As he stared at her, with blood starting to cover her hands she yanked the knife out and he let out a cry as he crumbled to the floor blood slowly coating the floor where he fell.
The silence in the room was sharp as Abella was literally thrown against the wall her head bouncing before she fell to the floor.
She glanced up her head beginning to the throb as she saw Wester’s father standing over her his eyes burning with hatred.
“I am going to enjoy draining you,” he uttered in a voice that sent shivers down Abella’s back and his huge hands were reaching down to pick her up when suddenly there was a sound of thunder in the air.
The man froze as he looked up with confused eyes at how loud the thunder was and Abella immediately took the opportunity to move away although the sudden movement made her dizzy.
“Don’t touch my daughter,” an angry male voice said in the silence of the room and Abella’s jaw literally dropped when suddenly her father appeared in the middle of the room.
“How…what…” the man stuttered his eyes that a moment ago had been filled with fury where now wide with fear.
Abella turned her head to look at Cicely noting the same awestruck look on her face and as she scanned the room, the same look was on each witch’s face telling Abella that something like this wasn’t possible.
She closed her eyes tightly thinking maybe she had been knocked unconscious but when she opened them again after a count of ten the same person was in her eyesight.
“You are not seeing things,” Cicely murmured from next to her as she helped Abella to her feet.
“How…” Abella began only to shake her head in confusion.
“Even I don’t have the answer for this one,” Cicely concluded. “I have never heard of a situation like this happening before at all.”
Abella turned her gaze to her father and his uncle as did the others even the hunters who hadn’t been taken care.
“You have done enough,” David, her father, stated in a hard voice.
Abella watched as the man that she assumed would be her great-uncle, sneered at him, “You are dead, a ghost trying to scare me.”
He chortled as he turned around only to be stunned when suddenly he was thrown into the wall.
“Just for this occasion, I am more,” David replied with grim smile on his face before he lifted his fist and slammed it into the man’s face.
“Aunt Cicely, that’s not possible,” Abella said in a soft disbelieving voice.
Cicely was struck speechless at his words because if what he was said was true, then someone was using an ancient spell that had been banned centuries ago when it was first discovered.
“It is against our code to use such a spell,” Janie said her voice hush as they watched David and his uncle fight.
No one said a word as they watched the two men fight even though one could tell that David was merely playing with the man.
“Damn you,” he yelled at David where he knelt on the floor. “Why couldn’t you let me have her? She could’ve been my cure.”
David eyes widened before they narrowed into slits. “Because there is no cure for your disease as you brought it on yourself. The first witch that you decided to kill and drink her blood because of some rumor you heard about it making you live longer was the catalyst of your own death.”
“No,” the man yelled lunging forward only to go right through David and hitting the floor hard.
“My time is up,” David told him catching the smug smile that started to cross his face. “But so is yours, Uncle.”
The man began to laugh before suddenly the laughter stopped and everyone watched in astonishment as blood began to dribble from his mouth and his hands started shaking. Abella looked at her father seeing a look of sympathy cross his face before his face hardened and the look disappeared.
“Let’s get going, Abella,” Cicely told her putting an arm lightly around her waist.
“But…” she began only to have the others come over to her shaking their heads even the witch that made her uneasy.
“We have seen this before and you don’t want to see it,” Janie told her looks of such horror on her face that Abella decided not to argue.
“Go,” her father told her as she glanced over at him. “We love you, sweetheart.”
From his words, Abella knew that this was definitely the last time that she would be able to see them and tears clouded her vision as they walked out of the building. Although no one had died, many of them were hurt so they leaned against each other as they stumbled out.
No one spoke as they continued forward all of them tired that they didn’t bother using their powers for anything.
“We will rest here,” Cicely said as they reached a clearing after they had went through a dense woody area.
“The town isn’t that far away,” one of the witches argued.
Cicely only said with weariness, “I know that but we need to rest before we go any further.”
Many nodded their heads as they sunk to the ground and Abella’s legs gave out propelling her to the ground.
“I don’t understand,” she murmured as Cicely came over to sit next to her.
Cicely shook her head as she put an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s not think about it because simply put, Abella, what happened in there was something that shouldn’t happen and can’t be explained.”
Abella turned her head slowly to look at her before she asked, “You never seen that happen before, Aunt Cicely?”
“No, sweetie, and I have been a witch for many years,” Cicely confided to her.
“So…” Abella began, and Janie put a hand on her arm as she settled her weary body down on the other side of her.
“It is best not to think on it too long, Abella, because as Cicely said it is something that can’t be explained no matter how hard you try,” Janie told her with a straight honest look. “Just take it that your father loved you more than enough to somehow defy the laws of life and death to help you.”
Abella listened to her with intense eyes before she nodded her head and sighed before she leaned her head down. “What did my father mean when he told that man he basically ruined himself?” She mumbled although Janie and Cicely heard her.
