Page 63 of Calling Quarters

“How are you doing this?” I panted, struggling to keep up with their fast pace.

We took another turn that should have been a residential street but ended with a path into the woods, instead.

“Hush, girl. We don't have time.” Tabitha's signature vague response irritated me more than usual. Where I was hardly keeping up, she didn't even sound out of breath.

She and Blaire had just stepped onto the dirt path when I was dragged backwards by the handle of the backpack I wore. A scream tore from my chest, forcing Tabitha and Blaire to turn around. Their wide-eyed, horrified expressions only made me kick against the cement pavement harder, making it more difficult for my captor to tug me along with them.

“Quit fighting it,” Rayner's familiar voice ground into my ear. He jerked my body upwards and slammed me back onto my feet like a small child.

I called out for Tabitha and Blaire to help me, but they hadn't moved from their spot in the mouth of the woods. I watched in terror as Tabitha's lips moved to say something to Blaire, then her back turned to me and she dragged her granddaughter by the wrist behind her. Blaire never took her eyes off me, and the green glow haunted me far after they disappeared into the pitch-black woods.

Rayner hauled my lifeless body through the uncharacteristically deserted streets until another path into the woods appeared. I'd lost all sense of direction along the way and had no idea what side of town we ended up in when he threw me to the ground and kicked at my side.

“You can walk yourself from here. Try to run, and we'll just catch you,” he warned. His hands brushed against the lapels of his suit coat, then tugged at them to straighten it out.

I tripped and fell multiple times on the messy forest floor, slipping on wet leaves as my hands got stabbed by pine needles. Rayner appeared to float over the fallen branches and tangled vines, hardly stopping to wait for me to gather myself or wipe the caked dirt away from my only pair of jeans before he moved on.

I knew based on the maps I'd studied of Beacon Grove that all the woods surrounding the town belonged to the Quarter families, save for the Graves’ sliver of land. This part appeared to be even more untouched and uncared for than the portion that led to the cabin. Still, Rayner navigated the twisted, darkened path with ease, as if he'd walked it thousands of times.

Just as my legs were nearly about to give out, a large bonfire came into view. The soft light reached deep into the forest and illuminated the area enough for me to see the obstacles in front of me and dodge them. There were several silhouettes standing in a silent circle around the tall flames, waiting.

“We've arrived!” Rayner called out, throwing his fist into the air.

The group turned in our direction at once and cheered back. Others came from around the opposite side of the pit and joined in the celebration as soon as their eyes landed on me.

I was able to identify numerous familiar faces in the growing crowd of people. Maisey from the diner, my regular barista from The Grind, Esther from the library.

“It's finally time! We've hit many roadblocks on the path to gathering our missing piece, but the gods have rewarded us for our patience.”

Roadblocks.

He meant my family. The people who stood in his way and were bulldozed over as if they didn't ever matter.

My monster awoke from his slumber, lighting a fire in my chest that burned ten times hotter than the one that blazed before me.

“What are you going to do, Rayner? Kill me? Remy and the others will never let that happen,” I provoked, hoping my words were right.

I just needed to buy some time.

Rayner’s roaring laughter made me jump, which encouraged the crowd of people surrounding us to chuckle at my expense. I gritted my teeth and staved off the monster for a little while longer.

“We’ll get to that in a little while. For now, I want to savor this moment.”

He turned toward his sickening group of followers and lifted his arms in victory. For a long while, he just stared at them in contentment. It was creepy and confusing and made a few of them nervously shift on their feet.

“For almost all my life, I’ve strived to take down the Quarters and end their reign on our coven. To strip them of their power and transfer it to someone more deserving.”

A few cheers interrupted his speech, but he ignored them and went on.

“I watched as their grandfathers slaughtered my father in the street and stole away my brother, tearing apart my family limb from limb. I later learned that my brother was taken prisoner by the Quarters and forced to work as a Counter slave for them to protect their precious gifts.”

Rayner paused to hear the surprised gasps erupt from his audience. He nodded in approval, then continued speaking. He paced the ground before me with his hands clasped behind his back.

“That knowledge sparked the beginning of the Movement. You see, these families have done nothing but lie to us and take advantage of our generosity toward them in order to hold onto their own gifts and capitalize off our fear. The Quarter elders have convinced us that Counters were to be killed to strengthen their powers, even though the exact opposite is true. They knew they needed their Counters alive to continue protecting the coven, but they’ve put us all at risk by convincing us to kill our own people so they could weaken their sons and hold onto their power for a little while longer.”

He shook his finger in the air and tilted his head to the side, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“But our Quarters have figured out the truth.”

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