Shadows and Sorcery: A Collection of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Adkins, Heather Marie

  My brow furrows. “Why haven’t I met him before?”

  Grams throws the hand towel over her shoulder. “He stopped coming to the convocations a few years before you were selected as our next priestess. I won’t allow this. Ivory wouldn’t have agreed to something like this. Priestesses are never wed. You still have a lot of training left.”

  I look down, my fingers interlocking in my lap. Holy shit, a necromancer. As if I don’t feel bad enough. “She has agreed for the time being. But don’t worry. I’m going to fix this.” I have to; otherwise, he’s dooming my people by tethering my power with his. Something that should only be completed with a soul mate.

  With a shake of her head, she meets my gaze. “What has she done? You better hope we can find a way out of this. There’s no way you’ll be the coven’s priestess if you’re married.”

  Why does it always revolve around me being that? I’ve already resigned myself to living a loveless life but wasn’t made aware of the reason until I was selected. A priestess retains her full powers, which continue to grow with her coven unless she marries.

  Sometimes, I just wish for a normal life, one where I’m not scrutinized and ridiculed for any mishaps.

  Willow bursts into the house, eyes searching the room before landing on me and Grams. “What the hell is she thinking agreeing to that shit?”

  It’s a good thing we make sure there’s a silencing spell cloaking the house at all times. Leave it to her to act this way. “I take it Ivory told you?”

  Her cheeks darken a few shades of red. “She told the entire coven.”

  My mouth drops open and I stand to pace in front of the fireplace. “Why did she tell everyone? I thought we were going to figure out how to change Xavier’s mind about the marriage before the coven found out.” What would entice him more than marrying me? Damn it. I don’t have a clue.

  She shrugs. “Who knows why she does what she does? But there are men roaming the village. I’m pretty sure it was to ease the coven members and to ask them to help recruit other covens. My guess would be to keep Xavier at bay with the public announcement.” She closes the distance and wraps her arms around me. “We will figure a way out of this fiasco.”

  I hope so. Pulling away, I pace again, unable to stand still. “I can’t marry him, but I have a feeling he isn’t going to wait very long.” My gaze finds Grams who is still on the couch. Maybe she would know since she knows him somewhat.

  The front door opens and Xavier steps into my home, his eyes gleaming with an emotion I don’t want to think about.

  My feet stop moving, and I’m brought face to face with the man threatening to ruin my life much sooner than I anticipated.

  How did he get through our protection spells?

  Grams places herself between us, back straight and tall. “Who do you think you are waltzing in here uninvited?”

  He holds his hand up to the side of his face, rubbing his thumb, index and middle finger in a circular motion. “I’m here for my bride. She should have been by my side during the announcement. It’s time for her to come with me.”

  Unmistakable power gathers in the air, mine reaching out to join hers. “She’s not going anywhere with you.”

  Bile rises up my throat and I swallow it back down. I’m the next priestess. I will not hide behind my grams while she fights my battles any longer.

  I step around her, squaring my shoulders, and keep my face expressionless. “I need a day to get my things in order. Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

  His face darkens. “I’m not waiting until tomorrow. I said now.” The last word has a menacing edge to it.

  But I will not let him intimidate me.

  Movement to my right catches my attention.

  Willow steps closer toward Xavier.

  I shake my head at her when she glances my direction. I take in his appearance then meet his gaze. Why can’t he be hideous?

  If he wasn’t forcing me to marry him, something so against our beliefs, I might find him attractive. It’s not like he’s the first good looking man I’ve met. There have been a few at the convocations I’ve attended with Ivory outside of our village. Not that I’ve ever thought about taking those attractions further than the polite conversation.

  I shrug my shoulders. “And I said you’ll have to wait until tomorrow. I’m the next priestess. I can’t just leave. There’s a process before any ceremony will be able to take place. You should know this.”

  I leave the hit to his intelligence hanging between us.

