Never Again (33 page)
He paused, turning toward the car. His skin looked pale and waxy, and his eyes were red and puffy. He stared at her for a long moment, and her skin prickled with unease.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Don’t know. Woke up in a ditch.” He blinked at her. “You’re Gray’s wife. The Rackmore witch.”
“I’m Lucinda Calhoun now,” she said. “Would you like a ride back to town?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” He opened the door and crawled inside. “I dunno what happened to me.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Going to sleep in my own bed.”
“You don’t remember telling Ren about the fire?”
Trent blinked at her owlishly. “What fire?”
“The café. Cathleen set it ablaze, but she didn’t get out in time—unless she didn’t want to get out.”
“She’s dead?” Trent rubbed his face. “I don’t remember the fire. I don’t remember anything. You got any water?”
“Sorry.”
“I feel like I swallowed metal shavings. My head is pounding.”
“Sounds like a hangover.”
He sighed. “I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t have experience with hangovers, but I’ve never blacked out.”
“Maybe we should get you to a doctor.”
“Don’t worry about it.” He frowned as he pointed toward the windshield. “What the hell is that?”
“Oh, Goddess!” Lucinda pulled off the side of the road. She and Trent scrambled out and headed toward the accident.
The blue pickup had hit the massive trunk of the oak tree hard enough to make its hood crumple like an accordion. Both doors were open.
Lucinda heard a faint groan.
They rounded the hood and saw a young man lying on his side. He was scraped up good, his clothing ripped and stained. His eyes were closed, but from the rise and fall of his chest, he seemed to be breathing all right.
“Holy shit. It’s Ant.”
“You’re worried about ants?”
Trent sent her an astonished look. “Anthony Mooreland. This is the sheriff’s little brother.” He squatted down and patted the man’s face. “Ant. Dude. You all right?”
Ant coughed, then grabbed his ribs and moaned. Lucinda felt helpless. She had a gift, a gift Bernard had stolen, one that could help this young man. She knew it would do no good to try, so she knelt next to him and helped Trent lift Ant into a sitting position.
“I feel like I’ve been danced on by elephants wearing clodhoppers,” said Ant. “Where’s Happy?”
“Seriously, man. Now you wanna find your bliss?” asked Trent incredulously.
Lucinda felt chilled to her bones. He couldn’t mean . . . no, no, no! Happy would never try to find her. She was safe at the convent. Bernard couldn’t hurt her while she lived on neutral ground.
“That’s her name, moron.” He hissed in pain. “She was hitching into Nevermore and I picked her up. I was taking her into town—to Taylor.”
Panic welled. “What happened? Tell me!”
“I don’t know. She was scared. Told me to turn around.” He stared at Lucinda, his brown eyes shadowed with pain. “Something took control of the car and we hit the gods-be-damned tree. Then it was lights out.”
“Happy!” she yelled. “Happy!” Lucinda stood up and hurried around the truck. She peered into bushes, circled the huge tree, checked the ditches, and screamed for her friend over and over.
“Lucinda!” Trent grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “She’s gone, all right? Maybe she went down the road to get help or something.”
Hope speared her for a brief moment . . . then faded. No way would Happy abandon someone injured. Not without at least seeing to his comfort. She was smart and brave and loyal. Tears dripped down Lucinda’s cheeks. Who had caused the accident? And had someone taken Happy? “I promised to take care of her. I promised her mother that no harm would come to her daughter. Oh, Goddess!”
“I know you’re freaked, but you need to hold it together. Call Gray and let him know what happened. I’ll stay with Ant, and you can go search for the girl.”
“Okay,” said Lucinda. She sucked in a calming breath, and then went in search of an aqueous surface. Trent was right. Gray would help them. She just hoped he could forgive her for keeping one last dangerous secret.
Gray and Ember stood on the sidewalk in front of the Sew ’n’ Sew watching Taylor fiddle with the lock. Gray couldn’t decide if he was annoyed or amused by Taylor’s stubbornness.
“Damn thing is stuck,” muttered the sheriff.
