Give it to me and let this end. Give it to me and let this end. Give it to me and let this end.

  The words curled malevolently around my soul, clawing and scraping.

  Give what to it?

  The figure held out its hand, and I stared wordlessly. Terrified into silence, I stood frozen, muscles locked. If I didn’t move, I’d die. I felt certain. But still, I was unable to run.

  The stone clutched in my hand began to vibrate. While the room and my body felt hot, the gem was cold as ice against my palm. The room shook, and books fell off shelves, and I finally managed to move one foot. But as slowly as I was moving, the figure approaching would be on me way before I could reach the door.

  Then what? What would that thing do to me?

  When the door to the room suddenly flew open, I managed to cock my head just enough to see who stood there. Shock slammed through me as I recognized the slight blond guy standing there.

  “Julian?” I whispered in bewilderment.

  Without saying a word, he lunged forward, grabbed my arm, and dragged me from the room.

  Chapter Twelve

  The dragging didn’t stop once we were out of the room either. Stunned into silence, I allowed Julian to tug me through the silent library. None of the other people in the library seemed aware a demonic creature was wreaking havoc in the Lobster Den. In fact, the building was as silent as a church.

  I was still unable to find words while grappling with whether I’d just had a nightmare, or if the receptionist at Lacquered Labyrinth Nail Salon had actually just saved me from being burned to death in the library.

  As we stumbled past the front desk and out of the building, Mrs. Zoelle called out a cheery, “Have a great day!”

  Once outside, I finally found my voice. “Julian,” I grated, pulling my arm from his grip. “We need to get everybody out of that building.”

  He skidded to a stop and grabbed at my arm again. “No. It’s okay.”

  I bugged my eyes, eluding his hands. “It’s okay? No, it’s definitely not okay.” I sounded borderline hysterical. I felt borderline hysterical. “That thing—it—we have to warn them.”

  He exhaled, looking at me as if I was a clueless child. “He won’t hurt them. Not yet. He’s after you.”

  “What?” I blinked at him, feeling dizzy. We stood on the sidewalk about ten feet from the entrance to the library.

  “It’s you he wants.”

  “Who? Who or what was that?”

  He gritted his teeth but didn’t speak.

  Dazed, I stared at him. My clothes and hair smelled singed, and the bottom of my shoes sticky as if they’d partially melted.

  “I . . . I don’t understand what’s going on,” I mumbled. “I don’t understand what I just saw.”

  He winced. “I know. I . . . I get it. But we have to get away from here for now. Please, just listen to me, Lorenzo. We need to get you to the safe space.”

  After seeing what I’d just seen, I wasn’t sure such a place existed.

  His expression was pleading. “Just trust me on this. I’m here to help you.”

  “I barely know you,” I said softly, uneasiness eating at me. “Why on earth would I trust you?”

  “Because I came for you just now.” He gave me an encouraging smile. “If I just wanted to hurt you, would I risk my own life?”

  “This can’t be real,” I muttered. “It just can’t be.”

  “It’s very real, I assure you. I’m trying to save you, Lorenzo. Please, put your trust in me just this once. We need to get out of here.”

  “How did you even know what was happening?” I asked.

  “That’s not important right now.”

  I stared at him wordlessly. I had so many questions, I didn’t know where to begin.

  Giving the library a wary glance, he said, “There’s no time to talk. I promise I’ll explain later. But for now, we need to go. Quickly.”

  I didn’t really trust him, but on the edge of my hearing that humming sound was beginning to build again.

  Was I just imagining the sound because I was so confused and scared?

  I wanted to pretend nothing had really happened, but the scent of burnt hair emanating from my body told me otherwise. The memory of the terrifying heat and physical paralysis sent fear spiraling through me once more. What would have happened to me if Julian hadn’t come in the room and dragged me out?

  “Please, Lorenzo.” His gaze glittered with uneasiness. He stiffened when the door to the library creaked open and a couple walked out of the library, but then he turned his full focus on me again. “Time is of the essence.”

