Chapter 36 — Just when I thought things were back to normal
Kell:
I make my way to the table and almost faint in shock when I see who’s there. Rowan is sitting at the table with Carrick and Haley. He’s wearing the black suit jacket I told him to wear, which is not exactly appropriate for the occasion.
As I stroll casually toward the table, I search around for some answers. “Hey, bro. So you decided to come after all.”
He nods his head and smiles cynically. “I was bored. And since you invited me, I figured I’d come around and see what all the flash was about.”
He looks around the room, then back at me. “Where’s Amara?”
I point to the balcony. “She’s in the ladies’ room.”
Rowan moves his head to the music but quickly stiffens when Juliet walks up to the table and stops as if pulled by an invisible rope. Her smile fades instantly. You can almost feel the tension in the air. However, they don’t acknowledge each other beyond a slightly awkward nod.
Realizing that she’s standing there, Juliet takes a seat and exhales a deep breath. Not knowing what else to do, everyone eases into the conversation and pretends that there are no strange undertones between both of them. However, I can see that Rowan’s looking at Juliet whenever she’s not looking, and vice versa.
They look almost lost when they look at each other. It is the weirdest moment ever. Carrick must notice the weird vibes, too, because he looks at me and raises a questioning brow. I merely shrug my shoulders and look towards the stage. Amara should be here by now. She must have gotten distracted by one of her pageant groupies. They’ve been stopping to talk to her most of the night. It’s weird to think that there are such things as pageant groupies, but there really are.
Before I can comment, Carrick rises from the chair and holds his hand out to Haley. “How about a dance?”
Haley giggles and places her hand in his. “Don’t mind if I do, sir.” They both flutter off, leaving me to deal with the awkward tension between Juliet and Rowan.
Freaking Carrick! I’m going to kick his ass when he comes back.
Juliet continues to ignore Rowan and turns back to me. “Where’s Amara?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Last I saw her, she was heading to the ladies’ room.”
I can almost hear her sigh of relief as she jumps on the chance to leave the table. “I think I’ll go look for her. Be back later.” She says as she rushes away without another word.
Rowan sighs and gazes at her retreating form with a muddled look. It’s as if he’s glad she’s gone but regrets letting her go.
However, before I can ask, my phone goes off. I reach into my pocket and pull it out. It’s Azazel.
“Azazel?” I say over the noise of the music.
“Kell, listen to me, mate…” Azazel says with urgency. I rise from my chair alertly. “What’s up, Azazel?”
His voice comes out hurried. “Listen to me, Kell, we need to talk. I think whoever is killing these girls are going to go after Amara.”
I’m on my feet so quickly that I startle Rowan from his own chair. “We’re at the pageant dance right now. What makes you think they’d go after Amara?” I ask as I make my way to the ladies’ room behind the stage. I look for Amara, but there’s no one there.
“Look, I’m on my way over there. We’ll talk when I get there. Just get your lady love and wait for me. Don’t take your eyes off her.” He says before he disconnected the call.
My heart speeds up at his words. Just then, Rowan whirls me towards him and asks. “What’s going on, Kell?” I shake my head and knock on the ladies’ room door. No one answers. “Fuck!”
Rowan grips my shoulder with a hard glare. “Tell me what the fuck is going on!”
His question snaps me out of my haze. “Look, Rowan, I don’t have a lot of time to explain.” Rowan shakes his head. “Then give me the condensed version because you’re worrying the shit out of me right now.” Feeling exasperated, I move back down the hallway and look around in hopes of spotting Amara. “Long story short, Amara had visions of the dead girls. We saved one of them, and Azazel thinks the killer will be after Amara.”
There’s no response as I knock on the door again. No one answers. I look at Rowan, who gazes at the door, then me with concern. Taking matters into his own hands, Rowan opens the door and peeks inside, then looks at me and waves me in. We both step into the ladies’ room to find it empty. “Shit! She’s not here.”
I’m about to turn around when something under one of the sinks catches my attention. I move closer and lean down to reach for it. It is Amara’s little hand clutch. I recognize it because I was messing with her about its size earlier. I remember telling her that you couldn’t stick a pack of chewing gum in it. She laughed and said that it was strictly for decoration.
I pick it up and show it to Rowan. “This is Amaras.”
He takes the clutch and twirls it in his hand. “Where is she?”
I shake my head as a hollow feeling opens in the pit of my stomach. “We have to find her.”
Rowan reaches for my cell phone and waves it in front of me. “Call her.”
Feeling like an idiot, I take the phone and dial her number. To my exasperation, the phone rings, but it goes to voicemail.
Rowan raises a questioning brow. “Anything?”
I shake my head and tighten my lips as emotion threatens to overwhelm me. This can’t be happening right now. We both rush back out and glance around as we make our way back to the ballroom. I look at Rowan. “Do you see her?’
