The Zodiac Collector (29 page)

This chant feels different. What's happening?
Mary asks.

William's powerful. I think it's because he's a Cardinal sign
, I reply.

There's something else, Anne. A reason why our chants didn't work
.

I'm afraid to ask.

It's because we fight too much. We're divided, and that makes our power weaker
.

We're not divided anymore
, I snark.

Mary stiffens inside me.
Maybe that's why the twins merged us
.

The proverbial light bulb goes on, only instead of it being one bulb, it's a rack of blinding stadium lights in the midst of a power surge.

James
woots!
again. The action halts and displays his stats. All-time high score. Good for him.

“James.” William waves a hand in front of his brother's face.

He blinks and turns his gaze to William.
“What?”

“About that ride.”

“What about it?” James raises a pierced eyebrow.

Mary deflates and hides behind my lower spine. The chant didn't work. I shake my head. I can't be mad at William. He's new to magick. At least we gave it a try.

“You're such an ass. Have you ever considered helping someone without expecting something in return? Karma, man.” William knocks the game controller out of James's hand.

“Karma? Pfft. Like that's a thing.” He wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “Get me a soda.”

“No.”

James's tongue darts out of his mouth to play with his lip ring for the millionth time.

“I've done enough for you and I'm not doing one more thing until you do something for me to balance it out.”

James whistles. “Oooh, little brother, the hero.”

“Do this for us.” The muscles in William's jaw ripple. There's a sharp edge in his eyes that I haven't seen before.

James rubs his shoulder. He stands up, shoves past us, and heads upstairs. A moment later, I hear his keys jingle. “You coming, or not?” he calls.

I gape at William.

He smiles. “Told you it'd work.”

I follow him to the front door where he pauses and bends over to pick up a pair of sneakers. “These are my mom's. They might fit you.”

They're three sizes too big, but they're better than socks.

“Thanks.”

Outside, James is waiting in the car with the engine idling. Its steady rumble mimics the thunder I've gotten so used to hearing.

“Incredible.” I hop in the backseat while William holds the door open. He slides in beside me and reads out the address for James's GPS.

We take off. James plays rap music so loud that I can barely keep my teeth from chattering. He keeps yapping at me about what he wants to do with the sound system, but I can't really hear anything other than “woofer” and “sound.”

Since William's on such a roll with magick, I should have him chant a muting spell on Jimmy's speakers. If I chant, I'd probably end up blowing out all our eardrums and quite frankly, I'm sick of making things worse.

Though, it seems to be my best skill lately.

Chapter Twenty-Four

J
ames slams on the brakes so hard I crash into the back of his seat. And I have my seatbelt on. Dirt wafts around the car as the engine idles.

Four police cruisers, two facing north and two facing south, bracket the road's shoulders. Seizure-inducing blue and red lights flash on their roofs. A pair of floodlights washes out the double yellow lines and blacktop while orange cones siphon cars to single file. One officer directs traffic on our side, and I suppose another is on the other side doing the same thing.

“What a night for sobriety checks. Good thing I'm not drunk,” James laughs.

Sobriety checks my non-badonkadonk booty. I'm a fugitive from a psych ward. I wouldn't be surprised if the FBI was looking for me.

Mary scrambles around in my abdomen like the alien from, well,
Alien. Run!
she screams.

I mumble, “I can't. They'll see and come after me. I can't go running through the woods in the dark.”

William leans over to me. “Huh?”

“Mary wants me to run, but that's how I ended up in the hospital.”

He presses his lips to my ear. “You think they're looking for you?”

“I don't know.”

An officer taps on James's window with the butt end of his flashlight and I jump, bonking my skull on the low ceiling. William laces his fingers with mine. “Roll 'em down.”

I drag the hood of William's borrowed hoodie over my head and scrunch down in the seat.

James does as the cop says. “Evening, officer. How can I help you?”

