A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(33)

Once she could stand, she looked right and left. She had to pick a direction to go, but she had no clue which. Come on.... Wind? She should focus on what direction the fresh air was coming from and go that direction.

Except the air wasn’t moving at all. Shit. She was about to say fuck it and go right, but something wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. She opened her mouth to scream, but a big hand covered it.

“What are you doing here?” snapped the angry voice in her ear.

The angry, familiar voice. She started to struggle in his hold, but it might as well have been a steel band around her. She was going nowhere until he wanted to let her go, and she had a sickening feeling she didn’t want to be screaming or drawing attention to herself wherever she was.

She tried a different technique and grabbed his arm. Except it wasn’t smooth skin. It was rough and ragged. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel that the strong forearm was covered with old and new scars. He finally let her go and she was quiet. Finally, she said it. “Jackson, what happened to you?”

Bright light flooded Claire’s vision and she blinked to clear her line of sight as she sat up. “Jackson!” she called, but Jackson wasn’t there. She jumped up and looked around her as the people surrounding her came into focus. She wasn’t in some dark and dangerous cave anymore. It was the beautifully decorated library at Claudia’s. She’d been on a couch and everyone was there.

Dante, Sam, Derek, Bastian, and Angela all surrounded her. Claire’s chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath and reconcile her present with the dream that had seemed so all-encompassing. “What happened? Where am I?”

Sam stepped forward and held out her hands in a nonthreatening way. “It’s okay. You’re at Claudia’s. One of the hounds bit you and the venom has potent symptoms. Claudia said that the effects would wear off on their own, though, so you should be feeling better now. And you’re awake, which I think is a good sign, but you look like you’re about to attack me at any second, which makes me less happy.”

Claire’s heart pounded in her chest and she realized everyone was looking at her as though she were crazy.

“You said ‘Jackson.’” Derek stared at her intently. He wasn’t accusing, but he was using that stupid cop voice where he was digging for information.

“It was a dream,” she said, probably a bit too quickly.

Dante walked around the couch until he could wrap her in his arms, and Claire hugged him back tightly, thankful for the warm, strong presence. “I was so worried.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

Claire was quiet as she stayed there. Her legs were shaky and having someone to lean on was nice. Someone who wasn’t asking her questions about Jackson or the strange dream.

The clacking of heels warned her that someone else entered the room, and Claire pulled away from Dante. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Angela looked at her skeptically, but she couldn’t wonder about it too much before everyone turned to face Claudia.

“I’m glad you’re awake,” said the dignified woman.

Unconsciously, Claire stood up straighter in front of the powerful witch. “Thank you.”

“How are you feeling? What did you see while you were out?”

Claire shifted her weight, and Dante must’ve seen her discomfort because he reached down and intertwined his fingers with hers, offering silent support. She smiled her thanks at him, but the smile quickly evaporated when Claudia said, “Claire, come with me. Maybe it would be best if we had this conversation in private.”

As horrible as that idea sounded, she found herself incapable of declining Claudia. It wasn’t mind control. It was just that Claire was so intimidated, she literally forgot how to say the word “no.”

She found herself moving, one foot in front of the other, until she was in Claudia’s office. Claudia started to shut the door behind them, but Sam’s hand shot out and she stepped inside. Sam and Claudia stared off for a moment, but eventually, Claudia stepped aside and let her granddaughter inside. Then all three women moved to the desk and Claudia sat at her rightful spot behind it.

“How much do you know about a hellhound bite?” she asked.

Claire glanced down to where her hand was bandaged. The venom must’ve mostly made its way out of her system because it barely ached anymore. “I know it hurt like a bitch,” she said, not looking up.

“Those visions you had weren’t just a dream. The hounds themselves offer a doorway to hell. What you saw was real.”

A chill shot down her spine and she really wished she wasn’t hearing this. “I saw Jackson,” she said softly.

“I know,” said Claudia. “That’s why I’m telling you this. What did he say to you?”

Out of nowhere, tears welled up behind Claire’s eyes and she wiped them away. “I don’t.... It all happened so fast.”

Claudia leaned forward on her elbows and stared at Claire until Claire finally lifted her gaze and met the woman’s eyes. “This is important. Did he tell you anything we can use?”

“No.” She thought back to the few seconds she’d been with him. She hadn’t even managed to see his face in those seconds, let alone have a conversation. “He wanted to know why I was there and then I was gone. I never even had a chance to answer him.”