For once, it wasn’t raining. The weather was perfect for a night that was anything but. The potion was ready. The incantation memorized. All we needed now was Venus and a little luck. Make that a lot of luck. Something we hadn’t had much of so far. I’d never pictured the senior class bonfire quite like this. Sixty or seventy bodies filled the clearing, surrounding the raging fire in the center. And not far from it, in an abandoned hunter’s cabin was where our luck would finally change.
To keep things as normal as possible, we’d decided Abby would perform the spell, and Adrius would slip the potion into her drink. My job, to play the depressed ex-girlfriend role convincingly.
Our public arguments over Venus had been vocal and loud. I couldn’t shake the sick feeling I had after we’d planted the seed of our breakup. It didn’t feel fake. It felt real. And that scared me as much as what Venus could do. In that moment, it was as if she'd already won. I dropped onto the log, but Brianne tugged my arm and dragged me next to the fire. She marched me in front of everyone.
“Hey, senior class,” she shouted.
Voices dropped as they turned their attention to us.
“The amazing Lorelei is going to sing something for us.”
“Uh, no. She’s not,” I said, backing up.
Bri held on to my arm. “Oh come on. This is our last shot to make this night memorable.” Everyone started to chant my name.
I shook my head, but the chanting caught on and grew louder.
Venus rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” I grumbled. I gave Brianne a scathing glare as she retreated to the circle that had formed around me.
I started to sing, not really deciding which song I’d perform. It turned out to be “My Immortal” by Evanescence. So fitting. The dark and mournful melody filled the forest. With each word my chest tightened, and I fought to keep the quiver from my voice. Tears stung the corners of my eyes.
I sang the last note. It rang out, echoing through the trees, even as my voice broke.
There was a lull of silence, then cheers and clapping, whistles and hollering.
I walked off swiping away the errant tears. Adrius watched me with his studious gaze. Something in his look echoed what I was feeling. Although this was no more than the performance of a lifetime, it felt like an ominous foreshadowing of what might come.
Venus was watching too. Her emerald eyes followed me everywhere.
I’d spent most of the night on a log next to the beer keg, wallowing in self-pity. Abby had given Adrius the potion, and now all we could do was wait.
I hated this plan.
Brianne sat down next to me and handed me a cup. I sniffed it and made a face. Not a big fan of beer.
She crossed her arms. “So that’s it? You’re just giving up?”
“What are you talking about?” I bristled.
“Don't you see, Lorelei? You're playing right into her hands. You need to give up Adrius now. She's got years of history, intimate history, that you will never have with him. Plus, she’s gorgeous. And she's powerful. It’s a losing battle, and unless you fight back you're going to be the one alone. Either give up before she destroys you, or fight back before it’s too late. But this,” she gestured toward me, “isn't solving anything.”
I wanted to hug her and punch her at the same time. Instead I said, “Thanks.”
“Fight fire with fire. You have access to all of this crazy power too. Use it. If she can, you can. What's stopping you?”
I took another sip and swallowed with a grimace. What was stopping me? Fear that if I unleashed the powers inside of me I'd become what she was. A monster. Wreaking havoc and terror at every turn. Lusting for power and inflicting pain. It wasn't who I was. But I did have power. And maybe, there was a way to have both. Stay true to myself, and fight back. Through the bonfire blaze, I watched Venus pop a toasted marshmallow into Adrius' mouth, then chase it with a kiss. I shuddered. Bri was right. I couldn't sit here and do nothing. I'd turned to everyone else to solve my problem, except the one person who could. Me.
The empty hunter’s cabin in the woods would serve as our headquarters. Earlier in the day Abby had delivered all the necessary ingredients, some of which I’d taken from Gran’s poison garden. She’d been there since the party started. And now, seeing her wandering around the party, sipping on a drink, I knew it meant everything was in place. The spell Abby had concocted had been cast. Adrius gave Venus the drink, wrapped his arm around her waist.
I frowned.
He whispered something against her ear, and she laughed. Then they set off into the woods for the cabin.
I took another sip of my drink.
All there was left to do was wait. It wouldn’t take long for the spell to take hold. But the suspense was killing me. I grabbed Abby. “Come on. I need to know what’s happening.”
We stood outside the small shack, crouched behind an old pickup truck. Vines grew through the broken windows, choking the rusted frame. I watched them warily, to make sure they weren’t moving.
“They’re still in there.” Abby pointed to a broken window of the cabin.
Part of me was relieved they were still inside. It meant Adrius hadn't decided to cross the veil and deal with Venus on his own. She was dangerous. I wanted Zanthiel there with him for backup, just in case he wasn’t able to do what needed to be done. And of course, I wanted them to take me with them.
