From the mantelpiece, the ring glinted unpleasantly. As gleefully vindictive as a witch’s cauldron.
Chapter 73
Attacked
Two weeks went by and I moved through daily life on autopilot. I did all the usual mundane things, slept, ate—a little anyway—worked, chatted, smiled when I was meant to smile, even laughed when I was meant to laugh. To the outside world I appeared as I normally would. But inside, I was a mess. Inside, I ached. A huge permanent ball of hurt swelled against the walls of my stomach. My heart felt as though half of it was torn out and tossed into a wasteland, and what remained was left battered and bruised.
People were all around me, but I was overcome by loneliness, a never ending abyss of emptiness. It was as if I were a solitary figure in a graveyard of ghosts. I could see them and hear them, but their attempts to reach out faded like morning mist on the breaths of a southerly wind.
I thought about him all the time. I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. When the girls asked again to go away, I politely declined, pleading tiredness. Which, in all honesty, was no lie. The emotional pain had depleted my energy. I took a few weeks off bar work, not wanting to run into him, just yet. I’d be okay eventually. But I needed time to heal, to become stronger, before I had to face him again.
Fate, it seemed, had other plans.
It was late in the evening on a Thursday. A lemon-sliced moon was blanketed by a long, heavy, solitary cloud. The night air was cool and moist, the chill seeped into my core, but compared to the brutal cold of the mountains, it was nothing. I walked across an almost empty supermarket parking lot. I was the last customer to leave, having spent much longer than I realized browsing the aisles, buying things we’ would probably never need or use. I’d left at close, right on 10 p.m. The manager, a friendly, wispy-thin guy of around thirty, had wished me goodnight and locked the door behind me with a smile.
A few lamps threw yellow, fizzled light across the murky concrete ground. Arms laden with heavy shopping bags, I was kicking myself for parking so far back from the entrance. I never parked close to other cars, too many people careless with doors and without the honesty to admit the damage they caused annoyed my highly strung sense of social justice. Which made me think of Karson. We’d come shopping together once, he’d insisted on carrying all six bags, like my arms were inadequate to hold any ounce of weight. I missed him, missed his old-fashioned ways. I was too busy thinking about him to notice the black van that slithered through the shadowed edge of the lot.
I shuffled the bags, swapping one bag from my left hand to my right.
I didn’t see the van stop between myself and my car. I didn’t see the two men exit. The first I knew of them was when I looked up and saw them walking in my direction. One was tall, with acne-scarred skin. The other was of medium-height, with a big nose. Both were burly.
I’m not sure what it was, but the sight of them sent warning signals shooting through my body. The air thickened down my throat. My heart rate doubled.
No one else was around. There were only a few cars remaining, probably belonging to night shift employees. My car was fifty yards away. I’d have to pass them to get to it.
I tried to tell myself I was being silly. I knew enough by now to trust my instincts.
Never hesitate, take them by surprise.Ethan’s voice spoke in my head.
Twenty yards away.
I sat the bags on the ground, feigning heaviness, clenching and unclenching my hands, rubbing at them like the handles had dug in. I slipped the ring off my finger and slid it into my pocket.
“You need a hand?” a hoarse voice came from the taller man.
Humans—not witch, not vampire. I breathed a sigh of relief. It was something at least. I took a few deep breathes, straightened up, rolled my shoulders back and forced a look that resembled a smile. “No, I’m fine thank you.”
Ten yards.
“You sure?” Big nose asked, with a smile that never reached his reptilian eyes.
Five yards.
My blood began to heat, buzzing inside. I’m not meant to use my powers in public. But it’s either use them or . . . I shuddered to think.
“Yes, I’m fine, thanks.”
Two yards.
I leaned forward and down, pretending to pick up the bags. My hair curtained my face. My mouth dried. My heart boomed against my skull.
One yard.
Big nose began his take off.
I shot my hand up. Power exploded from my fingertips.
He flew through the air, landing with a sharp thud on the concrete about ten yards away, he grunted as his body tumbled across the ground.