  “Okay,” I rasped. “I’ll go with you for now.”

  Relief painted his young face. “Thank goodness. Come on.” He grabbed my arm and yanked me after him. We ended up in a sporty red Mini Cooper. Still dazed, I dug my nails into the vinyl armrest as Julian tore out of the parking lot. The taut suspension made for a jittery ride, and it was cramped inside the small vehicle. But the car was quick, and a sense of relief descended as the library shrank into the distance in the side mirror.

  Out of the corner of my eye I studied Julian. He’d always had a penchant for wearing leather, but today he seemed to have taken that to a new level. His pants were black leather, the legs tucked into clunky brown suede boots. He also wore a fitted black leather vest, and around his slender throat there was a brown choker. The choker had green jewels set into the dark leather, and on his hip there appeared to be a small silver dagger.

  If I hadn’t been so freaked out, perhaps I’d have made a joke about him attending Comic Con. But I wasn’t really in a joking mood. Once my breathing had calmed enough to speak, I asked, “Can you please explain what’s going on? I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

  “You’re not, but I understand why you feel that way.”

  I clutched the arm rest as he took a corner a little too fast. “Careful, Julian. There’s no point in saving me from . . . whatever that was if you’re going to kill me in a car crash.”

  He laughed sheepishly and took his foot off the gas pedal. “Sorry. I’m just so excited to have you with me.”

  I frowned at his choice of words but decided to let it pass. “What was that thing?” As I spoke, I slipped the green stone into my hoodie pocket once more.

  Instinctively, I felt I should hide it. From who or what, I wasn’t sure. I simply had an overpowering need to keep it hidden. “That figure seemed to materialize right in front of my eyes.” The scenery of beach cottages and shops zipped by as Julian sped out of town, heading north.

  A muscle jerked in Julian’s cheek, and he seemed to choose his words carefully. “It’s difficult to explain this stuff to you without sounding crazy.”

  “You have to try. I need to understand what just happened back there.” I rubbed my hands down my arm, feeling the rough singed hair. As much as I didn’t want any of it to be real, my body showed physical signs that something had indeed happened. “That figure, it wasn’t human was it?”

  “Do I even really need to answer that?”

  I exhaled, grimacing. “Yeah. I feel like you do. I need to hear it out loud.”

  He cleared his throat. “Then no, that wasn’t a human.”

  A chill shivered through me. “What was it? A spirit? A demon? Why is it after me?”

  “It’s a long story. Perhaps I could explain better when I’m not driving.” He gripped the wheel tighter, giving the rearview mirror an uneasy glance. “I’m a bit distracted.”

  “Where are you taking me?” I peeked nervously behind us. We seemed to be heading out of town. I still wasn’t convinced I could trust Julian. Had I been foolish to just get in his car? Why had he locked the doors? To keep something out, or to keep me in?

  “There’s a place prepared. We always knew this day would come, and we’ve done what we could to create a place you can’t be tracked.”

  “Tracked?” I asked in a startled voice. “By whom? And who’s we?”

  He gritted his teeth. “There’s so much to explain. You’ll be very confused, but that’s inevitable.”

  “How did you know where I was? I didn’t tell anyone I was heading to the library. It was a spur of the moment decision.”

  “Yes.”

  “Still, you found me.”

  “I did indeed.”

  I shook my head, feeling frustrated at his unhelpful responses. “I thought you were a receptionist at a nail salon?”

  “I am. But that’s not all I am.” He gripped the wheel tighter. “I only worked at that nail salon to be close to you, Lorenzo.”

  Uneasiness returned. I tried probing his mind, if only to see if there was any negative energy there. I couldn’t get anything off of him. His mind was like a fortress.

  Why had I trusted him and jumped in his car? Was Julian a stalker? A psycho? Had I been set up? But what about what I’d witnessed? Julian couldn’t have set something that elaborate up, right?

  “You don’t have to fear me,” he said softly.

