The Monster Within

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

AS soon as I hung up the phone, I called Nora. I had to warn her. She’d been right all along. Dylan was our biggest threat.

“Hello?”

“You need to get out of your house,” I said.

“What? Why?”

“I saw Dylan.” I wasn’t about to tell her I was the one who’d called him. “He knows about Ben.”

“How? Ben is still in my basement. I’ve been trying to find a way to dispose of his body. I hoped we could buy some time before Dylan found out Ben was dead.”

“You can’t. Dylan knows, and my guess is he’s coming for you.”

“Why me? Why not you?”

Oh, God! He could be on his way to the cottage.

“You’re right. Nora, I’m not home, but Ethan is. He’s alone!”

“Okay, calm down.” I could hear her moving around, and a few seconds later, I heard the engine of her car. “I’m on my way. For now, call Ethan. Tell him to put the rocks outside your house back into a circle. It will protect him from Dylan.”

“What?” I turned down another street, heading for home.

“The rocks—they form a barrier a witch can’t cross.”

It made sense. All the times Dylan had gotten inside the cottage, the rocks had been out of place. “Did you put them there?”

She hesitated before saying yes. I should’ve known. She’d been trying to help me before I even knew her.

“The rocks are still in place from the last time you fixed them. We thought it was a prank some kids from school had set up. We left the circle hoping they’d leave us alone if we didn’t react to it.”

“Okay, good. I’m on my way.”

“Nora, wait! How will you get in the cottage if the barrier is up?”

“You’ll have to take it down when I get there, but I’ll be able to protect us from Dylan with other spells.”

I hung up and floored it home. Ethan would have to believe me now. When he saw Nora, and if Dylan showed up…well, there’d be no way Ethan could think I was hallucinating. And maybe he’d be able to tell us how Dylan and the others brought me back. Any hint might be what Nora needed to duplicate the spell and save him.

I pulled into the driveway and burst through the front door. “Ethan!” All the lights were off. Had he gone looking for me? I’d taken the car, but he could’ve called a cab. “Ethan?” I checked the bedroom. Maybe if he’d been mad enough, he’d have just gone to sleep, let me drive around to blow off steam.

I flicked on the light. The bed was empty. Not even unmade. I grabbed my cell from my purse and dialed Nora again.

“What’s wrong? Is Dylan there already?”

“No. Ethan’s not here either. The house is empty.”

“Are you sure? Did you check every room?”

“Well, no. I checked the living room and bedroom. And sort of the kitchen. The place is small. You know that.”

“Look everywhere.” She paused and then said, “Were the rocks still in place? Dylan could’ve used magic to make someone move the rocks so he could get inside.”

“Yes. At least I think so. I didn’t walk around the house. I came right inside, but the rocks in front of the house were all in place.”

“Can you see the back of the house from any of the windows?”

“Yeah, the one in the bathroom.” I headed for the bathroom. The door was shut. I hadn’t noticed it when I came in. The place was too dark. “Nora,” I whispered, afraid that Dylan was waiting for me on the other side of the door. He’d already broken into my bathroom once when he stole my necklace.

“What? Are you okay? Is it Dylan?”

“I don’t know. The bathroom door is closed. What if he’s in there?”

“Grab a weapon and don’t go in there. Stay put. Just be prepared in case he comes out, okay? I’m almost there.”

I didn’t know what I’d do if I didn’t have her. I’d never been so scared. The best weapon I had was myself, but I didn’t feel an attack coming on. My breathing was normal. My body temperature was normal. I wished I could tap into the magic I’d drained from Ben.

I kept an eye on the bathroom door as I looked around the kitchen. We had a big carving knife, but it was in a drawer. I wasn’t sure I could get it without making noise. Not that I was sure making noise was going to matter. I’d already yelled Ethan’s name, and I was talking on the phone. If Dylan was in the bathroom, he was waiting me out.

Terrified, I wrapped my fingers around the handle of the drawer and inched it out. The tracks squeaked, making my breath catch in my throat. What was he waiting for? This was torture. I knew he was in there. I was sure of it. The circle of rocks must have been destroyed in the back, and Dylan had slipped in through the bathroom window, just like before.

I wanted to grab the knife and burst in there, end this agony. But I’d only get myself killed. He was a witch. He used black magic. I didn’t stand a chance. I had to wait for Nora and hope she got here before Dylan made his move.

