Nightmares (The Coven, Book 1)

by Erica Stevens

  Avery’s heart lurched, but this time it wasn’t with inexplicable dread as she beamed at him. “I’m falling for you too, Reid Davis.”

  He was gorgeous no matter what, but when he smiled, it lit up his entire face and radiated from his eyes. His arms swept around her waist, and he lifted her off the ground to hug her close. Avery buried her face in the warmth of his neck as her fingers dug in to the lean muscles of his back.

  “Did you find them?” Lila called from the other room.

  Avery lifted her head from his shoulder to reply. “Yes!”

  Reid reluctantly set her down and stepped away, but his hand lingered on her hip. Avery fixed her T-shirt, which had bunched up when he lifted her. Taking her hand, Reid led her back into the living room where they discovered the coffee table cleared of the drinks and snacks and pushed against the couch so Lila could participate.

  Reid placed the candles in the center of the table, and Avery struck a match before bending to light them. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop herself from glancing at the shadows on the far side of the room as she placed the match to each wick.

  When the candles were lit, Avery blew out the match, and Reid switched off the lights. For the first time in her life, Avery found herself afraid of the dark as sweat beaded her forehead and a trickle slid down her nape. She almost shouted at him to turn the lights back on, but Lila was tapping the table.

  “Sit,” Lila said.

  Avery couldn’t refuse her. Lila had been through so much, and all of it was real; she was turning into an emotional basket case for no reason at all.

  “Does anyone know how to do this?” Karen asked.

  “I’ve been to a séance before,” Landon said as she knelt across from Avery at the table. The candlelight cast shadows across her beautiful face and reflected in her blue-green eyes. “Everyone join hands. No matter what happens, keep holding hands or the circle will break.”

  “What happens then?” Tina whispered.

  “If we contact a spirit and we break the circle, then that spirit will be able to escape their realm.”

  Tina and Karen giggled, but Avery knew Landon was telling the truth. That trickle of sweat was turning into a river as Avery’s shirt stuck to her back. She resisted the impulse to look behind her when she clasped Lila and Reid’s hands. She hoped her palms weren’t as sweaty as she thought they were.

  “Who do we concentrate on contacting?” Lila asked.

  “How about Elvis?” Rosie suggested. “Let’s see if he really is dead. Plus, that hip shaking thing was hot.”

  “How old are you?” Alex asked.

  Rosie chuckled. “My grandma was a big fan, and I’ve always liked a guy with moves.”

  “We’ll just concentrate on trying to speak with any spirit,” Landon said.

  “Should we be doing this?” Avery couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “It will be fun!” Lila said.

  Avery didn’t have the heart to refuse her.

  “Everyone close your eyes and concentrate on reaching out to a spirit from one of the other realms,” Landon said.

  With a sigh of resignation, Avery closed her eyes. After a few minutes, the warmth of Reid and Lila’s hands and the flickering candlelight dancing against her eyelids lulled her. She’d intended to keep her mind closed off, but she found herself opening to the swell of power in Reid’s fingertips.

  She instinctively sought that power out and connected to it in a way she hadn’t since the night of her initiation. It flowed through her, and as it did so, she realized she also felt Rosie, Alex, and Landon. Though it had healed, the place where she cut her palm with the athame throbbed from the swell of their power.

  She tried to inhale a deep breath, but the air felt as thick as glue when it slid past her lips. The hair on her body rose, and a chill cooled her sweat. With complete certainty, she knew they weren’t alone in the room. Something evil, deadly, and completely wrong had joined them.

  Her eyes flew open; she almost ripped her hands free, but Lila and Reid held onto her. The sputtering candles nearly went out before bursting into torches that licked the ceiling while the flames roared. Avery recoiled from the searing heat as everyone’s eyes flew open.

  “I don’t like this,” Rosie whispered.

  Avery completely agreed, but she had no idea how to stop it. Karen tumbled back when a flame lashed out at her, nearly catching her in the face. Keeping a firm grip on her hands, Alex and Rosie pulled her back to the table.

