Winter Fire (Witchling Series) (25 page)

“He’s grown up. He had to. He had to deal with Daddy’s board,” she said. “He’s not as quiet, but that doesn’t mean he’ll betray me.”

Then invite him to the resort tonight. He can…help us.

She halted in her movements. “That’s a little different. We don’t need too many people knowing about it.”

You didn’t hesitate to tell Isaac, a Light witchling. He’s even less trustworthy than Alexa.

“Noah isn’t getting involved.”

You know he’s weak.

“He’s not weak!” she snapped. “He’s my little brother. He doesn’t need to be involved in something like this.”

Conviction.

She threw her shoes. “I have conviction!”

You’ve failed twice. What if Noah gets in your way this time?

“He won’t.”

If he does?

“God, I wish you would shut up!” she said, squeezing her head. “You can have Alexa and Isaac. You can’t have my brother!”

If you want to succeed, you can’t have roots anywhere. You must be able to strike and move on.

“Look, let’s just get through tonight. After that, we’re home free.”

Bartholomew was quiet. Pleased that she shut him up, Dawn finished changing and left her room.

“Noah said he had to take a call from your dad’s board or something,” Isaac said as soon as she appeared. “It’s just us.” The beefy blond witchling smiled and sidled up to her.

Dawn pushed him away coyly and went to the kitchenette, feeling moody after her talk with Bartholomew.

“Tell me about the fire,” she directed him.

“It went just as planned,” Isaac said. “Troy set the fire last night. I made sure to start the rumor it was Morgan. She did us both a favor and wasn’t in her room this morning. It was too easy.” He shrugged.

“And … what?”

He smiled and approached her again. “No kiss?”

“When you’re done telling me what happened,” she said sweetly. “Then I’ll do that thing you like so much.”

“Deal.” Desire flared in his eyes.

“Good. Tell me.”

“She was with Beck last night. No one knows where, but he showed up a few minutes after she did this morning.”

Dawn’s smile faded. Anger moved through her. She waited.

“Everyone believes she did it, but get this,” he continued, excited. “She did something to Beck. They took him out of her room on a stretcher.”

“What?” Dawn demanded, startled. “What happened? Is he okay?”

“From what I heard, yes. Amber said he fell and hit his head, but a couple of the other girls said they saw Morgan run out of the schoolhouse and Amber was screaming for help.”

Dawn listened intently. The idea of Morgan hurting Beck enraged her. If anyone deserved revenge, it was her, not some carrot-top whore!

“No one knows what happened, really,” Isaac continued. “Anyway, it gave Alexa the opening she needed. We intended to grab Morgan tonight, but they ran into the forest. Alexa grabbed all three.”

“All three.”

“Morgan, Summer, and Biji.”

Alexa’s weak. She didn’t stick to our plan,
Bartholomew said.

“Yeah, I know. It’s because she’s still in love with Decker,” Dawn said, frowning. “We can still work with this, right?”

Maybe. It won’t be clean like we intended.

“I can’t
not
deal with Morgan! You heard Noah. Beck now knows we -”

“Um, are you talking to me?” Isaac asked, confused.

“Sorry. Thinking out loud,” she replied. “So Morgan did something to take out Beck. Any idea what?”

Soul stone.

“What?”

Isaac eyed her. “I didn’t say anything.”

Dawn waved him away and crossed to the window in the living area, concentrating on Bartholomew.

“So you think maybe she used it on him?” she asked.

Or he found it by accident. There’s no way to know.

“It really works.”

As promised.

“This is really going to happen,” she said, a mix of excitement and fear in her gut. “He’ll feel what I do. Finally.”

And more.

“Dawn?” Isaac called.

“One sec. We’re talking about the soul stone.”

“The what?”

Dawn gasped. She wasn’t supposed to tell anyone about it. She faced Isaac, who appeared baffled.

“Never mind,” she said, smiling.

Too late.
Bartholomew laughed.
You’ve got to take care of him
.

“It’s okay,” she said quickly.

Her hand moved outside her control. She glanced own, surprised. She involuntarily gripped a heavy crystal vase. Dawn ordered her hand to put the vase down. It didn’t listen. She was dizzy suddenly, and unconsciousness crept around the edges of her mind. She felt like she was getting ready to sky dive or bungee jump.