He shakes his head. “No, man. Isn’t that Azazel?” He points to a lone figure in the front of the ballroom.
“Azazel!” I call out.
“Where’s Amara?” He searches the room inquisitively. “I don’t know, but she’s not answering the phone, and this is hers. I found it on the bathroom floor.” I say, waving her clutch in front of Azazel. Desperation clutches my heart as I gaze around the room and don’t see my love.
I look at Azazel, who angrily grits out. “Bloody hell. Where would she go?” I shake my head at a loss. “I don’t know.” Azazel looks around then points to the door. “Let’s search the grounds. Maybe she’s outside.”
He turns to Rowan and gestures around the ballroom. “Stay here and look for her, mate. If you see her, call us.”
I turn to Rowan, who gives me an understanding nod. “I’ll look for her and tell the others to search for her too.” Placing his hands on my shoulders, he looks me in the eyes and says firmly. “I want to know what this is about as soon as this is over. I’ll call you if we find something here.”
I nod my head and take a deep breath. “I will. Thank you, brother.”
Without another word, he steps around me and takes action.
Azazel and I purposely move out of the ballroom and walk out into the grounds.
“Tell me what you found out.”
He hands me a stack of sheets as he peruses the area. I look down at the sheets then back at him. “What is this?”
He stops and glances around warily, then turns back to me. “Creighton and I went through the book again. The only way a person can invoke the Potestatem Vitae Mortem is someone who has committed a grievous act. However, that person needs another human with dormant witch blood to pursue power. The chosen person is used as some sort of conduit for power. We know that Mariel committed a grievous act when she killed her coven to gain her mortality back. We’re sure that whoever she chose is her conduit. But they need a powerful witch to complete the spell. Marael is not a powerful witch anymore. So, she’ll need another power to equal that of the one she lost. Amara is a Breija. She has one of the rarest powers in existence. The power of a Breija would help her gain the ground she lost when we saved Bree Hudson. ”
I think for a moment. “You said she needs someone with dormant witch powers. What does that mean?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I’m going to assume that it’s what we call someone from the supernatural world who does not completely belong to it. We call them Soporatus. A supernatural born who has no powers.”
The hollow in my stomach grows into a deeply horrifying realization. “Like someone who has a witch aunt but has no powers?” I mutter with trepidation.
He nods his head distractedly. “Exactly.”
Awareness creeps inside my mind as the truth smacks me in the face. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I yell out, wrapping my fingers around my head. “I know who it is!”
Without another word, I turn and race back to the ballroom. Azazel follows behind me and whirls me to him with a questioning brow. “Who?”
I shake my head feeling bile lodge in my throat. “It’s Taylor. That bastard was right under our noses.”
He frowns in confusion. “Who is Taylor?”
I look around the ballroom to see if I spot him and continue to talk. “Taylor Mathews. He’s the nephew of that Seer Mathias sent us to. He’s a student here. He was there that day we went to meet Ms. Serapova. They told us!” I stop frustrated. “He practically told us that he was powerless. That bastard was always around when things happened. Fuck! I need to find her!”
We both rush into the ballroom. My gaze lands on a few of the photography kids who hang out with Taylor. “Hey guys, have you seen Taylor?” I ask as calmly as I can. They all shake their heads in response.
Deacon Miles, who covers the news for the football team, steps forward and says, “He was here earlier, but then he disappeared. He came in his motorbike; it should be parked in the front; you can’t miss it.”
I give him a grateful smile and move towards the parking lot. The motorbike is nowhere to be found. “It’s not here.” We both look around to see if we spot him.
“Well, he’s not here. You said he’s related to the witch, Serapova? Let’s go talk to her. She might know where he went.”
We both hurry to Azazel’s car and rush out of the parking lot. I look down at my quiet phone and raise it to my ear. “I’m going to call her again.”
Azazel hums in agreement. I can tell by the look on his face that he’s not convinced that Amara is fine. I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve never felt so out of my depth. The phone simply keeps ringing, then goes to voicemail.
Dejection overwhelms me as I listen to her voice message. “What am I going to do, Azazel? If he hurts her, I’ll kill him.”
Azazel places his palm on my shoulder with an understanding nod. “Don’t think like that, mate. We’ll save her, I promise.”
I close my eyes and lean back on my seat. After a moment, Azazel slaps my shoulder frantically. “Bloody hell, why didn’t I think about it. Do you think she has her phone on her?” I nod my head, remembering that Amara placed her cell phone in a hidden pocket of her dress. “Yeah, she did…”
That’s when it hits me. “Shit! Why didn’t I think of it? We can track her phone.” I take my phone and look for the Find My Phone App. It takes me a few moments to get the resounding response I’m looking for. I look at the phone, feeling a complete sense of elation. “I know where she is.”