13 Ways to Midnight (The Midnight Saga) Read online

  “I’m proud to announce the engagement of my son, Hawthorn Vega to our beautiful Nova. May our houses become one.”

  The glass slipped from my hand and crashed to the floor. The red wine splashed all over the white marble and looked like a battle scene. I turned and fought my way through the crowd.

  I understood everything now. Thorn was promised to another and that left no room for me, no room for us. Not that I believed that he loved me anyway, he was just trying to run from this responsibility, run from the truth.

  Run from what he was destined to be.

  I pushed through people and could hear Mattie calling out behind me as the crowd cheered. I was devastated on a level that I couldn’t even explain. What hurt, even more, was knowing that his father intentionally invited me here to witness it. He wanted to place the last nail in the coffin himself. I should have known. No one is that kind to strangers, especially a man like Eyota Vega who had walked away from my aunt and their daughter without ever looking back.

  It wasn’t enough to have devastated her; he just had to devastate me too.

  He was an evil, vicious creature, just like his son.

  I ran down the long lane as the rain began to fall. My braids fell from the back of my head and untangled themselves. My wet hair swung wildly in the storm. I had made my way to the end of the road before I could even process how far I had come. I took one look back as my tears mixed with the wailing sacrifice from the sky above me. Then I turned and kept running; I would have run forever if my body hadn’t reminded me of my mortality.

  I limped my way up to the black gates and swung them open, nursing a cramp on my side. I could hear Mattie’s voice behind me and the familiar hum of Daniels car. I only glanced back once, but she stopped yelling and looked me over.

  “Go home; I don’t want you here! I don’t want anyone here! You’re the reason I went there! You!” I yelled at her. I shouldn’t have been so mean; she didn’t deserve it. It wasn’t her fault. I had a choice, and I made it without her help.

  The car pulled off as Mattie slipped back inside the window without saying another word to me. I rushed toward the steps and then sat down, letting the rain rush over me and mingle with the tears.

  43

  I sat there for a few minutes until the chill caught up with the pain in my heart.

  I made my way up the steps and pushed on the door. It was locked. I reached down and realized I had left my small clutch with my phone and a key in it in the seat of Daniels car. I paused when I heard something strange. It sounded like a scream. I tilted my head and thunder rolled, but as soon as it quieted down I heard it again, only this time I was sure it was a scream, and it was coming from inside the house.

  I hurried back to the front door and jiggled the handle. I pounded on it with an open hand.

  “Aunt Luna?!” I yelled.

  The lightning lit up everything around me. I rushed over to the large stain glass window to the right just in time to see something I didn’t expect to see.

  My aunt was being lifted by her throat.

  I narrowed my eyes and could only make out a shadowy figure standing in front of her. My eyes widened, and I banged on the glass, but she dangled there, clawing at the hand that had wrapped itself around her throat.

  I stepped back and scanned the porch, suddenly spotting a medium sized planter. I dashed to it and picked it up, swinging it from side to side and chucked it through the glass. The shadow released my aunt, and her body hit the floor. I carefully crawled in through the window but hissed as the glass cut into the palm of my hand. I kept going, ignoring the pain. I fell onto the hardwood, then stumbled to my feet and made my way over to her. I dropped to my knees and rolled her onto her back as she lay there unconscious.

  “No…no! Aunt Luna!” I yelled while tapping her face; then I gave her one good slap, and she took a deep breath and started to wrestle with me.

  I held her wrists as she thrashed wildly in a panic. “It’s me; it’s Echo,” I said half out of breath. Her eyes widened, and she gawked behind me. I didn’t want to look. I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever the heck it was.

  But curiosity got the better of me. I hissed through gritted teeth as a shadow stood there growling. It appeared to be in the shape of a man. I turned and stood as my aunt pushed her way up to her feet and stepped up next to me.

  She started to speak in an even tone. Words she knew like the back of her hand. She spoke with no compassion and locked her eyes onto the dark figure that stood before us. “Fight water by water and fire by fire. Banish this demonic soul into nothingness and remove their powers by the last trace.”

  It let out a bellowing howl, and I covered my ears. She repeated it and grabbed my hand giving me a nod.

  She paused. “Say it with me, honey.”

  I started to repeat the chant right along with her.

  “Fight water by water and fire by fire. Banish this demonic soul into nothingness and remove their powers by the last trace.”

  I continued to speak as she rolled up her sleeves and exposed two pentagrams on her forearms. She lowered them as we both chanted.

  The shadow backed away, one slow step at a time, and finally its back was pressed flat against the wall. It turned, rushing up the wall. It rested in the corner of the ceiling, hissing at the two of us.

  “Keep speaking the words; I’m going to get a broom.”

  I glanced at her. “The broom! Are you kidding me?”

  She shook out her hands. “Aunt Luna!” She glared at me in shock.

  “Okay, I’ll get the spray bottle.”

  I half laughed and grabbed her by the shoulders as I glanced back at the demonic creature who was making a home on our ceiling. I grimaced. “I love you, and I think you are amazing, but a broom is not going to work! We can’t just swat at this thing or squirt it down.”

