Page 73 of A Bond with the Dark

This is getting out of hand.

The hard wood of the chair suddenly feels uncomfortable and I adjust in my seat. “Is there anything you can give me to help her find her fire?” Gazing into each of the witches’ eyes, their glare softens when they sense I am falling for this girl. The desire to save her drenches my aura and I can’t hide the desperation in my voice. “I believe that is all she has to do. She has magick that can help defeat these things, and I have to help her ignite it.”

“Reveal your true nature to her,” Nicole expands, blowing out the smoke dappled by candles into the air. “You can let her come into this knowledge on her own, or you can tell her, but in doing so, it will open her mind up to the supernatural. Do not tell her about the prophecy or that you think she will end the grims. That will alter her path and may taint her ability to ignite that fire within her. Tell her what you can and watch her power blossom.”

“You feel that telling her about the supernatural realm and revealing my nature will help unlock something in her brain that will unleash her fire?”

“If she is to be the one to put an end to the grims,” blondie says, her hair turning silver in the light from the sconces, “by using her fire, fire that she cannot access yet, then you must draw it out of her. Opening her mind to the notion that things beyond her wildest dreams exist will open more doors to her powers. This is one way to do that.”

“And what is the other way?” I ask though I am not sure I want to know the answer.

A shiver reaches my skin at the way Blondie’s gaze intensifies. “Putting everyone she loves, including herself, in danger.”

22

A SHOCKING REVELATION

SAYAH

The flight home had been a quiet one.

Anna slept the whole time, having awakened the morning after the assault feeling as though she had drunk one too many fireball shots. Claire was melancholy and quiet, holding Anna close all the way to the airport and on the plane as well. I said goodbye to Dom at the hotel. He had been supportive of the girls’ silence, knowing words are not enough to quell the awful feelings that being drugged and almost raped dredge up.

The only words Anna had spoken were to thank Dom followed by a hug for saving her.

It wasn’t until I got home and turned on the T.V. that I learned of the three men who had been found dead in a Las Vegas apartment complex.

They offered no details as to the circumstances of the deaths, only that they were suspicious and being investigated as a homicide.

It has to be a coincidence, right?

I try to put it as far back in the corners of my mind as I can, but something isn’t adding up.

“So when’s he coming over?” Gauge asks, wheeling into the kitchen where I’m cooking dinner, jolting me momentarily out of my addled fog.

“Um . . .” I wipe my hands on the dishtowel and fling it over my shoulder, tugging the phone out of my back pocket. “He should be here any minute. Are you excited?”

“Yeah,” he replies giddily. “I’m glad you won’t be alone when I’m not here.”

Gauge has been wanting me to find someone for a long time.

As I stir the spaghetti sauce, my mind goes back to him.

More and more details about Dominic are confusing to me. There’s that feeling that he has something big to tell me about himself and I’m not going to let him leave tonight until I find out what it is. Part of being an empath is that I’m able to read people. I know when they’re angry or sad or have something burning inside them that they need to get out. It’s why I’m always drained after concerts or crowded places. I’m an energy sponge and I soak up other people’s energy like rainwater on grass.

But what can it be?

That’s when the doorbell chimes.

“I’ll get it,” Gauge sings.

“Well, hello there, sir,” I hear Dom’s deep voice billowing into our little house. “I’m Dominic. You must be Master Gauge.”

I walk into the living room to see Dominic shaking Gauge’s little hand. “Nice to meet you too. But I’m not a master.”

Dom laughs and hands him something. “These are for you.”

“What is it?” he asks, peering into the paper bag he hands him.

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