by Elissa Daye
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
World Castle Publishing, LLC
Pensacola, Florida
Copyright © Elissa Daye 2019
Paperback ISBN: 9781950890088
eBook ISBN: 9781950890095
First Edition World Castle Publishing, LLC, June 10, 2019.
http://www.worldcastlepublishing.com
Licensing Notes
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles and reviews.
Cover: Melissa Davis
Editor: Maxine Bringenberg
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 1
The winds howled in the pitch black that surrounded her. Brina shivered in the cold as her hair slapped angrily against her face. Even the small flashlight in her hand barely warmed her against the icy bitterness around her. She pulled her hood closer to her head and switched the light on again to shine on the path before her.
Coming here might very well have been a mistake, but she had been drawn here by some hidden force that she could not describe. The Witch’s Hollow—the one place where the ghouls came out to play, or so it was said. But that wasn’t what she had come here for. The spirits had brought her here, against her will. Their incessant chatter was driving her crazy.
Brina turned to the sound of a crunching footstep and shone her flashlight to find the source of the sound. Not that a little bit of light would shield her from whatever madness lay within this forest.
“Relax, Brina. It’s nothing.”
She continued along the path, trying to keep her thoughts from turning over all the tales of horror mixed in with the Witch’s Hollow. Some of the darkest magic in the world was supposed to be within these woods. Those that practiced the dark and the light seemed to be in constant battle over these lands. Legend told that each time they fought against each other a vortex opened, bringing evil out to walk the earth. Brina wasn’t entirely sure this was true, but it would explain why the woods were filled with winter ice when the lands just beyond were just starting to experience the gentle balmy fall that had followed the blazing hot summer.
Where did they want her to go? It was pretty much a straight path through the forest here, but there were a few small indentations in the grass that hinted at man-made trails that ran through. “Okay, if you’re there, you’d better give me a sign.” Brina stopped in her tracks and tapped her foot in slow irritation as another gust of wind shook through her. “Ugh! And hurry, before I freeze my butt off.”
“Well, that would certainly be a waste,” a man’s voice called to her.
Brina spun around and searched her pockets for the pepper spray she was always armed with. “Who’s there?” She didn’t see a soul, which wasn’t that odd considering voices talked to her all the time—but usually they were from beyond the grave. This one wasn’t. How did she know? Because it wasn’t something that popped up in her head. It was vocal, and loud enough to indicate he was not that far from her.
A man stepped out of the tree line and gave her a small nod. “This isn’t a safe place for innocents.”
Innocent my ass, she thought to herself. Brina was no freshman to darkness. She had been hunting it for most of her life. “I’ll take my chances.”
“A girl with guts; I like it.”
She shone the light on his face and saw that he was grinning at her. He held his hand up to protect his eyes, but stood his ground. Brina saw a figure behind him, a shadow of sorts. “You’re being watched,” she warned him.
“Oh? By who?” He asked her with interest.
“Not a who, a what.” She smirked at him and wondered just how much his little mind could handle, because from here she could see the creature was almost a foot behind him—the dark phantom, a chaos creature attracted to those who could easily be converted to the dark side. This man walked both sides, Brina could see that from here.
“Oh? And just what is following me?” He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned lazily against the nearest tree as he waited for her reply.
The shape floated away from him and she shook her head. “Never mind. My mistake.”
Sometimes phantoms would roam aimlessly too. Perhaps the man wasn’t as easily manipulated as she’d thought. Then again, it wasn’t something she could figure out with a chance meeting.
“Mind if I walk with you?” he asked her quizzically.
“Why?” Brina’s guard was up.
“I’m tracking something.” He didn’t give any other details.
“I don’t run off with strangers,” Brina replied, and she started to walk away.
“I’m Killian. I live up on the hill toward the entrance.”
“You’re one of the Knights?” Brina asked him. At that moment she really looked him over. He looked to be about six foot tall. His eyes were indistinguishable in the dark, but if she had to guess they were hazel. His hair was short, with brown spikes that seemed to lighten slightly at the tips, as if he spent a fair amount of time in the sun. She could see just a small amount of scruff covering his face, as if perhaps he was preparing his face for the fall. Was he the kind of man who grew a beard in the winter, only to shave it off in the summer? Brina wasn’t quite sure why her mind wondered these questions, as she had much more to accomplish than meeting a handsome stranger in the dark.
“Yeah, why?” He asked curiously. He was taking her in as well, which didn’t surprise her. If she had to guess, Killian was a little bit of a lady’s man.
