Boundary Crossed (Boundary Magic #1)(74)

“It means your access to magic is getting stronger, babe,” she said gently. “You’re communicating across the line.”

“You know about magic?”

“I didn’t when I was alive, no. But I do now.” She cocked her head to the side for a second, as if she were listening to someone I couldn’t hear. Her face darkened. “But I’m not supposed to talk about that.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of rules.”

Sam scrunched her face at me. “And you know I do so well with those. I’m trying to be good, though, so we can talk.”

I just shook my head, too bewildered to even know where to start. “I don’t know what to say. I . . . I lost her, Sam. I lost Charlie.” My eyes filled with tears. “I was so stupid.”

“Hey, hey,” Sam said hurriedly. “Don’t cry. She’s not lost yet. You’re going to find her.”

“I can’t.” I drew my knees up, hugging them in front of me. “I’m too dangerous to go anywhere near her right now, Sammy. I killed all those people. I can’t control myself.”

Sam sighed and scooted to the edge of her bed, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees. She looked straight into my eyes. “Allison,” she said quietly. “Listen to me carefully. There is no one else, do you understand? The police can’t help, and the vampires only care about damage control. You are the only one who can help my baby.”

I sniffed, shaking my head. “I don’t know how. She could be anywhere by now.”

“Then you get your people together,” Sam said, “and figure it out.” She tilted her head again, pausing. Then she cursed. “I have to go. Babe, you’ve got to find my daughter. So get up.”



I did, or at least I tried to. I struggled for only a second before the pain in my shoulder and feet broke over me, making me writhe. A cool hand touched my face, brushed my sweat-stuck hair away from my eyes. “Lex?”

I went still. The man’s voice was so soft, so worried, that it took me a moment to place it. Quinn. I opened my eyes. I was lying on a couch, and he was crouched on the floor next to me. We were in some sort of darkened room. I recognized the carpeting and color scheme from Macky Auditorium. My eyes went wide as I remembered what had happened.

“Oh, God! Did I—all those people—”

“Alive,” Quinn said firmly. He hesitated for a second, then added, “But unconscious. The EMTs I talked to said they should be fine . . . probably.” In response to my questioning look, he added, “I pressed some of the cops into thinking it was a gas leak. Not my best story, but it will hold until Itachi can get some more vampires here to help.”

I struggled to sit up. Quinn must have popped my shoulder back in place while I was out, but the room still spun around me. When I tried to squint at a wall clock, the walls spun, too. At first I thought it was the pain, but pain didn’t make you feel drunk. I felt like I was about to burst from the forces swirling inside me. I lay back down. “What’s wrong with me?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure,” he said softly. “Your pupils are dilated almost to the edge of the irises. I called Lily and Simon, but there’s a clan assembly tonight. Nobody’s answering.”

“How long was I out?”

“Two hours.” He frowned. “I was starting to get worried.”

I tried to sit up again, but the room wasn’t any more cooperative this time around. Quinn laid a hand on my arm, trying to still me. “Lex, I don’t think you should—”

“He took Charlie,” I said, panting. “Help me, please.”

Quinn hesitated for one more second, then nodded. He draped my left arm around his shoulder and stood me up, supporting me around the waist with his right arm. For a moment I helped him as much I as I could; then I remembered that he was a vampire and let my body sag against him so I could focus my energy on thinking.

“Where exactly are we going?” Quinn murmured to me.

“You said the witches are getting together tonight?” He nodded. I smiled grimly, or at least I think I did.

“Well, I’m a witch, right? Let’s go get introduced.”





Chapter 34



We made our way out of the building that way, with Quinn supporting me as I staggered forward. Then he grunted with annoyance and abruptly reached down to scoop up my legs, clasping me to his chest. My dress had torn a little when I’d fallen, but I still felt like I was on the cover of a goddamned romance novel, getting carried around in my formal gown. It would have been embarrassing as hell if I’d had the energy to give a shit.

Neither of us said anything as he hauled me to his car, but I caught Quinn glancing down at my feet a few times, and I realized he could smell the blood that had seeped out of my reopened wounds, gluing my shoes to my feet. Gross. It was sticky and uncomfortable, but I figured it might be even worse for Quinn if I took the shoes off, so I just tried to ignore it.

The edges of my vision seemed to blur and twitch. Now that my body was in motion, the scenery rushing past me, I was having trouble keeping my eyes focused on one thing, so I closed them. My skin felt like it was about to explode. “Quinn,” I whispered. “It’s getting worse. Hurry.”

He tore down the country roads, arriving at the Pellar farm in about half the time it should have taken. When Quinn finally put the car in park, I braced myself against the dashboard and squinted. A few different sets of headlights were backing away from the farmhouse, so I figured the meeting had to be breaking up. That was probably for the best.