The wolf-monster stood in the dead center of the street.
Watching me with glowing red eyes.
Oh God, oh God. Oh God.
No, no, no this isn’t happening.
I raced to the building with the neon blue sign and threw myself into the door. Pain shot through my body as I slammed face-first into it. I banged on the door and walls, screaming at the top of my lungs…but no one answered. I spun and headed for the next store but as the road curved to the right more fear exploded inside me, trying to swallow me whole. Everything over here was dark and empty. It was just me, the monster, and him. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was around here somewhere.
There was another opening between buildings so I took it. My footsteps made no noise over the brick path but my ragged breathing sounded like hurricane force winds. When the pathway brought me out to another road, I saw my chance and took it.
Every inch of my legs and feet burned, screaming in protest, but I couldn’t stop. My lungs were squeezed tight, my heart pounding against my chest. Each breath I took scorched a path down my throat. I tried to listen for footsteps behind me but the only thing I could hear was my own pulse in my ears.
The road I was on turned dark and silent. No lights. No wind. No ocean waves crashing onto the shore. I pumped my arms and dug my heels in and ran faster. Shadows jumped and moved as I went by. I kept glancing behind me, but there was only empty darkness.
When my path ran right into another street, I didn’t hesitate. I turned right and charged toward the only lights I saw. The sign at the huge intersection said something about Beverly and Ipswich. The only thing that told me was that I remembered how to read, nothing else. It meant nothing to me. None of this did. The street around me was silent and empty in every direction.
A cold gust of wind ripped up from my left and it felt like needles piercing my skin. I took a deep breath then gagged. The air smelled sickeningly sweet, like maple syrup. Metal clanked and clashed behind me. I glanced over my shoulder just as the wolf-monster leapt out onto the road thirty feet behind me. I cursed and stumbled – then ran straight into a wooden bench. I breathed in, choking on the bitter cold air as my eyes watered and pain shot up my legs.
A loud, menacing growl erupted behind me, making the ground tremble under my bare feet. It sent tingles up my body and made my teeth rattle together.
No, no, no, no, no.
RUN. Run, run, run.
My legs hissed and screamed in pain as I sprinted down the street toward lights in the distance. Then I saw something that gave me hope…sticking up above the buildings and trees was a steeple with a big golden cross sitting on top. My heart fluttered. Churches are always open, aren’t they? I kept my eyes on that brick building and sprinted for it. On the front, facing the road, were two sets of stone steps and three wooden doors. If I could just get there—
The wooden doors in the middle flew open and I choked on a squeal. Happy tears rushed to my eyes and my heart fluttered. My body felt lighter as I dashed toward the open door. There was a person there. So close. I threw my arms up to wave them down, opening my mouth to scream for help, when a massive person stepped out from behind the open door.
A person with wide shoulders, long legs, and a black hood cloaking half his face.
NO.
WHAT.
HOW?
My steps faltered and I stumbled forward. He looked up and our eyes met. All the tears I’d been fighting broke free and pooled in my eyes, blurring my vision. It didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t have moved that fast. I’d just seen him by those buildings in the middle of the street – how did he get inside the church?
He narrowed his golden eyes then reached down and pulled something as long as his arm off of his hip. He swung his arm up and the object glistened like silver in the glow off the street light – I gasped. SILVER. It was a sword. The sharp edges flashed and my heart trembled. My stomach tightened into knots then sank like rocks in the ocean.
Move, move, move, move, move!
I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction. A foul taste rose in my throat. I was done for. He was going to catch me or I was going to freeze to death. I peeled my gaze off of him and looked in front of me — and slid to a stop.
A woman stood in the middle of the street with her hands up. Her eyes widened. “Good heavens, child, are you all right?”
Chapter Three
Saffie
She looked me up and down, then her face paled. Leaping toward me in a few swift movements, she slipped her black coat off and wrapped it around my shoulders. The warmth was so sudden and intense it forced tears to rain down my cheeks. I didn’t know why I did it, or why I assumed she was trustworthy, but I collapsed in her arms.
“Just breathe, child,” the woman said in a low, soft voice as she hugged me tight. “That’s right, deep breath in. Deep breath out. Keep going.”
I blocked everything else out and just focused on her melodic voice and the warmth I desperately needed. With each breath my sobbing slowed and my chest grew a little bit lighter. I didn’t know how long we stood there like that, but after a while she stepped back and slid her arms down to my elbows.
I glanced over my shoulder, but he was nowhere in sight. Relief washed through me.
“Whatever happened, I’m going to help you, all right?” Her voice brought my gaze back to her. She ducked her head to meet my eyes. “But we need to get you out of this nineteen-degree weather without pants or shoes on. Come on.”
I nodded and let her take me by the hand and lead me onto the sidewalk, then to the second building on the left. It was three stories and made of dark brown, almost black wood panels. Plants hung from the two windowsills on the first floor. There were potted plants on each of the steps up to the front door and twinkling lights draped above the entrance.
The woman walked up the few steps and opened the door, then she turned back and waved for me to follow. I hesitated. I didn’t know this woman. I didn’t even know where I was or who I was. Knowing my name didn’t exactly count.
