Once in a Blue Moon (Silver Society Book 7)

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

The first thing Jade noticed upon regaining consciousness was the familiar setup of the room. They were all bound and on their knees in a perfect circle. The room was too white and smelled of paint, sage, and a very familiar blend of herbs. She struggled to identify them over the paint. She recognized devil's shoe string, rue, black sea salt, and sulfur... Too much sulfur.

     The scent of rotting eggs filled the room. She could also smell blood, most likely used to seal the spell. What was the spell?

     Suddenly, it clicked. This room was one gigantic binding box... One she'd seen before.

     Jade scanned the faces around them. What she was thinking was impossible. There was no way it could be happening, but she knew one thing for certain. This was Serena's binding spell.

     Around her knelt several people. She knew them all. Dylan was right next to her. Randy gripped Pauline's hand in his own. She'd never met the girl but knew who she was. Tyson was on Randy's other side. Alex was directly across from Jade. Shooter and Tammy were near him. There was no sign of Aideen.

     Crap, Jade thought. She had been hoping for a Deenie Miracle. These people were apparently too smart for that.

     Their captors were unfamiliar. A handsome, well-dressed man with a charming smile, a redneck in a wife beater with a slight beer gut, and a boy who looked no older than nineteen stood with two people she recognized with a knot in her stomach. Beside the group stood Anna, the Unit's youngest sharp shooter, and the person who stood closest to the door was Serena.

     Serena, her coven sister, her fellow outcast, a girl who understood her internal struggle between being born into evil and choosing good. Serena, her friend.

     "Welcome," said the handsome man in a thick French accent. "This is all simple. Tell us what we want to know or die."

     "What do you want to know?" Tammy asked. She looked defiant and determined. Shooter looked frustrated. Jade suspected he'd realized his abilities were not working in this room.

     "The werewolf," the hick piped up in a thick drawl. "Where's the spi-?"

     "There is no need for slurs, Bo," the French man scolded him. "We are not racist here."

     "No," Shooter replied. "Only speciest."

     Shut up, Jade thought. These guys were trigger happy. The worst thing Shooter could do was piss them off by running his mouth.

     "Humans must survive," the French man said cooly.

     "Just tell us where Jesse is," Anna added, "and we'll let you all go."

     Jesse. Jesse was supposed to be meeting them. Randy wanted to introduce him to Pauline. Jesse was on his way to this blood bath.

     Gods, please don't come, Jade prayed.

     "You!" Bo the Redneck spat at Tyson. The Black kid, Jade thought. Of course he went for him first. "Come 'ere!" He dragged Tyson to the middle of the room and pointed the gun at his head. "Kneel!"

     Tyson didn't fight. It was clear he'd weighed his chances and knew they weren't good. Bo wrestled Tyson's arms up and crossed them over the back of his head.

     "No!" Randy shouted. He tried to free himself from his bindings, but it was impossible.

     Bo pulled the trigger before Jade could even fully process what was happening. People got shot every day in New York, but never in front of her. That wasn't how the cult did things. And this wasn't New York. This was Salem. This was her sanctuary.