Chapter Nineteen
“You be good for your gran, okay?” Grace knelt to give her kids a hug. Ida was taking them out for burgers and then to the local lodge where it was bingo night. She went once a month and had promised to take them the next time she went.
“We gonna win!” Theo declared.
“Well, I sure hope so. But you have to listen close so you don’t miss any numbers.”
“My ears are good, Mama.”
“And I’ll help him,” Sherri added.
“You’re such a good big sister.” Grace gave her daughter another hug. “Have fun. I’m going to want to hear all about it when you get home.”
“Will you be back by then?” Ida asked.
“Oh yes, yes.” Grace stood. “I’ll close up here before dinner and should be home by eight-thirty. We’re just going to the new little Italian place down the street.”
“Well, have fun, sugar, and we’ll see you then.”
“Thanks, Mama.” Grace gave Ida a hug.
“You bet.” Ida returned the embrace and then held out her hands to the children. “Okay, gang, let’s hit the road.”
“I’ll walk you out.” Grace fell in behind them.
Smiling and chattering, her family left. Grace helped fasten the kids into their seat belts, gave them more hugs and kisses, and watched as they drove away.
She returned to the store, humming to herself. For the first time in years, she felt there was hope for happiness. Grace checked the time on the old-fashioned clock mounted on the wall behind the counter.
The minute hand of the clock stopped just as she looked up and suddenly Grace was catapulted back in time.
She was sitting at the little table in front of the window, reading a book she had to a report on for school. There were no customers in the shop so it was quiet. So quiet that she could hear the tick of the old clock mounted on the wall.
When the ticking sound suddenly stopped, she looked up in surprise and noticed her father. He had his back to her and was stooped down a little with his hand inside a drawer on the back wall. As she watched, a section of the wall that was boxed in by a shelf opened.
Her father put an old leather-bound notebook into the space and then reclosed it. Grace quickly looked at her book, but couldn’t resist looking at him after a second. The expression on his face made her almost certain he knew she had watched.
Grace snapped back to the present with a jolt. Why would I have forgotten that? I know I would have looked the first chance I got, so why did I forget?
Just as Grace turned toward the back wall, intent on exploring, the bell on the front door jingled. She whirled back around to see Irene Dodd entering the shop.
“Hello, Mrs. Irene. I was just about to close up. Is there something I can help you with?” Grace walked around the counter as she talked.
“Why, yes, there sure is.” Irene held out her hand to Grace.
Grace had never been particularly fond of Irene but her mother had drilled respect for one’s elders into her since she was old enough to walk, so she thought nothing of taking Irene’s hand.
Pain shot up her arm and spread throughout her body almost instantly. White hot and paralyzing. Grace couldn’t even stay on her feet. Her legs collapsed, but Irene did not loosen her grip on Grace’s hand.
She leaned over close to Grace’s face, close enough that Grace could see that the entirety of Irene’s eyes were glossy black and her breath reeked of dead flesh, like an animal rotting in the heat.
Had she been able to do anything she would have drawn back, but the pain had her held solidly, allowing her only enough respite to comprehend what Irene said.
“You’re going to give me the cloaking spell.”
“I—don’t—have—it.” Grace could barely get the words out; the pain was so great.
“Oh, I think you do, and you will give it to me.”
Somebody help. Grace was officially terrified. She didn’t have the strength to break free. Or did she? Irene might be possessed, but she was old, her bones as well as her muscles weakened by age.
She forced herself to slump over, and it pulled Irene a bit off balance. When it did, the force Irene was exerting weakened just enough for Grace to jerk her arm.
Had it not pulled Irene even more off balance, Grace would not have broken free, but Irene stumbled, fell, and cried out in pain. Grace bolted to her feet and made tracks for the door.
She made it outside and ran smack into someone. A hand grabbed her and she looked up into a face she didn’t know. A man with completely black eyes. Grace screamed, kicked, and struggled as the man tried to open the screen door to force her back inside.
“No!” she screamed. “Help! Somebody help!”
Just as he got a hold on the door, a wolf leapt onto him. The man’s grip on Grace was severed, and he fell. The wolf positioned itself between the man and Grace, growling menacingly.
The man scrambled back on all fours, got to his feet, and fled. The wolf looked back at Grace and she held up both hands in front of her, palms out.
“Beau?”
A yip and wag of its tail told her what she needed to know. “The Umbra took over Irene. She’s in the shop. We need Ily.”
Beau yipped again and took off down the sidewalk. He stopped after a few feet and looked back at Grace.
“Oh! Oh, okay.” She followed him and he stopped at the corner of the building. In the alleyway was a pile of clothes.
Grace kept watch as Beau shifted back into human form. “Your mental link with her was strong enough to broadcast your fear. If you focus, you can communicate with her.”
“Are you linked with her now?”
“I am.” He shoved his bare feet into his shoes, snatched up his coat and tie and hurried to Grace. “She’s on her way, but she’s coming in dragon form so we need to create a distraction.”
