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Zoe helped Nick onto the sofa after they had transported back through the ley lines. “Why did you ask me to leave?” she grumbled.
She’d been so excited about finally taking the lead on the case, but just when she’d thought he’d taken her seriously, both as a guardian and a partner, he’d barged in to rescue her when she’d had things under control.
Nick slumped against the sofa, still looking pale. “Because Devlin isn’t like any of the other things you’ve faced so far. You’re lucky your curse protected you, that was a huge gamble.”
Despite what had happened she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “I got his attention though, didn’t I?” She sipped at a cup of tea.
“You were hard not to notice up there, flashing magic around,” he complained. “When I said get his attention, I didn’t mean for you to use magic in front of him and the entire club.”
Killjoy. Come on, why don’t you just admit you noticed me? I was dancing for you up there, not Devlin, she thought.
“You told me to get his attention and I did. The people there won’t know I’m a guardian, and there was no exposure risk because all the people in there were magical anyway.” She sat beside him, touching his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. You saved me before he took too much life force.”
“See, we do make a good team,” she said. “Why did you run in though? I had him, I could have handled him.”
Nick sighed. “Maybe.” He shook his head. “It’s my job to keep you safe.”
Zoe scowled. “Is that all I am to you? Someone you need to protect?” She couldn’t deny she liked having him around, liked sleeping next to him. Maybe even liked him as more than just a friend.
“Of course not. You know that,” Nick said, squeezing her hand.
“Good, then you need to trust me take care of myself on cases,” she said. “Why can’t we just banish Devlin?” She sipped more of her tea as she waited for an answer.
“He’s too powerful, he’d only find his way back into this world again.”
She paused. “What do you think he meant by the darkness in me? Am I dark fey?”
“Everyone has darkness in them. It doesn’t make you evil or bad,” he said. “We’ll keep an eye on him, but he’s not the one we’re looking for.”
“Are you gonna teach me mind-reading?” She gave him a hopeful look. She’d been wanting to learn for weeks now, but he refused.
Nick laughed. “Soon. You’re getting through your training fast—soon you won’t need me anymore.”
“I’ll always need you,” she blurted without meaning to. “I-I mean with all the freakish stuff that happens around me, who else is gonna be there to back me up?” She rose quickly. “I’m going to Sabine’s. Night.”
“I’ll sleep in the spare room tonight. Call me if you need me.”
She headed to the stairs.
“You look beautiful. Every bloke in the club noticed,” he called after her.
Yeah, but you’re the only one I wanted to notice, she thought. She smiled and headed upstairs to get changed.
Still buzzing, she arrived at Sabine’s for their next session. Despite the late hour, Sabine still looked like her usual impeccable self.
How does she manage to look so perfect? Zoe wondered.
“You look nice,” the witch remarked, noting the gold make-up that Zoe had forgotten to wipe off.
“Nick and I were working.” She ran a hand through her still curly hair.
Sabine gave a knowing smile. “Looking like that, I’m surprised you and Nick didn’t give into your feelings for each other.”
“We’re just friends,” Zoe insisted. “It’s not like that.”
It can’t be like that. Not right now. I need to focus on this.
“Indeed.” Sabine settled on her cushion, candles flaring to life as she did so. “Ready to begin?”
Zoe forced all thoughts of Nick and the excitement of the night out of her mind as she sat. She told Sabine about the song she kept hearing. “It’s weird chiming music. It keeps playing in my head, so maybe it means something.”
“Let’s begin, we’ll see.”
“Do I have darkness in me?” she blurted out.
Sabine frowned. “Everyone is made of light and dark, even guardians.”
“Yeah, but an emo told me I have great darkness in me. Is it the curse...or is it me?” She fingered her pendant. She’d always feared there was something dark inside of her, something bad, and the curse that seemed to confirm it.
“Not everything is as black-and-white as humans think,” Sabine replied. “It’s the choices you make as a person that make you who you are, not what’s inside you. Besides I’d never trust the word of an emo. They are parasites, you’re much more special than that.”
Zoe snorted. She didn’t feel special, nor did she want to be that way. “Let’s get started.”
She squeezed her eyes shut as Sabine chanted the words of invocation and began the spell.
Zoe felt a jolt as the magic dragged her into its grasp. Instead of the purple room, she found herself standing in a long hallway with dark mahogany walls—somewhere she didn’t recall seeing before.
Where are you? Sabine asked.
Somewhere different.
Good, keep moving forward.
Zoe reached out, trying to steady herself, and the walls flashed.
Right, not real walls. She took a step, then another, surprised no pain followed.
The walls flickered as she walked further down the hall, the chiming began again, echoing down the corridor as if beckoning her.
Zoe ran, trying to find the source of it. The hallway ended in nothing, just a black void. Taking a deep breath, she stepped into it, and gasped.
Noise wailed through her ears. Voices echoed, and colours seemed brighter, so sharp they blinded her. Zoe doubled over, clutching her head as she opened her eyes. “Oh god!”
