Keeper(63)

Gareth nodded solemnly. “Yes. But she protected it.”

My brain supplied me with the image of a tiny baby girl with rosy cheeks, clear eyes, and a large emerald amulet fastened around her neck. “Yes,” I agreed. “She kept it safe.”

Now that the shock of the whole ordeal was over, my body sagged with exhaustion. I wanted to curl up in my bed and lose myself in the oblivion of sleep, but seeing the Guard in action had ignited a spark of fury deep inside me, and Josephine’s words echoed in my ear: The Master’s thirst for blood will never end, not until every last Supernatural who defies him is dead. He knows nothing of mercy.

I thought of Lane and Josephine, of my mother, and finally of the card that meant death held gingerly between Serena’s shaking fingertips. I couldn’t go to sleep now if I tried. I had to do something.

Pushing myself off the bed, I walked over to where the bronze dagger lay on the carpet. Kneeling down, I reached out and grasped the hilt. Its weight in my hand was terrible, but also reassuring. It promised dreadful things to come, but that I might now have a chance to survive them. I turned back to Gareth. “Ready for that training session?”

“Now?” he questioned. “I thought you said—”

“Let’s go.” Without waiting to see if he was following me or not, I turned on my heels and headed downstairs toward Gareth’s study.

It’s my choice. A flame blazed within me, the warmth spreading throughout my entire body. I’m choosing my destiny.

Gripping the hilt of the dagger even tighter, I straightened my shoulders and kept walking. I wasn’t going to sit around and let my mother’s sacrifice be in vain.

I was choosing to fight.



When I drove to school the next morning, the sun was obnoxiously bright. It was entirely too cheerful, given my mood. Gareth had coached me well into the morning hours, and everything hurt.

First, he taught me the basics of self-defense and hand-to-hand combat. Then we’d moved to weaponry. The dagger wasn’t heavy, but after hours of holding it out and slashing it through the air, the muscles in my arm were cooked spaghetti. Not to mention that every other inch of my body felt like it had been beaten black and blue. Between the train tracks, the magical leap through time, and the combat training, I felt like I’d been mauled by a bear.

I arrived at school just as the first bell rang. I parked my car and attempted a mad dash across the parking lot, my muscles screaming in protest.

As I limped toward the door, though, laughter bubbled in my throat. In the last twenty-four hours, I’d come to terms with the fact that I was a witch, created a massive thunderstorm, and watched the Master’s Guard slaughter innocent people—yet here I was running like a normal teenager across campus just to avoid being tardy to English class.

I skidded down the hall and then stumbled to a stop. Ty was waiting at my locker, leaning against the wall with a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. My heart started beating a little faster.

“Good morning. Nice of you to join us.”

I rolled my eyes. “I overslept.”

“I see,” he said, smirking. “Well, perhaps this will help?” He offered me the cup of coffee.

“Oh my God, thank you!” I took a large swig. “What are you doing, anyway? Aren’t you going to be late for class?”

“Late? Nah, it’s making an entrance.” Ty winked at me. “Besides, I wanted to check on you.”

“Check on me?”

“Well, yeah. After last night . . . I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

My heart skipped a beat. My mind flashed to last night’s kiss—the way Ty had held me in his arms, the feel of his lips against mine. Get it together, Styles! I took another sip of coffee to clear my head. “Oh, right. The Calling and all that.”

“Well, yes, but . . .” Ty shifted from one foot to the other. “That’s not the only reason.” A slight flush colored his cheeks.

The tips of my ears grew hot, and I didn’t know what to say. We stared at each other until the final bell rang shrilly, making us both jump.

“Well, I guess there’s no point in rushing now,” I said. “Might as well take my time.” I started walking down the hall.

“Are you sure you’re okay, though?” Ty asked, falling into step beside me. “You look—”

“Like crap?”

“I wasn’t going to say that.”

“It’s okay.” I grinned. “I know I look pretty rough. I only got two or three hours of sleep last night.”

“Just couldn’t sleep?”

“No, Gareth was teaching me the proper way to stab someone. Did you know that if you stab someone here,” I indicated the soft spot underneath the corner of his jaw, “it will kill them almost instantly?”

Ty’s eyebrows shot up.

I laughed. “Let’s just say there’s a lot to fill you in on.”

“Well, you know, Ms. Runyan probably already marked us absent.” Ty pointed down the opposite hallway. “We could always take the long way to class.”

The voice in my head, the one that was still desperately clinging to the old order of things, protested weakly at the notion. Old Lainey would’ve been more concerned with getting to class than anything else. But I’m not that girl anymore, I thought to myself, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel a flood of anxiety when I thought about my future. I’m not that girl.