How Torie Got Her Hex Back: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: Singing Falls Witches Book Three

by M. J. Caan

  Opal flinched and could feel Torie’s eyes on her but refused to break the hunter’s gaze.

  “You seem to know an awful lot about supernaturals and witches,” said Torie. “Why is that?”

  “It’s literally my business. I need to know what I’m up against, so I make it my business to learn. Anytime I go up against a super I like to know their strengths and their weaknesses. How do you think I captured your buddy Max?”

  At the mention of his friend, Elric growled, his body shifting into his hybrid form. He bared his fangs and flexed the muscles of his arms, causing dagger-like claws to descend.

  The hunter immediately uncoiled, standing up on the desk in one smooth motion.

  “Do you think I’m here alone?” she said, her voice half mocking and half threatening. “You’re right, you do outnumber me, and as much as it might be fun to take you all on, I really don’t have time for that.”

  She held up a hand and made a beckoning motion. From the shadows of the hall, three men appeared, each carrying a wicked-looking gun. Torie had no idea what kind of weapons they were but they reminded her of the ones that were always on the news after a domestic shooting incident. They raised the weapons and aimed them at the group of friends.

  “Recognize them, Elric?” the hunter asked.

  The wolf only growled, his eyes fixed on the men.

  “Elric, who are those men?” Torie pressed.

  When he didn’t answer, the hunter laughed and cleared her throat, hopping from the desk to the floor.

  “They are some old friends of his. They work for his ex-boss down in Trinity Cove. You see, once I realized there was a lot more going on up here in this sleepy little village than I had been made aware of, I decided to call in some reinforcements.”

  “Please, there is no need for this,” said Torie, her heart racing. “This doesn’t need to happen. Let’s just talk about this. You said you wanted something else, what is it?”

  The hunter flashed them a brilliant smile and pointed. First to Elric, and then to the golem.

  Torie swallowed hard and placed a hand on Elric’s arm. She could feel the wolf trembling as his breathing increased. He was on the verge of a full shift, and Torie sensed that if he did, he would charge the hunter.

  “They’re not going anywhere,” said Jasmin. “Why don’t you and I go somewhere and talk about this…”

  “No, witch, we will not. You are no use to me. The wolf has a price on his head, so I need him. As for the clay man…I want to remove his battery and add it to my collection. I’m betting a divinity object like that will fetch a pretty price on the open market.”

  “He won’t go with you, whatever is in him is from—” Torie started to say but was quickly cut off by a look from Jasmin.

  The hunter looked at the two of them. “From what? Finish your sentence.”

  When Torie didn’t speak, the hunter removed the silver blade from her hilt. “Fine. Whatever. I’m losing patience, so here’s how this will go. Elric, push the golem over to us, and then put your arms behind your back to be shackled.” She reached behind her under her jacket and withdrew a set of handcuffs. “They’re pure silver, so you won’t be able to break them.” She tossed the handcuffs to one of the men holding a gun.

  When Elric didn’t move, she nodded to another of the men. He flipped a switch on the gun and a red dot appeared on Torie’s forehead. She had seen enough movies to know what that flash of red was.

  “Okay. Now that everyone is paying attention, listen up cos I’m only going to say this once. I know ya’ll are old, so I’ll say it loud.” She cleared her throat and proceeded to raise her voice. “Elric, either you do what I just said, or I order Jimmy here to shoot your squeeze in the head. Now, I wonder if dear old Jasmin there could stop the bullet with her magic. Maybe, though I’m not entirely sure your shields can stop bullets. At any rate, even if you stopped one, I’m willing to bet you can’t stop them all.”

  At her words, the two remaining men raised their sights and shined two more laser dots on Torie.

  “And I wonder which of you it would hurt more?” the hunter said. “Wolves mate for life, am I right, Elric? But I’m willing to bet it would hurt dear old Jazzy almost as much. Maybe more.”

  “You wouldn’t do that,” said Jasmin. “I know you aren’t a cold-blooded killer.”

