The Last Bell: The Weight of Magic, Episode 6 Read online

  “Nate, is Mr. Lancaster okay?” I asked, holding my breath. “Was he in the mansion?” Nate shook his head once. “Nate, where are we going?”

  “To the bookstore.”

  He turned to the familiar street and stopped the car. I looked at the heavy door with the Closed sign on it.

  “You wait here,” said Nate quietly.

  I understood now. That’s why my hands were shaking, why my throat was tight. My heart knew it long before my brain figured it out.

  Our house was in Gran’s name.

  I threw myself out of the car and ran to the door. As I pushed it open, I felt Nate’s arms lock around me.

  “Nicky, NO! Nicky,” I heard his voice like it was coming from the far end of a long tunnel.

  The air suddenly thickened. It was hard to move, and it was hard to breath. My magical energy awoke. Everything shuddered around me while I made my way to the back room, trying to get away from Nate’s grip. The furniture was jumping and the books were flying off the shelves even as Nate was chanting, holding me tightly by my arms.

  When I finally reached the back room, I released a loud, uncontrollable scream and froze at the threshold.

  Mr. Lancaster lay face down on the floor along the table. And there was Gran, lying on her side in front of the open doors of the cabinet, blood on her neck and a stake next to her hand.

  Both were dead.

  13

  That was it. That was the end of my family.

  There was no one else left. Only me. And I had three houses, but no home.

  I hadn’t been to my house yet, and I couldn’t go to the mansion either. So I stayed at Connie’s place for the last three days. Just lay in bed staring at the ceiling.

  I knew it hurt the others to see me that way. I noticed the pain in Connie’s eyes every time she entered the room, and I started going downstairs a few times a day so she wouldn’t worry as much.

  Nate had been busy and was gone most of the time. We knew it was dangerous for us to stay in River Stones for too long, and he wanted to wrap up everything as quickly as possible.

  First they had to get rid of the vampires bodies, and Jess volunteered to help. Nate retrieved my photograph, then he checked the vampires’ phones and found a message that said, Found two Callahans. Will check them out and get back to you.

  Also, Nate had to organize both funerals and deal with the police. I wanted to help him, but he didn’t let me. He didn’t want me to be seen anywhere. And he didn’t let Logan help him either. The Order could show up at any moment, and he wanted Logan to stay with me and Connie and look after us.

  “I’m not afraid of them,” I burst out. “Let them come. I’ll kill them myself.”

  “Nicky, I know how you feel, but please,” begged Nate. “I can’t do this if I don’t know you’re safe.”

  When Logan and Connie took his side, I gave in. Risking it all to satisfy my fury would be selfish, and after everything they’d done for me, I couldn’t be selfish with them.

  The police report said both victims were found with deep cuts on their throats. I don’t know how Nate did it. He might have compelled the sheriff and half of the policemen at the police station, then the medical examiner, or . . . there was an easier way. Make it look like the victims throats were really cut. I didn’t ask. It didn’t matter anymore.

  At night, when he lay next to me, he held me tight like he was afraid I would run away. He blamed himself for what happened, saying he had to be more cautious. I couldn’t let him do that to himself. It wasn’t his fault, or mine. It was the fault of the ones who did it. They took everything from me, and sooner or later I would make them pay.

  I wished the funeral was quiet, in a circle of close friends, but that was impossible. Gran and Mr. Lancaster were killed only a few weeks after Bruce was found dead. Nothing this tragic had happened in our town before, and Mr. Lancaster was a council member. So on the day of the funeral, half of the town showed up at the church.

  Sam and Brian wanted to come too, to pay their respects, but Nate didn’t let them, thinking that they might be being watched.

  Gran and Mr. Lancaster were buried next to Mom and Dad, and after the service, when everybody left, Connie and Logan went to the car to give me and Nate a minute alone.

  The two of us stood next to each other, looking at the four graves. Nate put his arm around me and pulled me to his side. Now, when we were alone, I could finally succumb to my grief. The moment his lips touched my temple, I dropped my head on his chest and sobbed.

  We planned to leave River Stones the next day. We spent our last night at the cabin, the only place that reminded me of just the two of us. This was our happy place, and we came to say goodbye to it.

  In the morning, when I came out to the terrace and looked at the lake, my heart moaned with nostalgia as I remembered the day Nate taught me my first spell. My birthday. The beautiful autumn day, when the two of us stood on the shore watching hundreds of rose petals descend upon us.

