High Witch Next Generation (Generations Book 2)

by Mona Hanna

Caeden looked like he was about to punch his brother. “Why don’t you explain yourself?” he said through gritted teeth. “Now.”

  James sighed. “It happened two days ago. I was walking in the street, and this girl about Erica’s age just grabbed me and transported with me several times. We arrived in a house, where an older woman was waiting. The girl who took me put her hands on my face and stared at me, and that was it. She just transported with me back home. I don’t know what she did.”

  “Oh, James,” Erica said.

  “And you’ve been having blackouts since then,” Caeden said.

  James nodded. “I wasn’t sure why. Do you think it’s because of what the girl did?”

  “No, it’s because you’ve been drinking too much,” Caeden snapped. “Of all the stupid….”

  “This is why I didn’t tell you!” James cried. “I knew you’d just treat me like an idiot. This isn’t my fault. I couldn’t have stopped it. I couldn’t have done anything.”

  “Of course not,” Erica said. “Sweetie, of course it’s not your fault. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m going to help you however I can. Is there any way you could remember how to get back to where the girl took you?”

  James shook his head. “No. We went too fast for me to have seen any of the places we transported to clearly. I can’t visualize them in order to go back.”

  Erica thought for a moment. “Alright. So we’ll focus on what happened while they had you. Think very carefully and try to remember everything.”

  James sat for a moment. “It’s what I told you. The girl put her hands on my face and stared at me. The only other thing is, she took a drink of something first.”

  “Must have been a potion,” Erica said, partly to herself. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what was going on. “So she cast a spell on you. The question is, what one, and why?”

  Everyone lapsed into silence. Erica wasn’t sure how to figure out what was happening, but she wouldn’t stop trying until she did. No wonder James was being so quiet. How could he focus with this on his mind?

  “I read something in a book once,” Ethan said softly, breaking the silence. They all turned to him, and he began to fidget and looked at his hands, then continued. “This man had a spell cast on him by another man, and then the man who cast the spell was able to possess the first man’s body. His spirit would go in the man and control him. The possessed man had no idea—he would just wake up in a room with no clue what happened while he was blacked out. Turns out the man possessing him was committing crimes, so if he got caught, the authorities wouldn’t know it was him and the other man would go to jail. It was just a story, but the spell cast was the same as James described.”

  “Oh hell,” Caeden said. “The crazy girl’s possessing you.”

  “Wait, we don’t know that,” Erica said. “Ethan, thanks for telling us about the story, but we can’t jump to conclusions. We need to do more research first.” She looked at James, but he didn’t seem convinced.

  “Erica, what else could it be?”

  She took a deep breath, so sorry for him. “I don’t know.” There was a long period of silence, then Erica spoke up again. “Look, I know we’re all worried, but we have to research whatever happened to James thoroughly before we assume anything. What Ethan has told us helps, but it’s just a starting point. Lunch will be soon, but afterward I want to look at your mother’s spell books. We’ll know more then.”

  “Please don’t tell our parents about this,” James said. “All of you. Please.”

  “They could help,” Erica said, but the look of horror on James’s face made her change her mind. “Alright, I won’t say anything.”

  “Me neither,” Caeden said.

  Elliot, Ethan, and Gareth nodded.

  A moment later, voices could be heard approaching, and their parents came into the room carrying platters of food and plates.

  “Come and help yourselves,” Hallie said as she and Mother set the platters down on the low table between the settees. Everyone began to fetch sandwiches and fruit.

  Erica settled on a chair and tried to concentrate on eating, but was preoccupied thinking about James. What if this strange girl was possessing him? And why him, of all people? James was skilled at shape-shifting, but so were a lot of people. It wasn’t likely about his magic. And he was so young—he didn’t have a special job or position in the town. What was so special about James that this girl wanted to be him so badly? If it wasn’t for what he could do, it must be for…

  … who he knew.

  Erica roughly swallowed her bite of sandwich, her throat suddenly dry. What was this really about? James, or the High Witches? Was it about Hallie? Or was this happening now because both Hallie and Mother were together? Erica had so many questions. She couldn’t wait to get her hands on those spell books and confirm what was actually happening to James. She just hoped with all her heart that she could stop it.

  Chapter 5

  It took an hour after lunch before the children were left alone. Their parents went into the back garden to talk, leaving Erica and the others to look at Hallie’s spell books. Erica rifled through the shelves in the front room, pulling out book after book until she felt there were enough. Finally she sat cross-legged on the floor with one of the volumes and flipped it open.

  “You all can look too,” she said, as the others settled on the floor around her. “Look for spells that seem like the one that was cast on James. Also look for anything on blacking out and losing time.”

  Everyone reached for a book, and then there was silence as they read. Some of the books were better organized than others. She concentrated for a long time, reading spell after spell. Erica didn’t know how long it would take them to find anything—or if they’d even locate an answer that day.

  This could take hours.

  Three hours did pass without an answer. Erica put down the latest book she had been reading and rubbed her eyes, wishing she was closer to finding the truth. She sighed and reached for another when Gareth swore under his breath. Erica looked at him, and he met her gaze, concern in his eyes, then handed her the book he’d been looking at, gesturing to the right page.