I could see the beginning of light, swirling like glimmering particles of dust. Between Abby’s grimoire and Gran’s dark spells, we might have something that could stop Venus. Or at least slow her down. If the spell suppressed her magic, the way it was supposed to, then Adrius would be free from her enchanted bonds long enough to return her to Mythlandria. And if he wasn’t able to get rid of her permanently, Zanthiel would. I shuddered. Adrius would have her locked in the Shaqua band, and imprisoned in the dungeon for eternity. Zanthiel, however, would be far less lenient. The particles of magic blended seamlessly into the dust floating in from the fraction of light streaming in-between the broken boards of the otherwise sealed window.
“This is taking too long,” I whispered and stepped out from behind the pickup truck. “I need to speed things up.” I didn’t want her in Adrius’ arms a second longer.
“Don’t do it. Anything that accelerates also weakens,” Abby said.
The door swung open and Venus stepped out. Her green eyes locked on me and narrowed. “Spying on us?”
Adrius came out of the shed and looked at me, his expression unreadable.
A wave of jealous anger took over. I focused on the trails of magic reaching for Venus and spoke to them. “Vindicai,” I whispered.
Swirls of liquid sunlight encircled her.
Venus screamed as the blinding blur of light closed in tighter, trapping her in place.
We had her. It worked. She was contained within the circle of light along with her magic.
Venus snarled at us, but her powers were useless.
Abby and I exchanged a look of relief and I nodded, giving her the signal to call for Zanthiel.
We finally had her and she was going back where she came from. Powerless and defeated. This ended tonight. My whole body warmed at the thought. Then I remembered the Book of Shadows. “Adrius. The grimoire. I left it at the bonfire.”
He hesitated, glancing from me to me. “Are you sure I should leave you?”
I followed his gaze back to Venus, still bound by threads of light. “We’re good. As long as nothing breaks the circle she’s trapped. And we can’t go back to Mythlandria without it. Hawthrin will need it if he’s going figure out who enacted Gran’s spell on the veil.”
Adrius took off in blur, heading back to the bonfire.
Branches snapped and cracked. I turned to see Davin stumble from the trees. He surveyed the scene and wrongly interpreted it. “Oh man. Venus.”
It only took me a second to figure out what he was going to do.
“Davin, no!” I ran toward him.
I was too late. He lunged at Venus, crossing into the seal, breaking the circle of light. And the spell holding her.
She raised her hand, her eyes narrow and cold. A ripple of heat slammed into Davin. He flew backwards landing hard on the bed of the truck.
With deadly precision, her gaze shifted to the billowing smoke. “Fire burn.” She waved her hand and the flames from the bonfire leapt high above the trees. People screamed. The flames darted and danced at first, then became a claw, reaching for its victims. One by one the fiery hand grabbed a body, and pulled them screaming into its inferno.
I stared in wide-eyed horror as innocent people burned, their cries filling the night.
“Venus, stop this,” I hollered. The force that swelled inside me blew past her, straight to the blaze. Ice rained down over the flames. A symphony of sizzling sparks rocketed into the night before the fire went out. A mushroom cloud of billowing grey smoke reached toward the stars.
I doubled over, the exertion of the blast left me off balance. As quickly as the bonfire had been controlled, several more fires sprang to life. They burned uncontrollably, creating a fiery divider between us and them.
Bewildered, I looked around. Davin was nowhere to be found. Neither was Venus.
The engine of the pickup truck revved to life. The taillights flashed a sickly glow. It reversed, gathering speed, until it spun around and slammed into the side of a tree.
Twisted metal wrapped around the trunk. Flames sprang up around me but through the fire I saw Davin’s body slumped over the steering wheel.
“Davin.” I raced toward it, yanked open the door and then dragged him out by the collar of his letterman jacket. I pressed my ear to his chest listening for a pulse, careful not to touch his chest. His heartbeat was faint, erratic. Mine pounded fast enough for two people. Frantic, I searched for my cell. Dead battery. Crap.
Venus appeared in the haze of black smoke, surveyed the wreck with a small smile. When she saw I’d rescued Davin, she grimaced. Without a word, a spark of fire ignited on the tip of her finger, and with a wave of her hand she flicked it into the pooling liquid beneath the truck. It ignited with a royal blue flash, spreading flames that engulfed the remains of the vehicle in a fraction of time.
We were several feet from the wreckage, closer to the road at the edge of the forest. But not far enough if it exploded. Which it would. I dragged him further, his limp body like cement as I tugged him through the tall grass. His collar slipped from my hands, and I fell backwards as his head hit the ground with a thud. Scrambling back I grabbed hold again. Just a few more feet.
I stole a glance over my shoulder just as the truck exploded in a towering inferno.