Kelly Hashway: The Monster Within

Playing the Ben card was supposed to give me the upper hand, but Dylan was using it against me.

“If you kill me, you’ll never find him.” I hoped that leveled the playing field.

He let go of me, but he didn’t back away.

“I promise I’ll tell you where he is, but you have to tell me what you know first.”

He sat there debating it, probably imagining a hundred ways to rip my head off using magic. Or maybe he preferred using his bare hands.

“You’ve been dying to tell me something, so tell me. I’m right here.” I tried to act cool, like I wasn’t shaking on the inside.

“You’ve gone along with everything she’s said, haven’t you?”

“I’m listening, not answering questions.” My heart pounded at my own boldness. It was either a great strategy or the stupidest move I’d ever made.

“Your boyfriend came to us. To our coven. He heard about us through a mutual friend back where you guys are from.”

“Ethan approached the coven?”

“Are you going to let me talk? I thought you said you were listening.”

I held my hands up, urging him to go on.

“He emailed us and said you were dying. That he needed to know if it was possible to bring someone back from the dead. We told him we didn’t do that sort of magic, that we didn’t even know if it was possible.”

“You’re lying.” They hadn’t turned him away. They helped him. They had done this to me. Suddenly I was glad I’d gotten payback. I was a killer because of them. It seemed only fitting that they became my victims.

“Seriously, either you’re going to listen or you’re not. Pick one, because I have better things to do.”

I crossed my arms, not sure if I wanted to hear any more of his lies. But I sat there and let him talk. I’d come this far. I might as well hear him out.

“We said no, and we thought that was the end of it. We figured you’d died, and Ethan had given up. But that wasn’t the case. One of us broke the trust of the coven and found a spell to help you.”

“Who? Was it you? Is that why you’ve been torturing me? Are you trying to kill me, to correct your mistake so the coven will take you back?”

“I didn’t bring you back. Nora did.”

“Liar!” I was so angry I nearly jumped out of my seat. “Nora’s done nothing but help me.”

“Help you? You think that’s what she’s doing? She’s playing God. She brought you back wrong to get revenge on the rest of us. We kicked her out of the coven the second we found out about you. She’d been using black magic for months, and we tried to be tolerant. We tried to convince her to stop, but after you…well, we couldn’t keep her around anymore.”

“Nora told me the members of the coven are bound to each other. Kicking her out wouldn’t break that tie, so you can stop lying to me. Get out of my car!”

“Not until you tell me where Ben is.”

“Get out!” I wasn’t just angry at Dylan for lying, I was angry at the world. Ethan was going to die, and the only people who could save him were Dylan and Shannon. Two people I hated. Two people who wouldn’t help me in a million years. “Go!”

“Where’s Ben?”

“I don’t know. I lied.” It was the only thing I could think of to make him leave. “I said what I had to in order to get you to talk.”

“Bitch!” Dylan yelled. “If I were anything like Nora, you’d be dead right now.” He got out of the car and slammed the door.

I peeled out of the spot, taking off down the road. I didn’t know where I was going. Only that I wanted to get far away from Dylan.

I was so wired up from what Dylan had said. All the lies. Why had I gone to him in the first place? I should’ve known he wasn’t the answer to saving Ethan. Nora was the only one who could help me. The only one I could trust.

The anger built up inside me. I wanted to get back at Dylan, and I had an idea how. Two ideas, actually. I’d tell Nora I’d changed my mind. That Dylan should be next. Shannon could wait. But first, I had another way to make Dylan pay. To hurt him like he’d hurt me.

I dialed his number and waited for him to answer.

“I can’t believe you have the audacity to call me after—”

“You’re going to want to shut up and listen to what I have to say.”

He stopped talking, but I could hear his labored breathing. He was furious.

“I want to repay you for the hell you’ve put me through since we met, and I know just how to do it.”

“What, kill me like you killed Rebecca?”

“No. Kill you like I killed Ben.” I hung up the phone before he could respond.

AS soon as I hung up the phone, I called Nora. I had to warn her. She’d been right all along. Dylan was our biggest threat.

“Hello?”

“You need to get out of your house,” I said.

“What? Why?”

“I saw Dylan.” I wasn’t about to tell her I was the one who’d called him. “He knows about Ben.”

“How? Ben is still in my basement. I’ve been trying to find a way to dispose of his body. I hoped we could buy some time before Dylan found out Ben was dead.”

“You can’t. Dylan knows, and my guess is he’s coming for you.”

“Why me? Why not you?”

Oh, God! He could be on his way to the cottage.

“You’re right. Nora, I’m not home, but Ethan is. He’s alone!”

“Okay, calm down.” I could hear her moving around, and a few seconds later, I heard the engine of her car. “I’m on my way. For now, call Ethan. Tell him to put the rocks outside your house back into a circle. It will protect him from Dylan.”

“What?” I turned down another street, heading for home.

“The rocks—they form a barrier a witch can’t cross.”

It made sense. All the times Dylan had gotten inside the cottage, the rocks had been out of place. “Did you put them there?”

She hesitated before saying yes. I should’ve known. She’d been trying to help me before I even knew her.

“The rocks are still in place from the last time you fixed them. We thought it was a prank some kids from school had set up. We left the circle hoping they’d leave us alone if we didn’t react to it.”

“Okay, good. I’m on my way.”

“Nora, wait! How will you get in the cottage if the barrier is up?”

“You’ll have to take it down when I get there, but I’ll be able to protect us from Dylan with other spells.”

I hung up and floored it home. Ethan would have to believe me now. When he saw Nora, and if Dylan showed up…well, there’d be no way Ethan could think I was hallucinating. And maybe he’d be able to tell us how Dylan and the others brought me back. Any hint might be what Nora needed to duplicate the spell and save him.

I pulled into the driveway and burst through the front door. “Ethan!” All the lights were off. Had he gone looking for me? I’d taken the car, but he could’ve called a cab. “Ethan?” I checked the bedroom. Maybe if he’d been mad enough, he’d have just gone to sleep, let me drive around to blow off steam.

I flicked on the light. The bed was empty. Not even unmade. I grabbed my cell from my purse and dialed Nora again.

“What’s wrong? Is Dylan there already?”

“No. Ethan’s not here either. The house is empty.”

“Are you sure? Did you check every room?”

“Well, no. I checked the living room and bedroom. And sort of the kitchen. The place is small. You know that.”

“Look everywhere.” She paused and then said, “Were the rocks still in place? Dylan could’ve used magic to make someone move the rocks so he could get inside.”

“Yes. At least I think so. I didn’t walk around the house. I came right inside, but the rocks in front of the house were all in place.”