Fighting it, she focused on retrieving the vase with her other hand.

Suddenly, her world went completely dark. She was awake but unaware, sitting in the corner of her mind. It was like a cozy closet and she found the place surprisingly peaceful.

But not normal.

She struggled, reaching out to her air magick. Her lungs swam with cold magick that fluttered through the rest of her body. Finally, she yanked free of her mind.

Gasping, Dawn looked around wildly.

I took care of it.

She looked down and almost screamed. At her feet were the remains of Isaac. His head was bashed in beyond recognition. With horror, she saw the vase in her hands still. The clear crystal was bathed in pink and red, like her skin and clothes and the furniture. The couch. Even the ceiling and walls.

“What have you done?” she demanded.

What have
you
done?

“I didn’t do this!”

Do you see anyone else here?

“Hey, Dawn!” Noah’s voice came through the door.

Her eyes flew up. Dawn felt Bartholomew reclaim her arm. She fought him, unwilling to hurt her brother. The door opened, and she froze.

Noah stood in the doorway, shock on his face.

Bartholomew seized her but only for a second. Dawn threw the vase across the room. The sound of it smashing into the wall jarred her from her mind.

“Stop!” she shouted.

Bartholomew retreated.

“Dawn, what did you do?” Noah managed at last.

“What did I do?” she retorted. Her eyes went to the mess that was Isaac then away quickly. She started crying and hyperventilating, disgusted by what she saw. “He … he came at me. I don’t know … I snapped … N…Noah, I … he was going to … hurt me!” she stammered.

At first, she didn’t think Noah was going to believe her. Dawn cried harder, terrified that her brother, too, might turn on her.

“It’s okay, Dawn,” he said finally. “Go take a shower. I’ll … I’ll figure out what to do about … this.”

Dawn’s heart soared. She was right! Bartholomew was wrong!

“Just … go,” Noah whispered. He was pale and he looked sick. He closed the door behind him. “I’ll take care of this.”

Dawn never loved her brother like she did in that moment. She nodded and stumbled through her tears to her room. The scent and warmth of blood made her vomit. She heaved for a few minutes then tore off the clothing and flung it into a corner. Starting a shower, she hurried into it. Blood turned the water at her feet pink.

Your first kill,
Bartholomew said. You got away with it.

Dawn paused mid-scrub, considering. She felt sick and shaky. But he was right. She’d done it. It wasn’t as hard as she expected. She experienced no remorse, and Bartholomew had taken mercy on her by overcoming her body to shield her from the worst of it.

I can do the same for Alexa. Morgan. Noah.

“No,” she whispered. “Not Noah. Never Noah.”

Bartholomew said nothing. Dawn scrubbed herself clean, mind turning in a new direction. Alexa had grabbed Morgan and Summer, both bitches who deserved what Isaac got. Biji had crossed Dawn one time too many as well. Dealing with her would silence another pain.

Soul stone first. We cannot destroy Beck without it.

“You can make it so no one ever knows, right?”

Trust me,
he replied.

Chapter Seventeen

Morgan awoke on a cold floor. Her body ached, and she felt bruised. The metal of handcuffs surrounded her wrists. The room was cold and dark, except for the light of a hallway lining a door. She listened, recalling what happened to bring her here.

Beck.

She swallowed a sob. Whatever the Dark kids did to her, she deserved it. The rock in her pocket was cold, and she roused her fire magick to warm her body. Tears trickled down her face. She swiped at them.

Movement came from nearby. Morgan squinted but couldn’t see into the darkness. She pushed herself into a seated position and held out her hands, summoning a flame.

“Summer?” she asked.

The two Light girls were huddled together in a corner for warmth. Their breath hung suspended in the air, and Morgan looked around what appeared to be a basement. They, too, were tied. Biji’s cheek was bruised and Summer’s lip busted.

“Why didn’t you just go back?” Morgan asked, dismayed. She scooted towards them on her knees and held out flames to keep them warm.

Summer took one while Biji hesitated, until she saw it didn’t burn Summer.

“Are you okay?” Summer asked her.

“Yeah.”

“They shocked you for like an hour,” Biji added.

