15

AN: I would love to respond to feedback, but some of you have disabled private messages. And Victoria, thanks for all your lovely reviews. I have tried to respond, but it doesn't seem like you are getting my messages. Or at least, you don't answer so I figure you aren't seeing them. This story is being written in Google Docs on my Android tablet. It's so cool.

Adam's truck was parked out front, but the Boathouse was dark. It was way too early for closing, so something else was going on. Something nudged me to dial 911, and when I looked through the door, I was so horrified that I couldn't breathe.

Diana and Melissa arrived hard on my heels, and we rushed in together. There was too much blood, so much smeared on the walls and floor that I felt faint. But that was hardly the worst part...we rushed over to where Ethan was hanging upside down, blood dripping from every part of him. Then I saw the gash in his throat and knew he didn't have long. "Hurry," I told the others, and they helped me cut him down. His eyes opened and he mouthed my name.

We laid our hands on his throat and I summoned healing energy, binding it to Melissa and Diana's power as we attempted to close the wound. It burned and I gasped at the heat coming back at me, singing my eyelashes and brows. It seemed to take the ambulance forever to arrive, but they went to work quickly and buttoned up the scene. "This is a crime scene," one of the detectives said, and I nodded like I got it, even as I was wondering how to make this all go away.

"Where's Adam?" Diana asked, anxiety radiating from her every pore. She'd searched the quarters out back and he wasn't anywhere.

I knew she wouldn't like my answer. "She has him."

"How can you be so sure?" Melissa asked. "Maybe the witch hunters did this."

"And maybe Poppy is working with them," I said, knowing I was right.

We all knew why. "But why target the Conants specifically?"

This all came down to Ethan's actions the night of the fire. Out of the blue, sudden knowledge flooded into me and I swayed. "Because Ethan sided with the witch hunters. They wanted out, not realizing Eben planned on killing everyone on the boat."

Diana was wringing her hands. "How can you know this?"

I shrugged. "I just do, OK?"

"This will kill Adam when he finds out," Melissa said.

She didn't know the half of it, because I suspected my mother was equally guilty. "We better find him."

Where did we even start? "You guys go. I want to look around before the cops kick me out."

I whirled around slowly as they ran out, and picked up on a distant heartbeat. It was ragged, but there was definitely someone here besides crime scene techs gathering evidence. It came from outside, and I moved onto the terrace. The wind lifted my hair and whipped it across my face. For a moment, I lost my concentration, so I pulled out my family crystal and my senses sharpened painfully. It tugged me down the dock to the fishing boat, and that's where I found Adam laid out. His eyes were open and filled with terror, and his lips were opened in a silent scream, but nothing emerged. His clothes were drenched and caked with salt, and multiple lacerations criss crossed every inch of exposed skin. But even when I crouched over him, Adam didn't move. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to pull him upright, but I didn't have the strength. It was like he was nailed to the boat.

Oh my God, she paralyzed him.

Like the viper she was, Poppy had immobilized Adam, slit him with a knife, and dunked him repeatedly in the ocean. He'd been completely helpless through all this, without the help of his bound Circle. Had he been free, he could have defended himself, which was another point in favor of unbinding the Circle.

I had to call someone with the power to help him, and that meant my Dad. I dialed his number with shaky fingers, "I need your help. Adam's been attacked."

Once I gave him the location, he said he'd be right down and hung up on me. I moved back to Adam and took his hand in mine. "My Dad's coming to help."

Seeing the question in his eyes, I added, "Your Dad is still alive. They got here in time."

There was more going on here, but nobody would have answers until we freed Adam from his thrall. My Dad came and seemed to immediately know how to help Adam. He took my hand and started chanting in Latin. The energy he raised made my hair stand on end, and then there was an audible snap as he broke the spell.

Adam gasped for air and launched himself at me. "Oh, God, she made me do it."

"Do what?" I asked softly as I cradled his head in my arms.

"Slit his throat."

His hold tightened on me and I suddenly knew what all the ohsorry's meant. "It's not your fault, Adam."

"Oh, but it is. I'm the one who let her in."

I touched his face and brushed away his tears. "It couldn't be helped."

We both knew Poppy was stronger than him, and it would take the whole Circle to stop her. "Couldn't it? If I hadn't been such an arrogant..."

I stilled his words with my hand on his lips. Forgetting how soft they were, I focused on Ethan's plight. "You have to be strong now. That's what your Dad would want."

Adam nodded and held my hand for a moment. "Thank you."

No more needed to be said. I took back my hand and said, "We'll give you a lift to the hospital, and I'll call the others."