Bone Cold: A Soul Shamans Novel (Volume 2) (20 page)

George just shook her head and slammed the door in our faces. A moment later, we were lifted in the air by some unseen force, arms and legs dangling underneath us. Laura barked out a cry of alarm as I twisted in the air, fighting against whatever held us. Our bodies hovered five feet off the ground before something shoved us back from the house. The force let go, dropping us onto the hard ground by the truck. My legs buckled underneath me, and I tumbled in the snow, my anger roaring in my ears.

“Ugh.” Laura stood, covered in snow, and held out a hand for me. “I can’t believe I ever thought that girl was our friend.”

I took Laura’s hand and hauled my aching body off the ground, my eyes zeroing in on the cabin. George couldn’t get away with this. I wouldn’t let her. It wouldn’t be that easy to get rid of me, and she’d get a massive surprise when she quickly realized I’d keep coming back for more until she let my boyfriend go.

Just as I made a move to storm back onto the porch, Laura held out a hand to stop me. “Holly, I hate to say it, but your plan sucks ass. Trying to force our way in isn’t going to work.”

“I can’t let her get away with this,” I hissed through my teeth.

“And we won’t,” she said. “But we need a sorceress to break the spell and to stop whatever else George tries. Once we have someone on our side, we can lure George out somehow so you can go in and get Nathan out of there.”

Laura’s words broke through the frantic buzzing in my skull and the seething red in my eyes. “Lure her out. You’re a genius.”

***

Back home, Laura opened up my old laptop and began scouring the internet for sorceress information. I didn’t think it’d be as easy as finding a white pages listing, but we had nowhere else to start. If there were as many of them as there were shamans, there’d be traces of them somewhere online, and there might be a way to reach out to the community through a message board or Facebook group.

If we were lucky.

As Laura researched our options online, my eyes were drawn to the shaman history books Mom had left me before embarking on her grand adventure to take Anthony Lombardi down. With a sigh, I reached for the top book and flipped open the cover, my eyes skimming the table of contents. The first thing to jump off the page was a chapter about the South American origins of our magic. Flipping the paper, I drank in the words. The woman in the shop had been right about everything. It was all here.

Curiosity niggled at my brain, and I flipped back to the table of contents again. One of the last chapter headings mentioned the formation of the olde magicks and the balance of nature. I frowned down at the page and turned to the chapter. There it was. The history of sorcerers and sorceresses. Everything the woman in the shop had told us. All this time, Mom had known there were other magic-wielders, and she’d kept the information to herself until now.

“Laura.” I tapped on the page and met my friend’s gaze over the top of the laptop screen. “This book confirms everything the woman in the shop told us about shamans and sorcerers.”

“So, if she was telling the truth about that.” Laura’s frown grew. “She was telling the truth about everything. We need to find a witch.”

The two of us fell into an uneasy silence as Laura went back to the laptop, and I went back to the chapters I’d found in the book. She scoured every website she could find, posting messages and sending emails and putting out an SOS to any potential sorcerer that might stumble upon her listings. Over half the people responding to these ads would probably be scam artists or trolls, but it was the only approach we had right now.

Just as I was turning to the second history book, my cell phone rang. Frowning, I glanced at the number and held up the screen for Laura to see. It was definitely a Seaport number, but it was one I didn’t recognize. Could it be George calling, asking for some kind of truce?

“Hello?” I asked when I put the phone to my ear.

“Holly Bennett?” The voice was male and one I didn’t recognize, overly formal with a stiff tone.

“Yes, this is Holly Bennett.”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news,” the voice said. “Jason Harris has experienced a near-fatal heart attack this evening and is in critical condition in the hospital. He asked me to call you so that you can come in to say your goodbyes.”

CHAPTER 18

T
he hospital lights buzzed bright overhead, casting everything into a sickly yellow. Whirring and beeping and humming sounded from every direction, a constant reminder of the disease hovering over this place like a grim reaper poised to attack. Nurses flittered by, holding clipboards and pushing carts. Laura held onto my elbow, a grim expression darkening her pixie features.

We stopped at a counter, and a young guy in green scrubs glanced up at us. “How can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Jason Harris,” I said around the lead pit in my stomach. “I’m Holly Bennett.”

“Oh yes,” he said with a sad smile before pointing down a hallway that tunnelled before us. “Just go down that hall and turn right. You’ll come to a waiting room, and a doctor will come get you when Jason is ready to see you.”

“Is it true?” Tears pricked my eyes. “His condition is that bad?”

“I’m sorry. The doctor will have to discuss that with you.”

Trying to think around the storm of bees in my head, I walked down the hallway with Laura. I barely realized when we reached the waiting room, when we eased into the hard plastic seats. I’d known Jason all of my life, and now he was almost dead.

Seconds or minutes or hours passed by in a blur. All I could think about was how I’d failed Jason. If they were calling it a heart attack, then he wasn’t dying of natural causes. It had been a spirit, most likely because our protection spell around his home had failed. Again. There had to be a reason he’d wanted them to call me so I could come in. He must have known what caused his pain, and he wanted to let me know.

Was this some sort of warning from George? A retaliation for appearing at her house this afternoon? This whole thing could be my fault once again. If I hadn’t gone barreling in to confront George head on, Jason would be fine. He’d have that lopsided smile of his, his easy laugh, his ability to get along with anyone and everyone with a few lighthearted jokes to break the ice.

I groaned and dropped my head into my hands. No matter what I tried, the whole world just kept spiralling out of my control. The harder I tried to hold on, the more it slipped right out of my grasp. Wanda was dead, Jason was in critical condition, and Nathan had been kidnapped by a murderous sorceress. How much darker could the world get before the sun came up on life again?

“Holly?”

