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  “I get what you’re staying,” I said, then licked my lips. “Bram could focus on her to do a locator spell, or he could focus on learning where she is, like the actual place. It probably would be best to double up on the spell like last time and cloak her and the house again.”

  Benji’s attention snapped to his bedroom door. When he walked toward it, I didn’t understand why until I heard a soft knock sound. He twisted the knob and swung the door open.

  “Hey,” Hazel muttered. She crammed her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and rolled her ankles. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if I could watch Ridley perform this spell or cloak—whatever you call it?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I motioned for her to come in. Tiny pinpricks of guilt stabbed through me. I should have offered to let her watch or take part in some way. After all, she was a witch too. And, this all involved her.

  A warm smile spread across her face. “Great. Thanks. I need to do something other than bake.” Hazel hurried past Benji and into the room. “In case you didn’t notice, I bake when I’m stressed, and this situation has me completely stressed out. If I don’t focus on something else soon, the kitchen will be filled with pastries and sweets even more than it already is.” She chuckled, but it sounded forced.

  “If everything tastes as good as those muffins from earlier, I’m sure everyone would be okay with that,” I said. “As far as the spell goes, we were debating whether I should put the cloak on you, the house, or both. I think we’ve decided both would be best, though.”

  “Oh. Okay.” She nodded. “And, what’s the difference between this new cloak and the one you already had in place again?”

  “This one is more powerful and will last three days. The previous one only lasted for a short time.”

  “Got ya.” She stepped closer to the candles in the pentagram of salt on Benji’s floor and stared. “This isn’t going to hurt, is it? I mean, this last one didn’t, but you said the new one is more powerful.”

  “It shouldn’t.” While I wasn’t making any promises, I still didn’t think she’d feel any pain from it.

  “Good. Can I sit there?” Hazel asked, pointing to Benji’s desk chair.

  “Sure,” Benji said. “Feel free.”

  I unzipped my bag and pulled out the things I’d gathered for the new cloaking spell. Hazel’s eyes were on me, I could feel them, and for the first time in my witchy life, I didn’t mind having an audience while performing a spell.

  “Are you takin’ the old cloak down first?” Benji asked.

  I shook my head. “I don’t want to risk Bram finding us if he’s actively searching right now. I’d rather keep it up until this one’s in place, or let it fade on its own like before.”

  I put the white candles I’d brought from home onto the floor near the other spell and then grabbed the tiger’s eye and quartz crystal from my bag next. My gaze skimmed the spell, checking the ingredient list.

  “Crap. I am going to need a few more things. I just realized if I’m leaving the first cloak in place I can’t use those objects grounding it in this spell too. I’ll need more dirt from the yard and something else of yours,” I said as I glanced at Hazel.

  She pulled at a hair tie on her wrist. “Will this work, or do you need something more personal? It looks like you used some of my hair in the other one.”

  “Yeah,” Benji said. He scratched his neck. “Sorry about that. I’m sure it seems creepy as hell seein’ your hair there. For what it’s worth, I promise I took it from your brush, not your head.”

  “That doesn’t make it any better, but okay.” Hazel grinned.

  “The hair tie should work,” I said. She passed it to me, and I shifted my attention to Benji. “Besides the dirt, I’ll need more salt, please.”

  “You got it, darlin’. I’ll be right back.” He blurred out of the room using his vampire speed.

  “I still think it’s kickass he can do that,” Hazel said. “Actually, I think this whole supernatural world is pretty kickass. That’s not to say it isn’t a lot to take in knowing this is all real now, but secretly, there’s always been a part of me that hoped it was.”

  “So, it’s not too crazy to wrap your head around, then?” I asked, glancing at her.

  “Not really. No. It’s more like a relief, as weird as that sounds. I’ve always felt there was a piece of me missing, and now I know what it was.” Contentment reflected in her eyes when she spoke.

  I wasn’t sure what to say. The words ‘you’re welcome’ didn’t seem to fit. Neither did ‘I know what you mean’ when I’d been raised in this world.

  So, I said nothing.

  “I keep forgetting what everyone is,” she said with a yawn. It wasn’t nine yet, but I understood her exhaustion. I still felt as though I was running on empty. “It’s hard to believe I’m staying in a house full of vampires. They all seem so normal. Until they say or do something that makes me remember.”

  Now that I could comment on.

  “I know what you mean. It’s taken me a while to get used to the fact Benji’s a vampire now.”

  Her eyes widened. “He wasn’t always? I mean, you knew him before? When he was a human?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. He was turned recently.”

  “Wow. He seems to be handling it well.” Her eyes widened.

  “He is.”

  Benji blurred back into the room again, carrying the things I’d asked for, and the conversation between Hazel and me came to a halt.

  “Sorry it took so long. Ivette stopped me in the kitchen. She’s tryin’ to recreate some sweet bread she loved as a kid. Your recipes and stories sent her down memory lane I think, so don’t go in the kitchen any time soon unless you want her to talk your ear off.” He chuckled and then handed me a container of salt. “I hope there’s enough in there.”

  I shook the container, feeling its weight. “Should be. I only need enough to make a circle big enough for me, the book, and the ingredients.”

