Unforgettable (OLD COPY DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 39

Diana is silent as she grips the steering wheel, her eyes trained on the road ahead of her as we coast through Tessa's neighborhood toward her house. I wonder for a moment if Clayton is out here waiting for us to show up so he can ambush us. I have my wand in my hand, the crystal warmed to my touch as I hold it at the ready, my fingers aching from holding it so tightly.

Tessa's parents' car is gone, the street in front of the townhouse empty as Diana pulls up to the curb and shuts off the car. I start to unbuckle my seatbelt but she reaches out to stop me.

"Wait," she murmurs, her voice just above a whisper.

Her eyes are trained on the townhouse, a single light on the second floor lighting up one of the windows, but other than that, it doesn't look like anyone is home.

Diana grabs for her baton and extends it, the metal clicking as she snaps it forward to extend it. She points it at the house, her eyes narrowing as she twirls it briefly.

"There's a silencing enchantment on the house, but not from a witch, this is coming from an item that had been enchanted," she says in a low voice, "there's two people inside."

I'm out of the car and up the stoop before she can say anything else, the blood rushing in my ears.

"Kara, wait!" she hisses and I pull up short when I see a flash of blue on the stair I was just about to step on.

I crouch down to inspect the strange item, which is a shard of blue stone that has a red rune carved into it. I know better than to touch it as Diana stops behind me, her neck craning as she looks at the stone.

"Don't touch it."

"I wasn't planning on it," I retort.

"Let me disenchant it," she says as she extends her baton toward the stone.

The rune on it glows white for a moment before it flickers out, the stone cracking in half. She nods to me as she steps up to the door, her hand hovering over the knob before the door clicks open. Screams immediately pour through from the other side as Diana flings the door wide open and barrels through.

"Astrid!" she yells as I follow her close behind.

The living room has been trashed, the couch flipped over as a few glass items have been shattered as their shards glitter on the floor and crunch under our feet. There are burn marks everywhere, black circles marring most every surface including the ceiling. A chandelier swings on a single wire in the dining room as we silently run through it, searching for Astrid as the screaming has cut off.

I don't want to think about what the silence could mean.

There's a loud thump followed by a yelp as Diana and I bolt into the back of the house where a sunroom is. In the back corner of the room, Astrid has climbed up onto a patio chair as she balances precariously on it, her eyes widening when she spots us.

"Don't come in here!" she yells, but it's too late.

I'm shoved down from behind as my nose connects with the wood floor, stars flashing in my vision as something pops. I can hear heavy feet run past me toward Astrid as she yells something that I don't understand. I look up just in time to see that Diana has taken aim with her wand.

"Stop!" Astrid says as a translucent, rose-colored shield wraps around both her and Clayton.

Clayton pulls up short as he looks from me to Astrid, "Shielding me Astrid? Are you thinking that having my life spared will give you mercy from the Hallewells?"

I realize then that it's Astrid who is shielding him, but for what reason, I'm not entirely sure.

"I don't want anyone else to die, no one else has to die," Astrid pleads, her blue eyes full of tears as her voice wavers.

There are bruises on her face as she fixes me with an intense look, one that is full of hope and desperation.

"The Hallewells don't have to be killers anymore, we can live in peace," she whispers as her gaze rests on Clayton. "Please uncle, please don't make them have to kill you."