Page 66 of Road To Runes

“Bea!” She threw her arms around me and my legs buckled.

We collapsed into a heap on the floor and I groaned as every ache and pain flared back to life.

“Be careful. They’ve hurt her.”Hecate stepped on top of Paul on her way to get to us.

“Those bastards.” Penny clambered off me and helped me sit up, grasping both my hands. “We’ve been so worried about you. Come on, we need to go, now.”

“Where is everyone?” I croaked, trying to breathe through the lancing pains.

“Holding your family off upstairs,” Penny said, looping an arm under my armpits and heaving me to my feet.

Wow, maybe that week of rock climbing had paid off.

“Penny, wait.” I grabbed the banister and leaned on it for support. “I can’t leave.”

She balked, her face turning pale. “What are you talking about? You’re coming home with us. There’s no two ways about it.”

“And I want to, but Pearl gave me a potion. I don’t know what it was, but she gave me the impression that… it won’t let me leave this place.”

“Oh, that evil…” Penny hoisted me up to the next step, but I kept my ears pricked for whatever word she was searching for. “We’ll deal with that in a minute. Right now, I’ve got to get you up to the others so we can help them.”

“One drama at a time,” I mumbled.

Penny helped me up the stairs while Hecate hurried on ahead. Out in the corridor, pictures hung askew on the wall and the rugs were bunched up. A hole in one of the wall panels suggested someone had taken a fist to it. Maybe even Penny, if she had been as much of a badass as I had seen her.

A yell up ahead made me jump and I stumbled, clinging to Penny. That sounded like...

"Edward." Penny's strides outdid my own so that she almost dragged me along.

Once we drew level with the open living room door, the sight had my knees buckling once more. Penny gasped, struggling to hold me and we both tumbled to our knees. For a split second I worried about landing on Hecate, but it took a moment for me to realise she had disappeared.

Against curtains on the far wall, Lucille held Laura by her flaming hair, pressing an athame to her throat. Louisa had Edward's collar in both hands, which he had slipped his fingers in to ease the pressure, his face redder than a beet. On the side of his neck, a welt had risen where Pearl had touched the end of the cinnabar wand she held to his skin. Priya and Asher both stood with their hands up in front of the fireplace in surrender.

Chapter 34

As soon as we stumbled into the doorway, all eyes fell upon us. Asher's jaw clenched as our eyes met, and he turned his venomous gaze to Pearl.

"You monster," he muttered.

Ouch. It was possible I looked almost as bad as I felt.

"Perfect timing, Beatrix." Pearl pointed the wand at me. "Come and join us. It's about time we taught your friends what it means to get in my way."

I grimaced and with Penny's help got to my feet. "You can stop all this now. We both know I'm not going anywhere."

"Your friends don't seem to know. Perhaps you'd like to tell them?" Pearl said.

I took in a shaky breath, planting my feet, and met Asher's eyes. "You guys need to leave."

There was no hope for me leaving just yet, not with the potion Pearl had forced upon me. But I couldn't have her imprisoning them here too. With them on hand, Pearl could get me to do whatever she wanted. To me, that was unacceptable.

"You're mad if you think we're leaving you here," Priya said. "What have theydoneto you?"

"Doesn't matter." Telling them would only make them want to double down on getting me out of here. "Just walk out the front door and don't look back. Please."

I would find my way out of here if it killed me, so long as they were out of harm's way.

"You see? Beatrix knows she belongs here." Pearl pressed the tip of the wand to Edward's neck.

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