  Isn’t that exactly what a psycho would say?

  “I’m not afraid of you,” I lied.

  He shook his head but said nothing.

  I shivered and turned to stare out the window. For some reason my thoughts went to Ian. I had the strongest desire to have him with me. I closed my eyes, remembering how safe and calm he’d made me feel at times. My heart squeezed at the memory of his kisses, and the way he’d tried to watch out for me. Then the memory of his hurt expression as he left last night washed through me.

  He was probably the last person in the world who’d want to help me right now.

  I opened my eyes again and watched the foamy waves crash on the beach below. The businesses and charming seaside homes had given way to the dense canopy of coast live oak trees and intermittent stretches of empty sandy marshes. My uneasiness intensified the further we got from Fox Harbor. Why was Julian taking me out of town? Wouldn’t I be safer around more people, not fewer? For all I knew Julian was the culprit chopping people’s heads off. I studied him out of the corner of my eye, but his expression gave nothing away.

  If he was a madman, he was a very calm madman.

  After about a ten-minute drive, he slowed and pulled into a narrow dirt road. We bumped down the potholed road, the jarring so extreme my teeth rattled. I worried the little car would get stuck in one of the deep ruts, but it somehow made it through. Eventually we reached an open area where there was a cabin.

  At first sight the cabin was unremarkable. Dark brown and weathered with patches of florescent green moss and lichen on the roof. Dense, towering redwoods surrounded the small structure, their ancient branches providing a protective canopy. It was when we left the car and made our way onto the porch that details began to stand out.

  The rugged exterior was covered with intricately carved protective symbols and sigils. There were ancient rune symbols, featuring arrows pointing upward with two diagonal lines extending from the stem. It was an ancient runic symbol associated with protection, believed to act as a shield against harm and malevolent entities. There were also markings of The Eye of Horus, an ancient Egyptian symbol often depicted as an eye with a teardrop-like marking below it and a curved tail above it. The list went on with pentagrams, The Hamsa Hand, and the Ouroboros, a circular symbol depicting a serpent or dragon devouring its tail.

  There were lines of salt across thresholds and windowsills, and small mirrors were placed strategically to reflect negative energies away from the cabin. The handle on the front door was made from silver, a metal thought to repel evil entities. Dreamcatchers hung in narrow arched windows. The glass didn’t seem typical though. It had a subtle green tint reminiscent of sea glass.

  I stood in awe mingled with trepidation as I took in all the little details. It was obvious great care had been taken to ward every inch of the structure. In fact, the attention to detail was almost obsessive. Julian had referred to this structure as a safe house, but a safe house could just as easily be a prison depending on who you were with. I glanced at Julian, and he was watching me, a little smile hovering on his lips.

  “Did you do this?” I asked in a hushed voice.

  “Me and the others, yes.”

  “The others?” I frowned.

  He smiled and reached for the handle. “The others are the ‘we’ you asked about earlier.” He stepped into the cabin first, the door creaking as he pushed it open. “The Guardians.”

  The Guardians?

  “After you,” Julian said, gesturing for me to enter the cabin.

  I stiffened and shook my head. “I’m not going inside until you give me some answers.”

  He wrinkled his brow. “Why?”

  “Why?” I asked incredulously. “Because you’re acting weird, Julian. How did you just show up like that? How could you possibly have known I was in danger?” I waved my hands toward the cabin. “This place. It’s insane. How can I be sure you’re not just a stalker? This entire thing is nuts.”

  He sighed. “Lorenzo, you’ve known me for years. Do you really think I’d hurt you?”

  Guilt nudged me because he looked wounded. “Not exactly, but I need some information before I can blindly trust you, Julian. To be fair, I don’t know you well.”

  “I swear I’ll give you all the answers you want. But it’s not safe talking outside like this.” He gave a wary glance toward the road we’d come in on. “I swear on my life I’d never harm one hair on your head, Lorenzo. Your well-being is all I care about.”

