Burned (Keeper of the Flame) (13 page)

I’m stuck in Shadow Hill. With at least one
vampire and one werewolf, and whatever Ryan is.

Once I turn off the water, I peek into the
bedroom to find Ryan is gone. He’s set a long-sleeved shirt and a
pair of flannel pajama bottoms on the bed. I dress quickly, pulling
the strings on the pants tight around my waist. They’re too long
since I’m several inches shorter than him, but they’re better than
my jeans.

When I hear his voice downstairs, I creep to
the door.

“…couldn’t get out…”

I listen closer, and when his voice fades
like he’s walked to the kitchen, I creep into the hallway and down
a few steps.

“…nothing we could do…I know. Hell, don’t you
think I know this, Cheyenne?”

I straighten. He’s talking to Cheyenne?
What’s up with them anyway?

“No, she’s here,” he continues. He’s quiet
for a moment, then he gives a heavy sigh. “Yeah. Not tonight. Soon,
though. Okay, ’bye.”

Ryan comes around the corner and spots me on
the stairs. I tuck my fingers into the ends of his shirt
sleeves.

“Willow.” He shoves the phone in his pocket.
“Sorry, I didn’t know you were standing here.”

“If I’m causing a problem between you and
Cheyenne‒”

“No, it’s not a problem.” He shakes his head,
and when he realizes what I’m getting at, he shakes it more firmly.
“We’re not together or anything. We’re friends. She’s from one of
the original families‒this wasn’t good news for her.”

I just keep letting people down. Cheyenne’s
got to be pissed.

He starts up the steps. “This isn’t something
you need to worry about. Not tonight.”

I turn and precede him up the rest of the
stairs and into the bedroom. The bed looks so warm and comfortable.
I don’t want to deal with anything else tonight, but I don’t know
how well I’m going to sleep.

Glancing to the window, I ask, “You don’t
think he’ll come here do you?”

Ryan folds his arms. “I’m not sure.”

My stomach churns. He won’t hurt me, though,
right? Logan said he wouldn’t hurt me. He just needs me for the
spell. But it still scares me that he might be out there
waiting.

“What else can I get you?” Ryan asks.

I shrug. “I think I’m good.”

“Really, Willow. What do you need?”

I turn to face him, tucking my hair behind my
ears. Then I give in and close the gap between us. His arms come
around me in a hug and I lean my cheek against his chest.

“Can you just…stay up here with me for a
bit?” I ask, voice quiet.

“Sure.”

Ryan sits on the bed, settling his back
against the headboard. He pulls me close so I’m leaning against his
chest again, and I close my eyes.

“Please tell me you’re not a vampire,” I
say.

I feel the rumble of laughter in his chest.
“No, Willow. I’m not a vampire.”

“Good,” I whisper. Then I fall asleep.

When I wander down the stairs the next
morning, Cheyenne is in the kitchen with Ryan. She sees me, smiles
and exclaims, “I’m your babysitter today!”

My eyes go to Ryan where he’s perched against
the counter by the sink. He frowns.

“I have to work,” he explains. He shoves a
hand through his hair and shakes his head. “It’s crap, I know. All
this stuff is going on and I have to go to work.”

“No, it’s fine.” I nod at him. “I understand.
You have a life to live.”

The words hang in the air. Yes, they both
have lives here, and my life outside of Shadow Hill is officially
cut off. I try to pretend this is not big deal, but it still
doesn’t sit well with me. Especially since I’m a traveler, I like
to move around. Here, I’m stuck.

“I can stay a while longer,” Ryan starts.

Cheyenne waves him off. “No, your crew is
already waiting for you.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” I tell them,
folding my arms.

Cheyenne smiles and starts buttering a piece
of toast. “Of course you don’t.”

I can’t tell if she’s trying to placate me or
she knows I’m an adult who can take care of myself. I took on a
vampire yesterday. And I won.

Ryan angles his head to the hallway and I
follow him from the kitchen. When he stops near the foot of the
stairs, I lean against the wall, my arms still folded.

“I didn’t want you to have to be here alone,”
Ryan says.

“As long as I stay inside your house, I’m
safe?”

He nods. “Logan can’t come in.”

“I need to know what’s going on.”

