by K. C. RILEY
“Yes, ma’am. Good idea.” Poor Miss Lyle. The thing that tackled me in the alley, why would it kill her dog?
The officer was about to leave. “By the way, what high school did you guys say you go to?”
“All Saints.” I was almost in the clear.
“I thought so. Maybe you know my niece, Cassie, Cassie Johnson.”
“Yeah, Cassie and I are friends.” At least, that explained why she seemed so familiar.
“Get out of here, small world.” The officer smiled. “Where are my manners? I’m Sheriff Boswell. New to town.”
“Wow, Cassie never mentioned she had a sheriff for an aunt.”
“Well, she does now. I just got into town from Chicago last night. I want to keep it a surprise. So mum’s the word.”
“Yes, ma’am. Absolutely.”
Sheriff Boswell’s walkie talkie beeped again. “I better go. You two keep an eye out for anything strange and or suspicious.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jake and I both said.
Sheriff Boswell left the building and I wanted to pass out.
“Thanks for not saying anything.”
“Sure,” Jake said. “But you’re still not driving home.”
“I can’t leave my car here. It belonged to—”
“Your mom. It’s okay. I’ll drive you in your car and leave my motorbike here. I can catch a ride with someone tomorrow.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“Please. Just let me.”
I didn’t want to fight, not after the way Jake helped me. I finally surrendered, nodded, and gave him the keys.
Jake walked me to my dorm and said goodnight.
Numb and tired, all I wanted to do was forget what happened in the alley. But how? As soon as he left, the whispers in my head returned. On the ride up in the elevator, I tried to drown them out by humming the second movement from the dance. Blavatski said it was the “Waltz of the Flowers” by Tchaikovsky or something like that.
I opened the door to my room and wished I hadn’t.
Staring back at me on the bed was the haunted book I had taken back to the library. Freaking out and panicking was getting me nowhere. And the thought that the shadow that attacked me was responsible for killing my mom made my blood curl. Infuriated, I decided I wasn’t playing this game anymore of let’s make Lizzy crazy.
I was never stepping back into the pages of that book again. It couldn’t make me. The book, the shadow, they could only get into my head if I let them. So, I wouldn’t let them.
I threw my bag on the bed, grabbed my clothes and towel for a hot shower, and closed the door behind me like the twisted book never existed. I spent the whole time raging about how tired I was of being pushed around by paranormal things I couldn’t explain or speak of to anyone. Enough was enough. The next time the thing from the alley would try to attack me? I would be ready for it.
After changing into a T-shirt and shorts, I worked on towel-drying my hair. Josie poked her head in the bathroom and yelled that there was a bonfire in five. Perfect. The best thing to do was to stay busy doing normal things like drinking Mason’s legendary peach moonshine and being around people. I was totally in.
Cassie came in and asked if she could borrow some hairspray. Not thinking I told her to check my dresser and help herself. And crap... The book.
I dashed after her. But by the time I got to the room, she was already holding the demon book in her arm.
“Where did you get this?” Cassie’s eyes widened like she had discovered some ancient relic.
“You don’t understand. It’s not safe. Put it down.” I reached out to grab the book from her arms.
The body I was in didn’t have the petite feminine feel of Serene at all. Based on the size and width of the hands within my scope of vision, it was clear I was in a man’s body. He unfolded a map and began writing notes on it, along with sketching the same symbol and amulet from the drawing Kai had given me. There was a group of little houses mapped out on it, like a village or campsite, and right underneath it he wrote out the words Shadowick Mountain. He drew more sketches across the map, but it was hard to see by the light coming from the candle. The muscles of his body were tight and tense. Too tense. He was nervous about something.
What sounded like a murmur in the background soon escalated to a choir of rage and chaos pounding at the door. It scared the hell out of me. But he couldn’t feel what I was feeling. His focus remained on the map. With a few more notes scribbled down, he rolled it up.
The crowd pounded and hammered at the door like they were going to tear it down. Whatever he was up to, there were only seconds left to get it done. He looked up and over into a dark corner. There, a man in a hooded cloak stepped from out of the shadows. His face was hard to make out.
They each nodded to one another in agreement.
“Take the map to my grave.” I handed it over to the stranger in the cloak. “Now go.”
His grave? Who needed a grave if they were alive? And whose body was I in?
The door splintered open with the cries of an angry mob out for blood. “Witch. Warlock. Satan’s Servant.”
Two men grabbed and held my arms. I couldn’t move.
Another seedy man in a full beard and Amish-like clothes stepped forward. His face was worn, bitter, and old.
“Remy,” I said. “You’re making a mistake.”
The hairs on Remy’s head—what was left of them—were hard and wiry like whiskers from a broom. Remy leaned into my ear. “Tell me where the amulet is, and I can make all of this go away.”
“You know I can’t do that. It’s not for you to have.” The air burned with what smelled like kerosene. The fumes were nauseating.
“So be it.” Remy turned to the crowd. “Isaac Crane, you and your students have been charged with seven counts of witchcraft, how do you plead?”
“Not guilty.”
