Gathering of Angels(39)
Nothing happened.
The crystal and gold burned hot against her skin; as quickly as she could, she looped the long chain around her neck. Simon all but yanked her off her feet as he grabbed her arm and headed for the door.
“Let’s get out—”
Cold slammed into them a moment before Jane appeared. With a flick of her hands she tumbled Claire across the floor, and slammed Simon against the far wall. He hit with rib-cracking force, slid down the wall. The front of his shirt had been slashed. Through the rents she saw the bloodless gashes on his chest.
Jane hovered above the floor, colorless waist length hair blowing around her. “Give the crystal to me now and I won’t kill him.”
Claire pushed herself up, every inch aching. The amethyst pulsed against her chest, its heat spreading through her as it shoved back the numbing cold. She met Jane’s flat grey eyes.
“I will walk into Hell before I give this to you.”
“And you just signed his death warrant!”
Jane spun, flung out her hands.
“No—” Claire lunged forward.
The shotgun blast echoed in the small room, soundtracked Jane’s furious scream just before she burst into a cloud of smoke and flame.
“Claire! God—Claire, are you okay?”
Annie sprinted across the room, Eric on her heels. Ignoring her, Claire moved to Simon, sucking in her breath when she saw the damage up close. Shaking fingers brushed his cheek, and he opened his eyes. “How bad?”
“Still breathing,” he whispered.
Eric eased her aside, crouched over Simon. Scared and more than a little angry, she turned on her friend. “What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay put.”
Annie flinched, pushed damp curls off her forehead. “I saw you, Claire. Dead. Next to that abomination of an altar.” She crossed her arms, throwing back some anger of her own. “Damn it, I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
“Oh, Annie.” Claire couldn’t fault her for rushing in—not with an image like that in her mind. “You’ve never done that before, have you?”
“Ever since I put on this ring, it feels like my power is out of control. Not in a scary way, more in an ‘it’s about damn time you found me’ way.” She took Claire’s hand—and jerked away like she had been burned. “Holy hell—what is that?”
Claire glanced down. The crystal rested against her sweatshirt, the smoke trapped inside it like a dark stain. “Jane. Or at least part of her.”
“The nastiest part. How can you stand to have it touch you?”
“Because I can’t feel it.” Her voice was gentle, but Annie still flinched.
Eric provided a welcome interruption. “I’ve never seen anything like this. The gashes must hurt like a bitch, but they’re not bleeding. I can bandage you when we get back to the cabin—I don’t like the thought of you walking around with open wounds, bleeding or not.”
He pulled Simon up, kept one arm around his waist as they headed for the door.
Annie helped Claire to her feet, looked past her. “Where’s Theresa?”
“Gone.”
“She left you—”
“Don’t start, Annie.”
“We need to get out of here before the salt round that disappeared Jane is no longer effective.” Eric started moving again. “Then we’ll worry about Theresa.”
He led them down a narrow corridor that dumped them at the back of the museum. Claire let out her breath once they stepped outside, finally free of the anger swirling through every room. “I just hope she doesn’t do anything foolish in the meantime. Like trying to find her father.”
*
Mindy Kay met them in the yard. “We laid a protection circle. I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to cross it.” She opened the circle, waited for them to move inside, and closed it behind her. “There were groups patrolling the streets. I wanted to keep this place—invisible.”
Claire managed a smile. “Thank you. I hardly think we are in any condition to find another safe haven.”
“I’ll get something for you all to drink.”
She ran ahead, leaving the front door open for them. Light spilled out from the living room, like a beacon. Claire felt her strength draining out with every step. No sleep and the constant stress of staying safe and alive were finally taking their toll.
Annie led her through that door and straight into the second bedroom. “No argument. You are going to lie down.” She pulled off the borrowed coat, sat Claire on the edge of the bed, and removed the borrowed shoes. Before Claire could protest she took Jane’s pendant, slipping it over her head. “You’ll just have nightmares if you sleep with this abomination. And you will sleep, if I have to knock you out for that to happen.”