“That’s not going to happen.”
Silas pulled the trigger. Although the gun fired, the bullet never reached its target. The amulet pulsed and its magic wrenched the gun from his hand; the bullet rerouted into the ceiling. His Glock skimmed across the floor into the wall.
“Try to be civil, Silas. While you’re still alive, it’s the least you can do.” Alex held out a hand to Nickelova and summoned her with his fingers.
She ran to his side. “I knew you’d come for me.”
“Oh, Nickelova. Of course I would. I need you.”
“I need you too,” she said. “Give me my heart, and we’ll pick up where we left off.”
He gripped her by the lower jaw. “Not yet.”
Nickelova’s face fell. He pushed her aside and turned toward Silas. “The thing about you, Silas, is you are utterly predictable. Always brave. Always selfless. I knew if I stabbed Laina and made her believe it was Nickelova, you’d retrieve her from that mountain and use her to find me. Ryker would never have given me her heart. The demon could smell me a mile away. But I easily deceived and manipulated your ex-girlfriend into doing the dirty work for me, and believe me, from what I hear, Ryker was dirty work.”
“Shut up. You shut the fuck up,” Silas said.
“My heart, Alex,” Nickelova whimpered. “Give it to me.”
“Don’t worry, darling. You won’t need it until tomorrow night. It only has to be inside your chest a moment before I sacrifice you.”
Nickelova looked confused. She backed away from him. “Sacrifice me? What are you talking about?”
“The ritual I must perform requires a demon, a vampire, and a dragon, along with a whole lot of energy and a blood sacrifice. Raising Panaal isn’t easy, but it will be worth it. At least for me.You’llbe dead.”
Nickelova gave a high-pitched sob, then pleaded with Alex in earnest.
Silas used the distraction to nudge his brother and gesture toward the gun behind them. He wasn’t thick enough to believe he could successfully shoot Alex. But if he could get that gun and kill Nickelova, they might be able to stop the ritual. Jason slowly backed toward the weapon and Silas thought of ways to distract Alex.
“How did you do it?” Silas interrupted. “How did you make Laina believe it was Nickelova who stabbed her when she was up in that mountain the entire time?”
“The same way I convinced Soleil you needed the heart and how I was able to obtainThe Book of Flesh and Bone.” Alex walked over to Laina, who stared at a spot on the floor as if not in her right mind. He touched her shoulder. “Show them.”
Immediately, Laina’s body pitched forward, her scapula breaking, one arm wrapping unnaturally behind her head. There was a ripping sound and a splat as something gooey and slick hit the ground. When she stood up again, she was dark haired, olive skinned, and had brown eyes that carried the blank expression of someone who wasn’t quite awake.
“No,” Silas murmured.
“Who is that?” Jason asked.
“Have you met Olivia Turner of Crescent Star pack?” Alex asked. “Skinwalkers are incredibly powerful, especially when her position as a Lycanthropic Society member gives her a free pass through any of your enchantments.” Alex placed a hand on Olivia’s shoulder.
“Where’s our sister?” Silas demanded.
“Safe, for now,” Alex said.
“Leave Laina out of this,” Jason said. “Can’t we settle this like men?”
Alex snorted. “If you still think this is about settling a score, you haven’t been paying attention.”
Silas clenched his fists. In the place where Olivia had shifted, he noticed a smear of goop that looked like pink-tinged petroleum jelly. That’s what he’d seen in Soleil’s room when he’d confronted Meredith. It had been Olivia who had stolenThe Book of Flesh and Bone. It was Olivia working for Alex. So then, where was Meredith?
Just then, Jason reached the Glock and kicked the gun toward Silas. He dove for it, rolling and firing toward Nickelova’s head. With one pulse of the amulet, Silas found himself flattened against the far wall of the barn. His bullet, once again, missed its mark.
“You two better get some rest,” Alex said. “Tomorrow night, everything changes.” The amulet pulsed again and Silas lost consciousness.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When Silas came to, the moss under him was wet and cold, but it was the ache of his pounding head that irked him the most. He pushed himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. Jason rested by his side, still blissfully asleep. The two of them were in a cage, in the woods, although which woods he had no idea. The trees didn’t look familiar. The Spanish moss that dangled from the branches seemed to indicate they were south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He sniffed the air. Nothing smelled familiar.
