80
Lucy
I sat up, panting and staring into the dark. Someone was knocking on my door.
"Lucy? Lucy, open the door! What's going on?"
I shuddered and stumbled over to the door. Tears streamed down my face. My heart hammered in my chest. I managed to open it, and Tina wrapped her arms around me. Several other women who lived on the floor were outside too.
She hushed me, stroking my hair as I sobbed.
"There was… Blood—F-Fire… I—She—My mom—My f-family—I…"
Tina hushed me and held me close. "It's okay. It was just a nightmare. It's alright. Come on, I-I'll make you some hot chocolate. We can play cards or something?"
My whole body was shaking. I heard screaming in the back of my mind. I shut my eyes as fire and blood danced behind them. Then, I saw her eyes staring out of a face just like mine. Everything from the curve of her eyebrows to the darkness of her curls was the same.
Allie was her name, and I would never know her.
The grief was crushing me. I couldn't stop sobbing, but I couldn't even explain why. I couldn't get the words out. Tina led me down the hall to the common area. She wrapped me in a thick blanket, and we sat together. A few of the others went back to bed, but many of them stayed up, drinking hot chocolate and chamomile tea with me. I was still shaking when the sun rose, but I felt better. My body felt heavy with exhaustion, but my mind was too awake.
It seemed like every time I closed my eyes, I was thrown back into the memory that didn't completely make sense to me. Where was that place? Could I go back there and maybe find some hint of where the rest of my family members were?
Was I ready to try and find out more?
"Maybe you should stay home today?" Tina asked. "You know no one would feel bad if you did."
I shook my head. "I… I don't think I can. I need… I don't want to think about it."
She winced and nodded. "I understand. At least… At least let me drop you off for classes, hm?"
I nodded. "Thanks."
Tina and the others were all on edge over breakfast, checking on me, but I tried to smile my way through it. I drifted through classes in a sort of daze. If anyone noticed, no one said anything. The anchor started flickering sometime around lunch hour. I sighed as I headed to my last class of the day. I'd have to go to the Coven campus to get it checked sooner than Luke had thought.
After class was over, I headed off campus and down the street that Araya said was the easiest path to the open entrance to the campus.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my arm. I tried to pull away. My heart lurched. I saw no officers on the street, supernatural or otherwise, and I couldn't pull away.
I slammed back into the wall and looked into the eyes of a familiar woman. She was the woman who had come up to us in the mall: one of Tony's exes.
"Give me your phone," she growled. Her hand wrapped around my throat. "Give me your phone, whore!"
I tried to reach for my portal. I tried to remember how to activate the ring's portal, but my mind was panicked.
For a moment, I was looking up into the dark sky with only a few stars for light above me. Burning red eyes looked down at me, squeezing my throat. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't fight or get away. She yanked something away from me. Pain exploded across my face.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" She snarled as I fell to the ground. The scent of the street vanished, turning to the dusty, woody scent of that room in that house that I hadn't been in for months. I shook. I felt frozen with fear. Pain slammed into my stomach as something kicked me, sending me rolling over.
"You think you're better than me? He thinks you're better than me? You half-breed whore! I'm going to be luna! Tony's mine!"
I turned back for just a moment. There was a flash of light in her eyes. The world swam with darkness. I barely got a scream out as she pounced on me. She wrapped her hands around my neck. Her eyes were wide and maddened, glowing. She snarled. Saliva dripped from her fangs as her mouth started to shift and turn.
The world continued to darken as I kicked and tried to struggle. Her face faded in and out with my adoptive father looming over me.
You think I care about your life? You think you mean anything? Your only use is to serve me, you understand?
My stomach churned. There was a memory trying to break through. I felt the magic of the anchor pushing against my chest. My stomach heaved. I kicked and twisted. Images flashed through my mind. I felt hands on my skin. Someone's hand in my hair. I heard panting in my ear and weight crushing the air out of me. Her hands slipped. I felt the claws digging into my throat as I drew in as much breath as I could and screamed.
"Scream! No one's going to hear you?"
No one cares! Scream!
"I'll kill you right here, and we'll see how long it takes for him to come back to me!" She growled. She thrashed me, bashing my head against the ground.
I can't die here.
Run!
I pushed at her face, trying to push her off me. I couldn't die here. I didn't want to die here! I was just starting to live.
I felt something in me tightening, like a band growing tight in my chest. I felt the anchor's magic washing over me as I pushed. She turned her head back and bit my hand. I cried out at the pain and tried to push up. I curled my fingers and swiped at her face.
She shrieked and reared back as blood appeared from the large slash marks on her face. I pushed her off and dragged myself away. My hand was clean, but blood ran down her face.
"MY face! You bitch!" She lunged at me. I rolled away from her and coughed as I sucked in more air.
I felt her claws digging into my leg, dragging me back.
"I was going to be nice," she snarled, crawling over me again. She settled her weight on my back and wrapped her arm around my throat, pressing. "I was going to make it quick, but now, you've pissed me off…"
I twisted, trying to get away, but she was so strong. I dug my hand into the ground. I saw something sharp and shiny nearby: a shard of glass.
I dug my hands into the cement and pulled. I felt us moving. I was getting closer and closer even as the world kept darkening.
"I'm going to dump you in the trash," she hissed. "And you'll rot there just like the garbage you are. No one is going to miss you. He'll never think of you again!"
I was so close. If I could just get closer.
Suddenly, she was torn off me with a cry. I gasped for breath and scrambled toward the glass. I grabbed it, ignoring the bite of it in my hand. I swung wildly, screaming and covering my face.
"Lucy?"
I looked up at the familiar voice. David was a few feet away. The woman was unconscious at his feet. He was wearing a simple T-shirt and jeans; a backpack lay near the opening of the alleyway. I shuddered. His eyes went soft and he held up his hands.
"It's okay," he said softly. "She won't hurt you anymore. It's okay now."
My eyes burned, and I dropped the glass shard. David crossed the space between us quickly and wrapped his arms around me.
"It's okay," he said into my ear as I cried. I clung to him, shuddering and sinking into the sound of his heart beating in his chest. "It's okay, now."
He stroked my hair and rocked me like we were kids again. I heard other people coming up behind us. He turned his head.
"I have her," he said. "That woman attacked her… And she needs medical attention."
I clung to him, unable to speak. "I won't leave you, Lucy. I promise. You're safe now."
He pressed a kiss to my head, and I felt myself deflating as if I had no energy to hold myself up anymore as he gathered me close. My heart slowed to normal, and slowly, a sense of safety settled over me. I smelled the scent of fresh pine and thought of the tall trees that had been in all my dreams.
I thought of home.
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