The Monster Within

Dylan shook his head. “The power never left you. It settled inside you. We don’t get that tingling feeling unless we are tapping into the power, actively using it. But it’s still there. All of it.”

“Nora said I wouldn’t be able to do spells.” Not that I knew any.

“More lies. You can help me fight her. Cha

My heart clenched at the sound of Ben’s name. Dylan was helping me, even after I’d killed his brother.

“Ben would want you to take Nora out. He’s dead because of her.”

“He died because of me.”

“I’m not saying I don’t blame you at all, but Nora used you. It’s her fault you came back this way.”

How had I been so wrong about all of this? No, I knew the answer to that. Nora had used a spell on me to make me believe her. I had to do what I could to fix it. “Tell me how to use the magic. I want to free Sha

“Focus on the magic until you feel it tingling under your skin. Then think about what you want to do. Don’t let any other thoughts into your head or it won’t work. I’ll take care of Nora.”

“What if I can’t do it?”

“Then get Ethan and get out of here.”

He was going to save me. After all I’d done.

“Ready?”

Not at all. I nodded. My hands shook, and Dylan ran his fingers on top of my forearm. His touch tingled, and I could see the faint glow of magic inside me.

“See, it’s still there. Use it.”

I nodded more confidently this time.

“Now!” Dylan threw the shield forward at Nora, and she fell backward. I rushed to Sha

Sha

“How do I break it?” I stared at the swirling prison.

“Get the salt and pour it on the magic. It will break the spell.”

“What if it touches you?”

“It will burn me, but I’ll live. Remember, you can’t touch it either. You’ve got magic inside you now.”

Ethan was at my side with the salt in his hands. “I can’t sit on the sidelines and watch, Sam. I—” He stumbled forward, and his eyes widened.

Crap. It was happening.

Sha

“Hang on, okay?” I told him, knowing it didn’t work that way. He had no control over how fast the life drained from him.

I took the salt and poured it on the magic ring around Sha

Nora and Dylan were killing each other. They were both cut up. Their clothes were torn, and their noses were bleeding. They were using all their energy to fight.

“Time to finish this,” Sha

It was over.

I breathed deeply, thankful that Nora was contained. We’d have to figure out what to do with her, but for right now, she wasn’t a threat anymore. Sha

“What?” I asked.

They both turned to me. For the first time, Sha

“We have to kill her,” Dylan said. “She’s too far gone. Consumed by black magic.”

Deep down, I knew that was what he’d say, but it still hit me hard.

Dylan walked over to me. “She was never your friend. I know it’s hard, but if she doesn’t die, she’ll come after all of us. She won’t leave you or Ethan alone. And if you don’t do what she says, she’ll kill you both.”

Ethan. Oh, God, he was dying. I spun around. He was slumped back in the booth. I ran to him. “Ethan?”

He coughed and grabbed his chest.

“He’s dying.”

Dylan turned toward Nora again. I rushed to her. She’d put the spell on Ethan. She could remove it.

“Tell me how to break the spell,” I said, standing over her.

She laughed. “Sorry, Sam. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t lift the spell. He needs to feed or he’ll die. You should’ve listened to me. I could’ve helped you.”

“You weren’t trying to help me. You were trying to kill Dylan and Sha

“What do you care? Sha

I turned to Sha

Sha

“What are you doing?” She backed away.

“You have my necklace. You were the one who broke into my house and stole it?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“Then how do you have it?” I was yelling now, totally panicked.

“I took it from Nora. I had to ransack her house to find it.”

So Ben hadn’t come after Nora. He hadn’t tried to kill her. Sha

“I was going to give it back to you, but she trapped me before I could.”

“You expect me to believe you were going to help me?”

“Just because I didn’t like you doesn’t mean I wanted you dead. And I certainly didn’t want you to continue helping Nora kill witches. Rebecca and Ben were my friends.”

I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”

She removed the necklace and placed it in my hand.

I wrapped my fingers around it. “How are you even able to wear it?”

“The spell I put on it protects you from harmful magic, nothing else,” Dylan said. “It’s not harmful to witches. That’s why Nora was able to steal it.”

“Shoddy spellwork, Dylan,” Nora said with a laugh. “Your magic is nothing compared to mine. I was even able to keep Sam from rising for four days after I did the spell to bring her back.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“We couldn’t have you waking up in the middle of your own funeral, now could we?” She laughed, clearly amused with herself. “I even cast a spell on the mortician so he wouldn’t touch your body after I gave you Ethan’s blood.”

I looked at the necklace. If it protected the wearer from harmful magic, it could help Ethan. I rushed over to him, placing the necklace in his hand. “Hold this. It will help.” He was so weak he couldn’t even hold the necklace. I had to close his fingers around it.

“That necklace was made to protect you,” Dylan said, coming up behind me. “It won’t help him.”

No. That couldn’t be true, but Ethan sputtered and coughed again. His fingers were like ice in my hand. I turned to Dylan. “What am I supposed to do? I won’t let him die!”

“The only way to break the curse she put on you two is to kill her. She did this. Only she can undo it.”

I couldn’t believe he was suggesting Ethan kill Nora, but doing that was the only way to make up for killing Ben. I saw that now.

Ethan choked, and the life in his eyes started slipping away.

“You’re ru