The Devil's Third (11 page)

Chapter Ten

Nathan

I bolted upright when I heard the loud ringing next to my head. My mind snapped to attention, swiping the normal bleariness aside like a hand waving away a swarm of pesky gnats.

“Hello.” Despite the rush of adrenaline, my voice sounded groggy.

“Nathan, it’s time to get up,” Tree said. I caught the nervous hitch in his tone, and my heart hammered against my chest. “Is Paige awake?”

My eyes strayed to the closed door leading to the room she was in. Running a hand through my hair, I stood and moved toward it. “No, she’s not. Is everything okay? How’s Carrie?”

“Carrie is fine now.” Tree paused and took a deep, unsteady breath. “But she wasn’t a half hour ago. We-we . . . I think we almost lost her.”

“But she’s better, right?” I had to know for certain Carrie was okay to set my mind at ease because it may mean Paige was able to reach her. One could only hope.

“Uh-huh. Yeah. She’s stable now and seems to be resting peacefully.”

I paused outside the door, intending to end this conversation before I headed in. Feeling a wave of relief, I released the air hovering in my lungs. “Good to hear.” I took some deep breaths to calm my heart rate, trying not to entertain dreadful thoughts about what I might discover behind this closed door. Paige and Carrie were both fine, I silently told myself. There was no need to create problems where none may exist.

“It is,” he agreed. “But do me a favor and call me after you wake Paige up and find out what happened.”

“I will.”

After we said a goodbye, I pocketed my cell and entered the room. The smell of incense hung thick in the air, and the flickering candles spit inside their crystal holders, reminding me of the sound of a hissing cat. The hair on the back of my neck rose from the powerful energy floating in the room.

 My gaze fell on Paige lying on her back in the center of the circle, glowing a brilliant lilac color. My stomach dropped at how pale and still she appeared. I focused on her heart and breathing. They were both slow and steady. A good sign. Apparently she wasn’t in any stress at the moment.

Making a snap decision, I decided to give her a few more moments and stood watching, thinking of Sleeping Beauty–still and beautiful under the witch’s spell.

I remembered the first time she’d caught my eyes. I had tracked Bael to Astoria and was observing him from afar when I originally saw him with Paige. I was standing on a balcony to one of the buildings downtown watching Bael–Matt actually–and Carrie hanging around the courthouse square. It was a normal gray and cloudy day, and there was a biting chill to the January air. They were playing hacky sack when Paige emerged from her black Morris Mini and wandered to them.

My breath had caught in my throat when my eyes fell upon her. Never in my life had someone drawn such a reaction from me. All my attention narrowed on her–nothing else existed.

“What is wrong with you?” I had murmured to myself, unfamiliar with the feelings exploding through my body and mind. I tried to look away but couldn’t, not understanding why I suddenly felt protective of her and compelled to be in her company. “This is madness.” Little did I know at the time she had captured my heart.

For weeks I tried to deny my feelings, telling myself I was bewitched by her beauty and nothing more. I refused to discover where she lived or anything about her family, yet I still kept an eye on her. I became keenly aware how every time I saw her, she inflicted the same reaction out of me as the first time. And when I wasn’t watching her . . . I thought about her. Feeling like a roguish, filthy stalker, I began questioning my sanity.

But then I noticed Bael showing a great interest in Paige, and all my energy became focused on his attentions, all other concerns long forgotten. After a while, when I knew Paige was safe, I tracked down other dark spirits and forced answers from them.

“There’s a powerful light inside her some of us can see, and we don’t know why,” one of them told me before I cast him out of a young man who looked like he belonged in a science lab instead of squatting in an abandoned house preparing to shoot up.

After several more dark spirits mirrored the first one’s response, I became nervous and insanely uncomfortable with Paige being around Matt.

Then the night at The Lion’s Den happened. I was on the platform watching Paige dancing to techno music. I had leaned forward on the black railing, watching her hips shake in time to the beat, her pleated skirt on her black mini dress sensually slapping her thighs. I couldn’t help but imagine my hands on them. And when she raised her arms above her head, revealing a perfect hourglass figure, a fierce desire to have her sprang forth. It was like molten liquid surging through my veins, desires raging in me like an untamed beast. I knew my eyes were bright with desire and kept the hood of my jacket up to conceal my face.