  Erica quickly read the page. Everything about it clicked. The spell. What had been happening to James. Ethan had indeed been right, but his story hadn’t included one very important thing: what happened if something went wrong.

  She looked up and found everyone watching her. She gulped, then prepared to tell them the bad news. “You are being possessed, James. I’m so sorry. This book confirms it. It describes the same spell that was cast on you and all about the blackouts. This girl’s spirit can enter your body at any time and control you until the spell is broken. This is serious—so serious—and dangerous. But there’s… something else.”

  James was so pale, his eyes full of fear, that Erica desperately didn’t want to tell him the rest.

  “What we didn’t know before was that you and this woman are not just spiritually, but physically linked when she possesses you. The book says that if someone kills her body while she’s controlling you—you’ll die too. And if you’re killed while being possessed, she dies. Your lives are bound when she does this to you. She’s risking her life and yours to get what she wants.”

  James looked as if he was about to be ill. “And what does she want?” he rasped.

  Erica shook her head. “I don’t know. But until we find out, the main thing we need to focus on is how to stop her from possessing you until we can force her to break this spell.”

  “Force… her?” James asked.

  “Yes. I’m sorry, but the only person who can undo this is her. We have to find her, but in the meantime, you’re never to be alone, not for one moment. She’s not going to have you blackout in front of someone or they’ll figure it out what she’s doing. She’s relying on no one knowing what she’s up to. So someone always had to be with you.”

  “What about when I’m asleep?” James asked. “Couldn’
t she come to me when I’m asleep?”

  “We’ll take turns staying with you at night,” Gareth said. “I’ll take tonight’s shift.”

  James put his head in his hands, sighing. He stayed still for several moments, then finally raised his head and took a deep breath. “I feel like we won’t be able to handle this. It feels so out of control. I don’t want our parents to know—I don’t want to worry Mother and Father. I think this would make them sick. Mother would have a fit. But can we deal with this on our own?”

  Erica thought for a moment. She was one of the most powerful women in the world, but she had always worked in her mother’s shadow. She was supposed to lead a coven one day. She had to stand on her own this time.

  “I’ll take care of you. I promise nothing bad will happen to you. I promise you.”

  She had to keep her promise.

  ***

  Miranda stood invisible, watching the group through an open window of James’s home. She’d heard every word.

  Damn.

  ***

  Erica and Gareth decided to go for a walk before dinner while the others stayed at home. Their parents had joined them so they couldn’t talk about their plans anymore. They would discuss their next move later that evening.

  Erica held Gareth’s hand as they strolled down the street in the fading light. She’d expected to have conversations about their engagement during their holiday, but that didn’t seem right with what was going on. The problem was, she didn’t have the faintest idea how to find the mystery woman and force her to break the spell she cast. And there was still the subject of her motives. Erica believed it was about her mother and Hallie, but she didn’t know what the woman had against them. Had something happened in one of the covens? It was all so confusing.

  “You’re taking on a lot, managing this whole situation,” Gareth said. “I know you can handle it, but you can turn to me too. I can’t help with magic, but you can lean on me whenever you feel burdened.”

  Erica smiled at him. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I appreciate that.”

  “Caeden’s quite hard on his brother. I know they must be close, but it’s like he’s going to explode at James at any second. No wonder James was reluctant to tell us what was wrong.”

  Erica thought for a moment. “I’ve known the two of them my whole life. It’s just Caeden’s nature to be abrasive. He’d do anything for his brother, I just know it. He’s probably worried sick inside. None of us will stop worrying until we sort this out.”

  “And what if we don’t fix this before it’s time to leave? We’re only meant to be here for two weeks.”

  Erica stopped still. She hadn’t even thought of that.

  “We’ll—we’ll just have to work fast. We certainly can’t leave James with this mess. We’ll have to solve things as quickly as possible. I had an idea about visiting a shop that sells spell books tomorrow. I have to find a spell that can make James remember where he was transported to by the girl who’s possessing him. I don’t know if such a spell exists, but I have to look.”

  “That sounds smart,” Gareth said. “I’d go with you, but I’ll be up all night watching James.”

  “That’s fine. We should go back so you can nap.”

  “I have a better idea.” Gareth took Erica’s hand once more and led her down a dirt path through rows of trees. They walked until they found a little clearing, and Gareth sat on the ground and leaned against a tree. Erica sat beside him and gladly melted into his arms, something she’d been wanting to do all day. She loved being alone with him.

  Gareth moved his lips to hers and kissed her, pressing her against him. Erica slid her fingers into his hair, already feeling heat course through her as his mouth moved with hers. They wouldn’t have a chance to make love for weeks, and she wanted to feel his touch as much as possible. He kept kissing her, his tongue moving soft and slow, his hands moving along her body. She sighed deeply, enamored with him.

  “Erica,” he breathed, moving his lips to the top of her breasts. She gasped, throwing her head back, wanting more. As if reading her mind, Gareth leaned her back until they were lying on the ground, his body covering hers. She was worried they’d get caught, but their need for each other was too strong. It was all she could do not to cry out.

