Kelly Hashway: The Monster Within

“There was a ring inside it. It looked just like the one Ethan had given me for my birthday. It was a ruby, my birthstone.”

Nora reached for the ring sitting on the edge of the sink. “This one?”

“Yeah. I forgot about it. It’s not my ring. Ethan said he put my ring in a storage facility to keep it safe. He—” I stopped. My ring wasn’t in the storage facility. I stood up and joined her in the kitchen.

“What?” she asked.

“We went to get my ring one day, but it wasn’t there. Someone had stolen it.” I eyed the ring in Nora’s hand. “That’s my ring. But how did it get in that box? Ethan didn’t put it there.”

“Another witch did.”

“But who? The only witch helping me is you.”

Nora shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it was a trap, something to make you feel safe. It could be a decoy. I’ll bet Dylan made it. It was probably how he planned to win you over, pretend he was trying to protect you when really it was him after you all along.”

“Speaking of Dylan, shouldn’t you get moving with the locator spell? He should be here soon.”

She put the ring back on the counter. “I don’t think he’s coming here. He’d be here already.”

“So where did he go?”

“My house, most likely. He was bringing the fight to me. When he doesn’t find me, he’ll come here next.”

“Should we move Ethan? Do this somewhere else?”

“Where?”

“The diner. I know the keypad number to get us in. At least, I think I do. I’m pretty sure Gloria uses the same number for all her passwords and stuff.”

She nodded. “I can get past a lock no problem. Let me locate Shannon, and then we’ll move Ethan to the car. You can drive him to the diner while I get Shannon.”

“Okay.”

As she did the locator spell, I stared at the ring on the counter. It was my ring. The one Ethan had given me. Now that he was dead, I wanted it back. I slipped it on my finger, and tears welled up in my eyes. “I’ll bring you back, Ethan,” I whispered. “I’ll bring you back.”

“Let’s go,” Nora said. “I found her, but we need to move fast. She may not stay in one spot for long. Not if Dylan calls her.”

We each grabbed hold of Ethan and carried him to the car. Nora gave us a magical boost so we could move faster. We laid him across the back so no one would see him while I drove to the diner.

“Where’s Shannon?” I asked, strapping my seatbelt.

“She’s at a spot in the woods where we used to meet as a coven. I’ll surprise her there. With all the trees, I should be able to sneak up on her pretty easily. It’s not far from the diner. See if you can get Ethan inside. Bring him to the counter and lay him across it if you can.”

I nodded.

“One way or another, this all ends tonight,” Nora said.

I pulled out of the driveway behind Nora and drove to the diner. I looked around before getting out, making sure there was no sign of Dylan. This was where I’d left him, so I was pretty sure he didn’t expect me to come back. I ran up to the keypad on the back door and punched in Gloria’s code. The door buzzed and then opened.

I ran into the dining room and grabbed a chair to prop the door open. I wouldn’t be able to work a keypad and carry Ethan at the same time.

His body was stiff and hard to move. I ended up having to wrap my arms under his armpits and drag him. It was easier to move him across the diner floor since Jackson had just buffed it. I sat Ethan down on one of the stools and leaned him back onto the counter. It took every ounce of strength I had to get his entire body on the counter, but I did it. I had to have him ready when Nora got here with Shannon.

“Soon, Ethan. You’ll be back with me soon.” I kissed his forehead.

The back door opened, and I heard footsteps coming down the hallway.

“I’ve got him all ready, Nora.” I turned to face her.

But it wasn’t Nora.

It was Dylan.

HE glared at me. “And what exactly do you plan to do with my brother?”

He thought I had Ben. I stepped back, giving Dylan a view of Ethan’s body.

“I told you what happened to Ben. I wasn’t lying. Unlike you, I actually told the truth.” I kept the counter between us, afraid of what he was going to do to me. “Did you follow me here?”

“Locator spell. I’m sure Nora was doing one to find me.”

“Not quite.” We hadn’t had time to worry about locating Dylan; besides, we knew he’d eventually find us.

“Where is she?” He looked around. “Let me guess, waiting in the kitchen to ambush me?” He moved toward the kitchen, and I backed around the counter so he didn’t have to walk right by me. He flung open the door.

I looked around for a weapon. Anything to use against him. I wasn’t about to leave Ethan’s body, so I needed something to defend myself. At least until Nora showed up. I reached for a glass sugar jar. It was heavy, and if it broke, the jagged glass would be a decent weapon. If not, at least I could hit him over the head with it.

Dylan came back into the dining room and eyed the jar in my hand. “So Nora told you about the salt, huh? Let me guess, you were planning to draw a circle of it around yourself so I couldn’t hurt you? Is that what she told you to do?”

Salt? He thought I was holding the salt. My mind flashed back to the time I refilled the salt in front of Nora. She had been adamant that I move away from her. Witches didn’t like salt. I made a mental note.

“You came to kill me, is that it? Stop the monster you created?” I turned my body, reaching for the salt behind my back.

“I didn’t bring you back.”

“Your coven did, and you’re part of it.”

“No, we didn’t. Nora did.”

Before Dylan could say another word, he flew backward into the kitchen door. It swung open, and he disappeared inside. I whirled around to see Nora. She had Shannon with her, wrapped up in a magical swirling mist.

“Lay some salt across the entrance to the kitchen. It will contain him in case he wakes up before we finish this.” Nora moved toward Ethan, but I was frozen in place. “Go! If he wakes up, he’ll ruin everything. Ethan’s life depends on Dylan staying out of the way.”

I carried the saltshaker to the kitchen and lined the floor with it. “How did you figure out what spell to use? You weren’t there when the coven brought me back, so how do you know what they did?” I kept my eyes glued to Dylan, lying motionless on the kitchen floor. His head was leaning against the metal island he’d collided with.

“Spells leave traces. That, and Rebecca likes to run her mouth. She bragged all about that spell. Bet she doesn’t think it was so fantastic now.” Nora went behind the counter and grabbed a knife.

“What are you doing?”

“I need some of Shannon’s blood. It’s the only way to make sure it’s her life Ethan is stealing.”

I didn’t want to watch. Didn’t want to know what the spell entailed. After all this time of wondering what Ethan had done, I had a front-row seat to the whole thing. It was hard to watch. I didn’t understand a word Nora was saying. She held the knife over Ethan’s body, waving her hands above him. Finally, she walked around him to where Shannon was locked in her invisible prison.

Shannon had been unconscious when Nora brought her here, but as Nora continued her spell, Shannon’s eyelids fluttered open. She looked at Nora and her eyes widened. Then she turned to me and shrieked, “You killed my boyfriend. Isn’t that enough? You have no idea what I went through to make sure the police couldn’t ID Trevor’s body. If people suspected anything supernatural… How many people are you going to kill before you realize you shouldn’t be here?”