  The hunter’s eyes grew hard as she glared at Jasmin. “How can you know what I am or am not? You don’t know me. You had your chance, and you threw it, and me, away. So you keep believing that you know me while you’re scooping up what’s left of your best friend there.”

  She turned back to the men with her and nodded. There was an audible click as they each slid the safeties to the off position, their arms tensing as they moved a finger towards the trigger.

  “No, stop!” said Elric. He threw himself in front of the women, shifting back to his human form. “I’ll go with you. Just don’t hurt anyone.”

  Before Torie or Jasmin could object, he moved over to the stretcher and pushed it forward, close to the hunter and her men. Then he placed his arms behind him and presented his backside to the man with the cuffs. His eyes pleaded with Torie and Jasmin not to try anything. The pain of the silver snapping around his wrists made him wince and he nearly buckled under the weakness the cuffs caused him.

  “And now, just because I don’t quite trust you, even in those cuffs…” said the hunter as she walked up to the wolf. She removed a collar with a red gem dangling from the inside of her leather jacket and snapped it around his neck before anyone could protest.

  Elric’s eyes flared yellow for a brief second and he staggered backwards before righting himself. His body strangely rigid, his eyes focused on nothing.

  “What did you do?” demanded Torie, trying to move past Jasmin to get to Elric. The appearance of a red dot in the center of her chest stopped her in her tracks.

  “Oh calm down. It’s nothing,” said the hunter. “I put one around Max too, and it made a world of difference in his behavior.” She winked at them and laughed as she and her men began to back away, one of them pushing the golem. “Put the clay man in the back of the van and lock Cujo in the cage.”

  As they walked away, she turned to face the women, her eyes looking around.

  “Where’s the tree-rat?”

  Torie and Jasmin looked around. At some point during the confrontation, Fionna had disappeared from view.

  The hunter squinted at them. “No matter. She is simply showing her true colors. Run and hide is what small shifters do.”

  She turned her back and beckoned to her men to follow her as she strolled down the hall. “And just in case you get any ideas, try something and I’ll make sure the first bullet fired by my men goes into the wolf.” She stopped and looked back at Opal. “And this isn’t Lost. I better not look back and see any smoke monster following us.”

  With that, they were gone. The lingering sound of the squeaky stretcher wheels fading into nothingness as they disappeared down the long corridor and out of view.

  20

  “Where the hell is Fionna?” Torie asked.

  “No idea,” said Jasmin, “but knowing her the way I do, I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “We need to go,” said Opal.

  “No, what we need to do is find Fionna and then go after Elric,” said Torie, turning on them. “I don’t know what you’re used to down in New Orleans, but here we take care of our friends.”

  She was too angry to regret what she said, even when she saw Opal flinch at her words.

  “Look, I get it. I’m as pissed off about all of this as you, but we need to regroup,” said Jasmin, taking Torie by the arm. “We need to go back to the house and devise next steps.”

  “Not without me,” came a voice from behind them.

  They turned to see Glen propped against the door jam leading into the radiology department. She held herself up with one arm, using the other to hold against her abdomen.

  “Glen!” shouted
Torie, racing over to support her and ease her onto a chair.

  “No way,” said Jasmin. “You’re going right back upstairs and getting into bed. What are you even doing down here?”

  She grunted in response, holding her stomach. “Gerald just came by my room. Said there was a commotion down here involving Fionna. Where is she and what happened?”

  Jasmin and Torie exchanged looks.

  “She’s fine,” said Torie. “We are looking after her, and as for what happened down here…well, it’s hard to explain…”

  “Supernatural stuff,” said Jasmin, interjecting. “Nothing you need to worry about. We will take care of Fionna, you have my word, but you need to focus on taking care of you. Promise that once we get you back to your bed, you’ll stay there. And in return, I promise to have Fionna back at your bedside as soon as possible.”

  Glen nodded between gasps of breath. Torie looked questioningly at Jasmin, but the witch ignored her. She took one of Glen’s arms and gently placed it around her shoulder as she lifted her to her feet.

