Shadows in Blood (The Immortal Trials Book 3) Read online

I cringed. “What?”

  “I know there are a lot of supernatural freaks roaming around Veil Rock lately, so what are they doing here?”

  I only took a small offense to the way he referred to people like me as supernatural freaks. If anything, I was more of a freak than any of them. “How should I know?”

  “Maybe because you keep hooking up with them.”

  “What’s your point?”

  “That if you are hanging around them, you should know why they’re here.”

  “Again, none of your business.”

  Exasperated, he threw up his hands. “Sometimes, I get these weird feelings that something is happening soon. You shouldn’t be in the middle of it.”

  There was a lot more I could add to that, but I didn’t. “Are you having premonitions now?” I teased, trying to lighten the mood and unravel my twisting nerves.

  “Laugh all you want, but I’m telling you something’s up.”

  He was right. In thirty-five days, all hell would break loose. Once it did, I was a dead girl. I’d had enough of the topic of supernatural freaks and premonitions. I wanted normal. “Why don’t we go get a pizza or something? I’m starving.” Plus, I wanted to forget how much I missed Dragan, my favorite supernatural freak.

  “Fine, but you’re buying,” he said.

  “Fine.”

  I went to the storeroom, then knocked on the door. Isla opened it, peeking her head around. “What is it, dear?”

  “Do you mind if I take my lunch? Cameron’s here, and we were thinking about getting a pizza.”

  “That’s sounds delightful.” She slid through the cracked door opening. “Hello, Cameron love.”

  “Hi,” he returned.

  Isla returned her attention to me. “Just put a sign on the door, then lock it behind you.”

  As out of character and odd as she was being with that mysterious book, it all only intrigued me even more. “Yeah, sure.”

  She smiled before closing herself back in the storeroom.

  I wanted to know what was in that book. When she went to buy it, she’d left in the middle of the day, drove several hours, stayed in a hotel, and came back the next day—all for a book.

  Cameron headed to the door with his keys in hand. I jotted a quick note, then taped it to the front door. The lock clicked into place. As we started across the courtyard, we passed the carousel. The ancient ride brought back memories of spending time with Dragan. After he saved my life, I never would have thought he would leave the way he did. God, why did it have to hurt so badly?

  There were only a few customers at Poe’s Pizza. I didn’t know any of them.

  “What do you want?” Cameron asked.

  I dug through my bag, found my wallet, and handed him a twenty. “Anything but anchovies or olives.”

  After he took it, he turned to the man behind the counter. “Can I get a medium pie with meatballs and onions?”

  Letting the conversation of the pizza fade behind me, I focused on the woman seated outside. Her back was to me, but there was a familiarity about her. She slowly turned to me as if sensing me staring at her. Taryn’s flawless face stared back at me. Smiling, she waved for me to come to her.

  “Cam, I’ll be right back.”

  He quickly glanced over his shoulder at me, then back to the pizza guy.

  I made my way outside toward Taryn. She was the first immortal I had met. The artisan of earth hadn’t been rude or mean to me like some of the other immortals. She had her own priorities. That I stayed alive wasn’t one of them.

  “What are you doing here, Taryn?”

  She glanced at her nails. “Getting a manicure.” She held out her hand. “What do you think?”

  I didn’t give her the satisfaction of responding.

  Her eyes shifted to the side of my face as she lowered her hand. “I see you’ve gone through a couple of changes—starting with your mark.”

  “Not really,” I countered.

  She laughed dryly. “That’s not what a little birdie told me.”

  “By little birdie, you mean Onyx?”

  Tapping her nail on the back of the chair, she said, “The one and only.”

  Onyx was not my favorite person. Her ability to shift into a crow was impressive, but her kidnapping skills and attitude squashed any chance of us ever being friends. “Yeah, see, crow-girl needs to mind her own business.”

  “You are our business.”

  The sun caught the sparkling stone on her necklace. Seeing the stone in the Legends of Veil Rock book seemed like forever ago. It was one of the first things I had learned about in this secret immortal world.

  “Hardly,” I spat, turning to leave.

  “I heard you’re our special guest for the Hunter’s Moon ritual.”

  With my hand on the door, I stopped. Peering over my shoulder, I glared at her. The water in her glass vibrated. I reeled back some of the power surging out from me, but there was just enough to cause the water in her glass to splash over the rim and onto her lap. “I think you need to find more reliable informants, because you also heard that wrong.”

  Her blurted complaint faded as the door closed behind me.

  I had lost my appetite.

  Cameron beckoned from the corner table. Squeezing my fists, I tried to bite down the rushing feeling of anger.

  He slid my change to me. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “Nothing.” I pulled out a chair, then sat down.

  He leaned forward. “How many times do I have to tell you that you’re not a very good liar?”

  I ignored him. “How much longer for the pizza?”

  “Five minutes.” Reaching across the table, he touched my hand. “You want to talk about it?”

  I shook my head. “No, but thanks.”

  “Fine, since you don’t want to talk about what annoyed the hell out of you in the last three minutes, let’s talk about the upcoming festival.”

  “What festival?”

  “Cameron, pie’s up,” the man behind the counter yelled.