Grace looked out of the alley, scanning the street. There were not many people around at this time of the day. It was that time when the day workers had already headed home and the restaurants were setting up for the dinner crowd.
An idea occurred to her. “Does your building have an alarm?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Can we set it off?”
Beau grinned and grabbed her hand. “The fire alarm will work better.”
Hand-in-hand, they ran down the block to his office building. With a swipe of his keycard, they were inside. Ten seconds after that he pulled the fire alarm. The din of the alarm had them both clamping their hands over their ears and running outside.
Beau headed back to the apothecary shop, but cut through the alley between buildings to approach from the rear. Sirens were already wailing from the fire department, competing with the sound of the alarm from the Legacy building.
Beau looked up, scanning the sky and Grace did the same. When she spotted something, her mouth fell open. “Holy fuck.”
It wasn’t often Grace dropped the F-bomb, but this was an extraordinary circumstance.
Ily descended ten feet from them, her knees bending so that she landed in a crouch. When she stood, Grace couldn’t do anything but stare in amazement.
She was incredible. Covered with iridescent scales of golds and reds and wings of the same colors, her hair fanned out away from her face like a dark halo and her eyes glowed red. She was frightening, exotic, and beautiful.
“Where is it?” Ily asked.
“Inside, front room.”
“Want us to come with?” Beau asked.
“I’ve got it.”
“Can I come?” Grace asked.
Ily turned her red-eyed gaze on Grace for a moment, then nodded. “Just stay behind me. And if I tell you to run, do it.”
“Okay.”
“If she goes, so do I,” Beau insisted.
“I expected that. Just promise to do what I say.”
“You know I will.”
“Then let’s do it.”
“Oh shoot, it’s lock−“ Grace never got the last syllable out of her mouth. One twist from Ily and the door lock broke.
There were still lights on in the back room when they crossed through it single file. Ily stepped through the doorway into the front room of the shop first. Grace hurried in behind her and came to such a sudden stop that Beau ran into her from behind.
Irene wasn’t alone. “How did they all get here?” she whispered to Beau who had stepped up beside her and put one arm around her shoulders.
Half a dozen men stood in a semicircle around Irene, who sat in a chair in the middle of the shop with her purse on her lap.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Irene said. “We’re not looking for a fight with you Scythe. We only want the spell.”
“She doesn’t have it,” Ily replied. “So, if you want to do this the easy way, then leave that woman’s body, take your friends, and go away.”
“Not without the spell,” Irene said.
“Well then, the hard way it will be.” Ily announced.
“Kill the Scythe.” Irene raised one hand and snapped her fingers.
“Yes, do try,” Ily taunted.
Beau pulled Grace back as two of the men rushed Ily. Grace had never seen anyone move as fast or deal a more deadly blow as Ily. She executed a spin, catching one man with her foot to send him literally sailing to and though the front window. The second man she grabbed by the throat, lifted him up, and threw him. He followed the same trajectory as his partner and collapsed on the sidewalk outside the shop.
By then two more men had rushed Ily. Irene cackled as the remaining two leapt into the fray. Grace screamed as the men ganged up on Ily, fists and feet flying as she fought back.
Beau was apparently not content to stay in the background because the next thing Grace knew, there was a giant gorilla in the room. It grabbed one of the men by the head and Grace heard bone crack.
Black smoke poured from it as the gorilla tossed it aside. Ily was trying to absorb the Umbra while still fighting.
“No! No, no, no!” Grace was terrified for Ily. She looked around wildly, and then something blossomed in her mind.
Without thinking, she turned and ran into the workshop. Grace didn’t know why, but she grabbed a big glass jar and started pouring ingredients into it. She snatched up a big bottle of oil and added some to the glass, then turned and looked around frantically.
What had she done with it? When she remembered, she ran to the refrigerator and yanked it open. Inside was a stoppered bottle containing Ily’s blood.
She grabbed it and carried it to the worktable, opened it and poured half of it into the jar.
It bubbled and smoked, but that didn’t stop her from snatching it up and running back to the front of the shop.
Two of the men were on the floor while one fought the gorilla and the other fought with Ily. Grace drew back her arm and hurled the jar. It hit the floor at Irene’s feet and literally exploded in a shower of glass and red glowing liquid.
Irene screamed like a banshee, as did her men. They all started swiping at their skin, trying to get the liquid off. One of them nearly plowed into Grace and would have knocked her down if Beau as the gorilla hadn’t taken hold of her arm and pulled her out of the way.
Ily grabbed one of the men by the throat and held him aloft. His face, burned by the liquid, turned even redder as he gasped and wheezed for air, kicking and beating at her to escape.
Black smoke suddenly poured from his mouth and it looked like Ily just breathed it in. The moment she did, she tossed the man aside and turned. Her eyes glowed with the most brilliant light Grace had ever seen.
She tackled the remaining man, sat on him, and when the Umbra left him, breathed it in as well. Ily sat back and looked around. Irene was all that was left, and she remained in the chair, glaring at Ily.
