Bitter Demons (21 page)

Her mother was sitting there by her side.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't mean to
disturb you. I can come back later."

"No," she said softly. "It's okay. I could
use some company. Come in."

I pulled a chair up on the other side of
Caroline's bed. There was an IV attached to Caroline's arm today,
but nothing else looked different. "Any improvement?"

"Nothing," she said. I could hear the sorrow
in her voice. "Her eyelids flutter from time to time like she's
dreaming, but she never wakes up."

"I'm so sorry," I said. And I was. I was
sorry for everything. For getting her into this mess in the first
place. For not telling anyone the truth right up front when it
might have made a difference.

"You saved her life," she said. "I don't
think I can ever repay you for that."

I shook my head. "It was Jackson, really," I
said. "Without him, we'd both be dead."

We sat in silence for a moment. Eloise
brought her daughter's hand up to her cheek and held it there for a
moment. I looked away, feeling like I was intruding on their
time.

"I should go," I said. "I just wanted to see
how she was doing."

I stood and turned to go.

"That was quite the storm last night, wasn't
it?" Something about the way she said it stopped me in my
tracks.

"Yes," I said. "A real downpour."

"Funny how rain wasn't in the forecast," she
said.

I turned to face her, my heart racing. I knew
there was something strange about that storm. "Yeah, funny."

"It's also strange how no one downtown got a
single drop," she said. "It seems the storm was completely confined
to the area around Shadowford."

I sat back down in the chair with a thump.
"Very strange," I said, picking at my nails.

"Harper, did you cause the storm last night?"
Her tone was very direct and I looked up, surprised.

"I don't know," I said. "Is that
possible?"

"Were you upset? Crying? Angry?"

I nodded, nervous.

Eloise settled back in her chair, her mouth
slightly open, as if she was surprised to hear it. "Controlling the
weather with our emotions is something women in my family line have
been dealing with for over a hundred years," she said. "We have to
be very careful not to let our emotions get too out of control or
we could cause a serious storm like a tornado."

"Or a thunderstorm?"

"Exactly," she said. "When I first heard the
storm growing last night, I thought it was Meredith causing it, but
when I checked in on her, she was fine. No tears or anything. She
was simply watching TV with Zara and Courtney downstairs. Around
midnight, the storm got really bad. I couldn't sleep. I kept
thinking maybe Caroline was making it happen from her coma."

She said that last part with a sad smile.

"I should have known how ridiculous that
was," she said. When she looked at me, her eyes were glassy. "But
it was you, wasn't it?"

"How is that possible? I could never do that
before," I said.

"The stone," she said, swiping at her right
eye with a tissue. "The soul stone you took from Caroline's chest.
When you gripped it, some of her power must have been transferred
to you."

I opened my eyes wide and sucked in a ragged
breath. "I didn't mean to," I said.

"I know," she said with a smile. "You were
only trying to save her life."

"Is there any way to give it back to her? To
transfer some of her power back to her? Either from the stone or
from me, I mean?"

"I know you'd do it if you could, but once
that power has entered you, the only way to get it out is to use
another soul stone. And I'm afraid we'd never be able to pull just
that one aspect of your power out separately. If we used a soul
stone, it would take everything."

"So this power is just mine now?" I asked.
"Forever?"

"I suppose so," she said. "I don't know if a
Prima has ever had the power of two families inside of her before,
but you now have a piece of my demon in you as well as your
own."

I wanted to tell her that I didn't think the
demons were ours to really own, but I didn't think it was the right
time to start fighting that war.

Instead, I took Caroline's hand in mine and
wished more than anything she would open her eyes.

Three days later, Caroline's sister Meredith
came rushing out of her bedroom, screaming that Caroline was awake
and talking.

Mary Anne, Courtney and I were downstairs in
the kitchen eating breakfast when we heard Meredith yelling for us
to come upstairs and see. Courtney and I left our bowls there and
ran up the stairs, unable to believe the good news. Mary Anne
didn't follow us. Instead, I watched from Caroline's bedroom window
as Mary Anne disappeared into the woods. My stomach twisted into
knots. It was strange that she was going into the woods at a time
like this. Something was definitely off about that girl.

I shook my head and let the curtains fall
back over the window. I couldn't afford to go out there after her.
Caroline was okay. That was all that mattered today.

"We should give Caroline some space," Eloise
said. The room was packed with members of the Order and Caroline's
family and friends. "She's been through a lot and we don't want to
tire her out too much."

Everyone began filing out of the room, and I
moved to follow.

"Harper," Caroline said. Her voice sounded
scratchy and hoarse. "Can you stay for a second?"

I looked to Eloise to see if it was okay. She
nodded, so I sat down by the bed. My palms began to sweat as the
room emptied. Did Caroline blame me for what happened? How would I
ever be able to make this up to her?

Eloise was the last to leave and she shut the
door behind her, sensing Caroline's desire for privacy.

"I'm so sorry," I started.

She shook her head and lifted her hand. I
stopped talking and waited as she took a quick drink of water and
propped herself up on the pillows a little bit.

"It wasn't your fault," she said. "We were
just having some fun. I know you didn't mean for this to happen."
She cleared her throat and grimaced. "You're in serious danger,
Harper. When the witch took me, I still looked like you. They're
really after you, Harper."

"I know," I said.

"What? Why haven't you told anyone the truth?
The Order can protect you."

I moistened my lips and pressed them together
nervously. "It's complicated," I said. "Things are different here
in Peachville. It's not like the Order has another Prima lined up
somewhere. I'm the last."

"All the more reason you should take this
seriously."

"I am taking it seriously," I said. "But if
the Order knew the people who took you were really after me, they'd
lock me up and throw away the key. They've already threatened
seclusion. I can't let them do that to me."

