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tand. Her hair was pulled up into a braided halo on top of her head. Her long, flowy skirt brushed the floor, dragging through blood and goop that covered it, and I gagged. How could she wear anything that touched the ground in here?
She muttered something—maybe Latin—and then went to the book.
“You need more power, young one.” A scratchy voice came from the center of the circle, but there was nothing there. “Go to where the points of magic meet. Then, you can raise me and my brethren.”
“I’ll have enough when the coven is drained.”
“Not so. It takes more than the lives of one insignificant coven to open the gates.”
She turned back to the book and her finger traced the lines, moving west of Texas.
I let go of the vision and wiped my hands on my jeans, wanting to get rid of evil the feel of her. Her oily aura was coating me, making me feel like I needed more than just a long, hot shower to feel clean again. “Luciana’s heading out.”
This had started because of her vendetta against the wolves, but that couldn’t be her end goal now. Not if she was leaving the state.
The demon last night had called Luciana ‘mistress,’ but this one was calling her ‘young one.’ Which meant I’d just seen her talking to something much bigger than a major demon. The possibilities of what it could be made my breath short.
Raphael had said she was losing herself, and had Claudia confirmed it. After what I’d just seen, it seemed that both of them were right. Luciana wasn’t just after the pack. Not anymore. “This portal thing will hurt more than us. We should talk to Mr. Dawson. Get the others. We need to go as soon as possible.”
Dastien grabbed his phone from the bedside table. “I’ll call him.”
Lucas reclined quietly against the wall as we waited. He watched Claudia, and I wondered how they were doing. A lot had happened to Claudia in the past few weeks—including finding a mate—and I hadn’t had much time to check on her in the last day. We’d been going non-stop.
I leaned close to Claudia. “How are you hanging in? Are you okay?”
“I know. I look like a mess.” She fussed with her shirt. “But I’m officially out of clothes—I had to leave my new things in the middle of nowhere in Peru. And there’s been no time for laundry. And…” She blushed. “It’s a little embarrassing.”
I had no idea she’d left her bags. Stupid. I really should’ve been taking better care of her. “That wasn’t what I was talking about, but you shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize sooner. We’ll get you some more clothes.”
Claudia sighed. “We were planning on going to the mall, but there hasn’t been time. Lucas needs some, too. We showed up in Costa Rica with what we had on us, and that was that.”
“You should’ve said something. I’m sure I have clothes that will work for now. And I’m sure Dastien has stuff Lucas can wear until we get the rest sorted.” Even if we left soon, we could hit a store to get them what they needed. “And how’s Beth? I haven’t seen her since you got back.”
“She’s not doing well.” Claudia’s voice cracked. “She won’t leave her bed. Sh—she still had family there. Her sister and brother-in-law. And they had two kids.”
“Shit. I didn’t know. I’m so sorry. I would’ve…” I wasn’t sure what I could’ve done differently. But something…
“You didn’t know. Beth begged them to come with us, but they wouldn’t leave. They didn’t want to uproot the kids. I’m not sure what to do for her, except give her a little more time. She’s not eating much, and…” Claudia’s bottom lip wavered. “I just don’t know what to do to make it better for her. For anyone.” A tear slipped free, and she wiped it away. “It’s all a huge mess.”
God. ‘Huge mess’ didn’t even begin to cover it. “Did Shane have family there?” He’d seemed okay in spite of everything, but he could’ve easily been hiding it. I didn’t know him well enough to get a solid read on him.
She blew out a breath. “His parents were in a car wreck a couple years ago. He’s an only child. He had some cousins and an aunt and uncle, but they weren’t very close.”
“Hey,” Dastien said. “Sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Dawson wants us in the conference room in five. I texted the others.”
“Okay.” Even if I’d already spent more time than I wanted to in there. “Did you hear the clothing situation?”
“Yup. We’ve actually got a storage room filled with supplies for guests—clothes, toothbrushes, toiletries… I’m sorry. I should’ve offered. I wasn’t thinking.”
Lucas stood up. “Not to worry. I’m not fussy.” That was the first time he’d spoken since he’d gotten here.
“We’ll get you sorted after the meeting,” Dastien said. “They might not be the best clothes ever, but they’ll be enough to get you by until we have time for shopping.”
I reached to take the book, but hesitated. I’d seen all I needed, and I’d spent more than enough of my life thinking about Luciana’s craft room. “You mind taking that with us?”
Claudia picked the book from the ground, and held the disgusting thing at arm’s length. “No problem.”
When we got to the conference room, the gang was already there. Adrian and Shane sat on the opposite side of the table. Raphael sat next to Shane. The three of them were laughing about something. It was good to see Raphael laugh. He was always so serious. Especially after everything.
