Page 68 of The Demon's Spell

“That’s great. You’ve been working on it for weeks,” Lucas said.

The waiter arrived with our drink order, along with a basket of bread.

I sipped my raspberry lemonade. “Rose is doing better this week. The doctors have her on new meds, and I think they’re really helping.”

“How was dialysis?” he asked.

I shrugged. “Same as always. I’m still doing my intuition work during my sessions. I’m getting better at it. How about you?”

He broke apart a piece of bread. “I ordered the parts for my car. We should be able to start working on her soon.”

“I can’t wait. You’ll be surprised how she runs once we fix her up.”

“Speaking of surprises…” Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box wrapped in shimmering black paper. He slid it across the table toward me.

I furrowed my brow as I lifted it. It barely weighed a thing. “You didn’t have to get me a present. This isn’t a special occasion.”

Hold on. Could it be a ring… already? Had Grant been in on it by offering the tickets to throw me off? A thrilling shiver traveled up and down my body when I thought of Lucas proposing.

Lucas shrugged. “I wanted you to have this back.”

I didn’t know what he meant, until I unwrapped the box and found my grandmother’s key tucked inside. It was an old antique she’d received from my grandfather, rumored to be enchanted with a protection spell. It hung off a chain, so you could wear it like a necklace.

I was a little disappointed it wasn’t a ring, but I was happy to see he’d kept this.

“Lucas, no.” I handed the box back to him, but he wouldn’t take it. “I gave it to you. It’s yours.”

“But your grandma gave it to you,” he argued. “Don’t you think she’d still want you to have it?”

“It’s not hers anymore. It was mine, and I gave it to you,” I said. “It was a gift.”

“When we broke up, I should’ve given it back.”

“It’s yours,” I insisted.

“Then I’m giving it to you.”

“You already gave me a key, remember?” I reminded him. “The one you found in the abandoned mansion.”

“Then you can have two,” he offered with a smile.

I sighed. Neither of us was going to cave. He wanted me to have this because it was a family heirloom, and I wanted him to have it so that it’d protect him—in whatever limited capacity it could.

I glanced toward the windows. We must’ve been outside of town now, because I saw no lights, just the blur of trees passing by.

“How about we share?” I suggested. “Whoever needs it most at the time will wear it.”

Lucas smiled and reached for the key. “That sounds perfect. Tonight, it’s yours.”

He unclasped the chain and leaned across the table to secure it around my neck. “It looks great on you—”

Lucas cut off as the entire limo jerked, like the driver had slammed on the brakes. Everything happened all at once. Piano notes clashed together the same time a collective scream filled the air. My heart lurched as I went flying out of my chair, and Lucas and I landed on the ground next to each other. Tires squealed, and a loud thud sounded from overhead. I barely caught a glimpse of something moving above us through the moonroof, but it was gone a moment later.

I didn’t have a moment to process it, because The Hearse continued spinning, like the driver had yanked on the wheel. We went over a bump, and people screamed as they were tossed upward.

Lucas threw himself on top of me, and I felt a warm sensation cradle me to his chest. It was more than just his arms around me. Something magical wrapped around my entire form, cocooning me close to him.

One second we were on the ground, and the next we were flying upward, toward the ceiling. I screamed as we went tumbling around and around. Glass shattered, and screams seemed to fade away into the night.