Unbound (49 page)

Chapter 11
 
Save Our Souls

I woke up around seven the next morning. I was so tired that I sat up only enough to check my phone for missed calls or texts. When I saw that there were none, I collapsed back onto my pillow and slept for another four hours. I felt alert and almost back to full energy. Eating breakfast helped (or lunch I guess I should call it). I showered and dried my hair, anxious the whole time for Ethan to call. I know he liked to sleep in, but it was nearing noon and I still hadn’t heard from him. A bad feeling was forming in the pit of my stomach. I needed to do something to keep me from worrying myself to death. I carefully extracted two Vesta bombs from my closet and padded down the hall to Harrison’s room.

He was still in bed but was awake and watching TV. “Hey Har.”

“Hey,” he called lazily. I sat at the edge of his bed. “What’s up?”

“I know what those bird-demons are.” That perked his interest.

 
He sat up. “What are they?”

“Harvesters. They collect powers for other demons.”

Harrison’s eyebrows wrinkled in concern. “They want yours.”

I nodded. “Listen, I’m gonna go to the barn, but uh,” I handed him the bombs, “just in case something happens, light this and throw it.”

“What the hell!?” Harrison was startled. “This looks like a grenade!”

“It is.” My seriousness must have scared him. “But I don’t think they’re gonna come after you; you have nothing they want.”

“Where’s Ethan?” Harrison looked out his door as if he expected Ethan to materialize in the hall.

“Home. He’s sick.”

“So you’re going to the barn alone?”

“Yea, but I’m sure other people will be there.”

“You just said these things are after you, and only you. Shouldn’t you stay here?”

“And what, hide from everything bad the rest of my life? No way.”

“Ok,” Harrison said, knowing it was pointless to argue with me. “Just, be careful.”

“I will be.” I got up to leave but paused in the doorway. “Where’s Mom and Dad?”

“I dunno,” Harrison said with a shrug. I sighed and went back into my room. I would remember later that my parents were away all day visiting Dad’s sister three hours south of here. Hunter wagged his tail when he saw me.

“I’m gonna leave you here to watch Harry, ok boy?” I told him. He stood and pawed at me, as if he was trying to tell me ‘no’. “I won’t be gone long and I’ll bring weapons,” I said to convince him. He sat down and let out a long whine. I kissed his furry head. “It’ll be ok, I’ll be back before you know it.”

I called Ethan on the way to the barn but I got his voicemail; he must have really been feeling sick if he was still sleeping. Not wanting to disturb his rest, I decided to ride both horses and exercise Henry to keep myself busy. Laney showed up just as I was putting Henry back out in the pasture.

“Hey,” she said upon seeing me. “How’s Ethan feeling?”

“I don’t know,” I said as I took Henry’s halter off. “He’s still asleep.”

“Poor boy, he just needs Nurse Anora to take care of him,” Laney teased. She got Abra and walked back to the barn. I impatiently waited for her to take care of her horse before I told her about the Harvesters and Ryan.

“Oh my God,” she said. We were sitting in heated office; it had gotten colder today. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. I need to talk to Ethan, but I don’t want to wake him up yet since he’s sick.”

Laney half smiled, conveying that she wasn’t sure what to do either. “I’d just call him.”

“I did and it went to voicemail.”

“How long ago?” she asked.

“Uh, like almost four hours ago.”

“Call him again,” she suggested. I got out my phone and called him.

“Voicemail again,” I told her, unease growing stronger. Laney looked just as worried.

“Do you think-” she began but was cut off by Penny coming into the office.

“Hey girls!” she said brightly.

“Hi,” we said back, trying to sound cheery and normal. Not able to hold up a happy false pretense any longer, I decided to go check out Ethan’s. Something was wrong, I just knew it.

The ten minute drive from the barn to his house seemed to take forever. His car was in the driveway. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I called him again but this time it didn’t even ring. His phone was turned off or dead or…I couldn’t think like that. I ran up to the door. It was locked. I ran around to the front; also locked. I began to shake. What if a Pricolici was waiting for him to come home? He didn’t feel well and wasn’t on guard. Oh, why did I let him go home alone? I rang the doorbell and pounded on the door. Not one sound came from inside the house. My heart raced and I was on the verge of hyperventilating.

“Get a grip,” I said to myself. I put my hands on the locks and closed my eyes, imagining I was on the inside of the house looking out. In my mind, I extended my hand and shot back the deadbolt, then unlocked the little lever on the knob. I heard the clicks in real life and pushed the door open.

“Ethan?” I called, not expecting an answer. I called his phone again and I listened intently for it to ring. The house was so quiet. I ran up to his room. The door was open and the bed wasn’t exactly made, but the blankets were thrown over it in a way that was obvious that Ethan didn’t sleep here last night. I felt like crying. I took a deep breath and told myself that crying wouldn’t help solve anything right now.

Trembling with fear of what could have happened, I had to grasp the railing on my way down the stairs to keep from falling. I got back in my truck and fired up the engine. I held back tears the entire way home.

I burst through the garage door. “Harry!” I bellowed, desperate to talk to someone. He didn’t answer. And Hunter didn’t run to greet me. Oh shit, this wasn’t good. I ran up stairs; Harrison wasn’t in his room and Hunter was nowhere in sight. Maybe he took him for a walk. A glance at the clock told me it was nearing five. Not knowing what else to do, I wandered back into the kitchen. I hoped Harrison and Hunter were around the neighborhood somewhere. I took my phone out of my breeches pocket and punched in Harry’s number. Set to vibrate, I jumped when I heard his phone buzzing on the cold granite counter top behind me. He could still be outside somewhere. I prayed I’d find him in the backyard.

