Curse And Craving

16

In a hushed whisper, I told her about Lochlan's appearance and how he scared off the creature. She listened intently, her forehead crinkled in concentration before she spoke. “Bec, not to say I didn't believe you before, but now, I really believe. That thing was not human, or animal for that matter. I don't know what it was, but man, was it strong.” Her eyes lifted to mine. “It wanted your necklace.” I nodded warily. “We need to find out why.” I’d come to the same conclusion, except I hadn’t counted on Ashely jumping into the mix. She’d already nearly been killed. I couldn’t risk her life again when she had nothing to do with my troubles. In fact, I was hoping she’d consider going home early to heal. “Ash, you don’t understand. I’d never forgive myself if … if something worse happened to you.” Emotions clamped tight around my throat. She placed her hand over mine. “Bec, I know you desperately want to protect the people around you. I understand why. But accidents happen— things like what happened to Callum.” She hurried on, knowing I usually stopped her whenever she tried to bring him up. “You aren’t responsible when tragedy strikes. It’s not your job to protect your parents or me or anyone else.” You’re wrong. It was my fault, and because of that, I owe it to my parents to save them from ever feeling that kind of pain again. “Whether it’s my responsibility or not, we can both agree that it’s safer back home. You have a concussion and a broken arm—neither of which makes you a prime candidate for protecting yourself. You can either let me do the job while you’re here or go on back home early.” Ashley dug her heels in with a haughty glare. “Don’t even think about sending me home. I see it on your face, but there’s no way I’m bailing on you. Not until I absolutely have to.” She was only in the country for another week, and she’d be restricted with her broken arm. Surely, I could humor her until she left, then pursue my answers once she was safely back in the US. I nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell you what I know, but it’s not much.” My hand lifted to my necklace. “You know how I’m so picky about my necklace? I started thinking about why I never take it off. I realized that my attachment was a bit … unusual, so I tried to take the necklace off.” My voice lowered to a whisper. “I couldn't do it.” “Like you couldn't get the clasp to work?” she asked. I shook my head slowly. “I brought my hands up, and I tried so hard to make them do it, but they wouldn't move. Ash, there's something special about this necklace. I think it’s the reason all this weird stuff is happening.” “Are you saying you have a magic necklace?” Her eyes rounded with something strangely akin to delight. “I know it sounds absurd, but I guess I am.” “Come here and let me try.” “Ash, you only have one functional hand.” “The break is way up on my arm. If you just lay your head down here by my hand, I can totally do it.” She gestured with her good hand for me to lay my head on her lap. “I can't believe I'm doing this. If your arm hurts, you better stop.” I bent over the bed with my neck positioned right next to the hand of her injured arm. My hands began to sweat profusely, and my breathing increased as I squeezed my eyes shut. My skin positively crawled with the need to pull away. Thirty seconds. A minute. Two minutes. “I can’t make it budge,” she conceded softly, meeting my gaze as I sat up. “But I’m not willing to admit that it means anything. You’ve worn it for so long, it’s probably just rusted shut. Have you asked your mom where you got it?” “Not yet. What I do know is that the creature was ready to chop my head off to get his hands on my necklace. He yanked on the chain so hard that I thought my head was going to come off, but you just saw my neck. It’s not even bruised.” Her determined stare bore into mine. “We definitely need more information.” “Agreed, but I’m not sure how. Lochlan doesn’t know that the creature was after my necklace, and I don’t want to tell him. Maybe he’d come after it as well if he knew. I have no reason to trust him. If this thing isn't coming off my neck, I think it’s best to keep its potential magical properties to myself.” “Absolutely.” Her face split in a wide grin. “Holy s**t, can you believe this is happening?” The few crackers I’d forced down before leaving the apartment threatened to make a reappearance. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I know I need answers, but I’d also like to pretend this isn’t happening and just go back home. This is so much more than I bargained for.” “It’s magic, Bec. Who doesn’t dream of having magical powers?” “They’re not so fabulous when people want to kill you for them,” I shot back dryly. Her lips pursed as if to concede my point. “Okay, what else do we know? Knowledge is power.” “Lochlan told me the creature that attacked us is called a Draug. I haven't had a chance to Google it yet. The only other thing he told me was that they aren’t normally here in Belfast, and he and his ‘associates’ are trying to figure out how the creature got here.” “A Draug? I think I've heard of that!” I was so startled that I stood off the bed. “Are you kidding?” “No, but I'm having trouble pinpointing where I remember it from.” She squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her nose. “Give me my e-reader,” she demanded, reaching for the bag I’d brought her. Ash was a voracious reader with her face in a book every chance she got. It was no wonder she had pursued a career in publishing. She turned on the reader and began searching frantically through her library while I waited anxiously. “A-ha! I knew that I had heard the term. This book I read not too long ago had a Draug in it. It’s a type of Fae or Faery.” She handed me the device, and I skimmed the pages. In the book, the Draug was a Faerie that used people's deepest desires to lure its victims to remote locations and kill them. That was not what had happened in this instance, but it wasn't entirely off base. It was at least somewhere to start. “All the creatures you have seen could definitely be categorized as Fae. I’ve read a ton of books about them, so that should help. So how does this Lochlan know about the creature?” “He didn’t exactly say.” “Well, we’re going to need to make him unless we find another source.” I chewed on my lower lip, wondering how on earth I could possibly coerce information out of the domineering nightclub owner.