When The Grave Calls (The Veil Diaries #9) - B.L. Brunnemer Page 0,66

a spell and you’ll go down, even with your shield generators. We can’t risk it.”

“Uma,” I turned back to her. “They’ve been training this entire time.”

“Training, yes. But these people are aiming to kill.” Uma’s jaw was clenched as she turned back to me. “You are children, and this is war. It sounds harsh, and unfair, but none of you except Ethan and Asher are even close to being able to take part in this. I wouldn’t send my own children, so I’m not sending you.”

“We aren’t children,” Zeke bit out.

“You are in this case,” Brody stated, crossing his arms over his chest. It was clear they weren’t going to change their minds.

“We can help,” I tried again anyway. “We aren’t useless.”

Brody and Uma shared a look.

Brody turned back to us. “Then you can help set up the med bay in the living room. You can help with first aid and find a doctor that can be trusted.”

“We can do that,” Miles said for all of us. The rest of us nodded. Anything we could do that would help, we would.

Tara

It was late when Dad finally pulled into an old hotel. It was even later when I was the only one still up. Maria and Jess were in the other bed near the door, while Dad slept in a chair propped up near the bathroom door. Tank and Kita were out cold between the beds and the room door.

I was playing with a new design on my tablet when Lucy woke up beside me.

“Hmm?” She lifted her head, her eyes still closed.

“What’d you say?” she muttered rolling onto her back.

“Nothing.” I smiled to myself as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Her face was soft and rosy as she looked up at me. My heart took a hit. She really was pretty. I turned back to my work and focused on the neckline of the outfit I was designing.

“What are you working on?”

“Magical protection.” My face burst into flame as I realized I had actually answered.

“Really?” She sat up and scooted back to sit beside me. The flowery scent of her perfume reached me, making my heart pound even harder as she moved closer.

“Wait? Are those runes?” She pointed at the small embroidery along the neckline and the seams of the arms and legs.

I licked my lips before I answered. “Yeah, protective ones, I think.”

“Clever.”

I lifted my head. “Do … do you think they’d work?”

“I think so. We’d have to ask a witch, but I can’t see why not.”

I grinned and shifted so she could see better. “Lexie said that witches use stones to store energy, so I was thinking of incorporating small stones in the embroidery on the hands or in the middle of the chest. What do you think?”

She tapped the sleeves. “You’d want them near the hands, so sleeves that hook around the middle finger would be the perfect spot for them, I think.”

I nodded, excitement bubbling up. “And the fabric could be anything. It wouldn’t have to be leather or tough. It’s the embroidery thread that would matter, right?”

She thought about it and nodded. “You also wouldn’t even have to have the runes showing. I bet if you can do the embroidery small enough, you’d be able to hide it under the lining of jackets and pants.”

I smiled up at her. “You think it’s a good idea?”

“Good? It’s brilliant.” She shook her head. “Clothes that protect you from magical energy? That’s a market that hasn’t even been thought of, let alone established.”

I began playing with the ends of my ponytail as I thought about the potential. “You think people would want this?”

“Witches? Yeah. Vampires? Definitely. And it’s perfect for non-magical humans,” she said.

As I met her eyes my smile dimmed. Tingles ran down my spine as the silence stretched. Her gaze dropped down to my lips for a heartbeat before I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A shadow moved across the drawn curtains.

Lucy pulled back and turned just in time for the door to bust open. Bodies surged into the room. Dad went from a dead sleep to pulling his gun and firing in a heartbeat. The dogs leapt at the doorway. Lucy threw a vial from her bra. It shattered at their feet, billowing smoke filling the room. Her hand moved to my arm in a strong grip as she pushed me off the bed. “Move. Get out through the bathroom,” she breathed into my ear before leaping to her feet