Oblivion

OBLIVION (The Witches of Santa Anna, Book Thirteen) by Lauren Barnholdt & Aaron Gorvine Copyright 2011, Lauren Barnholdt and Aaron Gorvine, all rights reserved This book is a work of fiction, and any resemblance to any persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental

Chapter One Campbell The pain is unbearable, like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It starts with a strange tingling sensation in my face and quickly becomes prickly, like a hundred needles are poking into my skin. Reed’s put some sort of spell on me, and so I can’t speak. That’s good, I think. It will make it easier for

me to keep from screaming out in agony. Beside me, I can sense Raine is struggling, too. I can hear her panting and gasping as the discomfort intensifies. Reed is practically screaming now, his voice projecting and echoing out across the amphitheatre. I can’t understand a word he’s saying, but somehow each syllable is sending knives through my body. A sharp pain shoots up my leg, flares up my side, and then finally settles at my skull, where it blossoms into

a headache that feels like a sledgehammer is being taken to the inside of my forehead. I want to puke. I want to get away. But I can’t. Raine starts jittering and dancing beside me, screaming with every spasm. I try to find something, anything, to focus on instead of the pain. I refuse to move around like Raine is doing. No way I’m going to let this audience of sickos think they’re beating me. Especially Reed. I won’t let him see me react to the pain no matter how bad it gets. So I think about the one thing—the one person—that I’m doing this for. Natalia. I close my eyes and picture her face. Those brown

eyes. Her smile. The way she looks at me when I’m making a joke, or when she’s making a joke in return. I throw myself back in time to when we were together during homecoming weekend. Those few days of brief happiness when I could feel how right it was for me and her to be with each other. Somehow, the pain starts to fade into the background. It’s a relief. But at the same time, a part of me also knows that the end is near. In a few minutes, I’ll probably be dead. I know Reed has no intention of keeping me and Raine around. This whole “ceremony” is just a charade, a little show to convince Natalia that he’s actually trying to help us, when in reality it’s simply the most efficient way to kill us, while still allowing him to come out looking like a great guy. I open my eyes. The sky has turned gray and is spitting rain. Thunder rumbles and lightning splits across the clouds.

And then my gaze is drawn to a commotion on the stage, off to the right. There are about four guards trying to keep someone contained. My vision is blurry, and so I squint, trying to figure out what’s going on. I get a glimpse of Natalia, her dark hair flying as she thrashes her arms. She’s trying to get to me. In fact, she almost gets free as I watch. Somehow she knocks a few of the guards backwards— maybe by using a spell, I don’t know. We lock eyes. But before she can get away from her captors, one of them raises his fist and strikes her across the back of her head. She doesn’t see it coming and the force of it drops her to the ground. Then I get a look at who hit her. It’s Phelps, the guy I pummeled the other day when he chased me through the woods. He stares down at Nat with a happy grin, like he just hit a homerun at Yankee Stadium. Reed looks over at them, distracted. He sees what’s going on, and it seems to flummox him a bit. He hesitates for a moment, and when he does, some of

the crackling energy is sucked out of the theatre. A murmur ripples through the crowd, as everyone’s attention is diverted to what’s going on at the side of the stage. I look back at Natalia, my stomach contracting with dread. What if that idiot killed her when he hit her? She’s lying on the ground in a heap, not moving, and Phelps is still grinning down at her. It occurs to me that maybe I’m going to die, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to let them hurt Natalia. Of all the things they could do, that’s the last thing I’ll accept. But what can I do to stop them? I’m tied to Raine, powerless. I strain against my bonds, and as I do, a surge of anger and hatred rushes through me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I don’t even know what it is exactly, but for in this instant it’s as though I’m able to take in whatever energy is around me and

use it. My body feels like a high-tension wire -- pure electricity, strength, and intensity. I wrench my arms, and the ropes holding Raine and me together snap like they’re nothing more than a couple of pieces of string. I’m up instantly, launching myself across that stage. It doesn’t matter that Reed steps in front of me. I knock him aside and he lands on his ass. For a split second I look down at his stunned face.

I told you I’d knock you on your ass, dickhead. I continue across the stage toward the guards. They’re all looking at me now with expressions of shock. I can’t blame them, since I’m in shock, too. But I don’t have time to wonder how I’m able to do any of this. All I know is that for the first time in a long, long time, I feel strong. When I reach the first guard, I literally toss him off the stage and into the crowd.

The other two guys hesitate, not sure what I’m capable of. I just glare, since I still can’t seem to talk. Natalia sits up, looking dazed. Now the only one between us is the guy who hit her in the first place. Phelps. He takes two steps back, his face ashen. I move forward, then grab him by the throat and squeeze. He sinks to his knees, his face slowly turning a shade of light purple. It occurs to me that I have the strength to kill him, to actually crush his windpipe. But I’m not one of them. I don’t just kill people for the hell of it. Instead I toss him aside like a bag of leaves, and he rolls into the corner, gasping and choking. The audience is up and buzzing now, some of them moving toward the stage. A few of them are clustered around Reed, and I know it’s only a matter of time before they come after me. Raine’s collapsed on the floor, not moving, maybe even

dead. Reed stands up and stares at me, his face unable to mask his hatred. And something else as well. Fear? Yes. Reed is terrified of me, terrified because he didn’t plan for this, didn’t see it coming at all.

You underestimated me, buddy. “Campbell, you’re not helping anybody, least of all yourself!” he calls out, starting to walk towards me with a smile suddenly affixed to his face. Like he’s a really helpful guy now, like he wasn’t just trying to murder me a few seconds ago. I don’t respond. I can’t respond. Instead, I bend down and pick up Nat, hoisting her over my shoulder and starting to back away. Reed glances back at the audience. It’s almost total pandemonium now, with everyone looking around and trying to figure out what’s happening. And then noise starts coming from the forest. Voices. Yelling.

Some of the audience members are turning and pointing away from the stage, toward the trees at the left of the theatre. A few people scream, and there’s a stampede as everyone tries to get away from whatever’s coming. Suddenly, an explosion rings out from nearby. I turn just in time to see a fireball incinerate two people on the far side of the amphitheatre. I blink, disoriented, and watch as about twenty people emerge from the forest, an actual phalanx of soldiers. They’re dressed in strange black suits, like they just came off the set of The Matrix. And they’re absolutely destroying everything in their path. Reed sees the carnage and cries out. He looks back to me. “Get her out of here, now!” And then he holds out his hands and an enormous blue bubble shoots across the stage and toward the people emerging from the trees. I don’t wait around to see what happens next.

