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Peyton shakes her head. “No … She can’t … I don’t …” She turns away with her head lowered. “Goddammit, Eva, why’d you have to go and get yourself killed? You’re, like, the only witch I was ever able to stand.”
“Tell Eva to hold on,” I beg Rowan. “You’re the Ghost Breather, right? Tell her to hang on until we save her.” Tears burn my eyes. I’ve never been much of a crier, but I can’t fight them back no matter how hard I try.
I can’t lose her yet.
I can’t lose her at all.
I’m so sorry for lying to you, Eva. I should’ve told you the truth a long time ago.
“Her ghost isn’t here,” Rowan whispers apologetically. “She’s probably already heading toward the Afterlife.” She presses her lips together. “I’m so sorry.”
Shaking my head, I cup Eva’s ice-cold cheek. “Eva, please don’t leave me.”
Nothing but silence. Not even the whisper of a breeze.
“Please,” I whisper, begging. “I can’t lose you. I need you, okay? I’ve needed you since the day I met you. You’re the only witch in my life I can stand anymore. Everyone else … my family … There’s so much you don’t know. I should’ve told you. If you come back, I’ll tell you everything. Please, just come back.”
I restlessly wait for a sign that Eva is here, that she can hear me. But silence crushes my soul.
Perhaps that’s why I do what I do next. Perhaps the pain is too much and I lose my damn mind.
Or maybe I’m thinking clearly for the first time in my life.
Shifting Eva into one arm, I retrieve my wand from my pocket.
Peyton turns around and frowns at me. “What’re you doing?”
“What I should’ve done the moment she died.” I raise my wand, my hand trembling. “I’m going to bind her soul to mine. That way, she can’t die until I do.”
“That sounds like a pretty easy solution.” Peyton’s frown deepens. “Too easy.”
“That’s because he’s sugarcoating it.” Rowan wraps her arms tightly around herself. “He’s not just binding her soul to his. He’s binding his soul to hers, as well. Which means, if she dies, so does he. And it’s black magic, so a lot could go wrong. You could both end up soulless, or your souls could end up tainted by darkness. It’s a really risky spell.”
I already know all this. That’s why I was hesitant to perform the spell. But if I have to choose between losing Evalee or losing my soul, I choose the latter.
“How the hell do you know so much about black magic?” I ask Rowan suspiciously. “I thought you were a Ghost Breather?”
“Let’s just say I have a connection to the witch world and know a thing or two about black magic.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as the wind kicks up. “You shouldn’t do it. It’s too dangerous.”
“I know the risks, and I’m willing to take them.” I move my wand toward Evalee’s forehead.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Peyton asks warily. “I mean, what if Eva returns, but she’s like soulless or some shit like that? She won’t even be Eva.”
“If she loses her soul, we’ll get it back. This is just to buy her some time.” And if I lose my soul, I know Eva will do the same for me.
Hybrid-demon or not, Eva is the kindest and most caring creature I’ve ever met. After she lost Ryleigh, she spent countless hours trying to put together a spell to save her. Every time I’ve been sick, she’s taken care of me. And on some of the worst and darkest days of my life, she helped me hang on to the light, even if she didn’t know she was helping. She should’ve known, though, because I should’ve told her. I should’ve told her the truth about herself, about the society, and about the shit my father put me through.
When I get her back, no more lying.
My hand shakes as I part my lips, uttering a forbidden spell in the witches’ world. Magic begins to spark from the tip of my wand. With each word I utter, my heartrate quickens, a combination of fear and relief racing through me.
“Please let it work,” I whisper when I finish the spell.
Evalee remains lifeless in my arms, her chest not moving, her skin pallid and cold.
“Fuck!” I cry out. Why didn’t it work? What did I do wrong?
“What the hell are you doing here?” Rowan suddenly snaps as she backs away, staring at the railing in front of me. “I told you never to visit me again!” Silence fills the air, and then Rowan pales as her gaze drifts to me. “The Grim Reaper’s here.”
“What?” Peyton and I say simultaneously.
“Why?” I ask, fearing the answer, worried Death’s presence has to do with the black magic spell I just cast.
Rowan lowers her head and pinches the brim of her nose. “Your spell worked, Hunter. Eva gets to live again, but there are consequences, just like I said there probably would be.”
