Heat swelled along my fingertips just as that rattle sounded again, deeper this time, louder.
My magic stuttered. A small flame sprang to life then died as if someone had sucked it away.
My heart lurched with panic as the figure took a step closer and we took another step back.
I could feel my magic swarming like a tempest beneath my flesh but I couldn’t draw it out.
“I can’t summon my power,” Darcy breathed, her voice tinged with fear.
“Me either,” I whispered.
Was this whole thing some trick? Were we about to be surrounded by the Heirs, ready to spring some new horror on us?
The third rattle was so loud that my limbs trembled in response to it. I didn’t know what it was but it felt like it was forming a cage around my power and locking it up tight. The next step I took felt weighted with lead and I sucked in a sharp breath as I realised that the noise was starting to harness my limbs too. If we didn’t get out of there quickly, I was sure we wouldn’t be able to escape at all.
“Run!” I yelled, snatching Darcy’s hand in mine and spinning in the opposite direction.
We broke into a sprint, our stilettos made it difficult but we refused to let them slow us.
Darcy’s grip on my hand was tight as we shot past the row of dumpsters and that rattle sounded again. For a terrifying moment we slowed despite our intentions and the sound of pounding feet closed in behind us.
I released a scream, throwing every inch of my resolve into placing my feet down as fast as I could.
Darcy stumbled and I caught her arm, righting her as I shoved her ahead of me. I whirled towards the nearest dumpster and snatched a large sack of trash from the top of it before launching it back towards whoever the hell was chasing us just as that rattling started again.
The noise cut off with a muffled grunt as I managed to hit my target and power surged in my fingertips.
A rush of air slammed past me as Darcy unleashed her magic. The wind carved around me like it was made of stone and barely even pulled at my hair before crashing into our stalker with the strength of a tornado.
The shadowy figure was thrown back and I staggered to Darcy’s side with my eyes wide as I tried to draw on my own magic to join with hers.
Before I could, the rattling came again and all access to my power was snatched away once more.
The figure stood again, shadows seeming to cling to them as if they were drawn by a magnet. It concealed everything about them apart from the certainty in my gut that there was something horribly wrong with them.
Darcy whimpered as she caught my arm and dragged me back.
We started running again, fear lending strength to our limbs as we raced down darkened alleys, one after another.
I could feel the shadow drawing closer with each step, imagine their breath on the back of my neck.
The rattling began again and I clapped my hands over my ears, not understanding what the hell it was but knowing that it was doing something to me each time I heard it.
Darcy staggered as the force of the rattle hit her but I urged her on and we managed to sprint even faster as adrenaline spiked through my limbs.
A warm light illuminated the end of the alleyway ahead of us and relief spilled through me as I spied the exit.
We leapt forward and ran straight out onto a well lit street before a busy bar. Tables were sat outside it full of students who were laughing and drinking.
I was too afraid to care about the surprised looks they were shooting us and we darted straight across the street to join the safety of the crowd without slowing at all.
As soon as we were surrounded by warm bodies I spun back to face the alley, my eyes wide as I attempted to spot whoever had been chasing us.
Darcy leaned in close beside me, her arm brushing against mine as my galloping heartbeat thundered in my ears.
The alleyway was empty. Just a dark space between two innocent looking buildings. But the fear knotting my insides was real.
A hand landed on my shoulder and I flinched as I looked up to find Max Rigel smiling at us. He was dressed in the kind of flashy shirt which probably cost more than a week’s rent in our old apartment and his mohawk was slicked back stylishly.
“What’s got our two little Vegas so worked up?” he asked kindly and I could feel the call of his power urging us to divulge our fears to him.
I glanced at Darcy, unsure whether or not to tell him. On the one hand, letting him take some of this fear from me didn’t sound like the worst idea in that moment. On the other, I was probably only terrified at all because one of his dumbass friends had been chasing us.
But as that thought crossed my mind, I spotted the other Heirs lounging at a table to our left. They all had drinks underway and showed every sign that they’d been sitting there for a while. Besides, I still hadn’t taken my eyes off of that alley and no one else had emerged from it.
“There was someone chasing us,” Darcy murmured, giving in to the call of the Siren’s power.
“Really?” Max asked with interest, sliding his arms around us so that we were pulled closer to him. I knew what he was after but I definitely felt safer here than I had in that alleyway. And considering the fact that we were currently surrounded by a bunch of douchebags who I knew wished us harm, that was saying a lot.
“They were trying to hurt us,” I muttered, feeling the pull of Max’s magic as he drew some of mine into himself alongside a sliver of my fear. Sirens would probably make a killing as psychiatrists; who wouldn’t like someone to suck the misery out of them every now and then?
“That sounds like a good story to be told over a drink.” Max steered us between the crowd of students towards the other Heirs. I threw a concerned glance at Darcy and her eyes widened in response but before we could voice any objections, we found ourselves at their table.
The other Heirs looked up at us in surprise and I frowned, wondering why the hell I’d let Max drag us over here.
“Look who I just found running from shadows,” Max announced with a wide smile, his hand dropping down my back until it was in danger of skimming my ass.
I shrugged him off before he could manage it.
“We weren’t running from shadows, someone was chasing us,” Darcy said defensively as Seth leaned forward with a wolfish smile.
“You really must be scared if you thought we were a better option,” he said.
“They are. I can taste their fear,” Max said enthusiastically. “And they were just about to tell me all about it.”
Caleb released a breath of laughter as he ran a hand through his tightly curling blonde hair, his eyes darting between my sister and I.
Max dropped into the only free chair at the table and yanked Darcy down into his lap, pulling her against his chest as he leaned close to her ear.
“What was the worst part?” he asked and I could feel his power tugging at me even though he wasn’t touching me anymore. Darcy was snared in his magic and her lips parted to answer his question automatically.
“They kept making this horrible noise,” she replied. “Like a growl or a rattle…”
Darius leaned forward, his brows lifting with interest as he surveyed my sister and me.
“We aren’t staying,” I said sharply, leaning forward to pull Darcy out of Max’s grip so that we could make our second escape of the evening.
“Hold on a moment.” A large hand encircled my wrist before I could pull her to her feet and my blood raised in warning as Darius kept hold of me. I turned to meet his dark eyes and couldn’t help but skim my gaze over his white shirt which was almost too tight over his muscular frame. “What if we call a truce on our issues? For one night only,” he offered.