Southern Secrets: Book 2 in Southern Charms Series

Chapter Twelve: Discovery

Ash

Ash vaguely registered his mother's greeting when he entered his house. He must have managed a passable answer because she wandered toward the kitchen, humming to herself as he mounted the stairs. Jemina poked her head out of her room, but she said nothing as he let himself inside his bedroom, shutting the door with a soft click before sliding to the ground and resting his forehead on his knees.

There were many times since returning to Black Brier that he'd felt ineffective. Worthless. Lost. But very few of those moments topped today. There was nothing he could say to Rose as she absorbed the news about her grandmother. If it had just been that he might have sat by her side and comforted her through the shock, but it was the deeper hurt of feeling like she didn't belong that he didn't know how to help with. Mostly because he didn't know how to deal with it himself.

It felt as though years had passed since they sat around Alma's table eating desserts. In reality, it had only been a few hours. Yet somehow they had gone from having to figure out the mystery that was Malphas and Willow's odd behavior- both problems big enough to overwhelm anyone- to also plotting a rescue mission.

He lowered his legs so they stretched out in front of him and stared across the room. Even with all those problems swirling about in his mind, he kept coming back to the word Alizon used. Relationship.

It wasn't a matter of not wanting to label what existed between him and Rose. Ash snorted. He wanted that more than anything. But how could he call what they had a relationship when they had never formally gone on a date? Sleepovers in a cabin in the woods didn't count when they were on the run from demons. Neither did a make-out session outside a different cabin in the woods.

Maybe they just needed to get away from cabins and woods all together. He laughed out loud. Abuelita would beat him across the head if she knew he'd kissed Rose without buying her dinner first. He was a little disappointed in himself for doing that, but with the way their life was going these days, it was better to steal kisses where he could get them than wait for the perfect moment.

Sighing, he rose to his feet. This was a conversation he would have with Rose later. After he gave her some time to process her news and gorge herself on sugar at Willow's. His cousin was the perfect person to be with Rose right now.

A prickling sensation washed over him, and a knot formed in his chest as Malphas stirred. The Prince of Hell had been strangely quiet today, almost as if he'd grown bored playing with Ash's emotions, but he rarely missed a chance to make his presence known whenever Ash was in his bedroom. It wasn't enough that he only had to open his closet to see the demon's misty form pulsing within its glass container, a taunting reminder of the cost of failure.

But there was something different about the demon... Correction, Ash thought, sorcerer. Call him what he is. There's power in knowing something's true nature. Malphas wasn't digging through Ash's emotions like usual, trying to stir him up.

In fact, he almost seemed content. Like a cat lying in the sun... Ash amended that thought. Like a cat who'd caught a mouse.

In response to Ash's attention, Malphas intensified their connection, sending one of his favorite visions to Ash. Rose in a black lace wedding gown with silver eyes shining against the darkness. Then it shifted.

To Rose, standing in a black void. She stared at something Ash couldn't see, and she had her hand wrapped around the locket. Her knuckles whitened as her grip on the necklace tightened. She shook her head. Tears fell down her face. Another fierce shake. Then she let go, revealing a hunk of twisted metal.

"Rose," he called out as the image faded.

His phone rang. Fishing it from his pocket, he pressed answer while keeping his eyes locked on the spot Rose's image had been.

"Hello."

"Ash," Willow barked, "Is Rose with you?"

The burning in his chest deepened and pulsed. Malphas was laughing.

"She's supposed to be with you."

A moment's hesitation. "She isn't with me. Something's wrong. I can feel her. She's hurting."

"Meet me at the end of her driveway," he said. "That's where I last saw her."

Swearing, he hung up the phone and gathered his magic to teleport. At the last moment, he lifted his eyes to the mirror above his dresser, and just before he was sucked into the void, a shiver of silver filled his brown eyes.

When he appeared at the end of the Wych's drive, he spied Willow waiting by the mailbox. Rushing to her, he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him.

Panicked filled every syllable as he demanded, "My eyes, Willow. What color are they?"

"Brown. They're brown."

She threw her arms around him and squeezed tight, her petite frame shaking. For a long time, they took comfort from one another. Finally, he pulled away and wiped his cheeks. It was simply a trick of his mind. Of the demon bonded to him. There wasn't anyway Malphas could take possession of him yet.

"Are you okay?" Willow asked.

"I'll be fine as long as we find Rose," he said, casting a tracing spell and setting off after the sparkling violet light. It went in the opposite direction of Willow's house- into the woods and toward the path to the strange little cabin.

"I-I don't feel her anymore."

"What do you mean, feel her?" Ash questioned.

"I'll explain that later. Just trust me."

The light zoomed to a small pile of rocks. A glittering chain draped over one edge, and in the center of the largest rock...

"No," he shouted, snatching it up. It looked exactly like it had in the vision Malphas shared. "Rose unleashed her magic."

"Is that a bad thing?" Willow asked, eyebrows furrowing. "Now, she isn't defenseless."

"It's a very bad thing because it's exactly what Malphas wanted her to do.'

"Shit," Willow said, rubbing her arms and looking around for signs of Rose. "Why?"

"I don't know. The bigger question is where is Rose now?"

He cast the tracking spell again, but the light settled above the locket in his palm, following his hand whenever he moved it. Again and again, he cast the spell, but each time it yielded the same result. Willow tried as well.

"Do you think she teleported?" Willow asked. "Maybe it's throwing off the tracer. She learned the mechanics of the spell in school."

"Where would she have teleported to? Not to mention, this spell is designed to tell you if they teleported. It'll go from purple to red."

"Ooh, pardon me. I didn't know you were that fancy," Willow snipped, kicking a stick with a booted foot.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose. They were bickering because they were upset. He knew that, but it didn't make it any easier not to snap back at his cousin.

"Clemmy gave her this locket, right?"

Willow nodded. "An early birthday gift."

He paced. "She didn't know it held Rose's power, right? So why was she so insistent that Rose get the locket?"

"Protection?"

"True, but..." Ash trailed off, tossing the locket to the ground and stepping back. He motioned for Willow to do the same before casting a revealing spell.

A burst of colorful smoke rose up from the twisted remains of the locket. A shimmering thread of gold wound through the rainbow, and together they rose up until the outline of a door appeared. He watched the gold stripe warily, knowing it would only take one touch to active the magic it carried.

"Holy-" Willow screeched. "That's a portal, but to where?"

"I think I know, and you're not going to believe me when I tell you."