“How dare you!” I stepped back, a look of surprise and anger on my face. “Watch your hands!” I reared back, giving her my best slap. The palm of my hand collided with her face, nearly knocking her off her feet. “I’m leaving!” I turned.
18
Babbs and I spent the next few minutes putting on a pretty good show. I ran through the club until finally reaching the back door, and Babbs, looking like a guy, of course, followed right behind me. We spilled out onto the street, me screaming at the top of my lungs, pretending I was mad at the hot warlock who’d tried to feel me up. Babbs, for the most part, pretended to be a little too drunk.
“Get away from me!” I pushed her back. “I’ve told you, I’m not interested!”
“Wait a minute, baby,” she replied, slurring her words to high heaven. “I just wanted—”
“I don’t care!” I yelled. “I don’t play that!”
From the corner of my eye, I could see the tall slender witch, the one the other witches pointed out. They seemed to be right about her interest in the warlock. She’d followed us through the club and was standing at the far end of the alley, watching closely as I had a conversation with what she believed to be the illusion she’d created.
“I’ll call the police!” I yelled, hoping it would be enough to get a reaction. It was.
“That won’t be necessary,” she said, walking toward us. “Please, forgive my brother. He loses his cool from time to time when has a few too many. That’s no excuse, though. I understand. Please, accept my apologies.”
“He needs to learn to keep his hands together,” I said.
“You’re right.” She looked into his eyes. “I must have told him that a million times.”
“Doesn’t seem to be working,” I replied.
“Again, I’m sorry. But if there’s nothing else, then—”
“There is,” I interjected. “There is something else. Your fool brother broke my necklace.” I held out a silver heart necklace I’d scooped up just before leaving the house. I’d gotten it shortly after arriving in the mortal realm. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t cast up myself, but it was pretty nonetheless. Not only that, it was my first purchase, which at the time was very exciting.
“Tell you what,” she said. “How about you come with me to my car, and I’ll fix that right up for you? I happen to be a jeweler. I have a small repair kit in my glovebox.”
“That’s lucky,” I said, sure she was lying.
“Isn’t it?” She cocked an eyebrow.
I wouldn’t have trusted her as far as I could throw her, but there was just something about her, something familiar in a sort of strange way. It didn’t do much to make me trust her, though it did make me want to know more. Besides, if I was ever going to find out why she created this illusion and why the crap it was killing everyone under the sun, then I was going to have to spend some time with her.
“How long have you been in the jewelry business?” I asked, twirling a lock of my now fiery red hair in my fingers.
“A few years now.” She turned to me.
“I have to say, I love your dress. Not everyone can handle beaded lace.”
“It’s always been a favorite of mine.”
I smiled. “Mine too.”
We cut the corner and came to a stop in front of her car. It was an expensive red thing with blacked-out windows and chrome accents. It was sexy and no one in their right mind could say they didn’t like it, but it wasn’t the kind of thing I’d be seen driving. It was just too ostentatious. Not that I had a problem with that. I mean, just look at some of my clothes. But for a car, it was just too much.
“Nice car,” I said, running my fingertips across the hood. “I love it.”
“Thank you,” she replied, watching my hands. I pulled away, assuming she was one of those people who hated when you touched their things. “Sorry, didn’t mean to . . . it’s just so vibrant.”
“Oh.” She waved her hand and gave a big smile. “No problem at all. Now, lets have a look at that necklace.”
I handed it to her as she opened her glove box. She studied it for a moment, laying it down on the black leather seat. I’d managed to pull the heart from the chain, bending it at the base as I was running through the club. I didn’t want it to be broken, but I doubted she could actually fix it. I couldn’t say that I’d ever seen a jeweler before, but I didn’t believe she was one, not for a minute.
“How’s it coming?” I asked.
“Just about done,” she replied.
“Well, hello, little lady . . .” Babbs stepped closer to me.
Oh, no . . .
She was still fully committed to the part she was playing, but her magic was beginning to wear off. Our cover was about to be blown. Babbs’s face flashed quickly, revealing her true self before morphing back into the warlock. We needed to wrap this thing up, and quick!
“There you go.” She handed the necklace back to me. I gave my best poker face as I felt magic literally running off the thing. She hadn’t used tools at all. This necklace was being held together with an old-fashioned enchantment.
“Thank you,” I said, wrapping it around my neck. “Why don’t I call a cab for your brother? I doubt you’ll want him in such a lovely car given his nausea. You wouldn’t want to ruin those lovely leather seats.”
“That’s kind of you to offer, but I’ll see him home.” She took Babbs’s hand. “I wouldn’t want to—”
And that’s when the magic failed . . .
The witch’s eyes grew wide, a look of surprised terror on her face as she watched the magical construct she’d created shimmer away into the night sky, leaving behind my best friend in its place.
“What is going on?” She slammed her foot into the pavement, a shock of energy rippling out through the streets.
“You guys . . .” I said loudly, “I think now would be a good time for some backup.”
The witch turned her attention to the sky as she began searching our surroundings for the person I was talking to. “Who’s there?” she asked, readying her hands to unleash whatever magic she saw fit.
