The Price Guide to the Occult(47)

It was all so familiar: blood and pain and fear.

Nor felt something building inside her, something dark and terrible. It scratched and bit and pulled at her insides. It was so powerful Nor was afraid it would eat her alive if she didn’t let it out. She opened her mouth and —

For a moment, it was as if all the sound had been sucked from the room. And then Nor’s scream crashed down on everyone like a wave. The floor undulated. The whole building shuddered. The death masks and gargoyles fell from the walls. A window shattered.

And then it was over.

On wobbly legs, Nor staggered across the room toward the other three, grateful to see that Madge, now unconscious, no longer had her hands around Gage’s throat. She pulled Gage and Charlie to their feet. “We gotta get out of here,” she said. She wasn’t sure if either of them could hear her. Charlie had a dazed look on her face. There was a little blood trickling from one of Gage’s ears. Nor put her hands on either side of his head. His pain erupted into blisters across her already bleeding palms.

Gage gave her a stunned look. “How did you —” he started.

Nor pushed him toward the door. “Just go!” she said.

It was only after they’d left that Nor allowed herself to look back at Madge sprawled across the floor. She wasn’t moving. Nor couldn’t tell if she was breathing, but her eyes were closed. Her face looked almost peaceful. Almost. Nor knew it was likely she’d never see her alive again.

Nor turned and raced after Charlie and Gage. The glass from the Witching Hour’s broken window crunched under their feet as they ran down Meandering Lane. They leaped into the back of the truck, landing beside a gaping Savvy.

“Did you hear that noise?” Savvy asked. “What the hell was that? Wait, Nor, what’s wrong with your hands —”

“Just drive,” Gage ordered.

Grayson started the engine. The truck launched down Stars-in-Their-Eyes Lane, and Charlie breathed a shaky sigh of relief as Meandering Lane quickly faded into the distance.

Gage leaned over to examine Nor’s hands. “Here, let me see.” For the first time, when he looked at her, Nor didn’t see resentment in his face but genuine concern. Or maybe it was awe. Either way, it made her uncomfortable. She pulled her hands away from him and examined them herself.

Scorched skin peeled like ribbons from her fingertips, and her palms were covered with bloody gouges and splinters of glass. Her head started to spin, and the world was slipping away like paint dripping down a canvas.

“Grayson!” she heard Savvy yell. “Pull over!”

The truck came to a halt in front of Reuben Finch’s log cabin. Gage reached for Nor, then everything faded to black.

When Nor came to, she was lying on a patch of grass along the side of the road. A rock dug into her shoulder blade. The clover beneath her head sank tiny claws into her scalp.

“Best thing is for me to get you all back up to the compound as soon as possible,” said a voice.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” another voice hurried to say. “We can take ourselves.” Almost as an afterthought, he added, “Sir.”

“Suit yourself. But you know, son, you might not mind having someone between yourself and Dauphine Coldwater.” Nor opened her eyes to see Reuben Finch standing over her, a heavy crease between his unruly eyebrows. “There she is. Welcome back.”

A bright-blue braid tickled Nor’s face. Savvy leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t worry. You were only out for a few minutes. And you didn’t puke.”

“Great.” Nor groaned. “Thanks.”

“What do you say about getting up and inside?” Reuben asked.

Nor stood up woozily, and Reuben helped her into the house. It had a faint animal smell, both pungent and sweet, that Nor hadn’t noticed the last time she’d been there. They passed through the kitchen and the living room with a large faded couch. Beside it, a framed picture of a little girl hung on the wall.

“All right, let’s see what you’ve gotten yourself into now,” Reuben said when they reached a washroom in the back of the house. He knelt in front of her. Nor looked away as he examined her ruined hands.

“These wounds look a lot like something I’ve treated on your grandmother’s hands a few times.” He caught Nor’s eye and chuckled. “Oh yes, I know all about you Blackburn women.” He pulled a pair of surgical tweezers out of a cupboard above the sink. Nor stared at the way the sharp pointed end glinted in the light.

“Not much more I can do, I’m afraid,” Reuben said after removing the splinters of glass from her hands. He turned on the faucet. “Run some cold water over your hands for a bit.”

He set the tweezers by the sink and pulled a tin from the cupboard. “It’s gonna hurt like all hell at first, but we’ll put some of this on it. Should at least make the pain tolerable till we can get you to Judd.”

Nor stuck her hands under the water. He was right. It hurt like hell. After a few minutes, she pulled her hands out, and Reuben gently patted a thick salve across her mangled palms. It smelled of vinegar. Nor’s pain, hot like fire, dulled to a quiet roar.

“Funny thing though,” Reuben said. “I don’t recollect hearing that you shared Judd’s talents.” He stood. “Red here must be right. I must be getting old.” The little fox waiting for him in the doorway gave an affectionate chirp and followed Reuben out of the room.