Page 119 of Conjure

I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the oval mirror propped on the dresser beside the door. There’s a bruise on my chin, and my stubble is in need of a trim, but facial hair is the least of my worries.

Aron, Gwen, and Lily swing their eyes in my direction as I enter the kitchen and draw to a halt, bouncing my gaze between them all. “Did Camryn eat already?”

Aron sports a purple bruise around his jaw and and a black eye. He scoops up more cereal. “Camryn? She’s with you, isn’t she?”

My body turns to stone. “She woke up before me.”

Gwen exchanges a concerned glance with Lily and Aron. Cat ears hold her blue hair away from her forehead, and her freckled shoulders peek out from beneath the cut-out sleeves of her black T-shirt. She skates her eyes back in my direction, and I know even before she opens her mouth that she doesn’t know where Camryn is.

“We haven’t seen her,” Aron says. He puts the cereal in his mouth, chewing loudly in the ensuing tense silence.

“What do you mean, you haven’t seen her? Of course, you’ve fucking seen her.” My voice is laced with barely restrained hysteria.

Aron shifts on his seat so that he faces me and then he lifts his shoulders. “It means we haven’t seen her.”

I rush forward and haul him up by his creased shirt. “What the fuck did you do to her?”

He laughs, shoving me back. “I haven’t done anything to your girl. Fucking chill.”

I glare at him. Gwen steps between us, pressing her small hand to my chest to hold me back, imploring me with her eyes to back away, but I pay her no attention as I sneer at Aron.

“Boys,” she says, “this isn’t helping the situation.”

The grandfather clock strikes the hour somewhere in the house. Aron crosses his arms. “Why are you so quick to blame me? She could be anywhere. Maybe she took a walk.”

“A walk…” I scoff, pacing and scrubbing my face. Then I turn and point at the trees visible outside the window, shouting, “You think she went for a walk in the fucking forest?”

“Stop it!” Gwen snaps. “Both of you.”

We glare at each other over her head. Fuck if I’ll be the first one to back down. Gwen shoves Aron back a step, and he breaks eye contact as he gives her a questioning look.

“Stop stirring problems,” she says in a firm, no-nonsense tone. “We all know she didn’t go for a stroll through the woods. Let’s focus. When was she last seen.”

“We fell asleep around midnight.”

Gwen turns to face me. “Was anything out of the ordinary?”

“Camryn thought she saw someone in the bathroom. I went to explore but didn’t see anyone.”

“Okay,” she says, dragging the words out, then turns around to face the others. “We search the house.”

Aron rolls his eyes, shouldering past me while Lily rinses the bowls. Gwen runs her hands down her face and presses her fingers to her temples. “She has to be somewhere. There’s a demon out there. Camryn wouldn’t just leave.” She turns to face me, her eyes glistening with tears. “Right?”

“Right…” My throat jumps on a swallow, and I spin around to exit the kitchen.

I can’t stand still while she’s missing. At least if I’m throwing open doors and searching every corner of the house, I’m doing something.

That’s what I tell myself as I do a second sweep of the upstairs. But she’s nowhere to be found, and panic soon sets in.

I pace back and forth in the hall. Where could she be? I look out at the trees beyond the window, unease churning my gut.

She wouldn’t have entered the woods.

She wouldn’t…

Right?

“Anything yet, Dominic?” Gwen asks from her spot at the bottom of the stairs, and I tear my gaze away. Before I can drive myself crazy with worry, I join her downstairs, where we check the basement and the pantry.