“I know. Cheyenne will tell you‒and I…I’ll be
back soon.” He reaches out as if to touch my arm, then pulls back.
He clenches his jaw. “We’re going to figure this out, okay? Lay low
for today and we’ll talk later.”

I breathe out, trying to release some
tension. “Okay.”

He doesn’t move for another minute, then
gives a curt nod. “Okay. See you soon.”

Ryan leaves through the front door, and I
don’t miss the vigilant look he casts around the property before he
closes the door behind him.

When I return to the kitchen, Cheyenne is
scooping scrambled eggs onto a plate. She adds sausage to it and a
slice of toast. “Have a seat. Breakfast is ready.”

I remember the breakfast Logan made me
yesterday. The kinder moments when he didn’t seem like someone who
was holding me hostage.
Why
am I thinking about this?

I sit across from Cheyenne and butter my
toast. “You don’t have to stay if you have to be at work.”

“Nah. I had my part-timer open. She’s an
early riser‒not a big deal. I’ll head over there later. You doing
okay?”

“So far so good.”

She wrinkles her nose. “You don’t expect me
to believe that, do you? A vampire kidnapped you and‒who knows what
else‒”

“He didn’t hurt me,” I say.

She lifts her eyebrows.

“He was actually trying to be nice for the
most part.” I’m not sure why I’m sticking up for him, though. It’s
not like what he did was right.

Cheyenne’s mouth opens in surprise. “What?
You’re defending him? You’ve got that thing‒what’s it called? You
know, when hostages fall in love with their captors and‒”

“I am
not
in love with Logan. I just
don’t want you to think he spent the whole time torturing me or
something. Yeah, so he’s kind of insane to
want
to be a
vampire and to have kidnapped me, but he’s not a total maniac.”

She nibbles on some sausage, pointing to my
plate. “You need to eat. You don’t have to tell me what happened, I
just think you need a little emotional recuperation, is all. It was
a traumatic experience.”

It was.

We’re quiet a few minutes while I eat the
eggs. Cheyenne gets up to pour coffee and sets a mug by me.

“Thanks.” I wait for her to sit down. “I need
to know the details.”

“The original families, the full moon, the
spell‒all those details?”

“Yes.”

She stirs sugar in her coffee. “Right now?
You sure?”

“I’m stuck here, Cheyenne. In some town I’ve
never been to before last week. If there’s a chance of breaking the
curse‒or spell‒and I can still do it, I want to. I don’t want to be
here forever. No offense.”

She shrugs. “It’s not all that bad. I’ve been
stuck here since I turned fifteen and my dad died. Ryan’s been here
his whole life.”

“He’s never left Shadow Hill? Ever?”

Cheyenne shakes her head. “Not once. He was
born here. Once you’re inside the borders of Shadow Hill‒at least
any of us that are part of the spell‒we’re stuck. Well, except for
the witches.”

“But you said you didn’t get here until you
were fifteen? You didn’t know about the spell?”

She sighs, sips her coffee. “I knew, but my
family grew up here. My father came back because his mother was
sick, in the hospital. He was on his way to see her when he got in
a car accident. He‒” She glances away. “He was on life support. I
had to come say goodbye.”

My throat dries. She hadn’t had a choice. And
then she’d lost her father.

“So,” she says, flashing a small smile. “Here
I am. And now we both know how it feels to be stuck somewhere we
don’t want to be.”

“Is it permanent?” I ask.

“I hear if the spell is renewed, everything
put in place before will return, including you being able to leave
Shadow Hill. But…” She taps her fork against her plate. “I don’t
know that for sure.”

“Okay, what if that’s possible? Can the spell
be renewed right away? Like today?”

“Ambitious,” she says. “If I had to guess,
I’d say it has to be on a full moon. Like the original spell.”

“That’s a whole month away.”

She nods. “But you’re here. And you can’t
leave. So I guess that gives you time to figure it out.”

I push my plate away. “What about the rest?
Logan said I had to undo a spell. So that means, even though I’m
stuck here, the four original families being in town at the same
time didn’t mess with the spell?”

“It’s the first step,” Cheyenne says. “And
Logan probably figured if he got you stuck here, then that would
buy him more time to work on the spell. Reversing the curse will
bring back all the characteristics in each of us that the original
spell took away. But having someone in the bloodline of the four
original families living in Shadow Hill makes it stronger for the
time being.”

