Crushed (15 page)

Her second trip was only slightly easier than the first. At least she knew what to expect this time. She tensed, prepared for impact. Zach’s hands vanished from her arms just seconds before she hit the ground with a resounding thud. A painful grunt burst through her parted lips. The hard landing jarred her down to the marrow in her bones, and the breath left her body. Near panic, she struggled to fill her lungs.

Everything hurt, every single inch of her.

Not totally surprised to find the familiar, leaf-covered soil beneath her, she sat up and glared at Zach. Apparently, he was going to make a habit out of abducting her. She turned her head the other way and saw his house. At least she knew where they were this time.

Zach hurried over to her. “Are you okay?”

“Do I look like I’m okay?” She took the time to brush dirt off her expensive jeans. There was a crunchy leaf hanging from her hair, halfway blocking her peripheral view of Zach. She pulled it loose and let it drift back to the ground. “Why did you do that? Why did you bring me here?”

“Are you kidding me? It was like a war zone. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“I don’t need your protection. I would have been fine on my own. If things got too hairy, I could have used a spell.”

He grinned. “Oh really? So you could have popped yourself out of there like I did, huh?”

She dropped her eyes, not wanting him to see the shadow of fear and doubt in them. His words reminded her of her grandmother’s warning. According to the books she’d read, he had to have done some bad stuff to have such power. “You shouldn’t have brought me here.”

“I didn’t have time to think. You were there. You saw what happened. I had to act fast, so I just picked the first place that came to mind. It wouldn’t have been a good idea for us to pop up somewhere public since that would have been kind of hard to explain.”

“I should go back to school. Since you can just pop back there, why don’t you let me borrow the car again?”

He held his hand out and she took it, allowing him to pull her to her feet. His hand was too warm, and it gave her a tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach. Disturbing didn’t come close to how he made her feel. She wanted to put as much distance between them as she possibly could.

He shook his head. “Not yet. First, I need to tell you everything. Then you’ll understand. You still might not want to be with me, but at least you’ll have the facts.”

She wasn’t sure she wanted them.

He led her into the house via the front door. They went to the study and closed themselves inside. He twisted the lock into place.

“We need to be quiet,” he said. “I don’t want Morgan to know we’re here. She freaks out when plans change. She should be in the kitchen having lunch right now. If you just give me a few minutes, I can explain everything.”

Part of her desperately wanted the information. She sat in a wingback chair near the desk while he took a seat in the big, rotating chair behind the sturdy piece of office furniture. He looked unsure of where to begin. Lacing his fingers together on the wood surface, he took a deep breath before launching into his life story.

“Like I said before, I was born with powers. When I was five, I got mad, and before I knew it, my toys were flying around the room. One of them broke the window. My mother had to grab me to calm me down. I’m sure you have similar stories.”

She nodded but didn’t say a word.

He continued. “Morgan did stuff like that, too, only she was more powerful than most and more dangerous because she didn’t understand she was doing it. The autism or whatever it is kept her from developing empathy or compassion. When she killed our parents, she actually expected them to show up at some point. Sometimes she still asks me when they’re coming home. She doesn’t understand death.”

He hesitated.

Kristen leaned forward in her seat.

“I was out that night,” he said. “I was having fun with my buddies when my house blew up with my parents and sister inside. They were all killed.”

Kristen blinked at him. “You had another sister?”

“No. I’m saying Morgan died in the explosion with our parents.”

Okay. He was either lying or crazy or both. “Morgan is in the kitchen eating lunch.”

“Before Morgan caused the explosion, she used a spell long forgotten by the elders. She sacrificed herself and our mom and dad because the gardener convinced her to do it. Too bad for him, she didn’t stick to the plan, and he died in the blast, too. She was supposed to put a lock of his hair inside her locket so she’d be connected with him. He would be like a sponge, taking on her powers, but he wouldn’t have to risk or sacrifice to do it. Only, she used my hair instead. She was used to me taking care of her and wanted that to continue.”

Was he saying Morgan was a zombie?

Kristen jumped to her feet. “I really need to get back to school.”

Zach stood, too.

She headed for the door, but he got there first. Her hand enclosed the doorknob. His hand covered hers as he stopped her from turning the knob. His touch was tender, nothing scary about it, but his words terrified the life out of her.

“Morgan is a familiar,” Zach said. “She isn’t human anymore.”

“How is that even possible? I’ve never heard of anything like that happening before.”

“It’s black magic—the worst kind.” He let her hand go and turned away. While pacing the room, he finished explaining. “The gardener gave her the book and told her what to do. It’s got quite a few dangerous spells in it, including the spell to become a familiar.

“Familiars have amazing powers. You’ve only seen a couple of the things we can do. When the council figures out she’s still with me, that she’s a familiar, her life will end. They’ll kill her after they torture her. That’s why I have to protect her. She’s still my sister.”

“How did you find out she was still alive after the explosion?”

“I buried my family—all of them—and about a week later, Morgan showed up in my bedroom like a ghost, only she wasn’t a ghost. She was a familiar. She had attached herself to me before dying, so I became her master in a way.”

The truth dawned in Kristen’s mind with the brilliance of the rising sun. “That’s why you have dark powers. It’s because of her.”

