The longer the four of us sit together talking, the more exhausted I become. I don’t know why, but the energy buzzing around inside me has dulled to a low hum. It has me nervous.
“Where’s Aislin?” Laylen eventually asks, looking concerned as he glances at the wall clock. “I know you said she went to get a witch’s power, but hasn’t she been gone for a while?”
“She has.” I look down at my watch. “Nine minutes left.”
“Nine minutes?” he questions, slouching back in the chair. “That’s pretty specific.”
I absentmindedly rest my head against Alex’s shoulder, feeling incredibly tired. “I gave her a timeframe, and if she’s not back by then, I go looking for her.”
Alex’s muscles tense underneath my head, and I start to move away, realizing I shouldn’t be doing this. But he quickly wraps an arm around me and places a hand on my cheek, securing me there.
“Why didn’t she just steal a witch’s power from one of the ones hanging out outside?” Laylen kicks his feet up on the coffee table
“She said something about needing to do it with a witch that won’t know where she’s hiding out,” I explain. “I guess they’re going to get pissed off and chase her down.”
Laylen chews on his lip ring. “That worries me.”
“It worries me, too.” I check the time again. “In seven minutes, we’ll go looking for her.” I don’t bother to mention we’ll have to look for her in Vegas, because I don’t want to worry him more.
Silence encases us as the clock ticks, and Alana starts to doze off.
“I hate to interrupt such a good time,” Nicholas’s voice flows through the living room, “but you owe me one life.”
My gaze skims the walls, the furniture, and the mantle, but without the ring, I have no clue where he is. “No one owes you a life.”
“How can we suddenly hear him?” Laylen asks, planting his feet on the floor.
“It’s one of the many talents of a Banshee,” Alana says without opening her eyes. “We have connections through the ghost world, and I’m channeling it to all of you.”
“Where is he?” I whisper to Alex.
He pulls me against him and brushes my hair out of my eyes. “Too close to you.”
Nicholas clears his throat, startling me. “We have a bargain to attend to, and you can thank Alex for that.”
I angle my head up to look at Alex. “What’s he talking about?”
Alex shrugs. “It was the only way I could get him to tell me where my mom was. I told him, if he helped me find her, I’d make sure his soul was freed with the other lost souls.”
“Give me the ring back,” I say, ducking my head out from underneath Alex’s arm. “I want to talk to him.”
Alex promptly shakes his head. “No fucking way.”
I shove my hand at him. “I’m going to need it back for the Afterlife, anyway, so you might as well give it back now.” When he shakes his head again, I reach over and wiggle the ring off his finger.
He grumbles, pissed off as hell as he slumps back on the sofa, pouting. “I wish you never had to wear that ring again.”
“Me, too, but the fact is I do.” I slide the ring onto my finger right in time to see Nicholas wink. Then he spins around, leaps over the coffee table, and waves a hand in front of Laylen’s face.
“I’ll kind of miss this part about death. Getting to mess with everyone without them knowing is absolutely fantastic.”
“That’s sad if it’s true,” I tell him. “Maybe you should reconsider how you treat people. Take your second chance and do something good with it.”
He rolls his eyes then flicks Laylen’s hair. “No way.”
Laylen leans to the side. “Why do I have the feeling he’s messing with me right now?”
“Because he is,” I tell him. “But don’t worry; he’s going to stop.”
“I am?” Nicholas questions with a crook of his brow.
“You are if you want to live again.” I flash him an arrogant grin.
He glowers at me, but then his gaze darts to the clock, and he smirks. “Bzzzz. Times up.”
I look at the time then spring to my feet. The blood rushes from my head, so I reach out for something to hold onto as a spout of dizziness overcomes me. Alex leaps to his feet and catches me right before I fall.