The Lost Girl (21 page)

I glanced at Luna, who was looking at her sister and sniggering. Then she noticed me watching and made a drinking hand gesture.

“I guess she had
something else
on her mind last night,” Luna explained, looking from her sister to Vigil in amusement.

“I woke up at the crack of dawn with Mr. Skittles scratching my face like a maniac, and soon after that a hell of a rumpus started in the living room,” Arice began. “I walked in and that evil thing was here trashing the place, and when it saw me, it flipped. The thing was raging, hissing nonsense about his belongings, and setting jinxes and curses on our house. It was possessed by the devil, I swear to you!”

Luna began her part then. “I woke up to Arice’s screams and we tried to toss that thing out of the house, but as she said, it was flipping mad! It only stopped clawing at things after Mr. and Miss Booze-head over there—”

“Arice!” Celeste blushed.

“Sorry. After
Celeste
and
Mr. Vigil
finally woke up. As
soon as this Nick saw Vigil, it hissed and vanished from sight. It was seriously scared. The last thing it said was that it was coming after you, Joey. That’s why we’ve been calling you.”

“But that was near the break of dawn. It must have given up because the sun was rising. Mr. Vigil says this thing hates sunlight, right?” Arice said.

“So you’d better watch out tonight,” Luna remarked. “That thing is definitely coming for you.”

“Oh … God. Do you think he’ll go back to my house?” I jolted upright on the couch.

“You bet your sweet ass.”

“Luna! Language!” Celeste admonished, looking at Vigil with another light blush on her cheeks.

“Oh, he doesn’t care, Celeste. He’s too focused right now on trying not to throw up.”

“Guys, I’m serious! What am I going to do? Should I be getting back home now? Are the boys safe at our place?” I asked.

“I think they are safe for now; at least, during daylight,” Celeste said. “But at night …”

“What am I going to do? I can’t leave them alone to fend for themselves. I can’t leave Vigil here alone, either. What am I going to do?”

Shards of glass that were scattered over the floor started shuddering as if they had been hit by a small quake. The thought of any of the boys getting hurt because of me – of Tristan getting hurt – made my heart fill with horror. And it was making my new powers have an effect on my surroundings.

“Everything is going to be all right.” I heard Celeste trying to soothe me, but her voice sounded so far away.

“No, it’s not! What if something happens to the boys?”

“Joey. You have to stay calm,” Vigil said, leaning over and touching me lightly. “Remember, deep breaths, do not let your feelings overcome your thoughts. Do not let your fear rule you. You are stronger than that. You have to keep calm.”

I stared at his deep black eyes. Once, a long time ago, they had been cold and emotionless, but not any more. Now they were filled with worry and concern. I knew I could trust them. I knew I could always count on him.

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly until I was calm again. The shards of glass stopped tinkling on the ground and the room fell silent.

“Good. That’s good.” Vigil breathed out in relief.

I opened my eyes and saw him smiling softly at me. Then he turned to the girls and crossed his hands over his lap. “Now, let us talk about a plan of action, ladies. I think perhaps now it is time to speed things up a little. We have been discussing a way of trapping this creature. Celeste, do you think it can be done tonight? Do you think you can set things in motion over at Joey’s house?”

Over the last few days we had been discussing lightning spells that could trap Sneaky Nick when he showed up. Celeste would be responsible for the spell part. The interrogation would be done by Vigil, so we could find out how the damned glass ball worked, but he wouldn’t – couldn’t – let Nick suspect anything about the switch. That was the tricky part of the plan.

Celeste turned to look at him, a little pale and uncertain. “Yeah, I think so,” she said quietly. “I need to prepare some things first, pack everything for the spell, and then we can go.”

“Good,” Vigil said, resting his head back on the couch. “Now, can we talk about how much medication I am going to need for this blasted aching in my skull?”

After Celeste and Vigil had taken a couple of aspirins for their headaches, we started getting things ready. Luna and Arice stayed behind to protect their house and the magical items in the leather pouch, while the three of us drove to my place. We arrived with spell books and protective amulets of all sorts and shapes, and made our way slowly up the drive, our arms laden with magical accessories.

