Page 29 of Forever Found

“Hmm. Haven’t thought about that.”

Lyndsey paused, glancing out the window as an older woman crossed the street. Her gray hair was a messy knot on top of her head. She wore a long coat, unbuttoned down the front, and shuffled along as if her knee or hip hurt her when she walked. Strange, she hadn’t seen many older people at the bonfire the other night. Actually, she hadn’t seen any elderly at all. Maybe it was too cold for them.

She reached for her camera, but realized she’d left it at the mansion. There was something unusual about the woman, and she would have liked to capture her photo. She touched her phone in her back pocket, taking it out.

“How ya doin’,” the young man with wiry hair and a thin face behind the counter asked.

“Great, Burt,” Solis answered. They both traveled to the counter, then made a selection.

Lyndsey ordered a coffee before finding an available table. She sat, the hot cup warming her cold hands, and took a sip. She was savoring the tasty liquid trickling down her throat when her phone pinged. She looked at her screen to find a message from David. It said he would meet her there in a few minutes.

Outside, the older woman hobbled across the street. Lyndsey snapped a few pictures on her phone. The woman fell and cried out. “My ankle,” she moaned.

Lyndsey jumped from her seat, then rushed outside to the woman. “Are you all right?” she asked, taking hold of the woman’s elbow and helping her to her feet while taking as much of the stranger’s weight as she could. “Can you put pressure on it?”

Lyndsey felt the woman’s weight shift, her entire body balancing on its own as if she hadn’t even fallen. “Does it—” She glanced into the woman’s face, which broke into a smirk that stopped Lyndsey cold. The woman cackled, morphing before Lyndsey’s eyes. The silver hair grew darker, the wrinkled skin turning to bristly stubble.

This is a supernatural town,she reminded herself.Maybe this is another creature I just don’t know.

Within a few seconds, the transformation was complete. “Caleb,” she gasped. She knew it was the demon, could feel it in her bones.

He grabbed hold of her with both hands and dragged her through space and time, away from the coffee shop, away from people.

* * *

David entered the coffee shop, spotting Solis at the counter doctoring her latte. He did a three-sixty. Lyndsey was nowhere in sight. But there was a large stack of books on an empty table and a cup of coffee. He placed his hand on the container. It was still hot. “Where’s Lyndsey,” he asked Solis. She spun around, surprise written on her face as she looked between him and the table.

“She was just here,” Solis said. “Maybe she went to the bathroom.”

Panic hit him square in the chest, causing bile to rise in his throat. Dammit, the whole point of having Solis come along was to keep an eye on Lyndsey. He pressed his lips together as he jogged down a hallway to check the bathroom. When he knocked, all he heard was silence. He opened the door to find it empty.

“Lyndsey!” he hollered.

Only his voice echoed back at him in the hall. She wasn’t there. He spun on his heel, then sprinted back out front.

“Are those her books?” he asked Solis when he returned.

“Yes. She was just here. I don’t understand. I was putting cinnamon in my drink, trying to remember a movie she’d mentioned. It’s an oldie. I hadn’t seen it…”

“What movie?” Would that be a clue?

“The Birds.”

He scrunched his brow. She was right—it was an old film.

He stepped toward the counter, asking the barista if she’d seen a pretty woman with brown hair who owned the books left on the table. “She went to help an elderly woman outside. I didn’t see where they went.”

Fear gripped David. As sure as he knew the sky was blue, he knew she had been snatched by the demon. He felt it in the marrow of his bones. He wanted to blame Solis for letting her guard down. But the truth was it was his fault for leaving her.

How could he have trusted her with someone else? He slammed one fist into the palm of his other hand so hard one of the small bones cracked loudly, snapping. But he could barely feel it. The only person he’d cared about in twenty-five years, and he’d left her in harm’s way. David dropped into the nearest chair. He could smell her scent, see her brilliant smile, feel her hand resting over his. And now she could be suffering horribly.

He ran his hand through his hair, tugging the strands hard. “How did he find her?”

“Why didn’t the potion work?” Solis voiced his next thought.

“Yeah, why?” He shot Solis a penetrating gaze.

“I…I don’t know. Something in our information must have been wrong. His birthdate, birth location, parents…take your pick. The spell is only as good as the info. Garbage in, garbage out.”