Purity (27 page)

“Stop the car!” I screamed, startling Jeremy into slowing down. Just in time because the jeep swerved in front of us before stalling out.

Swinging open the door before we came to a full stop, I leapt out and ran toward the other car. Ryan was out of the vehicle and running back the way we came before I could grab him. I chased him a couple of yards before latching on to his arm and dragging him to a stop.

He was trying to run back for his girls. I saw it in the desperation smoking his eyes, the way his fingers stretched out as if he could reach them.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, trying to calm him. As soon as I touched his skin, I felt the wildness under the surface, the way the burning madness was always ready to take him because he had no mate. He needed his family back, and I hated to be the one who kept him away, but we had no choice. We couldn’t afford a mistake.

“I’m so close,” he whispered. “So close to them.”

“I know,” I said, overwhelmed by his anguish.

Opa and Byron joined me, and I worried that my grandfather’s aggression would trigger something in Ryan. The wolf stared out at me through Ryan’s eyes.

I nodded, keeping my voice as calm as possible. “We’re going to get them home. We need to do it safely. We need to make a plan and figure all of this out. We need
you
.” Something in my wolf soothed Ryan’s, soothed everyone’s in some way, but with him, the change was direct, forceful, and immediate. I used that to my advantage. I kept talking, saying the things he needed to hear, and slowly, his breathing calmed, and his pupils stopped dilating.

“I know,” he said hoarsely. “I know.”

Influencing the werewolves was irresistible. There wasn’t a better word to describe it. It was power, but in a less obvious way. Half the time, they didn’t realise I was doing anything to them, not even my brother. I had calmed him so often, it became a full-time job, but it didn’t take anything out of me that I didn’t have to give. It made the pack better, helped us be around each other, and that was the smallest thing I could do to make up for everything. The only one I couldn’t get through to was my grandfather.

I wasn’t sure why that was. I had no idea what I was doing really, but I knew one thing: Not even my omega-ish power could keep the werewolves calm now. Vin knew exactly what he was doing to us. I needed to help track Perdita before it was too late. Ryan remained on edge, despite my efforts, and I knew it would only take something small to set him off again. I couldn’t even think about Nathan.

As Byron spoke to Ryan in an attempt to reassure him, a thought occurred to me. An old gypsy woman had told us where to look for Perdita. If we could find her again, who knew? She knew me, recognised what was inside me, and that meant she knew how to use it.

I tried not to think about how strange it was that she had been alone, apparently settled in for the evening, and then she had vanished without a trace. We were desperate. Even the smallest hope was worth chasing.

“Byron, I have an idea,” I said and quickly told him what I wanted to do.

“Sounds like a bit of a wild goose chase,” he said.

I looked at Ryan. “We have to do something. This person knew about me. Maybe she can tell me more, help me find the camp.”

Byron thought about it briefly. “We’ll make a quick journey that way. If you don’t find her, we’re leaving. Understood?”

“Of course.” I jumped back into the vehicle, trying to explain it to the others.

“So we’re looking for a little old lady now?” Jeremy asked, sounding confused.

“She might be able to help me find Perdita,” I said firmly.

Nathan nodded, making me grateful for his support. “It’s worth a try.”

Stephen didn’t appear convinced, but he didn’t argue, and I sensed his despair as we clutched at straws.

I fidgeted for the rest of the journey, trying to remember exactly where we had found the woman. But it wasn’t until I had phased and was running through forestry that I remembered the way, as if it were a puzzle a human mind couldn’t decipher.

I heard someone following me and realised it was Nathan. He couldn’t wait. I barked impatiently, but I knew we weren’t far off.

We came into the clearing quicker than I expected, and at first, I couldn’t see anyone, but then a laugh from behind startled us both.
Who sneaks up on werewolves?

“I’ve been waiting for you,” the old woman said.

A crackling fire appeared out of nowhere. It couldn’t have been there before. The sky was suddenly dark, when a few minutes before, there had been daylight. I smelled magic in the air, felt it crackle against my skin like electricity. I had been right to come there. I edged closer to the woman, but she refused to look in our direction, her blind eyes fixed upward on something I couldn’t see.

“Little cousin, haven’t you opened it yet?”

Opened what?
I thought, fascinated.

“That third eye of yours,” the woman said, chuckling as I stepped backward in fright. Had she read my mind? “That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?”

The power
, I thought, wondering how she was managing to communicate with me directly.
The chovihani essence. Is that what you mean?

“That and more. The greatness your bloodline has been waiting a long time for. The balance the earth needs. This can be your time,” the woman said.

Greatness? I don’t deserve that.
The thought came fully-formed before I could stop it.

She cocked her head. “None wake up deserving it. They earn the right to keep it. To make up for their wrongs. And they can only keep it by sacrificing a piece of themselves at a time.” She stoked the fire and turned her blind eyes to me. “This isn’t a gift. It’s a burden. To keep it will take from you, over and over again. Only the tainted hearts need to prove themselves, little cousin. You owe debts that only you can repay. Some of those debts aren’t even yours, but your line’s greatest fault has always been that selfish streak, so you’re weighed down by generations of wrongs. Now it’s your turn to learn from it. Even a deaf little Romani thing like you should understand the truths you’ve already heard.”