I glanced up to see a teary-eyed girl standing before me, long hair frazzled, face pale. Jason’s younger sister. My heart throbbed inside my chest. In one week, she’d lost her mother and found her big brother in critical condition. The guy who did anything and everything to protect his siblings. I wonder if she had any idea how much he cared about making sure she stayed safe.

“Hey, Hannah,” I said, standing. “Are you doing okay?”

What a stupid question. Of course she wasn’t.

Hannah shook her head and glanced at the double doors behind her. “They said you should go in now. Jason is awake. For a little bit, at least.”

“Thanks, Hannah.” I glanced at Laura, who gave me a solemn nod.

“I’ll stay out here,” Laura said and stretched an arm across the empty seat beside her. “I’ll keep Hannah company while you talk to Jason.”

While Hannah settled into the crook of Laura’s arm, I took slow belabored steps through the double doors. A doctor next a long glass window glanced up at my arrival, and he motioned me closer.

“You must be Holly,” he said.

I nodded and hugged my arms around my stomach, fear pummelling my insides at the thought of what must lie on the other side of the glass wall. I couldn’t bring myself to look.

“We usually don’t let anyone other than family into this area of the hospital, but these are special circumstances, I think.” He gave me a pinched smile. “Your friend has been demanding your presence since he got here.”

“Is he going to be okay?” I asked.

His smile faltered. “His heart is very weak. He may pull through, but I must warn you that the prognosis is not very optimistic.”

Tears sprang into my eyes, and my voice came out rough. “He’s only seventeen. His heart must be stronger than that. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

“We’re doing everything we can, I promise you that.” He held open the door to Jason’s room and ushered me inside. “But he has suffered a fairly strong heart failure, and even though he’s young, he may not be able to recover.”

I swallowed down a lump the size of my heart and stepped into the room. Jason rested still and silent on the crisp white hospital bed, his chest rising and falling in what felt like slow motion. Machines nearby were beeping with every beat of his heart, and tubes snaked up his arms and into his nose. Breath rattling, he glanced up at me through swollen, red-rimmed eyes.

“Holly, come here,” he said in such a soft voice that I could barely make out the words over the hum of the machines.

I crossed the room and eased into the stiff chair by his bed, my hands reaching out for his. His skin was cold to the touch, his pulse weak. I tried to give him a comforting smile, but all that came out was a grimace.

“Jason, what happened?” I asked, though I knew his answer deep in my gut before he spoke the words.

“I got attacked in my house.” He wheezed and turned his head to face the ceiling. “Don’t know why, but I swear those spirits have been gunning for me since September. They must think my soul is super tasty, huh? Well, they finally got me.”

A tear leaked out of my eye and dripped down my cheek. “I am so sorry, Jason. I should have put fifty protection spells around your house just to make sure you were safe.”

“It’s not your fault. I know you did everything you could,” he said, fingers slightly squeezing my hands. “But I need you to do me one more favor.”

“Anything,” I said. “Anything in the world.”

He twisted his head to face me again, and despite his growing weakness, I saw a steady determination spark his eyes. “There has to be a way to stop them for good, right?”

“You mean the spirits.”

He nodded, cheek brushing against the pillow. “Dad won’t move houses. He doesn’t believe me when I try to tell him what’s really going on in this town. Even now. He thinks I’m trying to make up explanation for all the crap we’ve been through.”

“I’m not surprised.” I leaned closer and gave him a sad smile. “Most humans don’t like to acknowledge magic, even when they see it with their own eyes.”

“You have to find a way to keep my brothers and sisters safe, Holly.” His voice came out stronger, and just for one moment, he seemed full of so much life. “Protection spells don’t work anymore, but there must be something else you can do.”

“You’re right.” I nodded, thinking of the shaman rifle still sitting in my truck. “I’ve found out a lot of new things lately. It turns out there’s another way to fight spirits, and it destroys them permanently.”

Jason’s familiar lopsided grin swept across his face. “It’s too bad you didn’t find out just a couple days earlier, eh?”

“Jason.” I squeezed his hand. “You can recover from this. The fact you’re still alive means the spirit didn’t steal all of your life away.”

“I can feel it in my bones,” he said, his eyelids fluttering shut.

“You can fight it.” I blinked back bitter tears, my voice turning rough. “I have some healing herbs in the truck. It won’t erase what’s happened, but it can get you moving again.”

“Hey, Holls,” he said, ignoring my words. “Remember that time we rode our bikes down to the beach when we were fourteen, and I tried to kiss you?”

“Jason, don’t.”

He smiled. “Remember how you wouldn’t let me? You said I kissed all the girls, but you wouldn’t be one of them, because all it would do is ruin our friendship. Back then, we were almost inseparable. Do you remember?”

“I remember,” I said.

“Well, you were right.” He opened his eyes and stared deep into mine. “I’ve messed up a lot of stuff in my life and not taken things seriously when I should have. I said terrible things to my mother the day before she died. I guess there’s nothing I can do to change any of that now.”

“Please stop talking like this.” I stood and pulled my hand away, unable to stop the tears streaming down my face. “I’ll go get my healing herbs. We can fix this.”

“What I wanted to say, Holls, is that I’m glad you didn’t let me kiss you. I wouldn’t want my life to end without knowing we’re still friends.”

“Jason, please.” My voice cracked.

The door swung open, and the sound of chaos filled the hollow space in the room. I jerked around to see the doctor stride in with a grim set to his lips. “I’m sorry, Holly, but you’ll have to go ahead and leave now.”

“Can I come back and see him?” I asked.

The doctor shook his head. “Maybe tomorrow, if he’s feeling better. For now, you need to go home where you’ll be safe.”

“Safe?” I asked. “What do you mean?”