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Willow

My mind raced as I headed toward home. None of this made sense. Someone had hexed my sister and me. There were malevolent spirits loose—on a killing spree—and those spirits had something to do with the task the mother had set me. And now Clayton’s mom had been brutally attacked and murdered, her injuries identical to the ones inflicted on Mags.

What the fuck was going on? It wasn’t just us being targeted now, but the Whitlocks as well? I didn’t see the connection.

Sally’s face flashed through my mind, and I gripped the steering wheel tighter. I needed answers, something, anything. I didn’t know who was behind the attack on Mags, or Olive’s murder. I also didn’t know who was responsible for letting the spirits loose. The list of shit I didn’t know was fucking ridiculous, but what I did know was both involved using the darkest, most twisted kind of magic there was.

And I was willing to do anything for even the smallest clue at this point.

The closest I’d come was that dream while I was at Warrick’s den. If I could just see who was behind that cloak. If I could go back to that dream state and instead of giving into the fear, tear away that cloak, I’d see who was behind trying to hurt us, I was positive.

So when I reached the next crossroads, instead of heading for home, I turned toward Shadow Falls. Warrick turned as well, following me. I was sure he was fuming and wanted to tell me to go home, but you couldn’t use a phone while riding a motorcycle, lucky for me.

I needed him with me for this, anyway, someone to watch over me while I was under.

Thirty minutes later, I pulled the Morris off to the side of the road and parked. Warrick rolled in behind me a second later and was kicking down the stand of his bike when I climbed out of my truck. By the look on his face, he was still brooding.

Awesome.

“What the fuck are we doing here?” he said, striding toward me.

I planted my hands on my hips. “You’re not going to like this, but I’m going to need you to suck it up and trust me, okay?”

“You know I fucking trust you, but if I’m not going to like it, that means you’re about to do something that could get you hurt. I’m not cool with that.”

I smiled up at him and was sure it looked as strained as it felt. “That’s why you’re here, alpha. To protect me.”

His eyes narrowed, not buying it.

I slung my satchel over my head and started toward the trail. “I’ll explain while we walk.”

“Where are we going?” he asked as we hit the rocky path.

“A place called Shadow Falls.” I glanced up at him. “There’s a reason this place is free of demons and other creatures that might try to attack us, and why the land looks so barren…can you feel it?” Very little grew here, and when it did, it didn’t last long. There were ancient trees that had managed it, but just as many that didn’t and were gray, spindly, dry shells.

His wide shoulders bunched, the muscles in his arms flexing as he tilted his head back and scented the air. When he looked down at me, his eyes had changed color. They were red. “What the fuck is that?”

A shiver slithered through me, because the deeper we went and the closer we got to the falls, the more I felt it. “The falls have been used as a burial ground for centuries. It’s where witches who have gone bad go, the ones who turned to dark magic. They’re placed there when they die. Their families, their covens, don’t want them in their cemeteries because they’d sour the soul and taint the magic. So their families bring them here.”

His hand came down on my shoulder, stopping me. “I don’t fucking like this. Why are you here?”

“Because whoever is behind all of this is using magic that is forbidden. The night I stayed with you, that bad dream…it wasn’t just a dream, it was a vision, I’m sure of it. I need to go back there, to that place in my mind. It’s called shadow seeking, and I can only do it here at the falls.”

His brows lowered, and he planted his hands on his hips. “How dangerous is this?”

I bit my lip.

“Willow.”

“As dangerous as you can get.” There was no point lying. He needed to know, because it would be him stopping things if the worst-case scenario was about to happen. “If I’m under too long, I might never wake up again. The shadows can claim you, confuse you.”

He cursed viciously, his fingers flexing against my shoulder. “And you’re sure you can get answers doing this?”

“Yes, but timing is everything.” I winced. “Only there’s no way for you to know what’s happening while I’m under, and the things that are happening to me there can affect my body here. So basically, if I appear to be under serious distress, it’s probably best to wake me, otherwise, you need to let it play out, but no longer than around thirty minutes. The longer I’m there, the harder it will become for me to distinguish the vision I’m in from the real world. Witches have been known to stay in their visions, not realizing that’s what they are, until they eventually die of old age. Others stay too long and can’t get back or are killed by whatever sent them shadow seeking in the first place.”

“That’s too big a risk,” he bit out.

“That’s why you’re here. You won’t let me get lost there, right? Which means there’s nothing to worry about.” I started to walk again, and he cursed some more.