Logan
Ihavemanagedtoevade my reality long enough. I’ve been pushing what happened deep down into the back recesses of my mind. I could almost pretend that night was just a horrible dream, a nightmare of a young, scared boy. But as I sit here staring out the window of the car, the trees flashing by, all I can see is my brother’s terror-stricken face as he’s dragged into the darkness. The sound of his screams and the snapping of his bones stabs relentlessly into my head, followed by the deafening silence that tears at my emotional walls.
I haven’t faced this in twenty-five fucking years. Which has only added to the pain instead of allowing me to heal. Now knowing that what I saw was real, that it marked me and has been feeding off my misery for all these years, makes anger boil in my veins. I have given too much of my life to this entity. I am taking it back. I have something worth fighting for besides myself now. I have Salena. Or, at least, I did. If I survive the night, then I can work on gaining her forgiveness.
Looking out the front window, eighteen hours into the drive from Boulder, I watch as we wind up the road to the lake. Suddenly the car swerves, just missing a rabbit, then a tree, branches slapping the side of the car.
“Would you watch the road?” I snap, glaring at Ash.
She looks at me, grinning. “Look, no hands.”
I look at the road, then my gaze snaps back to Ash. “Are you crazy?”
“Possibly.” She laughs, winking at me, her dark eyes holding way too much amusement.
“Do you think this is funny?” I growl.
“Right up until we are dead, it’ll be hilarious,” Ash says with a grin, then trains her eyes back on the road in front. Thank fuck. I don’t want to die when I have finally found something to live for.
But all I can do is sit here simmering in my anger and guilt as she drives us toward the last place I ever wanted to see again. I had to shut my phone off, as Kai and Felix were blowing it up with calls.
I hate how I left things with Salena, but if things go south, I don't want her waiting for me. I want her to be happy. Sander will protect her. I can trust him to watch over the only woman I have ever loved. That realization hits me so hard I can’t breathe.
Ash turns her head toward me, perhaps sensing my inner turmoil. “I never asked. What did you tell Salena?” she asks before looking back at the road.
“I broke it off.”
Dark eyes swing my way. “You what!?” she screeches, the car swerving.
“You told me to say goodbye.”
“I meant as in,I will see you in a few days.Tell her you had a sick family member or something.”
“I don’t have any family,” I deadpan.
Ash rubs her temples, muttering something under her breath about the stupidity of males and the human race.
“Hands on the wheel!” I snap.
Ash’s eyes flash in warning before she looks back at the road. About five minutes later, she pulls to a stop. The air is thick with tension as she looks over at me with a grim expression. She’s already explained to me what needs to be done. I have to draw the creature out and get it to feed on me. It needs to be in its physical form for me to kill it.
When it feeds, the spirit is vulnerable to attack. Once it begins to feed, Ash will contain it with a spell to protect me from the spirit, allowing me to finish the job. Which is to stab it in the heart with a special dagger made of obsidian. Of course, that’s easier said than done.
Ash gets out of the car before me and walks to the front, waiting. With a heavy sigh, I open my door. The moment my foot hits the ground, I hear a faint whisper in the wind. With a sense of unease and a great amount of effort, I make my way over to her. She holds out her hand, revealing a glossy, smooth rock in her palm. I frown, picking it up. “What’s this?”
“Malachite. It’s a protection stone. It absorbs negative energies around you.Andit will help you stay focused on the task at hand, as opposed to getting caught up in whatever nightmare it shows you.”
I pocket the stone, feeling the curves of its surface as I run my thumb over it several times. Ash mutters a few words, and I watch in amazement as shadows swirl and coalesce into an obsidian dagger laying flat in her palm. It shines brightly in the moonlight, its edges looking as if they could cut through anything.
“Where’d that come from?”
“A magician never reveals their secrets,” she winks, holding it out to me.
“Use this to stab the spirit in the heart, but only once it has taken solid form. When it feeds, it will be painful, but you will need to push the pain away. Don’t let it consume you. This dagger is symbolic. Its sharp edges will pierce darkness to find the light, destroying that thing once and for all.”
I swallow roughly and stare into Ash’s dark eyes. I hate to admit it, but I am more than a little uneasy. I’m putting my life at risk, and doing so with a complete stranger.
“Let’s do this. The quicker we kill this thing, the quicker you can grovel on your knees for Salena’s forgiveness for being a shithead.”
