Chapter 12

Demetrius said nothing on the drive back to the cabin, so Holly let him be. Neeva trailed them in her own car, and every time Holly glanced in the side mirror, Neeva looked more worried.

Holly felt for her, but this was her doing. The revelation of her role in releasing the dark magic weighed on all of them, but they didn’t have the time or luxury to dwell. They had to act. The darkness was growing stronger, and it wasn’t going to wait for them to sort through their emotions.

Snow started to fall in delicate, lazy patterns, coating the world around them in a peaceful stillness that belied the danger lurking just beyond the tree line. The sky had turned a soft gray, and Holly could feel the temperature dropping despite the SUV’s warm interior. Maybe it was the weight of what was to come.

Demetrius kept his eyes on the road, silent and focused, his expression unreadable, as it so often was. But Holly had grown to sense the subtle shifts in his mood—the tension in his posture, the way his eyes skimmed the trees more often than usual. He was on high alert, and that told her everything she needed to know.

Neeva, on the other hand, looked like a mess of nerves. Holly could practically feel the guilt radiating off of her through the vehicles. Holly didn’t know what to make of her yet. Neeva had messed up—there was no doubt about that—but the fear and regret in her eyes confirmed what Neeva had said. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen.

That was no excuse for keeping it a secret. Not when it was the kind of magic that could wipe out the town.

They reached the cabin as the light was starting to fade, the snow-covered roof and glowing windows making the place look almost idyllic. It was hard to believe that a battle was brewing in the woods beyond, one that could change everything if they didn’t stop it in time.

Demetrius parked, Neeva behind him, and as the three went inside, the warmth of the embers in the fireplace greeted them. But to Holly, the air felt tense, charged with the leftover energy from the barrier spells and the lingering presence of the dark magic they’d fought the night before.

Hexi, lounging on the hearth rug, lifted his head and gave a moody meow at their entrance, as if to say, What took you so long?

Moonshadow was curled up in one of the armchairs, her eyes lazily watching Neeva, but Holly saw a new alertness in both the animals. The cats knew something was up. Even they could feel the shift in the energy around them.

“Nice place,” Neeva said. “Very homey.”

“Thanks,” Holly answered.

Demetrius closed the door behind them and turned to Neeva with an expectant look. “You said you’d help. So where do we start?”

Neeva hesitated, wringing her hands as she stood in the center of the room. “I … I’m not sure. The magic I was working with was older than anything I’ve ever encountered. I thought I could bind it and contain it, but it fought back. I’ve never experienced that before. It was almost like it had a will of its own.”

Holly exchanged a glance with Demetrius. The idea that the dark magic was sentient, that it had its own purpose, sent a chill down her spine. “You said it’s connected to the land,” Holly said, pacing near the fire. “Do you think it’s something that’s been lying dormant for centuries then?”

Neeva nodded, her eyes wide with fear. “Yes. I believe it’s tied to the original magic of this place, the magic that’s always existed here, which is probably why the Ellinghams chose to buy this town. When I first came to Nocturne Falls, I felt the pull of it—the raw energy in the earth. But I didn’t realize how deep it went until it was too late.”

Demetrius frowned, his arms crossed over his chest. “Are you saying the town itself is connected to this darkness? Because that’s a pretty serious claim.”

One they’d heard from Morgana, which made Holly think the old witch had been telling the truth.

“I know, but it’s what I think,” Neeva replied, her voice wavering. “This place draws supernatural beings because of the protection this town offers. But the magic that Alice Bishop put into place—I think it’s seeped into the ground and gone beneath the surface. And that magic is what’s awoken the existing magic. There’s something dark down there. Something that’s using Alice’s good magic to power itself back to life. I didn’t realize it at first, but when I started working with the binding spells, I tapped into something old and dangerous.”

Holly’s mind started putting the pieces into place. Nocturne Falls had been a safe haven for magical creatures ever since Alice had bespelled the water of the falls to keep tourists from realizing what they were really seeing, but that safety had come a cost no one could have guessed. The dark magic Neeva had released wasn’t just something she’d done by accident—it had been waiting for the right moment, for the right trigger, to break free.

Neeva had just provided it.

“We need to rebuild the barrier. I don’t see any other way,” Holly said as fear gnawed at her insides. “But this time, it won’t be enough to just patch it up and hope for the best. We first need to find the source of the dark magic, where it’s strongest, and contain it at the root.”

Demetrius didn’t look happy. “The forest.”

Holly nodded. “That’s where the magic is coming from. If we can get to the heart of it, we might be able to cut it off before it spreads any further.”

Neeva hugged her arms around her body. “The forest is where the magic is strongest. But it’s also where it’s most dangerous. If we go in unprepared, we could be walking right into a trap. We’re magical beings. This ancient entity could see us as more fuel for its fire. I do not want to get absorbed into it.”

“None of us do.” A muscle twitched in Demetrius’s jaw. “But we don’t have a choice. If we don’t stop it now, the entire town is at risk. Every supernatural being who lives here is at risk.”

Holly could feel the tension in the room brought on by the weight of the decision they were about to make. Going into the forest was a gamble, but staying here, waiting for the dark magic to break through again, was an even bigger one. One they could only lose. She took a deep breath, gathering her strength.

