Bound: A Supernatural Story ✔️

FOUR

It was later afternoon when she realized. 

"Oh, shit."

Holly searched and searched her purse as she stepped back into her apartment. She couldn't find it.

She couldn't find the good luck charm her mother had given her years ago. 

Leaning against the wall, Holly closed her eyes and pushed hard into the depths of her abilities. She knew the feeling of that charm, the smooth metal, the way the emerald charm glowed in the light. She couldn't feel it anywhere in the building. It wasn't here.

Her head throbbed. She wasn't used to straining herself this much to find something.

Holly pushed back open the door, pausing for a moment. The street was emptying of people, as it was starting to darken outside. She had spent the day holed up in a cafe, happy to be amongst people. Her thoughts had been so focused on staying un-noticed that she hadn't even perceived her lucky charm was gone. Now, it seemed, she needed that small iron pentacle more than anything.

It must have dropped out of her purse at the bar last night.

Holly racked her brain. It was the only logical place — and she knew it was far from her. She felt the distance in her thoughts, which made her head ache even more.

Should she risk going back to the bar, just when it was growing dark? A bad feeling crept up Holly's skin, but she couldn't tell whether it was from the thought of running into the Hunters, or if she was feeling vulnerable now without her charm.

She decided to risk it. The parking lot was empty, and she clicked open her Mini-Coop's locks with her mind, agitated. If the charm wasn't back at the bar, she would have to scour the streets. That was going to be annoying after dark, not to mention dangerous. 

Her anxiety grew as she pulled out of the parking lot. Something was wrong. She didn't know what, but as she drove, she felt a pull swaying her back to the bar. The closer she got, the more she knew she had to be there. Holly shivered. 

This isn't a good idea.

Even so, she found herself pulling into the driveway five minutes later, tires crunching on the gravel. From inside, there were lights flickering out through the windows. The neon sign RANDY'S buzzed noisily atop a pole. The building was made of logs, to give it more of a cabin-friendly vibe. Holly usually felt warmth and comfort entering this place, but now she just felt fear.

What was waiting for her inside?

She let out her breath, hands still gripping the steering wheel as she sat parked in the darkness. Her eyes scanned the parking lot, looking for the Impala from the night before.

There.

Her gaze landed on the black car parked far across the lot, under a swathe of tree branches. Hidden, but not hidden enough. Holly narrowed her eyes. What were they playing at?

She knew she shouldn't go inside, but there was something tugging inside of her, begging to go in. Her thoughts were solely on the charm.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck." The words came out in a sigh as she pushed open the door. She wished she knew how to do an invisibility spell, but she wasn't that advanced of a witch. She was an amateur compared to what elders could do, and yet she carried the burden of a special ability.

In and out. She would slip in quickly, grab the charm if it was there, and get the hell out. If anything, she could count on Randy to semi-protect her if the Hunters made a move.

He was only human, though. He didn't know what was out there in the dark, like they did.

Holly clenched her jaw as she made her way to the front entrance of the bar. The noise of men talking loudly seeped through the wood. It comforted her, just a bit, to know that their sense of normality wasn't hindered. Things were still right in the world. For now.

Opening the door, she immediately was hit with their scent. The Hunters were here, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Their auras to her were like dark swirling masses, filled with mystery and danger. Holly tried to keep her gaze straight ahead, walking towards the bar. She didn't want to draw attention to herself.

"Hey, Randy," she almost choked on her words as she leaned on the counter. She ignored the blatant stares of the half-drunk men sitting around her. "I have a question for you."

"Oh, hey, Holls. What can I do ya for?" Randy was setting up glasses around the bar.

Holly felt her heart still beating fast. "I might have left something here last night. A charm on a necklace. Looks like a star? It has a little emerald in the centre of it." She knew she was babbling, and she tried to keep her voice from shaking. They were there, to her right, at a back table. She swallowed down panic.

They probably can smell fear.

She was an animal trapped in a cage.

"Hmmm." Randy scratched his balding head, furrowing his brow. "I don't remember seeing anything, but now that you mention it, I think those gentlemen over there were examining something they found right around where you were sitting last night." Randy pointed his finger past Holly's side vision, but she didn't need to turn around to know who he was talking about.

They had it.

Holly didn't know she could experience fear like this. It ran through her veins like fire. That's why she felt the sense of urgency all the way back at her apartment; it was because her charm was in the hands of strangers. Enemies, even.

She tried weakly to smile. "Thanks, Randy. I'll go ask them."

He nodded. "Just let me know if they give you any trouble."

Holly slowly turned around, breathing slowly. Every instinct was telling her to run; get out of that door fast so they couldn't catch her.

She had walked right into their trap.