My cell vibrated in my hand, making me jump, and a small gasp escaped my lips. I grabbed the knife before reading the text.

I’m here. Circle is broken in back of the house. Coming to front door.

I backed up, making my way slowly and silently to the front door. Nora was on the porch when I opened the door. I motioned for her to come inside. She put her hand up for me to stay where I was.

She closed her eyes for a moment and mumbled something under her breath. Her eyes shot open and toward the bathroom door. She must have sensed Dylan’s presence because I didn’t even have to point her in the right direction. She knew where the bathroom was.

She moved closer, and I fell in step behind her. I couldn’t stay back. Fear and curiosity were keeping me close to Nora. She continued to mumble her spell as we got closer. Her hands rose in front of her, reaching out for the door. She pulled her hands back to her chest and then pushed forward. A burst of wind blew the bathroom door right open. I cringed, expecting to see Dylan, but instead I saw Ethan lying face down on the floor.

“Ethan!” I pushed past Nora, dropping the knife, and ran to him. His hands were ice cold.

“What did you do to him?”

“Nothing. I was saying a spell to bind any magic behind the door.”

“What about that thing you did to break the door down?

“That’s not what hurt him. I’m sure of it.”

I gently rolled Ethan onto his side. His eyes were closed, and his face was peaceful. “Oh, God! No, no, no!” I burst into tears. Ethan was dead. He was cold and lifeless and dead. “The vision. I had more time. I had more time!”

“Sam,” Nora said.

“He can’t be dead. I saw him in my vision. He wasn’t supposed to die until after Beth invited us to some party.” I shook my head and tears splattered on Ethan’s gray T-shirt. “I saw it.”

Nora reached for me. “Your visions are of things that won’t happen. Why did you think he wouldn’t die until after you were invited to that party?”

“I don’t know.” She was right. How could I have been so stupid, so careless? It was Ethan’s life, and I’d told myself I had more time to save him. I’d left him to die here alone because I was angry. He’d been with me every step of the way when I had cancer. He’d put up with my mood swings. He’d held my hand as I took my last breath. And this was what I’d done for him. Yelled at him and stormed out. Stole his car and left him to die alone on the bathroom floor.

“Please, do something, Nora.” I clutched onto her shirt. “Don’t let him stay like this. You must know a spell that will bring him back. Dylan told me you brought me back. I know that’s a lie. It was him. Him and the others, but you must have some clue what they did.”

Her face hardened. “I do know, Sam, but the spell they used…it’s rooted in black magic. Look at how you came back. You have to feed to survive. Ethan would be like you.”

“Bring him back. I’ll deal with the consequences later. We’ll figure something out. Just bring him back.”

“He’d need to steal life from someone else. That’s how the spell works. You can’t give life without taking it from somewhere else. It’s about balance.”

“Then he can have mine. Take it! I don’t want it. I don’t want to be here like this, not if it means he’s gone.”

Nora shook her head. “I can’t take borrowed time.”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What does that mean?”

“Your life isn’t really your own. You borrowed it from Ethan. That’s how the spell works. He can’t borrow his own life back from you.” She hesitated. “We’d need another life.”

I let go of her and placed my hands on Ethan’s lifeless body. How had I been draining his life from him without even knowing it? “Then get one.”

“I’m talking about killing someone.”

“I know. Dylan’s probably on his way here. We’ll use his life.” I looked up at her, hopeful that this would be the answer to our problem.

“No.” She walked away, chewing on her nail as she thought. “He’s angry right now. That makes him too powerful. I’d never be able to control him and do the spell at the same time. But I have an idea.”

“What? We need to hurry. Dylan’s going to be here any second.”

“I need to do a locator spell to find him and Shannon.”

“Why Shannon? Nora, what are you talking about? We have to focus on saving Ethan.”

“I am. We need to find Shannon so we can steal her life.”

“Oh.” I thought about it and nodded. “Yeah, okay.” She was one of the ones who had done this to me. It seemed fitting that she’d be the one to sacrifice her life for Ethan.

“She won’t be expecting an attack, so I can catch her off-guard and bind her powers. I’ll be able to do the spell then. It’s not going to kill her right away; you know that.”

But it would over time. Just like my being alive had slowly killed Ethan. My God, the coven had taken Ethan’s life without telling him. I hated them even more for that. “Ethan and I will run away. Somewhere Shannon and Dylan can’t find us.”