“No reason.” Which wasn’t the truth. Not really. The spirits had told her that a Knight might join her. When she had walked from the parking lot, she had seen the family name on the sign near the house. Knight’s Orchard. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the correlation.
“So...?”
“So, what?” Brina asked him in irritation. He was slowing her down. She had a lot of ground to cover.
“Your name is?”
“Sabrina Moss.” She was surprised to see recognition flash across his face. Not many people knew of her—only those with ties to the magical world. Brina was a psychic detective who had devoted her life to solving paranormal crime.
“What brings you to our neck of the woods, Sabrina? Demon? Vampire?” There were other creatures he could mention, but he stopped there.
“I’m not sure you want to know.” She smirked and wondered who he really was.
“The woods aren’t safe, Sabrina.”
“Brina,” she corrected him. She wasn’t entirely sure why she did that. There was something about him that was familiar, even though she was sure they had never met.
“Witch’s
Hollow is crawling with danger tonight. You shouldn’t go in.”
“Damn it.” Her flashlight started to flicker as an unknown source started to drain the battery.
“Not again.” He apparently had experience with this occurrence.
A sudden shiver ran down her spine, as if to demonstrate Killian’s words. Brina closed her eyes and summoned enough courage to get her through this. A large whoosh of air came toward them, and Brina knew it was more than just a bad sign. She moved toward Killian and reached for his arm.
When the light switched back on slightly, she saw he had a grin plastered on his face. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”
Brina rolled her eyes. Good grief. Ego much? “Actually, I think you might want to stand behind me.”
“Oh?” His voice was curious.
The hair on the back of her neck started to stand up. She shoved the flashlight in her coat pocket and waved her hands in front of her, casting a clear net of white light that grew larger by the second. Throwing it up just in time, she deflected the burst of darkness that shot against it. The air around them started to crackle as the being that had attacked continued to pull the energy from the world around them.
“I hate energy thieves. Ugh!” Brina let her shield light the way as she looked for the creature that was sending its attacks at them.
“What the hell is that thing?” Killian pointed at the dark green creature near them.
“That thing?” Brina looked at the imp that was barely up to their knees. It was cackling wildly as it gathered enough magic for another attack. Its long ears stood up in the air in sharp points. It was a hairless creature, with big white eyes with tiny red pupils. Its teeth were long jagged spikes filled with a foul debris she could smell from here.
“Yes, what is it?”
“An imp. But not for long.” Brina held one hand in front of her to steady the white shield. With the other she conjured a crackling ball of red light. The second the imp launched its next attack, Brina let it fly off the shield, then sent the red ball directly toward it. The imp yelped on impact and scampered off into the woods.
“Nasty little bastard,” muttered Killian.
Brina shook her head and turned to face him. She was prepared for many things when she met his eyes. Judgment, that was the first thing she expected. Most of the world didn’t believe in magic, and when they were even remotely exposed to it, they crucified the witch before she could even defend herself. Judgment was usually the beginning. Next came contempt, laced with disgust. But when she looked in his eyes, she didn’t see any of those things. Instead, she saw respect laced with something dark and mysterious. Was that desire?
“Yes, nasty uhm…things.”
“Where do you suppose it came from?” He asked her.
“Whoever summoned me here, they probably know. But that’s neither here nor there.”
A loud clap sounded above them and Brina hung her head in defeat. “Seriously? Can’t a girl catch a break?”
Lightning illuminated the forest briefly, alluding to the dark shapes that lingered inside the line of trees. They were being watched, but by what she couldn’t quite tell. Not yet, at least. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like she would find out any time soon. Large rain drops plopped down on her head—one, two, ten. Then before she knew it, the sky opened and released its fury on the ground below. She shivered, now cold and wet, standing beside a man who seemed to find every minute of this to be hilarious.
“Brrr.... Okay. I give up.” She threw her hands up to the sky and turned around on the path.
“Allow me to assist you. If you parked in the lot by the orchard, I know a short cut.”
Brina narrowed her eyes on him. Nothing had gone according to plan. If she followed him, she had a feeling that something else might go completely backwards, but what choice did she have? “Fine, but no funny business.”
He held up his hand in front of him and made a cross over his heart. “I promise.”
Brina walked by his side, unwilling to let him get too far ahead of her in this darkness. The only relief was the occasional burst of light that made its web across the sky. A branch whipped her in the face and she brushed it away. Where the hell had that come from? The woods were certainly high spirited, and she hadn’t even made it to the Witch’s Hollow yet. Perhaps another time would be better. She made a mental note to avoid the darkness next time and search in the light of day.
“So, do you always attract the paranormal?” He asked her with a slight tease to his voice.