“Or the locks have been changed,” said Gray.
“No one’s been in here since the owner.” Taylor kept trying to shove in the key, which fit but wouldn’t turn.
“Maybe it unlocks the back door,” offered Gray.
“Your puddle’s ringing,” said Taylor. “Why don’t you answer it and leave me alone?”
Gray looked at the dip in the sidewalk that had collected murky water. Blue sparkles burst from it and then he saw the expression on Lucy’s face. His smile faded instantly. “What’s wrong, baby?”
He and Ember leaned over the water.
“There was an accident. The sheriff’s brother hit that big oak tree, the one where Brujo Boulevard forks.”
“Is he all right?” asked Taylor sharply. He pushed between Gray and Ember and damned near stuck his face in the puddle. Gray understood his friend’s concern. His own worries were dropping like stones into his stomach.
“He’s alive, but injured. And Happy is gone.”
“Shit,” said Taylor. “Shit.”
Gray and Ember turned questioning looks to Taylor. He grimaced. “Ant picked up a girl hitchhiking to Nevermore last night. She passed out in the truck, so he brought her home and let her stay the night. I knew that runaway was trouble the minute I laid eyes on her.”
“This isn’t her fault,” cried Lucy. “I’m going to look for her. Please, Gray, please come.”
“I’m on my way. But wait for me.”
“Ren’s in that area searching for Trent,” said Taylor. “He’ll get to her faster than we can.”
“Trent’s here,” said Lucy. “He was walking toward town. He says he woke up in a ditch and—” Her head jerked up. “I see Ren!” She waved at someone, purportedly Ren, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh, my Goddess! Trent! Stop, please. No!”
Gray’s heart nearly stopped. “Lucy!”
The puddle went dark.
All Gray could think about was getting to his wife. Panic clawed at him. Had Trent hurt her? Goddess! Lucy had his truck. Shitshitshit. He looked at Taylor, feeling raw and helpless.
“I have a portal in my office, remember?” Taylor was already striding across the street. “And there’s another one near that tree. It’ll only take us a few seconds. C’mon.”
Taylor insisted on going first, even though Guardian trumped sheriff. In this case, Taylor said, he was protecting the Guardian from his damn fool self, so Gray had let him go on ahead.
Gray hadn’t been sure what to expect when the three of them arrived, but Trent holding a protection bubble made from sparkling black swirls around him and Ant wasn’t even on the list.
Lucy and Ren were nowhere in sight.
When Trent saw Gray, Taylor, and Ember, the kid looked relieved. He dropped his palms, muttered his thanks and a prayer, and the magic dissipated. Ant was propped against the tree, his eyes closed, one hand closed over a knobby root. Taylor squatted near his brother and put his hand on his shoulder.
“Not yet,” muttered Ant. “Almost there.”
“He’s been communing with that tree for the last couple of minutes,” said Trent.
“Communing?” Taylor’s gaze jerked to his brother’s placid expression. “You’re not a magical.”
“Ah yes,” said Ember. “Earth magic. I see it now.”
Gray hadn’t. He’d never sensed that Ant was a magical, and certainly not Trent. All he really cared about was Lucy. He wanted badly to charge into a battle, any battle, to save his woman, but he knew doing so could endanger her further.
“I’m a necro,” admitted Trent. “With some earth magic thrown in. It’s not something I advertise.”
“I didn’t sense you at all,” said Gray. He looked at Ember, and she shook her head. She hadn’t known, either.
“Mom and Dad taught me how to hide it. I don’t want my life defined by other people’s idea of what I am, okay?”
“I don’t care if you’re magical or mundane,” said Gray impatiently. “Where’s Lucy?”
“Ren took her.”
Everyone stared at him, and Trent took a step back and lifted his hands in a don’t-kill-the-messenger gesture.
“Why the hell would he take off with her and not take Ant with ’em?” asked Taylor.
“Dude. You’re not listening. He
took
her. He whacked her across the temple with his gun and then tossed her into an SUV. He was gonna shoot us.”
took
her. He whacked her across the temple with his gun and then tossed her into an SUV. He was gonna shoot us.”