"You've got to tell someone, Harper," she
said. She leaned forward, but then collapsed into a coughing fit. I
poured her another cup of water and handed it to her. "Thanks."

"Why haven't you told your mom about the
switch? If you believe the Order should know the truth, why didn't
you tell them yourself."

She smiled and placed her hand on top of
mine. "Mom said you risked your life to save me. She said you went
through terrible pain to rescue me from those roses. I owe you
one."

I shook my head. "No. You never would have
been in that situation if it wasn't for me."

"You couldn't have known that," she said.
"Unless you knew you were in danger before we switched, which you
didn't."

"No, I didn't, but I still feel
responsible."

"I'm okay," she said. "Because of you, I'm
going to be okay."

I saw that the black soul stone was sitting
in a small box beside her bed. "Can they put your power back into
you?" I asked. "Will you get it back like before?"

"There's a spell that can reverse the power
trapped in the stone back to me. Mom says I'll probably never be
full power again, but I'm okay with that. I never wanted to be
Prima the way Meredith does. I'm happy to just be alive."

"Caroline, did you see the woman who took
you?"

She sighed. "At first, it wasn't a woman,"
she said. "It was a-"

"A crow."

"Exactly," she said. "How did you know?"

"I saw it," I said. "A crow with blue
eyes."

"No," she said, her head tilted to one side.
"The crow who took me had eyes as red as blood. They were
terrifying. This huge black bird swooped down on me when I stepped
onto the balcony. It scratched my cheek and before I could even
shoo it away, everything went all blurry. The next thing I knew, I
was in a dark cave or something with a cloth over my eyes."

"Red eyes?" I asked. That couldn't be right.
The crow's eyes were as blue as the sky on a summer's day. Pure and
clear.

"I'll never forget them as long as I live,"
she said, shuddering. "When they had me in the cave-"

"Wait, they? You mean there was more than one
witch?"

She nodded. "There were several in the cave.
I couldn't see them, but I could hear them. As soon as the glamour
dropped, they were so angry. I heard them talking about the soul
stone. They said they might as well get some use out of me." Her
voice cracked a little and she took another sip of water. "They had
some kind of bind on me and I couldn't move, but when they tried to
place the stone on my chest, I somehow found the power to break
their spell. I ran into the woods, but they chased after me. I
didn't get far. That's when they put me in the ring of roses."

Her eyes filled with tears.

"It's okay, Caroline, you don't have to tell
me now," I said. "You should rest. I didn't mean to upset you."

She sniffed and squeezed my hand. "Promise me
you'll tell the Order about the glamour," she said. "These witches
are powerful, Harper. They'll come after you. I know they
will."

"Right now, I have a house full of powerful
witches," I said. "They can't reach me. I promise I'll be
fine."

I put on a brave face, but deep inside, I
realized I was more scared than ever.

Fear ruled my thoughts for the rest of the
afternoon. On the outside, I tried to act happy and be a good
hostess for all the members of the Order who had come to see
Caroline and lend their support to her mother. Ella Mae set up a
buffet in the kitchen with casseroles and chips and cookies and
finger foods. There was enough food to feed a hundred people, but I
couldn't stomach the thought of any of it.

When I thought I was up against one witch, it
didn't seem so bad. I'd been against worse before and won. But
several? Caroline wasn't sure how many witches there were, but
she'd said several. That could mean four or five. Maybe more.

I shivered and pulled my sweater tighter.

"Can you believe it?" Lark asked. She was all
smiles as usual. "It's a miracle."

I forced a smile. "I know. It's amazing."

"You should have seen Brooke's face when my
mom called you a hero," she said with a laugh. "I thought she was
going to blow her top."

"Do you think she sabotaged my sneakers the
other day at practice?"

"Who? Brooke?" Lark shrugged. "Maybe. She's
been pretty jealous over all the attention you've been getting
lately. I wouldn't put it past her."

"Would you ever do something like that to
me?" I asked.

Lark lifted one eyebrow super high and tilted
her head to the side. "What? You're joking right? I could never use
magic against you. I'm your friend. Friends don't hurt each other
like that."

Friend. A word I didn't have a lot of
experience with. How could you really tell who your friends were in
a world like this? Jackson was my friend. More than a friend,
really. And I'd still hurt him. I regretted it with all my
heart.

"I thought Brooke was my friend, too," I
said.

Lark screwed up her nose. "She's different
since her initiation. It's weird. It's like she's no one's friend
anymore."

"She seems pretty chummy with Allison
still."

"Hmm. Maybe," she said. "Anyway, don't sweat
it. If you want me to, I'll talk to her about it. See if I can get
her to lighten up a bit."

"No," I said. "Just let it go. The truth is,
I don't care if she does take the top of pyramid."

"One of these days, you're going to have to
get used to the fact that you're the star around here," she said
with a laugh. She grabbed a cookie off the plate in front of me and
licked the cream from the middle. "You're going to be Prima soon.
You'll be in the spotlight all the time."

I frowned. Being the future Prima was ruining
my life.

I needed to talk to Jackson.

He hadn't been around the house all day. I
knew he wasn't a big fan of the Order of Shadows, so it was not a
big surprise that he was scarce when there were at least thirty
people at the house. Did he know about Caroline?

I was sure he'd heard. He seemed to know
everything that happened in this town.

Only, he didn't know what Caroline had told
me. We were dealing with multiple witches, and I suddenly felt like
the situation was spiraling out of control. I didn't know whether
to tell the Order the truth about why Caroline was kidnapped or if
I should just continue to figure this out on my own.

God knows I didn't trust the Order. That's
why I hadn't told them about the crow feather or the glamour that
night. I didn't want to let those walls down, because once they
were down and I started to trust them out of necessity, they would
be that much closer to owning me forever.