“Of course.” We had all the time in the world to stay at the beach house. We were running out of time trying to figure out the killer’s identity.
Noah was still behind the counter, flirting with the receptionist he’d shooed away. He was chuckling at something she’d said as we approached. I held out the smiley face; this time mine didn’t match. "We need a room in the hotel, please."
Noah quirked his eyebrow questioningly as he searched my face.
"There is safety in numbers,” King said, helping to explain.
"That's not a problem. We blocked out the entire hotel just for this event. So you can have your pick of rooms, other than Dad's penthouse or the ones I put your sisters in."
“Any of the suites with two bedrooms will be fine."
"Can we have one with a view of the beach? "Livvy asked.
Noah smiled at her. "I have the perfect one for you.” Noah continued punching keys on the computer until new room cards popped out. He slid them across the counter.
I glanced at the room number and grinned. The room he provided us was one of the special rooms that we kept for our customers who liked a little bit more privacy without making the guest feel claustrophobic. It had an entrance from inside the hotel and another one out to the pool area that overlooked the beach.
Two separate entrances in and out. We would never feel trapped in that room, even if something were to happen. Maybe it would be best if I suggested my sisters move to this floor instead.
I led King and Livvy through the hallway and slid the key into our door. I walked in, pulling my suitcase behind me.
Livvy ran straight to the window and rested her hands on the glass. "I never want to leave."
I can remember feeling the same way. "I'm glad the room has your approval."
I put my suitcase in the master bedroom while King was checking out the rest of the place. I sniffed and met King’s gaze. “Do you smell that?”
He entered the room and sniffed, heading towards the bathroom. "She may like the view outside, but she can’t see this one."
I stepped into the bathroom, thinking that maybe someone had filled the tub with dead fish or something else.
I gasped as my hand flew to cover my mouth. Something was dead all right, but it wasn’t fish. The sight before me was unfathomable. Ryder Shields wasn’t the killer. He was dead.
There was no color in his face. His eyes were glazed and fixated on the ceiling, a clear shower curtain wrapped around his body. I stood there, blank, confused, and dazed.
“This isn’t right. He’s not supposed to be...”
King used one of the hanging towels to undo the curtain just enough so that he could rest his finger on Ryder’s neck. He lowered his head. “I’m sorry, baby, but he's dead."
My stomach rolled at what this meant. My sisters believing Ryder was the killer was all wrong. A tear slipped free, down my cheek.
"Your room is even bigger than mine," Livvy said, hopping up on the bed to bounce.
I grabbed her and hurried her out of the room. Her innocent eyes didn’t need to see death up close and personal.
I used my cell and called Noah. "We need the police in our room."
“You’re teasing, right?"
"Our room was…occupied, and if Ryder is the killer, then he's doing it from beyond the grave."
"You cannot be serious. You’re just saying that to get back at me for not telling you about Regina, right?”
"I’m not kidding, Noah. I’m dead serious."
Chapter 3
In the lobby, I watched Livvy trying to perform magic spells from her witch 101 book. My dead grandmother had been whispering in her ear she needed to try something harder, but Livvy didn’t always listen to Mildred. She was a smart kid, understanding that she needed to learn the building blocks first.
The lobby was empty other than hotel staff cleaning the floors and the check in clerk behind the counter who didn’t give us a second glance, and Noah, King, and me, who were speaking with the sheriff and the coroner. This wasn’t the way I’d intended to prove Ryder’s innocence.
Tears clouded my vision, and I swiped them angrily away. A suffocating sensation tightened my throat. I wanted to scream at him for being so stupid. I wanted to scream at my mother for not warning me, and most of all, I wanted to scream at myself for not calling him to warn him the evidence pointed to his family tree. Was his death on me?
It didn't take long for my sisters to realize something was wrong. I didn’t know how it worked for them, but I could feel their emotions as if they were stirring inside of me. A whisper in my ear that something just wasn’t quite right with one of them.
The elevator doors opened with a swish as my sisters stepped out, their gazes penetrating, as if they were ready to start a new war with the flick of a wrist or whisper of a spell. Together, we were just normal women, but when we were pissed off and together, magic thrummed beneath our veins, and everyone around us could feel it.
"What happened?" Margo asked as she approached.
“We can’t stay in our room. The police needed it,” Livvy announced.
Georgia had been surveying any threats in the room until she’d heard Livvy’s response. Georgia whipped her gaze to mine. “Explain.”
"I tried to tell you girls that Ryder wasn't the voodoo killer."
"Of course he is. His name was in the book," Margo said.
"I found Ryder dead in the bathtub. So either he seriously sucks at his profession, or we’re dealing with someone else."
"What do you mean he's dead?" Confusion riddled Georgia’s face.
I couldn't blame her. None of us understood what was going on. He was supposed to be a protector for the council, and my sisters had dubbed him a killer. Poor Ryder had been kind and caring, and I believed in him, the way he was the only one that had believed in me.