“I beat up Alexa twice already,” Morgan explained. “It’s a good sign.”

“Good sign?” Summer exchanged a look at Biji.

“It means she’s scared,” Morgan said.

“I’d be scared, too, if I knew Beck and Decker were going to kill me,” Biji said. “She can’t kidnap their girls and think they won’t.”

“I’m not Beck’s girl,” Morgan said in a hushed voice. I don’t even know if he’s alive. Her chest seized, or maybe it was her heart. He’d never be able to forgive her for hurting him. The look on his face when he asked her about the rock wouldn’t leave her thoughts.

He thought she’d betrayed him.

She cared too much to hurt him, but she had.

“Do you know where we are?” she asked to take her mind off her failure.

“We can’t be far,” Summer answered. “We might be …” she drifted off, frowning.

“Where?”

“The room is cement, so we can’t talk to the air,” Biji said in frustration.

“Or earth. I was thinking we’re in the resort where they found Tanya’s body,” Summer’s voice was hushed.

“There are three closed resorts around the lake,” Biji said. “During summer, we explored them. But we didn’t go down into the basements, which this smells like.” Her nose wrinkled.

Morgan glanced around the room. They were right. There were no windows, and the entire room was cement. It smelled moldy and stale. Her fire revealed a puddle of water in one corner and green moss lining one wall.

The door, however, was wooden. She could burn it down. She just didn’t know what – or who – was on the other side.

Morgan focused her magick on the cuffs. They grew hot and glowed red. She waited until they were soft enough almost to melt then pried them off. She took Summer’s hands and frowned.

“I don’t know if I can take them off without hurting you,” she said.

“Try,” Summer replied.

Morgan met her gaze, surprised. Summer smiled.

“I’ve been through a lot.”

“Okay, but if I hurt you, tell me,” Morgan said.

Summer nodded.

Morgan placed her thumb over the lock of one of Summer’s cuffs, then focused her energy. Magick made the metal turn red. The red crept up the cuff, and Morgan glanced at Summer’s face. The Light witchling’s eyes were closed, and she was breathing deep and steady, as if meditating.

The scent of burning skin made Morgan hesitate.

“Keep going,” Summer directed her calmly.

Morgan considered for a moment. She’d been warming it slowly, but it was causing too much pain.

“This is going to hurt,” she murmured.

Summer nodded.

Morgan’s fire flashed. She melted the metal with an intense wave of magick then wrenched Summer’s hand free, before the metal seared through her wrist.

Summer released a breath and rubbed her free wrist. An angry red burn wound all the way around it.

“Me next,” Biji said and stuck out her arms. “Summer can pain patch me. I’m not going to let them beat me again.”

“Maybe try it faster this time,” Summer advised.

Morgan nodded, embarrassed. She focused on the lock around Biji’s right wrist and zapped it with her magick, pulling Biji’s wrist free. Biji flinched at the pain. The red around her wrist wasn’t as bad as that around Summer’s. Summer touched Biji, and Morgan sensed magick in the air.

“So, there were seven of them,” Biji said and stood. She faced the door. “How long have we been here?”

“A few hours,” Summer guessed.

“It’s been quiet, but we don’t really know how many are out there,” Biji said thoughtfully. “We can stay here and hope Decker finds us.”

“He can track Dark witchlings,” Summer said. “Unless they know how to hide from him.”

“I didn’t think it was possible.”

“Yeah, it is. It’s how they hid me for three months,” Summer said.

Morgan listened, not fully understanding what they were talking about.

“I think we should assume they only grabbed you because they think he can’t,” she rationalized.

“He can’t track Light witchlings, though,” Biji said. “Beck can.”

Morgan ducked her head. “I don’t think he can right now.”

“I’m sure of it,” Biji replied. “It’s part of what he does. He’s supposed to know when we’re in danger.”

“And he’s not here,” Summer said, studying Morgan.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Well, I know no one can track someone like me.”

“Did something happen?” Summer asked.

“I, um, heard something happened to him before I left today.”

“What?” Summer asked.

Morgan shook her head. Her insides trembled. When they were free, she’d tell them how horrible of a person she was. First, she had to help them.

“We’re on our own,” Biji murmured. “Morgan can take out the door like she did the tree, but I’m not sure what happens next.”