A Little Wicked (The Bewitching Hour Book #4)(54)
Except when Claudia turned around holding the ancient-looking dagger in her hand, Sam pushed back up. “What the hell are you doing?” she asked as she came around.
“They’re not going to stop.” She aimed the tip of the dagger at her heart.
What the— “Claudia!” screamed Sam as she bolted across the room and pulled the knife from her grandmother’s hands. “You’re not going to do this!”
“I know.” Claudia leaned forward and tried to take the knife back, but Sam wasn’t letting it go so easily. “You’re going to.”
Sam’s stomach flipped over at the words. She started to step away when Claudia fisted her fingers in Sam’s shirt and held her close with surprising strength. “They’re going to kill me and the darkness is going to take over. I’ve already laid the groundwork for you to win, Sam. You’re never going to forgive me for what I’ve done, but I did what I needed for you to beat this. But if I’m not going to be here to fight the war, I need you to take my power and finish this.” She started to cough and fell toward Sam. Whatever magic she’d been working when Sam had come over, it had taken everything from her.
“Grandma, I can’t—”
Claudia wrapped the fingers of her free hand around Sam’s wrist and brought the dagger up to her chest. “I’m not going to survive them,” she warned. “And you will die defending me, no matter how angry you are. I can see how much more powerful you are now, but it’s not enough. This way, you will survive. And that will be one good thing I’ve done.”
Sam shook her head, trying to reconcile the rage she still felt for her grandmother and the nonsense she was spewing. “You’ve done hundreds of good things. You were one of the best leaders we ever had.”
“And in a few minutes I’m going to be dead.” She didn’t sound angry or bitter. Just as though she was stating a fact. “You’re strong, Samantha. I’ve always sensed it. Stronger than your mother. Stronger than your sister. You’re finally taking control of your power. But if you want to survive the darkness, you need more.”
While Sam was trying to make sense of what she was saying, Claudia pushed forward with the dagger and Sam could feel the pressure give as it broke the skin. “Wait! There has to be some way....”
“No. I’m not waiting any longer. I’ve given you everything you need. Now you need to put the pieces together. This is my last gift to you. Your last gift to me.” And then Claudia used strength Sam didn’t realize she was still capable of, and the dagger slid through the ribs, right into her grandmother’s heart.
Sam stood there in stunned silence as Claudia went limp in her arms and then fell to the ground. Sam was still frozen in shock when the door flung open and the horde started to stream inside. Was she supposed to fight? She didn’t even know whether she could remember how to breathe. How was she supposed to defend herself?
But that turned out to be a moot point because the mob stopped short when they saw Claudia’s dead body. One by one, after each had visual confirmation, they turned and walked away, like zombies suddenly denied brains.
Sam belatedly realized her hand was still on the knife and she dropped it as though it had burned her. She pushed away from Claudia but couldn’t take her eyes off her. Her grandmother, the strong, dignified woman, looked powerful even in death. Her eyes were open, as though staring determinedly off into the distance.
Suddenly Sam was overcome by the need to get out of this small, claustrophobic room, but the door was surrounded by the horde. Sam didn’t care anymore. She pushed herself up and ran for the door, physically pushing people aside as she tried to get past the witches. She hit one and suddenly she felt Derek at her side. No, it wasn’t Derek. But it was as if he were right there, holding her. She closed her eyes and she was back in the pitch-black urban garden and Derek was taking her weight as he led her back to the car.
She blinked and stumbled into another witch. This one, even in his trance, was angrier, and he grabbed her throat and slammed her into the wall. When she opened her eyes, it wasn’t the nameless witch holding her. It was Derek, in the strobing lights of the solstice party, his fingers wrapped around her throat as she broke through the full moon potion to get to him.
Except when the fingers tightened on her throat, it became very apparent that this wasn’t Derek holding her. She opened her eyes and stared at the man who squeezed her throat. He looked familiar but she couldn’t place him. There was no time anyway. She put her hand on his chest and called her power to knock him away, but before she had a chance, something solid slammed into the witch.
Sam just stood there and stared for a moment as the two men rolled together on the floor. She had to be imagining things. Because right now, it looked as though Derek was about to kill the witch.
Just then, Bastian ran down the hall, weaving through the last of the horde, and pulled Derek off the other witch, who started to scramble away.
Derek. Sam blinked a few times, trying to verify that she wasn’t imagining this. Derek was there and Bastian was holding him back....
But Derek didn’t look right. For one, he was shirtless and in his chest, there was an ornate symbol carved. It almost looked like a flower, but it was hard to tell because he was moving so much.
Sam moved to stand in front of him, still convinced her eyes were playing tricks on her. Derek was dead. There was no coming back from the dead.