A strong hand grasped mine and hope flooded my chest. I opened my eyes and tried to see through the tears.
Jackson!I had no idea how he'd been able to find me all the way out here, but there he was. He was shouting something at me, but I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was an awful hissing sound as my skin continued to burn.
He pointed to my neck, and at first, I didn't know what he was talking about. The pain was too intense. I couldn't think clearly. Then, I understood. Against my body's screams of protests, I leaned into the circle, allowing the burning barrier to touch my sapphire pendant.
A dark shadow swirled around the marble statue in the clearing. I blinked hard, but my vision wouldn't clear. Aerden? The demon moved over to where Jackson stood, then seemed to step into his body. I felt Jackson's grip tighten. A wave of cold rushed up my left arm, through the middle of my body, and finally, mercifully, down my burning arm. My breath became puffs of white smoke in the air.
The hissing near my ear stopped. Something snapped. Like a crack moving through ice. Jackson pulled on my arm, and I slid out of the circle of roses, the black stone still clutched in my fist. Below me, the roses shattered into thousands of pieces. I turned my head to shield my eyes and found Jackson's welcoming arms.
My knees gave out and we slid to the ground, my head against his chest. He held me tight, rocking me back and forth. I sobbed into his t-shirt and cradled my injured arm close to my body.
"Are you okay?" he said. He pulled back so he could study my injuries.
"Caroline," I sobbed, swiping at my eyes so I could see her. I tried to stand and walk to her, but my weak legs wouldn't hold me.
"She'll be okay," he said, trying to pull me back to him. "You're both going to be all right."
I crawled toward Caroline, shards of black glass cutting through my jeans and into my knees. Her breathing was labored and her eyes were closed tight. I laid my head down near her shoulder, completely exhausted. Thank god she was alive!
"Caroline," a voice behind me said. I felt the rush of fabric against my skin.
I sat up. Caroline's mother kneeled beside her. She was wearing a long black skirt that spread out across the grass around her. She took Caroline's hand in her own and held it up to her face. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked at me with wonder.
"How did you..." Her body broke down into choking sobs as she lifted her child into her arms and began to rock her back and forth.
People rushed out of the woods. Zara, her mother, the sheriff and others.
Mrs. Ashworth walked into the circle and grabbed my arm. "What did you do to her?" she hissed into my ear.
"I tried to... I mean I wanted to reach in and grab her from..."
I couldn't form the right words to explain what had happened. My brain was fried from all the tension of the last moments.
"Harper saved her life," Jackson said. He stepped forward and stood so close behind me, I could feel the warmth of his body against my back. I wanted to lean back against him, but resisted. I didn't like the way Mrs. Ashworth was looking at him. There was hatred in her gaze.
Eloise Sullivan stood, her black skirt billowing in the breeze. Her shoulders tensed as she glared at Mrs. Ashworth. "She's your future Prima," she said, her face stained with tears. "You need to learn to treat her with respect. She just saved my daughter's life."
"Then why is this demon here?" Mrs. Ashworth said. "If you have something to do with this girl's disappearance-"
"If it wasn't for Jackson, I would have died too," I said. Jackson tugged on my hand, as if to pull me from the fight.
"Enough." A tall, slender woman stepped toward us. She looked like an ice queen with her white-silver hair and clear-blue eyes. This had to be Zara's mother. She commanded the attention of everyone in the clearing. "Now is not the time for accusations. All that matters is taking care of Caroline."
Mrs. King burst through the trees, gasping for breath. She must have been running as fast as she could. She rushed to Caroline's side.
"Can you help her?" I asked.
"I can try," she said. She placed her hands on Caroline's face, then moved them down to her chest. "Dear God, what did they do to her?"
"What is it?" Eloise said, bending down. "She's going to be all right, isn't she?"
"I don't know," Mrs. King said, shaking her head. "She's alive, but barely. Harper, what happened? I thought Zara said there were black roses?"
"There was a circle of black roses around Caroline," I said. "And this stone was hovering above her chest."
I held out my hand and opened my palm. The black stone was glimmering, as if I were holding a tiny star in my hand. I gasped and nearly dropped it. Eloise carefully took the stone from my hand.
"Who would do such a thing to my daughter?" she said, her voice trembling. "This kind of dark magic was banned from the Order more than sixty years ago. Who even still knows how to do those old rituals?"
"I can assure you that no one in Peachville's coven has access to those spells. There is no one in this town who would practice dark magic behind my back," Mrs. Ashworth said, stepping forward.
"Someone in this town did this," Eloise said. "This is a soul stone. My daughter's power has been sucked from her body as if she were a traitor. How can you explain this?"
"I can't," Mrs. Ashworth said. "But a member of our Order wouldn't have done this."
"We'll discuss this later," Zara's mother said. "I have my trackers searching the woods for any sign of the kidnapper. For now, let Mrs. King do what she can from here, then we'll transport Caroline to the local hospital."
