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disappeared. Suddenly I was trapped in her energy.
    Strong-willed and stubborn, Felicia held her emotions close. They were thick and weighted down. Not what I’d expect from a supernatural being. Unless they were inherently evil, their emotional signatures—like mine—were light and easy to navigate. Hers pushed, prodded, and wrapped around my limbs like heavy tentacles. Desperation began to seep into my pores.
    “Jade?” Pyper called.
    I blinked, and the tainted energy dissipated. “Yeah?”
    “Are you listening?” Pyper waved a hand in front of my face. “I know you said you didn’t want to get involved, but we’re just asking for a reading to understand what’s going on.”
    I studied Felicia again. What had happened to the soul trapped in that portrait? Despite my reservations of dealing with another spirit, I nodded. “Okay.”
    “You don’t have to do anything else. Ian’s already got readings with Lailah. He just asked if we could jot down what you sense from them.”
    I barely heard Pyper’s reply. Felicia’s energy force had found me again, and I’d started moving toward the portrait. It was like a personalized, mystical gravitation pull. Like I wouldn’t be able to break away even if I wanted to.
    When I reached Pyper’s side, I held my hands out. She set one of the portraits down and passed Felicia to me. As soon as my hands clasped the frame, my world turned black.
    No, not black. A crescent moon peeked out from behind the clouds. A few stars twinkled in the midnight sky. I spun, taking in the wide clearing among familiar pine trees.
    My heart dropped to my stomach. I took a deep breath and choked on the overwhelming pine scent. I knew this place. I hadn’t been there for over ten years. Not since before my mother had disappeared.
    “Why here?” I asked.
    Felicia floated over the dirt-packed earth and stopped in front of me. Her perfect, non-deformed face radiated light and beauty. She studied me then began to move in a circle. On her third pass, she paused. “To remind you of what you lost.”
    The panic I’d been fighting vanished. My voice turned cold and flat. “I don’t need a reminder.”
    Felicia floated higher and loomed over me. “Then why do you do nothing?” she asked in an icy tone.
    “Nothing?” I cried. “What am I supposed to do? A whole coven of witches couldn’t bring her back! The very ones who lost her to the other side. If they can’t do anything, what makes you think I can?”
    “You ignore your power. Every day you deny your gift is one more day Hope is a slave to the otherworld.”
    My throat closed. “Hell?” I choked out. “You’re saying my mother is trapped in Hell?”
    She nodded.
    I crossed my arms and glared up at her. “No. That’s not possible.”
    Felicia floated back down to my level and moved in close. Her eyes never left mine, but her suffocating energy wrapped around me. “Isn’t it?”
    I struggled to break her hold, but with each movement, her tentacles only wrapped tighter. I stilled, searching for calm. Some energy feeds off of fear. I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “My mother disappeared during an earth spell. Agents of Hell cannot tolerate that kind of magic. She’d sooner be trapped in a tree than living in the underworld.”
    Trapped in a tree. My insides recoiled at the thought. She could certainly be trapped in one of the very trees right here outside the circle. No. The coven would have found her.
    I consciously relaxed each muscle one at a time. Slowly her hold started to ease. She redoubled her efforts, but the more relaxed I became, the harder she struggled. Eventually her perfect face started to deteriorate as the left side peeled off in chunks.
    Gross. She must have been using her energy to form an illusion.
    I cocked my head to one side. “You should release me now, or you’ll lose what’s left of your appearance. You’ll eventually run out of steam anyway.”
    Felicia spun, hiding her face. After a