Unforgettable (OLD COPY DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 38

I wobble to my feet as Mrs. Nox resurfaces in the harbor before she claws her way onto the dock, her wand at the ready as her face contorts into a snarl. Diana's gaze remains locked onto hers as she raises her baton in a warning.

"Salem PD, hands in the air," Diana says as she watches Mrs. Nox get to her feet.

Mrs. Nox ignores her as her fingers flicker with the beginnings of a spell and she sprints toward Diana, her now bare feet thumping on the wooden boards before she steps onto the ground.

"Stop!" Diana barks, her voice harsh as she lifts her wand against Mrs. Nox.

Lightning flashes, several bolts of white lighting up the immediate area to the point that it almost seems like it's daytime before there's a boom that rattles in my skull.

Faded outlines linger across my eyes in shades of pink and blue as I blink against them before my vision clears.

It takes a moment for me to register what I'm looking at as I take in the crumpled form of Mrs. Nox from where she lies at the end of the dock on the shoreline. My former therapist is lying on the ground painfully still, her limbs askew as Diana stands in front of her, her wand still at the ready.

I stumble down the dock toward her, passing my siblings and Ava in the process as Indigo nods, assuring me that she's fine. I stop several paces away as Diana doesn't seem to realize that I'm near her. There's no doubt in my mind that Mrs. Nox must be dead as I try to avoid looking at her body and instead turn my attention to Diana.

"Diana, Diana look at me," I say in a low voice as I dare to take a step in her direction.

Her unfocused eyes flicker before they settle on me, like she's trying to look for something in a heavy fog but can't find it.

"S-she...she wasn't going to stop," Diana rasps.

"It's okay," I say a few times over as she finally looks at me and the fog in her eyes disappears.

She lunges for me, her arms wrapping around me tightly as she squeezes, though I can't tell if it's me or her who's shaking the most as we remain locked in an embrace for a moment. I let her arms crush me before she steps away, her baton still at the ready as she looks me up and down, her eyes crinkling at the edges as she suddenly looks confused.

"Why are you wet?"

"That's not important, Clayton was here but now he's gone," I tell her and her mouth presses into a flat line.

"Where do you think he's going?" she asks in a low voice as she starts walking for Ava.

"I don't know," I murmur as I try to keep up with her, my lungs still burning with every step I take as the shackle around my ankle weighs me down.

Indigo and Connor look up as we approach, their eyes dull and their faces hollow. Ava summons a couple of balls of purple fire and has them hover around us in a circle.

"We're okay," Indigo assures me as I limp over.

Diana crouches next to Indigo as she starts to check over her arms, the runes having darkened to the point they look like bruises. I shiver at the sight, not wanting to think about what would have happened if the runes had been there for much longer.

"Are you alright Kara?"

I blink as I look up at Connor from where he sits huddled next to our sister. He looks like the time he had pneumonia in the third grade, which is to say that he looks awful.

"I'm fine," I murmur as his dark eyes do a quick once over of me before they settle on my ankle.

"Let me get that off of you," Ava offers suddenly and I gladly sit down on the dock as she takes out her wand.