Page 17 of Ashes

Sarah stands next to me, trembling. Then she takes something from her purse. Long and thin. Is that a friggin’ wand?

She points it at Eve, who tilts her head and starts to laugh. But then Sarah whispers something, and Eve is knocked clean off her feet.

I can breathe again. Eve is trying to stand. I hurl a ball of fire into her stomach, and she falls back. Behind us, the sound of wolves trashing the diner makes me grab Sarah’s arm and run.

They’re all inside now. I run past the SUVs and yell at Sarah to get in as I jump into the car and start the engine. She slides in next to me and pulls the door shut just as Eve stalks around the corner, lightning crackling down her arms, fury in her eyes.

“You can’t escape that easily,” she shouts.

But she’s wrong.

I slam my foot on the pedal and tear out of the parking lot onto the highway. I take the first exit, follow the curve of the road, then tear down a small farm track, through a field, out the other side.

They’re not behind us, but I keep driving.

“Do you have anything on you? A cell? A laptop?” I shout.

Sarah blinks at me as if she doesn’t understand the question.

“Anything they could have used to track you to the diner?”

Slowly, she lifts her cellphone from her purse. I wind down her window and jerk my head at it. Sarah doesn’t hesitate to throw it.

“Anything else?” I ask.

“No,” she says. She’s clutching her stack of photographs. “Nothing else.”

After a moment’s silence, I look into the rearview mirror. “We lost them.” I look at her sideways. “It’s okay. We lost them.”

“They came there to kill me,” she says quietly.

“Yes,” I say. “They did.”

She hugs her waist and sniffs as tears escape her eyes. “I lied to you,” she says.

I frown. Did I hear that right?

“I lied about knowing where Sam is.”

“But you said—”

“Ragnor never told me. After I called him and told him about Nova, he said he’d call me back. He didn’t, and the number he gave me has been disconnected.” She laughs to herself and shakes her head. “He used me,” she says. “I don’t know why I’m surprised. I knew what kind of man he was. I just so badly wanted Sam back in my life.” She looks at me pleadingly, willing me to understand.

“So, you didn’t call me because you wanted to help Nova? You called because you wantmeto find Sam.”

Sarah closes her eyes and exhales slowly. “Yes,” she says. “Please. Help me.”

8

TANNER

Mack strides out to the barrier, shifts into Snow, and gives the reporters one hell of a fucking show. Some of them scream and run back through the woods to their cars. Others just zoom in and wax lyrical to their cameras about how the town’s sheriff has been taken in by the evil human-killing witch.

Watching it unfold on the TV is a head spin. We’re in the ballroom because it’s at the rear of the house, far away from the garden and the woods beyond. This side is hemmed in by a wider section of river and a seven-foot brick wall, so it’s not as appealing to the vultures trying to break the protection shield.

Kole is pacing. The veins in his neck twitch when he looks at Nova. “I can bring the trees down,” he says, stopping underneath the disco ball so that incongruous dancing lights freckle his face. He looks up, frowns, and shifts sideways so his face darkens again.

“I could pull every drop of water from the river and wash their camera equipment into the sewer,” I snarl, “but Mack said no.”

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