  His mouth tightens and the smirk he walked in wearing falls from his face. “Fine. Be ready at sunrise.”

  That doesn’t give me long, but between Grams, Willow, and I, maybe we can come up with something.

  My hands clench into fists at my sides. “I’ll be ready.”

  He spins, leaving through the front door, his musky earth scent lingering behind.

  Waving my hands in an arch to encompass the den, I place a silencing spell around us. “Well, that went well.” A heavy sigh leaves my mouth.

  Grams hums with a finger touching her upper lip. “He does seem rather adamant. What is he up to?”

  Willow steps closer to us. “What are we going to do? We have to postpone this somehow.”

  With a sad expression, Grams glances at me. “I think you need to leave the village.”

  My mouth opens to argue. How can she expect me to run when she has pushed me to protect the coven, no matter the cost? The only times I’ve left have been with Ivory or Grams to learn about the culture and world outside of our coven.

  A squeak leaves Willow’s lips, a sound I don’t think I’ve ever heard from her before.

  We’ve never planned to leave our village. This is our home, our safe place.

  Grams holds an aged hand up in the air. “Just until we can gather other covens to help us get out of this predicament.”

  My eyebrows furrow. “How are we going to hold Xavier off for however long that takes?”

  She looks at Willow with cunning eyes. “Willow will be able to keep him occupied. Don’t you think?”

  I take a seat on the couch, my hands fidgeting. There’s no way I can let her do that. “I don’t know. Xavier doesn’t seem like one to be deterred by throwing another woman in his face. He’s power-hungry, not lusting after me.”

  Willow scoffs. “Anyone would be distracted by this body.” She runs her hands down her sides, an evil hint to her smile. “Seriously, Sage. This would be my pleasure. Besides, I think he needs to be knocked off his high horse.”

  Did I think that she wouldn’t be able to pull this off?

  I laugh and she joins in. “All right, Grams. What’s the plan?”

  Grams gives us a curt nod before she walks into the kitchen and takes a seat at the table.

  Willow and I join her after fixing a bowl of spaghetti. I need to keep my strength up just in case we have to fight off Xavier and his men.

  Grams steeples her fingers together in front of her with her elbows resting on the table top. “I think our best bet at this point will be to reach out to our sister covens for assistance. We will do that from here in secret. Our members need to conserve their magic until this is resolved, so word will need to be spread to use minimal magic.” Her strong gaze locks on mine as I suck a noodle into my mouth.

  I pick up my napkin to wipe the sauce from my chin. “I can go stay with a sister coven until we hear back from all of the others.”

  Willow stuffs a forkful of spaghetti in her mouth, nodding.

  Grams’ brow furrows. “That’s probably one of the first places Xavier will look. You need to go somewhere inconspicuous but not too far away. I don’t want you expending too much energy if you have to teleport back. But, for now, you can take the car. There should be enough of a stash in the glove box to pull you through this.”

  That makes the most sense. But where am I going to go? An ache begins to form behind the T-zone of my face. I keep my hands busy by lifting the fork to take anothe
r bite. There’s no need to broadcast how nervous I am to leave the village alone.

  Granted, I’d be venturing out by myself soon enough; it just hasn’t come to that yet.

  While the other ladies of age have already attended their first moon mating to begin the process of producing children, I haven’t.

  Having children isn’t supposed to be in my near future. Unless Xavier has his way.

  I refocus my attention on Grams. “I’ll figure out a place. How are we going to keep Xavier from tracking me? If he’s a necromancer, he will be using blood magic.”

  Grams’ expression hardens. “Then we’ll have to do the same.”

  My mouth drops open and I snap it closed. Blood magic is illegal to use in our coven. It leads down a very dark path that is difficult to come back from, or so I’ve been told.

  “Have you ever done blood magic?”

  Her eyes close on a sigh. “I’ve tried it before, and I swore I’d never do it again. But these is extenuating circumstances. Willow, I suggest you leave so that you’re not a part of it.”

