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I nodded. It really did make a weird kind of sense. If the magic was meant to protect, and it saw something as a potential threat, it would repel it. And Hanlen being faced with her dead best friend after so many years of anguish would definitely cause harm. Or, at the very least, plenty of hurt. Enough to warrant activation of the protective magics. And given my connection to Hanlen, it also made a strange sort of sense why I had been included in that.
“Okay. That’s easy enough. Wrap your hand around mine.” Lark did as instructed. “Now, just concentrate on my words and add your intention.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as if centering herself, and I did the same. I said the words for the spell and was just about to tell Gunnie to try to communicate again, when Wren and Findley popped into the room, looking frantic and terrified.
“Dev, get to the cemetery.”
“The cemetery? What do you mean?”
“No questions. Now, get there now, brother.”
“Noooooo.” I heard that. Gunnie’s wail. And just as quickly as the sound registered, she disappeared.
“What the fuck?” Lark said.
I couldn’t agree more.
“Dev, man. We gotta move,” Findley urged. “Cemetery.”
“We haven’t even been out there yet. Why would I need to go out there?”
“Less talk, more action,” Wren said, flapping her hands. “We’ll meet you there.”
And then the couple disappeared. I took the chain from Lark and stuffed both it and the pendant into my pocket.
“What the hell’s going on, Dev? Was that your cousin? That shriek?”
“Yeah, it was. I even heard it. Seems our spell worked. My sister was here with Findley, too. They said I have to get to the cemetery immediately.”
“I didn’t hear them,” Lark said.
“I don’t know what’s going on. Can you gather up the troops and let them know what happened? I gotta get over there and see what’s up.”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course,” Lark said. “We’ll meet you there. Go.”
I exited the house as fast as I could and tore across the property, headed for the cemetery I’d seen the first day when Hanlen had given me a tour. It was so old that I knew there were spirits there, and we’d decided not to investigate it unless it tied to something we uncovered at the house or the carriage house. We hadn’t even included it in the circle when we set up, especially after everything that happened with August and the fact that it was butted up against that crime scene. Why in the world would I need to go out there? And why were Wren and Findley so upset? Not to mention, why had Gunnie sounded so anguished?
When I rounded the bend, I saw Wren, Findley, Desmond, and Gunnie standing around the cemetery’s biggest mausoleum, thought to hold the remains of the family’s matriarch and patriarch, the first of the line who started Arborwood. They were a bit away from the structure, their hands raised, and I wondered why.
The frantic look on my sister’s face when she turned to me was enough to make my stomach drop, and I still had no idea what exactly was going on.
I approached cautiously. “What’s this all about, guys?” The rest of them turned to me, as well. When I saw the spectral tears coursing down Gunnie’s face, I knew something bad was going on and was afraid to find out what. My instincts were screaming but I couldn’t get a lock on the feelings or impressions.
“It’s Hanlen, Dev. He’s got Hanlen,” Findley said, seeming to be the only one who could get a handle on themselves enough to reply.
My stomach bottomed out, and I felt a rush of fear swamp me, stealing my breath and making the ground under me sway for a moment. “What are you talking about?”
Desmond pointed at the structure. “She’s in there. He has her tied to a vault. And we can’t get in. Can’t even get close. None of us can. Something is stopping us from entering. We tried. I’m not sure what we could have done, but . . .”
“You need to help her, Dev. Please,” Gunnie pleaded, and I started at the sound of her voice. When I looked at her, the look on her face about sent me to my knees again. I had no idea who thishewas that they were talking about, but it didn’t matter. If Hanlen was in trouble, I would move Heaven and Earth to get her to safety.
I surged forward and to the side of the structure, hurrying to the little window. Whatever was keeping the ghosts from getting close didn’t seem to affect me, at least not entirely. Though Ididfeel something. I needed to get a better picture of what was going on before I barged in, metaphorical guns-blazing, so I peeked inside but couldn’t see much around the angel statue situated right in front of the opening. I did see candlelight, long shadows dancing across the stone, stretching like skeletal fingers. I stopped to listen for a minute but heard only scuffling coming from inside. I wished that one of them would talk so I would know that Hanlen was still okay and could maybe get a better feel for who was in there with her and what I needed to do next. I pounded on the invisible barrier, my stomach in knots, and then yelled to the others.
“Who has her? What the hell is going on? I can’t see anything.”
Wren burst into tears. “It’s R?DRΩM. Oh, sweet lwas. We heard him talking earlier. It’s the asshole who killed me and August. Burke. The others. He also admitted to killing Reagan.” She stopped for a minute, sobs wracking her body as she looked over at our cousin. “Said she was his first but that he really wanted Hanlen. Saints, Dev. We . . .” She hiccuped. “We can’t let him take Hanlen, too.”
Holy fuck.
