Unbound (48 page)

“Thank you! I’ll have to curl your hair like this someday.”

She nodded enthusiastically. She looked at Ethan. “Is that your boyfriend?”

“Yea, it is. His name is Ethan.”

“He’s cute!” she said and quickly got embarrassed.

“I think so too,” I told her with a smile.

Josh had his mom’s Suburban, so he offered to drive. We all had a really nice time at the Mexican restaurant we decided upon. Not only were my chicken quesadillas delicious, but the time spent eating and just being with friends was way over due.

The rain clouds had completely gone away, leaving a clear sky that would sure to become completely star studded as the night rolled on. We took seats near the top of the bleachers and I was so glad Laney remembered to bring blankets. I huddled between her and Ethan trying to keep warm in the cold November air. I scanned the opposing team’s cheerleaders but didn’t see Jenny. Oh well, I wasn’t too worried about it. Saying ‘hi’ might have been awkward anyway.

I screamed and cheered and actually had a lot of fun. We were all happy to see our own school win. Ethan said Harrison played really well tonight but to be honest, I didn’t really think I’d be able to tell any different; my knowledge of football is very limited. He held my hand as the four of us walked back to the Suburban. Since the game went into over time we decided to just go back to Laney’s for dessert. Ethan didn’t say much on the way back and he said even less once we got to Laney’s. He declined any ice cream and when he sat next to me on the couch and rested his head on my chest I realized he was burning up.

“You’re hot!” I set my bowl of ice cream down to fully feel his temperature.

“I know,” Ethan said with a cheeky grin.

“No, seriously. You have a fever.”

“Oh.” Ethan looked a little strained. He put his head back down. “I sorta feel like crap.”

“Let’s get you home.” I caressed his face. I felt bad for him and wondered how long he’d been ignoring feeling ill for my sake.

“No, you’re having fun.”

“Ethan, you’re sick.”

“Nah, I’ll be ok.”

“Shouldn’t you stay at full power?” I asked quietly, thinking that would get him to go home and rest.

He sighed, “You’re right. But we can stay a while longer; you haven’t had fun in a while.”

I leaned down and kissed him.

“I can take Anora home when I leave,” Josh offered. “It’s really not out of the way for me.”

“Fine with me,” Ethan said.

“You wouldn’t mind?” I asked Josh.

“Not at all,” Josh said with a smile.

“Thanks.” I smiled back and walked Ethan to the door. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

Ethan put his hands on my waist. “You can play nurse for me tomorrow, sexy outfit and all.” He smiled coyly and kissed me. “Be careful without me.”

“Same to you. Call me when you get home, ok?”

“Will do.”

“Ok. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

And then he was gone. I felt a little weird without him; lonely and bit vulnerable. Josh had to work early the next morning and couldn’t stay too late tonight. After an hour and a half of talking, laughing and making fun of Marie, we left. I thanked him again for taking me home and dashed up to the garage door. I took a good look around the yard but didn’t see anything threatening so I unlocked the door and called Hunter over to let him out before bed.

Even though I was tired, I couldn’t fall asleep. I was worried about Ethan. He sounded even worse when he called to let me know he was home safe and sound. It was like he just all the sudden got really sick. Something didn’t seem right. I got out the leather bound journal Aunt Estelle had given me, prepared to write an epic entry on the crazy turn my life has taken. I’d only gotten so far as writing today’s date when a thought entered my mind: for years Aunt Estelle has been sending me ‘weird’ presents. I wondered if I would find them weird anymore.

Careful to be extra quiet and not wake Mom and Dad, I crept down the stairs into the basement. Hunter followed close behind. It didn’t take long for me to sort through the boxes in the storage room before I found the one I was looking for. It was too big and heavy to carry upstairs, so I dragged it down the hall and into the spare bedroom down here. I sat cross legged on the floor, going through the random items.

I gasped when I pulled a huge book out of the box. Tattered and worn, this was exactly what I’d been looking for. I slowly opened it and ran my hand across the brittle pages. I was holding an encyclopedia of demons. I vaguely remembered the picture on the front page; a horribly evil pig thing with twisted fangs and evil, black eyes. I shuddered as the memory came back. I was twelve when I got this. I had just opened the book when Mom took it away from me. I was honestly surprised she kept it.

My hands felt a little shaky as I flipped hastily through the pages. My heart skipped a beat; staring up at me from the yellowing paper was the bird-demon.

“Harvesters,” I read out loud to Hunter. A rush of excitement flooded my veins. I finally knew what the hell these things were. “An ancient, evil being summoned to collect, or ‘harvest’, powers of other magical creatures. Often seen working alongside a more powerful demon, the Harvesters stop at nothing to obtain their goal. The Harvesters have a special ritual to extract one’s powers, which usually results in the victim’s demise. While these creatures posses the strength of a man, battle is not their domain.” I sat still for a minute, letting that sink in. I wanted to call Ethan, and I picked up my phone to do so before deciding that it was late and he was most likely asleep.

There was more to go through in the box, but I knew I should try and get some sleep myself. So I packed up and put away the box, leaving the demon book out to take back up to my room. My new knowledge sparked a bit of an adrenaline rush, making it impossible for me to fall asleep just yet. I sat at the foot of my bed not knowing what to do. Suddenly, darkness encased me. I felt the heavy encyclopedia slide off my lap and onto the floor.
 

