Erik’s phone rang and he pulled it from his back pocket. “Hello, my beautiful.”
Niall glanced at his brother, hiding his jealousy. He also suspected his brother might rescind the offer to help for the lovelier company of his wife. Lydia had complete control over Erik, and she didn’t even seem to realize it…which was probably a good thing.
Erik’s easy smile fell. “Are ya sure?” His eyes moved to Niall. “Thank ya for calling me, my love. Ya did right. Let me know if ya learn anything more. I love ya.”
As Erik lowered the phone, Niall demanded, “Is it Charlotte? Is she hurt?”
“Do ya know she saw the wraith?” Erik asked.
Niall relaxed as he realized Lydia was probably overreacting. He adjusted his messenger bag and absently laid his hand against it to feel the bulge of familiar contents inside. “Aye. I know all about the wraith. Charlotte was in the forest when I fought it. I have it handled. I’m heading out to hunt it down.”
“Ya seem concerned about Charlotte.” Erik studied him. “What exactly is happening between the two of ya?”
“She’s my responsibility,” Niall dismissed. He walked into the trees, hoping that would be the end of the questions. He led the way down a cobblestone path, away from the house. Several of the plants were dormant from the wintery weather.
“I know we walked in on something more than naptime. As the eldest brother, I am ordering ya to answer me. What is the nature of your relationship with Charlotte?” Erik ran ahead of Niall to block the path as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Ask the elders, they assigned me to take care of her.” Niall absolutely did not want to talk about relationships and feelings with Erik. He pushed past his brother.
“Then tell me she means nothing to ya, just a job,” Erik said.
Niall stopped and turned to do just that, but couldn’t force the lie out.
Erik’s teasing grin fell into a look of amazement. “Holy crap, ya can’t say it, can ya?”
“I’m not humoring ya,” Niall dismissed.
“Niall the Neanderthal, in love,” Erik teased. “Wait until I tell—”
Niall marched faster through the forest. Where was a good wraith attack when he needed one?
The wind picked up and a tree limb cracked above his head. Niall looked up in time to see a thick branch break free. He jumped back before it landed on him. His path was now blocked.
“Talk to me,” Erik insisted. The wind died down under his command. “I know it’s not natural for ya to have a conversation that’s more than a few words long, but I am your brother. What’s going on in that head of yours? If ya like Charlotte, everyone in the family will be happy for ya. We want ya to find some kind of peace and stop this incessant need to hunt and do your duty.”
“I am not obsessive,” Niall denied.
“I said incessant.” Erik touched his shoulder. “Niall, please, talk to me.”
“It’s not some incessant need to go out and chase down supernatural problems. Someone in this family has to take care of these things and I don’t see any of ya volunteering to clean out a vampire den or fight a siren. It is me the elders order to the hunt. When Malina ran off, they sent me to bring her back. When some distant cousin calls about a killer werewolf, they send me to investigate. When mysterious earthquakes hit Oklahoma, they send me to clean out the leprechaun infestation.” Niall didn’t bother to hide his aggravation.
“Is this about Helena? We have learned a lot since those days. We’ve taken precautions with Charlotte. Everyone is watching over her. Hell, Euann is even willing to marry her if—”
Niall turned and grabbed his brother by his shirt. He lifted him up off the ground and growled. “Ya will keep out of my business.”
Realizing that the wolf was trying to emerge, he instantly dropped his brother and swung his arm toward the fallen branch. He drew power from the surrounding trees to magickally lift the obstacle out of his way and throw it aside so he could continue on. He ran down the path to make better time as he listened to the distance for signs of the supernatural.
“Fine.” Erik kept pace behind him. “We don’t have to talk about Charlotte, but we should come up with a plan to deal with Helena.”
At that, Niall stopped running. Intense emotions filled him—guilt, fear, dread. “What about Helena?”
“Ya said ya knew,” Erik answered. He wasn’t the least bit winded from their run. “The wraith that took Charlotte into the forest was Helena.”