  I heard the terrace door open. Nate approached me from behind and wrapped his arms around my belly. I felt the touch of his cheek on mine.

  “We’ll come back one day,” he whispered into my ear.

  “Yeah.” I heaved a deep sigh.

  When we returned to town, we stopped by Connie’s first.

  “We’re leaving tonight,” said Nate. “And before joining us, I want the two of you think this through.”

  “There’s nothing to think about,” said Connie. “We’re coming with you.”

  “Connie.” I looked at her with a bitter smile. “I don’t think you understand. I’m not coming back.”

  “I know. We talked about it with Logan last night.”

  “Connie, if you do this . . . I’m dropping out of school. I have to, but you don’t. With me gone, you’ll be safe. You’re a senior, and in a few months—”

  “Yeah, we talked about that too. And we decided that helping our friends stay alive is more important than anything else.”

  “Nicky, I’ve been with Nate in this for a very long time,” said Logan. “And I can’t leave him now when he needs me the most.”

  “I’ve told you before,” said Connie. “You and Logan.” She chuckled as she looked at Nate. “And now you too. You guys are all I have, and with you gone, there would be nothing here for me. We can finish school after we win this war. Together.”

  “What about your dad?”

  “He hasn’t come back yet. I’ll leave him a letter. Believe me, otherwise he wouldn’t even notice I’m gone.”

  “All right then,” said Nate. “First we are going to Lynchburg, as we planned. We need to pack. And we also need to go to the Family Tree to get the sword. We’ll meet you here.”

  We drove to the Family Tree first.

  “It’ll take a moment,” I said to Nate before going down into the vault. “I need to check something.”

  “It’s okay,” he nodded. “Take your time.”

  You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was going to check.

  The heavy door closed behind me as I descended the stairs. The oil lamps lit up, and I moved forward and stopped in front of the table. The tips of my fingers tingled as I looked at Kenneth’s books.

  Dad’s words echoed in my head. Don’t try anything from those grimoires. You don’t even need to open them. Those of our ancestors who’ve used the books, have ended up badly.

  “I’m sorry, Dad, but I’m the last Callahan there is, and I can’t leave anything to chance. I need to know the spell. Just in case, I promise.”

  Nate would never tell me this. And I needed to know how to do it.

  I ran my hand over the black, leather binding and pulled the cover aside. Looking at the names of the spells, I flipped through the pages, taking pictures of a few of them.

  My eyes caught one that said Immortality spell - XI. My heart rate rising, I glanced down the page. My eyes stopped at the column called Ingredients and their use. The words drink the blood of a witc
h, and then use the ground up bones of a child jumped out at me, sending a cold chill down my spine. I didn’t finish reading and shut the book.

  Oh God, did Dad and Nate use those, and all the other things on the list, to improve the sword?

  The thought put me in a stupor for a moment. Then I stared at the books again.

  There has to be another way. I put the book aside. Isn’t there something like dark arts for beginners?

  By the number of this spell, it was obvious this book was the latest. I checked the other books and finally found an immortality spell that wasn’t numbered yet. From looking at the short text and the date, I knew it was one of Kenneth’s earliest. All I had to remember were four small words. Vita tua mea est.

  I took a few more snapshots of the symbols and their descriptions and turned to the shelves. After examining the jars, I found one with black powder that said for locator spells. I put it in my messenger bag. This can be useful. I looked further and saw a small vial with sandy, gray-beige contents. I nearly dropped it as I looked at the sticker. Ground Human Bone. I stared at it for a second, then put it in the bag too. Who knows what we’ll need to deal with.

  I stepped to the desk next, opened the top drawer, and took out the wooden box. I pulled out the capsule with the piece of map in it and pushed it in the bag. I also took the two letters, where Josefine confessed to Joseph that she was the one who stole the map, and Joseph’s reply. I was sure I would need them when the time came to answer Nate’s questions.

  Then I looked at a vial with dark-red liquid. After a moment’s hesitation, I took it, ripped the sticker off, and dropped it in the bag too. Then I grabbed the sword and one of my ancestors’ grimoires to make it look like I found what I was looking for, and hurried back.

  14

  We arrived at my house, and for a moment I sat in the car, my eyes frozen on Gran’s car in the garage next to mine.

  “If you’re not ready—” started Nate.

  “No, I was just . . . I can do this.” I glanced back at the garage. “We should lock it,” I said quietly.