Holy crap. I was in Sir Isaac Crane’s body. The two men holding my arms behind my back pushed me through the chanting crowd. Burn. Burn. Burn.
A woman stepped in front of me and spat in my face. “The devil you are.”
Shouting faces were shadowed and hollowed from the flames of torches that danced like demons in the night. This was the very reason I had gotten rid of the book in the first place. It was all too real. I should have destroyed it. I tried willing myself out of the pages, but couldn’t.
The two men dragged me to a post stockpiled with wood. There, my hands and ankles were bound against the post. The hard bristles of the rope cut deep into my skin. There were others kids my age and younger bound to posts, mostly girls. They must have been Sir Isaac’s students.
These people were insane. If Sir Isaac was really a witch, wouldn’t he have been able to use magic to free himself? Were they that stupid? The answer was yes.
I couldn’t save him. I couldn’t save any of them. Why was the book showing me this? I was just as powerless as I was the night of my mom’s accident and I hated myself for it.
“Sir Isaac Crane. We return you to Satan.” A corrupted smile stretched over Remy’s face. “Go back to the hell you came from. And take your whores with you.”
Whores? I hated every inch of Remy and wished I could free myself long enough to beat him with a stick. He was disgusting.
I begged Sir Isaac to say something. Anything. Even if it was only to scream. But he stayed calm, centered, and unmoved. What the hell was wrong with him? They were about to light him and these kids on fire. It was selfish, but the only thing I could think was would the book really burn me alive with them?
Yeah. It would.
They ignited Sir Isaac and his students in flames. And that’s when he screamed—when they all screamed. The smoke seared my lungs as those horrible people danced and spat at our souls burning in agony.
“Hannah, breathe. You’re fine, but you have to breathe.” The words were coming from my mouth. The book must have jumped timelines and put me back into Serene’s body.
Hannah didn’t look good. Her hands were bound in rope, and her arms extended out between two wooden posts. Beside her were two more empty wooden posts. It almost looked like it was a place for some kind of torture or punishment.
The air felt electrical and damp with the smell of ozone.
People crowded around us from several feet away. Based on what had just happened, I prayed they weren’t going to torture her. And maybe they weren’t. The energy felt different than the crowd with Sir Isaac.
I reached down and soaked a rag in a bucket of water. I squeezed it out before patting it on Hannah’s sweating forehead. The red amulet hung around her neck.
A voice spoke from behind me, “Step back and give her some room.” It was Ezra, Serene’s father. He gently took me by the arm and escorted me back to where the rest of the crowd stood watching. Sparks of electricity gathered around Hannah’s body and built in the air around her like a contraction. She couldn’t take it anymore and screamed out like she was giving birth.
My heart wanted to console her. If this was an ascension, I wanted no part of it.
A horrible pain shot through my stomach. I fell to the ground and keeled over in what felt like being plugged into a thousand volts of electricity.
“Serene, what’s wrong?” Ezra held me at my shoulders.
“I don’t know,” I said, doubled over in pain. Something burned into my wrist, a mark, the same mark from the book.
“Everyone, stand back. Give her some room.”
Another contraction of energy pierced through my body as I hollered out in pain. If this was what it was like to give birth, I didn’t want any part of that either. Not without some serious drugs.
Ezra yelled out again. “Bring me the amulet.”
“No. It’s not my time.” I was half dazed. “My birthday is not for two more weeks. You can’t.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. You know I am. But you’re early. I don’t know why, but you are.”
Somehow I was pulled up to my feet and carried over to the post next to Hannah. My arms and hands were stretched out and secured. They took the amulet off of Hannah and placed it around my neck. Hannah was going to die without that amulet. The guilt was already eating Serene alive.
Another contraction struck through me. Hannah and I both cried out at the same time as the dark clouds gathered overhead. Lightning struck down all around the campground. You could see and smell it. Regardless, no one ran for cover. They all remained unbelievably still in their spots just watching us.
I looked over at Hannah. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. You have to live. You take good care of them.”
With the sound of her last word, a black mist descended on us like Death itself. I couldn’t see a thing. It felt as though Serene’s body was being eaten alive from the inside out, until she was filled with an energy I never knew was possible, the life force of every witch that had come before her. My body shook and jerked as the energy poured into my heart filling me with electricity.
Pain turned to ecstasy. Ecstasy turned to pain. And death wasn’t death at all. Dying felt alive. When it was all over, the black mist cleared, and two men from the crowd untied my hands.
I looked over to Hannah to see if she had made it. She didn’t. Her body had been mummified by the ascension. What was once beautiful fair skin had been dried and drawn to the bone. I was sick to my stomach and wanted to puke.
The crowd cheered and celebrated.
Ezra reached over and placed his hands on my shoulder. “You did it. We’ve been waiting a long time for you.”
I glanced at the crowd, Ezra, and Hannah. The ecstasy that coursed through my veins quickly changed to an anchor that felt like it was dragging me to the bottom of the sea.
Cassie and I both fell to the ground coughing. It was like the smoke from either being burned alive or electrocuted was still in our lungs. I had seen and been through enough. Before she could get a word out, I grabbed the book from the floor and jetted down the stairs still coughing.