"My brother originally gave us my old beach house, but King and I agreed that we would be stronger in numbers if we stayed in the hotel, so Noah gave us a room in the hotel to be closer to you guys. When King, Livvy, and I arrived at the suite, everything was fine. Livvy was excited, and King was checking things out, and that was when King found Ryder’s body in the bathtub."
"You found him dead in the bathroom in a room you were not supposed to stay in?" Georgia asked.
"Someone was either trying to hide his body or making sure you saw it," Margo added.
I doubted for a minute that someone would put a body into a room for me to find if they didn’t even know where I would be staying. “Our pick of rooms was last minute. No one could have known. None of Ryder’s things were in the empty room. I doubt that he’d been staying there either.”
The room had to be just a place to hide the body. I knew one thing for certain. Ryder had been squatting somewhere else. If he’d made it onto the island without anyone knowing, there was a chance that others could have too.
"There was no evidence he was staying in the room where we found his body. I'm not even sure how he got on the island without anybody noticing." I said.
"If we find his stuff, maybe we can find more answers," Georgia said.
"There is only one other place that Ryder would have been familiar with on the island, where he wouldn't be seen—my beach house. Do you guys mind keeping an eye on Livvy? I need to go check something out.” I hopped up from my seat and headed toward the door before they even answered.
"Tess, wait up," Georgia called out. "You can't go out there alone. What if the killer has the same idea? You can't fight him by yourself."
“I’m strong enough,” I answered.
“We’re stronger together,” Georgia said.
“His things might be gone if we wait.”
"King would kill us if we let you just go traipsing after a killer," Margo added.
"We should all go together," Livvy said.
King might get pissy at my need to beat a killer to the punch, but he’d be downright livid if I took Livvy into danger. Time wasn’t on our
side. Whoever had killed Ryder was probably still on the island. And if they knew my history with Ryder, I could almost guarantee they’d come up with the same thought that he must've been staying at my beach bungalow. I glanced down at Livvy. "I need to go and check something out."
"They just said that wasn't safe,” Livvy said.
"If I don't go look, we might never find our answers."
I could tell my sisters were debating on arguing with me. They were right about it being dangerous, but that wouldn’t stop me. We needed answers, and we needed them now.
Georgia grabbed Livvy’s hand and met my gaze. “I'll take Livvy upstairs to Carson. He can watch her while we go check your beach house."
I rubbed my hands together. Whoever was trying to destroy our lives was in my territory now. I knew this island like the back of my hands. "Margo and I will go now." I gestured to the pool patio. “Go down the stairs, hit the beach, take a left, and keep walking for about one mile. You'll run right into it. But be careful, Georgia. We don't know where this killer is hiding out."
Georgia guided Livvy to the elevator, and I waited till she was safely inside before Margo and I headed toward the beach. We got down to the bottom of the stairs, kicked off our tennis shoes in the soft sand, and took off at a jog toward my old home.
It didn't take us long to arrive at our destination. My beach bungalow was in sight. We were hyper-aware of the crashing waves and the sun lowering on the horizon. I wasn't about to tell Margo that more death bubbles popped up on the beach, leading the way. The omens were something I wasn't ready to deal with. I was still in shock about whom the first omen had predicted. Ryder had been smart and strong. Whoever got the drop on him should never be underestimated.
My bungalow, and that of my neighbor, came into view. Our homes were the only ones in this area. I would have forgotten about the alarm had my neighbor not been out on her porch. "Hi, Miss Birdie. Did you happen to see anybody come down this way?"
"Just your old friend.”
Chapter 4
Margo and I exchanged a worried look.
Margo was about to continue walking when I grabbed her arm, stopping her. "It's booby-trapped."
I picked up a coconut and rolled it over the sand as if it were a bowling ball. It was only then that the design came upon the sand. A simple pattern I knew well. I glanced over at Margo. "Follow my steps."
“If it’s booby-trapped, did Ryder know how to get through it?”
But I wouldn’t have put it past my new stepmother to have invaded this territory, too, like she’d claimed my job and my office. The maze wouldn’t have permanently hurt us. And to be honest, I'm not even sure whether it was my father or the neighbor that insisted it be there.
I glanced at my sister and answered her question, “Yes.” I went through the maze slowly with her so that she didn't step out of bounds. When we were on the other side and had reached the front door, satisfaction pursed my lips that no one had changed the pattern
If I had to guess, it was probably both. I might not know who originated the spell in the sand, but I did know that whoever stepped out of bounds got hit with one hell of a paralyzing spell. So, whoever made it to my bungalow had to know the secret in the sand.
I jogged up onto my porch and turned the doorknob. The door opened without resistance. Trepidation traveled down my spine. Margo and I exchanged a reluctant look.
We stepped into the living room. The décor remained unchanged. My flowered couch was pressed up against the wall. The window was open, and the ocean breeze billowed the curtains. If anything, it looked like any typical day, as if I still lived here.
There was no killer waiting on us, but I wouldn’t be satisfied until I checked behind the shower curtain and for monsters under the bed. An unlocked door, and open window, meant someone had been inside. Until I was sure it had only been Ryder, I pulled the energy beneath my palm, forming a green gooey blob in my hand.