  While I was still flustered about everything, it was true Julian wasn’t a stranger. He’d always been way too flirtatious, but he’d never once made me feel as if he was a danger to me.

  “Please, Lorenzo,” he pleaded. “I’m begging you to trust me. I promise I’ll share all I know with you once we’re inside and the others have joined us.”

  “How do I know I can trust whoever else is coming?” I rasped.

  “Because our purpose is to protect you.”

  “From what? That thing in the library?”

  He nodded, his jaw tight. “Please go inside, Lorenzo. Every second you’re out in the open is endangering you.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “This better not be a trick.”

  “It’s not.” He pulled the dagger from his hip and held it out to me. “Take this. I have no other weapons on me. If I do anything threatening to you, you can protect yourself with this knife.”

  I took the knife, somewhat calmed by the hefty weight of the weapon in my hand. Was I overreacting? Julian had rescued me from the library at great risk to himself. Perhaps I was being too suspicious of him? Too paranoid? I did know him, after all, and he’d given me his knife.

  “I’m worthy of your trust, Lorenzo,” he said quietly.

  “I hope so.” After a few moments of hesitation, I went ahead and stepped over the threshold and entered the cabin.

  “Thank God,” Julian muttered under his breath as he followed me inside.

  Once inside the cabin, I inhaled the pungent scent of sage and rosemary. The inside of the structure was more modern. There were two beige couches, a glass coffee table, and a stereo system in a small mahogany armoire. To the right was a small kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Past that was a narrow hallway with rooms leading off of it.

  “There are three bedrooms,” Julian said, closing the door. “It’s bigger than it looks from the outside.”

  “Do you expect me to stay here?”

  He frowned, fingering the piercing in his lip. “Well, I brought you here to hide you from him. We need to keep you safe. Now that he knows you have it, he won’t stop.”

  “He, who?” I grimaced. “What is it I have?”

  He had a pained expression as he glanced toward the door. “I was really hoping they’d be here by now. I don’t like being the only one who explains things.”

  “You hoped who would be here?” Alarm rippled through me.

  “The other Guardians.”

  “Oh, right.” I held his gaze, feeling uneasy.

  He slumped. “Look, I know this is all very overwhelming. I swear, I do. But my hand was forced and I had to act.”

  “You mean because of what happened at the library?” Had that really even happened? How was it possible any of this was real?

  “Yes, I had to move faster than planned to get you here. It had been my hope to explain things to you so that you wouldn’t be quite so freaked out by this situation. I suppose that was never really a possibility because the predicament we find ourselves in truly is insane.”

  “Definitely,” I murmured. I opened my mouth to ask him another question when the sound of a car engine outside caught my attention.

  There was the sound of boots on gravel, and then hurried steps clomping up the porch. Alarmed at the sudden arrival of someone, I spun around to face the door, clutching the dagger. The door opened and a slender blonde girl stood there, eyes bugged. When she saw me she let out a shaky breath and exclaimed, “Oh, thank goodness. You’re not dead.”

  “Huh?” I narrowed my eyes.

  Behind me Julian gave a nervous laugh. “Not the best way to introduce yourself, Irene.”

  The girl winced and shut the door firmly behind her. She wore dark sweats and boots, a baggy pink hoodie, and her long lank hair tumbled around her narrow shoulders. “Sorry I’m late. I heard about what happened at the library from Thomas, and I rushed right over. You made good time, Julian. Good job.”

  “Thanks.” Julian moved closer to me. “We need to explain some things to Lorenzo. He’s definitely confused and freaked out right now.”

  Irene sighed, her gaze empathetic. “Of course he is.”

  “Where shall we begin do you think?” Julian asked.

  Irene sighed. “Not sure. No matter what we tell him, he’ll be shocked.”

  While I was dying to hear some answers, I wished they’d stop talking about me like I wasn’t in the room. “Why don’t we start with what that was in the library?” I asked quietly. “Maybe then explain why it was interested in me, and how you knew where I was.”