“You know who I am. That must mean you have some experience with the paranormal yourself,” she bit back.
“Oh, you could say that, but it usually stays to itself. I don’t get attacked very often.”
He looked at her as if he were overconfident about something, but Brina couldn’t quite figure it out. She rolled her eyes to the skies above and tried to not let his cockiness get under her skin. It wasn’t her fault that they didn’t like to be found, nor that they seemed to be attracted to her. She always seemed to bring the wrong sort around. Such was life.
“And here we are.” Killian gave her a grand flourish with his arm as they now stood right before the parking lot.
How in the world had he managed that? Seeing in the dark like that, he must have spent many a night out there exploring the woods. She found that quite curious. “Thank you.”
“Any time. If you need anything else, we’re right up at the house there.”
“That’s kind of you, but I really do need to get back on the road,” she lied. The only thing she had waiting for her was an empty hotel room in Wadsworth, but he didn’t need to know that.
“It was nice to meet you, Brina.” The way he emphasized her name sent a slight shiver through her.
“You too, Killian.” She watched him move toward the large house just a little further away. It was hard to tell from here, but she found herself imagining just how tight those jeans were. She felt a warm blush fill her cheeks and chided herself. “Time to go, Brina.”
Chapter 2
Brina opened the door of her car and slid into the seat, ignoring the fact that she was drenched. She’d deal with the clean up later. It was time to get back to town to find a hotel. Sliding the key in place, she turned it in the ignition, but nothing happened.
“Now what the hell?”
She tried again and this time a muffled rumble started, before it faltered and sputtered. The next time she turned it, she heard a loud pop from somewhere under the hood. “That didn’t sound good.”
Brina put her head on the steering wheel and sighed. The goal had been to get away from here before the roads started to flood. She had seen how close they were to the water already. Her guess was the roads were often washed out. The strange thing was she had checked the weather before she’d even made her way over here. Big difference that had made, apparently. Weather was fickle like that, especially when magic was in play.
Someone or something didn’t want her to go into Witch’s Hollow. Was it the same thing that didn’t want her car to start? It was like the universe was at odds with itself.
“If it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” she muttered.
Brina looked over at the large plantation style house just across the way. Several lights were on, which wasn’t a huge surprise considering that it was only nine o’clock. While it was dark as pitch outside, it was still relatively early in the evening. She contemplated staying inside her car, but the more she sat there, the more the water seeped into her skin.
Maybe she could call a tow truck before it was too late. Turning on her cell phone, she waited to see if she could get a signal. One bar, two. Zero. This was definitely not her night. Brina shivered as a chill raced through her body. Sitting out here wasn’t going to do her any good.
Gathering her purse, she pushed the door open and headed out into the freezing rain. By the time she made her way to large sign that read Knight’s Orchard and Inn, Brina realized
this didn’t have to be the Greek tragedy she was making it out to be. If her luck changed, maybe they had a room available.
Brina was almost up to the steps leading into the inn when her foot got stuck in a sloshy puddle of mud. “Oh, come on!” She tried to yank her foot out, but only ended up pulling her foot out of her shoe. As she bent over to retrieve the shoe, she fell flat on her face. Brina rolled over and wiped the mud off her face. Her hands slapped the ground in frustration.
A soft chuckle erupted from behind her. “Need some help?”
“It’s not funny!” Grrrr....she wanted to throw something at him, but with the ground so soft the only thing she had close to her slipped through her fingers.
“Allow me.” Killian scooped her up from the ground and carried her with the greatest ease to the top of the stairs.
Brina felt something spark inside her the moment his hands touched her. When her eyes met his, she had the distinct impression that he might kiss her. Instead, he lowered her to the floor. He didn’t move away as she thought he would. Instead, his eyes took in her face. He smoothed strands of wet hair from her face and smiled.
“You all right now?”
“I appear to be, but it looks like I’ve marked you.” She bit her bottom lip. Was it just her, or did her words seem to make his eyes spark slightly?
“It’ll wash.” He stepped away from her now and walked back down the steps. He retrieved her shoe and handed it up to her. “Cinderella....”
Brina rolled her eyes upward. “How original.”
“Would you care to come inside?” He walked around her and opened the door.
Why did she have the distinct feeling he was leading her into his lair? Maybe she should just take her chances with her car.
As if sensing her hesitation, he coaxed, “I won’t bite.”
Brina walked past him, and could have sworn he said, “At least not yet.” She turned to find his expression had not changed at all. Now her mind was playing tricks on her. She was sure of it. She stood near the door and saw the beautiful wooden floors that she was dripping water on. Brina quickly removed her other shoe. “Sorry.”