I start running as fast as I can in the opposite direction, away from the fighting. Natalia is slung over my shoulder, but she’s not slowing me down. She doesn’t feel heavy at all, and I’m running faster than I’ve ever run. Even faster than the time I was going for the winning touchdown in that game against Holliston. That time I had three linebackers chasing me, and this time I’ve got a bunch of witches trying to incinerate me. I blow through the trees. In the distance, I can hear screams and explosions, like World War III has broken out. “Cam?” Natalia says. But I keep running, still with no voice, still unable to answer her, determined to get us back to the car. But I’m confused about which direction to go, and whatever that thing was, that strange energy that allowed me to break those bonds and get free to help Natalia, is draining from my body.

After another minute of aimless running, I’m totally spent. I drop down and let Natalia go. She’s unsteady on her feet and her face is pale. Another explosion shakes the ground. She gasps and I grab her hand, motioning toward the forest. “You still can’t talk?” she asks. I shake my head, frustrated. “Hold on, give me a second.” She closes her eyes and moves closer to me. I watch her forehead wrinkle in intense concentration. I feel a warm bubble up in my throat, and then a second of sharp pain in my neck. “Thanks,” I try, surprised when it really comes out. Nat nods in satisfaction. I look around. I don’t see anyone, but who knows how long that’s going to last. “And now we need to get out of here.” “What the hell’s going on?” she asks. “One of the guards hit you and knocked you out,” I tell her. “And while you were unconscious, there was an

attack. A whole army invaded the theatre and started wiping out everyone in the compound.” Natalia puts a hand to her mouth. “Killing them?” I nod. “Who was it?” she asks. “I don’t know,” I say, and shrug. “Probably Raine’s side. But whoever it was, it’s bad. Really bad. Reed told me to get you out of there, so you know he must have been desperate.” I look around again, but I don’t see anything except smoke and trees. “The only problem is, I have no idea where we are.” Another explosion rocks the forest, shaking the ground underneath our feet. There’s a flash of red-orange light from the direction of the amphitheatre, and a large plume of black smoke starts pouring into the sky. “Come on,” Natalia says, taking my hand. “I know where we can go.”

Chapter Two Natalia I take Cam back to the cottage, the one where Danata and her friends were practicing their magic. I don’t know that it’s the best plan – we should probably be trying to get out of the woods and back to our cars – but with the compound being under siege, I don’t know what else to do. We dart through the trees, staying close to the ground, ducking when we see fireballs shooting through the sky. It’s terrifying, but I’m able to take small comfort in the fact that whatever kind of attack this is, it’s obviously bigger than me and Cam. With the amount of destruction that’s going on, it seems like Raine’s side is set on destroying the whole compound. I’m not even sure they know that Cam and I are here – but if they figure it out, who knows what they’ll do? “What is this place?” Cam asks as we climb the front

steps of the cottage. “Some of the younger witches live here.” I hold my breath and knock, not really expecting anyone to be there. Most people were back at the amphitheatre, watching the bond breaking ceremony. After a second goes by with no response, I turn the knob, open the door, and step inside. I’m standing in the living room. It’s small, but nicely furnished, with an ivory couch, and two oak rocking chairs. The walls are covered with black and white prints of beach scenes, and a red and green striped shag rug sits on the shiny hardwood floor. “How do you know who lives here?” Cam asks, coming into the house behind me. “I met them earlier.” “When you were with Reed?” I can see the hurt in his eyes, and I feel my heart squeeze in my chest. “Yes,” I say, “when I was with Reed.” I want to say that I never should have gone

with him, that I shouldn’t have left Cam alone with Raine. But before I can say anything, Cam shuts the door behind him, turns the lock, and heads toward the kitchen. “Come on,” he says. “We have to pack.” “Pack?” I follow him to the back of the house, into a large kitchen decorated in shades of orange and green. “Yeah.” He opens some of the cabinets, which look to be filled with cans of food. “Help me find a backpack or something to carry these in.” “What are we packing for?” I ask, rummaging around under the sink and emerging with a mesh grocery bag. “In case we get caught out there,” he says. “Or in case we have to hide.” I frown. “What do you mean, caught out there?” I sit

down at one of the wooden stools in front of the Formica-covered breakfast bar. “I think we should just lay low until the fireballs calm down, and then try to find our way back to your car.” He turns around and looks at me in astonishment. “Lay low and then find our way back to my car?” he repeats. “You think we should find mine instead?” I ask. “I mean, at some point we’ll have to find both of them, but I figured yours would be closer.” He sighs and sets the can of soup he’s holding down on the counter. He crosses the kitchen, and sits down on the stool next to me. “Nat,” he says, taking my hand. “I’m not sure getting out of here’s going to be as easy as you think.” “What do you mean?” I ask, a cold feeling of dread rising up through my body. “No one’s looking for us yet.” “We don’t know that,” he says. “I think we have to be

prepared for anything.” He takes my hand. “Right now Raine’s side is focused on fighting Reed and his men, that’s true. But at some point, they might figure out we’re here, and when they do, they’re probably going to come after us.” He sighs and closes his eyes, then runs the fingers of his free hand through his hair. He looks tired, and there’s stubble on his cheeks. “Not to mention we just tried to go against your side. We tried to go against Reed. So we’re in double danger now. It’s us against everyone.” “We had no choice!” I say, standing up. “Cam, they were going to kill you and Raine, they were going to –“ “Hey, hey, hey,” he says, grabbing me around the waist and pulling me down onto his lap. “Calm down.” “I’m sorry,” I say, burying my head in his neck. “I’m just so sick of this.” I start to cry, and he lets me, stroking my hair and letting me get it all out. It’s a

huge relief to finally be able to let go, to not have to pretend, to be able to admit that I’m terrified and frustrated and angry. “Shh,” Cam says, “Shhh.” He kisses my cheeks, and brushes my hair away from my face. We sit like that for a moment, our foreheads touching, our eyes closed. His presence calms me, and after a few minutes, I start to feel better. “I’m sorry,” I say again. “You don’t ever have to apologize for how you feel.” He kisses me again, his lips sending a million explosions down to my toes. “Natalia,” he whispers, “when I was up there, on that stage, and I thought… I thought I was going to die, all I could think about was you.” I don’t say anything. My heart is beating fast, and there’s a current of energy pulsing through my body. “I kept thinking that I was going to die before I got to talk to you again.” He pulls back and looks into my eyes. “Before I got to tell you that I love you.” His words send shivers up my spine. “I love you, too,”

