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Nick paced the length of the lounge, wondering what he’d done to piss off Zoe. Hell, she wasn’t a fully trained guardian yet, and the person who’d killed psychics and put Carmel in a coma still posed a threat her. Couldn’t he worry about her? He ran a hand through his hair. Argh, why did women have to be so bloody irritating?
Fucking Sabine. Why couldn’t the bitch stay out of it? Given how deep Zoe’s curse was, he doubted even Sabine would be able to unravel it until they found more clues to Zoe’s missing past and who had actually cast the curse on her.
He knew she’d been sneaking off to Sabine’s at least twice a week—more than the one session a week that she actually told him about—and it had taken its toll on her, given how pale her skin looked and the dark circles under her eyes. He hated seeing her suffer so much.
Messing with curses was too dangerous. Zoe would get herself killed if she carried on like this. He tried forbidding her from going, but that hadn’t done any good. He’d even tried talking to Sabine to persuade her not to do any more sessions with Zoe, but the witch had refused. She wanted to find out about the curse and who would have had that kind of power to create such a spell. Sabine may have said she wanted to help Zoe, but Nick knew her better than that. Her lust for power knew no bounds. She’d find a way to get that power or try to ally herself with the person who possessed it.
Nick wanted Zoe to get her memories back as much as she did, but not at the expense of weakening herself. His orders still required him to stay with her. He couldn’t walk out even if he wanted to. He nudged a loose, scuffed floorboard with this foot. Zoe’s house needed a lot of work. It barely even had any walls and beams jutted out from ceilings, but she loved the place, and was determined to turn it into a real home.
Nick settled on the sofa, turned on his laptop, and started scanning through the files he’d managed to dig up from the time she’d been found. One of the only clues he had to go on was the fact that someone had left a lot of money to Zoe to ensure she’d be taken care of. People didn’t randomly leave millions in secret bank accounts for foster kids. He hoped it might shed some light on their mysterious killer, or at least what connection it seemed to have to her. Despite weeks of searching, he hadn’t been able to find a trace of where the money had come from, or whom.
Someone must’ve cared to leave her that much money—someone knew her. He began one of his usual searches, then started going back through the history of the bank account. It had gained a lot of interest over the past fifteen years. Zoe could have lived comfortably off of it and never had to work, but she insisted on making own money.
Though Zoe hadn’t touched the account, others had tried during her time in foster care, but hadn’t been able to access it either.
As he scrolled through the pages, he glanced up at the ceiling. He hadn’t heard her come out of the bathroom yet.
Setting down his laptop, Nick headed upstairs and tapped on the bathroom door.
“Zoe?” he called and paused. “Listen, I’m sorry about earlier. Are you okay?” He waited, but no response came. “Zoe?” He knocked again.
Maybe she just didn’t want to talk to him. He turned to go, but a chill ran over his senses, warning of danger.
The walls around him shook as a loud explosion went off.
Nick threw his weight against the door until it burst open, almost falling off its hinges as he stumbled into the bathroom.
Zoe knelt on the bathroom floor naked while coughing up water.
“Shit! What happened?” Nick knelt beside her. “Are you alright?”
“Something...pulled...me...under.” She coughed, and covered her chest with her arms, shivering.
Nick grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. “What was it?”
She shook her head. “No idea, some kind of shadow thing.” She coughed again, pulling the towel around her body. “It’s gone. That entity is back again. I could sense it.”
Nick scanned the room. Other than a large hole in the wall and water covering the floor, there was no sign of any intruders.
“Go downstairs, I’ll get dressed and meet you down there.” Zoe brushed her soaking wet hair off her face.
Nick hesitated, not wanting to leave her alone. “Okay.” He nodded.
Zoe appeared in front of him a few minutes later, clad in flannel pyjamas.
“Hey, are you okay?” He touched her shoulder. He wanted to hug her but didn’t, unsure of how she’d react. “What happened in there?”
She shrugged. “I guess. I don’t know what happened. I must’ve fallen asleep, and when I woke up something was hovering over me.” She slumped onto the sofa. “Sorry for snapping at you. I... I saw Sabine again.”
“I know. You’re not very good at hiding stuff from me.” Nick leant back against the armchair. “Right, tell me what happened while you were in the bath. What did the thing look like?”
She shuddered. “A large black shadow, almost like a human figure. I can’t tell you whether it was male or female though.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “How did it even get in? I thought you warded the entire house?”
“I did, but wards don’t keep everything out. Whatever the thing that’s coming after you is, it’s powerful.”
“Do you think it’s some kind of spirit?” Zoe asked. “I mean, it did possess Carmel, and it came through when we cast that spell to summon one.”
Nick shook his head. “Spirits don’t usually have that kind of energy, or the ability to physically harm others. Not unless they were very powerful in life.”
She ran her fingers through her still-wet hair. “Why does it keep coming after me? I’m nothing special. Doesn’t it sense the curse inside me?”
“I don’t know, none of this makes sense.” Nick sat down beside her. “I don’t know why you felt the need to hide your visits to Sabine from me, either.”
“Maybe because you hate Sabine.” She raised her chin in defiance.
Nick’s jaw clenched. True, he hated even thinking about the witch, but he couldn’t deny she had power. The kind of power that could help Zoe.
“Messing with curses is dangerous. I get why you want your memories back, but it’s not worth hurting yourself in the process.”
“Do you?” Zoe arched an eyebrow. “You’d seem to prefer to forget the past altogether.”
Nick couldn’t argue. The past—his past—would never be worth reliving. He blocked all of that out. All that mattered was the here and now, and right now, Zoe was the most important thing in his life.
