Chapter 241

Heather

Samantha swung the door open and five lawn chairs crashed on the ground. “Come on in,” she said as she kicked the chairs out of the way.

“What is this place?” Adrian asked.

It could’ve been a little mercado with all the racks of goods crammed in here, but instead of groceries there were crystals and herbs and candles and who the hell knew what else.

Xander sneezed. “Sorry. Can’t handle the sandalwood. Gets me every time.” His eyes were looking red and starting to water. The way my eyes were burning, I was sure mine looked about the same.

“We won’t be down here long. Angie set some stuff aside for me. Just gotta grab it and then we’ll go on up.” Samantha disappeared from view and I started to check out the shop. A pack of tarot cards caught my eye, but Claudia slapped my hand away.

“You don’t want to mess with that, prima.”

“Why?”

She raised a brow. “While you’re tied to a demon? You think that’s smart?”

“Point taken.” I turned away from them to check out a rack of candles. They were shoved haphazardly on the shelves in a rainbow of colors. Some were loose and looked handmade. Others were religious with saints on them.

From the various types of candles and dried herbs and incense, not to mention all the other junk crammed into the store, it was hard to concentrate. “We couldn’t do this at your house?” I shouted toward where Samantha had disappeared.

“No way!” She yelled back. “No one should ever live where they do magic, let alone mess with realms there.”

“Why not?” Claudia said. “That’s how our whole compound was set up. We all have a craft room in our houses.”

“I know. And it was a dumb.” She came out from the back of the store hauling a large canvas tote bag. “Anything you do between realms thins the veil and makes it so bad things can happen. Like a demon taking over the head of a coven.”

Claudia’s face went pale. “And you never said anything?”

“I was thirteen.” She shrugged. “No one was going to listen to me, and it was already too late to matter for Luciana.”

Over dinner, it’d gotten super awkward between Claudia and Samantha. The fiery scent of anger kept wafting off of Samantha, and if we had any chance of this working, they needed to get their drama sorted. So, while we waited for it to get late enough to come here, Brent, Xander, Adrian, and I had gone for a hike in Griffith Park, while Claudia and Samantha talked it out. When we came back, things between them seemed a lot better.

Now, Claudia was the one smelling fiery, but it didn’t seem to bother Samantha. “This way.” She motioned for us to follow her to the other side of the store.

Yikes, I said to Brent. Still not going well between them.

Might take more than one conversation, but it seems better to me. Brent gave me one of his half-shrugs.

I nearly rolled my eyes. Sometimes guys just didn’t get it.

What don’t I get?

Nothing. I gave Claudia’s shoulder a squeeze as I moved past and followed Samantha.

A beaded curtain covered the entrance to a darkened stairwell. I pushed through it and went up the stairs.

Samantha unlocked the door at the top. “It’s not much, but I can’t afford to rent a space of my own. Angie uses this for clients who want a reading with an audience. She’s cool with me using it whenever I need to, and I help her out when I can.” She flipped on a floor lamp. “Not a lot of lighting in here. Angie likes to keep the mood, you know?”

Thin wood planks made up the floor with a perfect circle painted in black in the center of the room. Wax remnants of candles long burned out dotted the circle. Some were white, others were red, black, or blue. It didn’t have a super welcoming feel, but it didn’t feel evil like Luciana’s circle. So, I was calling this place a win.

“Is this Angie lady the real deal or fake?” Adrian asked.

“Fake mostly. Every once in a while she has a moment, but the people who come in here want a pat on the back or to hear that everything is going to get better.” She snorted. “But that’s not accurate. For most people, shit just sucks.”

“You really think that?” Xander asked.

“That’s what my experience has shown me so far.”

“Damn. I hope things get better for you soon. We’ll owe you one, so if you need anything, you can call me.” Xander ran a hand along his beard as he looked her up and down. “But I won’t be going to you for my fortune anytime soon.”