I say softly. And then his lips are back on mine, and I lose myself in his kiss. In that moment, nothing is wrong – Cam and I are just two people, two people who just told each other they love each other for the first time, two people who can’t believe they found each other. I want to keep kissing him forever. But I have to pull back. Because there’s a knock on the door. I move away from Cam, and he puts his finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet. I freeze, afraid if I move even one millimeter, whoever’s outside will be able to hear me. The knock comes again, harder this time. And then, someone tries the doorknob. Cam’s eyes are locked on mine, and I know what he’s thinking. Stay quiet, stay still, but if it comes down to it, we’re going to have to fight. I see his gaze flick around the kitchen, and I can tell he’s scanning

the room, looking for something we can use as a weapon if we have to. Another knock comes from the door, and again, the rattle of the knob. And then the sound of a key turning in the lock. Cam’s eyes widen, and we both stand up, ready to run. But before we can, a familiar figure steps into the cottage. “Hello?” a female voice calls out. Danata. I let out the huge breath I’ve been holding. “Oh,” I say in relief. “It’s you.” “Yes,” she says, looking surprised. “It’s me. What are you doing here?” She sets her bag down on the table by the door, and goes to curtsy again, but I stop her. “You don’t need to do that,” I say, blushing as Cam gives me a ‘ what the hell is up with that?’ kind of look. “This is Danata,” I tell him. “She lives here. It’s okay, she’s on our side.” I turn back to her. “What’s

going on out there?” I ask. She crosses into the kitchen and sits across from us at the breakfast bar. “It’s an ambush,” she says, her face serious. “From the other side. They’ve come to get Raine.” “But Raine was going to surrender,” I say. “Well, apparently someone didn’t like that.” Danata shrugs, then looks down at her lap. “Everyone’s searching for you.” I know what she means. Raine’s side is looking for me. And my own side, led by Reed, is looking for me, too. They both want the same thing -- to capture me, to use me so that they can become more powerful. It’s exactly like Cam said. There’s no one we can trust. “We have to get you out of here,” Cam says, squeezing my hand. “How?” I ask. Outside, I can still here the fireballs flying overhead, punctuated by explosions and yelling in the distance.

“You were right, we need to get back to one of our cars.” “Do you know where your car is from here?” I ask. “I parked mine on the path coming in from the highway.” I think about it. “But I don’t know how to get back there.” “I can show you,” Danata says. I look at her, startled. “What?” “I can help you,” she says, “I can show you how to get back to your car.” Cam and I look at each other, and I can tell we’re both thinking the same thing. Can we trust her? “Why would you do that?” I ask. “Because.” She looks down at the floor, playing with her hands. “I want to help you. I don’t think it’s right what Reed’s doing.”

I hesitate, not sure what to do. On one hand, I don’t know if she’s telling the truth. On the other hand, if she is telling the truth, I can certainly use the help – but at the same time, I don’t want to be responsible for getting her involved in this. I shake my head. “No,” I say, “I can’t let you do that.” “Why not?” she asks, and for the first time, I hear a little bit of fire in her voice. She sits up straight and throws her shoulders back, like she’s daring me to tell her she can’t do something. “Because you’ll be in danger,” I say. Cam nods. “Nat’s right,” he says. “But if you can just tell us how to get --” There’s a knock on the door. It’s a different knock than the one that came a few moments ago, when it was Danata. This knock is loud. Hard. Forceful. Cam and I freeze again. But Danata springs into

action. “Stay here,” she whispers, and heads to the door. “No,” I whisper back, shaking my head. I reach for her arm to try and stop her, but she’s out of my reach and before I know it, she’s at the door. “Hello?” I hear her say when she opens it. “Oh, hi, soldier.” From her casual tone, I’m guessing it’s one of Reed’s men, and not one of the intruders from Raine’s side. “Your name, please?” a gruff male voice asks. “Danata Richelle,” she says. “You live here?” he asks. “You’re in training? “Yes,” she says, her voice back to sounding young and innocent. “You mind if I search the premises?” My heart drops and I feel the adrenaline start to pump through my body. Cam reaches out and grabs

my hand. He motions toward the back door, letting me know that we should be ready to run. But the cottage is small, and if we get up, the soldier will most definitely hear us. Even if we could outrun him, once he got on his walkie talkie and notified everyone else, we wouldn’t stand a chance. “Why do you have to search the house?” Danata asks. “I’m the only one here.” “We’re looking for Natalia and Campbell,” the soldier says. “And I’ve been instructed to search everywhere.” “It’s awful what happened at the bond breaking ceremony,” Danata says. “I was so scared.” Her voice still sounds shy and innocent. The fireballs that have been shaking the forest seem to have stopped for the time being, and I can hear her loud and clear. “Yes,” the soldier says, “it was awful. Now if you could – ” “Do you think we’re in danger?” Danata says. “Are

they going to blow up the whole compound?” “I seriously doubt it,” the soldier says. “Reed is preparing the army as we speak. Now if you’ll let me in, I’ll have a look around, and then take you to the town hall. It’s safer there.” “Of course,” I hear Danata say. Cam stands up, grabs my hand, and starts to pull me toward the back door. But before I can take a step, I hear a commotion coming from the front door. “Hey!” the soldier yells. “Where are you going?” For a second, I think he’s talking to us. But then I hear the sounds of shuffling feet, and footsteps, and it becomes apparent what’s happened. Danata’s run out the door and into the forest, probably trying to create a distraction so that the soldier won’t hear me and Cam escape out the back. I don’t know if it will work, but if it’s going to, we only have a few seconds. “Run,” Cam whispers. And so I do.