  “How do we stop it?” Avery demanded.

  “We can’t,” Landon said, her face abnormally pale. “It’s too late for that.”

  A gray mist began to waft up from the center of the candles to float insidiously in the air. Slowly, the mist took on the form of a man with pitch-black hair that lay in tangles across his broad shoulders. His clothes hung in tatters on his tall, looming body, and what remained of those clothes was from a long-ago era, possibly World War I.

  The scars slashing his face cut across his piercingly cold, electric blue eyes. Twisted to the left, his ruined nose almost touched his high cheekbone. Avery couldn’t move as his striking gaze turned to her. She gulped before edging as far from the table as the grip on her hands would allow. A smile curved the man’s scarred lips as he floated closer to her.

  If she’d been able to move her legs, she would have bolted from the room. However, her legs were locked down as effectively as if she were a lab specimen pinned and ready for dissection. Those vivid eyes burned into hers until they pierced her soul.

  His smile faded as he floated closer and stretched a hand out to her. Avery stared at his elegant fingers while her stomach tumbled in violent somersaults. A ring encircled his right index finger, but she could only make out its golden band.

  “Join me.” His voice was seductive and held a musical, hypnotic quality. “You can feel our connection. Join me.”

  All eyes swung toward her, but she couldn’t move her head to acknowledge their curious gazes because she did feel a connection to him. Something about this man called to her, and she found her gaze locked on his. Those blue eyes became all she could see until she felt as if she were swimming in their electric depths.

  She dimly realized Reid and Lila’s hands were slipping away from her; she knew if she lost them, she would be lost. Yet, entranced by the man in front of her, she couldn’t hold onto them. Their hands no longer warmed her chilled skin, and she didn’t feel the floor beneath her feet anymore. Was she floating?

  “No!” Lila cried.

  “Avery!” Landon yelled.

  Their voices sounded like they were coming from miles away instead of the same room as her. The faces of her friends faded as the room spun. With a sudden lunge, the man turned his hand over and grasped her wrist. Her skin where he touched turned to ice, goose bumps broke out on her flesh, and her teeth chattered.

  A scream caught in her throat as the room lurched back into focus. She was standing at the end of the table with her left wrist in his grasp. She had no idea how his misty hand could be holding her so forcefully, but when she tried to pull free, his deathly grip was tighter than any manacle.

  Reid jumped to his feet and seizing her shoulders, he tried to pull her away, but the spirit didn’t release her. An eerie laugh echoed in her head, and somehow, she knew it was coming from the man although he didn’t open his mouth.

  On the other side of the table, Alex lunged forward as if trying to tackle the spirit. All he succeeded in doing was falling through the ghost before rolling away. In the brief time they touched, Alex’s lips turned blue, and he was shivering.

  Fighting against the cold, Avery swung her right hand up and slashed at the arm of the hand holding her. She instantly lost the feeling in her hand when it sank through the mist, dispersing his arm, but the spirit’s grip didn’t loosen.

  How is this possible?

  How is being a witch possible?

  But she could wrap her mind around being a witch and having pow
ers; she couldn’t wrap it around this thing holding her while the mist dispersed before coalescing back together. Yanked forward, strangled sounds squeaked from her. Reid’s hands scrambled for purchase on her shirt and back, but she was already falling away from him.

  A scream echoed in her head as a hole opened before her, and the room vanished; she tumbled into a black void. The hand released her as currents of air battered her body and evil swallowed her whole.

  CHAPTER 19

  The pounding in her head made it impossible for Avery to fall back asleep. She tried to open her eyes, but her lids felt like they were weighed down, and she gave up. When her fingers dug into the thick fabric beneath her, she realized she was lying on a carpet.

  With a loud groan, she finally opened her eyes and blinked at the darkness surrounding her. It took her some time to realize light was filtering beneath the crack of the closed door across from her. She reached for her phone in her pocket, only to discover it was gone. The scent of candle wax drifting to her teased memories into her foggy mind. She’d been at Lila’s; they’d watched a movie, and then… and then….