“They can find you anywhere. The exact same way I’m going to find them now.”

“With a locator spell.” That left us with only one solution. “We have to kill them, don’t we?”

“Yes. I can bind their magic until you and Ethan need to feed again. Once they’re dead, you’ll both be safe.”

But we’d still be monsters. I glanced at Ethan again. Monster or not, I had to do this. “Do the spell.”

Nora grabbed some things she needed from the cabinets and got started. She pulled the wooden box from under the sink and gave me a strange look. “What are you doing with a witch box?”

“A what?”

“A witch box. This is supposed to protect your house from witches.”

I narrowed my eyes at it. “I found it when we moved in.”

“Well whoever did this is definitely an amateur. It’s not working. I wouldn’t be able to be here if it was. Something must be missing. A personal effect, probably.”

“There was a ring inside it. It looked just like the one Ethan had given me for my birthday. It was a ruby, my birthstone.”

Nora reached for the ring sitting on the edge of the sink. “This one?”

“Yeah. I forgot about it. It’s not my ring. Ethan said he put my ring in a storage facility to keep it safe. He—” I stopped. My ring wasn’t in the storage facility. I stood up and joined her in the kitchen.

“What?” she asked.

“We went to get my ring one day, but it wasn’t there. Someone had stolen it.” I eyed the ring in Nora’s hand. “That’s my ring. But how did it get in that box? Ethan didn’t put it there.”

“Another witch did.”

“But who? The only witch helping me is you.”

Nora shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it was a trap, something to make you feel safe. It could be a decoy. I’ll bet Dylan made it. It was probably how he planned to win you over, pretend he was trying to protect you when really it was him after you all along.”

“Speaking of Dylan, shouldn’t you get moving with the locator spell? He should be here soon.”

She put the ring back on the counter. “I don’t think he’s coming here. He’d be here already.”

“So where did he go?”

“My house, most likely. He was bringing the fight to me. When he doesn’t find me, he’ll come here next.”

“Should we move Ethan? Do this somewhere else?”

“Where?”

“The diner. I know the keypad number to get us in. At least, I think I do. I’m pretty sure Gloria uses the same number for all her passwords and stuff.”

She nodded. “I can get past a lock no problem. Let me locate Shannon, and then we’ll move Ethan to the car. You can drive him to the diner while I get Shannon.”

“Okay.”

As she did the locator spell, I stared at the ring on the counter. It was my ring. The one Ethan had given me. Now that he was dead, I wanted it back. I slipped it on my finger, and tears welled up in my eyes. “I’ll bring you back, Ethan,” I whispered. “I’ll bring you back.”

“Let’s go,” Nora said. “I found her, but we need to move fast. She may not stay in one spot for long. Not if Dylan calls her.”

We each grabbed hold of Ethan and carried him to the car. Nora gave us a magical boost so we could move faster. We laid him across the back so no one would see him while I drove to the diner.

“Where’s Shannon?” I asked, strapping my seatbelt.

“She’s at a spot in the woods where we used to meet as a coven. I’ll surprise her there. With all the trees, I should be able to sneak up on her pretty easily. It’s not far from the diner. See if you can get Ethan inside. Bring him to the counter and lay him across it if you can.”

I nodded.

“One way or another, this all ends tonight,” Nora said.

I pulled out of the driveway behind Nora and drove to the diner. I looked around before getting out, making sure there was no sign of Dylan. This was where I’d left him, so I was pretty sure he didn’t expect me to come back. I ran up to the keypad on the back door and punched in Gloria’s code. The door buzzed and then opened.

I ran into the dining room and grabbed a chair to prop the door open. I wouldn’t be able to work a keypad and carry Ethan at the same time.

His body was stiff and hard to move. I ended up having to wrap my arms under his armpits and drag him. It was easier to move him across the diner floor since Jackson had just buffed it. I sat Ethan down on one of the stools and leaned him back onto the counter. It took every ounce of strength I had to get his entire body on the counter, but I did it. I had to have him ready when Nora got here with Shannon.

“Soon, Ethan. You’ll be back with me soon.” I kissed his forehead.

The back door opened, and I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“I’ve got him all ready, Nora.” I turned to face her.

But it wasn’t Nora.

It was Dylan.