Cassie’s voice trailed behind me. “Lizzy, wait.”
I ran as fast as my feet would take me until I was out the main door and into the woods where the seniors were gathering for the bonfire.
Cassie’s voice stayed behind me until she caught up. By then, it was too late. Out of breath, I threw the book into the fire and watched it burn. Half the students were high as a kite, others not so sober. Clueless, they all roared me on and then went back to partying.
“What did you do?” Cassie asked.
“What I needed to.” Knowing the book was gone for good, I turned to go back to my room. I was in no mood for a bonfire.
Cassie followed behind me. “Aren’t you going to talk about it?”
“Nope.”
She kept up with my pace. “Don’t you think you should?”
“Nope.” If I didn’t talk about it, then none of it was real. I didn’t care how stupid the reasoning was. It was all I had.
Anyway, it didn’t matter.
I opened my door and the book was back on my bed as though the bonfire had never touched it.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” Cassie went over and sat down next to it. She carefully picked it up and traced her fingers over the lion’s mouth and leather binding. “It’s called a Blood Book. They’re practically indestructible.”
“A what?”
“Did you use blood to open it?”
I wanted to say no but eventually nodded.
“Blood Books are rare. And they only open for those who come from someone in the book’s bloodline. It’s like a witch’s journal, a diary of sorts.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I insisted. “If that was true, then that would make me...” I couldn’t say it.
“A witch.”
The room got hot.
“I know what it’s like,” Cassie said.
“What?”
“Denial. The fear that comes with accepting this stuff.”
Regardless if Cassie was right or not, it was too much to swallow.
“Knock. Knock.” It was Josie. “So, what was that all about? I thought you guys were staying for the bonfire? And what’s up with the faces? What’s going on?”
I stepped in front of Josie’s view to keep her from seeing the book. I wasn’t sure how much more my nerves could take as I glanced at the bottle of meds I had placed back on my desk. I hadn’t taken a pill in almost two weeks. The room felt like it was spinning, sweltering. And I could feel my teeth grinding.
“Wait a minute. I know exactly what’s happening here. You sneaky devils.” Josie grinned from ear to ear. “Someone is planning a birthday party. How did you find out? Did Cassie tell you?”
Cassie nodded toward Josie as I scrambled to put one and one together.
“Uh, yeah. I mean, we were discussing who was going to manage food for homecoming and your birthday.”
“Yes,” Cassie said, relieved.
“Well, I’ll pretend like I didn’t hear a thing,” Josie said, over the moon. “Besides, it’s the perfect time to go over who's doing what for homecoming.”
“Uh...sure.” My phone beeped against my thigh. A text. I was already inches short of a meltdown but I also needed to keep things normal. “You know, I was thinking I could handle managing the caterers if it’s okay with you guys. You and Cassie seem to be more apt for decorating.”
“Not a bad idea,” Josie said. “We can talk more about it in my room. I just updated the drapes. And after that, we can talk more about my surprise birthday party.”
“That sounds perfect.” I just needed to hold it together.
Cassie’s brows knitted as though she wasn’t buying my act. Josie grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to her room.
“Aren’t you coming?” I said to Cassie.
“Sure. I’m right behind you.”
We spent the next two hours in Josie’s room ironing out who was responsible for what. Josie was in charge of overall
management—no surprise there—Cassie was doing decorations, and I would handle the food.
Another text came through. And then another. After our meeting, Cassie walked me back to my room. I checked my phone, and the texts were from Kai. He never showed up on Thursday and that was two days ago. I sent him a text asking if everything was okay, but never heard back. I thought maybe he had ghosted me.
Don’t trust anyone.
Especially me.
I can’t see you anymore. I’m sorry.
Kai wasn’t making any sense. I texted him back.
Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?
“Is everything okay?” Cassie asked.
“Yeah, fine.” I glanced at my phone. There was no reply. I kind of got a little worried. What if Kai was in some kind of trouble because of me? Then again, what if I was overreacting and the guy just didn’t want to be bothered. Everything was going sideways wrong.
“That’s your answer for everything, isn’t it? You can’t keep running.”
Was she right? Of course. But she didn’t know me long enough to say it. I was doing the best that I could. I opened the door to my room and turned back to her. “It’s not running. It’s surviving. And it’s the only thing I know how to do of late.” I shrugged.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. That was way out of line. May I?” Cassie wedged herself between me and the door before she got to the desk. She scribbled something down on paper, ripped it from the pad, and handed it to me. “I won’t say anything to anyone. This guy knows all about Blood Books. I’ll send you a link to one of his lectures on it. In the meantime, you should look him up.”
The note read, Dr. Jonas Jacobs.
The name sounded familiar. I gave Cassie a nod and said goodnight. With my back against the door, I sighed as my body sank to the floor. The more I fought to be normal, the more it fought back.
Someone knocked again. Cassie. “By the way, let me know when you want to get together to plan Josie’s birthday party. And good call. It’ll mean a lot to her.”
“Yeah. I will.” And then there was that.