“What characteristics?” I ask.

“The ones I don’t want. The ones Ryan doesn’t
want. I don’t want to have to change during a full moon. I don’t
want to feel those same animal instincts that creep up on me at the
strangest moments. I can control them‒or I could before. That’s how
I changed into a wolf when I saw you in your mother’s house. But
now, I might not have a choice.”

“What about Ryan? What characteristics does
he have to deal with?”

Cheyenne gives me a sly smile. “He hasn’t
told you yet?”

“No. Is it a secret?”

“He tries to keep it that way.” Cheyenne
stands with her dishes. “He refuses to use his ability. And before
now he had that option.”

“Now he
has
to? He’s forced to?
Cheyenne‒”

“He’s a shapeshifter.”

My hand freezes on my mug. “A shapeshifter?”
She nods and starts washing dishes. I bring my plate over to her
and lean against the counter. “So how is he
forced
to use
his ability then?”

“He never learned how to control it before.
He’s going to have to figure it out now. Just like you and your
fire. It’s unpredictable.”

I push away from the cabinet. “There’s got to
be something we can do. Something
I
can do. This spell was
put into place before, we can do it again, right?”

“We can try.”

I look at the clothes I’m still in. Ryan’s
pajamas. Great, I don’t even have anything to wear.

Cheyenne grabs my arm. “Ryan said Logan has
all your things. I brought clothes.”

“Good.” I follow her to the living room where
she starts digging through a bag. “He took my car somewhere,
too.”

“Asshole,” she mutters. She tosses me a pair
of jeans. “I think we’re close to the same size.”

I take the spare clothes she gives me and
bring them upstairs to change. It feels strange to be in someone
else’s house, with someone else’s clothes on. I don’t have anything
of mine left. Not even the Book of Shadows‒which isn’t really mine
but would be amazingly helpful right now.

However…my mother’s house is next door. She
might have something inside that will help. Or maybe she’ll be back
soon, and she can help us.

When I walk downstairs, Cheyenne is on her
cell phone. She says a few more words and then hangs up.

“Work emergency?” I ask.

“Becky had a few questions,” Cheyenne said.
“We got a new computer system and it’s hard to explain over the
phone.”

“Why don’t you go in for a while?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t want you to be
here by yourself.”

That’s exactly what I need, though. I’m not
sure she’ll want me traipsing over to my mom’s house. But I need to
do something productive. Once Ryan gets home, I can see if he has
my mother’s number to call her.

In the meantime, I have a plan.

“I don’t mind being alone,” I say. “I need to
gather my thoughts, figure out the next step.”

“We’ll help you,” Cheyenne says. But she
glances toward the door, looking like she could use some time,
too.

“Go ahead. I’ll be here.”

She bites her lip, but finally nods. “I won’t
be long. And Ryan’s going to be back early, too. We can talk about
the rest. Make a plan.”

“I like plans.”

She grabs her purse off the couch and goes
for the door.

“Cheyenne‒wait.”

She pauses with her hand on the doorknob.
“Yeah?”

“Is it okay for you to go out there by
yourself?” I ask. “I mean, what if Logan is there? Will he try
to…hurt you?”

She flashes a smile. “He can try, but he’ll
have a fight on his hands. His power has been heightened but so has
mine. Don’t worry about me.”

She leaves, closing the door firmly behind
her. I peer through the small window and watch her get into her
car. I don’t see anyone else out there. But that doesn’t mean Logan
isn’t there. If he didn’t want anyone to see him, he’d make sure of
it.

As I pull on a sweatshirt from Cheyenne’s
duffel bag, I tell myself over and over again that Logan doesn’t
want to hurt me. He needs me. So even if he is out there, he’s not
going to do anything to put me in danger.

And if he isn’t, I can make it to my mom’s
house and search for more information there. She might have more
spell books. She might have some kind of weapons. Like wooden
stakes.

I really don’t know what I’m looking for, I
just need a task. I’ve never been stuck somewhere before. Even when
my dad was alive, I traveled a lot, moved around, kept busy. Not
only am I stuck in this small town, I’m stuck in Ryan’s house.