“Harry?” My voice cracked with nerves. Something was on the ground near the shed. “No!” I picked up the remains of a Vesta Bomb. It fell from my hands which suddenly quit working. “Get it together,” I told myself again. Eyes wide in fear, I went back into the house. I sat down on a bar stool and put my head on the counter, trying to think of what to do. “Ok,” I said out loud and stood, panicking wasn’t going to get them back. I needed to think clearly. It was most likely demons that took Ethan, Harrison and even Hunter. Ryan warned me that Asaroth thought I was something extra special. I’d seen enough crime shows on TV to know that my friends were probably being held as leverage. Saving them would mean walking right into a trap.

But did I have a choice? Courage slowly seeped over my heart. I ran to my room and buckled the weapon belt around my waist. I shoved three Vesta bombs and a lighter in a black velvet bag and tided it to the left side of the belt. The dagger of course went on my right side, ready for me to grab. I rigged up a holder using a cell phone clip that hooked onto my boots to carry the throwing stars. I looked around my room trying to see if I should bring anything else.

 
My eyes settled on Romeo’s cage and I thanked God he was still sleeping, safe and sound. I turned my cell to silent and put it back in my pocket. I quickly used the bathroom and paused at the mirror. I looked into my eyes trying to see this powerful witch that I supposedly am. My vivid, green eyes looked back at me full of fear. Now wasn’t not the time to be doubting myself.

 
I took off my down jacket; the shinny material made a swooshing noise every time I moved. I pulled a black turtleneck sweater over my head and zipped up a black fleece hoodie over top of that.
 
I almost laughed when I caught a glimpse of my reflection; tall black leather boots over black breeches and all black on top made me look like a wannabe spy.

I knew I needed to drop the mental shields I naturally held up. Using my extra sense would help me find my friends. It was way easier said than done. I worked on relaxing my mind as I walked out to the truck. I got in the cab and closed my eyes.
Ryan,
I called mentally.
Where are they?
The image of the old barn flashed with such clarity that it caused me to jump.

Knowing fully that the barn would be busy with people at this hour, I drove to Ethan’s. The old barn was somewhere in the middle of the woods that divided the barn from his house. I got a few weird looks as I ran down the street and across the field that led into the forest. A brilliant sunset was taking place behind me, but that only meant that my visibility was limited for another half hour or so. It was perfectly clear this evening, and by no coincidence I was sure, there was a full moon.

***

I was engulfed deep in the woods. White moonlight filtered through the cold, bare trees. Weak wind rattled their branches just enough to make it sound like something was lurking nearby. It was a good thing my hand was gripping the handle of the dagger so tight it hurt because something was indeed lurking nearby. I stumbled my way down a ravine and splashed through a shallow creek. Creepy mist rose from the water’s surface.

I slipped on the slick muddy bank and threw my arms out to regain my balance. As soon as I had my footing, a snowy white Pricolici materialized from the fog. Moonlight glinted off its yellowing fangs. Realizing I was stuck between the steep hillside and the creek, my chances of fighting were limited. Telekinetically, I threw it backwards into a tree as hard as I could and sprinted up the ravine. I reached the top and turned around right as the Pricolici lunged for me.

 
With both hands I extended the dagger. The force of the jump knocked me backwards but the dagger still cut deep into its chest. I scrambled to get out from under the burning corpse.

My sense of direction had been thrown off. If I closed my eyes Ryan might be able to show me where to go. If I closed my eyes I’d be an easy target for another demon dog. I thought of Ethan and my brother and Hunter. I closed my eyes and took off in the direction that felt correct in my heart.

I leaned against a tree to catch my breath. My heart was pounding; I’d never been so terrified of anything in my life. Every noise made me jump. I was afraid for myself and even more afraid for my friends. It looked a little brighter ahead. Wait a minute…I looked around. I knew where I was. Adrenaline coursed my veins as I raced across the field. I slowed ten feet from the old barn and tip toed my way through the fallen leaves.

 
My sense of logic screamed at me to get the hell out of this place. Pushing through it, I went around the back of the barn to the root cellar. The heavy doors were open and the staircase disappeared into the dark abyss of the basement. I extracted the little flashlight from my coat pocket and slowly made my way down the stairs.

The basement was empty. No one was being tortured, no demons were preparing to perform a ritual.

No, this couldn’t be.

I saw that this was the place. On the verge of tears I walked all around the dark and dank room, wishing I had brought a more powerful flashlight. I almost missed it; the hole near the stairs looked so natural and accidental that it could have been easily mistaken for an animal den. The casting of shadows made the depth misleading. I jumped a good six feet down and twisted my ankle when I landed on hard dirt. The flashlight rolled away. I crawled to it, snatched it up and was on my feet in seconds.

The hole took me into a tunnel. My heart hammered in fear and anxiety as I walked down the narrow path. Fire light flickered ahead. I turned off and repocketed the flashlight, thinking my hands needed to be occupied with the dagger right now. The tunnel turned sharply into a large cavern. Stained and tattered sheets hung on the dirt walls, dividing the large room into little sections. I thoroughly scanned the area. A large, rusty metal cage held back a huge dog. My heart skipped a beat and I ran to the cage.

“Hunter!” I cried out softly. He wagged his tail fiercely as I stuck my hands through the rusty bars to pet him. I needed to get him out. I pulled on the door but the thing was locked. If I rattled it too much someone would surly hear. I didn’t know the mechanics of the inside of the padlock, but I tried opening it the same way I unlocked Ethan’s door.