That was why Trent had enacted a protection spell for him and Ant. Even so, Gray couldn’t wrap his brain around what Trent was saying. Ren had kidnapped Lucy, and tried to kill two of his own friends?
“He didn’t know you were magical, did he?”
“No. He kinda freaked out. He dumped Lucinda in his truck then took off up Old Creek.” Trent sent an apologetic look to Gray. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t get to her.”
“You did what you could. I appreciate it.”
Trent nodded, but he still looked miserable. Gray felt the same, except a hundred times worse. Why had Ren taken Lucinda? And where?
“Son of a bitch,” said Taylor. “He’s been under our noses the whole time.”
Ant’s eyes popped open. “Ren killed Lennie. That’s what Tree says. He was waiting here, waiting for Lennie to come charging down the road. He’d been drinking, as usual, but it was Ren who made the car swerve into Tree. It hurt her.” He sighed, rubbing the trunk. “And so did my truck.”
“You’re creeping me out.” Taylor stood up and backed away, eyeing the tree as if it might suddenly start talking. “Why would Ren kill Lennie?”
Gray understood all too well. “He was the link to Marcy. She asked me how she could love someone who did awful things. She must’ve been talking about Ren. She wanted to protect the town, but she couldn’t bring herself to betray him. So she stole the demon’s eye and left town.”
“Lennie was dumb as a rock and as big as a black bear,” added Trent. “He would’ve done anything Ren told him. They were tight.”
“Lennie killed Marcy,” said Taylor. “I can’t believe it.” He kicked the tire of the wrecked truck. “What the hell does Ren need magical objects for?”
“He has magic,” said Ant. “But it’s very weak. He uses objects to magnify his power. Tree says if he didn’t live in Nevermore, he wouldn’t have even discovered what little power he has.”
“What does that mean?” asked Taylor.
“Nevermore was built to protect a Goddess fountain,” said Ember softly. “Magic is amplified here.”
“I thought Goddess fountains were a myth,” said Gray.
“Better that they are thought of as myths than proven to be real,” said Ember. “Very few know the real locations. The Dragons who founded Nevermore knew the truth—they were sent by the Goddess to protect this place.”
“The Goddess told you all that, did she?”
“Yes, Gray. The Creator Mother told me. And She also say no more secrets! Not for dis town or for you.”
“Message received.” Gray turned away and walked to the edge of the road. He couldn’t imagine what Lucy was feeling now. Scared. Alone. In fear for her life. As far as he was concerned, Ren’s life was forfeit. He’d hurt Lucy, and that was an unforgivable offense. He sucked in a steadying breath and then returned to his friends. All they could do was puzzle everything out and make a plan. He was filled with a razor-sharp sense of urgency.
I’m coming, baby. Just hold on.
I’m coming, baby. Just hold on.
“This doesn’t make sense,” said Taylor. “Why would Ren take Happy, and leave Ant alive . . . only to return to take Lucy and try to shoot Trent and Ant? He could’ve killed Ant easily after the accident.”
“Tree says Ren didn’t cause my wreck. She says it was a man whose magic felt . . . ” He frowned. “I think she means sickness. The guy’s ill.”
“Ren has a partner, then.” Taylor eyed the tree with something akin to respect. “Someone we may not know.”
What Gray couldn’t figure out was how Lucy, and this girl Happy, fit in with Ren’s plans. Then an idea occurred that chilled his blood. “He wants to be a full magical.”
“That’s impossible,” said Taylor. “You can’t just turn yourself into one.”
“But you can bargain for such power,” said Ember, horror coating her words. “And you can sacrifice for it.”
“Enough dillydallying,” barked Taylor. “Ember? Can you take Ant back to the tea shop and fix him up?”
“Of course.”
“Take Trent with you.” Taylor looked at Gray. “We’ll port to Ren’s farm and see if Harley knows where his son is.” He swore. “That’s how Ren got around so fast. He knows where all the portals are . . . and he’s got a key to ’em.”
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