Chapter 79
“Who is Amelia?” Jezza asks, her hand trembling as she holds her teacup.
“She is— was one of my friends before I came here.” My skull pounds and I feel nauseous. “When the vamps came to our school, she was there and got injured in the magical backlash.” And I had gone to her to apologize, to see her.
“How did she get the grimoire?” Melanie frowns. “Wasn’t like she was ever here at the school to take it.”
Gwen blanches, twisting her hands in her lap. “I-I had it. Took it with me when I was transferred to the human school. I thought I could find a spell that would return my magic, but nothing worked.”
“And you gave the book to this Amelia?” Nora’s voice is full of disbelief and disgust.
“Of course not.” Gwen snaps her head up. “I’m not stupid.”
“Where is the grimoire now?” I say before everyone here starts screaming at each other or worse.
“I had it at my house and had my new friends over for a sleepover.” Gwen swallows. “Didn’t think anything about it until my baby sister told me about the storm and the earthquake. When I looked for the book, it was gone.”
“Shit.” I stand on wobbly legs. “We’ve got the wrong girl.”
“So, we go get her,” Nora says like talking about going shopping for shoes or something.
I glance over to Ben and Kiarr. “What do you guys think?”
Kiarr is sitting on the floor with his sword across his lap looking cross that he doesn’t have anyone to attack. While Ben is leaning in the doorway to Melanie’s closest with his ankles crossed.
“This rogue mage will attack again, and it could be tonight. She’s getting stronger,” Ben continues, “won’t be long before she figures out how to complete the spell to wipe all paranormals out.”
“I was afraid of that.” I turn back to the others.
Nora has her head tilted like a dog and stares at the spot Ben is at.
“Talking to your ghost boyfriends again?” Gwen asks, but there’s a touch of wistfulness to her tone.
“Yeah. We don’t have time to wait. We’ve got to go now and stop Amelia.”
Jezza sneezes. “Tonight? Can’t it wait until morning, I’m so tired from helping heal so many today.”
I kneel in front of her. “Stay here and rest. If we run into any trouble, the students will need your help again.”
“But what about your detention?” Melanie walks over to her dresser and pulls out a sweater.
“We’ll deal with that later.” I wave a hand. The sense of urgency deep inside me tells me we have to go now before it is too late. “I-I think she’s going to try and do the spell again tonight and she might succeed this time.”
“How do you know?” Jezza swallows.
“Can’t you feel it?” I pause, feeling the sense of a thunderstorm coming. My hair standing on the back of my neck.
“Brene,” Ben shifts, walking toward me. “Someone is at the cemetery, gathering magic. I think your Amelia is here.”
My mouth dries. I dash to the door and wrench it open.
“Where are you going?” Nora calls after me.
“It’s Amelia. She’s here… in the cemetery.” I throw the words over my shoulder. My shoes slap against the floor as I run. Shit, shit, shit. Amelia. She must be here to do the spell and increase the potency by being closer. God, she has always been smart.
My side burns as I run, and I briefly wonder if I’ve reopened the wound. My ex-best friend is trying to kill me. I know she blames me for her facial injury but trying to kill all witches and other supernaturals… never thought she’d do something like this.
Guess you never know people until they are in a horrible situation. What if she does the spell before we can stop her? Dark clouds gather over the cemetery and freezing fingers close around my throat.
I push my feet faster. Both Ben and Kiarr are floating on either side of me.
“Any ideas?” I ask them, huffing as I run.
“Get the grimoire back,” Ben says. “She must have at least a trace of magic to be able to use it as a focal point.”
Gwen, Nora, and Melanie are right behind me. The iron gate creaks when I push it open. But I don’t have time to tiptoe and sneak up on Amelia. We have to stop this now before anyone else gets hurt.
I dart through around the graves and stop as I spot Amelia with her dark hair hanging down as she uses her cellphone light to read the grimoire.
“Amelia,” I say in a hoarse voice. “Stop, don’t do this.”
She jerks up her head and flinches at seeing me and the others. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Okay.” I hold my hands up. “Please, give us the book and we’ll let you go.”
“Are you scared now, Brene?” She wrinkles her nose. “Like you made me when those vampires attacked us? I want you to suffer like you made me.”
“Look, I can help you. We can heal—”
“Do you know I still can smell the stench of my flesh burning?” She laughs. “It’s over half my body. I had a future and you ripped it away because of your stupid magic. Well, I’ve been studying all day and night. And now I found a way to make sure you and none of your kind ever do this to anyone else.”
“But you have magic too. Otherwise, the book wouldn’t work for you.”
“Lies,” she spits. “You lied to us our whole lives. Pretended to hate supernaturals and they came looking for you. If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn't be disfigured. I would be happy. I would be with Lance.”
“I don’t think so, Lance is with me.” Gwen pushes forward.
“Not helping,” I whisper to her and pull her back.
“You always were in my way,” Amelia continues. “I was so jealous of you until you got shipped here and I thought my prayers were answered. But then none of the surgeries worked on the scaring you left behind.”
My throat constricts and I tremble all over. “Amelia, I’m so, so sorry. I didn’t know I had magic… and I never wanted to hurt you or anyone.”
“Whatever.” She laughs, a bitter, harsh sound and looked back at the book. “Eaque militia vincere uti inimicos meos.”
Lightning crackles overhead. Nora snarls, shifting into a golden wolf. She lunges for Amelia.
But my old friend holds up a hand. “Lupus frigore.”
Nora smacks into a wall of ice and falls, unconscious.
“Bitch,” Melanie screams, dashing forward. An eerie green glow eliminates her hands.
“Positis humi mortuis.” Amelia smirks.
The ground opens up and swallows Melanie.
“No!” I run at Amelia. Rage burning through my veins.
Then something smacks into my chest like a sledgehammer and I’m thrown backward. It hurts to breathe. Ben leans over me, concern etched on his features.
“H-how is she this powerful?” I wheeze out.
“She’s using the collapsed leyline residual magic and the power of the book,” he answers.
I lay looking up at the storm clouds. How am I going to get the book away from her? It’s impossible. Any of us gets close and she counters.
“Facere patitur eas solvendas,” Amelia’s voice echoes through the night.
Pain blasts through me and I hear the others scream before my own drowns theirs out.