  Gareth slipped his hands beneath her dress and began to touch her. She moaned, writhing. He kept kissing her, their mouths wet, and then he undid his trousers. She was so ready when he finally entered her. Clutching her, he let out a groan, moving within her, slow but so intense. She knew it wouldn’t take her long to climax, but he rarely stopped then. He would just keep going, and going, until they were covered in sweat and she could barely move afterward. This was hardly the place, but Erica couldn’t think as she felt herself reach her breaking point.

  Gareth kept moving inside her, grunting. He kissed her roughly, and Erica wanted it to last and last.

  He didn’t disappoint.

  ***

  Miranda paced in her home, with Leona standing nearby. Miranda was devastated that her plans were almost ruined. She’d expected Erica to get in the way, but not to figure everything out within hours of arriving. Now what was she going to do? James would be watched constantly, making it difficult for her to take control of him, let alone use him to do her bidding. Still, she had to manage it, but how? At least the group didn’t know her end goal or have any way of finding her. She was thankful for that.

  “You can do this. I know you can,” Leona said. “You’ve gotten this far. After all our preparation, we can’t just give up. It’s too important.”

  Miranda looked at her eldest sibling. This meant as much to Leona as it did to her—more, even. She couldn’t let her sister down. Not after all Leona had sacrificed. Not after all they’d lost.

  “I’ll think of something—some way to get James alone,” she said. “They’ll slip up sometime. We just don’t have much time. But I’ll manage it, don’t worry.”

  Leona nodded.

  Miranda chewed on her lip for a moment. Two weeks. That was all she had to get this done. There wouldn’t be another chance.

  Chapter 6

  “James, why aren’t you eating?”

  James looked up at Mother, then down at his nearly full plate. He was so distracted by their dilemma, he hadn’t noticed he’d barely touched his dinner. He picked up a forkful of chicken and began eating, then roughly swallowed and smiled at Mother.

  She wrinkled her nose at him and put down her fork. “I’m taking you to see a healer tomorrow. You haven’t been yourself for the last few days, hardly eating and appearing very pale and shaken. You must be ill, and it’s about time we sorted it out.”

  James glanced at Erica, then lowered his gaze and sighed. “Alright.” There was no point in arguing—that might make Mother more suspicious. The healer wouldn’t find anything, and then maybe Mother would calm down a little. He didn’t know what else he could say to her.

  “I’m just going to go to my room,” James said, but as he was rising from his chair, Caeden loudly cleared this throat.

  “You can’t. We were going to… play cards.”

  “James can rest if he wants,” Father said, “especially if he’s ill.”

  “But it’s been planned, and I don’t want to play on my own.”

  James caught Caeden’s sharp glare, and the realization hit. Of course. I’m an idiot. He sat back down. “Uh, no, he’s right. We had an arrangement. Whoever loses does the gardening for a month. Can’t pass that up.”

  Mother and Father exchanged glances, James nibbled at his food, and everyone resumed eating. He had to be more careful, both to not be alone and to stop his parents worrying.

  ***

  “Don’t worry, I’ll watch you all night. Nothing will happen. You can relax.”

  James sat up in bed, looking at Gareth, who was seated in a chair nearby. Candlelight flickered, casting shadows across the room. Caeden rolled over on his own bed and seemed to be already drifting off to
sleep. Elliot and Ethan curled up in their makeshift beds on the floor. But James wasn’t going to get a wink of sleep that night.

  He picked up a book and thought he might as well get some reading done. However, he couldn’t focus with Gareth’s eyes on him. “Are you upset about this?” James finally asked.

  “Watching you? No.”

  “No, I mean, all of this. You and Erica just got engaged, but it’s all ruined with this mess.”

  “The mess is hardly your fault,” Gareth said. “Erica and I have plenty of time to focus on our future. The pressing matter is what’s happening to you, and why. But we’ll fix it. Just focus on looking after yourself—don’t worry about any of us.”

  James was grateful for the words, but worrying was his nature. “Do you think Erica will find the right spell at the book shop? I want to remember where I was taken, but it happened all so quickly.” Erica had told them after dinner about her idea to locate some sort of memory spell, and James was eager to see if she could do it.

  Gareth frowned for a moment. “I trust in Erica’s judgment. I don’t know much about magic, but if such a spell exists, then she’ll find it. You’d better get some rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

  James sighed, then nodded, putting down his book and taking off his glasses. He lay down and turned to face the wall, hoping he could sleep.

  ***

  “Where are you two off to, Erica?” Mother asked, when Erica and Elliot got ready to leave the following morning. Erica was fine going by herself, but Elliot said he wanted to go with her, and she didn’t mind. Hallie had taken James to a healer first thing, and Gareth was having a long nap.

  “We’re going to Tricia’s shop,” Erica said. “I wanted to visit her and have a look at some spell books.”

  “Oh, lovely. Tell her Hallie and I said hello,” Mother said. “It’s a shame Gareth had trouble sleeping and can’t go with you. I’m sure Tricia would love to meet him.”