But then I noticed Matt’s intense attention on Paige, taking a step closer to her, and I immediately bristled. He leaned forward and then looked up, his eyes glowing.

Oh, shit.

Bael was up to something, and Paige wasn’t safe. I had to intervene regardless of the consequences.

Nobody was watching, so I jumped off the platform, over the railing, onto the floor, and ran toward Paige, my heart racing. When I found her passed out on the floor, it took all my self control not to rip Matt’s throat out.

That night completely changed my world in ways I could never have imagined, and now as I stared at Paige’s resting body, I became overwhelmed by the endless fountain of love pouring through me for her. I never knew one could feel so much love for another before she had entered my life.

In reflection, I stared at my boots, and when I glanced up, Paige was levitating a foot above the floor, then dropped. I rushed at her, but when my foot touched the circle, the toes of my boot pressed against a hard surface. It was like hitting a brick wall. I was being denied access.

 I couldn’t believe I hadn’t considered the possibility this might happen. Of course the only way I’d be able to enter the circle was if she were to cut an opening for me.

Damn it.

Horrible choking noises sounded from her, sending me into a panic. Her body remained still–arms slack, next to her side, as she continued to choke.

I tried once again to breach the barrier, but the invisible wall wouldn’t relent. In frustration, I punched the air, only to have my fist thrown backward. “Paige,” I called, hoping it would wake her. Thankfully, she stopped making those horrible strangling sounds, but nothing else changed. “Wake up, Paige!” I yelled.

Nothing.

I could feel the heat in my ears.

I was such an idiot not to think about this. There had to be a way to reach her.

The grimoires.

I made a move toward the bookshelves when a fierce wind blew through the room, skirting around the edge of the circle, the candles and incense undisturbed.

I made an attempt to move forward, but stumbled backward from a wall of wind pushing against my chest, pinning me to the door. I could feel a charge of electricity in the air, the tips of my hair sizzling when a thick smell of burning wood blew through me. The wind shifted from clockwise to counter clockwise, the air turning damp and humid. The smell of rain filled my nostrils. I looked up to find the ceiling replaced by gray, heavy moving clouds. Red and blue lightning bolts, continually sparked through them.

Never in my life had I ever experienced such magical wonder. I’d heard of it through ancient tales, but this type of magic died out long ago. When the clouds parted revealing a bright, blue sunny sky, I smelled fresh cut grass and realized this had to be elemental magic. Stunned, I watched in awe until I saw a tall being flickering across the room toward me. At first, I couldn’t distinguish whether it was male or female and kept my eyes trained on it.

The warmth of the sunlight felt wonderful on my face and a sense of peace and well-being flowed through me.

The image became solid, his brown eyes meeting mine. I blinked, surprised by the kindness and wealth of knowledge radiating in his eyes. His face reminded me of a goblin with a snow-white pointy beard. He raised his hand, and the bell sleeves from his brown robe fell back, revealing an elongated, wrinkled hand. Still staring at me, he balled his hand into a fist, placed it over his heart, and bowed his head. Without thinking, I returned the gesture, wondering why he honored me with such respect. Instantaneously, I received the answer and knew who he was. I smiled and nodded.

A picture of him tossing a flaming torch to Paige flashed in my mind. I blinked and jerked my head back as more images kept coming. Telepathically, Boreas told me Paige was all right, and she would come back on her own. There was no need to wake her. She was safe. Let her be. Her journey wasn’t over yet.

I frowned, not understanding why she wouldn’t be done. She accomplished what she had set out to do. Aosoth’s memories were erased from Carrie’s mind, so what was the delay? Boreas pointed to the walls, then vanished. The walls spun. Different types of scenery blurred into one another as if it were fast forwarding from the beginning of time until now. Abruptly the panoramas stopped, and my heart caught in my throat when I saw Paige holding Carrie’s arm while Paige’s parents approached them.

