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Chapter Thirty-Four

SUNNY

T he sun was getting lower in the sky, and Sunny was about fifteen miles outside of Hecate’s Hollow. She was almost there.

But then her engine groaned, and her van lurched.

“No, no, no,” she said.

This could not be happening. While she was close to the Hollow, she didn’t want to walk home in the dark.

But then smoke spewed out of her engine.

Pulling over, she hit her hands against the steering wheel. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”

She lifted the hood and looked at it. She’d taught herself some maintenance over the past few years.

The smoke wafted off the engine as she fanned it away with her hands.

Between this and the dim twilight, she couldn’t see what was going on.

In the past, she just would have slept in her van until she could wake up and figure it all out.

A large part of her was worried Asher would go into a panic if she didn’t make it home that night.

But even if she left her car here, she didn’t think she’d be able to make it there by foot until after midnight.

“Fuck!” she yelled as she looked up into the sky where the light of the nights first star shone.

A few minutes later, a little blue car pulled up behind her. Maybe they would give her a lift to the closest gas station so she could call Asher. But when she looked, it was hard to see who was getting out of the car until she could see his... red eyes.

Her heart started pounding away in her chest.

“Hi, I’m Nox. I thought I recognized your van. Sunny, am I right?”

She nodded, her words still stuck in her throat.

“What seems to be the problem?” he asked, walking up to her.

“Umm... I don’t know.”

Why is he here? What had he been doing at the witchcraft store?

“Is everything okay?” he asked.

Sunny was a whirlwind of emotions. Everyone she knew thought he was a nice guy, but nice guys could be serial killers, too.

Maybe he was just there, trying to lure her back.

But it wasn’t his fault her van broke down.

Maybe he was just trying to help. If only she’d taken the time to tell Asher where she was going.

“I’m afraid I’m not much help with car repair, but I can take you back to Hecate’s Hollow.”

Furrowing her brow, she took him in. “Why were you in Charleston?”

“Oh, umm. I wanted to stop by the music store. I was picking up some sheet music for my class.”

She evaluated him, waiting for him to say anything about the witchcraft store.

“Is that the only reason?”

With a careful glance, he scrunched his brows. “Why do you ask?”

“Ya know what... forget it. I’m sure Asher will be here shortly.”

“You’re close with the Blacks?”

“Very close. They would notice if anything happened to me.”

His head snapped back, and his hands came up in a defensive gesture. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just recognized your van, and I thought you might need help.”

She evaluated him, and something in her wanted to believe him... but those eyes.

“Sunny, I mean it. I’m not going to hurt you. I can either give you a ride to town, or I can just go to town and tell Asher what’s happening. It’s your call. I’m just trying to help.”

She nodded, and she did believe him, but there was something she was missing.

“What were you doing at the witchcraft store?”

Cocking his head, he closed his eyes and shook his head. “I know the owner. I was bringing her something.”

“What were you bringing her?”

“Moonshine.”

“What?”

“We have an agreement. I bring her moonshine, and she... ummm... helps me out with something.”

“Helps you out with what?”

The silence stretched out before them.

“Do you know about the Blacks?” Sunny asked, testing the water.

“What about them?”

Sunny shrugged. “There are rumors about them and the mountain. I was just curious about what you thought about them.”

“Rumors?” he asked, shifting uncomfortably.

She pinned him with a look, still trying to put together the pieces.

All the sudden, a gust of wind came at them, whipping her hair in her face. As she tried to brush the long locks out of her eyes, she saw it. About a half mile down the road, there was a car that had crashed up in a blaze. It hit her with certainty.

“You were there that night.”

“What night?”

“The night my mom died.”

His mouth dropped open, and his body shook with a stammer.

“You were there. I know it. What happened?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ll find Asher and tell him you’re here.” He turned quickly and booked it back to his car.

“Please, I just need answers.”

His footsteps slowed, but he didn’t turn. The wind was still blowing, causing strands of hair to obscure her vision.

When he turned, his eyes had gone from a faint red glow to full on glowing.

“What are you?” she asked on a breath.

“What?” he asked so quietly she could barely hear him above the wind.

“Look, I know this is going to sound crazy... but maybe not, if I’m right.”

He just looked at her with his cautious gaze.

“I’m a seer. So was my mom. She was in the car with the Blacks that night.

I think you saw the accident. I don’t know how to describe it.

I get these visions, and in these visions, there is someone in the woods with glowing red eyes watching the accident.

I know that doesn’t make any sense, but here’s the even crazier part.

There are times I look at you, and I see your eyes glowing red.

Sometimes, it’s just a hint, like having a red eye in a picture, but just then. ..” Sunny shook her head and stopped.

“Just then what?”

“Just then, I saw the car burning down the road, and when you turned around, your eyes were glowing as strong as they were in the visions I have about the woods that night.”

He just looked at her, dumbfounded, but wasn’t disputing.

“I was there that night...”

“You were there? You saw what happened?”

“Yeah... I saw everything.”