“You don’t have the power to kill me, Scythe.”
“Don’t I?” Ily opened her mouth and light shot from it and her eyes, hitting Irene and sending her flying.
“Don’t kill her!” Grace screamed. “She’s just an old woman.”
Ily crossed the room and bent over the prone figure of the old woman. “She’s alive, but the Um—“
She never got to finish the sentence. Irene’s eyes popped open and she stabbed upward with her right hand.
Grace screamed and flew across the room two steps behind Beau who transformed in motion. He jerked Ily back. Grace could see the knife embedded in her abdomen.
Irene’s eyes were still black and she was laughing.
Ily pulled the blade out and gasped. “Poison.”
“Poison?” Beau grabbed the front of Irene’s blouse and lifted her up. “I swear I’ll kill you. How do we counteract the poison?”
“You don’t,” Irene said and grinned, showing bloodstained teeth. “She does.” She looked at Grace. “If she is, after all, her father’s daughter. So, she either figures it out or the Scythe dies.”
“And what does that gain you?” Grace asked. “I thought you needed her to open the portal. If she dies, then you lose.”
“Correction. If she dies, you lose.”
“Oh no, believe me, you’ll lose,” Beau threatened.
Irene started laughing again. “You can’t kill me, Shifter.”
“But I can.” Suddenly there was a blade in Ily’s hand.
Grace opened her mouth to scream, but it was too late. The blade was already embedded in the center of Irene’s chest.
The oily black smoke boiled out, and it appeared that this time, it was a struggle for Ily to take it in.
“Don’t let it out.” Beau gathered her into his arms and held her. “Go into hibernation, Ily. Do it now. We’ll find the antidote. I promise.”
Ily looked at Grace. “I saw the memories. They’re inside you. Find them and you find the answers, Grace.”
Grace sat down beside Ily and took her hand. “I don’t know if I can.”
“I do. I trust you, Grace. With my life.”
With that, Ily closed her eyes. Grace felt the warmth seeping from Ily’s skin and looked at Beau. “What do we do?”
He gently laid Ily on the floor and pulled out his phone. “We get help.”
“From who?”
He held up his hand with index finger extended as he spoke into the phone. “We have a situation and need help.”
Grace looked up as he explained and just then noticed there were people on the sidewalk, watching. She tapped Beau’s arm and pointed. He looked as well and added that bit of information to whomever he was speaking with.
A moment later, he ended the call and stood. Grace followed as he went to the front window and closed the shutters over the shattered glass. “That won’t make them unsee it,” she commented. “There are two unconscious people on the sidewalk and five in here, plus Ily. They won’t just forget what they saw.”
“No, they won’t. But if they hang around, someone might make them.”
“Make them what?”
“Make them unsee it.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You will.” He extended his hand and Grace placed hers in it.
“I don’t know what to do,” she admitted.
“I think we may get help with that as well.”
Grace looked at Ily lying on the floor. “I hope so. Oh God, Beau.” She threw her arms around him and buried her face against his chest. “She trusted me.”
“You’ll save her, baby. I know you will.”
Grace’s phone rang and she got up to find it. The caller ID read Unknown. She showed it to Beau.
“Answer it.”
Grace hit Accept. “Hello?”
“Check your text and I’ll call again.”
“What?”
The call went dead. A moment later, her phone chimed to let her know she had a text.
“Oh, my God.” She grabbed hold of Beau’s arm for support. A picture was on the text. Her mother and her children. All three were bound and gagged and the fear was evident in their eyes.
The phone rang again. Beau snatched it from her and hit Accept. “If you do anything to—“
“Shut up and listen. Grace, are you listening?”
“I am.”
“Pay attention. It’s all up to you. If you give us the cloaking spell, your family will not be harmed.”
“But I don’t know it.”
“Yes, you do. You just have to remember. And you have seventy-two hours. Starting now.”
The line went dead. “No, wait! Wait!” Grace collapsed against Beau, crying.”Oh my God, they have my family.”
“We’ll get them back, I promise.”
“How can you promise that? We don’t even know who has them.”
“Help is on the way. Don’t give up, Grace. We can do this.”
Grace closed her eyes and clung to him. Just when she thought maybe she was getting a bead on reality, seeing a possible path to happiness, this happened and now she wondered if she hadn’t been dreaming all along. She had to save her family. She wouldn’t even want to live if something happened to her mother and her children.
And then there was Ily. If she didn’t save Ily, she’d never forgive herself and Beau would never forgive her either.
Grace had seen Ily’s love for him in her mind, and knew Beau’s devotion to her. If she didn’t save Ily, then she and Beau were doomed.
Right now, all she could see was the fear in her family’s eyes. Everyone was depending on her to save them and she didn’t have one clue how she was supposed to accomplish that.
She was just an ex-photojournalism major college dropout, betrayed wife, and struggling mother. How was she supposed to save anyone?