Keeper(78)

“He got away, didn’t he?” I finally asked. “The third Scavenger.”

“Yes,” Ty answered, his voice strained. “He was a Shifter, and he kept changing form. I thought I had him, but then that one in the hat had his hands on you and I . . .” His cheeks turned pink. I wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment or guilt.

“We’re alive,” I said, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder. “That’s what matters here, okay?”

Ty nodded, but the muscles in his back were still tight under my hand.

“We should probably get off the main road,” he said, his eyes flitting to the surrounding area. “He may still be tracking us.”

“What about Maggie? Should we take her to the hospital?”

“Serena’s place is probably safer.” Ty leaned over and trailed a gentle finger down my sore neck. “Too many questions at a hospital.”

I nodded, but a thought struck me and I gasped. “Serena!”

“What?”

I didn’t answer. I pulled my purse into my lap and starting digging around for my cell phone. “Why didn’t Serena warn us that the Scavengers were so close? Her vision would’ve changed, right?” I glanced over at Ty, whose face had paled.

“Yes,” he answered. “She would’ve seen it. So why didn’t she call?”

I stared at the phone in my hand. “She did.”

I flipped the phone over so he could see the screen. Twenty-five missed calls. “I must have accidentally put it on silent,” I whispered as a feeling of dread washed over me, but then an icon in the top left-hand corner of the phone caught my attention. “She left voice mails.”

With a shaky hand, I pressed the voice mail button and placed the phone against my ear. The first few voice mails were what I expected, Serena urging me to call her back. But as the voice mails progressed, Serena’s tone grew more and more frantic. By the time I got to the last one—left only a few moments ago—I felt like I was going to throw up.

I listened carefully and hung up the phone.

“What did she say? Lainey, what is it?”

I gripped my cell phone tightly as though it were the only thing keeping me anchored to earth. “The vision changed,” I whispered, my voice eerily calm. “Serena saw me die.”



“I still think we should take you to the hospital.”

Maggie plucked a fresh ice pack from the table and applied it gingerly to the knot on the back of her head. “No way. I’m fine. Just a bad headache. I promise, I’m okay.”

“You really scared me back there,” I said, trying not to yell. “What were you thinking? Jumping on that guy’s back like that, huh? He could’ve killed you!”

“He could’ve killed you. I wasn’t going to let that happen.” Maggie reached over and squeezed my hand. “We’re in this together, remember?”

“Like Batman and Robin?”

Maggie grinned. “See? Now you’re catching on, Styles.”

I reached over and hugged Maggie’s shoulders. “Seriously, though, if you do that again, you might just find a few of your precious comic books with pages missing.”

“You wouldn’t!”

“Wanna bet?” I smiled but fixed my eyes on Maggie’s face. “Maggie, you have to promise me that you won’t take unnecessary risks me for me, okay? Things are going to get dangerous—more than they already have been. I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

I started to protest, but Maggie clamped a hand over my mouth. “Like I said, you’re my best friend, Lainey, and we do this together. I’ll be more careful, I promise.”

“I know you will, but it’s not a good idea. If something happens to—”

“Together, Styles. Batman and Robin. You and me.” Maggie’s face was set in a determined line, and I’d seen that look before—I was more likely to convince a mule to take a bubble bath than talk Maggie into leaving.

“Fine. Batman and Robin.” I sighed. “Now, will you please lie back and try to rest?”

Maggie snorted. “We both know there’s no time for that.” She peered around my shoulder where the sound of heated discussion was coming from the office in Serena’s shop. “What have I missed?”

“A whole lot of nothing. If you’re feeling all right, you should join us.”

“I’m guessing we still don’t have a plan.”

“No. All we’ve really managed to do is argue back and forth about what we should do next.” I wiped my face with my hand, kneading at the tension in my temple. “Despite the visions, Serena thinks the Master still doesn’t know I exist, but she said the power I used at the carnival is enough to raise suspicion. The third Scavenger got away; he will have reported back to the Master by now. We need to act now.”

“But it’s not like the Scavenger knows who or what you are.”

“No, but he has my scent. The Master is cunning. It won’t take long for him to figure out that there’s another DuCarmont witch to contend with. He will come for me. I think it’s just a matter of when at this point.” I sighed. “Serena is spooked enough. She thinks we should go into hiding.” The words settled in the pit of my stomach like rocks, and I frowned. “We can’t get in touch with Gareth. I keep calling, but his phone goes straight to voice mail. It’s freaking Serena out—that and her vision.”