Free Reawakened (Chronicles of Cas Book 1) by E. M. Moore Page A

abilities, in your training. Trust me. It'll be fine. Just do what's right. Always do what's right."
    With one last pat, he vanished.
    I would've liked a little more concrete advice other than to just believe in myself, but spirits were always cryptic like that. They couldn't knowingly change the course of events. If Grandpa did, he'd never be able to come visit us again.
    I really would have to trust myself with this, and no one else.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Thirteen
     
     
     
    The clinic was bombarded by magical beings overnight. When I walked in, Frankie called out orders amid controlled chaos. His two helpers from last night looked as if they'd been up for twenty-four hours plus with no coffee. When Frankie saw me, he strolled forward, pushing his hands through his graying hair.
    "What the hell's going on?" I asked.
    A woman I didn't recognize dressed like the two helpers ran from one room to another, Frankie watching her as she went. "Have you turned on your TV yet today, guardian?"
    I shook my head.
    "It's got to be the ley line. All hell is breaking loose. Crazy things are happening all over town. They've got the sheriff on TV talking about safety and trying to field questions about weird sightings. It's a mess."
    My heart stopped. The revelation of the magical world to the humans in Salem would be the absolute worst thing that could happen to this town. "My god."
    He put his hands on his hips. "I'm doing everything I can. I've got my feelers out to the fae clan I work with. They're doing everything they can. Everyone who hasn't been affected by the craziness is trying, guardian."
    "We need to do something." Immediately, I thought of Jake. "Where's the shifter I brought in last night?"
    He pointed toward a hallway and I followed it. I peered in the rooms as I walked by. Different types of shifters, the majority of Salem's magical population, filled almost every spare available space. Shifters loved it in Salem because they could be human and magical at the same time. Usually, no one asked questions.
    When I didn't see him during my first pass, I called out his name. He emerged from a room two doors down. "Cas," he said, "Thank god." He pulled me in for a hug. "Frankie wouldn't let me leave but this is crazy. We've got to do something."
    I squeezed him and then pulled away. "I think it's time we called in the Elite. What else are we going to do? We won't be able to keep the calm here with just the two of us. Even if Damen were here, this is way bigger than the Ley Line Guardians can handle."
    "I agree." He scratched the back of his head. "I need to get back to your place. I'll use the portal to go back to headquarters and ask for assistance. Hopefully if I show up face-to-face, I can convince them to spare some men."
    "Isn't that their job?"
    Jake's eyes softened as he stared at me. "They have a lot on their plates right now, Cas. Trust me, this is the way."
    After a few minutes of convincing Frankie that I needed Jake with me, he took his wards down temporarily so he could release him from the clinic. He promised he'd let me know right away when he heard back from the fae clan.
    The road back to my house was a blur until Jake interrupted my jumbled thoughts. "Thank you for saving me yesterday. You're a tremendous fighter."
    I smiled slowly. I'd always sought Jake and Damen's approval and Jake hadn't seen me in years. The sparring session hadn't won me much points, so I was happy to hear him say that. "You think so?"
    "You're the one that took that big Earth thing down."
    "You helped."
    "Yeah. By getting my ribs crushed and a limb through my midsection." I looked him over, noticing his body was like new. I wouldn't have been able to tell that he was just laying in a hospital bed hours ago. "I'm a shifter. We heal fast."
    I sighed. "Yeah, well, it was my fault the big Earth guy even existed. I should've just left the amber stone where it was like you said."
    "You didn't know."
    "Damen