Page 23 of Owen

Tears flowed down my cheeks as I lifted off the ground, hovering a few inches above the leaves and dirt. “I’m really sorry for this,” the woman whispered as Dallas picked Owen up and threw him over one shoulder like he weighed nothing.

“You don’t have to do it! I won’t tell anybody anything—I wouldn’t even know what to say! Please, just leave me here. Let me go.” I couldn’t even wipe my runny nose, and with the way I was crying it ran like a faucet.

“I promise, no one will hurt you. This will all be over soon, and you won’t remember any of it. You have my word on that. I’ll guard you myself if need be.” She turned away from me then, holding my backpack over one shoulder.

When she walked, I followed, floating over the surface of the mountain as we moved closer to the peak.

Would I live through this?

9

“Owen. Owen, wake up.”

I woke up.

The fact that I was no longer in a cave was the first surprise.

The fact that Hecate, Iris, and Dallas leaned over me was the second.

“Where is she? What happened?” Once again, I was stopped before I could sit up—though, this time, it was Dallas whose firm hands pressed against my shoulders and kept me from moving.

“You need to rest,” Hecate whispered, running a hand over my forehead. “You had a very close call, Owen. Twice, in fact. You must rest all you can to restore your strength.”

“A close call?” I struggled to remember details, but only one detail mattered just then. “Where is Molly?”

“Oh, that’s her name?” Iris asked, her expression tightening. “I might have guessed. So plain and common.”

“Watch it,” I muttered. “So you’ve met her. She’s here. Where is she?” And what could possibly have happened to lead them to bring her along?

“One thing at a time,” Dallas urged.

“No! I want you to tell me now. Where is she? I have to see her.” Where I found the strength to be so demanding was anyone’s guess. I certainly had no idea where it was coming from, not when my head spun so and I wished for nothing more than a deep, restorative sleep.

For almost nothing more, actually. I wanted her. I wanted to see her. I wanted to know for a fact that she was well, that she wasn’t frightened. How could she not be frightened when she’d already been exposed to more than she could’ve possibly imagined existed?

Hecate and Dallas shared a look. “All right,” she sighed. “I have Molly under my control. She is in one of the spare bedchambers at this time.”

“Instead of the cells,” Iris muttered. “That was my idea, and I still believe it to be the right course of action.”

“You put her in a cell, and you’ll have me to answer to,” I snarled. “I won’t allow it. She’s done nothing to require imprisonment.”

“That’s right,” Hecate agreed with a look to Iris. “We’ve already had this out, and you know my feelings on it.”

“To hell with your feelings. I don’t care if you believe the girl to be honest or not. The fact is, she carried with her one of our ancient treasures, and that means one of her ancestors stole it from our sisters.”

“That’s what it was?” I gaped at them, awestruck. “She had one of the coven’s treasures in her possession? She told me about artifacts but never described them.”

“Aye, and you managed to touch it—not once, but twice.” Dallas smiled. “You always did have a talent for unwittingly barreling straight into danger.”

“We’re all good at something,” I murmured, only half hearing him. I was more concerned with the way Iris snarled at the mention of Molly. “You can’t possibly think she knew what she possessed. The way she spoke of it, it was handed down through generations with no explanation as to its origins.”

“She knows of the legends surrounding this mountain,” Hecate pointed out. “She does have some idea what she’s stumbled upon.”

“She believed them to be nothing but the silliest stories,” I argued.

“I know.”

“You do? How?”

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