Bitter Demons

26. It Should Have Been Me

Just beyond the circle, in a shaded corner of the woods, Caroline lay in a circle of black roses. A long white dress covered her from head to toe. Her body was completely still.

Tears sprang to my eyes. I rushed forward, wanting to hold her. To see if she was still alive.

"No!" Zara shouted. "Don't!"

I didn't listen. I crossed the distance in seconds. As I reached for her, a piercing agony struck me. Pain sliced through my hand like a hot knife. I fell to the ground and scrambled backward, holding my injured hand close to my body.

Zara came up behind me and pulled me farther back. "The roses," she said. "They're like poison."

"Is she dead?" I asked. The pain in my hand turned to a dull throbbing. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks. This was my fault.

"No," she said. "Look."

I swiped at my eyes and looked at Caroline. Her body trembled slightly, as if she were being electrocuted. I crawled toward the circle, careful not to get too close to the roses.

"Caroline," I said. "Caroline, can you hear me?"

A whimper escaped her lips. Her eyes fluttered open but didn't seem to focus on anything. New pain seemed to strike her and her face crumpled in agony. The world around us seemed to spin. I felt like I couldn't catch my breath. Every muscle in my body tensed with the need to get her out of those roses.

"We've got to help her," I said to Zara. "You're powerful. You've got to do something."

She shook her head, fear plastered all over her pale face. "I can't," she said. "It's too dangerous. The roses may look innocent enough, but they are not entirely of this world. They only grow in the shadow world."

"Who gives a shit?" I shouted, angry beyond reason. I grasped a clump of grass and ripped it from the ground. "She's dying, can't you see that?"

"I'm sorry," she said. "There's nothing we can do. The spell that's holding her is unbreakable. We need to get more help."

"There's no time," I said. "There's no telling how long she's been here like this. We can't just leave her."

Caroline shouted. Her body convulsed and she curled into a fetal position.

I couldn't take it. There had to be a way to get her out of there.

"What if I just reach in and grab her really fast?" I said. "It'll hurt, but it won't kill me right?"

"You can't," Zara said, putting her hand on my shoulder to hold me back. "These roses are a very dark kind of magic."

Darker than the Order's use of demons to gain power? I wanted to shout at her. But it wouldn't do Caroline any good for us to start shouting at each other. Besides, I needed Zara to be on my side.

"Please," I said, begging. "You have to know of something we can do to get her out of there."

"Harper, you have to listen to me," she said. Her icy blue eyes met mine and held my gaze. "All we can do now is get help. My mother may know what to do. If you try to save her, you'll only get hurt."

I took a deep breath and tried to still the raging waters of panic crashing through me. "I'll stay with her," I said. "Get help as fast as you can."

Zara thought this over, probably worried about what I might do if she left me here alone.

"I won't do anything crazy," I said. "You're wasting time worrying about it."

She nodded. "I just need to get close enough to my mother for her to feel my panic and be able to locate me. I can feel her in town, but if I can get closer, it will be easier for her to find me."

"Go," I said.

Zara ran into the woods. I turned my attention back to Caroline. I had to figure out a way to help her. I owed her that much.

It should have been me.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, crawling as close to Caroline as I could get before I felt a dull pain sneak across my flesh. "I didn't mean for anything to happen to you. If I'd known someone was after me, I never would have let you walk around looking like me."

Maybe it was the sound of my voice that made her open her eyes. She looked at me and opened her mouth, as if to tell me something. Then, pain sent her into spasms again and she was lost to me.

I screamed and beat my fist against the ground. I lifted my eyes to the sky, as if to beg help from heaven. Something dark moved in the corner of my vision. I snapped my head to the left, searching through the dense trees.

Fear gripped me. What if whoever had done this to Caroline was still here? They would have me completely vulnerable and alone. My lips trembled, and I let out a choked sob. I clapped my hand across my mouth.

Time stood still as I waited to see if some dark foe would descend on me. A shadow slipped behind a nearby tree and my breath stopped. I wanted to disappear, but fear held me prisoner. Magic was no help to me in this state. I could either face my enemy head-on or wait like a scared mouse.

"Who's there?" I called out. My voice trembled.

The shadow darted between dark spaces. I stood, fighting the dizzy weakness that threatened to overcome me.

"Let Caroline go," I said, sounding braver than I felt. "If it's me you want, then let her go."

I expected a giant crow to come flying from the woods, followed by some horrible witch more powerful than I could ever dream to be. But what emerged from the woods was not a bird at all. It was a shadow demon.

The darkness swirled and changed shapes, but I knew the instant the demon showed himself that he wasn't here to hurt me. Or Caroline.

The demon crossed over to the row of black roses. Its eyes were onyx circles deep-set inside the smoky black. The way it looked at Caroline, I knew. This was her family's demon. How had he found her? How was he here without the Prima? Could they be separate from one another?

I couldn't put a voice to any of my questions. All I could do was watch as the demon sank to the ground beside Caroline's trembling body.