“Why, it’s just little old me,” Kianna said, the tattoo on her forearm glowing once again as she neared Babbs. A single spark leapt out from it, landing on the witch’s arm and singing her skin. “What do you say we just talk about this?”
“Flamma de geminos . . .” she muttered, her eyes darting between Kianna and Babbs.
“What did she say?” Babbs asked.
“I don’t know.”
“I’m not here to talk!” the witch snapped, wrapping her hands around her car’s side mirror. Immediately, the car sprang to life like some real-life Transformer, lifting itself off the ground then growing to twice its size. What was once a fiery-red car was now a fire-breathing dragon.
“Oh, no!” I said, wrapping my arms around Babbs. “Stay near me.”
“Please,” Kianna said. “Another illusion.”
Kianna stepped forward, crossing her arms in front of her and allowing a large swell of energy to release from them. The power collided with the dragon, shattering it into a million pieces. Like rain in a thunderstorm, the dust danced around us in a shimmering magical light.
“We can do this the easy way. Or, we can do this the painful way.” Abben stepped out of the shadows. “We just want to talk with you.”
She pulled back, taking aim at Babbs, unleashing a tidal wave of deadly battle magic. Babbs outstretched her arms, crossing them in front of her face. With a flash of light, bright and blue, the two magics slammed into one another, each one dissipating instantly.
“How did you do that?” I asked her. “I never taught you that.”
“I . . . have no idea,” she replied.
“By the powers of—” The witch’s spell came to a sudden and abrupt end as Halloway stepped out, slamming a piece of metal pipe into her head, sending her crashing to the pavement.
“I didn’t think she was ever gonna shut up.”
So .
. . we enchanted some dental floss and tied her down . . .
It was either really late or really early, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Either way, I was pretty tired. Babbs, Halloway, Kianna, Abben, and I all headed back to my place where we spent the next little while trying to figure out how, exactly, we were going to handle this thing. Well, that and we all needed a few cups of coffee.
“We can just view her memories.” I looked to Abben. “The way you did mine at the library.”
“We can,” she answered. “But something tells me she wouldn’t like the idea of sharing them. If we force her to, it may have adverse effects.”
“Like what?” Babbs asked.
“Well,” Kianna spoke. “Memories are alive, yes. And for the most part, they’re okay with being inside someone. But pulling them out against the person’s will may anger them. Do that, and what you see may not be the truth. That, or they will invade your own mind, torturing you for the rest of your days.”
“Wow . . .” Babbs said. “That’s rough.”
“Well, it’s not the best.”
“So, what then?” I asked.
Abben took another sip of her coffee and pondered our options. While the magic that made Babbs look like a guy had long since faded, ours was holding pretty strong. I was still a redhead, still super fair-skinned, and still covered in freckles. Like I said, though, I was making it work.
“We’re going to have to get it out of her. Even if she doesn’t want to talk, she’ll give something away just because she’s angry. She won’t mean to, but everyone does it. All we have to do is keep her talking.”
“I can do that!” Halloway said. “I’m both a witch and a conversational wizard. Come on . . . watch me go.”
We stood, each girl taking a final sip of coffee before heading into the bedroom where we’d left her tied up. “All right!” Halloway opened the door. “Time for a little talking.”
Only . . . she wasn’t there. Somehow, the witch we’d bound with hexed dental floss had managed to escape right from under our noses.
“Where is she?” Babbs asked.
“She must have been more powerful than we thought,” Abben replied. “This can’t be good . . .”
I ran to the balcony, scanning the streets below and the sky above, but saw nothing. There was no sign of her. She was like a ghost. It was as if she’d vanished into thin air, and for being a witch, that was totally possible.
“How do we find her?” I asked.
“We need something to track her. Another way to find her,” Abben answered.
“What about this?” I asked, pulling the necklace from my neck and holding it in the air. “She fixed it with magic. I can still feel her essence on it. But it’s fading.”
“Perfect!” Abben answered. “But we have to act fast, while the magic is still fresh.” Abben waved her hands, reverting us all back to our original bodies before heading out the door.
19
Until the last few days, I’d spent my nights sprinting around chasing bad guys maybe once. This, however, was the fourth time in as many days, and I have to say, I was getting pretty good at it. That, and I was surrounded by some pretty cool witches. All in all, it wasn’t a bad night.
“I can feel her,” I said. “And I think I know where she’s going.”
“Where?” Kianna asked.
“Home,” I answered. “Back to Enchanted Grove.”
I don’t know how I knew, but I did. And what’s more, I knew I knew the woman. I might not have recognized her, but I knew her magic. It was familiar in a way I just couldn’t place but I knew the truth was going to come out tonight, one way or another.
“How?” Babbs asked. “I thought you could only get in when the sun was setting.”
“There’s another way,” I said. “But it requires a level of magic I don’t have access to.”
“We do.” Abben stepped forward. “Follow me.” Abben turned, heading for a large parking lot. “This should do it.”
