Dare (24 page)

“Right. That sounds nasty. Who makes up this freakin’ council?” she asked.

“I don’t know. They’re next on my list, once I get the other girls back.”

“My cousin wants me to cloak the entrance for you. I’ll do it on my way out. It can’t keep anyone out, but if you don’t know where this place is, you won’t be able to see it. Anything else?”

I had never depended on other people like this. We were independent. Case had stolen some of that from us.

“Actually, there is one more thing.”

“Ok.”

“The past two days I have been completely focused on Zac’s healing, but now that he’s out of the woods, I was wondering if you could take a look at my friend, Abi. She’s here in the lair.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I think it’s some sort of magic the Tribe used on her. She was kidnapped at the same time as Tegan. When we got her back, it was as if she didn’t know who we are. She still doesn’t. She has no memories of being a she-panther. Since you’re an Eraser, I thought you might be able to help.”

She smiled, her eyes warm and soft. “Of course. Where is she?”

I led her along the cave tunnel to the room Abi used to share with Tegan. Maya was sitting on the floor, cramming for a chemistry final, and Abi was on the bed, flipping through a magazine.

I pointed to her. “Abi, have you met Holly yet?”

Her eyes drifted toward us.

“Hi.”

Holly smiled and sat on the bed next to her. “Hi. Is that the latest Vogue? I love Vogue.”

Abi nodded. “It is. I like the pictures.”

Holly looked over her shoulder at me. I wanted to tell her Abi wasn’t a simpleton. She was a journalist for the school paper. She was a go-getter with a gentle spirit, and a heart that always sought the truth, but all of that seemed to be hidden somewhere.

I nodded. “You can talk to her. Anything. I want her to get better.”

“Do you think I could have a few minutes alone with her?” Holly asked.

I motioned to Maya. “Yes. Absolutely.”

Maya picked up the chemistry book and we waited in the hall. “Do you think she can figure out what’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know, but I had to ask. She’s a witch with some wicked memory skills. It’s probably our best chance.”

A few minutes later, Holly appeared. “I think we need to talk, Dare.”

“I’ll sit with Abi,” Maya offered.

We waited until we were alone.

Holly sighed. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to do some research and get back to you.”

“What does that mean? You can’t fix her?” I felt panic.

“I know she isn’t like you remember her, or if she could remember her, but I don’t feel anything broken or disconnected in her memories. They didn’t take the memories from her. They changed something else.”

“Something else? I don’t get it.”

“When I erase someone’s memory, it’s as if I cut and paste from their personal timeline. You can see the cuts, but with Abi, there is none. Her memory line looks normal. I’ll talk to my aunt and my mother. They might have seen this before. In the meantime, just keep doing what you’re doing. Watch her. Show her glimpses of her old life, but don’t overwhelm her. She seems fragile.”

“We won’t. We’ll keep things light until we can figure out what to do. Thank you for talking with her.”

“I wish I had better news for you. Whatever the magic is, it’s elusive. I can’t pick up on it.”

I wanted more answers than Holly could give me. It made me wonder whom Case had joined forces with, and what kind of power he or she had.

We walked along the tunnel hallway.

“I’m going to head out unless there’s something else.”

“No, I think I can take it from here. Thanks, Holly.”

“No problem. Good luck. I’ll call you as soon as I know what to do about Abi.”

I stopped in front of the exit. She disappeared into the brush. I had never felt so much magic in the lair before. Ian and his cousin were a powerful duo.

I walked into my room. Zac stood next to the bed. He looked completely fine, as if we hadn’t spent the last two days keeping him alive.

“Hey.” I walked closer to the bed.

“Hey.”

“Everything ok?” I asked.

“Yeah. I think it is.” He was taking in the surroundings.

“Maybe I can find a shirt for you then I can take you home.” I had rushed him here when he collapsed after our workout, and he was only wearing athletic shorts.

“I don’t want to go home just yet.”

“You can’t stay here.” I think I startled him. My words were too quick.

“I’m not leaving you if there is someone who wants to hurt you.” He slid an arm around my waist, positioning me against him.

“I can handle it. This isn’t a place you can stay.”