  “Torie, help me get her back upstairs.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” started Opal. The look Jasmin gave her choked her words off.

  “First we get Glen back to her room, then we plan our next steps,” she said. “Do you have a problem with that, Opal?”

  “No. Not at all, Jasmin.”

  They found a wheelchair and made their way back to Glen’s room where they tucked her back into bed and reiterated that no matter what, Fionna was fine and she’d be checking in soon.

  “In the meantime, you focus on getting some rest and getting better, alright?” said Jasmin, laying her hand on Glen’s face as she leaned in and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Glen yawned, stretched a little, and drifted off almost immediately.

  “Did you just…?” said Torie, pointing in disbelief at Glen.

  “Nothing major. Just a slight healing spell for her body coupled with something to quiet her mind so she can rest.”

  Opal played her hands on her hips. “Now if I did that, you’d be ready to fight.”

  “You haven’t earned your place to do that,” replied Jasmin.

  “Enough,” said Torie, “let’s get going. We have a lot to talk about and I don’t want to do it here.”

  They made the drive back to Jasmin’s house in near silence. As soon as they closed the front door, Torie collapsed on the couch.

  “They have Elric,” she said. “What are we going to do?”

  Opal regarded her silently for a moment. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  Torie didn’t answer but felt tears welling up in her eyes. Everything she had experienced over the past forty-eight hours came bursting forth. Jasmin sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her and rocking her gently.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay. We are going to get him and Max back and find Fionna,” she said.

  “And what did happen to Fionna? How could none of us have seen what happened to her? How could you tell Glen that she was fine like that? What if she isn’t?”

  “You saw yourself, the hunter didn’t know where she went. That means she’s still alive. And, if I know Fionna, she’s probably somewhere about to make that hunter’s life a little more miserable,” said Jasmin.

  Torie sat up, wiping her eyes. “And that. How can you just refer to your daughter as ‘that hunter’? Doesn’t it bother you? I’m a mess, I can’t imagine what you must be feeling.” She stood, pacing back and forth. “Of course, I wouldn’t have to imagine if you’d just open up completely. I mean, I never even knew you had a sister, let alone a daughter.”

  Opal snickered and was quickly shut down by the look Torie gave her.

  “And you,” Torie said, “don’t pretend that you can claim any high ground. What was that…your niece…talking about when she said that thing wasn’t your familiar?”

  Opal’s face fell and she was unable to meet the gaze of the two women. Torie and Jasmin exchanged glances, each trying to encourage the other to push the matter.

  Finally, Jasmin spoke up. “Opal, we haven’t spoken in so long; let’s not go back to that.” She looked at Torie. “And I feel like I should have opened up to you sooner about everything. All I can say is I’m sorry. Some things are just too painful, and buried too deep, to see the light of day.”

  Tori took her friend’s hand. “Pain is sometimes lessened if it’s split among more than one person.”

  “Christ, Hallmark much?” said Opal snidely. “Fine. If you must know…it’s not exactly my familiar. But I am familiar with it.”

  “What does that mean?” asked Torie.

  Opal drew in a deep breath and plopped down in one of the chairs that sat opposite the couch.

  “As you know, witches all have their specialties when it comes to magic. With me it was the spiritual plane that I connected with.”

  “Yeah, we learned that when we were children,” said Jasmin.

  “Yes, but what we weren’t told was just how deep that connection is. Our hex magic is rooted deeply in the Astral plane, as you know. Well, in my case, that is the wellspring of my powers. I draw on the spirit world when I use my magic.”

  She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip before continuing.

  “So, the first time my hex powers manifested, I was visited by small spirit creatures. They would show up when I used my power. The greater the magic I attempted, the larger the spirit that would visit me. Well, one night, I had a very fevered dream of a personal nature…if you know what I mean. But it wasn’t like other dreams, it was so very real. Too real. I woke up and my room had been wrecked; furniture smashed, holes in the walls; it was terrible.