“You kids are out late.” He points his flashlight at James, snapping his gum with every chew.
Chew, snap, chew, snap, chew, snap
. “Where you headed?” He sweeps the rest of the car, pausing on William and then me.

“Road trip,” James coughs.

The cop zeroes in on James again. “How old are you, son?”

“Nineteen, sir.”

“I'm going to need a clearer answer than ‘road trip.'”
Chew, snap
.

“My kid brother's having a sleepover at his friend's house and I'm dropping them off.” James jerks his thumb toward us.

“Grab your license and registration and get out of the car, please.”

James releases his seat belt and paws around his glove box. He slides out a small piece of paper and opens the door. The cop escorts James to the front of the car and examines his paperwork.

“What're we going to do?” I whisper to William.

“They'll let him go and we'll be on our way.” He gives me a reassuring nod.

The cop says, “Registration expires next month.”

“Yep, I already sent the money.” James leans on the hood.

“Who's in the backseat?”

“My brother William, and his little girlfriend, Anne.”

A wave of heat fans across my face. I've never heard anyone use “girlfriend” to describe my connection to William.

The cop wanders to the driver's side and peers in at us again. “What's your last name, Anne?”
Chew, snap
.

Crap!
Mary yelps.

“Yeah,” I reply.

“Speak up, miss.” The cop dips his head inside.

“Cripper.” I blurt out Gamma's last name.

He pops his gum and wanders back to James. “Her name Anne Cripper?”

James twists his upper body. He's playing with his freaking lip ring again. “Nah. It's Devans.”

Chew, snap, chew, pop
. He saunters to us and sticks the flashlight into my face again. “Wanna try that again?”

“I'm Anne D-Devans.”

“Anne Devans. Your parents are worried sick about you. Get out of the car.” The cop waves over a couple more officers and puts cuffs on James.

“Hey, what's this for?” James protests.

“Did you know Ms. Devans escaped from a psychiatric ward earlier tonight?”
Chew, pop
.

James groans. “Will, I'm gonna rip you a new one for this.”

“Best keep quiet, son, unless we ask you a question.” The cop gestures for him to stay at the car hood. “Don't move.”

A woman cop opens William's door and swings her arm. “Get out, please.”

“William!” I claw at his sleeve.

“Chant, Anne. Anything. Just get us out of here.” He caresses my cheek and slides out of the seat. “Remember, I got your back.”

A third cop opens my door. “Come here, Anne.” His hand cinches around my arm. He drags me to James and William. “What're you doing with these boys?”

“I'm not crazy. My mother is. The nurse threatened to call CPS. I didn't belong there.” I blubber, the exact wrong thing to do when you're trying to convince people you're sane.

William reaches out to me, but the woman cop blocks him and says, “Sit tight, sir.”

“Chant,” he says. One word. A simple command.

An impossible feat.

“I need your help, Mary.” I close my eyes and focus inward. The sounds of cops milling about, radio signals, and car engines dim. Exhaust fumes, stale cigarette smoke, and the cleansing scent of rain fades.

I take a slow breath.

A tingling, at first faint, then stronger, builds in my mind.

“What is she doing?” James asks.

I tune him out. “Mary. Help.”

In the blackness of my closed eyes, a speck of light is born. It wiggles, sends off a flash, and grows. A web of gold flows out from the pin of energy.

Touch William!
Mary barks.

I open my eyes and tear away from the cop restraining me. William yelps as I throw my arms around him. On contact, the light explodes around us and consumes us.

The rest of the world disappears.

Wind, thunder, and lightning imprison us in a cell of crackling currents and shearing drafts. The leaden tongue of gravity lashes out while the puffy arms of air buoy me. There's nothing beneath my feet. The only thing to hold onto is William.

I scream.

William hugs me tighter. His chin digs into my scalp and my cheek is pasted against his chest.

“Mary!” What has she done?

Hang on!

We smack into something hard. The air gets knocked out of my lungs. William's weight squishes me into whatever I'm lying on.

