Chapter Twenty-Four

“Okay.”

Bile rose in the back of her throat. What had she done? Finn stared at the deck, silent and unmoving. At best, he was probably figuring out the best way to drag her off to the looney bin. At worst, well, at worst he believed her and would want to confront Sebastian. He’d get himself killed.

“Okay, what?”

“When I was twelve, my Dad had died a few weeks before, and I had too many emotions I didn’t know how to deal with. I fell in with this group of kids that…well to put it mildly they were a bunch of troublemakers. One day, we’d ditched school and were causing as much mischief as we could get into, graffiti, some vandalism. You get the idea. Anyway, there was this dog in the neighborhood everyone knew to steer clear of. A real nasty bit of work, and so was its owner. We were walking down the sidewalk past the yard that was surrounded by chain link fence. The dog stood in the middle of the grass watching us. One of the guys yanked my hat off my head and tossed it into the yard with the dog.”

His gaze slowly rose to meet hers. “My Dad had given me that hat.”

Tears pooled in her eyes.

“So, I climbed over the fence. I remember the silence, like everyone and everything was holding its breath. The harsh pounding of my heart echoed in my ears as I inched my way toward my hat, while keeping my gaze firmly fixed on the dog. It didn’t move, just watched me. I reached my hat, and slowly bent to grab it. That’s when it lunged for me.”

Gasping, she clasped a hand over her mouth.

“I turned to run with my hat clutched to my chest, but it snagged the back of my ankle, and I crashed to the ground. I yelled out in pain, and out of the corner of my eye saw the guys scatter. They weren’t sticking around for the aftermath. They must have thought for sure, I was a goner.”

“I heard a low murmuring, and the dog released my ankle. I flipped over and started scrambling backward. The pain shooting up my leg made me cry out. A young woman stood inside the yard. I’d never seen her before. She was staring at the dog and whispering something—no idea what. It wasn’t a language I had ever heard. The dog was whining, staring at her. It slowly lowered to its haunches and dropped its head down on its paws. The damnedest thing it was, the dog just fell asleep. I was frozen. The woman ran over to me yanked up the torn leg of my jeans to examine my ankle. She wrapped some cloth around it and asked me if I lived nearby.

“When I nodded, she helped me to stand and asked if I could walk. I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t going to say no. The dog started whimpering, and she told me to go. I did. She held out her hand toward the dog and started whispering in that language again. I didn’t stop until I was on the other side of the fence. I looked back, and the dog was quiet again. She was gone. Nowhere to be seen. I hobbled home and cleaned up my leg. I never told a soul that story.”

A chill danced over Cory’s arms, and she rubbed it away.

Finn walked toward her and stopped. “So, what I’m saying is I believe you. I think there’s plenty of unexplained things in this world. I’m not saying I understand it, or what it means, but I’d like to try.”

She closed her eyes. Tears slid down her cheeks. “My life is a mess.”

Warmth encompassed her, as he wrapped his arms around her. She dropped her head to his chest.

“Tell me.”

She told him everything—from discovering her powers to finding out about Sebastian and his father’s dark plans.

His arms rubbed her back through the entire explanation, tightening briefly at the mention of Sebastian and his father.

“Anything else?”

She wiped her cheeks and snorted softly. “Isn’t that enough?”

“I mean is that everything? You’re not holding anything back?”

She showed him the tree symbol on the back of her neck that he had thought was a tattoo. He placed a swift kiss upon it. “Nothing more?”

“No, that’s everything.”

“You said Melanie was helping you? She find anything out about his family?”

Cory shook her head. “No, not yet. I’m worried she’ll draw attention to herself and get hurt. And now I have to worry about you too. Please, promise you’ll stay away from this. Stay away from Sebastian.”

Finn stared down at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me. There’s no way in hell I’m ever leaving you alone with that guy again. I don’t trust him a bit. I’m going with you to these so-called training sessions.”

Cory’s mouth dropped open and then snapped closed. “Absolutely not! Didn’t you hear what I said? He can knock you out with a thought. Most likely kill you with one too.” She wrenched herself out of his arms and started pacing across the porch. “I should never have told you about this.”

