Chasing it around the house, I finally catch up to it near the driveway. The car I heard is still in the road, and whoever is driving is no doubt looking at us, wondering what the hell is wrong with their neighbors. From the road, it has to look like we really hate bats and I went the extra mile with a flame thrower of sorts, which are probably illegal weapons to have, let alone use as pest control. And that’s not to mention that killing bats is illegal, as they’re at risk for becoming endangered.
One thing at a time.
No one can prove I’m killing bats, and if that’s the worst thing to come out of this, I’ll take it. Though being accused of killing an innocent animal over some bigoted asshole feels worse for some reason. Only one will result in a long stay in prison, and that’s if the Order allows me to have a fair trial.
“Ow!” I yell when the incubus flies back over, opening its mouth and letting out a horrible, high-pitched scream. I duck out of the way and spin around, foot slipping. I drop down on one knee and freeze, not moving until I see the tiny demon. It bit the back of my neck, and this bite wound stings more than the others. Pain radiates from where it sunk its fangs in and I’m starting to feel weaker by the second.
The little shit is somehow draining my energy, and it’s draining it fast. Gritting my teeth, I get back onto my feet and yell as I slash the sword above me, moving in a circle before I bring my hand down, cutting the incubus in half. Both smoldering pieces land at my feet.
“Ethan!” Panting, I turn and look for my boyfriend as well as everyone else. Sam and Nik are by the barn, holding their weapons out in front of them as they scan their surroundings for incubi. Ethan must still be to the side of the house, right off the porch where the damn thing exploded and rained babies onto us.
I stop short when I walk around Sam’s truck, seeing that the car is still in the street in front of the house. In the dim light, I see someone with short brown hair in the passenger seat. She’s staring right at me, and as they pass under the single streetlamp, I swear I see that the woman is holding a phone. And I know that she was recording me.
Chapter
Nineteen
The car speeds away, and I’m left with another bad feeling. Because whoever that was knew exactly what we were doing, and they got that footage for one reason and one reason only: to prove I’m a witch. And I’m pretty sure it was Stephanie, wanting evidence to back up her claim that I’m a dangerous witch.
If there ever was a good night to creepy outside my house and get a video of me acting like a crazy witch who can wield a freaking blade of fire, it was tonight.
“Guys?” I let my hand fall to my side and I look at the flames as I walk. “Exire,” I say as the spell comes to mind. It’s another unburied memory, more knowledge that has been in my head all these years but was blocked.
The flames immediately go out, and I exhale heavily , looking around for more incubi. My mind is whirling and Tabatha’s warning about having things alter my sense of reality seems like it’s about to come into fruition. Now when I look at the house I remember more bits and pieces of my childhood next to the fabricated memories Aunt Estelle put in my head.
And also like Tabatha said, my childhood memories are faded, as expected. I can’t recall playing outside in the barn with Harrison all that well, but I very clearly remember playing the same exact game at my grandparent’s house but we were in their shed, not in this barn. It’s a strong memory, because Harrison got stung by a wasp on his neck and he got so swollen Grandma had to call an ambulance.
Only it was Aunt Estelle who did that. She put some sort of poultice on him first but the swelling got worse so fast she got worried, and I was scared something was going to happen to my twin. Both memories are there, competing with one another to be real. It’s confusing and dizzying and now what I thought were real memories I had with my grandparents aren’t real at all? I thought my grandparents were great growing up. They took care of us while my mom finished med school and influenced a lot of my life.
But maybe they weren’t. My grandma encouraged me to follow my dreams of being a vet from a young age. She’s the one who convinced my mom to get me a horse, and was my biggest supporter right up until she died.
Was it not her but Aunt Estelle instead?
“You okay?” Ethan jogs over. He has more blood on his face and chunks of guts splattered on his shirt and jacket. “We got ‘em all. Those little sons of bitches won’t bother you anymore.”
“Good.” I blink several times and look at Ethan. “I’d say kiss me, but I’m not about to get incubus blood in my mouth and then become the mother of perverted sex demons.”
“Too soon,” he deadpans. “Shit, you’re bleeding.”
“I got bitten a few times. And Ethan...” I shuffle closer, wanting to tell him that something unlocked inside my brain and I suddenly remember so much.
“Did you recognize that car?” He narrows his eyes, looking for tail lights. If he saw any, I’m sure he’d go after the car.
“No,” I start as Nik and Sam join us. “But I…I think it was Steph. There was someone in the passenger seat that looked like her and she was holding up her phone like she was recording a video.”
“Fuck,” Ethan swears.
“They picked one hell of a day to do that,” Nik quips.
“That’s what I thought too,” I say and wipe at the blood dripping down my hand.
“Let’s get inside and clean up your wounds,” Ethan says, his hand landing on the small of my back.
“How do we know they’re gone for good?” Nik grips the heavy tongs tight in his hand. Without warning, Ethan drops the fire poker in his hands, grabs me around the waist, and puts his lips to my neck, kissing and sucking at my skin in a way he knows drives me crazy.
“Anything?” he asks a moment later.
“No,” I tell him, hooking one hand around his shoulders. “I feel fine. Well, other than these bites.”
“Yeah. They got me too.” Sam holds up her arm. “The chances of demons having rabies is low, at least.”
“But never none,” Nik says seriously and we laugh. Tension still hangs in the air, and it’s pressing down on me more than before. Because the incubi were dangerous, but they were a distraction from an even bigger problem.
“If that was Steph, then she’s trying to build a case. Which is good news. She hasn’t accused you of anything yet,” Ethan tries.
“How does she know where we live?”
“It’s not that hard to find out a person’s address,” he tells me. “And she knows I live with you.” He looks at Sam. “You were still in Chicago when you called?”
“The suburb where Patrick lived. It only took me about forty minutes to get here. I wasn’t followed this time,” she adds. “Not like last time.”
“I don’t blame you,” I tell her and we start toward the house. Hunter is gathering up demon bodies, moving them to our burn pile in the backyard. It’s still nothing official, and now I’m wondering how we can phrase things s o the landscapers build us a big enough fire pit that will fit a few bodies. “It really isn’t hard to figure out where people live, which is creepy. Really creepy.”