  That was where her memories faded. Groaning again, she shoved her battered body into a sitting position. Why did she hurt so bad?

  The answer eluded her, and she knew the only way to find out was to leave this room, but rising seemed an impossible feat right now. However, she couldn’t stay here forever. Fighting back a wave of nausea, she climbed to her feet. Standing with her arms out beside her, she braced herself as her legs wobbled like a newborn colt.

  When she was sure she wouldn’t throw up or fall, Avery shuffled toward the door. She kept her arms outstretched as she blindly searched for furniture. Please lead to Lila’s living room. Please. Please. The desperate plea became a mantra in her head, but she suspected she wouldn’t find her friends on the other side of this door.

  Stopping in front of the door, her fingers brushed over the wood as she sought the knob. She groped lower until she found the cold metal and pulled the door open.

  Feeling like a vampire exposed to sunlight, Avery threw up her hands to shield her eyes when light burst into them. Blinking rapidly, she tried to adjust to the influx of light as she kept her face averted from it. Eventually, she could see well enough to realize she stood inside a home she didn’t recognize.

  Leaning out, she craned her head to see down the hallway. Dark wood paneling covered the walls, and a bloodred carpet lined the floor. Torches, hanging in golden sconces every few feet along the walls, illuminated the seemingly endless hall.

  Gaping, Avery stared down the corridor as she tried to decipher where she was, but she didn’t have the faintest idea. Turning her head, she found a solid wall a few feet away from her. Well, at least there was only one way for her to go.

  The plush carpet sank beneath her sneakers when she stepped from the room, and the door slammed shut behind her. Avery squeaked and jumped like a startled cat as she glanced over her shoulder.

  With her heart thundering against her ribs, Avery’s breath came in pants as she crept down the hall. The flames of the white candles cast shadows across the carpet and walls. The air caressing her skin caused goose bumps to break out on her bare legs and arms. She wished she’d worn jeans and a long-sleeved shirt instead of her cutoffs and a black T-shirt, but it was August, and it had been a lot warmer earlier in the night.

  Avery studied her surroundings in the hopes of finding something to help her figure out where she was, but there was only this hallway. Though the hall was innocuous and pretty, she sensed an underlying evil in the air.

  After a couple of hundred feet, an arched doorway opened on her left. She peered cautiously around the corner to discover an old-fashioned sitting room. An antique, red velvet sofa with spindly legs sat against the left wall, and a gray stone fireplace took up the entire back wall. The fire crackling in the hearth cast shadows across the black and white marble floor.

  The fire should have felt warm and inviting, but Avery’s bones remained encased in ice. The reflection of the flames danced across the surface of the gold coffee table in the middle of the room. Intricately carved designs etched the table’s legs and sides.

  Avery craned her head to find a staircase on the right side of the room leading to a large balcony on the second floor. The ivy draped over the railing of the balcony fell in thick waves that blocked the back of the staircase.

  With her eyes riveted on the golden railing of the stairs, Avery crept into the sitting room. The firelight glimmered across the snakes and dragons elaborately carved into the staircase railing. The dragon’s eyes were filled with rubies while the snake’s eyes sparkled with emeralds.

  Where am I? The question screamed through Avery’s head, but she had no answer for it. This has to be a dream.

  When she clasped the railing, the gold was cool and solid beneath her palm. She gawked at it; if this were a dream, then the banister wouldn’t feel so real, would it?

  She hesitantly climbed a step as she studied the hall running along the balcony; more closed doors lined it. She took a few more steps as she craned her head to see if there was something more beyond where the balcony vanished into another hallway.

  “I wouldn’t go up there if I were you.”

  Avery whirled so fast her feet slipped on the step. She fumbled precariously but somehow managed to catch herself before plummeting to the marble floor. Her heart pounded so fast that every beat rang in her head.