Chapter Three Campbell In a flash the two of us are out the back door and running across the open field, trying to make it to the edge of the forest before anyone notices us. I’ve never felt so vulnerable in my life. Someone could take us out with a spell at any moment, fry us like a couple of ants under a magnifying glass. But when we get to the line of trees, nobody appears to have seen us. We stop running for a moment as I try to get my bearings. Natalia is already gasping for air. “Can you find your car?” I ask. She looks around, her wide eyes searching for something familiar. “I don’t know.” She shakes her head. “None of this looks like anything I remember.” She bites her lip, then points toward a path that

opens up through the trees. “I think that might lead to the front of the compound. That’s where my car is.” “You think or you know?” I ask, my tone harsher than I intended. She flinches. “Don’t talk to me like that.” “I’m sorry,” I say immediately. “I’m just scared. If we get turned around now we could end up dead. Or captured by Raine’s troops.” “That could happen no matter what we do.” I nod my head as a far away explosion reverberates through the forest. They’d stopped for a few moments, but it doesn’t matter -- I’m almost getting used to it. “You’re right,” I tell Natalia. “Let’s just try our best to stay safe.” “Come on,” she says, taking my hand. “Let’s try to find my car.” We start walking, both of us looking every which way as we move through the forest, our feet crunching on

leaves and branches. When the explosions aren’t happening, it’s eerily quiet and I’m paranoid that we’re going to be heard by anyone and everyone. But after a few minutes, we still haven’t been spotted and I get the sense we’re even further from the fighting. At long last, we make it to the road. Nat looks both ways, a little uncertain again. Then she points up the road, where it rounds a corner going uphill. “I think my car is that way.” I nod. “We can walk. But we have to stay off the road since it’s probably the first place they’ll look for us.” “What if they’ve got the path blocked off where it meets the road?” I shrug. “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, I guess.” We walk up the hill, staying well inside the forest and off the path. But when we round the bend, we’re greeted by an unpleasant sight. Nat gasps and I just stand there, trying to process

what I’m seeing. The blackened skeleton of Natalia’s car is sitting on the side of the road, surrounded by ash. It’s almost unrecognizable. It looks like it was hit by a missile. Part of the backseat is intact, but otherwise, the car is totally wrecked. Natalia runs toward it. I follow her, standing a few feet away as she kneels down and picks up her bag from where it’s laying on what’s left of backseat. It’s covered in black ash, but she slings it over her shoulder anyway. “Nat,” I say, reaching out and touching her arm. “What now?” she whispers. She’s still staring at the car, her gaze unfocused and blank. “I have no idea.” And then I spot them. A group of three witches, obviously from Raine’s side, since they’re dressed all in black. They emerge

from the woods and huddle together, talking excitedly. One of them is holding a map and they appear to be studying it as they try to figure out their next course of action. My breath catches in my chest, and I crouch down behind the blackened car, pulling Natalia down with me. The two of us sit there, trying to stay as quiet as possible. After a little bit, I peek around the bumper of the car. The witches are gone. “They’re probably going to search every inch of this forest,” I whisper in Nat’s ear. “Are they looking for us, do you think?” “I don’t think they’re too interested in me,” I say. “Well, maybe they are, if they think I can help Raine’s energy.” Nat puts her face in her hands and starts to cry silently, her shoulders shaking.

I grab her in a big hug and hold her close to me. I can feel her heart pounding against my chest. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” I tell her, meaning it. “I would die to keep anyone from hurting you. I promise.” She stops crying and wipes her eyes. “I’m okay.” “You sure?” She nods. “Okay,” I say, “New plan. I say we make our way down the hill, stick near the path, but far enough off of it so that we can’t be seen. It meets up with the street a couple miles down.” “And then what? What do we do once we hit the street?” she says. “I don’t know. Hitchhike or something.” She laughs. “That’s a great idea, Cam. Maybe Raine’s friends will be nice enough to give us a ride home.”

“You have a better idea?” “Well,” she says, “we could head back to the town hall.” I stare at her. “Are you kidding? I can’t go back there. Reed tried to kill me, remember?” “True. But that was when they had Raine, and she’s gone now.” “We don’t know where Raine is,” I say. “We’re not safe in the woods, Cam,” she says, “They destroyed my car for a reason. They know we’re trying to get away, and they’re going to have this place surrounded.” “I’m willing to take my chances.” Neither of us say anything for a while. We just sit there, listening to the sounds of the forest and the occasional burst of explosions in the distance. Obviously the battle hasn’t ended.

“I’m starting down,” I say, standing up. “Are you coming with me?” She hesitates, like she’s thinking about it. But after a moment, she nods. We start to walk, keeping off the path, trying our best to keep from making a ton of noise as we tramp through the underbrush. But it’s impossible to be totally quiet, and if anybody happens to be nearby searching for us, they’re going to hear us. I just hope we can make it before too much time goes by and whoever ends up winning this skirmish has time to really organize a search party. But our good luck doesn’t last. About a mile down the hill, we’re spotted by someone from Raine’s side. A lone soldier dressed in black is standing on the path and sees us when we come over a slight hill. He immediately puts a cell phone to his ear. “Campbell and The Queen are on the path,” the soldier says. “Repeat, Campbell – ” But before he

can finish, Natalia swats at the air with her hand and his phone flies out of his grasp and lands in the dirt. Then she makes another slapping motion and the soldier flies headfirst into a tree trunk, collapsing into a moaning heap on the ground. “Jesus, Nat,” I say. “How’d you do that?” She turns and looks at me, her jaw trembling. “I don’t know. Reflex?” “We need to run,” I say. “Now.” “We need to go back to the town hall, Cam. We need protection.” “No,” I say, shaking my head. “Fuck that.” “We tried your way already,” she says. “Now it’s my turn.” “No.” “Well, we have to go somewhere,” she says,

throwing her arms up in the air. “We can’t just stay here.” “I should have known you’d be sitting out in the open like a couple of clueless teenagers,” a voice calls from behind us. I spin around and see Hadley emerging from a cluster of trees. “You’re lucky I’m the one who found you and not someone else,” she says. “What the hell are you thinking, being out here in the open like this?” “What else were we supposed to do?” I ask. “We tried to get out of here, but Nat’s car was torched, and then someone spotted us.” “I want to go back to the compound,” Natalia says. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks back and forth between me and Hadley, challenging us to defy her. But Hadley shakes her head. “The compound’s been overtaken. Our troops are scattered all over the grounds. We’re fighting on all fronts.”

“And Reed?” I ask, glancing at Nat out of the corner of my eye. She shrugs. “He’s here somewhere. I wouldn’t be too anxious to see him if I were you.” “So what are we supposed to do now?” Natalia asks. “There’s a place I can take you that not too many people know about,” Hadley says. “It’s not far from here. If we can wait out the night, things will hopefully have calmed down by the morning. Then I can work on getting you transportation out of here.” “Are you sure it’s safe?” I ask her. Hadley smiles at me. “Have I steered you wrong yet?” Then she laughs. “Actually, don’t answer that.” Natalia and I look at each other, both knowing we have no choice.

A moment later, we’re running through the woods, following Hadley to our next destination.