"Not the hospital," Eloise said. "Please. Can't she stay here at Shadowford?"
While the others discussed where to take Caroline, I felt Jackson's hand stroking my hair. I leaned into him for support, wishing more than anything that I could curl up beside him in the grass and go to sleep for the next three days. My arm still throbbed, but there was something else. Deep down in the core of me, something was happening. Even though I was tired, I felt a strange power flowing through me. It was foreign and unsettling.
They finally decided that Caroline would be moved to an empty bedroom on the second floor of Shadowford until she was awake and able to go home to Cypress. I was glad to hear that Caroline would be staying at Shadowford. That way I could look in on her and help her get better.
Mrs. King worked on Caroline while all of the other ladies separated into small clusters, whispering together. I noticed that Sheriff Hollingsworth and Mrs. Ashworth looked particularly upset. They kept throwing strange glances my way, but when our eyes met, they looked away quickly as if I'd caught them doing something bad.
Jackson kneeled down next to me. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Do you want to leave?"
"I'm fine," I said. "Why do they keep staring at me like I did something wrong?"
Jackson shifted uncomfortably. Was he hiding something from me? "I think we should go home, leave them to figure out what happened here on their own."
"I can't leave Caroline."
"She's got plenty of people here to take care of her," he said.
He took my hand and helped me stand. I could feel the strength returning to my legs, and I was grateful.
From the other side of the crowded circle, I saw Zara look toward me, then whisper something in her mother's ear. Her mother nodded, then walked toward us. I held on tight to Jackson's hand.
"Harper," she said. "I'm Zara's mother, Selene Winter."
I was lost for words. "Hi, nice to meet you" didn't quite seem appropriate for the moment.
"How exactly did you get rid of the black roses?" she asked. "Zara tells me they were surrounding the girl's body on all sides."
"Yes, ma'am," I said. "They were."
"Those roses are not easily destroyed," she said. "Tell me what happened."
I explained how I reached through the flowers to grab the stone, and how Jackson pulled me out when the circle seemed to be pulling me in. On instinct, I left out the part where Aerden stepped into Jackson's body. I didn't even completely understand that myself. Instead, I simply said that Jackson pulled me out and the flowers shattered. She watched my face very carefully as I spoke. When I said Jackson's name, her gaze flickered to him for a moment, then back to me.
"You should have Mrs. King take a look at your arm," she said. "That must have been excruciatingly painful."
"It's nothing compared to what Caroline's been through," I said.
Her eyes traveled down to where Jackson and I still clasped hands. "Jackson Hunt," she said. "After your behavior when you first came into this world, I never would have thought it possible for you to care for any human girl. How is that you came upon Harper just as she was being pulled into the circle?"
"I heard her screaming," he said. "I ran as fast as I could."
"Well, I suppose you do have an interest in seeing this one alive," she said.
I cringed. She assumed he only wanted to save me in order to keep his brother safe. Was that true? I studied Jackson's face, but he betrayed no emotion.
"I'd like to know exactly what happened here," Priestess Winter said. "Taking care of Caroline is our first priority, but later this evening, I will call for you. We must get to the bottom of this and see who is responsible for this dark magic."
"No one in the Peachville coven would have done something like this," Mrs. Ashworth said, stepping forward. Her usually pretty face was creased with worry.
"When I want your opinion, I'll ask for it," Priestess Winter said.
Mrs. King stood and all eyes turned to her. "I've done all I can for now," she said. "We should be able to safely move her to a room in Shadowford."
The priestess nodded and with a gentle motion of her wrist, lifted Caroline's body from the grass. Everyone followed, but Jackson held me back. Up above, the sky grew darker, leaving the trees full of shadows.
"Did you see anyone?" he asked. "Besides me or Zara? Anyone in the woods?"
I shook my head. "I think Caroline's demon was here, but he wouldn't talk to me."
"Yes, he was here," Jackson said. "His name is Malinar. Whenever a person in the blood-line is that close to death, the spirit of their demon will appear to comfort them and guide them into the afterlife."
"And Aerden, he was here, too, wasn't he?" I asked. "I could have sworn I saw him step into your body. Did I just imagine that?"
Jackson avoided the question. "What about anyone else? This is important," he said.
"No. I didn't see anyone else."
Jackson put his hand on my cheek. "Tonight, when they question us, tell them the truth about everything you did and saw. Except one thing," he said. His eyes were locked on mine so intensely, I found it hard to breathe. "No matter what, don't tell them that you saw my brother's shadow join with me."
"So, I wasn't just imagining it," I said. "But how is that even possible? I don't understand."
"Promise you won't tell anyone," he said. "Please, Harper."
The sound of my name on his lips sent shivers up my spine. How could I deny him anything?
"Of course I won't tell," I said. "But you've got to promise that someday you're going to stop keeping so many secrets from me."
He stroked his thumb across my cheek and smiled.
"Someday," he said.