A few days’ worth of dishes sat in the sink. A newspaper, unfolded and opened to my wedding announcement, was sitting on the breakfast counter. I tapped it with my finger for Margo to see before heading toward my bedroom.
Had my father announced my wedding in the paper in an attempt to draw the killer out? Surely he wouldn’t have put me in more danger.
We turned down the hallway and my mother’s apparition caught me off guard making me come to an abrupt stop. Margo bounced off my back.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered in my ear.
“Run,” my mom’s voice whispered through the quietness.
“My mother's apparition is standing in the hallway telling us to run.”
“She doesn’t have to tell me twice.” Margo grabbed my arm and turned, but I slipped free.
“I can’t leave. I have to know for sure who was staying here.” I stepped through my mother’s ghostly apparition, and she reappeared in front of my bedroom door. I opened the door but didn’t step into the room. My room was ransacked, only the clothes lying on the floor were of the male persuasion.
A bag I recognized sat on the bed. Ryder’s initials were sewn into the leather. His computerized tablet of clan names was next to it. An amulet similar to the one he’d given me to block my powers sat on the counter.
I’d been right. Ryder had been staying here. If Ryder was dead, why was my mother warning me to leave? My mind was working overtime trying to figure it out. My gaze darting around the room in search of danger.
"Tess, run," my mother’s voice boomed in panic.
I quickly grabbed Ryder’s things and ran behind Margo to the door. We had just made it off the porch when the flicker of heat scorched my back. Within a breath, I put a protective bubble around Margo and me to shield us from the blast.
The impact threw us forward onto the sandy ground. I rolled over on my stomach to look at my sister as the bubble dissipated around us. Her eyes were closed. "Margo?"
I crawled over to her, ignoring the pain radiating through my body. I rested my hand on hers. “Margo.”
She slowly opened her eyes and met my gaze. Fear filled her eyes. I had only a second to see it before the darkness consumed me too.
****
My mother, Vinette Halliwell, and I were sunbathing on the beach. I knew it was a dream, or some other place, that would keep me safe. Vinette Halliwell was the witch that had died when I still lived here. Her magic had chosen me as its vessel when she died, and her magic, combined with my parents’ magic running through my veins, had made me a lethal weapon if someone would give me the instructions on how to use it.
Vinette had tried to teach me how to use her magic. I had a loose hold on her capabilities and was only now wishing I’d taken notes.
I believed that was one of the reasons why the Halliwell children were coming to my wedding, to see if I was ready to give up everything.
The beeping sound from the machines pulled me from the dream. The loud staccato from the machines felt like little needles stabbing at my head. I slowly slid my eyelids open and was met with more darkness. I ignored the pain as I glanced around the space. This room wasn’t at the island hospital. How did I know? I’d picked out the tapestries. I was not only in a room at the hotel, but even weirder was that I was alone.
I must still be dreaming or dead. Neither King nor my father was hovering nearby to yell at me. Couple that with no Noah or sisters, well, that set my nerves buzzing.
Either I was on some type of total lockdown are they were planning their next attack and keeping me out of the loop. Regardless, I would think that someone would be nearby when I came through.
My mother appeared, hovering near the window. “Don't worry, dear. They didn't go far." She glided across the room closer to the bed, staring down at me. Her eyes were filled with so much love and unbridled concern. "I told you to run, Tess."
"Mom, whoever is doing this is powerful and taunting us. We thought it was Ryder, but we were wrong. We found him dead in the hotel."
"Oh yes, your young friend
Ryder was no killer.”
"We know that now.” I held my mother’s gaze. "Why didn't you tell me who my father was?"
"Masterson is your father, just not by blood. And to tell you any more is a story for another time. Masterson was my soulmate. He was the one that understood me, just like your King understands you."
I tried to sit up in the bed, and pain radiated down my spine.
"You should rest while the magic is healing your body," my mother said.
"I need to go find Margo and make sure she's okay."
"Your sister is fine. She transported you back to the hotel. She must've been the one out of you three girls that inherited the gift of guidance to use in the magical tunnels."
“There are tunnels beneath the island?” I asked.
“No, dear, living on the island is like living in one of your tunnels back home. It’s full of magic and bursting at the seams. Transportation here can be used the same way.”
"You knew about the secret room and the tunnels?" I asked.
"Of course I did. When your father chose me, Georgia's mother, and Margo's mother to produce his offspring, it was only right that the Hexfords tell us exactly why more offspring were needed. Love was never in the equation. It was about protection and protecting the innocent. It was our job to raise you girls, knowing that you’d eventually take over the coven, assuming the rest of the Hexfords were dead."
"And yet you took me away and kept him a secret."
"Yes, well, they didn't tell me everything I needed to know."
"What are you talking about, Mom?"
The door to the room opened, and my mother fizzled out of sight. King and my father walked into the room, each one seeming more worried than the other.
Chapter 5
King crossed the room and grabbed my hand as he took a seat at my bedside. My father headed straight for the window, his back straight and stiff as he looked out.
“Tess, why on earth would you go to your bungalow after finding Ryder dead?” my father asked.
Witchy Past Page 2