Chapter Four Natalia We start following Hadley through the forest. I want to ask her how far away wherever it is that she’s taking us, but I’m afraid. I don’t want to know the answer. I don’t want to know how far we’re going to have to walk. So I fall silently into step behind her, Cam beside me. He reaches out and takes my hand, his fingers wrapping around mine. It makes me feel a little better. We walk for about forty minutes, stopping every so often to duck behind a tree if we hear the crackle of walkie talkies, or spot a soldier through the brush. Eventually, though, things seem to start calming down. We aren’t encountering as many soldiers, and the sound of explosions seems to be getting further and further away. “We’re almost there,” Hadley says, turning around. “You guys okay?”

“Yeah,” Cam says, “We’re fine.” “Good,” she says, “As soon we get there, we’ll – ” Suddenly, she stops. Ahead of us, further down the path, is a figure. It looks like a girl, in jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. But hood is pulled up over her head, making it hard to see her face. It’s too late to run. Cam and I freeze. “Who is that?” Hadley yells. “Who’s there?” The person doesn’t answer, just takes another step toward us. Hadley puts her hand up, getting ready to cast a spell. But then, at the last second, the person pulls her hood back, dropping it from her face. “Relax, Hadley,” Raine says, rolling her eyes as she walks toward us. “You’re always so paranoid.” My jaw drops. “Stop!” Hadley yells at Raine. “Don’t come any

closer.” Raine rolls her eyes again and keeps walking, until Hadley shoots a warning fireball out from her fingers. It lands a few inches from Raine’s feet. “Fine,” Raine says, holding her hands up. “I’ll stop. You don’t have to get all crazy with the fireballs.” “What are you doing here?” Cam asks. “We didn’t know where you were. We thought you might have gotten captured.” Raine scoffs, like the thought of her being captured is ridiculous. “I faked being unconscious once the battle started. I was feeding off your energy, Cam, and so I felt strong, too.” She shrugs and sits down on a huge rock. She crosses her legs, like she’s out for a summer stroll, instead of in the middle of some kind of supernatural war. “After you guys took off, the guards tried to get to me, but I fought them off and ran.” “From who?” I ask.

“Everyone.” She raises her eyes and looks at me. “I told you I wanted to be done with all this stuff, Natalia. Just because the invaders are supposedly on my side doesn’t mean I’m going to go back with them.” “Where are you going now?” I ask. “I’m not sure.” If she’s concerned, she doesn’t show it. “Where are you guys going?” “We’re not sure, either,” Hadley says quickly. She raises her eyebrows at me and Cam, warning us not to even think about inviting Raine to come with us or helping her in any way. She’s right, of course. I still don’t completely trust Raine. I stay quiet, and Cam doesn’t say anything, either. “Whatever,” Raine says. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s not like I’m going to follow you or anything.” She leans her elbows back against the rock and kicks her sneakers in the dirt. “I’m better off on my own, anyway.”

She’s trying to make it out like she thinks we’re stupid and doesn’t need us, but her voice has lost some of its bravado, and she looks suddenly small, sitting there on the rock in her oversized sweatshirt. Cam and I look at each other, and I can tell we’re thinking the same thing. Yes, Raine’s been totally evil, but how can we just leave her out here, on her own? She’s still a person. And whatever else you want to say about her, she did help me find Cam. It wouldn’t be right. “Stop,” Hadley says, seeing the look that passes between me and Cam. “Don’t even think about it.” “What will they do to her if they find her?” Cam asks. “I don’t know,” Hadley says. “It depends on who finds her first. And honestly, it’s nothing we should be concerned with.” “But the bond breaking ceremony didn’t work,” I argue. “If Reed finds Raine, and he decides to kill her, Cam will die, too.” Saying the words out loud

sends a shiver down my spine. “Reed won’t kill her,” Hadley says, but she doesn’t sound convinced. “And besides, taking her with us is too much of a risk. One, it could be a trick, and two, we can’t let her get too close to Cam.” “Good point,” I say. The last thing I want is for Raine to start making Cam all loopy again. On the other hand, if we take her with us, at least then we can control their connection and try to keep her away from him as much as possible. If we leave her out here, running around, who knows what could happen? If Reed does find her decide to kill her, I would never forgive myself. “But what if she is telling the truth?” Cam asks. “ And what if Reed does kill her?” “He’s not going to kill her,” Hadley says again. And again, she doesn’t sound convinced. “I think we should take her with us,” Cam says. “It’s better for us if we can keep an eye on her.”

“No,” Hadley says, shaking her head. “It’s not a good idea. She’s a liar and a snake.” “Um, hello?” Raine says, sighing and looking up at the sky. “I’m right here. I can hear you, you know.” “Like I care,” Hadley says. “Wow, amazing comeback.” Raine pulls herself back up and looks at Hadley. “I’m so impressed.” Hadley takes a step toward her, like maybe she’s going to shoot off another fireball, or maybe something worse. “Enough!” I say. “This is ridiculous. Raine’s coming with us.” Hadley opens her mouth to protest, but I give her a look. “Fine,” she says, probably realizing that I’m not messing around. “Whatever. But she better be able to keep up.”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to keep up?” Raine asks, jumping off the rock and looking pleased. “Because I beat the shit out of you,” Hadley says. “And you’re probably still recovering.” “Oh, right,” Raine says,“I forgot. It was so hard to beat the crap out of someone you had tied up. Again, really impressive.” “I said enough!” I yell. “I’m serious.” Hadley looks like she’s going to protest, but again, she keeps her mouth shut, and instead, just turns and starts walking down the path. “Wow,” Cam says. “Where did you learn to be so forceful?” “I don’t know,” I say, “but I figure if I’m tapped to be a queen, I better start acting like one.” “I like it,” Cam says, a grin spreading across his face. “Very sexy.” He leans down and brushes his

lips against mine.” “Gag me,” Raine says. I walk up to her, until I’m just inches away from her face. “I wasn’t just talking to Hadley when I said enough,” I tell her. “You better not make me regret this.” “I won’t,” she says. Her voice isn’t quiet anymore, and for a second, I feel like maybe I really should just leave her out here in the woods to fend for herself. But then she starts to follow Hadley, and after I feel like there’s enough distance between her and Cam, we fall into step behind them. *** Hadley takes us to a cave. “This is your secret hiding spot?” Raine asks incredulously. “The great place that’s supposed to keep everyone safe?” She’s been quiet for most of the walk here, which took another twenty minutes or

so. Cam and I stayed as far behind her as we could, while still making sure to never let her out of our sight. “It’s actually pretty big inside,” Hadley says, pulling back the cover of bushes that hide the entrance and ignoring Raine’s comment. “Plenty of room for us to sleep.” She steps inside and I look at Cam. He shrugs. “What choice do we have?” he says. “Besides, maybe it’ll be fun. Like camping.” “Yeah, exactly like camping,” Raine says, pushing past us. “If your campground was overrun with people who were trying to kill you.” She disappears through the entrance of the cave. Cam pulls me close. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of everything,” he says into my hair. I close my eyes and lay my head on his chest, trying to pretend that none of this is happening.