I swallow hard. “What are they?”
Rowan’s hand falls to her side as she meets my gaze. “Since the Grim Reaper was about to take Eva’s soul when you cast the spell, he now gets yours instead. You won’t die, but you’re going to be, well, you know, one of the Soulless.”
My heart misses a beat. No, it fucking stops. The Soulless are creatures that live up to their names, raising havoc wherever they can without ever caring about who they hurt. They’ve done awful things to the townspeople before, and now I’m supposed to be one of these monsters. The only positive side of the situation is that Eva will live.
I could try to make a deal, try to reverse the spell, but then what? Eva dies and the Grim Reaper gets her soul?
No, I can’t do that. All I can do is hope we can figure out a way to get my soul back. Until then, I’ll have to try to hang on to my humanity.
“When is it going to happen—”
A searing pain rips through my chest and I gasp.
Warmth spills from my body, leaving a mist of eerie calmness behind. Then that calmness quickly turns to restlessness, a hunger emerging inside me.
A hunger to hurt someone.
9
Evalee
When I decided I wanted to live, I never expected it to be under these circumstances. Never expected the Grim Reaper to abruptly stop sucking my soul from my lips, and then drag me away to Hunter, Peyton, and a girl I’m pretty sure I’ve never met before.
“Hunter?” I blink up at the gorgeous wizard that I once thought was my best friend.
His eyes, that usually carry such warmth, are void of emotion, chilled with icy stillness.
He sweeps his chin-length, blond hair out of his eyes. “In the flesh.”
I prop up on my elbows and peer around. Peyton is standing beside me, worriedly chewing on her thumbnail, more nervous than I’ve ever seen her. Next to her is the girl I don’t know. She’s around my age with long white hair and silver eyes that are almost as strange-looking as my freaky rainbow eyes. From the bits and pieces I picked up on after the Grim Reaper hauled me here, she’s the Ghost Breather. She knew the Grim Reaper, too, and didn’t seem very pleased about him just showing up on the front steps of what I assume is her house. Then again, would anyone really be happy if Death literally showed up on their doorstep?
I brush strands of hair out of my eyes as I push to my feet and assess Hunter. I know what happened. That he cast a black magic spell to bind my soul to his, and now his soul belongs to the reaper who I can no longer see. But I don’t want to believe it.
“Are you okay?” I tentatively stretch my arm toward Hunter.
As my fingers almost reach his cheek, his hand darts up and his fingers touch my wrist.
“If you’re going to touch me, you better plan on fucking me.” He jerks on my arm, causing me to stumble against him. Then he dips his lips toward my ear. “Come on, Eva; spread those pretty legs for me,” he taunts, “so I can fuck you senseless. Or would you prefer to go fuck that demon? Might be better if you do. After all, you’re a demon and I’m a powerful wizard who’s way too good for you.”
Tears veil my vision a
s I shove him back. “Knock it off, Hunter. I know this isn’t you.”
He laughs darkly as he retrieves his wand. “But it is. I’ve been pretending the whole time, so get used to it.”
“Hunter, please don’t do this,” I beg. “Please don’t—”
As sparks shoot from the tip of his wand, a cloud of smoke rises from the ground and sweeps him away.
“Crap.” I trot down the steps and quickly stride toward the sidewalk.
“Eva, where are you going?” Peyton shouts, rushing after me.
I quicken my pace to a jog, wobbling in the platform shoes I’m wearing. “To find Hunter before he does something stupid.” I veer up the sidewalk and race in the direction of the bad section of town, figuring that’s the best place to start looking for him. “And don’t try to talk me out of it. I know you’re not a fan of him, but he saved my life, and now I’m going to save his.”
Hunter is only in this mess because of me. He did black magic, something he hates and that is forbidden, to save me. And now he’s a Soulless, the Hunter I cared for completely gone.
No, he’s not! Somehow, I’m going to save him.
“I’m not going to try to talk you out of it!” Peyton snags the back of my dress and pulls me to a stop. “But you can’t just run around like a zombie with her head cut off with no real plan. Plus, you have a shit-ton of demons looking for you.” She turns me to face her. “If you want to find a Soulless, we need to make a plan. One that will help us find Hunter and keep the demons away from you.”
