Kelly Hashway: The Monster Within

“Nora,” I said, “can I get some coffee for myself?”

She shrugged. “Why not? The caffeine might speed up your decaying process and make you need to feed. Pour a cup for Ethan, too.”

I got up and went to the counter. I took a cup and grabbed the note at the same time.

I’ll help, but I haven’t forgotten about Ben .

I scribbled back, Neither have I. I’m sorry .

I put the note in the window and poured Ethan’s coffee. I brought it to him and went back for my own. The note was back in the window.

I blame her more than you .

I wrote one last note. Get ready. I’m going to break the salt line . I stuck it in the window and got my own coffee.

This was it. I had to walk around the counter to get back to my stool. I could reach my foot out and drag it across the salt line. All I had to do was break it. Then Dylan could attack Nora. I met Ethan’s gaze, and he wrinkled his brow. I looked quickly toward the kitchen and then at Nora. Ethan looked confused for a minute, but then he raised his coffee to his lips and mouthed, “Got it.”

I walked around the counter, taking the turn wide. I stuck my foot out and brushed the line. The salt spread, but it was still blocking Dylan’s path. I didn’t know what else to do, so I let go of the cup, tipping the coffee onto the salt. I pretended to slip.

“I’m okay.” I caught the edge of the counter and stood back up.

“Just sit down,” Nora said. “Unless you’re feeling weak.” Her voice perked up. “Could it be nearing feeding time? You tend to get weak and wobbly before an attack comes on.”

“Yeah, I’m not feeling a hundred percent right now,” I played along.

Nora put down her coffee and clapped her hands. “Oh, good. Time to get to the fun part of the evening.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Dylan said, stepping out of the kitchen.

DYLAN thrust his arms forward, and a burst of energy knocked Nora backward. She landed next to Shannon. If only Shannon wasn’t still trapped in her own magical prison. I grabbed Ethan and pulled him toward the door. I had to get us out of there. This wasn’t our fight. This had started long before Nora did the spell to bring me back, and I knew it was going to end with a lot of dead witches.

Ethan and I moved around the counter slowly, trying not to draw attention to ourselves. We were still two powerless humans in a diner full of witches. Nora attacked Dylan with a jolt of energy that sent green sparks through the room. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said she was channeling all the electricity in the place and trying to fry Dylan. He dodged to the side, ducking behind the counter.

Nora turned toward Ethan and me. “Stick around!” She raised her hands toward us, and I knocked Ethan onto the floor before she could hit us with her spell.

I was on top of Ethan, and he stared up at me with a pained expression. “Did she hit me?”

I moved off him and checked his chest and limbs for injuries. He was fine. Not a scratch on him, except for the gash on his head from colliding with the bathroom sink when he’d died. “Is it your head?” I asked.

He reached for his chest. “My lungs.”

No, not already! His body was giving out on him. He was going to need to feed soon. The urge usually took hold of me pretty quickly. At least it did before I’d started feeding on witches. Now the magic sustained me longer. If only I could give Ethan some of Ben’s magic lingering inside me.

“Stay calm. It’s an effect of the spell Nora did to bring you back.” Glass shattered and sprayed down on top of us. I shrieked and covered my head. Ethan leaned over me, shielding me with his body. I could feel his skin turning cold again.

Dylan and Nora were throwing spells back and forth at each other, destroying the diner in the process. Ethan and I separated, and I peeked around the counter. If only I could free Shannon. Then she and Dylan could overpower Nora. It was our only chance. With the way things were going, I’d never get Ethan out of here before his symptoms turned into a full-blown attack.

“Stay here,” I told him. “I’m going to try to free Shannon.”

“How? You’re not a witch. You can’t break her free from the magic holding her.” Ethan was catching up quickly, and he was handling it well. I hoped he’d still be so open-minded when I told him he’d have to kill to stay alive.

“I don’t know, but I have to try. We can’t sit here and let them battle it out.”

“Why not? Dylan’s holding his own. We could make a run for it the next time he knocks her down.” He stared at me, pleading with his eyes. “I don’t want to lose you. If Nora catches you, or if you get in the way of one of the spells…”

I had to tell him. “Ethan, we can’t leave. Something is going to happen. To you. The tightness you’re feeling in your chest…” A rumble as loud as thunder shook the diner. I didn’t know who had cast the spell, but it made everything shake like we were in an earthquake. There wasn’t time to explain all this to Ethan. I had to move. “Trust me.”

He nodded. The last time he didn’t trust me had been right before he died. I knew he didn’t want to make the same mistake again. He reached for me, kissing me hard on the lips. “I love you.”

It was like he was saying goodbye. The thought rattled my insides. Made me so angry and desperate to save us. “I love you, too.” I kissed him again quickly, and then darted under the booth in the back corner.

Nora had Dylan raised about six feet off the ground. She held her hand in the air, looking like she was squeezing something in her fist. Dylan choked. I wasn’t sure if he could do any spells. She was strangling him. I couldn’t let this happen. I owed him that much. I dove out from my hiding place and charged at Nora. She turned her head slightly, sensing my attack. And before I knew what was happening, Dylan was soaring through the air right at me. He slammed into me, and we toppled to the floor.

“Sam!” Ethan yelled.

“Ethan, stay back!” My entire body hurt, like I’d been run over by a Mack truck.

Ethan was on his feet, but Nora didn’t pay attention to him at all. He wasn’t a threat as far as she was concerned.

Dylan shifted into a sitting position. He held his hand up and created a shield to block us from Nora’s attacks. She pounded spell after spell against Dylan’s protective shield.

Nora laughed. “You can’t keep that shield up forever.” She was right, and Ethan was helpless out there on his own.

“Use the magic inside you,” Dylan whispered to me.

What was he talking about? “I don’t have any magic left in me. It goes away after a while. I can’t feel it tingling under my skin anymore.”

Dylan shook his head. “The power never left you. It settled inside you. We don’t get that tingling feeling unless we are tapping into the power, actively using it. But it’s still there. All of it.”

“Nora said I wouldn’t be able to do spells.” Not that I knew any.

“More lies. You can help me fight her. Channel your energy into that magic. Channel Ben’s magic.”

My heart clenched at the sound of Ben’s name. Dylan was helping me, even after I’d killed his brother.

“Ben would want you to take Nora out. He’s dead because of her.”

“He died because of me.”

“I’m not saying I don’t blame you at all, but Nora used you. It’s her fault you came back this way.”

How had I been so wrong about all of this? No, I knew the answer to that. Nora had used a spell on me to make me believe her. I had to do what I could to fix it. “Tell me how to use the magic. I want to free Shannon, give us the upper hand.”