“You ready?” he says after another second. “Yeah,” I say. “Ladies first.” I turn around and duck into the cave. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but once they do, it’s actually not that dark. The walls of the cave, at least near the front, are made of a stacked rock wall, and the outside light shines through the spaces between the stones. Later, when it gets dark out, it will probably be pitch black in here. But for now, there’s enough light to see. “It’s deep,” Hadley’s voice is saying from somewhere further back. “So we can make sure to keep enough space between Cam and Raine.” “Cam and Raine?” Raine scoffs. “What about Cam and Natalia? The way they’ve been acting lately, we’re going to have to be careful that he doesn’t devirginize her tonight.”

“Shut up, Raine,” Cam says. And mercifully, she does. We spend the next few hours setting up camp. Hadley and Cam gather branches in case we need to have a fire tonight, and Raine and I start sweeping the dirt out of the bottom of the cave with a branch. We don’t have any blankets, and so we’re pretty much going to have to sleep on leaves or whatever else we can find. Raine and I are quiet as we work. It’s difficult, because the branches we’re using as makeshift brooms aren’t that big, and so we have to stoop down to try and get the floor clean. My bag slaps against my side as I sweep. “It’d be easier if you put your bag down,” Raine says. “I’m fine.” She rolls her eyes. “Trust me, Natalia,” she says, “No one wants to steal your Lip Smackers and your pictures of Cam.”

I want to remind her that if it weren’t for me, she’d be out in the woods, friendless and alone. But I know it won’t do any good. I think about putting my bag down, but the iPad Brody gave me is in there, and I don’t want to take the chance of anything happening to it. On the other hand, if I don’t put the bag down Raine might start to suspect there’s something in there that I don’t want anyone to see. Something a lot more important than Lip Smackers. So I roll my eyes and set the bag down a few feet away. As I do, the top of the iPad comes peeking out, and I see Raine’s eyes fall on it. For a second, I’m worried, but then I realize since it looks exactly like a normal iPad, there’s nothing to be nervous about. Plus, Raine shows no reaction. “You’re not sweeping very fast,” she says a few moments later. “At this rate it’s going to take forever.” “Raine,” I say, “We’re using branches as brooms, of course it’s going to take forever.”

Cam and Hadley appear at the entrance to the cave before she can answer. Their arms are filled with wood. “I don’t see how we’re going to be able to have a fire. Won’t all the soldiers see the smoke?” Raine asks. She throws her branch onto the ground and then sits down, her back against the stone wall of the cave. “It’s just in case,” Hadley says. “Just in case what?” Raine asks. Cam and I look at each other nervously, and I can tell we’re thinking the same thing. Raine’s right – if we start a fire, the smoke definitely had a chance of alerting the soldiers to our whereabouts. But Hadley obviously thinks we could be here for a while. She has a bag filled with canned goods and bags of chips and other stuff – but if we’re here any longer than a day or two, we’re going to have to find food somehow. Not to mention it’s October, and the

nights are getting colder. “Are you done sweeping?” Hadley asks Raine irritably, ignoring her question. Raine gets up, sighs, and then continues to sweep. And after a second, I do the same. *** By the time we’ve swept out the cave and gathered enough leaves and branches to sleep on, the sun’s beginning to set, and we’re all exhausted. “You cold?” Cam asks as he lays down beside me. He takes his sweatshirt off and lays it over the top of me. “No,” I say, pushing it back off. “We should share it.” “I’m fine,” he says, reaching out and pulling me close to him. “You’ll keep me warm.” I snuggle into his chest, listening to his breathing. I’m about to say something else, about how worried I

am, about how I just want this all to go away, about how much I care about him. But my eyes are already closing, and before I can say anything, I’m asleep. *** When I wake up, everything’s pitch black. I’m disoriented, not knowing where I am or what’s going on. I’m in the exact same position I was in when I fall asleep, my head against Cam’s chest, his arms around me. It all comes rushing back, and I take a deep breath. It’s okay, I tell myself, you’re safe for

now. I turn over. There’s a faint light coming from the other side of the cave, and I prop myself up on my elbows, trying to see what it is. My eyes take a moment to adjust, but after a few seconds, I can make out a figure. Raine. She’s sitting a few yards away, her back to the wall. Her face is illuminated from a glow that’s coming from something in her lap. I look down, and it takes a second to register. It’s my iPad. The iPad Brody

gave me is in Raine’s lap. It’s just sitting there, forgotten, as she stares straight ahead. One of her hands is out in front of her, and she looks like she’s in some kind of trance. I follow her gaze, my heart pounding, not sure what to do. And when I see what Raine’s looking at, a scream rises in my throat. I bite it back, digging my fingers digging into my palms to keep it from coming out. Hadley’s across from Raine, against the opposite stone wall, her body hovering in the air, three or four feet off the ground. She’s clutching her throat, and her eyes are bulging. A thin line of blood trickles from the side of her mouth and down her chin. As I watch, she starts to scratch harder at her throat, her eyes rolling back into her head. “Raine!” I scream, throwing the covers off me and running over to her. “Raine, what the fuck are you doing?”

But Raine doesn’t respond. I move across the cave to Hadley, trying to summon up my powers, trying to help her, to get her back onto the ground. Her eyes are completely white now, and her head lolls from side to side. The sides of her mouth are pulled back into a grimace. A drop of blood falls from her mouth to the floor. “Raine!” I scream. “Raine, stop it!” But she’s still in a trance. Cam’s awake now, and he runs to Raine, shaking her, trying to get her to stop. I try to concentrate all my energy on her. But it’s not working. Hadley’s head snaps back. The blood that was dripping from her mouth has turned into a yellowish green phlegm. She lets out a groan, and then drops to a ground in a heap. “Hadley!” Cam screams. Her neck is tilted at a grotesque angle, completely broken.

I turn away feeling my stomach clench. I throw up onto the floor of the cave. And when I turn back around, Raine stands up. She’s no longer wearing the hoodie she had on when we found her in the woods. Now she’s wearing a white tank top. And in the light of the iPad, I see the necklace on her neck. It’s bigger than her old one, black and gold with a thicker chain. She looks at Hadley. “She’s dead,” Raine says, nodding in satisfaction. And then she laughs.