  Willow’s spine straightens and indignation flares in her gaze. “I don’t care. I’m staying and helping. I’m the second most powerful in this coven. Won’t it be better for me to help?”

  Grams stands, glaring at Willow. “This spell never leaves this house, nor do I want to find out that you’ve attempted it on your own. Understand?”

  We both nod.

  Grams takes a deep breath. “Then let’s get started.”

  * * *

  Just as the sun is beginning to set, I sling my bag over my shoulder before I wrap Grams in a tight hug. “What would I do without you?”

  Her hand brushes the top of my head and down my hair in a comforting gesture she used to do when I was a little girl. “Shh. Hopefully you’ll never have to find out. You need to go if we want this to work as planned.”

  I pull away and straighten my spine, releasing a deep breath.

  Willow wraps me in a bone crushing grip. “Be safe. I’ll be in contact once we hear something.”

  “Please be careful with Xavier. I don’t want you to get hurt.” I’m not sure what he is capable of, but the best plan was for her to pose as a distraction while we wait to hear from the other covens.

  It’s probably not the best course of action, but it’s the only choice we have.

  She smiles, trying to hide the worry from her face. “I’ll be fine. We all will once he’s gone.”

  As much as I hate to admit it, we cannot defeat him without assistance from another coven.

  Once we solve this problem, I vow to build my coven up so that we can take care of ourselves. Never again will this happen.

  We’ve become complacent where we’re at in life, and it’s no longer good enough.

  I roll my shoulders, close my eyes, and release a deep exhale. Meeting each of their gazes, I nod. “Let’s do this. You will create a distraction while I get away.”

  Grams hands me a set of car keys. “Go. We’ve got this. So, you’ll only contact us if it’s an emergency. Just in case Xavier monitors us.”

  My chest tightens and I blink back the tears forming. I’ve never been away from my coven or Grams. “Only if it’s an emergency. I think it’s best if we don’t tell anyone else the plan. Xavier could get to someone within the coven if he thinks they know we’re up to something.”

  We decided the best place for me to go would be Brookeville, a small community college town about two hours away, to keep a low profile. There’s also another coven around town, but Grams thinks it would be best if I lay low while I’m there.

  Something about this location just feels right.

  I nod and wave my hands to encompass my body, placing an invisibility spell over myself.

  Grams disappears from view as Willow opens the front door, leaving enough space for the two of us to slip out unnoticed.

  Grams will go to the other side of the village and start a fire to distract the coven, Xavier, and his men. I’m banking on him not being a total heartless ass.

  Willow shuts the door, walking a few houses down toward hers, and I run to the side of the house where we park the car.

  Several minutes later, a blaze rises above the roof lines.

  Damn. Grams means business.

  After the area seems clear of people running to assist with the fire, I open the door and start the car. I place my hands on the steering wheel and pause.

  What if Xavier takes his anger out on the coven?

  There’s no time to second guess the plan, and I only have a small window to escape.

  Putting the black Toyota Camry in gear, I leave behind the only place I’ve ever known as home. Will it be the same when I return?

  3

  My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I pull out of the forest for the first time by myself. I’ve always dreamed of this moment but not like this. Not at the risk of my people.

  I release a deep breath and run my fingers through my hair. The sun is setting with the pinks and purples hiding the horror of what I left behind. Hell, I don’t even know where to go. At the moment, it seemed like a good plan, but there are a lot of missing pieces to go through.

  Not knowing what else to do, I let my instincts take over and guide me. I don’t have much else to rely on as I can’t use my phone. Xavier might be able to use it to track me. After what we went through with the blood magic, I don’t want to chance it.

  It breaks my heart knowing that our coven is one of the strongest in the world, yet we are threatened to be taken by force. We keep to ourselves, maintaining our closeness to Earth by growing our food and respecting nature, only venturing outside of our borders when needed—supply runs done every other week for items we cannot grow or make ourselves, convocations, and the moon mating meetings.