  Taking a calming breath, she turned, and her memory of what happened returned when her gaze landed on the man from the séance. He appeared completely different, but she would recognize those striking eyes and the aura of power he exuded anywhere.

  Standing before the stairs, he looked elegant and poised as he smiled smugly at her. The shocking color of his electric blue eyes, and the iciness within them, rattled her; yet she felt the same pull toward him that she experienced during the séance.

  His midnight-black hair framed his sculpted face as it hung to his shoulders in thick strands that were no longer a tangled mess. With his high cheekbones, full red lips, and black stubble lining his square jaw, he could have graced the pages of any magazine or made a fortune in Hollywood.

  Unable to fight the irresistible attraction pulling her toward him, Avery stepped down, closing the distance between them. His smile widened, and when he stretched his hand out to her, a flash of blue caught her attention; she looked down to see what caused it. A signet ring, with a large blue stone set in it, circled his right index finger. Two entwined snakes, with their mouths open to devour the stone, created the gold band.

  Her mind screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to move. “Where am I?” She’d meant to sound demanding, but her words came out choked and tiny.

  “You’re in my home.”

  “Where is your home?”

  “In my world,” he replied with a sly smile that made her heart plummet into her toes.

  “Your world?” she croaked.

  He quirked an eyebrow at her. “Yes, my world. You will soon find out what that entails.”

  Avery had no idea what he meant, and she didn’t want to know. “Why am I here?”

  His negligent shrug caused his lean muscles to flex beneath his clothing. The frayed clothes from the séance had been replaced by a simple white shirt and a pair of black pants that somehow made him look elegant instead of plain.

  “Because I wanted you here,” he replied.

  “Why?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Take me home!” she declared with more strength than she felt.

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because you belong to me.”

  Her burgeoning rage was a welcome reprieve from her terror. “I don’t belong to anyone!”

  His eyes sparkled with amusement. “Yes, you do, and soon you’ll realize that we belong together.”

  “No. We. Do. Not!” She tried to lift her feet
, but it felt as if the wood had melted beneath them and reformed around her ankles.

  Move you, idiot!

  She remained where she was as his eyes locked onto hers, seared into her soul, and grasped her mind. They were so beautiful. He was so beautiful. She cursed her legs as traitors as the strange connection pulsating between them ensnared her. She itched to run her fingers through his midnight hair and feel his lips against hers so she could taste him.

  He took another step forward, and her lips parted in anticipation. When he clutched her hand, she nearly jumped out of her skin as a bolt of electricity shot through her. Someone else had made her feel like that too, but who…?

  Try as she might, she couldn’t recall who it was as he rubbed her palm with his thumb and eased the tension from her.

  This is wrong!

  However, her whole body ached for more of his touch. When he pulled her toward him, all her chaotic thoughts evaporated as his lips descended on hers. She couldn’t recall why, but she knew this was wrong, yet she felt engulfed by him as his lips moved over hers and his power weaving around her ensnared her within its depths.

  Despite the strength vibrating from him, she couldn’t shake the niggling doubt tickling the back of her mind. There was something she should remember. Someone whose kiss didn’t make her feel completely helpless. Someone who—

  “Stop!”

  CHAPTER 20

  The shouted word caused Avery to jerk backward as the odd spell trapping her was broken. Malice flashed through the brilliant blue eyes hovering centimeters above hers. With the connection broken, she could think again, and she realized what she’d been doing.

  With her back against the banister, she staggered to the side to get away from the man. Her foot caught on the next step; flailing wildly, she couldn’t stop herself from falling on her butt with a loud thump. The man turned to gaze down at her, and though everything about him petrified her, she lifted her chin to glower back at him.

  When he turned his attention away from her, Avery shifted to peer through the golden rails of the banister. Before the ivy blocking the back of the staircase stood Reid, Landon, Rosie, Alex, Tina, Karen, and Lila. Their stance was defensive, and their eyes were narrowed on the man before her.