Chapter Five Campbell I wake up from a half-remembered nightmare into a waking one. Someone yells, but I can’t tell who it is. Something is wrong. There’s a strange blue-ish white glow in one corner of the cave, and shadows moving about. Voices are raised and echoing in the empty, dank confines. I hear sobbing. And laughter. When I realize what’s going on, I rush over to Raine. The next few minutes are a blur. And then it’s too late. “She’s dead,” Raine says, and laughs.

Thank god Natalia’s not hurt. When I get to her, she’s kneeling down next to a lump on the ground. “Jesus!” I yell when I see what’s happened to Hadley. Her face is white, with splotches around her bulging eyes, and a grimace on her face that looks like she’s about to scream. Only she’s not screaming. She’s not even breathing. Her neck is cocked at an angle that’s not even possible. Then I see jagged white bone protruding out from her throat and I have to look away. Natalia’s crying, shaking. I look at Raine and she’s watching it all with an amused grin. “Oh, so sad.” She puffs out her bottom lip. “Poor little Hadley.” “Raine, why the fuck did you do that?” I ask, my voice trembling with rage and fear. “It needed doing.” She gives me a wink and strides to the glowing iPad laying on the ground. Then she picks it up.

Nat spins. “That’s mine.” “Not anymore.” Raine’s smile fades as she looks at both of us. “You two are lucky that you’ve both been nice to me the last few days. Especially you,” she says, focusing back on Nat. Natalia stands up and straightens and I sense that she’s gathering herself to fight Raine. And I know that if she does this awful situation is going to get much, much worse. But Raine suddenly throws her arms wide and her entire body starts to glow with a white light that’s nearly blinding. Her dark, silvery butterfly necklace is pulsating with a red fire. “Do you think you can even hurt me if you try?” she asks. “I could destroy you right now. Destroy you.” “Then why don’t you?” Nat says, taking a step toward her. “Don’t goad her.” I move in front of Natalia so that I’m physically shielding her from Raine. “Just leave us

alone,” I say to Raine. “We don’t want to hurt you. We tried to help you.” Raine stares at me and even after everything she’s done, I can still see her beauty. I know this is part of the spell but it doesn’t matter. She has that power over me. We have a bond. She smiles. “Oh, Cam. Always playing the white knight for your little delicate flower.” The glow slowly surrounding her dies out and she drops her arms to her sides. “Nat saved me when I was trapped down in Hadley’s basement. And so she gets a pass from me for now. But I will deal with her. Soon.” And then she strides out of the cave, taking the iPad with her. Natalia tries to run after her, but I won’t let her go. “Don’t do it. She’ll kill you if you try.” I hold her and she breaks down in my arms. Her sobs are so loud I’m afraid someone might hear from outside.

“Hadley…She’s d…d…dead.” “Shhh. It’s going to be okay,” I lie. “It’s going to be okay.” *** We leave the cave just a few minutes later. There’s no way we could stay there with Hadley’s body and her wide, staring eyes. I’ll never forget the way she looked, but I try to put the image from my mind as we walk through the dark forest with only the moonlight to guide us. “It’s quiet,” Nat says, as we stop for a moment to try and get our bearings. I stare up at the moon and stars, trying to see if I can figure out which direction to walk by following the North Star or something. “I haven’t heard any explosions or fighting for hours now, so I can only assume the battle is over.” “Yeah. And I think I know who won.”

I look back at her. Her face is lost in shadow but I know she’s still really shaken up. “We can’t do anything about what happened tonight.” “But I’m the one who convinced Hadley to let her come with us—” “That’s because you’re a good person. And I agreed with you, so I guess it’s my fault too?” Natalia sighs. “I don’t know.” “We didn’t kill her, Nat. Raine killed her because she’s a vicious psycho.” I shake my head. “We can’t worry about Raine now. We need to find a way out of here.” So we start walking again, even though neither of us is sure where we’re going. Eventually, though, we find the down slope of the hill and follow it to where it levels off again. We walk. And walk. And walk. And after what feels

like hours stumbling around half-blind, I hear noise. It’s the sound of occasionally passing cars. We’re near the highway. Nat and I break through the trees and suddenly we see the blacktop stretching out on both sides of us, and down the road, the light from a Shell Gas Station. “Come on.” I take her hand and together we run across the road. “What now?” she says, as we arrive on the other side. I point to the gas station. “It looks open.” “We don’t have a car to gas up, Cam.” I look at her and laugh. “No shit.” “Did you mean what you said to me before?”

“About everything being okay? Of course I meant it.” “No, the other thing.” She looks down at the ground. “Which thing?” “When you said you loved me?” She looks back up, her eyes meeting mine. “Did you mean it?” “Yes.” I pull her close to me, and kiss her, holding her in my arms for a long moment. Finally, she pulls away. “Come on.” She sounds determined, like all she needed was a moment of with me to get her strength back. A bell rings softly as we enter the station. There’s an older man drinking an enormous fountain soda and reading a newspaper at the register. He looks up at us, surprised, wiping his mouth with a dirty napkin. “Mind if I use your phone?” I ask, trying to sound as

normal as I can given the circumstances. “You kids okay?” he says, looking at us carefully. “You look…spooked.” “We’re fine,” I tell him. “Just had a little car trouble.” I point to the phone sitting beside the register. “So can I use it?” He shrugs. “Sure. Be my guest.” I pick up the receiver, watching the double doors, hoping I won’t see anybody we know walk through them. I dial the number and hope he’ll answer. Sometimes when he’s sleeping it would take an earthquake to wake him up and even that might not do it. After four rings I’m starting to give up hope. But finally there’s a clatter as the receiver is picked up and the familiar gruff voice answers. “This better be good.”

“Dad, it’s me.” “I know, Campbell. I have caller ID. What’s wrong?” “I can’t go into it now, but I’m okay. I’m just kind of stranded at the moment.” “Stranded where?” “Somewhere in Maine. About an hour from your house, I think.” “I’m coming. Give me the address.” The attendant tells me the address and I repeat it to my father. There’s noise on the other end, like heavy breathing, and it comforts me to picture him starting to get dressed and putting his shoes on. Coming to get me. Dear old Dad. When I hang up the phone, Nat looks at me. She’s got her arms wrapped around herself, and she looks so small and fragile. I walk over and hug her. “Your dad’s coming to pick us up?”