  I was tiny; it should work.

  I bent down and dusted the floor with the sleeve of my sweater.

  “You okay?” Benji asked.

  I glanced up and noticed he wasn’t speaking to me. He was talking to Hazel. My gaze drifted to her. She sat on the edge of Benji’s desk chair with her hands tucked beneath her thighs. Her eyes were focused on me, and she didn’t seem to be breathing.

  “Me?” Her eyes widened when they met his and her hand came to her chest. “Yeah. I’m fine. Excited. This is the first real spell I’ve ever seen done.”

  I adjusted my glasses as my lips twisted into a slight grin. It was good she’d accepted magic and the supernatural world so easily, especially considering she was part of it.

  “It is pretty cool.” Benji winked at me. “I love watchin’ Rid work her magic. She’s a total badass at it.”

  “Ha. Funny,” I scoffed.

  “I’m bein’ serious.”

  So was I, but whatever. “All right, maybe I’m a level one badass at magic, but that’s about as far as it goes.”

  “You’ll get better. Stronger. I know you will,” Benji insisted with another wink.

  His confidence in me had my cheeks warming, but his wink had my stomach fluttering again. I returned my attention to the cloaking spell, knowing that was what I needed to be focusing on. The first thing to do was make a thin circle of salt around myself and the ingredients the spell called for. I grabbed the container and poured. Before I closed the circle, I asked Benji to put the dirt he’d gathered inside the circle with me. He deposited it near my knees, and once he removed his hand, I closed the circle. Next, I moved the four white candles into a straight line in front of me and set the tiger’s eye and quartz crystal at opposite ends.

  Before I lit the candles or said the incantation, I knew I needed to center myself with a few deep breaths to gain focus. Resting my hands on my thighs, I closed my eyes and zeroed in on my breathing. I focused on the way cool air entered my nose and warm air left my mouth.
It wasn’t long before a sensation of calm flowed through me. Once I was positive I was centered and grounded, I grabbed the lighter and lit one of the candles.

  “I light these candles to set in place a cloak to not disappear in haste. Evil shall not see where the Montevallo house be,” I whispered as I moved down the line of candles, lighting them one by one.

  Once all four were lit, I took a pinch of dirt and sprinkled it over the burning candles. The flames crackled and popped. Then, I grabbed Hazel’s hair tie next. My hope was that I’d be able to change a few of the words and set a cloak in place over her as well without having to recreate the entire spell.

  The substitute words came as though by magic, making it so I didn’t have to think about what to say for too long. I was getting good at this whole being a witch thing. Pride slipped through me.

  “Through the fire’s flame, I set in place a cloak to not disappear in haste. Evil shall not see the location of Hazel Dupre. So mote it be.” My heart hammered as I ran the hair tie through each candle’s flickering flame.

  For added sticking power, I put the hair tie beside the dirt, closed my eyes again, and silently repeated each of the incantations three more times.

  As soon as the final word floated past my lips, an unseen breeze shifted through Benji’s room. I knew it was meant to signify the cloak was now in place, but I hadn’t needed it. I could feel the cloak’s magic pulsing outward from the circle. It encapsulated both Hazel and the house.

  As though the light breeze hadn’t been enough, the candles’ flickering flames grew a few inches in height before they snuffed out on their own.

  “Holy shit! That was freaky!” Hazel gasped. “So, I’m guessing the cloak is in place now? I mean, I can feel something. It’s almost like I’m trapped in a bubble of warmth.”

  I moved to step out of the circle of salt. “Yeah. That would be the cloak. It should hold for the next three days. And, as I said before, you should be able to leave the house and still be safe from Bram finding you.”

  “Thanks,” Hazel said.

  “No problem.” I adjusted my glasses. “Okay, now we need to focus on finding the amulet. Do you have any guesses where it might be?”

  I hoped she knew something. Even a tiny starting place would work.

  When Hazel shrugged, I knew she knew no more than I did about its location. “I have no clue. Sorry.”

  A slight twinge of pain pierced through my left brow. My fingers lifted to press against the pain as a hiss pushed past my lips.

  No. Not now.

  “Are you sure?” I asked, trying hard to ignore the pain. “It’s oval and has thick silver bands holding it together. In the middle, there’s a turquoise stone.”

  “You okay, Rid?” Benji asked. He’d stepped closer, concern etching his features. “Is that headache what I think it is?”

  I pursed my lips together and gave him a swift nod as I made my way to where my bag sat on his bed. The amethyst I’d borrowed from Aunt Rowena a while ago was tucked inside the front pocket.

  “Maybe you shouldn’t dive into findin’ the amulet right away,” Benji insisted. He stepped behind me and kneaded my shoulders. Tension I didn’t know was there released from my muscles as he continued working them. “Give yourself a break. Recharge for a while after doin’ that spell. Maybe eat somethin’ again. Drink some water. You can’t keep goin’ full blast. It’s not good.”

  I sighed. Maybe a break was needed. However, it wouldn’t ease the urgency festering inside me. Finding the amulet was the only thing that would.

  “How about we compromise and I multitask?” I asked. “I’ll eat something while we discuss how to find the amulet. Same as earlier.”

