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.I considered turning around, but I could no longer see and despite the warmth of the day, was beginning to feel chilled.Reality finally set in then.What was I doing? I’d suffered a blow, yes, but I’d suffered blows before.Earlier in the summer my parents had attempted (unsuccessfully) to magically disown me.When they’d told me so…When they told me so, I’d tried to go to Braden for support and had ended up in Evan’s arms.Now where did I go? Kaitlin and Madison were probably the best support I had, considering that my parents had kept this from me for God only knew how long, but I’d never been able to talk to them about magic.Growing up, that’s what Evan had been for.I could talk to Matthew.I stopped, trying to determine my location, aware that I’d gone out without so much as a cell phone, leaving me truly alone in the woods.A car drove by, headlights reflecting off the rain.It passed me by, kicking up enough water to drench me if I hadn’t already been soaked, but it didn’t stop.The headlights did reveal a flicker of something – or maybe it only existed in my imagination.Then a flash of lightning illuminated the area anew and I saw it again, a few yards into the woods – it might have been a cabin or merely a shed, but either way it had a roof on it and would keep me out of the rain until the deluge passed.With renewed vigor, I ran toward the structure, which turned out to be a small abandoned cabin with a leaky roof.At least the leak was contained to one corner of the one-room dwelling.The rest of the room, including the fireplace, remained dry, albeit filthy and neglected.Not seeing a stick of furniture, I found the driest spot on the floor and sat, leaning against the stones of the old fireplace.My mind began to wander, going over everything that had happened to me since June, when I’d somehow managed to get myself in Evan’s debt.Only I never had been.And he’d known it for weeks.Which hurt more, I wondered, discovering that I’d been drained of my birthright or discovering that Evan had been the one to do it? I didn’t know how to separate the two.But he hadn’t known.He hadn’t known until my father had told him, and then he had been too much of a coward to tell me.My teeth chattered and I wondered if it would help to remove my clothing.Probably not, since I didn’t have a way to dry myself and would then have to sit, naked, on the dirty floor.The cabin was fairly dark, but the occasional flash of lightning would offer clues to its layout and features.There were wooden beams everywhere, a hard wooden floor, and the stone fireplace.A single door led out, in the direction of the woods, and a single window looked out in the same direction.The lightning flashed again and for a second, I thought I saw a name carved into a wooden beam.Even though I couldn’t read it, the barest sight of the letters made my skin crawl, as if my subconscious knew something I did not.Rising slowly to my feet, I felt my way over to the beam and traced the carved wooden letters with my fingers: T-R-A-V-I-SCrap.I must have run farther than I thought if I’d managed to stumble onto Travis property.Not that it mattered.I had to get out of there.The Travises were the most secretive, most secluded family of practitioners in the county, almost more a self-contained clan than a functioning part of the community.I’d never met any of them, not even the kids, since they were all home-schooled.They were loners who hated people, technology and, most especially, intruders.They were thieves, but for the most part people overlooked that one.Rumor also had it that they sometimes kidnapped brides.They had definitely dabbled in blood magic until a decade or so ago when Henry Wolf had led the community in a rescue mission that had put an end to that practice.Now, a tenuous balance existed between the Travis Clan and everyone else: Don’t bother us and we won’t bother you.Shacking up in one of their cabins, even if it was abandoned, would probably count as bothering them.Spinning on my heels, I raced for the exit, preferring the downpour to whatever would happen to me when they realized someone had intruded on their property.And they would; no doubt I had tripped a ward.Any normal family would have positioned first-degree wards as warnings that their property line had been breached, but the Travises were not normal.The doorknob felt cool in my hands as I twisted it.I pried open the door and stared up… up… up into the dark, sinister eyes of a thirtyish man with a thick growth of beard.He had to be nearly seven feet tall.“I-I was just leaving,” I said.He pushed his way into the cabin, blocking the door with his bulk and causing me to take a few steps back.Then another man stepped into the cabin, one almost as big as the first, and with far more menacing eyes.They both looked around, as if they hadn’t seen the place in ages.They probably hadn’t.“Ain’t no one been here in a while.No one with sense.Cain’t you read?”“Not when it’s dark,” I pointed out.The second man grinned, an ominous look.“Ain’t that your bad luck?”“I-I’m really sorry I stopped here.It was just raining and I-well, I couldn’t read the sign.But I’ll get going.” When they didn’t look moved, I added, “I can pay you for, er, renting this place.” For five minutes, I thought.The second man’s grin grew wider.“Now, that’s a fine idea.” Striding forward, he pinned me against the wall, pressing his unwashed body far too close to mine.“Sister said the storm would reel in a fine prize.”I blinked.“You made the storm?” I hadn’t known there were any weather mages around.But of course, the Travises were very secretive.It didn’t bode well that he’d eluded to that particular secret.Mustering up my courage, I hit them with the best weapon in my arsenal.“My parents are Edward and Sheila Scot.”The first man grabbed the second one away from me.“Shit, Jim, we got the wrong one.”Jim frowned.“But, Jacob, how we know she ain’t lying?”“I seen her before,” Jacob said.“She ain’t lying.”“But we can’t let her go, she knows too much.”“We can’t kill her.You want the whole town to turn on us?”Jim scratched his beard.“All right, then we’ll just borrow her for a few days, till we finish the spell.” He grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me out of the shack.“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.“Main house.”The door opened before us and he dragged me into the downpour.I had to get away from him; I couldn’t let him take me to that house.So, for a few yards, I went docile, until the moment I felt his grip slacken.Then, in a swift defensive move, I broke his grip on my arm and landed a knee in his groin.While he doubled over, I bolted for the scant protection of the road.At least then I wouldn’t be on his property or in his territory anymore, but I had no idea what kind of magic he could unleash against me.I had a few protective wards, but they could only do so much.A force from behind knocked my legs out from under me just as I reached the edge of the road.I careened forward, landing on hands and knees on the rough pavement, tearing my skin in several places.To make matters worse, a car was coming [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]