“Yeah. He lives close enough, and I think it will be safer if we hide out there for a few days before going back to Santa Anna.” The attendant is watching us warily. We walk over to the doors and peer outside. The street is empty and desolate. “Now we wait,” she says, still staring out the glass. *** About an hour and a half later, my dad’s Chevy Navigator drives in and parks a few feet from the building. We’re just about walk outside when Natalia looks back at the attendant. “Thanks for your help,” she says. He’s been mostly working on a crossword puzzle the last half hour or so, but now he glances up at us and gives us a tentative smile. “No worries. You two stay

safe now.” Nat looks at him for a long while. “We will. And it would be nice if you didn’t mention us to anyone.” “Mention you?” He cocks his head, puzzled, and then wipes his mouth again with that dirty napkin. “Right. Like, if someone comes in here and asks if you’ve seen two kids fitting our description. Maybe you could just tell them you don’t remember seeing us.” He chuckles, but he looks nervous. “Now, why would I do that?” Suddenly, Nat’s stare grows cold. “Because you don’t. Remember. Us.” She grabs my hand and pulls me out the doors. I look back and see the attendant fall back into his seat with a stunned look on his face. He blinks a few times, but he’s not even watching us go.

Chapter Six Natalia Cam’s dad looks like an older version of Cam – dark hair, tall, broad shoulders. He also looks pissed. Of course, I guess I would be too if someone called me in the middle of the night to come and pick them up. “You made good time,” Cam says as he gets in the car. I slide into the backseat next to him. “Yup,” his dad says, sounding short. He doesn’t say anything else, or ask who I am, or what the hell we’re doing in Maine at a random gas station in the middle of the night. He just pulls the car back onto the highway. This must be usual behavior for him, because Cam doesn’t try to get his dad to talk. He just pulls me against him, and then rolls the window down in the backseat, flooding the car with the crisp night air.

His dad does eighty miles an hour all the way back to his house. I think about how just a few weeks ago, this would have made me nervous. But now, after all the dangerous things I’ve seen and been involved in, it doesn’t even register. We get there in a little over an hour, to a huge house on the water, with big glass windows that look out over the ocean. I’m not a real estate expert, but I realize that this house must have cost a lot of money. “We’ll talk in the morning, Campbell,” Mr. Elliot says, slamming the car door behind him. “You can stay in the pool house.” He walks up the driveway without looking back. Cam swallows, and I see the anger on his face -- a reaction to how his dad is behaving. “There’s a pool house?” I say, trying to lighten the mood. “You didn’t tell me we were going to be living it up OC style.” “OC style?” Cam asks, looking confused. We’re standing outside the car, on the stone driveway, and the lights on the path illuminate his face.

“Yeah,” I say, “You know, on that TV show? The OC? How Ryan lived in the pool house?” “I never watched that show.” He starts to walk around toward the back of the house. Alrighty then. I start to follow him. I can hear the waves of the ocean rushing up over the rocks as we walk, and the sound is slightly soothing. But still. I don’t know what I’m going to tell my mom about her car. I don’t know what’s going to happen if Raine comes back to Santa Anna, or what’s going to happen when I see Brody again, or Derek, or how what I saw in that cave tonight is going to affect me.

It’s going to be okay, I tell myself, I just need a good night’s sleep. Then Cam and I will figure this out together. The pool house is set away from the main house, next to a huge inground pool. It’s like a small apartment, with an open concept floor plan and a huge bed in the middle.

Cam disappears into the bathroom and emerges a few minutes later. I go in after him, washing up and brushing my teeth with one of the wrapped toothbrushes in the cabinet. When I get out, Cam’s lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, and I climb in next to him. He wraps his arms around me, and we lie there, not saying anything until finally, we both fall asleep. *** When I wake up, early morning light is pouring through the windows, casting patterns on the dark hardwood floors. The digital clock on the nightstand next to me says that it’s 5:37 am. So much for getting a good night’s sleep. Next to me, Cam’s breathing is slow and even, and he doesn’t stir as I get out of bed. I grab the sweatshirt he tossed on the floor the night before and pull it over my head, inhaling his scent. I slip my feet into my shoes, then step outside, walking

around the pool and down toward the beach, hoping that a walk by the ocean will clear my head. I walk for about twenty minutes in one direction. I pass the occasional person with their dog, and nod and smile as I do. Everything feels so normal, people out for their early morning walks, seeming as if they don’t have a care in the world. I turn around and walk the twenty minutes back, and when I’m back in front of Cam’s dad’s house, I sit down in the sand, pulling my knees up toward me and inhaling the scent of the ocean. I take my shoes off and let the water lap at my feet. It’s cold, but it feels good, fresh and soothing. I lay down on the sand, closing my eyes, knowing I should go back inside so that Cam and I can come up with a plan about what to do next. After a few minutes, I open my eyes and sit up. And when I do, someone’s standing in front of me. I didn’t hear anyone walking toward me, and I gasp.

It’s Raine. She’s wearing the same sweatshirt she was wearing last night, and her hair hangs in strings down her face. “Hello,” she says, and grins. I scramble up from the sand, wondering how loud I would have to scream for Cam to hear me. But then I realize it doesn’t matter. Cam can’t help me. “Raine,” I say, trying to summon my strength, “what are you – ” But before I can finish my sentence, Raine holds her hand out toward me. The ground spins beneath my feet. And then everything goes black. *** I open my eyes and Cam’s standing over me. “I was looking all over for you,” he says. “You were?” I sit up. My head feels woozy, like it’s been stuffed with cotton, and my eyelids are heavy.

“Yes.” He sits down next to me. “Why were you sleeping on the beach?” “The beach?” I look down. He’s right. I’m on a beach. There’s sand underneath me, and I must have taken my shoes off at some point, because they’re lying a few feet away. “Yeah,” he says, “What did you do, go out for a walk and then fall asleep?” “I don’t know,” I say. I shake my head, trying to clear it. “You don’t know?” He grins. “Wow, you must have been more out of it than I thought.” I look around. Behind us, there’s a huge house, with big glass windows, and a smaller house next to it. The water of a pool glitters through a fence. “Where are we?” I ask Cam. “What?” The smile on his face starts to fade, and his

expression begins to change from amusement to concern. “Where are we? What are we doing here?” I try to remember, to force myself to figure out how we got here, but I can’t. “We’re at my dad’s house,” he says. “Remember? We came here last night, after we left the compound.” “The compound?” What is he talking about? A sliver of fear starts in my heart and pulses through my body. My heart starts to pound. “You really don’t remember?” he asks. “I don’t remember any of it.” Cam just stares at me. And that’s when I scream.

END SEASON TWO

WATCH FOR SEASON THREE OF THE WITCHES OF SANTA ANNA, COMING SOON…

Table of Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six