I open my eyes. We're in a field. Blades of grass seem to touch the sky, but it's only my perspective. “Can't…breathe.”

William lifts his head. “Oh! Sorry.” He rolls his upper body off me. Our legs are still tangled. I don't mind. His hand lingers on my face. That doesn't bother me either.

“You okay?”

He nods, panting. His breath is warm and fresh. “You?”

“Yeah.”

“Where are we?”

Streetlights dot the background. They backlight one-story shacks and Tudor-style shoppes. It's like the faire, but in a different layout. We couldn't possibly have been transported to the next site.

Yes! We made it!
Mary claps. Sounds like canon fire in my head.

“The next faire. Help me up,” I say.

We hook arms and rise to our feet.

“How do you know?” William brushes off his pants and shirt.

I do the same. “Mary says so.”

He taps my forehead. “Thanks, Mary.”

I swat him away, but smile. “Get out of here.”

He grins. “Couldn't resist.”

Mary whimpers.
She's close, Anne
.

My heart flutters against my ribcage like a canary trying to escape its cage. I spin, searching the shadows for an old woman dressed in a cloak. “Can she sense our arrival?”

Maybe
.

Dad always says the best defense is a good offense. I swallow the rising terror and stride ahead of William. He's got longer legs than me, though, and he catches up easily.

“So, where exactly are you headed?” he asks, still breathing hard.

“We need to find Zeena.” A flash of lightning highlights my exasperation.

She's closer
, Mary says.

I freeze. Did I call her by saying her name? “Where?”

Not sure
.

“I'll walk around. Let me know if we're getting hotter or colder.”

Okay. Hold onto William's hand. It makes us stronger
.

I latch onto William's hand and tug him along. He doesn't resist. In fact, he laces his fingers tight with mine.

We walk toward the center of the faire grounds—I assume it's the center anyway, because more permanent-looking structures line a wider path. We follow the treeline until we find a thin, winding trail leading into the carefully cultivated forest. A sign marks the entry. It reads, “Mystic Wood.”

Zeena likes the cover of trees and the mystery of wooded areas. Like any good Renaissance Faire, woods are a magickal place, full of darkness and the unknown. The ideal playground for an evil sorceress.

“What will we do when we actually find her?” William whispers into my ear. His breath tickles my neck.

I shudder and fight the urge to touch my skin where his breath lingers. “I don't know.”

Maybe you should call Castor and Pollux and Libra, you know, before we come across
Z, Mary offers.

As if the twins hear her, more lightning streaks across the sky and deep rolls of thunder rumble over our heads.

“Every time I call them, things get worse. Besides, I thought you hated magick,” I mumble.

William frowns at me.

“I'm talking to Mary.”

“I thought so, but sometimes it's hard to tell,” he says.

I don't like it, but we have no other option and now that we're working together, we have a better chance of success
. Mary points out.

“Are you suggesting we fight fire with fire?”

No, I'm suggesting we fight fire with air and water
.

“Touché. But what do I say?”

“To who?” William answers.

I wave a hand at him.

“What should I do?” He kicks a few pebbles out of his way.

“Stay with me.” I squeeze his hand.

“Always.” William squeezes back.

A smile tickles my lips.

Mary laughs.
So romantic
.

“Shut up,” I say.

His brow furrows.

I purse my lips. “Mary's making fun of us.”

No I'm not!

“Now she says she's not.”

William bites his bottom lip. “This is weird, having the both of you in there. Like we're alone, but not really.”

I don't like being in here either. Imagine how weird it is for me
.

“Mary says she doesn't like being inside me either.”

He frames my face with both hands and presses his lips to my forehead, using it as a microphone. “This message is for Mary: We'll figure out how to get you out of there.”

She snorts.

I bat him away. “Very funny.”

We lace fingers again and carry on. Fueled by William's Libra power and Mary's half of the Gemini power, a chant takes shape in my mind. I mumble the words at first, gaining focus with every step.