Page 63 of Stalked

“Abigail, what are you—” Before I could finish my question, fangs protruded from her mouth.

I knew something was off about her, but I didn’t expect that.

“Step back, Abigail. You’re not touching her.” Caleb pushed me behind him, sheltering me from his own family. But she ignored his commands as she licked her top lip and stepped forward. She wanted blood?—myblood.

“I only want a tiny drop. I won’t even bite you,” Abigail muttered.

“Caleb, tell her to put her fangs away before I kill her,” I warned.

He stepped toward Abigail as if he were ready to fight her to protect me.

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic, Caleb. Just a few drops will do,” Abigail continued to plead, but something told me that no matter her intention, the moment she took hold of me, there would be a bloodbath.

Her eyes were now crimson red as she stalked in my direction, probably smelling the blood soaked into the wooden floor. She inhaled deeply, as if the scent in the room alone brought her pleasure. A smile crossed her lips. “I’m sick of staying inside during the day. Let me have a taste, and I’ll be on my way.”

I gulped right before she lunged at me, but in an instant, I felt my body pull back through a thick wall, thrusting medown toward the floor. My vision spun, and I held my head as my eyes adjusted. I looked around the room, realizing I was kneeling in Lily’s kitchen.

CHAPTER 18

HOLY SHIT. DIDI just teleport?

I looked around the kitchen, scanning over the walls. I could smell something smoky lingering in the air. Shards of glass littered the kitchen floor from a smashed wine bottle, and one of the chairs was overturned. I whirled around as I heard an exhale, electricity ready at my fingertips. Seeing it was Joel, I released the energy from my fingers, dropping my hands to my side. He immediately rushed to me, placing my head in between his hands.

“Mercy! Thank God you’re alive.”

Joel was shaking, and the adrenaline rush of having just been teleported across state lines faded away. I realized that something was wrong. His eyes were wide, most likely still stunned that I was standing in front of him after being missing for hours. I glanced at the table to see candles and the source of the potent scent lurking in the air. Burning herbs. “What’s going on, Joel?”

The panic in his eyes caused my heart to race. He stared at the shattered glass on the floor and ground his teeth.

“Lily was taken,” he said.

The second those words left his lips, I felt the blood drain from my face. The glass crunched under my feet as I looked closer around the kitchen. That deep, rich color of wine looked so much like blood. It covered the tile floor and refrigerator and spilled out into the hallway.

“We … we waited for you to come back into the home with Riley,” Joel explained. “When you didn’t, Lily rushed out there and saw Riley stumbling out of the woods. He shared with us what had happened to him and that he believed Caleb had taken you. We quickly grabbed the items needed for the locator spell to find you. But it wasn’t enough. Riley helped me find a personal item from your room that was needed for the spell, leaving Lily in the kitchen alone with her wine bottle to calm her nerves. It all happened so fast after that. We heard a crash, ran downstairs and she was gone.” Joel ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. “I didn’t even hear a scream.”

Joel had been speaking so fast, his words stumbling over each other, that I was still trying to register what he said.

This isn’t happening. Lily can’t be gone.

“Where’s Riley now?” I asked.

“He took a call shortly after, said he knew someone that might be able to help us.”

“We have to find her, Joel. Now!” My voice cracked, and my hands became unsteady. I felt my powers climb to my fingertips, and Joel placed his hands on mine in a soothing gesture.

“Mercy.” Joel’s voice caused me to look up. “I know it’s hard to control your powers right now, but you need to relax. Just take a deep breath. Nice and easy.”

My hands shook as I tried to quiet the power. I clutched my hands to my chest, not trusting myself to touch anything around me. I struggled to slow down my racing heart. I sucked in a breath, feeling like I was drowning in the sensation of raging magic.

“I’m okay,” I assured. “It’s like fighting an uphill battle, where there never seems to be an end. I’ll be able to have more control once I’m used to this magic flowing through my body. Right now, it feels like a pinball is out of control under my skin.” I straightened my back and walked over to the table, pointing to the items he had laid out. “Maybe I can help?”

Joel solemnly shook his head. “I’ve been trying, but it’s not working. Something is blocking me,” he explained.

I picked up a stack of burning herbs and smothered the glowing embers; the thick smoke hung in the air, filling the space between us. “What about her phone or car?” I asked, hoping that maybe she was able to escape.

“They’re gone, Mercy, but you know she wouldn’t have taken off like that, even if she were being chased. Lily would have fought back or screamed out a warning for me.” He tightened his fingers around the back of the chair. “Whoever took her did something to silence her before they even left the house.”

I nodded, rolling the herbs around in my palm, trying to think of any clues I could have missed from the last few weeks that might lead us to where they’d taken her. And, more importantly, why?

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