“We’re not going in blind,” Holly said, her resolve firm. “We’ll prepare as much as we can. Reinforce the barrier around the cabin, gather our magic, and go in with a plan.”

Neeva nodded, though her hands still trembled slightly. “I’ll help. I owe it to you all—and to the town—to fix what I’ve done.”

Demetrius watched Neeva with an almost understanding gaze. “You made a mistake, but you’re here now. We’ll fix it together.”

Holly felt a swell of something warm in her chest at his words. Demetrius might be a brooding vampire most of the time, but he had a way of making people feel seen and understood. Even Neeva, who had caused so much trouble, was being given a second chance.

“Let’s get started,” Holly said, turning toward the table where her magical supplies were laid out. “We don’t have much time.”

Demetrius moved closer to her. “Should you call in reinforcements?”

“Like Morgana?”

“Like anyone. You know other witches in this town. What about Flavia?”

Holly shook her head. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to ask around Christmastime, and it’s my family’s magic that’s being targeted. None of them can really help with that the way I can.”

“Just think about it.”

“I will,” she promised.

The next few hours were a blur of preparation. Holly, Demetrius, and Neeva worked together to gather the necessary supplies—crystals, herbs, candles, salt, iron, and anything else they could use to strengthen the barrier and protect themselves from the dark magic.

The cats lounged around and focused on being cats.

Holly, somewhat reluctantly, called Flavia, updated her on what was going on without overly stressing the part about the town possibly being in danger, and asked if she would be willing to help as backup, should they need it. Which she said they probably wouldn’t.

Not only did Flavia seem to see right through Holly’s attempt to downplay things, but she agreed to help and promised to bring anyone else who might be interested, including Morgana.

Demetrius tried to hide how pleased that made him, but Holly wasn’t fooled by his attempt to pretend otherwise.

Flavia, her braids tucked under a cozy knitted cap, showed up with Charisma Williams, another talented witch. Charisma, with her dark brunette bob and whiskey-brown eyes was so pretty and so stylishly dressed in winter white, she made Holly look twice.

Holly immediately thanked them for coming, introduced them to Neeva, and then they all got to work setting up a ward around the cabin’s exterior.

She got Flavia alone. “Where’s Morgana?”

“I don’t have a clue. Her place was empty, and her car was gone. All I can think of is that she decided this was too much for her and took off.”

Holly frowned. “So much for her helping.”

“Hey,” Flavia said. “If she didn’t think she could handle it, then it’s better not to have her here. Hesitant magic can cause a lot of trouble, something I don’t think you need right now.”

“True, I don’t.” None of them did. With a quick smile for her friend, Holly got back to work, doing her best to ignore the cold. Her hands moved on autopilot as she arranged her part of the protective circle on top of the snow, her mind focused on the task before them and the enormity of getting it right.

Flavia and Charisma chanted softly as they added to their sections of the circle, putting their own magic into what they were doing. But Neeva did her part silently, the weight of her guilt still heavy in the air and very much visible on her face. Holly let her be. Whatever she was feeling was hers to deal with.

Not to mention, they needed her help now, and there would be time for apologies later. If they made it through this.

Demetrius stayed nearby like a sentinel, keeping watch as the sun began to sink behind the trees. The light filtering through the trees had turned a brilliant orange, giving everything around them a fiery glow. It was pretty, but the darkness was coming, and with it, the threat of the magic that had been released into the forest.

Holly finished and straightened, stretching her back, then went to find the other women. They were at the front of the cabin, all three of them eyeing Demetrius carefully. “I just finished. Are you guys done?”

Charisma tore her attention from Demetrius to answer Holly. “We are.”

“Good,” Holly said. “Then the perimeter is set.” She wiped her hands on her jeans as she surveyed the circle of protection they’d created around the cabin. “It should hold while we’re gone, but we need to move fast once we begin the containment spell.”

“I agree,” Demetrius said, his eyes scanning the tree line. “Fast is a good idea. This magic seems strongest at night, but that’s also when we should be able to track it the easiest.”

Holly rolled her shoulders, trying to loosen the tension she was feeling. They were about to walk into the heart of the darkness, but they had no other choice. If they didn’t stop the magic at its source, it would consume everything in its path.

As the last light of day faded and the sky turned to a deep, inky blue speckled with a few stars, Holly pulled her gloves from her coat pocket and put them on. Her nerves seemed at the edge of her skin as she glanced up at Demetrius, who stood beside her, his presence as steady and reassuring as ever.

Neeva moved to the edge of the property, her eyes filled with both fear and determination as she gazed into the forest. “I’ll lead the way,” she said, a little hitch in her voice. “I know where the core of the magic is. But you’ll need to be careful. It’s unpredictable.”

“We know that.” Holly went up on the porch and grabbed the bag of magical supplies she’d packed. “Let’s do this.”

Together, the four of them followed Neeva into the cold forest, the weight of their mission heavy on their shoulders. The forest loomed around them, dim and foreboding, the trees bare, their branches stretching out like claws, waiting to pull them into the darkness.

But Holly wasn’t afraid.

Not with Demetrius by her side.

And as they made their way into the forest, the soft crunch of snow beneath their feet, Holly focused on what she wanted to happen, not what she feared.

They were going to contain this dark magic. They were going to stop it. They were going to protect Nocturne Falls and everyone in it.

No matter what it took.