She felt
so
close.

I stuck my hand out, reaching for her, but it didn’t penetrate the scene. I tried walking into it, and oddly enough, I remained in the same spot.

Shifting my gaze back on Paige, I helplessly looked on as fear slithered into my stomach when I realized what was happening and couldn’t stop it.

Chapter Eleven

Paige

“Hello, Paige,” Dad said, his green eyes bright and happy.

“You did a wonderful thing here.” Mom’s eyes shifted to Carrie, then back to me. She sounded proud.

“It’s so good to see you two,” I said, my voice thick with the tears I tried to hold back. I’d missed my parents more than I could ever say, and to see them now–holding hands–reminded me of a life I could have had if my dad hadn’t died when I was four. I bit my lip and held onto Carrie, fighting the urge to release her so I could hug them. But I was determined not to let her go and would fight for her life if my parents were here to help Carrie crossover.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Reed,” Carrie said, scooting close to me so our hips touched.

My dad’s gaze moved to my arm tightly looped around Carrie’s, then to our faces. His expression remained soft and easygoing. Carrie and I shared a look, not understanding why both my parents seemed so carefree. Considering the current situation, it didn’t make sense. Mom must have seen the confusion on our faces because she spoke.

“There’s no need to worry, Paige. Carrie’s corporal body is going to be just fine.” When she took a step forward, Carrie and I moved backward in unison. Mom stopped, her shiny brown eyes filled with understanding and love. “Girls, Gordon and I are not here to cause you any grief.”

“Your mother is right,” Dad said, stepping beside Mom. “We’re here to take Carrie to a place where she can rest and recover peacefully from her unfortunate accident.”

“I’m not going to die?” Carrie asked, unsure.

“No, darling,” Mom said. “You’re going to be just fine.”

Carrie slapped a hand over her heart. “Thank God.” She turned to me and smiled. “It’s going to be okay. Now you can go back and tell Tree and find those incantations.” But then she frowned. “Wait a minute. I don’t want you looking for them without me. What if you need my help?”

My mind whirled with everything that happened since I arrived here.

“Paige!”

Huh?

It sounded like Nathan calling my name from behind. I glanced over my shoulder and saw nothing but a deserted town with fire still burning in large metal trash cans along the dirt road. There was an empty lot where the building I’d burned down used to be. The ground was black and smoldering, wisps of smoke rising. I looked at Carrie, my mind finally catching up to what she just said. “I’ll be fine,” I answered before I could process all the information connected to her question, like making a deal with Bael so she could live.

Crap.

I almost totally forgot about my pact with him and since I couldn’t tell anybody about it, I kept my mouth shut.

Carrie eyed me suspiciously, not buying it. “I think I rather help Paige,” she declared. “But thanks for coming. It was nice seeing you.” There was a finality in her tone, and she made a move to steer me away from my parents.

My dad’s voice halted us. “You don’t have a choice. Your human body needs more time to heal.”

“He’s right,” I said. “Remember what I told you about the doctor inducing a coma so your brain and body can heal?”

Carrie sighed, not hiding her annoyance. “Yeah, but there’s got to be way I can still help.”

I shrugged. “Knowing you’re going to recover from your injuries and come back to us is a tremendous help.” She made a face. I released her arm and playfully shoved it. “I’m serious. Now that I’m sure you’re okay, I’ll be able to find those damn . . .” I paused and sheepishly glanced at my parents. They had amused looks on their faces. “I mean,
stupid
incantations and destroy them.”

“You’re going to destroy them?” Dad sounded surprised.

“Why on earth would you do that, honey?” Mom was equally surprised.

Oh, man. How I wished they knew everything that was going on in my world. You’d think once you passed on from your earthly life to the spiritual one, you’d be all-knowing and aware. But no, it didn’t work that way. I wondered why, and just like that, I turned the tables on them, bypassing their question. “How come you two didn’t already know what I planned on doing?” A fuzzy thought surfaced in my mind about somebody telling me it didn’t work that way. Was it grandmother Kora who told me? “You knew about Carrie, so why aren’t you aware of everything happening in my life?”