The Lightning Prophecy (The Lightning Witch Trilogy Book 1) (17 page)

“Of course.” His face softened further and he placed his hand over mine on his cheek. Did he know how I felt? Did he feel the same? I shook my head to clear it of all of the thousands of thoughts and feelings bombarding me. I gave him a weak smile and got out of the car.

I CRIED. AND
when I say I cried, I mean I ugly cried. Snot, hiccupping, tears, and hyperventilating. Not once that night did Reid do anything other than let me express everything. I was an open wound that needed to breathe. Around 3 A.M. I rolled over in bed and looked to see if he was awake and of course he was.

“Are you okay?” It was a question I should have asked earlier, but was too bombarded by my grief to worry about.

“I have never been so powerless before, Delaney. I want to take the pain for you. I want to take the hurt and leave you nothing but the healing.” He broke our eye contact to look down. “But I can’t.”

I was speechless. I slipped my arm under his head and shifted my body to mold to his. My body was made for his, I was sure of it. I fit so perfectly in his arms. It was then, with us holding each other, when I saw it. He needed me and my comfort as much as I needed it from him. There was nothing sexual or heated about our touching. His strokes along my skin were for simple reassurance that I was here. My strokes along his skin were for reassurance that not everything was a nightmare.

I closed my eyes and slept knowing three things. One, I loved Reid. Two, Mil was really and truly gone. Three, we had five days until the new moon. And we would kill this son of a bitch.

I DREAMT ABOUT
keys. All kinds of keys. Short keys, big keys, Victorian-style keys, locker keys, so many damned keys. I was drowning in a sea of keys, knowing I needed one of them. I woke up panting.

Reid yelled from the bathroom, “There’s coffee on the table!”
Oh God bless him!  

“I had the weirdest dream. I was swimming in a sea of keys. Apparently, I was looking for one, but couldn’t find it.” I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat at the table.

Reid walked into the kitchen, clearly having just stepped out of the shower. The sight of him always sent my heart into an erratic rhythm.
I shouldn’t be happy
. My heart shouldn’t continue to beat; it should be a dead space in my chest.

“That is weird.” Reid bent down and kissed me briefly. “What’s even weirder is that when I put you in the car I went back to tell Mitch and saw Mil had something in her hand and well…” He handed me a small silver key. On the top of the key there were four numbers. 1-8-7-6.

What the hell did this key and the dream mean? What was it to? Why did Mil have it? God, I had so many damned questions and no one to answer them.

“What do you think it goes to?” I questioned. I had no idea. For all I knew it could go to a locker at a roller rink.

“Let me see it.” I handed him the key. He took it and flipped it over, glancing at the numbers and fingering the shape. “Looks like a key to a safety deposit box.”  

I stood up and snatched the key. I looked at it. Mil hated using a bank. She didn’t even have a checking account. But, she had one account with one bank that she used to pay her rent. I ran to the door and threw it open. I felt a strong arm snake around my waist and haul me back.

“Hey! Let me go! I know where we need to go!” I tried to walk to the door, but my feet were no longer on the ground.

“Whoa there, killer. I am all for going to the bank, but maybe you should put some pants on. I mean, I love your ass, but I’m not too keen on others loving it like I do,” he said, setting me down.

I looked down at my pale legs sticking out of the bottom of the huge T-shirt.
Shit!
I couldn’t seem to remember pants lately.
What is wrong with me? I love pants. Shit, I love being fully clothed. Sheesh.

“Oh, yes, well there is that,” I said, darting off to the closet to dress.

I found a pair of loose-fitting jeans. They were a little big in the waist and hung on my hips. I matched them with a black racer-back top that had splashes of silver paint on it. Hey, at least it was all clean. I didn’t have much time to do laundry lately. Mil used to come help me with it when I was behind. The thought of Mil caused a knife-like pain in my chest. I stopped in the entrance to the kitchen and plopped down to my ass. How could I continue like nothing happened?

“Delaney! Are you okay?” Reid ran over and knelt down to look at me.

“How do I go on? I have a thought about her and it hurts so badly. I don’t think I can keep reminding myself to breathe, Reid.” And cue the tears. Dammit. I couldn’t seem to keep it together.

“Look at me.” I met his caramel gaze. “From what you have told me Mil was like your mother. Pain is okay, Delaney. But falling apart isn’t okay. She raised you to be a strong woman, not a weak thing. It’s not about how we get there, Delaney; it’s about the fact that we got there at all.” His tone was so full of hurt, it hurt my heart just to hear him.

I nodded. Speech was an ability I did not possess at that moment. He was right, of course. This buttercup needed to suck it up and catch this guy. With Reid’s help, I got to my feet. I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. I would not cry again. I could not give this asshole any more of my tears.

WELLS FARGO WAS
the only bank I knew Mil had even set foot in. She never went to the one nearest her house because she said she couldn’t stand the people working there. She went to the one just a few streets away from my apartment. When I walked into the bank, I was blasted with frigid air.
God bless central air
. Reid said he would wait in the car to give me some time to handle whatever this was. I was greeted by a sharply dressed African-American man. He was about six foot tall and had a shaved head that resembled cue ball. His tie was a solid cornflower blue. His smile was infectious and made me smile despite the storm brewing inside me.

“Hi, there! I’m James. Welcome to Wells Fargo. How can I help you?” He spoke in a way that told me he seemed to really enjoy his job.

“Hi, James, I’m Delaney Hagen and my Aunt Mil…” I paused, trying to choke out the next words without bursting out into tears and becoming a blubbering mess. “...just passed away and she was found with this key. I thought maybe she had a safety deposit box.” I handed him the key.

