AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Darcy?” I hiss, heart leaping as the groan comes again. “Darcy, is that you?”
“Run, Blaire,” he replies, his words thick and groggy-sounding. “Run. You have to…get out of here.”
“I can’t, I’m locked inside a shed,” I say, my brow furrowing. “Where are you? And how did you get here? It’s still daylight outside.”
“Run, Blaire,” he murmurs again, making me suspect he’s not completely in his right mind. “The clowns…”
Shit. The clowns.
He must be drugged, too. I have no idea what sick sort of person would create a drug that makes you dream about killer clowns, but as far as I’m concerned, they deserve to be locked in a football stadium full of the same.
“Don’t worry,” I assure him softly, “I’m going to get us both out of here.”
“Need you,” he says in that same fever dream voice. “Need you to be okay. Leave me. Leave me and run.”
My chest floods with warmth despite the terror making my hands shake as I tuck my gold bats into my left pocket and the card back into my front one. “I won’t leave you,” I promise. “I need you to be okay, too.”
I do need that. I need him.
Even if he never feels the romantic feelings that have ambushed me as assuredly as that woman with her needle, I need Darcy to be all right. I need to know that he’s well and happy, even if he prefers to be both of those things with someone else.
“I’ll just have to bargain for both of our lives and hope I have enough gold in my pocket to get the job done,” I mutter, rubbing a trembling hand down my face.
“Or you could ask for a little help from your friends,” comes a breathy voice from near the door.
Heart racing, I whisper, “Who’s there?”
“You call me Mama Spider,” the voice says. “My given name is Jolene. And I only need to feed on human bones once every ten years and long dead bones work just as well as fresh ones. Your vampire friend is an alarmist who doesn’t understand my kind nearly as well as he thinks.”
“Oh, well…that’s good to know,” I mutter dumbly, too shocked to think of anything else to say.
“It is,” she agrees. “May I come in, and help you out, dear?”
“Um, yes. Yes, please,” I say, eyes locking on the door just as mama spider scuttles easily under the crack at the bottom. Once inside, she begins to glow, casting such a bright golden light that my eyes squint closed as I lift an arm to shield them from the worst of the glare.
A few seconds later the light fades and I lower my hand to see a gorgeous older woman in a loose fitting, gray linen dress with shining silver hair and the kindest smile-wrinkled face I’ve ever seen beaming warmly down at me. She reaches a hand my way, “Come with me, sweetheart. I knew your grandmother and your mama, too. I’ll keep you safe. It’s what Wonderfullys and their guardians do for each other.”
My hand floats toward hers of its own accord, some deep instinct insisting I can trust her. But just as my fingers are about to brush hers, I hesitate and pull back an inch. “I need to save Darcy, too. He’s being held somewhere close by.”
Jolene nods. “Of course. Though just between us, you can save the man without claiming him as your own. There’s always a strong pull between the most powerful Wonderfully sister of any generation and her fated mate, but that doesn’t mean you have to settle, sweetheart. Fate is indeed a bitch…” She grins. “But I’ve seen enough people thwart her to know she doesn’t always win. If you decide this vampire isn’t to your liking, there are other fish in the sea. I’ve always thought Baron was rather lovely. Quiet and misunderstood, but there’s a tender heart in that man. Or you could remain a spinster and let the town fend for itself. The shield is nice, but we could survive without it. Perhaps even thrive. Take it from an old spider, change keeps you young and there are always options.”
“I might have figured something out for the shield,” I say, “but we can talk about that later. After everyone’s home safe.” I take her hand, surprised by the strength in her seemingly fragile, elderly frame as she lifts me easily to my feet. “So, what’s the plan? You shrink back to spider size, crawl out, shift into your human form, and open the door? And then we grab Darcy and run like hell?”
“I could,” she says, patting my back warmly with one hand as she lifts the other toward the locked door. “Or we could do it the easy way.” She shoves her arm forward, striking the wood with the heel of her palm like a karate master. The wood gives beneath the force like damp cardboard and Jolene reaches through the hole left behind to lift the bar braced in front of the door. “Shifting takes more energy,” she says with another sweet, grandmotherly smile.
“Anyone ever told you you’re a bad ass, Jolene?” I ask as I follow out the now open door.
Her smile widens. “Maybe once or twice.” She turns to the right, toward a shed even smaller and saggier than the one we just left. “Your mate’s in here.”
“He’s not my mate,” I say, glancing over my shoulder to make sure no campground criminals are coming to investigate the smashing sound.
But we’re still alone, and I can’t see the tents or campers from this far up the hill. Even better, the sun is setting behind a distant rise, meaning it will soon be safe for Darcy to walk around freely.
I turn back to Jolene, adding, “He isn’t interested in being more than friends. Or friends with benefits, I guess, if I was up for that. But I’m not because of…feelings and shit.” I exhale. “I’m actually glad you told me about the fated mate thing. I thought I was going crazy, going soft for a guy I’ve only known a few weeks. But it’s just supernatural pheromones or whatever.”
She huffs as she lays hands on the wooden plank blocking Darcy’s prison door. “It’s a bit more complicated than that. Fated mates are rare. Not everyone has one. Some say fated mates are made when two souls are separated too soon and vow to find each other in another life. It could be that you’ve loved this man before.” She glances toward the plank and then the pink sky behind me, visible through the dwindling fall leaves. “It’s safe for him to emerge. Take him up the hill and turn left at the large, mossy stone. There’s a secret path that leads back to the Blackmore compound. I’ll keep watch below, and make sure no one follows you.”
“Thank you so much,” I say, my heart squeezing in my chest as she lifts the plank and opens the door, revealing a similar set up to my own prison. The floor is hard-packed dirt, there are old magazines and a few random, mis-matched shoes that are oddly disturbing, and Darcy lying in a heap on a filthy mattress.
