AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I leaned against my mother, wishing she could understand how much I needed her.
“As long as Margo has your love and support, you’re doing a good job,” Perdita said softly. “She’s a good kid. But she’s almost an adult. It’s hard to let go, but she has the truth now, and she has to figure out what that means to her. For what it’s worth, I think learning to control what happens to her is the only thing that guarantees her safety. I can only imagine how terrifying it must be to wake up with your child gone from her room, and how much scarier it is for Margo to wake up in a strange place, completely unaware of what’s been happening. But if she has control, that never has to happen again.”
Mam gazed at me, a painful look of longing in her eyes. “What if letting her embrace it is what pulls her away from me?”
The lump in my throat grew too large to speak past.
“You love each other. That’s bigger than anything else. I promise you that Nathan will protect her from the pack, from whatever it is that’s really going on. As soon as we find the killer, this will all be over.” She hesitated. “But nothing will ever be the same again. I was a little younger than Margo when I discovered the truth, and life got dangerous for me, too. But we’ll all do whatever we can to shelter Margo and Dorian.” She looked at me. “Do you trust me?”
“Yes.” And I did. She had gone through the same doubts as I had, and she had stuck with the pack for a reason. People like Dorian were reason enough for me.
Her expression turned firm. “Then you have to do exactly what we say. You’re safe in this house. Stay inside, keep your head down, and we’ll keep pretending you’re not in Dublin. There won’t be a scent to track because I’m not going back to the pack. My dad, his wife, and my little brother will be back tomorrow. There’s no way I would put them in danger, so trust me when I say that this place is safe for you.”
I nodded, and my parents didn’t argue. For once, they let me make the decisions, and I hoped I was making the right ones.
“I’m ready,” Amelia called out. “If the rest of you could form the circle around Margo and me, we’ll get started.” She led me to the centre of the room, within a circle of lit candles, and bade me to sit, facing her. “No need to be nervous,” she whispered. “Stay calm, and we’ll figure all of this out.”
The others surrounded us, holding hands, even my parents who looked insanely uncomfortable. I could hear everyone breathing, and when Amelia took my hands and told me to close my eyes, I could have sworn I heard a heartbeat other than my own. I concentrated on that, and I calmed down.
“I have links to my ancestors,” Amelia said in a quiet, soothing voice. “If I call upon them, they might help us. But I think you need to unlock your own fate, Margo. Whatever it is, it’s in your blood, and you’re the only one who can take that step.”
“What do I do?”
“Open your eyes,” she whispered, but she no longer sounded like Amelia. “The ones in your mind, the ones only you can find.”
“I don’t get it,” I whispered, but I began to feel weightless.
“You helped release a spirit,” Amelia said. “How did that feel? When the spirit came after you, what did you sense? When you fall asleep on the nights you sleepwalk, what’s going on in your mind? Is there something different about those nights?”
“Sometimes,” I said dreamily.
“Then I’m going to help send you back, into your mind, when you thought you weren’t conscious. We’re going to recall what happens when you sleepwalk, and you’re going to take that feeling and make it happen again.”
I tried to reply, but my mouth refused to move. So I thought of Dorian, how he felt when he lost Mara. The thought of Mara led me to a dark place, one that was impossibly cold. If I found out what happened to her, traced the one who had hurt her, it would all be over. Everyone would be safe. Especially Dorian.
“Fall asleep, Margo.” The words were echoing, filling a chamber with sound. “Find the death in the air.” Her voice grew distorted. I was slipping. “Tell us when…” Slipping.
It was dark.I heard his breathing, the racing of his heart. Time was running out. A shovel hit the earth, and when I moaned, I tasted dirt.
A cryof pain made my eyes snap open. I blinked a couple of times, trying to place myself. I was standing at the door, and many hands were on me, trying to restrain me.
“What?” I looked from one face to another. “How?”
Amelia breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s back. We couldn’t wake you, Margo. Your eyes turned blue, and—”
“You stopped me too soon,” I said. “I heard a shovel. I saw… I don’t know. It was so dark. There was a man, hurrying. Somebody was hurt. I don’t know if it’s already happened or not. I can’t… I can’t tell!”
Nathan came into the room, his phone in his hand and a worried look on his face. “Victor’s missing,” he said. “Alison’s been covering for him since last night, but she got worried and confessed. He told her he was going to find Dorian, left, and never came back. Amelia, we need to go looking for him. No, Dorian, you stay here.” He kissed Perdita’s cheek. “Will you be okay?”
“Of course,” she said. “Go find him.”
“What if he’s the killer?” I blurted. “It’s a male, I think.”
“Then we’ll be careful,” Amelia said. “But a lone wolf doesn’t stand a chance against a united pack. Now go rest, Margo. You look exhausted.”
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s not so scary now.”
“Good.” Her smile was wan. “Let’s go, brother. Before we lose another pack member.”