Finn grabbed a hold of her arms and drew her close. “Stop. Yes, you should have, and I’m glad you did. I wasn’t about to drop it or let it go. I wasn’t letting you go. I don’t know what this is between us, but I’m not ready to walk away. We’ll deal with all this witch stuff together. You, me, and Melanie, three heads are better than one, right?”

Cory rested her cheek against his shoulder. She didn’t know whether to be relieved, or terrified.

“First things first though, I’m going to get the key for Addy’s house. I’ll be right back, and then you and I will discuss this some more and come up with a plan, okay?”

He waited for her agreement before jogging over to his house. She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. He was right, she needed a better plan. She couldn’t take back her words or actions, he already knew, so she needed to concentrate on the coming weeks and move forward.

Finn was back in a moment and unlocking the back door. He held the door open for her and she walked past him into the kitchen.

“How about I get us something to drink and we sit down and hash this out?”

“All right but let me run upstairs and check my phone. I should see if Mel or Aunt Addy called while I was over at your house. My aunt should be home any minute, and she knows nothing about this. I insist on keeping it that way.”

“Agreed. Grab your shoes and we can head back to my house.”

Cory jogged up the stairs and checked her phone. Melanie had called. She played the short voicemail, “Call me as soon as you get this.”

Pressing call back, she started to walk back downstairs, but the headlights of her aunt’s car beamed as she entered the driveway. Cory stepped back in her room and closed the door as Mel answered.

“Hey Mel.”

“What’s wrong?”

Cory sighed. “You know me too well. First tell me why you wanted me to call.”

“Okay, but only because I’ve been dying to tell you. You will tell me after, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I found Sebastian’s family. His father’s name is Edward Marks. Here’s the sketchy thing, no birth certificate, no social security number, no trace of his identity anywhere. I found him by tracing Sebastian. There was an obscure mention of Sebastian attending a charity fundraiser along with other members of the Marks family including his father and sister. His sister’s name is Miranda. He has a brother too, Miles. I discovered a foundation the Marks family runs, but every time I try to uncover more information I hit more walls. Not surprisingly, they’re very secretive. I did find proof of an Edward Marks in England during the seventeenth century. I’m not one hundred percent positive it’s the same one, but I’m waiting on more reference material which should tell me either way. It does corroborate Sebastian’s story if it is indeed him.”

“I wonder if the sister is the one Sebastian is protecting.”

“Yeah, if he was telling the truth, and not giving you a line of bullshit to make him sound more human and capable of caring for anyone beyond himself.”

“Good point.”

“So what has you sounding so glum?”

The soft murmur of Finn’s and her aunt’s voices in the kitchen drifted up the stairs. She rested her forehead against the closed bedroom door. “I told Finn everything.”

Silence stretched across the phone.

“Good.”

“Good? How can that be good, Mel?”

“Because you’re not alone up there. I’ve been trying to decide where I do the most good helping you. I’ve been torn between rushing up there to be by your side and trying to do all the research from there or staying put here and having greater access to information. Knowing Finn will be there to help you…wait, he will be there to help you, right? The bastard didn’t turn tail and run, did he?”

A miniscule chuckle escaped her. “No, Mel, he didn’t run. He’s insisting on accompanying me for my sessions with Sebastian. He doesn’t want me alone with him.”

“Hallelujah! Good for him and you.”

“Is it really? And what if he gets hurt, or killed?”

“Stop taking the world on your shoulders, Cory. You probably couldn’t stop him from going anyway. People make their own choices and decisions. The important question is do you trust him with your secret and to be there for you?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation. She trusted him with her secrets and her life.

“Then let him have your back. Now, what can I do to help you?”

“Keep digging, carefully, into the Marks family. The more knowledge I have, the better. I’m going to step up the training schedule with Sebastian, and on my own. I’m not relying on him to teach me everything I need to know.”

“Excellent.”

“Be safe, Mel.”

“You too, Cory.”

Cory disconnected the call. She slipped her phone into her pocket and opened the door. Straightening her spine, she headed down the stairs.

She had a name to focus her rage on. If Edward Marks came for her, he was in for a battle.

A surge of energy erupted through her veins. She grasped the railing as it spread to her fingertips and toes.

The power was there, waiting. She would learn to harness and use it. God help anyone who harmed those she loved.