“Now, trapping him will be trickier,” she continued. “Once you’ve found his soul or ghost, you’ll need to overpower his will to draw him into the stone. Once you do that, he’s trapped.”
“Overpower his will? How exactly do I do that?” I asked, dread sinking into my chest.
“Your magic?” She looked at me like I was an idiot and then turned her attention to Jaxson. “I’m sure the two of you could work together and pool your magic. That should be enough to beat the bastard into submission.”
Fear wrapped around my pounding heart. This was the weapon we’d been searching for, but now that we had it, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Dragan had possessed me and nearly taken over. Would I be strong enough to defeat him?
Jaxson pressed his palm to my back, and a cool wave of calm radiated from his touch. “We’ll get him. You and me.”
Together.I wasn’t in this alone anymore. Jaxson had my back, and so did the pack. “Let’s get this asshole.”
“All right, I’ve got to go. Sorry I can’t show you out.” Devi packed up her supplies and handed me the box that had held Dragan’s bones.
“And what about the finger?” I asked.
Devi paused at the doorway. “It’s in the onyx. I guess I should have mentioned that before. Hope you didn’t need it.” Her phone began vibrating. “Crud. That’s my boss. Gotta run. Good luck!” She shuffled out of the break room and disappeared.
I gazed down at the black talisman in my hand. It was still warm to the touch and so smoothly polished that I could see my tiny reflection in it. Closing my eyes, I concentrated on Dragan, recalling the face I’d seen in the cave in Forks, the chilling feel of his soul when he’d possessed me, the sound of his voice…
My mind drifted for a minute, and then, like a missile radar locking on to its target, it fixated on something. And though my body was firmly rooted in the break room, my mind was towed somewhere else.
An image began to unfold, and the all-too-familiar sensation of Dragan chilled my skin. Gray concrete walls rose around me, and the smell of bleach and sweat tugged at my memory. This place was familiar, I’d been here before…
A large tower appeared in the center of the vast, circular space as the vision in my mind expanded. But its base didn’t reach the ground—it was suspended. The faint sound of voices filtered in, chaotic and hysterical, and in between it all, a rhythmic chanting. Skin prickling with fear, I moved through the vision as it unfolded. Where are you, Dragan?
A gasp seized my lungs as all around me, figures materialized. Faces I’d seen before, others I hadn’t, and among them, a bald, monstrously muscled man who towered over the other prisoners. He was shirtless, and his blue veins shone through his pale skin.
Though I had no recollection of this man, I knew who he was, or at least who was in the driver’s seat. Victor Dragan.
As I stepped closer, he paused and seemed to look right at me with glassy, pale gray eyes. The others followed, and it was then that I realized that their eyes were distant white orbs like those of the bikers at the rally.
Where was this place?
Heart racing, I looked around. Lining the walls of the circular chamber were hundreds of prison cells, their barred doors all facing the central tower. The tower I was standing below.
Shit.
My eyes flew open, and I found myself in the break room once more. Jaxson towered over me, his hands on my shoulders and worry on his face. His shoulders relaxed when he realized I was back. “You screamed. What happened?”
I had?
“Dragan,” I panted, somehow out of breath. “He’s got a new host, and he’s in Bentham.”