Page 65 of Ashes

NICO

We arrive at The Hollow just after midnight. The moon is full and swollen, casting eerie shadows between the trees.

The drone footage on the news didn’t do justice to the damage Kole inflicted on the lawn. Centuries old tree roots bulge up from beneath the earth, thick and twisted, like gnarled fingers reaching for the house itself. Trenches of black soil lay in their wake. Ahead, The Hollow’s windows are shattered. Some pierced by the vines that snake from the woods, over the roots, and up the stone steps. Others shattered by the force of the Bureau’s spells when they broke the shielding spells.

As we weave between them—roots, vines, and trenches—the earth vibrates beneath us. In the trenches, it seems to be moving. Undulating. Humming with whatever power Kole unleashed.

I feel like a traitor and an intruder.

Walking amongst us, the only witch in a pack of wolves, Eve is wide-eyed with excitement. She stops, takes off her boots, and wriggles her toes into the cold, dewy grass. She sighs, stretches out her arms, and looks up at the night sky. Then she twirls in a circle, laughing.

When we reach the steps, Ragnor shifts. The others follow.

Mother stands next to him, looking up at the building. “You’re sure?” she asks.

Ragnor nods. Behind them, Eve says, “Can’t you feel it? Can’t youfeelthe darkness?”

I’m the last to shift. Still sore and aching. It’s an effort and leaves me panting. Ragnor looks me up and down. His jaw twitches in disappointment—or maybe disgust—then he turns and stalks inside. Through the kitchen, down the hall, into the lounge where Kole and Tanner took Nova the first night we were all together.

I stare at the unlit fireplace, imagining her standing in its glow. The two of them caressing her, soothing her, wiping her ex-boyfriend’s blood from her body.

Ragnor snaps his eyes to the fireplace. Instantly, Eve clicks her fingers and it’s lit.

“Reinforcements,” he says to her. “I don’t want those mages getting back in here.”

“Or the Bureau,” Mother adds.

Ragnor snarls at the mere mention of them.

“I’ll see to it.” Eve strokes his arm. I notice the pained look on my mother’s face and look away.

When she’s gone, Mother and I stand next to each other by the window, waiting for Ragnor to tell us what to do. The others swarm all over the house. I hear them throwing doors back on their hinges, emptying closets and drawers, jumping on beds.

Ragnor flicks his hand at me. Like I’m a bothersome fly or a gnat he wants rid of. “Leave us,” he says.

Mother’s eyes narrow, but she doesn’t object.

“Leave us,” Ragnor repeats, his lips curling into a snarl.

I close the door behind me and go back outside. Sitting on the rim of the now-empty fountain, I look at the house. It is sad and broken without Nova inside it.

I am sad and broken too.

I’m still outside when Ragnor emerges from the house and disappears into the forest with Andre and three others.

When they return, they’re carrying a coffin. And Eve is dancing.

34

KOLE

It’s early when Mack’s phone rings. He sits up in bed and answers it quietly. Nova carries on sleeping, but Tanner and I wake and watch him closely. We spent the night in bed together. No sex. I think we all just wanted to absorb the feeling of being close to her again.

When Mack hangs up, his face is gray. “That was Rev. Things are looking pretty bad in town. Riots. Looting.”

“Humans? A.M.A?”

Mack shakes his head. “She said it’s like the whole place has a hex on it. Like everyone’s losing their minds.”

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