“Thanks,” she said. “And that’s probably for the best, but let me know if you change your mind. Things are looking up for you.” She gave him a wink. I didn’t want to read anything into it, but I was starting to wonder if there was a connection between them.

“Are you being serious?” Xander said. “Because—”

Samantha laughed and I looked at Brent. Are they flirting?

When is Xander ever not flirting?

True. But maybe there’s chemistry here…

I thought you thought he was going to end up with Cosette.

No. I said I thought they’d be good together, but I have no idea what’s going on with her and—

“Oh man. All this constant buzzing.” Samantha rubbed her forehead. “I can’t hear what you’re saying, but the psychic chatter along both mate bonds is out of control.”

“Sorry. We’ll stop. All conversation will be out loud.” I stared down at the circle on the floor. After what Claudia had said, I was a little terrified to even be in the same room as a circle let alone sitting in one. “So, what’s the plan?”

“Xander, Brent, Adrian, and Lucas are going to light the candles while you and Claudia sit in the center with me.”

“Are you going to activate it?” Claudia asked.

“Yeesssss.” Samantha drew out the word, like Claudia was being slow.

Claudia started backing away. “No. I cannot get in another circle, and I don’t even want to think what could happen if Heather entered one.”

“Don’t worry,” Samantha said. “If he comes through, we split. We’ve got the car out there.”

Was she high or just insane? “But he’ll chase us. We won’t get away,” I said.

“This is dangerous, but from what you told me, there isn’t another option. Right?”

I gave Claudia a look and she nodded slowly. “Right.”

“Here’s what’s important to know. Yes, he can come through an active circle with an anchor like either of you.” She looked at me and Claudia. “But without having a host, he can’t stay in our plane for long. He doesn’t belong here.”

This was more info than I’d had before. If we could hold him off for a while, maybe we wouldn’t have to defeat him. Maybe he’d just get sucked back to his plane. “How long can he last here?”

She shrugged. “Hours at the most.”

I laughed, but not because it was funny. “That’s more than enough time for him to slaughter us all.”

“Not if we run. The farther away we are from the circle, the weaker he’ll get, until he’s forced to come back here and recharge. He probably has a radius of about a mile. Maybe two-ish because he’s so strong. And he could hang out here in the circle for a while waiting for us to come back, but a few hours later, he’ll have to go back through the portal. Otherwise, he’d be too drained to do what he really wants to do. It takes work for him to exist here. He’s got power, but it’s not endless. And he’s not going to sit here and grow weaker and weaker. He likes his power. Once we get away, he’s going back through the portal to wait for his next chance. I’ll feel him if he’s getting close, and we’ll run to the car. The driver is out there with the engine on. As long as we don’t sit around, we should make it out of here alive.”

“Sounds like you know a lot about Astaroth,” Adrian said.

“Not personally, no. But I know demons. Honestly, they’re pretty much all the same. He’s worse—and more powerful—than most, but…” She shrugged. “Look. You gotta trust me. You guys came all this way for my help. I wouldn’t suggest anything that would make your situation worse.”

She was right. We’d come to her for help, and if we weren’t up to taking her advice, then we were wasting everyone’s time. I had to trust her. I’d told her the whole story and she was the expert.

I started forward, but Brent grabbed my hand. Are you sure about this?

She’s right. Why would we come here if we weren’t going to trust her enough to let her try to help us?

“Cut it out, dude,” Samantha said.

“Sorry. It’s habit,” I answered her but didn’t look away from Brent.

I needed a second just in case this went to shit. I trusted what Samantha said, but I was scared. My heart was hammering so hard my chest felt like it was about to explode. This was either going to work or it was going to be bad. As in totally fucked up.

He pulled me closer and I brushed a kiss along his lips. A battle waged in him. He wanted to throw me over his shoulder, run, and never look back.

But we couldn’t. I let go of my mate and stepped into the circle. “Let’s do this.” I was proud with how steady my voice sounded.