Nick shook his head, both in denial and to shake off that thought. “Yeah, but what I believe doesn’t matter. I know how important it is to you. And like I promised, we’ll figure it out.” He paused. “I’m not used to worrying about anyone else.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I noticed.”
“And I know you’re not happy about us being stuck together, but...”
“I don’t mind. Having you around isn’t so bad,” she said. “Sorry about skipping training, I know that’s important too.”
“Weird. I don’t know of any fey like what you described, or even who’d try to drown you,” Nick mused.
“I don’t think it was trying to drown me, it felt like it was trying to say something. I think if it really wanted to drown me, it would have tried a lot harder.”
“Maybe we should go and stay at the castle. You could have your own room there, and it would be a lot safer.” Nick wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “The entire castle is surrounded by very strong protective magic.”
Zoe shook her head. “This is my home.” She touched her nose, grimacing as her fingers came away bloody. “Ah crap, not again!” She grabbed a towel and covered her face.
Nick’s eyes flashed. “See, this is why you should leave that curse alone.” He sat beside her.
“We deal with magic every day.”
“Yeah, but our magic is different. Curses aren’t part of being a guardian.” Nick grabbed his laptop again.
Once the bleeding had stopped, Zoe rested her head against the back of the sofa. “I remembered something – I saw a girl. Brown hair, dark brown eyes – darker than my hair. I felt like I knew her.”
“Hey, that’s great.” Nick wrapped an arm around her then pulled it back, feeling awkward. He’d never been awkward around women before—not until he met her. Aside from Silver, Zoe was the only woman he’d become friends with.
“What are you doing?” She motioned to the laptop and yawned.
“Searching for leads. I wanted to check and see if I missed anything.”
“On the suicides?” Her eyes fluttered.
“No, about you.” When he turned to look at her, her eyes had closed. She’d already fallen asleep. Nick turned his attention back to the screen, scanning through the reports as Zoe’s head slumped onto his shoulder, her breathing slow and even.
Nick didn’t try to move her. It felt good having her close. Maybe Silver had been right about them having feelings for each other, but he didn’t want to consider that possibility. He couldn’t afford to get emotionally involved right now.
More scans revealed no trace or any movement on the account, and digital records only went back so far. He’d have to dig deeper at the bank itself. He closed his laptop.
Zoe still lay slumped against him, sleeping deeply.
Turning, he wrapped his arms around her, picked her up and carried her upstairs. Putting her into bed, he turned the lights off. He hated the lumpy mattress in the spare room, but he’d be closer to her there than sleeping downstairs on the sofa. He pulled the cover over her, brushing her hair off her face, and felt a pang of guilt. How can I ever tell her about my past?
As he turned to leave, Zoe murmured, “Stay.”
He frowned. Sleeping next to her had felt nicer than he would have imagined, but he didn’t want to make habit of it. “Get some sleep.”
“I don’t want to be alone. Please stay.”
Nick sighed and laid down next to her.
He was up before her the next morning to do some more digging but found nothing. He didn’t want to get Zoe’s hopes up until he found something solid, but he would find it. He’d always been good at finding the truth.
Zoe came down already dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt. “So, sensei, what’s on the training agenda this morning?”
“We’re heading out to Mersea Island. How are you feeling?”
“Okay, I guess.” She poured coffee and bit her lip. “You slept next to me again last night.”
“Yeah, you asked me to.” He scanned her face, wondering if she would look as embarrassed as she had the day before.
Her cheeks flushed as she looked away. “It won’t happen again.”
Nick shrugged. “I don’t mind, at least I can keep an eye on you.” He flinched. Why had he said that? “I mean...”
“Right.” Zoe smiled. “I just don’t want more people to get the wrong idea about us. People already think we’re—you know—involved.”
Nick snorted. “You’re not my type, princess.”
“Good, just so we’re clear. Anything romantic between us would be weird. I mean, you’re my best friend now.”
Nick smiled, but the statement bothered him. Right. Friend.
The cold air bit into them as they reappeared on the far side of Mersea Island. Home to only a couple thousand people, it had a natural causeway running across it, and a small sandy beach.
“Okay, today we can focus on ley lines. You need to be able to open them by yourself.”
“I already can,” she pointed out. “I opened some last night to get home.”
“Yeah, but not well. Fey can use ley lines as easily as breathing—even when they are weak.”
Zoe sighed and closed her eyes.
Nick felt the line hum beneath his feet but didn’t touch it. “Feel it?”
Her brow creased. “Oh yeah. Headache coming on again.”
“Raise your mental shield. Remember, it will protect you from the line’s strength. Soon it’ll become so easy that you’ll do it without even realising it,” he said. “I had to learn this stuff too, you know.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t have a freaky curse woven into your DNA to make it harder.” She raised her hand. Light flared across the sand, then fizzled out. “Guess I really overdid it.” She pushed her hair back.
“You’re overthinking it.” Nick slipped an arm around her and grasped her outstretched arm. “Clear your mind. Feel the power of the lines flowing through you.”
The line of glowing energy flared again.
“You can do this,” he murmured in her ear. He breathed in her familiar vanilla scent mixed in with the salty air, loving the feel of her in his arms. This time, a bright glowing vein appeared, shooting out across the beach.
“I did it!” Zoe turned.
“Good, now hold it. The fey may use the lines, but we control them.”
More lines appeared, zigzagging across the island.
“Wow,” he breathed and laughed as Zoe hugged him. “I didn’t mean reveal the whole network.” He returned her hug and their eyes locked for a moment. “Good job.” He pulled away awkwardly. “Let’s get some more practice in.”