“Oh, my God, I forgot Mr. Skittles!” Celeste shouted suddenly, turning back to look frantically inside the car.

We’d agreed to bring Mr. Skittles with us to help us locate Sneaky Nick. The cat was like a walking security system for supernatural activity. It was he who had woken Arice the night before, and we were betting he could do it again.

“I can’t believe I forgot him,” Celeste continued, her eyes filling up with tears.

I glanced at Vigil, who stared back at me, clearly at a loss. What was with Miss Snow Queen’s waterworks? It was just a
cat
. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one having problems controlling emotions around here …

“We have to get him back, Joey. How am I supposed to take care of this spell? I can’t even remember the cat! I can’t believe I left him behind. I’m messing things up for you, Vigil, I’m so sorry!”

“Celeste, it’s okay! I’ll go back and get him. Please, stop crying!” I said, trying to calm her down. “You start preparing the spells and I’ll go fetch him, okay?”

She looked at me in relief. “Really?” she asked, sniffing
rather loudly. Watching an over-emotional Celeste was a bizarre experience. She was always so composed and collected. Vigil was really affecting her. I thought maybe Miss Snow Queen had a thing for our unearthly friend.

“Yes, really, Celeste. It’s no problem. If you guys need anything, ask Seth or any of the boys. I’ll be back before you know it,” I said, handing my stuff to Celeste and opening the car door.

Vigil had his hand on Celeste’s shoulder – his way of comforting her, I suppose. He wasn’t overly fond of close contact, but he was trying his best with her.

It took me about ten minutes to drive back to the Harker house and find Mr. Skittles; then twenty minutes more to convince him to scramble inside the car. Mission accomplished, I sped through the streets, eager to get back home. The sun was just setting on the horizon, leaving a faint purple lingering in the night sky. I chose a slightly longer route home because I knew it was more likely to be clear of traffic, and I was right: it was just my car cruising along the street. By now it was properly dark, except for twinkling lights from the windows of the many houses nestled along the road.

I flicked the headlights on, and at the sudden movement Mr. Skittles, sitting next to me on the passenger seat, tensed up on full alert. The hair on his back stood on end and he hissed at some spot behind us.

“Hum. Mr. Skittles? What’s wrong?” I asked, glancing in the rearview mirror. There was nothing there. Mr. Skittles continued hissing and attempting to claw the air. “Okay, calm down, kitty, we’re almost there.” But then I quickly glanced back again and caught a suspicious shadow heading for the hood of the car, a tiny glint of
yellow eyes blinking for a split second before fading out of sight.

Crap. It was Nick. He was here!

I didn’t pause to think; I just reacted and stepped on the brakes, hard, making the car skid to a halt with a loud screeching of burning tires. I was lucky this was a deserted street or I would have caused a major accident. I busted open the door and scrambled outside, Mr. Skittles following at my heels like a shadow.

There was a ripping sound and a sharp tug on my shoulder, but I didn’t stop to look at it. I saw the two strong beams of the car’s headlights and ran into them. Sneaky Nick hated light. I stopped in front of the lights, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. Mr. Skittles was right next to me. That cat had a good survival instinct, I gave him that.

I glanced quickly at my shoulder and saw that my shirt was ripped in the shape of claw marks and there were a few drops of blood, but when I peeked underneath, there was no wound. The skin was smooth and unscathed, healed by Vigil’s powers.

A hiss from Mr. Skittles jolted me back to attention. Nick was still around. I turned in a full circle, searching for him. Nick could be anywhere, at my back, at my sides, even right in front of me.

I glanced down and saw Mr. Skittles staring directly at something; then he turned his head slowly, as if following something through the darkness. Best to follow the cat’s lead. He really was the best Nick-detector.

After some time manoeuvering myself in pursuit of Mr. Skittles’ concentrated glare, I started to grow impatient with this game of tagging shadows in the dark. My heart
still pounded loudly in my chest, but I tried to keep my cool as best I could.

“Okay, Nick,” I said to the dark street. “Let’s stop this silly game. What do you want?”

Something stomped on the hood of the car. “What do I wantss?” Nick hissed, clawing at the car, making me flinch at the sound of scratching metal. “What do I wantsss, hag? You know what! I wantss my things. Give me back my thingss, witch.”