  Cameron went to get the pizza. “Thanks for lunch,” he said when he returned and set the pizza on the metal stand.

  “You’re welcome.”

  He served us each a slice before he took a bite of his.

  “So, what festival?”

  “Every year, Veil Rock throws a party for the town’s unique location. With the ocean on one side and the desert on the other, they call it Veil Rock’s Sand and Sea Festival. It’s at the beginning of October.”

  “What do you do there?”

  Picking up his glass, he took a sip of soda. After setting it down, he replied, “Eat, play games, and watch the people from both sides argue about which side is better.”

  “Sounds fun.” And normal.

  Cameron picked up another slice of pizza. “Do you want to go with me?”

  My breath caught in my chest. I blinked a few times before asking, “Like a date?”

  He grinned, showing his charming side, not the smile he used when being a jerk. “I was thinking more like going as friends, but you can call it that if you—”

  “Going as friends is fine—better even.” I shoved the pizza into my mouth, tearing off a bite bigger than I should have.

  “Hungry?”

  I could only nod since my mouth was occupied with chewing.

  Laughing, he took another bite.

  After we ate, we headed back to The Warlock’s Workshop. I was still starving, but it wasn’t for food. God, would the incessant craving for blood ever end? I feared I’d have to give into it… and soon. I thought about Raiden, wondering where he had been the last few days. Had he heard about Kelios, his so-called friend, who had helped kidnap me?

  “Where are you at?”

  I jerked my head in Cameron’s direction. “What? I’m here—right here.”

  “I’ve been talking to you and—”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  He stopped, pulling me to a halt nex
t to him. His hand was warm as it held mine. There was something in his eyes I couldn’t place—or didn’t want to.

  “Listen, I know I don’t belong in your world, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. I like you, Everly, probably more than I should, but all I’m asking is for us to be friends.”

  That was a loaded confession. A breeze kicked up around us. “Yeah…friends.”

  He eyed me intently. If I hadn’t agreed to only be friends, I thought he would have kissed me. Guilt shuffled inside me that maybe I was getting in over my head, or worse, letting him get too close to me. My world had become a dangerous place. Cameron didn’t need to get caught up in it.

  He let go of my hand. “Listen, I need to go. I have a crap load of homework.”

  “Okay.” I dropped my gaze from his.

  He unlocked the door to the shop. I pulled off the note, balling it in my fist. Boone’s back was to us. His head turned one hundred and eighty degrees to see us. Unenthused it was only us, the bird closed his eyes and repositioned his head to look forward again.

  Cameron picked up his backpack. “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thanks, I will.” He knew certain secrets about my gifts, and that was as far as it needed to go.

  He left as Isla came out of the back room. She still clutched the book.

  “How was lunch?” she asked.

  “Good.” I couldn’t contain my curiosity any longer. “Isla, what is that book?”

  She set it on the counter. Her silence caused me to think I might have crossed a line. “It’s none of my business, forget I—”

  “It’s a grimoire, dear.”

  “A spell book?”

  She nodded. “Supposedly, it belonged to one of the most powerful warlocks to ever live.”

  For several seconds, I was speechless. I could only stare at it. The cover was made up of seven symbols. The center one—a ring of fire with a dragon’s head at the top—was the largest. Three of the other six were down the right side of the book, and others were down the left. Each had a familiarity about them.

  “What are you going to do with it?”

  Her voice dropped, turning ominous in the quiet shop. “Nothing if I can’t find a way to open it.”

  3

  Isla picked up the grimoire. “After you lock the door, come take a walk with me.”

  I did. As I followed her to the bookshelves, my pulse quickened. Her hand slid along the side of the shelf until she found the release to open the door. It clicked, and the door to the apothecary opened.

  Chills scampered down my arms from the slight draft coming through the passage. Isla went in, and I followed. Rubbing my arms, I stepped down into the secret room. Isla cleared a space on one of the tables, then set the book atop it.

  “Is this where you’re going to keep it?” I asked.

  “It is the safest place, but there’s also another reason.”

  I waited patiently for her to continue.

  “I’m hoping with the high frequency of magic in this room, the book will respond in some way. Or I’ll be given a sign on how to open it.”

  What kind of sign? I wondered. “Did the guy you bought the book from tell you he didn’t have the key?”

  “Oh yes, he was very forthcoming on the phone.”

  I went to the circular window to peer out, always fascinated when I saw the vast, churning sea raging below, when the alley should have been there, not the ocean.

  “Isla?”

  “Hmm?” she answered without taking her attention off the grimoire.

  “How is it that I’m staring at the sea right now instead of the alley where my scooter is parked?”

  Isla stood then, moving to stand behind me. “That ocean has been there since the day I found this magical room. I believe there’s only one explanation. It is an immensely powerful spell to have lasted so many years.”

  I turned to face her.

  She sighed. “If I’m correct, the spells in that book are some of the most powerful that have ever existed.”

  “How are you going to get it open?”

  Isla glanced over her shoulder to the book on the desk. “I’m not sure.”

  “Can you break the lock?”