But I don’t understand. How do I use it? What do I do with it? How can I—

“It’s in your blood. I am but a guide. Only you can open up your final path. And from one witch to another, it’s about time you woke up.” She blew ashes in my face, and I choked out a cough.

Lightning struck, and when my eyes focused again, the woman was gone.

Nathan growled, a constant stream of rumbling sound. All I wanted to do was figure out what had just happened. I ran back to the car, knowing Nathan was following, and I tried to shrug off the excitement in my blood. Something had changed. I felt it.

Once we had phased and changed back at the cars, I tried to explain what happened.

“It was like she was reading my mind or something. We were communicating mentally. It was…” I glanced at the faces staring at me with interest. “Actually, I’m not sure she was real,” I confessed.

“What are you talking about? I
saw
her,” Nathan said.

I shrugged. “I’ve read similar stories, and I think she might have been some kind of spirit guide.”

Nathan groaned. “Just once, I’d like to wake up to a normal day.”

“Keep hoping,” Jeremy said. “Is this for real?”

Ryan frowned at me. “Do you feel different? Did something change?”

“I think so. I just don’t know what. It’s hard to describe because everything is new for me now.” I screwed up my face, realising nobody was taking me seriously. “Let’s just go,” I said, tired of the scepticism.

When we got back, Joey was sitting on our doorstep, a bunch of papers in his hands. “I couldn’t stop,” he said before yawning. His eyes found Stephen. “You in on it, too?”

“Sort of,” he said. “You?”

“Nah, they won’t tell me anything. Where’s Perdy?”

“She’s in big trouble,” Stephen said.

“Let me see,” I said impatiently, yanking the pages out of Joey’s hands. The adults all wandered inside to discuss how to negotiate with Vin. I scanned the pages, important words popping out at me as if there were neon lights flashing around them. “This actually might help. Scrying, why didn’t I think of that before?”

Scrying was probably the best way to find a person, but did I even have the power to do something like that? Maybe I needed a little guidance. This was my perfect chance to make things up to Nathan and Perdita, to show everyone in my family that I could be relied upon, that when it mattered, I could do something useful and important. Fear built up inside me at the thought of the pressure mounting on my shoulders, but I pushed it aside. Perdita needed me.

“Nathan, Joey, there’s something I want to do, but I need both of you. Will you help me?”

“Do I earn the truth then?” Joey asked wearily.

“Yes,” I said. “But remember, you can’t unlearn what you hear, so make sure you really want to know. When we’re done here, I’ll need you to meet us at Perdita’s house. If you could bring Tammie and persuade Perdita’s gran to take part, that would be great. I’m going to do something a little unusual, and I need the extra power. Will you both do it?”

“If the doc is in on this, then I’m not backing out,” Joey said.

“Anything,” Nathan said. “Can you find her?”

I paused. “I might be able to give Ryan a clue. Maybe even a bloody postal code.” I grinned at my brother, and for the first time since Perdita had been taken, I felt a glimmer of real hope. I had a plan. “Come up to my room, both of you.”

They followed me upstairs and watched apprehensively as I gathered some candles.

When I produced the spirit board, Nathan held up his hands. “Are you sure this is such a good idea? I mean, after last time?”

“What happened last time?” Joey asked.

“She tried to kill Perdita,” my brother said, but there was no malice in his words, only worry.

“It’s different now,” I said. “I promise. There are more of us, and I know what I’m doing. I’ll be the one controlling the situation this time. Besides, it might help Perdita. Wouldn’t you try anything?”

Nathan nodded, and we both looked at Joey.

He stared at the spirit board, his eyebrows needling together into a frown, but he shrugged when he caught my eye. “I’ll try anything to get her back safely. She trusts you. I have to, too.”

I nodded, pleased with his reaction. I set up the candles and the spirit board and urged both of them to place their hands on the cup. “Don’t let go. No matter what happens. Try to keep an open mind.” I blew out a breath and closed my eyes, focusing on clearing my own mind.

I spoke the words I needed to protect us and kept breathing deeply until I sensed something change in the air, ripples of power and strength coming from Nathan and Joey. I could use that, use it to open a channel I hadn’t opened properly the last time.

“I need help,” I said in a low voice, startling Joey. “I was told to open my third eye. I need more guidance than that. I need to be sure. I need somebody to help me figure out how to—”

The cup flew across the board.

Ask.

Joey’s breathing grew louder, and I whispered for him to calm down. My brother, too. Nathan was on red alert, and I needed him to contain his fear and anger in order to truly
hear.

“Can I find Perdita?”

Yes.

“It’s not too late?”

Almost.

“Who are you?”

Blood. Family.

“Kali?”

Not that family.

Exhaling loudly, I pushed on. “How can I find her? Can I scry? Is there magic that I can use? Can I use Kali’s power?”

Her power is your blood.

“How do I use it, though?”

Open all eyes.

“I don’t understand,” I hissed, frustrated.

You know.

“What do you know?” Nathan asked.

“I’ve no idea. Whatever Kali and that old woman in the woods told me. I don’t know where to go from here, not really.”