Where’d that guy go?
I scanned every shadow…but I didn’t see him anywhere. I didn’t trust that he’d run off. I’d already learned that the hard way. I gasped. The wolf. I’d almost forgotten about it. But it was nowhere to be seen either, nor did I hear any growling.
Weight draped around my body – I jumped—
“It’s okay. Just a blanket,” the woman said with a smile and kind blue eyes.
I looked down at myself and realized I hadn’t put my arms in the jacket she’d given me — what is that? There was some kind of mark on my arm. I frowned and lifted it up to my face. My eyes widened. It was a…tattoo. Yeah, yeah, that’s the word for that. Right there in the middle of my left forearm, taking up the entire width of my arm, were black shapes. The first was a big X, then three straight lines. I had no recollection of this, but I was going to just add that to the list of things I couldn’t remember.
The woman moved to stand in front of me, still smiling. “You have to be freezing out here.”
I bit my lip and eyed the door. It looked warm and cozy inside…but…
“It’s all right, dear, we don’t have to go inside.” She guided me to the steps then urged for me to sit down. Once I did, she grinned and held something out in front of her. “Lift your feet, please.”
For some reason…I did as she asked.
She slid big black boots onto my feet. They were so warm and fuzzy I actually sighed. Then I realized what she’d done – she gave me a coat, a blanket, and shoes. My heart fluttered and it chased away that chill on my spine.
I looked up at her and tried my best to smile but it was all wobbly. “T-t-thank y-y-you.”
She sat beside me, wearing her own fuzzy blanket wrapped around her. “I’m Landreia Night, this here is my home and my store.”
I cleared my throat. “I’m…I’m Saraphina.”
“Wow, beautiful name.” Landreia rubbed her hands together.
“Now, what are you doing out alone in the middle of the night without proper clothing on? What happened?”
I opened my mouth then shut it. Fresh tears poured down my face. I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
She tucked her jet-black hair behind her ears and nodded. “All right, well…can you tell me where you live? Or your parents’ phone number?”
I shook my head harder. “No. I…I…where am I?”
Landreia’s eyes widened. “You’re in Salem…”
“And…where is Salem?”
She blinked then reached out and took my hands in hers. “Why don’t you tell me what happened so I can help you?”
“But I don’t know,” I cried and my body trembled. “I woke up out on the rocks by the water and that little white lighthouse thing…I was alone and dressed like this…and…and…I don’t remember anything… Besides my name.”
A muscle in her jaw flexed but she stayed calm. “The only thing you remember is your name?”
I nodded. “Saraphina Proctor, that’s my name. Saffie is my nickname. But that’s it. There’s nothing else and—”
“Okay, okay. Breathe, Saffie.” Landreia squeezed my hands. “Is there anything else you remember? Did anything else happen since you woke up on the wharf? Does anything hurt?”
I chewed my bottom lip and glanced up and down the street. “There was a…a…wolf…and a m-m-man.”
“A wolf?” She narrowed her eyes. “A man…and what did this man do?”
“I don’t know. He was sitting on the steps down there and then followed me.” I curled in on myself and buried my head in my hands. I still felt his eyes on me. “He just…disappeared.”
“I don’t know about the wolf, but the man is probably long gone by now since you’re with me.”
No, he’s not. I didn’t know how I knew that, I just felt it.
A loud wailing sound pierced through the silence of the street and I jumped.
Landreia put her hand on my knee. “It’s all right, that’s just the police.”
I frowned. Police? What is that? Just then bright red and blue lights flashed from the street to our right – the one she’d found me on. The lights sparkled off the windows of the buildings so I couldn’t tell where it was coming from until a few white cars flew around the corner and parked in front of us. The sides of the cars read POLICE.
My heart leapt up and lodged in my throat. Police? What is that? Who are these people?
“Who are they?” Landreia frowned and pointed to the men getting out of the cars. “Police officers are the people sworn to protect the rest of us. They’re going to help you.”
“Oh.” Help. Help is here. I made it. Fresh tears poured out and I sagged against the stone steps. “Okay…good.”
I watched as the five police officers dressed in matching dark blue uniforms walked toward us. For some reason, even though Landreia said they were here to help, my nerves exploded inside me. My stomach tightened and turned. I wrung my hands together but they were still trembling.
The officer parked the farthest away, a young looking blond man, glanced to his left and grinned. He walked a few feet over, then stopped. “Hey, man, how are ya? Haven’t seen you in a wicked minute.”
I followed his gaze to see who he was talking to and my stomach dropped.
It was HIM.
The guy I kept seeing. The one following me. The pretty one with the long blond hair and the black hood hanging over his face. I gasped and sat up straight. That’s him. That’s HIM. I opened my mouth to tell Landreia that this was the guy following me when I realized he wasn’t empty handed. He had three bags draped over his arm and one of them said the name of the liquor store I’d seen him go into.
What? What’s happening right now?
