“Were you lonely growing up?” I ask as we walk slowly across the lawn.
“I’m still lonely.” Nico meets my eyes. Something in his face makes my stomach twist with sympathy.
“Hey,” I say, trying to lighten the mood even though I’m pretty sure that’s impossible when you’re facing death at any moment. “Until a week ago, I lived in a cage underneath a nightclub. I know a bit about loneliness.”
“You livedat that place?” Nico asks. “Spine?”
I nod. I’m not really ready to tell him the full story, but a nagging feeling in my gut tells me we might not get another chance. The next few hours could be the only hours I have with my brother. If things don’t go our way, they could be the only hours most of us have before hell breaks loose and The Shadow King destroys humanity. So, I suck in a deep breath and I start from the beginning. “I remember living with Ragnor in a big house. Sarah looked after me. I was three, I think. Then he gave me up…”
As I speak, Nico listens. He listens to the whole, sorry story of my life. And then he tells me his. By the time we’re done, I feel more at peace than I have in a long time, and I think he does too, because he says, “Thank you, Sam,” and puts his arm around me. “Thanks for trusting me.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” I tell him.
“I won’t,” he says. “I promise you, I won’t.”
40
NOVA
We leave the cabin at eleven p.m. and take the truck we borrowed from Kole’s contact in the valley. Before we reach the winding road that leads to The Hollow, we park.
It takes about thirty minutes for us to walk the rest of the way, branching off into the wood well before reaching The Hollow’s gates.
As we walk, my blood grows colder. It’s been a long time since I felt chilled on the inside, but Kole and Tanner were right; there is evil here. A darkness that makes me feel like there will be no tomorrow. No light. Endless nothingness with no reprieve.
My footsteps seem to whisperSam, Sam, Samas they pound the damp earth. I can’t believe he left, and I can’t believe he didn’t at least say goodbye to me. Fear pulls my heart taut in my chest. It feels like it might tear at any moment, and the thought of never seeing his face again after only just getting him back is too much to bear.
When Tanner looks at me, I’m crying. Big, silent tears roll down my cheeks. He pulls me into his arms and stops to hold me for a moment.
“Nova,” he says, “try to stay strong. We need to focus.”
On the other side of me, Mack adds, “Use what you’re feeling. Remember what we saw.” He places a firm hand on my stomach. “Use it to channel your magick.”
I tell him I will, but I’m not sure I believe it; how can I channel power, and fire, and fury when all I feel is a near-paralyzing terror?
Eve’s barrier is like the one Mack and Luther set up at The Hollow before the Bureau agents came for us. Standing in the shadow of the trees, we can see the mansion in front of us. The lawn. The fountain.
Memories dance in front of my eyes, but they’re torn away when I notice the altar. Constructed so it’s opposite the fountain, a coffin is in front of it. Two lines of skulls form an eerie walkway. On top of the altar, more strange objects, and a large leather-bound book.
“What do we do?” I ask Kole.
He doesn’t answer me.
“Wait until they come outside. Sam told Kole and Tanner he’d cause a distraction, so we look for his cue, then break down the barrier.” Mack looks up, examining the shield in front of us.
“How?” I ask.
“Like when we put up the mask at the cabin, we’ll join hands and combine our forces.” He fixes his eyes on mine as he mutters an incantation that I struggle to remember. “The spell will weaken it, then it’ll be a matter of brute force to get through.”
I blink at him. “Right. Spell then force. Got it.”
Mack’s about to say something else when movement catches my eyes. Up ahead, a tall blond-haired man has appeared. Kayla is on one side. Eve is on the other. They file quietly down the steps until Eve breaks ranks and skips the rest of the way to the altar. When Ragnor and Kayla are positioned in front of it, looking out toward the fountain, more people appear.
Werewolves, some of whom I recognize from the hotel, jostle each other as they move to stand in whispering clusters on either side of the aisle of skulls.
Finally, I see Sam. He and Nico appear together and walk side-by-side down the steps. Sam glances in our direction. I have no idea if he can smell us. No one else seems to, but perhaps he’s more in tune with my scent than they are.
Ragnor indicates that Nico and Sam should stand at the very front of the crowd to the right of the altar.