  Lightning struck the porch and lit up the room. I sucked in my breath as I recognized that face staring down at me.

  I tilted my head and narrowed my eyes. “Mr. Jenny? You’re dead.” He leaned forward in the corner and grinned at me. I could see yellowing teeth and pale skin. His eyes were now black as night.

  She ran away, and I held my hands up in front of me.

  “Aunt Luna!? What is Mr. Jenny doing on the ceiling?” I asked.

  He growled at me. I cleared my throat. “Hi, it’s Echo, remember me?” I swallowed hard. “I’d really like to take you up on that talk right now, how about some coffee? You like coffee, right?”

  He snapped his jaws, and I took a step back. He was still suspended in the corner like a spider.

  “I can smell your sweet flesh.” He spoke in a deep raspy tone, tilting his head from side to side.

  “That’s nice,” I said, giving him a nod.

  “Aunt Luna?!” I yelled behind me. She returned with the spray bottle in her hand. “Your boyfriend is on the ceiling.” She sighed. “I can see that, Echo.” She shook the bottle in her hand and grinned. “Holy water.”

  “Holy water?”

  “Why yes, they don’t like it at all.”

  “They who?” I asked.

  “Honey, he’s sort of demonic.”

  “Sort of? Aunt Luna, there is no sort of demonic, he either is or he isn’t.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time to discuss this with you right now.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “This is crazy; it can’t be real. I have to be dreaming.”

  She stepped up and twisted the nozzle. “Get it together; this is real.”

  She held it high and grinned at him. “We’ll get you all sorted, James.” She pulled on the trigger, and nothing happened. She shook it again while muttering.

  “Sorted? He was choking you out and then crawled up the wall!”

  She glared at me. “Honestly, Echo. Stop being so dramatic.”
r />   “Dramatic? Are you kidding me? If any situation ever called for a little drama, it would be this one!”

  She turned back and cursed under her breath. “Shit.”

  “What?” I asked as I stepped up next to her. She shook the bottle. “He’s scurried off.”

  “What do you mean scurried?”

  She pointed at the corner. “Look.”

  I eyed it, and he was gone.

  I held my hands out in front of me. “Where did he go?”

  She turned to me and tilted her head. “I don’t know, Echo.”

  “Well, what do we do?”

  She turned and started to whistle. “Come here, James. Come on, now.” She tapped her leg.

  I laughed. “He isn’t a pet.”

  She glared at me. “I’m well aware of that.”

  “How did he end up here, like this?”

  She tapped the bottle on her thigh and bit her lip. “I may have cast a spell.”

  “What? Cast a spell? What kind of spell?”

  She sighed. “Yes, just something to give him a little kick in the pants and I don’t practice like I used to, so I was a little rusty.”

  I pointed at the ceiling. “A kick in the pants?”

  “Well, it was just a little necromancer spell, but he wasn’t supposed to come back so grumpy.”

  I rolled my eyes as the wind whipped around in the room. “A little what? Like Pet Cemetery? Are you kidding me?”

  “I know, Echo. I just…he shouldn’t have died on me. So annoying.”

  I shook my head. “We need to seriously sit down and have a talk.” I pointed at her and then back to myself. “Because we suck, you and me. We have issues. We shouldn’t date anyone, ever.”

  We both yelled when he rose up next to us and exposed his teeth. He reached out and grabbed the back of my dress and lifted me off of the ground. My feet swung back and forth, and I slapped at his cold, clammy hands. Then I clawed and accidentally ripped off a small chunk of flesh and grimaced. I tossed it aside. “Aunt Luna?! He’s falling apart.”

  “Technicality, death isn’t pretty!”

  “Oh my God, spray him, please!” I yelled, and she was desperately trying to unscrew the top off of the bottle. “It’s stuck!” She yelled as the thunder rolled and the sky lit up. He jerked me higher off of the floor, and I yelled through gritted teeth. He chomped at me once, then twice. I balled up my fist and hit him across the jaw.

  He let me go and stumbled back. “Oh, Sorry, Mr. Jenny!”

  He backhanded me, and I flew across the room. I hit the floor and slid on my back.

  “Mr. Jenny, don’t be such an asshole!” I yelled.

  “That’s right baby! Give him a what for!” My aunt barked out behind me with a fist pumping the air.

  “Don’t encourage me to curse, Aunt Luna. Dad would be upset.” I choked out as Mr. Jenny wrapped his hand around my throat and lifted me to my feet.

  My aunt broke a broom over her knee. She gripped it firmly in her hand and then rushed toward us, lifting the jagged end and burying it deep in his thigh. He screamed and dropped me. I rolled to the side, and she hung on as he thrashed back and forth.

  “We may need to break up!” My aunt screamed.

  Lightning streaked the sky. “You think so?” I said in disbelief. Then I noticed a shadow in the window. I could make out blonde hair and pale skin. “Thorn?” I whispered through narrowing eyes.