Cicely began hesitatingly as she looked around at the others who were all listening. “It is rumored that the reason witches look younger than they are is because of something to do with their blood and so it was believed that for a non-witch that a witch’s blood can give them lasting life.”
Abella looked up with an incredulous look on her face before she said with no heat in her voice. “What a load of bullshit.”
“That’s exactly what it was,” Janie said with a slight smile at her. “Unfortunately, some believed it so they started hunting witches hoping to achieve that goal except…”
“The blood of a witch is actually poisonous to one who is of non-witch blood,” another witch said coming over to them sitting down. “We carry certain antigens in her blood stream that seems to attack the white blood cells of those who are not of witch decent.”
Abella closed her eyes as she said in very weary voice, “Who would’ve thought that being a witch was so complicated and so scientific at the same time.”
Everyone looked at her before they started laughing at her simple wording of what being a witch truly entitled.
“That is being a witch in a nutshell,” Cicely said still chuckling.
Abella shook her head before she grimaced slightly as she looked down and noticed that her side was bleeding from the knife wound.
She sighed lightly before she said, “I think I have gotten more bruises and marks in the last few months than my entire life.”
Cicely laughed lightly before she said, “You need to learn how to stay behind the scenes unless it is really necessary to be noticed.”
“I will definitely work on that,” Abella admitted as she sat forward opening her eyes to scan the witches in front of her. All of them were older than
her although a few were only in their late twenties at the most but Abella knew that what happened today would stay in all of their minds until their life ended.
“Everyone ready,” Cicely asked looking around the group as she stood up Abella following her few seconds later.
“I am ready to go home,” one witch said giving Abella a smile, and Abella smiled back before they all got to their feet heading toward the town.
They had only walked a few feet when suddenly someone called out Abella’s name.
“Abella!”
Abella, in a split second knew that voice, turned around quickly pushing Cicely and Janie away from her as she faced her uncle.
He stood trembling not too far away from them and although he was sweating from fear his eyes were narrowed and he held a gun in his hands.
“You caused us nothing but trouble from the time we took you in,” he said in a hard voice.
“No,” Abella said shaking her head once, “you caused your own trouble by your actions. You assumed that being my guardian would get you my inheritance.”
A scowl crossed his face before he said, “That damn man knew what he was doing as he just wanted to keep you within his grasp.”
Abella didn’t say anything as she stared at him and he shook his head as his hands trembled. “Why couldn’t you have just died with your parents than everything would’ve been fine?”
Abella asked herself that same question since that night until recently after meeting Caden and she answered him honestly, “Because it wasn’t my time.”
He sneered at her words his finger tightening on the trigger before suddenly he was knocked off his feet.
“I think you have done enough to her,” Cicely said waving her hand lightly and the gun went flying away from him towards Janie who picked it up. “It isn’t her fault that you were used and it’s not her fault that you are weak.”
He scrambled to his feet in anger at her words and rushed them. Janie lifted the gun without hesitation and fired.
He froze as she hit him dead center of his chest before she said, “I am tired and ready to go home.”
Her words echoed around the area as he dropped to ground eyes glazed as death claimed him.
Everyone looked at the man lying on the ground before as one they turned and walked away Cicely taking the gun from Janie’s hand as they started toward the only town within the area.
Once they reached the town, they checked into the local hotel whereas Cicely and Janie disappeared not too long after they arrived.
Abella didn’t question where they went although she had feeling she knew as did the others but nobody said anything as they went to their rooms.
Abella was sharing a room with Cicely and she took a shower making sure that she had a first aid kit in the bathroom after her shower checking the knife wound. It was nothing more than a graze she realized and let a deep thankful sigh that she had been lucky that time. If she had been slower the knife would’ve done more than graze her.
She was out of the shower and the bedroom after dressing the wound when Cicely walked into the room.
“What did they say?” Abella asked quietly drying her hair as Cicely sat down on the other bed.
She took a deep breath before she exhaled. “They took her into custody with the gun as evidence and the sheriff of the town had his deputies go check it out. I don’t know what is going to happen from there.”
Abella nodded her head as she finger combed her hair before asking quietly, “Is she scared?”
“No,” Cicely told her with a shake of her head. “Janie is tired of being afraid of the hunters as it was one of the reasons I was able to get her to go with us. She was ready to die so she can be with her family.”
With those sad words, Cicely got up and went into the bathroom while Abella sat on the bed tears running down her face as she thought about the woman who was basically giving up on her life.
Abella was lying in bed when Cicely came out of the bathroom and lay on her bed. “Abella,” she whispered softly.
“Yeah,” she answered just as softly.
“Everyone is leaving tomorrow,” Cicely told her looking up at the ceiling her body telling her how weary and old she was getting. “I am staying here with Janie and you will be staying until the end of the week as someone will be coming to get you.”