  All the sacrifices we make to ensure nothing gets between us and our elements and for what? Xavier to come and demolish it all in one day? There is a reason there are no men in our village. All they do is pit women against one another and want our magic as their own.

  My aching hands pull me out of my thoughts. I release my death grip on the steering wheel and take in my surroundings. It’s now dark and some buildings are coming into view.

  As I enter the small town, I twist and turn down the streets, being pulled toward something. This is the same sensation I’ve always had but ten times worse than back home. There is no denying it, and I’m at the mercy of this invisible tether that won’t let up.

  Before long, a huge campus comes into view with a huge sign stating The University of the South. I pull into the visitor parking spot and get out of my car before walking up to the huge brick building that has a huge oval shape up in the tower that is positioned in the center. It’s gorgeous and old and feels like where I should be.

  A cloud moves, revealing the moon, and its rays shine down on me. My magic purrs inside me, content to be here and rising in strength.

  A car door shuts behind me, but I’m too in tune to what’s going on inside me to turn.

  “Ma’am.” A gruff voice from behind is strained. “What are you doing?”

  My power settles inside me and I turn to find a campus security guard standing there. “Oh, I was just looking around.”

  He looks me over and grins. “New student?”

  I grin. “I am.” That’s exactly what I am. This is where I am supposed to be, so why shouldn’t I be a student? It makes the most sense.

  He puts his thumbs through the belt loops of his pants and pulls up, even though his big belly still overlaps it and they fall back into the same place. “Well, it’s after ten, so you need to be getting to your room. The main areas around here are closed.”

  Oh, dear goodness. The last thing I want to deal with is another egocentric male. “That’s fine. I was just trying to get my bearings for tomorrow. I need to get settled in for my classes.”

  A snort escapes his thin lips. “I swear, you freshmen get stupider every year.” He raises an
eyebrow and tilts his head. “It’s probably too late, but you’ll need to go to admissions for that.”

  I force my eyes not to roll. Yes, freshmen are the ones getting more stupid every year. However, I need to play nice. He does have some good information. I have no idea how this college thing works. “Where is admissions?”

  He wrinkles his nose and shakes his head. “Go over to the right and it’s the second building, but you best be getting somewhere for the night. The woods are close by and all kinds of critters come out. The Sewanee Inn is over to the left. Just follow the signs.”

  Sleep sounds good at this point. It has been a long day. “Thanks so much for your help.”

  “Yeah, sure,” he grumbles. “I’m too nice sometimes.”

  Yes, he’s a saint. I hurry and get in my car and follow the signs to the inn. When I pull up, the inn takes my breath away with its medieval modern look.

  The buildings are made of stone and the roof has arches. There are only two stories, and the bottom rooms have a patio while the top rooms have balconies. I bypass the front entrance, where there is a huge archway covering a portion of the road for guests to check in, and find a spot in the front parking lot right next to the main doors.

  I put the car in park and open the glove box. Thankfully, we do have emergency cash stashed here in case something happens, but this is the first time it’s ever come in handy. There’s a wad of a hundred bills so I take five of them and put the rest back. This place can’t be over five hundred a night, right?

  All right, I have money and my driver’s license. I am thankful that, since I’m a priestess, I had to get a driver’s license this past year. When I turn twenty-two, I’ll lead the coven and will need to be able to go to the monthly meetings outside of the village. Teleportation is my preferred method of traveling, but it’s draining to use it.

  I get out of the car and head into the lobby.

  When I walk into the front doors, the smell of lemon and chemicals from the cleaner hits my nose. I step into a sitting area with two reddish orange chairs and then two green couches right next to them. A coffee table sits between the two couches and a wide open fireplace dominates the middle of the room. You can see the other half of the room through it. There are two openings on each side of the fireplace. A lady sits at a desk on the right side of the other room so I make my way to her.