Cherie Colyer - Hold Tight

“You with me?” Josh asked, peering at me through his hair, which had fallen in front of his eyes again.

I pulled my attention away from the creepy spirit floating near the crypt behind him. “Just promise me you won’t hurt Brea.”

Josh frowned. “She’ll be fine if Reed plays nice.”

“That wasn’t a promise.”

“Would you rather owe Caden more than you already do?” Josh asked with a hint of frustration in his voice.

Worrying about what more a demon would demand from a witch was definitely second on my list of crappy situations I’d gotten myself into. It was the “no questions asked” part of my existing deal that concerned me. It meant that regardless of my morals, I’d have to do as I was told. I may as well have lost my soul.

I wrapped my arms over my stomach. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Josh pulled a piece of paper out of his back pocket, picked up his flashlight, and aimed the light on the spell. “From here to there and neverwhere. Through time and space and ethereal. I call to thee Sanctus majestic, Rhoswen Brea Reedsnap, and beckon thee, come forth and grant us sight.”

Brea appeared, wearing her long thick sweater and furry boots. Her iridescent violet eyes found me before following the ring of meadowsweet to Josh. She reached in front of her, palm flat on the magical wall that would hold her prisoner.

“I suppose I should have seen this coming. What do you want?” she asked, still taking in her surroundings.

“You and your brother gone,” Josh replied icily.

“And you plan to accomplish that by trapping me in the final resting place of your people?” She turned to face me. “I thought we were friends.”

I cringed under her disapproving glare. “When I told you my friend was missing, did you know then that Reed had kidnapped her, or did you find out after you returned home to get warmer clothes?”

“I suspected that was Dellis’s doing when you told me she was gone. My brother can be a bit entitled.” She shrugged and trailed her fingers around the barrier as if looking for a weak spot. “Spoiled prince syndrome.”

“What about me? Did you know I’m next?” I hoped she’d say no.

Her violet gaze locked on mine. “For eleven long months, Dellis vowed to find a way to make Isaac pay for interfering in his business with that mortal. Every blasted free moment was spent plotting his way back to your realm. He needn’t have wasted his time, because just as he was about to give up, you summoned us to your home using Isaac’s spell book. Yes, I knew my brother would plan on taking you to replace the human he’d lost.”

“You could have warned me!” Anger burned in me for being so foolish as to trust a faerie. Isaac and Josh were right: they were all the same.

“For all I knew, you were another vindictive witch taking advantage of your powers just like the last one.”

I threw my hands in the air. “And once you got to know me, you couldn’t say, ‘Hey, by the way, my brother is here too, and he’s taken an unhealthy interest in you’?”

Brea lowered her gaze.

“I assume you have a way to contact your brother,” Josh said, interrupting our exchange.

Her expression turned steely. “Dellis’s previous behavior will seem like child’s play compared to what he’ll do when he finds out you’ve trapped me. This is his season. His time to be strong.”

“We’ll take our chances,” Josh replied, his tone unwavering.

Brea cocked her head to the side. “You’re not looking well.” She pulled a clear vial the size of her thumb from her pocket. Shimmering fuchsia liquid sloshed inside as she held it out to me. “I was saving this for an emergency, but it appears you need it more than I do.”

I licked my lips, simultaneously taking a large step away from her.

“Suit yourself.” Brea brought her shoulders up to her ears and returned the vial to her pocket. “I can smell the Fae coming from your pores. My turn to ask a question: Will you be able to resist Dellis when he arrives?”

Josh cursed and spat a string of words under his breath that included I knew it and You’d better. The flames of the candles flared skyward. The air within the circle stirred, whipping our hair around our faces.

I caught mine as best as I could. “Josh, I’m good. Really.” I held a hand out. “Look, no shakes.” Only, my hand did tremble slightly. I quickly lowered it to my side.

Josh growled at Brea, “Call your brother.”

“As you wish.” She inclined her head.

I knew the moment Reed arrived. A hole in my stomach ripped open, making me feel as if I hadn’t eaten in days.

“He’s here,” I whispered, positive that Josh’s plan wasn’t a good one.

The sound of grass and leaves being crushed beneath graceful steps circled us. I could feel Reed’s eyes on me, disapproving and furious.

“Rhoswen, are you all right?” Reed asked.

“I’m fine.”

Josh and I spun around, trying to pinpoint his location.

Reed appeared to Josh’s right, just outside the circle. His snowy white eyes were trained on me. “If you wanted an audience with me, all you needed was to call.”

I wished he had worn his human glamour. It wasn’t nearly as striking as his true form. The lean muscles in his thighs pressed against his forest-green pants with each lithe step he took. His elegant fingers rubbed the string of a long bow that he had slung over his shoulder.

My jitters came back twofold. I crammed my hands into the pockets of my jacket to steady them and said, “The problem is you don’t leave when you’re asked to.”

“I’d disappear for a lifetime if you accompanied me.”

“Not going to happen.” Unable to ignore the spasms that grew stronger the closer he got, I wanted to tell Brea I had second thoughts and would love that vial of fuchsia stuff.

Reed looked from me to Brea and then to Josh. “I’m here and I’m listening.”

Josh cleared his throat. “We don’t want trouble. You return to your realm, we close the door, and no one gets hurt.”

Except Natalie, whose family would never see her again.

“And what of my sister?” Reed asked stepping closer to her.

Josh turned slowly, keeping his full attention on Reed. “We’ll make sure she gets home.”

“Why would I believe you?” Reed asked.

“You have our word,” I said.

Reed’s incredibly alluring gaze fixed on me. “I find it interesting that this is your next move.”

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. “You left me no choice.”

“Have I not been civil?” Poison dripped from Reed’s words. “Did I not invite you to join me instead of just taking you? That is more than I’ve ever done for a human who thinks she has the right to demand the Fae serve her.”

“I didn’t demand anything,” I protested.

“Brea, I told you she was the same as the others.”

The ground shuddered. I looked at Josh. He shook his head to indicate the sudden tremors weren’t his doing.

I widened my stance to keep from falling and replied in as steady a voice as I could, “You still planned on ripping me away from my life.”

The temperature dropped at least twenty degrees. Frost raced over the ground, covering the grass and weeds behind Reed in a thick white layer of crystallized ice as it made its way toward us.

Josh held his hands in front of him and pushed out a wave of power, slowing the frost’s progression. I closed my eyes and focused on drawing the energy from nature to warm the air within our circle enough to stop my teeth from chattering.

“Isaac didn’t say Reed could control the weather,” Josh said through clenched teeth as he thrust his hands forward again, sending another surge of power outward. The frost continued to creep closer to us.