  “Invite me in.” His teeth clenched.

  “Thorn, what are you doing here?”

  “Echo. Invite me in.”

  My aunt screamed as Mr. Jenny grabbed her by the throat and she fell to her knees in front of him.

  “Please!” Thorn yelled.

  I waved a hand. “Come in, come in!”

  Thorn rushed forward in a blur and had my aunt out of Mr. Jenny’s grasp in a matter of seconds. James backed away from him, hissing and spitting green bile. Thorn shook his head, and the deep growl rolled out of him. I crawled over to my aunt and touched her hand. I pressed my fingers against her wrist and felt her heartbeat; she was alive but unconscious.

  I pushed myself up and stood there in disbelief.

  Thorn balled up his fist and hit James across the jaw, knocking him onto one knee, then he lifted his arm and brought his fist down, not once, but twice. Mr. Jenny ended up on his hands and knees. I could see a trail of blood rushing out of the corner of his mouth and over his chin. Thorn reached down and grabbed the collar of his shirt and tossed him like a ragdoll across the room. James slammed against the wall. It left behind an imprint of his body. He hit the floor on his side and rolled.

  Mr. Jenny scrambled to his feet and crooked his neck to the side. I could hear the bones cracking. He stretched his arms out to his sides and hissed. He dashed forward and snapped his razor sharp teeth, finally burying them into Thorn’s shoulder. Thorn lifted his knee and kicked him in the groin. James let out a moan. I hissed and covered my eyes. I could hear a few more blows, and when I turned around, Thorn had James pinned on the ground. He lunged forward and bit into the side of his neck. I could hear the ripping of flesh.

  Finally, James lay still, and Thorn stood up, towering over him. His body was trembling, and he stumbled back staring at his hands. He turned to look at me with a pale face and black eyes. His lip quivered, and I reached up and touched the side of his face.

  He closed his eyes. “Thorn. Please look at me.”

  He opened them, and I thought I spotted two sharp fangs resting behind his lips. He reached up and wiped his mouth, clearing away the blood.

  “Are you hurt?” He asked in a low tone.

  “Are you?” I asked. I took a step toward him, and he backed away from me. We moved across the room until his back was pressed flat against the wall.

  “Let me see,” I whispered to him. He pressed his lips together.

  “Please,” I said as my eyes lingered on his mouth.

  He parted his lips, and I ran the tip of my finger across the edge of his sharpened fang. I hissed when it cut into my flesh. He grabbed my wrist and held my finger close to his mouth, visibly struggling with the scent of my blood.

  I nodded to him. He placed my finger in his mouth and closed his eyes. The growl followed. He pulled it out and let me go as he rushed to the window and jumped out. I trailed him, calling out in the storm.

  “Thorn, please, wait!”

  I stumbled, jerking off my shoes and tossing them aside.

  Finally, he stopped. I walked up behind him as the heavens opened up and the rain fell from the sky without any mercy.

  “Walk away.” He said.

  “Is this why you pushed me away from you? Why you buy spells from that witch? To hide what you are from me?”

  “I am darkness. I am death.” He said quietly.

  I looked down at my muddied feet. The blue mist closed in around us.

  “I see life in you,” I whispered.

  He turned to face me. I stood my ground, refusing to allow his current state to scare me.

  “I can’t be with you, Echo.”

  “I can’t be without you,” I spoke without fear.

  The rain cascaded over his face and dripped from his chin. “You don’t mean that.”

  I took a step toward him. “I do.”

  “I don’t want you. I don’t.” He shook his head and clenched his fists at his side.

  “I want you,” I said with a nod.

  His head lifted, and his eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t need you.”

  I stepped up to him. “I don’t believe you.”

  The pause was brief. “I don’t either.” He said.

  He reached out and pulled me toward him. I wrapped my arms around his neck as our lips crashed together. He moaned into my mouth, desperately searching with his tongue. His hand lifted
and he cupped my face, finally breaking away. His swollen lips lingered near my mouth.

  He grinned, and I stared at his teeth. “We’ll need to talk about those.”

  “I expected as much.”

  “I mean honestly, why did you think you could hide this from me? This is huge, you…I mean, those are fangs. You have fangs, Thorn.”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  “That means you are...” I paused.

  “Echo.”

  I stared up at him. “You’re a vamp…”

  “Echo, please.”

  “The whole spell thing, that was so you wouldn’t…”

  He interrupted me. “It helps control the hunger.”

  “For me?”

  He licked his lips, and I stammered, pointing behind me. “What about Nova?”

  “What about her?” He asked.

  “You’re engaged.”

  He shook his head. “Did I ask her?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “That’s not an answer.”

  He laughed. “I have fangs.”

  I nodded as the rain ran down my neck.

  “I know you do! Why didn’t you tell…”

  He interrupted me. “Because, I love you.”

  My mouth lay open, and his eyes smiled at me.

  “I love you.” He whispered, adding a nod.

  I pressed my lips against his in the rains cold embrace.

  There was nothing else to say.

  No more questions to be asked.

  …for now.