Page 26 of An Oath at Midnight

Come to me, daughter of Coven Thornheart, echoed through my mind.

I stilled. That’s what I thought I heard. I shot to my feet.

Oh fuck.

The mother—she was calling me.

This wasn’t supposed to happen yet. I had another six months. And this sure as hell wasn’t supposed to happen without Bram.

I couldn’t wait for him to come home, though. When the mother called, you went, no matter what. I couldn’t even ask Relic to go with me because he’d left with the other hounds. There was Asher, but her loyalty was with Draven and Iris, and I didn’t want my family knowing about this, not yet, and she’d definitely tell them. My family couldn’t help me, or come with me, it wasn’t permitted, and they’d want to. Badly. Telling them would only cause them worry, when there was absolutely nothing they could do to help me, and I was convinced if they knew, they’d try to find a way even though it was forbidden.

I couldn’t risk it, not after everything my sisters had been through to get us this far.

I called Bram as I shoved on my shoes. When he didn’t answer, I left a message asking him to call me back. I didn’t want to tell him over the phone. I didn’t want him distracted if he was doing something dangerous. He’d call back as soon as he could. I took the ladder to the yard below and ran for the house. I didn’t believe in coincidences. And being called on the night my sister was accused of murder—yeah, that sure as hell wasn’t one. I quickly let myself in, changed into something more suitable for running—and fighting—grabbed my knife, loaded a backpack with a few things I’d been working on, grabbed my car keys and slipped out of the house.

Oldwood Forest was twenty minutes away, and I gripped the wheel for dear life the whole drive, running through everything I knew about the meeting place, about what would happen when the mother came, what could happen afterward, over and over again. I still had to make it to the meeting spot in one piece, but the most dangerous part was afterward.

All three of my sisters could have lost their lives if they hadn’t had help after the mother was done with them. I needed a plan, one that would mean me getting out of the forest alive. I didn’t love the idea of becoming the main dish at some demon dinner party.

The clearing loomed up ahead, the forest opening so dark I couldn’t see anything beyond it. It was creepy as hell, but I had no choice, this was happening and I had to be ready for anything.

Pulling over, I checked my knife again, pulled on the dark hoodie I’d swiped from Bram’s room to help me blend into the shadows, tugged on my backpack, and walked into the forest.

CHAPTER 7

Magnolia

Something was following me.

I hadn’t seen it yet, but it’d clocked me fifteen minutes ago and had been on my tail since. Its smell gave it away first. It was disgusting, like rot and manure, but also perfect for my needs.

Other than my new friend tailing me, I’d managed to go unnoticed. I’d heard demons in the distance—voices, calls and whoops and growls, and what sounded like some kind of party in full swing in the opposite direction—but the darkness had provided excellent cover.

And Asher had trained me well. She’d taught me how to move soundlessly through the forest, where to walk, what to avoid. And what I was about to do? She herself had done once, and it’d gotten her out of a tough spot when she’d been a young wolf and found herself alone in a forest full of hungry demons. I was close to the meeting spot, so close, I could feel the humming of it, calling me.

The demon tracking me darted to the other side of the path, getting closer. I’d only seen him in my peripheral vision, but the demon looked smaller in size, a similar height to me, which made sense or it would’ve attacked already, possibly one of the smaller scavenger breeds.

Just a little farther. I was only a few feet from the clearing now. Gripping my knife, I pretended to trip and stumble, dropping to the ground—and waited.

As expected, as soon as it thought I was wounded, it struck.

I spun just as it reached me and buried my knife in its throat, then jerked the blade to the side. Spinning, I swept its feet out from under it, flipped it over, and sliced through the tendons on each leg, then across its wrists so it couldn’t run or fight.

It roared and thrashed while I covered its mouth with my hand, pulled a piece of string and a large needle from my pocket, and curled it tightly in my fist. “Thread the needle with this twine, seal your mouth shut for all of time.” It was a variation of a spell Willow used once, and it had left an impression. Hers used invisible magical thread, mine on the other hand did not. I’d need to be conscious to maintain a spell like that, but I wasn’t sure I would be after this, so real thread was best this time.

Gripping the demon’s ankle, I dragged him after me. He was small but heavy, and he struggled as I towed him into the middle of the clearing. He stared up at me with wide, furious eyes, a stare that said he wanted to tear me into tiny pieces.

“You were about to eat me, asshole, you deserve what you got. So keep your mouth shut, or you’ll tear your lips off along with your stitches.” I pulled my top over my head and tossed it aside.

Getting naked in front of this creep wasn’t my idea of a good time, but I had no choice and quickly removed the rest of my clothes. Stripped down to nothing, I strode to the squirming demon and made a couple more holes in him, then covered myself in his blood, disguising my scent with its seriously nasty one. The demon was finally too low on blood to fight, and thankfully passed out.

There was a circle of stones in the middle of the clearing, and I whispered a simple spell, igniting a blazing fire inside it. All that was left was to let the mother know I was here. Pulling from my pocket the small jewel-handled knife Mom had given me when I was thirteen, I made a slice in the side of my thigh. Blood slipped from the slice instantly.

Dropping my knife, I closed my eyes and recited the words. “Guide me, old ones. I am your servant, the Keeper’s sister chosen to fulfill the rite of Coven Thornheart.” A gust of wind hit me, whipping around me out of nowhere, it swirled faster and faster, blasting against my naked body. “I’m here to accept my task. Whatever you ask, I will undertake.”

The wind grew stronger, so fierce it was hard to draw breath.

Then finally, a rattling sound reached me, followed by a hiss.