  Between the amethyst and Benji’s magic hands, my headache faded.

  God, I loved Benji’s hands.

  “I’m not following this conversation. At all. Why are you holding that crystal like your life depends on it? Is that how you recharge yourself after a spell?” Hazel asked.

  I glanced at my hands. My knuckles had gone white because my fingers were wrapped so tightly around the crystal. I did need to relax. “It doesn’t recharge me, no. You know how I mentioned being an anchor to the other side? And, that was how your grandmother was able to contact me and let me know about the danger you were in?”

  Benji stopped massaging my shoulders and I resisted the urge to ask him to continue.

  “I remember.” Hazel’s brows pulled together. I got the impression she was preparing herself for whatever magical mayhem was about to fall from my lips so it didn’t tip her world.

  I held her gaze. “Well, when someone contacts me like that, I get a headache. They can be debilitating. One way I’ve learned to combat them is by holding an amethyst in the palm of my hand. Amethysts are known for relieving pain.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh. And, that’s what’s happening now—someone’s trying to contact you from the other side? Is it my grandma again?”

  “I don’t know.” I licked my lips. “That’s what sucks. I don’t know who is reaching out when a headache comes on; I only know that someone is.”

  “But, you give them a chance to speak, right?” Hazel asked.

  My thumb ran over the smooth surface of the crystal before I moved to put it back in my bag. “Not right now. I have enough on my plate. I can’t handle anything else.”

  I worried my words had come off as harsh and tried to soften my face so she wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

  She tucked a few stray curls behind her ear, her eyes never moving from mine. “I understand what you’re saying. I do. I just can’t help but wonder if it’s her trying to tell us something else. Maybe she has more information on Bram or how to stop him. Maybe we’re missing something. Is there a way to ask if it’s her without tapping into the other side fully?”

  Was there? Hadn’t I seen a spell in the book of gray magic about talking with someone from the other side? Calling someone forth or something like that?

  “There might be.” My teeth sank into my bottom lip as I struggled to remember the spell.

  “Let’s talk as we walk, ladies,” Benji insisted. His hands gently pushed me toward the hall. I sidestepped him and grabbed the book of gray magic before making my way to the door.

  “I know I saw a few spells in here that might work for contacting someone on the other side without having to tap in fully.”

  “While you usin’ that book makes me nervous,” Benji said. “I’m pretty sure I remember you readin’ one close to that when we were drivin’ back from the city the night we bought it.”

  I smoothed a hand along his forearm and flashed him a smile. “I know it makes you nervous, but I’ll be careful.”

  “I know you will.” There seemed to be something more he wanted to add but didn’t. I was glad. I couldn’t take another lecture from anyone on the dangers of gray magic. Not when it seemed to hold so many answers for me.

  I attempted to flip through the pages of the book and read while walking. When I stumbled on the first step of the staircase and nearly fell, Benji took it from me.

  “No multitaskin’ while you’re on the stairs. You can read when you make it to the kitchen and have a seat,” he teased, but I could see the seriousness pooling in his eyes. He was always looking out for my safety.

  I wondered if it was because, when compared to him, I was incredibly fragile now.

  When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the sound of the TV made its way to my ears. Ivette, Julian, and Roman were watching a psychological thriller show I hadn’t watched yet, but wanted to. It was one Raven and I had planned on watching together.

  Maybe we’d get the chance once Bram was taken care of.

  “Did you get the cloak in place?” Julian asked as we entered the living room. “I’ve been trying to stay out of your way, but it’s been difficult. It’s in my nature to help.” He flashed me a smile I knew was genuine.

  “Yep. It’s in place,” I said. “And, thanks but there wasn’t anythi
ng you could have done.”

  “I guess I’m just used to more action when evil comes to Mirror Lake,” Julian said. My eyes shifted to Roman. When he’d lost himself to bloodlust, things had definitely been more action-packed. “This is more of a wait around type of situation.”

  “I prefer it this way,” Benji insisted. “It’s less life and death. Gives us more time to think things through.”

  He nudged me toward the kitchen and I started walking.

  “I love this show,” Hazel said, surprising me. When I glanced back, her eyes were glued to the TV. “I’m on the next episode. Isn’t that guy nuts? I mean who does that and thinks he’s actually helping someone? And, then his little box of trinkets in the bathroom ceiling. Disgusting!”

  Roman shifted in his seat, and I wondered if he had a box of mementos and trinkets from his victims over the years stashed somewhere. Sicko.

  “I know what you mean,” Ivette chimed in, sounding as animated and excited as Hazel. “I still can’t believe what he did to her friend.”

  “Oh, I know! I was shocked she wasn’t more suspicious of him,” Hazel insisted.

  Ivette nodded as a wide smile broke out on her face. It was strange to hear people talking about something awful like murder with a smile on their face. “Sit. You should watch with us.”

  Hazel glanced at me. “Oh. Um. Actually, I should help find the amulet. Or a spell. Something.”

  I waved her words away. “It’s okay. Go ahead. I’m just going to flip through the book until I find the spell I mentioned earlier and grab something to eat.”