She held her hand over the hood of a large white SUV. The engine roared to life and the doors unlocked. We hopped inside, though it wasn’t until the car sped off that I realized no one was actually behind the driver’s seat. Not that it seemed to matter. The thing swerved in and out of traffic like it was being handled by a NASCAR driver.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“There’s another portal. It requires a lot of magic, but if you’re right, then we should be able to follow her through and see her true identity.” The car took a hard right down a small street. “The portal is just over there, in the Museum of Natural History.”
“The Museum of Natural History?” I asked. “Really?”
“They have a relic, something from long ago. We leave it there to keep it from prying eyes.”
“Sounds about right,” I said. “But the museum is closed. Which means . . .”
“We’re breaking in,” Kianna said. “Not an issue.”
A few miles later, we found ourselves standing outside the front door of the museum. The building itself looked old, with a large glass door and dinosaur statues outside. I stopped for a moment, thinking about how I’d never even considered coming to this place and how much a shame that truly was. History is such a part of life, such a part of the future. It isn’t right to ignore it, I thought.
“This place looks lovely,” I said.
“It is,” Abben replied. “But something tells me we won’t have time to take in the sights. Look!” She pointed to the witch, the one we’d been chasing. She was already inside the museum, and from the looks of it, she’d already started the incantation to open the portal.
“All right?” I answered, twisting my hands together and releasing a spell. “Cedant.”
The doors opened, which grabbed the attention of the witch. She looked less surprised to see us than I thought she would. Though, she still didn’t appear to be too happy about it. She stepped forward, her hand resting on a large dinosaur skeleton in the center of the room. Slowly, it came to life, turning its gaze toward us.
“This again?” Babbs asked. “Get a new trick, girl!” She ran as fast as she could toward the thing, a look of anger on her face.
“Babbs!” Kianna followed behind her. The two girls attacked the living bones, fighting their way through them as best they could.
“Come on.” Abben looked to me. “Halloway. We’re going after her.”
“Go!” Halloway replied, nodding toward Babbs and Kianna. “I’ll stay behind and keep watch for them.”
Abben grabbed my wrist and together, we made a run for it through the museum. We ran quickly past the exhibits, not taking even a second to look through them until finally reaching a cave near the back of the museum, just past the giant sloth.
“This is it!” Abben said. “There she is.”
Inside the cave stood the witch, the one I would have sworn to anyone I knew. She locked eyes with me as Abben and I came to a stop just outside the cave. A darkness, deep and alive, began to engulf the cave, slowly spilling over the walls until finally creeping out closer to us.
“Is that supposed to happen?” I asked, unfamiliar with this particular portal.
“No.” Abben said. “And neither is that!”
From the darkness stepped a group of Greylock demons, each one with sharp, dripping teeth, each one with its eyes fixated on Abben and me as if we were its last meal. I felt my heart skip a beat and sink into my stomach. We were witches, and both pretty strong, but strong didn’t mean fast. We were about to become dinner for some of the oldest beings in the world.
The sound of shattering glass rang out, cutting through the air. Shards of window exploded, landing on the floor in a large pile just below my feet. I turned to see Nicco sailing through the air. He collided with the pack of demons, slamming them into the stone floor.
“Nicco!” I yelled. “No!”
But it was too late. One of the demons sank its nails into his back. He screamed in pain, releasing
a loud, animalistic roar, then it happened again. I watched as his body morphed into something else, something completely different that human. His Lycan side had taken over. He was now a full wolf, large, dangerous, and fiercely protective of the thing he loved. Me.
“Nicco!” I yelled again, not sure what, if anything, I could say to bring him back, or even if that was the wisest decision.
It didn’t matter, though. It was as if he couldn’t even hear me, though I knew better. I watched as he tore them apart, ripping their thick silver skin to shreds and tossing it aside until finally, he was left with just one.
Nicco was breathless. I could see his chest rising and falling in exhaustion as his large wolf body struggled to keep its footing. His eyes met mine, as though he were looking deep into my soul. I could feel it, all of it. I could feel his love, his pain, and his anger. It touched me deep inside, unlike anything I’d ever felt before. And for the first time ever, I was sure, completely sure, that I loved him too.
“Back off!” I yelled, stepping toward the demon.
“Ginni!” Abben said. “Wait!”
“I can handle this,” I said, calling my strongest magic, then releasing it in a large wave toward the demon. It wailed, thrashing and writhing in pain as the life slowly left its body.
I ran toward Nicco, his body morphing back into that of a human being. The witch let out a low chuckle then vanished into the cave, the portal closing behind her. Nicco was tired, his body limp with exhaustion. I lifted him, holding him tightly in my arms. I tore a piece of cotton from the sleeve of my shirt, laying it on his leg and whispering a small incantation. The cotton twisted and leapt to life, growing and wrapping his legs like pants.
“This is Nicco?” Abben knelt down beside us. “I remember him from your memories.”
“I need to get him home,” I said.
“No . . .” Nicco said. “You have work to do. I’ll be fine. I’m just a little tired. A little sore.”
“Come with us,” Abben said. “You’ll heal faster in Enchanted Lake anyway. You know that.”
Witches & Stitches Page 11