“Okay. I don’t have your things with me. I wouldn’t be
that
stupid, walking around with them in my pocket, would I?” I scoffed. “They are safe – and protected with many spells and wards – in a very secret hidden place.”

He screeched like a banshee and continued clawing viciously at the hood. It was clear he wasn’t one bit happy, and the car was ruined.

“Give it back, hag! Give it back,” Nick cried out. Major hissy fit.

“I can make you a deal,” I proposed, stalling for time. I didn’t know a light spell to cast at him – that was Celeste’s area of expertise. But I needed to try something to make him tell me how that damned glass ball worked. It was now or never.

“Listen, how about … how about I give you all your stuff back, but I get to keep one item? That seems fair, dontcha think?” I said, gambling my way out of this one.

“I just want one thing. You can keep the rest.”

He seemed to be pondering this. “Which thing?” he asked, suspiciously.

That was the tricky part. I couldn’t tell him I wanted the glass ball and then ask him how it worked. He would
instantly work everything out and go straight for Vigil’s neck. Then he would be free from his hunter.

“Hmm. How about you tell me how they all work, and I decide which one I want?”

“NO!” he hissed defiantly. “No! You just wantss to know how they workss sso you can keep them all for yoursself! You lying, cheating thief!”

“No, I won’t! I give you my word I will only keep one thing!”

“Your word? Your word? Your word meanss nothing, hag,” he spat out.

“Listen, Nick, I’m trying to be reasonable here. I promise you can trust me. I mean, what else can you do?

“And, by the way, the only reason Vigil is not coming after you right now is because I asked him not to,” I continued, my brain still working at super-speed to come up with something that would convince Nick to hand over the secrets of the glass ball. “I wanted to make this trade with you, you know? This way I will get a powerful magical artifact and learn how to use it properly, and you get to leave with the rest of your things. Everybody wins!” I said, trying to give him a reassuring smile.

“But if we can’t make a deal, then I suppose I can ask him to get back to his mission … of hunting you down.” I was bluffing, squinting my eyes in the dark.

Nick jumped off the hood and landed on a dark patch of road, making sure to stay clear of the headlights’ beams. His deadly yellow gaze locked on me.

“You liesss,” he hissed again. “A Gray Hooded One would never stop hiss duty for ssuch a thing.” I could see him narrowing his eyes.

“He likes me very much,” I pointed out. “He always does everything I ask. You saw how he chose to protect me in my garden. He could have gone for your neck back there, but he chose me. He would do anything I say.” I suppose there was some truth in that.

“No, there iss sssomething elsse holding him back,” Nick said, suddenly making himself visible to me. I could see his whole body: his flashing white teeth in that wicked, evil smile of his, the tainted yellow eyes searching mine with intensity. “And I can alwayss try sssomething new …” he said, grinning menacingly. “I can alwayss take ssomething of yourss, like you
took
miness. And THEN we can make a trade.”

I uncrossed my arms. I had a bad feeling about this. “I have nothing valuable,” I said, shrugging. Whatever he took, it would be only an unimportant material thing which could be replaced.

“Ah …” he said tsking me, teasing me with that wicked scary grin. “But you do.” His eyes glinted with malice. “You sseem very … ‘attached’ to those young males in your housse. I thinkss perhapss I could ssnatch one or two … slice them up, huh? Trade their pieces for my things? I could do thiss, yess, yess … What do you think, hag?” He let himself blend into the dark street again, only his yellow, glinting eyes visible.

At this, it felt as if my heart had stopped beating. A fierce coldness ran down my spine, freezing my every move. Inside my head, chains started rattling and that alien voice boomed through all my thoughts.

He threatened your boys
, the voice snarled; and I snarled too.
You must kill him. Tear him into pieces
. All I could hear was rattling and snarling.
Your boys. Your boys are
in danger. You need to strike him. Destroy him. Destroy everything!

“You stay away from them, you filthy thing,” I growled, and my voice sounded alien, not my own. “You touch them, and I will destroy you.” The air around us stirred and a fierce wind picked up speed, brushing leaves off the ground in a swirling hurricane. Thunder rolled in the night sky. I could feel energy building inside me. I was already losing control.