Abella turned her head in surprise and whispered, “I rather stay here with you to make sure Janie will be okay.”
Cicely smiled in the darkness before she said, “I will tell her that you said so but you will leave as arranged.”
With those words, she slowly turned over facing away from Abella who sighed heavily staring up at the ceiling before she let her eyes drift close.
She thought about Caden and wanted to contact him but she didn’t know whether he was still working or not so she decided to wait.
As she fell into uneasy sleep, tears slipped down her cheeks although she didn’t make a sound as the night wove around them.
The next morning, Abella and Cicely said goodbye to the others as they left the hotel. Abella watched as the one woman walked out without looking back and Abella wondered if maybe she read her wrong, but she pushed it to the side as Cicely turned to her.
“Go explore the town,” She was told and when she would’ve argued Cicely gave her a stern look.
“Yes, ma’am,” Abella murmured as Cicely nodded her head sharply and walked out of the hotel.
Abella sighed as she watched her before she turned around and headed back upstairs. Her body was achy and she thought longingly of a hot bath to sooth it so while Cicely was out she was going to take the opportunity to indulge herself although she felt guilty for doing such a thing while Janie was sitting in a jail cell.
“No worse than Aunt Cicely telling me to explore the town,” she reassured herself as she entered their room before putting the lock on the door behind her.
She nodded her head before she went into the bathroom turning on the water as hot as she could take it before she began to strip. As she sunk into the water, she sighed in contentment wondering what Aunt Cicely had arranged for her.
The next few days flew by with Abella doing nothing much but relaxing although she did get to visit Janie two days after they arrived and yet Abella couldn’t understand why they were still holding her when so far they hadn’t learned anything.
She asked Cicely about it later that evening and Cicely only frowned before she said, “I’m not sure but the sheriff is saying they need to do some more investigating although Janie can be released into my custody, she refuses.”
Abella frowned as she said, “I’m leaving tomorrow, right?”
Cicely didn’t answer her right away which made Abella a little suspicious and then she said, “I believe so, why do you ask?”
“Once I am gone, you and Janie share this room while they do what they have to do,” Abella offered.
Cicely thought that over before she said slowly, “That might work. Let me go and see if I can see her for a few minutes before visiting hours are over.”
As Cicely left the room, Abella thought that it was weird but she shook her head as she settled on the bed a book that she found downstairs in the lobby.
She sighed as she closed her eyes knowing that she was going to have to talk with Ms. Helms and see what she could do about taking night classes or something so she could finish up her schooling. She shook her head gently before she immersed herself in the book wanting to avoid reality for the evening.
Once she was outside the room, Cicely hurried as quickly as she could down the stairs to the lobby where she went straight to the phone and made a phone call.
“Is he ready to leave?” She asked as soon as the other end was picked up.
“He is leaving tomorrow morning and I will call him when he gets on the road,” Jed said from the other end laughing lightly.
“Good because she was asking me questions about leaving tomorrow and why Janie is still in jail,” Cicely t
old him with a slight scowl as someone tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned around quickly to see Janie standing behind her with an evil smirk and Cicely scowled at her.
“Do you know what time tomorrow?” She asked him as she turned back to the phone and she sighed as he told her.
“Okay,” she said. “Give me a call after you contact him.”
She waited a few more minutes before she hung up and turned to Janie. “The Sheriff finally kicked you out.”
“Yeah,” Janie told her with a slight shrug before they turned and headed into the lobby.
The next morning, Cicely was called to the phone as they entered the lobby and when she came back there was a smile on her face.
“Aunt Cicely,” Abella said in a suspicious voice, but she didn’t comment as they went in for breakfast.
They were stepping out of the hotel a few hours later as Cicely was supposed to go to the jail, but Abella had a feeling that she wasn’t telling her everything although she let it slide. Abella was heading for the park she found her second day there after she went shopping for a few clothes to hold her over before she went home.
“Abella,” a deep male voice said in a soft voice, and Abella stopped dead before her heart stopping briefly began beating at a faster rate.
She turned slowly and met those black eyes that from their first look made her heart skip a beat, and she said in a soft voice, “Caden.”
A smile started to cross his face as he began to step toward her as Cicely said, “Well, I am leaving you now, Abella. Take care of her.”
Those were her parting words as she walked away and Abella couldn’t help the scowl that she tossed her way before it disappeared when Caden stopped in front of her.
“Hi,” he said in a soft voice standing close to her.
“Hi yourself,” Abella replied back looking up at him with grey eyes sparkling with joy at seeing him.
Caden didn’t even think twice as he wrapped his strong arms around her and lifted her lightly off her feet. “I missed you,” he whispered in her ear.
Abella couldn’t help the soft sigh that she let out as she wrapped her arms around Caden’s neck. “I missed you, too,” she whispered in his neck.
The Witch Prophecy Page 36