“Sure, let’s step into my office and see if we can figure this out.” Thankfully he didn’t say anything about my puffy eyes.

We sat in his office while he typed on his keyboard. I had no idea how to deal with this kind of thing. I hated going into a situation not knowing anything. I began to pluck the frayed strings around a hole in my jeans.

“What was your aunt’s name and address?” I gave him the information and waited for him to type it all in. “Can I have your license or ID?” I shoved my hand in my pocket and handed him the ID.

“Well, Ms. Hagen. Your aunt did indeed have a box here and you are the only one listed to be able to open it. You know, it’s weird, she opened this box only a few days ago. Anywho, follow me and I will help you find the box.”

A few days ago? I just stood there like a moron. Had she known this was going to happen? And maybe that’s why she had opened the box? I guess she made the assumption that I would find the key.
Hell of an assumption, Mil!
I mentally chided. Maybe she had crazy dreams like I had. I shook my head to clear it of the millions of questions that were forming. I followed James into a room with a large vault door. Holy crap but there were a ton of little metal doors.

“I found it!” I yelled to James, who was looking on the opposing wall. I slipped the key into the latch and heard the telltale snick of the lock opening. I felt a hand on my shoulder and froze.

“I’ll let you be, please let me know if you need anything.” He squeezed my shoulder in a show of support and I almost lost it. All I could do was nod.

I pulled out a box about the size of a shoe box and set it on a long rectangular table behind me. I sat down and opened the box. In it was a single cream envelope with my name scripted on the front. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. I mean, I didn’t think there would be Blackbeard’s treasure in here, but a letter? That’s all?

I flipped the letter over and it had an honest-to-God wax seal on the back. In the seal was the mark of the Coven. I broke the seal slowly as to not destroy the wax, then slipped the letter out and unfolded it. It was Mil’s handwriting for sure. I didn’t get past
Delaney
before the tears sprang to my eyes. I would not do this here. I folded the letter back up and stuffed it in the envelope and nearly ran out of the bank.

I sat in the car and opened the letter.
“Delaney, I owe you more than a mere letter, but you need to know, I did not tell you everything…”

“Hey, so what did Mil leave in the box?” I jumped at the question. I folded the letter up and stuffed it in my purse. I wanted to be alone when I read it. Clearly, Mil knew some things I didn’t. Could she really have known this was going to happen?

“Just a letter. So what’s the plan for today?” I couldn’t meet his eyes. Sometimes I don't think I can meet anyone’s eyes without seeing concern staring back at me.

“Well, I know you have things to deal with here. While you were in the bank I booked a flight to Dallas. I notified the Coven I would be there tomorrow morning. My flight leaves this evening. We have five days. This will be cutting it close, but I need to figure out about this prophecy and see if they have a leak within the Coven’s inner circle.” He pulled out of the parking lot of the bank and headed to my apartment.

Really? Did he really think that he would be going on his own? Boy, he had another think coming. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared daggers at him. I would not be left behind.

“Well, sir, you better call the airline and book another ticket because I’m coming with you.” I pushed all of my,
I will not be cowed by you
look at him, but he did not seem impressed. And that pissed me off. I was not some delicate little flower who needed to be sheltered. I could not just sit back and hide. I have been running and hiding my whole damned life. It’s time I pulled up my big-girl panties and started acting like a grown-ass witch. I straightened my spine, ready for this fight.

“Delaney, you have to stay here. If the Coven finds out about you, there’s no way they would let you leave.” His tone said he was ready for this fight too.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “So, you would have me hide like a coward?”

“No, I would have you hide like an intelligent person. The Coven isn’t a joke. They will use you, then likely kill you.”

“Reid, really, I can handle myself. I’m going with you.” If this male thought he was going to control me, boy he had another think coming. Reid’s jaw was clenched and he had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. He didn’t say another word until we walked into the apartment. For a few seconds I thought I’d won.

Reid shut the door behind him. I could feel the tension radiating off him in waves. I didn’t understand why he was so angry at me. I just wanted to be there when we figured all of this out.

“Delaney, listen to me. I need you to stay here. You know what the Coven would do if they knew about you. Mil knew this, that’s why she hid you for so long.” His tone was the same one used when dealing with a petulant child. Really? We were going to go with low blows?

“Reid, listen to me. I need to go. I don’t give two shits about the Coven.” I really didn’t care; they could chase me all they wanted. “So, what? I stay here and do what? Wait to be attacked?” I was spitting the words at him. Hell, I was pissed.

“No, Mitch will be here to help you with things with Mil. He will be here to…”

“Babysit me,” I finished. I rolled my eyes at him. I was so over this whole debacle. I wanted to click my heels together three times and maybe my life would be normal again.
There’s no place like normal, there’s no place like normal, there’s no place like normal.

“Damnit! Please just let me handle this.” He walked over to the kitchen counter and turned his back to me, placing his hands on the linoleum. He was clearly getting mad. Good, now he knew how I felt.

“Fine, you want me to stay with Mitch? Done. Maybe he and I can go out to dinner.” It was dirty and it wasn't fair. I wanted to stuff the words back into my mouth as soon as they left. There was an audible snap. I was willing to bet it was the sound of my counter breaking.
Great, my security deposit so would not cover that
. “Reid, I…”

He held up his hand, still not facing me. It was a gesture of hold the hell on. I shut my mouth with a click. It may have been low of him to mention Mil right now, but what I said went beyond low. I played on his fear and jealousy.
Shit
.
I really do know how to fuck shit up
. He turned around to face me. He only had an amused look on his face.