My heart pounded in my head. I leaned against a tree, trying to catch my breath. I didn’t know what they wanted from me. I was so terrified. White-hot fear coursed through my body making me tremble. The barn should be near soon, I’d be safe when I get there. After another few seconds I sprinted forward. I could see the dark silhouette of the barn and felt relief wash over my heart. I fell to the muddy ground to find the spare key. It had been so long since I’d used it, but it has to be around here somewhere. Frantically I turned over stones and rooted through fallen leaves. The metal just brushed my fingers before hands with razor sharp nails grasped my shoulders and threw me back with such force that it knocked the wind out of me. My head cracked against the root of an oak tree. Once my fuzzy vision cleared, the sick face of a Harvester was looking down at me, hissing in delight.

My eyes flew open. “Oh my God,” I breathed shakily. Hunter was pawing at me, obviously not liking my nightmare. “Ryan.” I sat up. “Ryan,” I said again, this time talking aloud to Hunter. “The Harvesters were after him too.” I didn’t move for probably five minutes. I put my head in my hands. I felt terrible. Had he been trying to warn me the whole time?

I got the BOS from my closet. I knew what I had to do, even though Ethan warned me not too. I flipped through the pages and quickly read what I’d need to do. I’ll alter the spell, I told myself, to make it safer. It didn’t take long for me to come up with my own version.

“You have to sit up here and stay,” I told Hunter as I motioned for him to sit on bed. I tossed him some treats to occupy him with but he ignored them and looked at me with more worry in his eyes than is possible for a dog. I poured a circle of salt on the floor and lit four white candles. I mixed lavender and sandalwood together in a small cast iron cauldron and set it on fire. The smoke wafted around me. I breathed it in and started reciting my spell.

“Spirits of the in-between, I conjure thee to be seen. You’ve whispered to me in the night, now come to me, be in my sight. Appear before is my command, in my sight is where you’ll stand. When I tell you to depart, go at once and leave no part of your world that can do harm. And hurt no one with this charm.” Ok, maybe it was a little wordy but it was my first spell and I wanted to make sure I covered everything. A big cloud of smoke blew into my eyes. They watered like crazy. When I opened them, I saw an eerie grayness cast over my room. Was I dreaming? No, I probably wouldn’t think that if I was dreaming, right?

I tried to stand but there was tremendous pressure pushing down on me. It was like moving through deep sand. The candles in front of me were still; the flames frozen in place. I put my hand over it and felt no heat. Everything was so still and so silent. I looked at my bed and panicked; Hunter was gone.

“It’s ok,” a very familiar male voice said softly. I turned back and was a few inches from Ryan. I opened my mouth but didn’t know what to say. ‘Hi’ just wouldn’t cut it. Luckily, he spoke.

“Anora.” His voice was a little stronger than a whisper. It had been him calling me all this time. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve put you through but I can only appear here or in dreams. I’ve been trying to warn you.”

“I’m sorry too. I should have listened.” Everything felt so surreal. “Where are we?”

“The astral plane. That’s why you can’t see your dog.”

“Oh,” was all I could say.

“I can only appear here,” Ryan said again, apologetically this time. I would have loved to ask him questions about this strange plane and death and dying, but I knew there wasn’t any time.

“The Harvesters,” I said and he flinched. “What did they want from you?”

“My powers.” He looked deep into my eyes. I felt like he was reading my soul. “I can magnify the powers of crystals.”

“You healed Ethan,” I said with sudden clarity. That was why it didn’t work on Leslie.

“Yes. And that night when—” He started to fade.

“Ryan!” I reached out for him but my hand slid right through his arm. It felt like I was sticking my hand in an electrified rain cloud.

“I don’t have much time, Anora.” Fear took over his face. “You are in danger, the same danger I was in.” I already knew I was in danger, so I waited for him to continue. “Asaroth collects powers. She hunts people like us and sends her Harvesters to collect them. There’s something special about you, Anora. She was very excited when he found you. She even sent out the Pricolici to make she got the right one.” He looked at me as if he was expecting me to tell him why I was so special. I shook my head.

“I’m just a witch. I can barely do anything.” I held Ryan’s gaze. “What do I do?”

“Don’t agree to the ritual.”

“I never would.”

“They can’t take your powers unless you say ‘yes’. Surrendering your will is the first part of the ritural.” He looked down. “For me, they promised to stop the torture. But here I am, more than ten years later…”

“They won’t let you move on,” I said, remembering the dream where I got sucked back into total despair.

Ryan nodded. “There are others too. She won’t let us go and we can’t move on. An aspect of ourselves is locked to this plane.”

“The powers.”

“Right.”

“If she has your powers then how did you heal Ethan?”

“We can still tap into them from time to time, but it’s risky. Asaroth has been too distracted with you.”

“Oh,” I said again at a loss for words.

“The way you’ve killed everything she’s sent after you is most impressive, I have to say.”

“Thanks, I guess.” I shrugged. I looked into Ryan’s lifeless eyes. I was terrified of this Asaroth. I empathized with Ryan more than I should have. “The dreams were you too, right?”

“Yes. Again, I’m sorry but it was the only way I could communicate with you.”

Images from my nightmares flashed through my mind. “But some of the dreams took place in my Aunt’s house in Indiana.”

“Your memories filled in what I couldn’t. The basement of the barn took on the form of the basement of her house because that is what you know.”

Everything was clicking into place. Ryan whirled around. “They know I’m gone. They can’t know we spoke.”

I blinked. When I opened my eyes, Hunter was standing over me, licking my face. I had fallen backwards on the salt circle, missing a candle by a mere few inches.

“Holy shit,” I said and hugged Hunter. This changed everything. I picked up the demon encyclopedia and sat on my bed. I felt so drained that I couldn’t even open the book. I guess going to the astral plane does that to a person.