Sabine raised her hand, ready to end the spell.
“No, I’m okay. I’m going back in.” She squeezed her eyes shut again, and the spell pulled her back under.
Bears growled and wolves howled as she saw a flash of coloured wings.
Zoe blinked as her body adjusted to the sights and sounds, and the howls faded. She stood in a much larger room. The walls seemed to be covered in pure gold, and a chandelier glittered like diamonds overhead. This place felt almost familiar, like the purple room, yet she got the feeling she shouldn’t be here.
Where are you? Sabine asked again.
This time Zoe ignored her. Places and fragments weren’t true memories. She wanted, no, needed something tangible. A clue, anything to find out who she was, who she had been.
She raced through the room, marvelling at the glittering chandelier as it cast dancing light over the floor.
Laughter echoed, along with the sound of running footsteps. The little girl appeared again, waving to her.
“Who are you?” Zoe asked.
The girl beckoned, then vanished in a blur of flight.
Damn it!
Zoe tried running after her, but the girl had disappeared. “Come back,” she called. “Please!”
She sighed, moving around the length of the room. Nothing. But she wouldn’t give up so easily. This is my mind, my memory. Zoe stormed out of the room back into the hallway then heard a hiss behind her. Turning, she saw a blur of colour that looked like wings spiral around the room. When she moved closer to it the colours became brighter, almost taking the shape of someone twirling around the room. But who?
When she reached out, the colours and music faded.
Zoe opened her eyes to find Sabine watching her.
“You’ve been under almost an hour. I tried to bring you out, but something blocked me,” the witch said. “I warned you how dangerous staying in there so long could be.”
Zoe felt a wave of nausea, her stomach recoiling as she threw up in a bowl Sabine had left out beside her. “Sorry,” she muttered, wiping her mouth. “I just—I needed to see more.” She grabbed the mug Sabine had already prepared and gulped down the brew. It burned her throat, but she knew it would help with the spell’s after-effects.
“What did you see?” Sabine sat down beside her and touched her shoulder.
Zoe shook her head, wincing from the pain it caused. “A different room—pretty. Gold walls, a chandelier that could take up my entire living room.”
“Sounds like your memories are slowly awakening,” Sabine said. “This is good, but you can’t force it.”
She reached out and grabbed Sabine’s hands. “Can’t you break my curse? I feel like I’m chipping away at the wall, but I’m not breaking through it, not really.”
Sabine shook her head. “I can’t do that. I won’t. You don’t know how dangerous it could be,” she said. “You could risk triggering it again. No, I need to know much more before we dare do that.” She extinguished the candles with a wave of her hand. “Go home and get some rest. We’ll try again in a few days.
She frowned at the witch. “From what I’ve learnt about you so far, you could undo this curse. Why can't you just use a spell? I don’t care about the risks. I just want to know who I am and why someone cursed me. My foster mum got hurt because of me, and I need to know why. The risks aren’t important.”
Sabine sighed. “There might be one way. I do know of a spell that is said to undo any magic, but it would take some research and time before I could actually cast it,” she explained. “But as I said, the risks are unfathomable...”
“Good, get researching.” Zoe got unsteadily to her feet, wishing she’d driven there. Blurring didn’t seem like an option right now.
Sabine hesitated. “If the Circle finds out, I could be in big trouble.”
Zoe arched an eyebrow. “I get the feeling you don’t give a damn what the Circle thinks.” She frowned. “Nick thinks you can’t be trusted, I think you can. Prove me right and help me.”
“Give me a few days and I’ll see what I can find out, but I still think you should wait.”
“I don’t have time to waste. Something is stalking me and hurting other people. I need to find out what it is and how to stop it before anyone else gets hurt.”
Sabine muttered something, making orbs of light sparkle around Zoe.
Zoe gasped as she reappeared in her living room. Nick lay slumped on the sofa, asleep. She stumbled over to him, knowing she’d never make it upstairs. Settling down beside him, she kicked off her shoes before pulling a blanket over them both as she rested her head against his shoulder and letting sleep drag her in.
Zoe blinked, finding herself back in the gold room again, the chandelier glittering like a beacon above her. Orbs of light danced over the floor, blurring into colour.
Someone grabbed her arm. She saw a woman’s figure, with a blur of grey where her face should be.
Zoe asked. “Who the hell are you?” She’d never seen anyone aside from the girl in her dream before. What had changed?
“Zo...” The voice sounded far away. “Zo...”
She tried to pull her away, but the grip tightened like a vice. She screamed. “Let go of me!”
“Zo...remember...” the voice called.
She had to run, had to get away from whatever, or whoever, the strange woman was.
Light flared in her hands, and she broke away, stumbling onto the floor. Her heart pounded in her ears as everything inside her screamed at her to go.
The woman ran after her. “Zo...”
Go away! You can’t hurt me here! Her athame appeared in her hand, and she sliced the blade across her palm, drawing runes on the floor around her to keep her safe from whatever hunted her.
