Page 176 of Bedeviled

And of course this has to happen right after Henbane closes down. This is about the time I could really use my coven.

There is one other place I dare to go, now that—presumably—I’m being chased.

I cut across the lush coastal mountains. Past houses with their gleaming dots of light. I suck in a breath when I see Henbane, the campus dark, the buildings looking like shadowy specters.

I fly past it, my eyes focusing on what lies beyond it.

When the sprawling Marin Pack shifter complex comes into view, my heart pounds a little harder. I shouldn’t be dragging anyone else into my problems. Not when they’re the kind of problems that can get others killed.

But just as I’m about to turn the rug in a different direction, I catch sight of a lavender orb of light out in front of the complex, and beneath it, Sybil.

I know I’ve been spotted the moment she waves. All plans of turning around disintegrate.

But I can’t linger. I’ll simply tell my friend what’s going on, and then be on my way.

I merely have to think about lowering the rug to the ground, and Nero and I descend. Our carpet skims over the tips of trees that encircle the complex, and then we dip down into the wide road in front of the building

The rug comes to a stop right in front of Sybil. I slide off it and trip into my best friend’s arms. Nero, meanwhile, flings himself off the carpet in the most dramatic way possible.

Cats, man.

I hold Sybil close, my breath coming out in great heaves. Only then do I realize I’m trembling, from the cold, from adrenaline, and from the caustic fear that’s settled in my gut.

“Ssh, I’ve got you,” she murmurs.

I squeeze her a little tighter, embarrassed by how much I cling to those words.

“What are you doing out here?” I ask.

“Waiting for you, wench.” She smooths my hair down. “I…had a feeling.”

I pull away to take her in, surprised. She sensed I was coming here?

“Okay,” she admits. “So it wasn’t a feeling. It was a text thread. I’ll tell you all about it on our way over to Henbane.”

My brows pull together. “Henbane?”

“Oh, right, no one’s told you. The coven has called a meeting.”

CHAPTER 43

I didn’t think that mere days after our school closed I’d be back on campus as frequently as I’ve been, but here I am, wandering through the Everwoods with Sybil and Nero like it’s just another normal evening and not some night from hell.

I still can’t figure out what’s going on, though one horrible possibility does keep forming in the back of my mind.

“So, you’re alright?” Sybil asks, her form limned in pale purple light. Above us, her witch orb floats along, casting the soft lavender glow. I still have no idea exactly what I’m doing right now, but I’m too shaken from my recent encounter with demons to question this clandestine coven meeting.

If this ends up being some sort of perverse trap, then I’m F-U-C-K-E-D because I don’t have it in me to mistrust my best friend after all we’ve been through.

“Define ‘alright,’” I say shakily.

“Oh, Selene,” Sybil says, grabbing my hand and squeezing it. “Are you physically hurt?”

I shake my head. “Not physically.” It’s everything else that has me choking up.

Sybil wraps an arm around me. “It’s going to be okay, I promise. We’ve got you.”

I swallow and nod, even as I feel more than a little lost.