  “I was going to, but I thought maybe you would want to check Bree’s car first. She had packed some cases with papers—”

  “No, it’s not important right now.” I pushed the door open.

  “Okay. I’ll lock it and wait here.”

  I walked into the house, slowly moving my eyes around, and headed to the kitchen. The silence was deafening, and the place felt cold and lifeless.

  Gran’s mug sat on the table next to the folded newspaper where she had her coffee before she left the house for the last time. I held my gaze at her empty chair, turning away as my eyes watered.

  I moved forward, every step sucking out the little energy I had, weakening my legs, my whole body.

  The living room was cleaned up, and no one but Nate could’ve done it. What would I do without you? I didn’t know how he managed to take care of everything in such a short time.

  I climbed the stairs and stopped in the hallway, looking at two doors: one to my mom and dad’s bedroom, and another one to Gran’s room. My chest hurt, and I couldn’t stand the emptiness inside me any longer. I wanted to leave the house as quickly as possible.

  The door to my bedroom was open. I could see there was no clothes on the floor, and everything was back in its place. I pulled a bag from my closet, stuffed it with clothes and a pair of extra sneakers. I grabbed essentials from the bathroom, then put Dad’s grimoire on the top and zipped the bag before hurrying downstairs.

  Our next stop was the mansion. When we arrived, I saw a silver Jeep in the front yard.

  “Who’s car is that?” I asked. “Is there someone in the manson?”

  “No. The Jeep is mine,” said Nate. “I bought it for the trip. This car is too small for the four of us.”

  We got out, then Nate grabbed my bag from the back seat and put it in the Jeep.

  “The shovels and flashlights are already in the trunk,” he said, opening the passenger door for me. “I’ll get my bag, and we can leave.”

  I stood, my eyes fixed on the mansion. We used to have homes, with people we loved inside them. Now our homes were empty, and all we had were ashes.

  “Our lives are so . . .” I looked into Nate’s sad eyes.

  He put his hand on my cheek and stroked it with his thumb.

  “We’ll have a better one, I promise.”

  Logan opened the door, and I saw two packed bags sitting in the hallway.

  “Nicky?” Connie’s voice called from the kitchen.

  “We’re ready.” I heaved a sigh and stepped through the kitchen door.

  She pushed a bottle of water into the backpack on the chair, zipped it, and looked up at me.

  “We are too.” With a wistful smile, she drew me into a hug. “So I guess it’s time we go,” she said quietly next to my ear.

  “Don’t worry, Connie,” I murmured. “I’m not gonna break. I think right now, leaving town is the best thing for me.”

  “I agree. I just wish you were going for a vacation.”

  There was a knock on the door, and I heard Jess’s voice.

  “I told him we’re leaving.” I pulled back. “I didn’t want him to worry.”

  Connie nodded, shouldered the backpack, and we headed to the front door.

  Logan put the bags in the trunk, then he and Nate thanked Jess for his help, shook hands, and got in the car. Connie locked the door, said her goodbyes to Jess, and joined Logan in the backseat of the Jeep.

  “Nicky, I understand that you need some time off.” Jess fixed his eyes on mine. “But you said you’re dropping out of school. Why?”

  “There’s a reason for that, but I can’t talk about it. I’m sorry, Jess. You already know things no one else does. And if I tell you . . . I can’t put you in more danger.”

  “So what are you going to do is dangerous?” He frowned.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “But don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

  “Nicky, if there’s anything I can do to help . . .”

  “You already did, and I’m very grateful for that. Now I want you to take care of yourself. Be watchful, and be careful.” I hugged him. “Goodbye, Jess.”

  He locked his arms around me. “Stay safe, and come back soon.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and went to the car.

  We took off, and as I looked in the side mirror, I saw Connie glance back at her house. I did too and saw Jess standing in front of it, and watching us drive away.

  We drove through the town in silence. When we reached the highway and the sign YOU’RE LEAVING RIVER STONES showed up on the side of the road, Nate took my hand. I squeezed it, then I threw a last glance at the sign. I breathed out as we passed it, letting go of my grief and replacing it with anger.

  I didn’t know what was waiting for us, but I knew there was nothing to look back to, only ahead. The only thing that mattered now was the mission. And all I wanted was vengeance.

  Also by Lana Melyan

  THE WEIGHT OF MAGIC

  The Sacrifice–– episode 7

  Episode 8 coming soon.

  The Eternity Road Trilogy

  The Eternity Road–– book 1

  The Return–– book 2

  The Keeper Of The Book–– book 3

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