He hadn’t sacrificed innocent blood, but Morgan had.

“Yeah. Lucky me.”

“I don’t know that much about familiars. Grandma Noah mentioned them once, but she told me they were a thing of the past.”

“Exactly. Black magic. No one has used it for decades.” He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans. “Anyway, Morgan hasn’t changed much. She still thinks and behaves like a child.”

“A dangerous child.”

“I can handle her.” Zach walked over to Kristen. He brushed hair away from her face. He seemed to have a difficult time not touching her when they were standing this close, not that she minded. “I forbid her to use the simplest of spells. So far, she’s obeyed me. Mentally, she’s a little girl. She doesn’t want me to be mad at her, so she won’t use her powers. It’s been so long since she’s done anything, she probably doesn’t even remember how.”

Kristen had a feeling sweet little Morgan practiced magic behind her brother’s back on a regular basis. An image of Morgan flinging her hands at Kristen while she was spying on them came to mind. Should she tell Zach?

“I’m not sure if I could forgive Brittany or Cyndi for killing my parents.”

“It’s hard even now if I think about it too much, but she didn’t know what she was doing. It wasn’t her fault. She’s mentally challenged, and a deranged warlock tried to use her to gain power. Really, it was more my fault than hers. I should have watched out for her better. I should have protected her from people like Ethan.” He smiled sheepishly and shrugged. “Besides, I love her.”

There it was. She couldn’t share her doubts about Morgan with him because it would tear his heart out.

“Do you understand now?” Zach asked with a hopeful expression.

“Yes.”

“Do you still want to avoid me?”

“No.” As he started to smile at her, Kristen added, “But I have to.”

“Why?”

She couldn’t tell him that she’d dreamed about him pointing an accusing finger at her. She’d had the dream seven times now. It was going to come true if she didn’t find a way to stop it. Avoiding him seemed like a good start.

Changing the subject, she asked, “Is there a way to get rid of a familiar? If Morgan gets out of hand someday, tries to hurt someone else, is there something you can do to stop her?”

“If things ever get bad, really bad, I would have to have someone accuse me.”

Kristen softly gasped. 

“You don’t have to worry about Morgan,” he said, stroking the length of her arms. “I have her under control.”

Kristen prayed he was right.

“Can I trust you to keep my deepest, darkest secret?” he asked. “Like I told you before, I’ve been keeping her from the witches’ council. They have no idea she’s alive, no idea she’s a familiar. If they ever find out, they’ll kill her. So I need you to keep this to yourself. Morgan’s life depends on it.”

“I won’t tell anyone, but someday the council will find out. They have spies everywhere. Grandma used to have a seat on the council, so she would know. Someday they’ll find out, and they’ll come for Morgan.”

They’d come for him, too, but Kristen didn’t want to think about that.

He turned his face from her, blinking his eyes, but not before she saw they were damp. “I know. I plan to have someone accuse me of being a witch someday, so I can free her myself. She’ll just disappear, no pain, no fear. She’ll be dead, quick and simple. It’s the best way to save her from them.”

“I hope you don’t have to do that.”

“But I will,” he said with certainty. “I know I will. That’s why I’ve been spending as much time with her as I can, building memories and saying goodbye. I didn’t get to have closure with my parents. Deep down, I knew from the second I heard her story that I would have to kill her someday.”

Kristen placed a hand on his solid chest. “You won’t be killing her. She’s already dead. Remember that. None of this is your fault, and I don’t want you to feel guilty over it.”

He put his hand on top of hers and smiled, but it was tinged with sadness. “I’m going to lose my sister. I can’t stop that from happening, but I can hold on to you. I won’t lose you, Kristen, not you, too.”

“I don’t want to lose you either, but…”

His hands moved to her face. Holding it gently between his palms, he lifted it for a kiss. His movements were slow and deliberate, giving her a chance to say no. She could evade his mouth if she wanted to. She could tell him to stop. But did she want him to stop?

Decision made, she grabbed a handful of T-shirt and pulled him closer. Their mouths met in a heated rush. For the first time in her life, she didn’t worry about the future, didn’t try to plan it out. Her nightmares of being accused by him were momentarily forgotten. She was destined to be with this boy. Nothing else mattered.

Taking a step back, she slid fingers beneath the short sleeve of his shirt and pushed it up to reveal the tattoo. “What does it say?” she asked, breathless. “What is the tattoo?”

His gaze refused to meet hers as he replied, “Remember to laugh. Don’t forget to love.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I. It was one of my mother’s favorite sayings.” He lifted his gaze to take in her expression. “What?”

“Everyone at school is afraid of you, so I figured it was a quote from
The Godfather
or a bunch of swear words. If they could read it, your reputation would be ruined forever.”

He grinned. “Why do you think it’s in Italian?”

###

A few minutes later, they exited the study hand-in-hand. A burst of energy had Zach feeling like he could fly. Instead of walking Kristen out the front door, he pulled her down the darkened hallway to the kitchen. He was hoping Morgan would be around for at least another year, and he wanted Kristen to be in his life forever, so he decided the two of them needed to get to know each other better.

“She’s probably finishing lunch now,” he said.

“She doesn’t like me. This isn’t a good idea.”