Page 58 of Soul of a Witch

Another customer asked me for a price, and I leapt to help her immediately. But I left the final card face-up, hoping desperately that the sight of Death would be enough to impart a warning to Rae.

The three women left as I fumbled through the sale, my panic rising with every second. What the hell was happening to me? No matter how deep of a breath I took, it didn’t feel adequate. My skin was clammy and cold. Even when I sat in my chair again, my head kept spinning.

Raelynn Lawson had the grimoire. When I concentrated on that thought, I was overwhelmed with mental images of Rae picking the grimoire out of a pile of books, Inaya wrapping it in brown paper, Rae’s fingers tracing the pages.

Never had I experienced a psychic premonition like that.

I needed to get out of here, I needed to gonow. I had to find out where Rae lived and get the damn thing back. I had to warn her, I had to dosomething.

They would kill her. They’d sacrifice her, take the grimoire, and then there would be nothing to stop the Libiri from making the final sacrifice. Nothing to stop them from setting the God free, and nothing to stand in Its way as It infested my mind, took over my body, and claimed my power for Itself.

My power…mypower. Even if I couldn’t control it, it was there. It was within me, and this God was ravenous for it.

It came again. The intrusive thoughts, the visions, the bloodlust.

She’s mine, she’s mine, she’s mine! Bring her to me!

Gasping for air, I shoved myself to my feet. My vision was fuzzy at the edges. There were whispers all around. And the screaming…God, thescreaming,as if a crowd of hundreds was in the woods, yelling until their throats were raw.

Feeling as if I was walking through waist-deep water, I stumbled away. Nearly blind, I shoved through the crowd, trying to keep my thoughts focused.Get back to the house. Dig up the map. Hike to the coven house before the sun goes down.

The sun was setting. Dusk was already here.

“Everly. Everly!”

My head was swimming. The sound of my name was so far away. The faces of the crowd blurred sickeningly as I stumbled through them, single-minded determination keeping my feet moving as my brain disconnected.

“Callum,” I whispered, the crowd blurring before my eyes. “Please, Callum, please find me…”

Get home. Get the map. Run.

It would be dark. The Eld would be hunting. I had no way to defend myself.

Home. Map. Run.

There was no other choice.

“Everly!”

A hand closed tightly around my upper arm, jerking me back, and I screamed in alarm before my father’s face filled my vision.

“Come with me.” He dragged me, my feet tangling as I stumbled to follow. The screaming in my head wouldn’t stop, and it made it impossible to hear him. Something about the sacrifice. Something about Jeremiah.

Raelynn. Something about Raelynn.

21

Everly

By the time my father dragged me to his SUV, the hallucinations had stopped. But they left behind an exhaustion so intense I thought I might pass out right there in the passenger seat. My eyes were heavy, every part of my body ached.

What was happening to me?

Groaning, I clutched my head in my hands and pressed my forehead against the window. The glass was blessedly cold on my hot skin.

“...try not…fight it, Everly. It’s only…blessings…the pain will…”

His voice kept fading in and out. But the calm acceptance in his tone made my panic rise, killing my desire to sleep, even as exhausted as I was.

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