“Where are we?” He looked over my shoulder.

“It’s safe. But I can’t tell you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Secret location? Are we in Sullen’s Grove?”

“Yes.”

I could feel his heart thumping against his chest. His body was still pulsing from the elixir he had taken to fight off the poison. The energy around him hummed with witch magic.

“Is this where the witches live?” he asked.

“Do you remember them?” I started to worry Holly’s spell hadn’t worked.

“No, I haven’t met them, but you told me they helped.”

I breathed in. “Right. They did. And no this isn’t where they live.”

“Are you one of the witches?” His eyes locked on mine. “It-it would explain some things.”

I realized how a yes would simplify things, but I couldn’t lie to him. I had never envied other magic until this moment. “No, I’m not a witch. I can’t talk to you about them.”

“And you’re not going to tell me anything else?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I can’t.” I looked into his eyes. “Can this be enough for you?”

“Enough? I don’t even know how to answer that. Are you asking if I changed my mind about you, about us in the last twenty minutes?” He brushed the hair from my face.

I nodded. “Because this is it. I’m going to put a blindfold on you, and I’m going to take you home. We aren’t ever going to talk about the magic, or this cave. We aren’t going to discuss witches or Sullen’s Grove legends. I need you to tell me you accept that we’ll never talk about this again. It never happened. None of this happened.”

“And if I can’t?” His thumb trailed over my bottom lip.

“You’ll never see me again.”

I
dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink. It was 9:15 and I was already late for a staff meeting at the museum. I grabbed my keys and jogged down the steps to the driveway.

“Hey, boss.” Lacey greeted me as soon as the elevator doors opened.

“Good morning.”

“They’re waiting for you. I tried to stall.” She shrugged. Today’s shirt was a low cut tank top, showing off the tops of her breasts. Hell.

“Thanks, I can take care of it.” I hurried to the conference room across from the suite of offices.

The board was assembled, along with the director.

“Zac, come in. Come in. We were just getting started.”

I slid into the only empty chair. I hated being late. I hated the attention it drew.

“We’re mapping out the dates for next year’s festival. After the numbers we pulled in, we’re extending it an extra day to Sunday,” Director Rofton explained. “And we’re bringing back the Ghost of the Forest festival.”

I sat forward. “Has it been approved by the town council?”

“We have six out of seven yeses. It’s not going to be a problem. Our private funding has reached an all-time high. This is the time to push our real agenda. I’m going to need you to lead the committee to get started.”

“I’d like to help, but I’m not an event planner, sir.” The coffee churned in my stomach.

“You can hand off the details to someone else. You’re a resident expert. You’ll know what to focus on. I want everyone in the state to know about it. It needs to be bigger than the Watermelon Festival, bigger than the Collard Festival. This is how we put this museum on the map. Our grant funding for special projects will go through the roof.”

I nodded. It always came back to money.

“You can meet with the special events coordinator and give us a report in two weeks on where we are.” He moved on to the next topic and I stared out of the window.

I had promised her. Swore to her that I would drop everything. The legend. The witches. All of it. Silver was mad I didn’t want to go along with his panther trap, claimed I was a coward. But he hadn’t met Dare. She said no more magic, and I agreed.

It didn’t mean I didn’t think about it. I had sketched the cave, the dark details I could remember. Written down everything we talked about. Taken walks in the woods outside of the park during the day looking for it. I stared at the scar on my leg before I fell asleep. I knew there were parts of my memory missing. I had overhead a witch say she was going to erase things. I guess she did.

I didn’t know how long I was going to be able to keep up my end of the deal. The magic was gnawing at me the same way my dreams did.

It had been a week since I had seen the cave. Dare had come by every day to train. But at the end of the session, when I tried to hold on to her a little longer, she would make up an excuse to leave. Exams. A project meeting. Her friend, Vix, needed something.

I had told her how I felt. That I was falling for her, and it either scared the shit out of her, or she hadn’t made up her mind.

Instead of pressuring her. Instead of pushing her against the wall and kissing her. Instead of carrying her down the hall to my room, I let her walk away. Every night, I let her walk out of my door.