As he walked up to the police officer and shook his hand the two of them laughed. I couldn’t hear his voice, but I saw his face light up and his golden eyes brightened. And then he laughed.
What am I seeing right now? What is happening? He knows the police officers?
He tapped the officer on the arm and smiled…then walked away. He didn’t look at me once. Didn’t even glance back in my direction. Landreia was speaking to me and the officers were only a few feet away, but my mind was spinning. Nothing made sense. Did any of that actually happen?
Chapter Four
Riah
I leaned against the streetlight just ten feet away, watching her. Paramedics hurried over with their modern medical gadgets. Three of Salem’s finest squad cars sat in the street between us, the flash of their red and blue lights reflecting off every window setting a tone of intimidation. The officers draped in human-made weapons and loitering on the sidewalk had come out in great numbers to put up a strong, fear-inducing front for anyone who might’ve tried to harm this young girl.
Not that anyone or anything would get near her with me here.
Not that any of their human weapons would work on the likes of me.
Their naïve human minds could not process what I was nor what I could do, though even if they could they’d be no match for me. I glanced down at my right hand to the raw amethyst ring on my pointer finger – the one I should have had on before Saraphina arrived. The one that cloaked me, that made me invisible to the naked eye. The silver metal glistened under the light above me, yet still I remained unseen even as they passed right by me.
If only I had been wearing it as I was supposed to. We wouldn’t be here right now. She would have no reason to fear me. But I hadn’t had it on yet. I’d been preparing it, for Saraphina was not like the humans surrounding her. She was so much more than any single one of them or all of them combined. My cloaking ring required special attention for it to work on her…if she had arrived two minutes later I would have had it on. Or if I had just put it on the moment I saw her running up the wharf — I cursed and pinched the bridge of my nose as the memory flashed in my mind.
The sight of her long red hair flowing in the wind had captured me. It’d been too long since I’d seen her. I had not been ready. Then again, I had not been ready the first time I’d seen her. I looked over at her face and my chest tightened. We stood surrounded by modern civilization and police officers, but I was seeing something else entirely.
I saw a snow-covered town, wooden homes, and horse-drawn carriages. I saw the moon hanging bright in the black sky. I saw Saraphina running up the path without her coat and fear radiating out of her. The air had been bitterly cold, much worse than it was this night. Prince Thorne had just given me my first order as his Knight – a protection detail for a young half-breed living among humans and the other half of her genetics.
The year had been 1691. Three-hundred-twenty-seven years ago on this exact date. The fifth of December. That was the night she’d stolen my heart and changed me forever. She was supposed to be a part of my job, yet she’d captured the very pieces of my soul with one sharp-eyed smile. There’d been no turning back for me. My duty to mine Prince had taken a backseat to my love for her.
As I gazed upon her beauty now, I knew she had not aged a day. Her skin was still youthful and flushed with color. Her lavender eyes were just as bright and full of energy. No wrinkles or signs of aging in sight.
As the police approached her on Landreia’s stoop, the fearful and emotional expression on her face brought me right back to that very first night. That first moment mine eyes found hers. Like some bitter joke, it’d been right on this very corner. Back then the property the hotel across the street sat on had belonged to Bridget Bishop, but it had been an apple orchard with lots of land. There were no paved streets or buildings huddled close together. Saraphina had been running between the trees – neither of us expecting to find the other.
“My name is Saraphina Proctor, but people call me Saffie. That is all I remember. Nothing more,” she said to the police for at least the fifth time.
The sound of her voice had not changed in over three centuries, nor the cadence of her speech, yet my heartbeat fluttered like it
was the first time. Heat bloomed in my chest, the way it always did when she was near. Her voice was hypnotic and intoxicating, like a siren’s song luring me to my death. No matter, I would have gone willingly. She was not speaking to me right now, but in my mind I was right back…right back to that very moment I fell in love with her.
My heart had never felt like it did this night. Both full of love and relief at seeing her, yet twisted and tortured at knowing nothing had changed. I still could not have her. I had a job to do, and I could not let mine heart force me into failure. I would do what my Prince required me to do. I would not give in to the forbidden fruit.
And she was so close, yet unreachable.
If only I had been prepared.
I sighed. I’d never been prepared for her.
She was more than any woman I’d seen in all my centuries of life, both in this realm and in mine own. She was breathtakingly beautiful and genuinely kind to everyone. Yet she held a ferocity in her eyes that made my heart beat in rhythms that were not natural nor healthy. She was always friendly, but cautious and careful. I’d always loved that about her. Then again, I loved everything about her.
Unfortunately.
Because she was untouchable.
It was my job to protect her and keep her safe until it was time…and I had. Once Prince Thorne had cursed her, I’d watched from the shadows. I’d kept her safe for three-hundred-twenty-six years, four months, two weeks, and one day.
Not that I was counting.
“Now, we were told you claim to have seen an animal—”
“It looked like a wolf but different.”
The officer lowered his notepad and shrugged. “It’s late and dark down there, it was probably someone’s large dog that got out.”
Saraphina scowled so hard her eyebrows swooped low over her lavender eyes.
The Cursed Witch Page 2