  She shook her head. “Breaking the lock will definitely get the book open. However, it’ll also cause the ink to fade, eventually disappearing entirely.”

  I’ve never seen her look so baffled or defeated. She went back to the table, pulling out the chair to sit. Her delicate fingers traced the intricate symbol on the cover.

  “What will you do with it once you get it open?” I asked.

  She sighed. “You’re so optimistic, love.”

  I wasn’t sure if I was being optimistic on purpose. Like her, I wanted to know what was written on the inside of those pages.

  Isla looked up at me. “My curiosity lies more in what the creator of the spells was trying to manifest or…tear down and destroy.” She spun her bangles around her wrist. “I’m too familiar with magic, both light and dark, to dare to try to recreate the spells in this grimoire. Doing so would only bring terror down on the witch who tried—which would be me in this case”.

  Damn. “That sounds like a warning to never open the book,” I said. God only knew what she could unleash. Before I moved to Veil Rock, I would have thought that was only in the movies and books. If that book was opened, though, it could bring a whole legion of terror.

  She chuckled. “You may be right.”

  I went over to where she sat. “May I?” I motioned to the book.

  She slid it to her left a little so I was positioned in front of it. I studied the lock. The shape of the keyhole appeared as if it was made for one of those old-fashioned clunky keys, rounded near the top and thin near the bottom. Dark stains surrounded the opening.

  I touched its surface. When a light breeze kicked up, both our heads jerked toward the passageway. I sprinted to it, peering around the corner to the front door of the shop. There was no one there. I went back to the apothecary. Isla stood near the table.

  “That breeze didn’t come from out there. It came from in here,” she said.

  The hairs on my neck were standing on end. Had I created the breeze and not realized it? I didn’t think so. I hadn’t felt the surge of energy within me I usually did before one of the elements burst out of me.

  “Magic or a ghost?” I questioned.

  Her stance was relaxed as she glanced around the room. “I’m leaning toward magic, although I’m not sure. It was something, though. I felt it course through the room. Didn’t you feel it?”

  I had felt something, but I wasn’t convinced it had come from within this room. “Maybe it was Boone flying to another branch, and the wind made its way in here,” I suggested.

  Isla shook her head. She shifted her gaze to me. “It happened when you touched the book.” Her eyes narrowed. For the first time since I’d met her, I saw apprehension in them.

  “What is it?” I asked hesitantly.

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I got lost there for a beat.” Leaving the grimoire on the table, she smiled and reached for my hand. “Why don’t we close up for the day?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  It was close to five, and I was hungry—but not for food. For blood. Biting my lip, I grabbed my bag and headed to the door. It was as if Isla sensed something within me. The need to tell her what I was capable of was a constant thought in my mind. Even though I knew she would be accepting, there was an odd feeling holding me back.

  She locked the door, then leaned to kiss my cheek. “Enjoy the rest of your day, dear.”

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  I wasn’t sure what to do now. Going home was an option, but it didn’t sound very appealing. Suddenly, I felt drawn in the opposite direction of my scooter. Pausing in front of the psychic’s shop, I stared at the glowing sign of a purple eye. Red curtains hung over the windows. The drapes kept out any unwanted stares or window stalkers. The sign on th
e door read: Walk-ins Welcome. Was that possibly a hint? I wasn’t sure what I expected from her… answers? Answers to what, I wasn’t sure. Maybe whether I would be sacrificed or if the stars were lining up in favor of my life.

  The door pushed open toward me. I jumped back.

  Celeste lowered her glasses to study me. “I was expecting you.”

  Of course you were.

  She held the door open wider for me to enter. Hesitantly, I did. What I assumed to be the waiting area was arranged with two chairs, a small table, and a skimpy fake tree in a wicker basket. Dim lights lit the intimate space, along with a candle on the table in the center of the room. Straight to the back was a black cloth dividing this room from whatever was beyond it.

  “This way.” Celeste moved to the curtain. She pulled it open, motioning for me to enter ahead of her.

  All I could see was flickering light. I took a deep breath, clutched my bag closer to me, and went into the glowing room. It was vastly different from the dingy waiting area. A circular table was the center point of the room with a chair pushed under it on either side. Lighted candles were on every surface. A white cloth covered the table. On it was a crystal ball, a vase of dead roses, a set of tarot cards, and a bowl of burning sage.

  “Have a seat there,” she insisted.

  I sat on the purple plush seat. There was so much to take in. I didn’t think I could possibly catch every detail. Mirrors—all different sizes, shapes, and frames—covered one wall from top to bottom. The wall opposite it had three very tall bookshelves; they were taller than the height of the building. “Impossible,” I muttered. A sliding ladder was in the corner so the top shelves could be reached. Every shelf was filled, but not all with books. Some had boxes of incense and oils. Others had jars of herbs, as well as stones of all sizes and colors, most of which I recognized. On one of the shelves, there was a skull that appeared to be from a cat or some other small animal.

  Celeste blew out several of the candles, darkening the room. The few she left were in front of the mirrors. An eerie feeling snaked down my spine. She slithered from side to side more than walked in a straight line. The psychic took the seat across from me.

  “Let’s start with what you are.” She lingered on the last word.