Page 42 of Prey

He stands again, but this time, he’s a little shakier. “We’ll get you one way or the other, Shasta. Just like we have gotten every other one of your family members over the years. It’s inevitable. Just come quietly. We only need you to do one little spell for us,” he says.

Gods, he sounds so sure of himself.

“Yeah, no thank you. I’d prefer to not do a spell that not only gives you all immortality but also kills me in the process. Your days, the Society’s days, are very numbered,” I growl at him.

He raises his arms and a black oily hand reaches for me. Kadi jumps in front of me at the last second and it hits him with a thump. He falls to the ground in front of me, convulsing.

“Kadi!” I scream and drop to my knees.

Laken and Joaquin rush at Logan’s dad and grab his arms, holding him tightly. He is cursing them and screaming, but they don’t loosen their grip. I look down at Kadi and run my hands over his chest where the hand hit him. It tore a hole in his shirt and I watch as a black greasy spot tries to burrow into his skin. Oh, not today you little fucker. I’ve had it with these spiders of theirs.

“Kadi I’m going to burn this fucker. It’s going to hurt but I’ll heal you after,” I grind out. He nods, breathing shallow and ragged. I flick a finger and the spider lights up with purple flames. Purple?What the fuck?

I watch, entranced as, not only does it kill the spider, it heals the wounds behind it. Well, that’s a handy new trick. I really need to figure out these new powers I have. They seem especially geared towards fighting the effects of black magic and the Society in general.

He grunts and stands.

“Bring him with us. We are going to put him in the basement at Winnie’s. Shasta, can you do something to bind her?” He points to Logan’s mom, still lying motionless on the ground. I walk over and feel her neck.

“No need. She’s already dead.” I should feel remorse right?

This is the first time I’ve killed someone. But I think back to how my father looked when I opened the cell door and I don’t feel a bit of pity for her. Stepping over her, I lift my chin and head to the front of the store, Joaquin and Laken on my heels carrying Logan’s father between them. He’s fighting them with everything he’s got but they will not budge. I see Kadi give me a look, but I ignore it for now. We’ll just have to talk about it later.

Stepping out into the night we see Ethan coming back down the street toward us. “I’ve got one of the other guys on the way here. Alaric called some backup when he saw them pull up.”

Wow, these guys are really good. You have to appreciate a criminal group that knows what they’re doing when it comes to operations. Ethan rushes over to Kadi and I, looking us over. He notes the spot that's torn on Kadi’s shirt and looks at us in curiosity.

“Product of my new powers. Apparently it likes to eat the spiders and then clean up after itself,” I say and shrug my shoulders. “Also, we don’t need the backup. Logan’s mom is dead. Just leave her there.”

I feel him press the bond as if searching for something but Kadi shoots him a look and very subtly shakes his head.

I saw that.

Guess we are going to have a talk later, for sure. I don’t care though. They can say what they want. I don’t feel bad for killing her and I’m not going to apologize for my weird ass new powers. To be fair, I’m sure they don’t give a shit that she’s dead, just that I’m being so blasé about it.

Hank, one of the wolf shifters, and driver of the getaway vehicle, rolls down the passenger side window. “Uber is ready,” he calls out.

Ethan shakes his head but opens the backdoor for Kadi and I to get in. Once I slide across the seat, Kadi gets in beside me. Ethan climbs in the passenger seat. Joaquin leans around the still open door and says, “Hey Shasta, you want to do the thing you did to Ethan the other day?”

I lean across Kadi and flick a finger at Logan’s father and he goes out like a light.

“Perfect,” Joaquin says and he and Laken climb in, putting Logan’s father in between them. We drive to Grams’ in silence. Everyone is trapped in their own thoughts over what we saw there.

Grams is on the porch when we get there, my mother is nowhere to be seen. Her eyes find mine as I step out of thevehicle. I see grief there, not for what I did, but that I had to do it in the first place. I don’t think she likes what she sees in my face though, because she presses her lips together.

She gestures everyone inside and Joaquin goes first, now carrying Logan’s father by himself since he’s currently unconscious. As I pass her, she grabs ahold of my shirt and whispers, “Wewillhave a talk, Shasta. If the looks on your mates faces are any indication, I think it will be a conversation between all of us.”

I just nod and pass her, following the guys downstairs. Figures she knows what happened without even having to ask. Sometimes she amazes me with all the things she always knows. You’d think after all these years I wouldn’t be surprised but I continue to always be in awe of her powers. There’s a reason she’s the head of the Coven.

Once we get down to the basement, Joaquin and Laken get Logan’s dad locked into the chair. We really need to find out his name so I don’t have to keep calling him ‘Logan’s dad’ in my head.

Joaquin looks over at Kadi, Ethan, and I. “You three head to Supe Gen. We’ve got this. Once he wakes up, we can find out what we need to know. I’ll let you know if anything crazy comes up. Oh, and tell Jessa I’ll be seeing her soon.” He has a wicked glint in his eye on that last part and he and Laken share another look that I can’t interpret. I’m gonna have to pull her to the side once my dad is settled.

Ethan puts a hand on my lower back and leads me toward the stairs. Grams’ pulls up a chair and has a seat with Laken and Joaquin.

Chapter twenty-two

Shattered Bones & Mended Hearts

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