, landing with a thud.
Holly and I jumped forward together, and as soon as we stepped inside the barn, all the decorative lights strung across the rafters of the reception space exploded with loud pops. Sparks shot and rained down and I ducked automatically. Whatever enchantment had been placed on the barn, I’d just blown past it.
“Willow!” I called out racing through the main level, but saw no sign of my little girl. Holly and I ran around for a few moments checking bathrooms, closets, and the office, but we found nothing.
“The balcony?” Holly said, pointing to the back stairs.
I spotted the staircase to the second floor and ran directly toward it. I clattered up the stairs, and there I found Willow lying on her back, off to one side of the balcony. “Willow!” I screamed, running straight to her.
I reached for my girl and she was stiff and cold to the touch. For a horrible second I imagined the worst. “No!” I gasped, and quickly pressed my ear to her chest. Thankfully, I heard a heartbeat.
“Let me see.” Holly dropped beside me.
“Baby?” My voice broke as I took her small face in my hands. “Honey, can you hear me?”
“Her heartbeat is strong, but her breathing is wrong.” Holly said with her hands on Willow’s chest. “It’s too rapid and shallow.”
“We need to get her to a hospital,” I said.
“Well, well…” Leilah Martin Drake’s voice echoed across the loft. “If it isn’t my lucky