  “And that was the first time I saw Metrian. He was at the end of the bed, watching me. Turns out, he was an incubus.”

  “What’s that?” asked Torie.

  Jasmin narrowed her eyes in anger.

  “Are you telling me that your familiar is a sex ghost? You brought a sex ghost into my house, Opal?” She stood, jabbing a finger at her sister. “Oh my god…I changed clothes in the bedroom. I showered with the bathroom door open in my room! Has that thing been sneaking around watching me?” She wrapped her arms around herself, suppressing a shudder.

  “No, of course not! Metrian isn’t like that. He is attached to me, just like a familiar. That much was true.”

  “Why do you keep something like that around?” asked Jasmin. “Can’t you just…banish it back to wherever it came from?”

  Opal looked away, puffing out her cheeks as she exhaled sharply. “Well, it’s kind of like…I like having him around.”

  “Are you saying you’re dating a…a sex ghost?” said Torie in a whisper. She looked around the room, wondering if they were being watched by the spirit at that moment.

  Jasmin’s jaw dropped. “Please tell me that isn’t true.”

  “Okay, why are you judging me? She’s dating a dog!”

  “What? Elric’s not a dog,” Torie said sharply. “I mean…oh never mind what he is. And yes, he means a lot to me. That’s why we need to get back to figuring out how to find him.”

  “Wait, are you comparing my friend’s choice in boyfriend to what you’re seeing? You’re dating something that essentially slips into women’s rooms at night and violates them,” said Jasmin.

  “That is not how it happened with Metrian,” exclaimed Opal. “I called to him and invited him in!” She caught herself, snapping her mouth closed and folded her arms across her chest.

  “What does that mean?” said Jasmin.

  “Look, I had so many bad relationships. Just one right after the other. One day, after a particularly bad break up, I swore off men. I wished for something that would only be there when I wanted and would do the things to me that no man could do. It was a stupid thing to wish for. I really didn’t think anything about it. But my damned hex powers sent that wish into the astral world and, well, Metrian answered. And you know what, I have never been happier!”


  Jasmin looked at Torie before bursting out in laughter. She moved over to Opal and gave her a hug.

  “Girl you go on with your Magic Wand. If you’re happy and you swear this thing isn’t creeping on me in my house; go for it.”

  Opal relaxed in Jasmin’s grip. “Are you sure? Just like that, you’re good?”

  “I just needed to make sure you were okay. Besides, I can’t keep a man either, so who am I to judge?”

  “Well, if you want, I can conjure you a—”

  “No. Absolutely not,” Jasmin interrupted, breaking the embrace and stepping away.

  “Well, as much as I applaud our little breakthrough, we still have major problems,” said Torie. “Namely, what do we do now to save Elric and Max? And maybe even Fionna.”

  “Not to pile onto that, but even after we find them, what do we do?” said Jasmin. “I mean, we are really out-numbered here. No offense, Torie, but only two of us have powers, and we are facing a hunter and two werewolves. Plus a pack of nasty little men and their guns.”

  “First things first,” said Opal. “We find out where they are; and I think I can manage that.”

  She sat down on the floor, cross-legged, placing her hands palm-up on her knees.

  “How? We need something that belongs to one of them to perform a tracking spell,” said Jasmin.

  “Which we don’t have. But I planted something that just might help us,” replied Opal. “Metrian.”

  Torie and Jasmin exchanged glances.

  “I thought the hunter said not to have your sex ghost follow them,” said Torie.

  “And so he isn’t. When they appeared, I had him merge into the body of the golem. If they are still with the golem, we can find them.”

  She closed her eyes and began to hum. Magic thrummed in the air. Even Torie could feel it vibrating and pulsing. The touch of it made her miss what she once was and long for forces she could no longer manipulate. She watched as Opal performed intricate hand motions in the air, ending with the formation of a box made by touching the tips of her forefingers and thumbs together. She opened her eyes, which had grown translucent with power, and peered into the space between her fingers.