Niall felt as if the entire world stopped in that moment. His mind raced as he thought of what Charlotte had said. She kept saying a wraith kidnapped her, but he’d thought she was just being overly dramatic to make a point, as women sometimes did. Having a wraith lure someone into the forest wasn’t unheard of, or even surprising, but Helena? Why, after all these years?
“Ya didn’t know?” Erik whispered.
“What else did your wife tell ya?” Niall insisted. Helena was free? This changed everything.
“Helena somehow led Charlotte to her statue and then warned her against trusting any MacGregor. Helena told Charlotte that they would share the same fate.”
“I was so focused on the attack that I didn’t stop to think it happened by Helena’s statue.” Niall frowned. Well, he’d actually been so focused on not kissing Charlotte that he’d not bothered to pay attention to anything else. This just proved he wasn’t meant for relationships. If the mere thought of Charlotte knocked him off his game, he wouldn’t be able to do his job effectively. “Charlotte didn’t mention Helena. She just said the wraith kidnapped her. I thought she might have been mixing up memories again.”
“Charlotte didn’t seem too bothered by the warning if she went home with ya,” Erik offered. “It’s possible she didn’t believe anything Helena had to say, if that is what has ya so worried.”
“I’m not worried,” Niall lied. The wind began to whistle in the trees. He glanced at his brother to see if Erik was about to drop another branch on him.
“Not me.” Erik searched the surrounding area.
Niall reached into his bag and pulled out a couple of potion vials. He tossed one at his brother. “If its anything like last time, she’ll come in hard and angry.”
“Shouldn’t we talk about this?” Erik shoved the vial into his front pocket.
“There is nothing to talk about. I’ve been told to take care of the wraith in the forest and that is what I’m going to do.” Niall pushed forward, focusing his attention on his surroundings. The whistling became louder and the air colder.
“You’re in love with Charlotte,” Erik yelled.
Niall balled his hand into a fist. “The statue is this way.”
“At least admit it to yourself, coward.” Erik moved past him.
“I have.” Niall’s voice rose over the wind. “But that doesn’t matter and it doesn’t make it somehow better. Why would she ever want a man like me? After all we have done to her. After all I have done in my life. I don’t deserve that kind of happily ever after. She’d be better off with Euann.”
“Except Euann doesn’t really love her. He just feels guilty about Helena.” Erik had to shout to be heard over the wind. The whistle became a screech. “If any of us deserve happiness, it’s ya, brother. We all know the sacrifices ya have made to protect this family. And, aye, we probably put too much of that responsibility on ya but ya never said ya don’t want it. Ya never say ya want anything. So if ya want Charlotte,” as Erik spoke the last words, the screeching stopped and he was left yelling in the silent forest, “get your hairy ass on over to her and tell her.”
Both Niall and his brother looked around.
“She’d be lucky to have ya,” Erik finished, sounding almost distracted. “Where did Helena go?”
“Hello, laddies, it’s been a long while.” A sweet voice came from before them on the path, not belonging to a body that he could see. The woman had a British accent.
“Did ya hear that?” Erik whispered.
/> Niall nodded and lifted a hand for silence. In the other, he clutched the potion vial and twisted the cork with his thumb and forefinger to loosen it. He listened to the forest, each rustle of leaves and stirring of branches. Erik’s breathing buried some of the noise and made it harder to decipher where the spirit might be hiding.
Suddenly, Erik flew backward. His heels dragged on the ground as if he was being pushed by an unseen force. Niall howled as he ran after his brother to stop the attack. Erik stumbled, righting himself. A blast of cold air hit Niall and he turned to find a blue streak of light zipping down the path.
“Helena, stop,” Niall ordered.
The blue light obeyed, the streak gathering together until it formed the ethereal shape of a woman. Helena turned. Her beauty was so much more than he remembered. She walked toward him like a seductress.
“Are you going to help me, Niall? Are you going to fix it? Are you going to give me my life back?” The words were soft and sweet, and incredibly deceptive. He felt the anger radiating off her even as she smiled. It seeped from her, prickling his warlock senses. As she neared, her eyes darkened into black pits and her voice deepened. “I didn’t think so.”
Niall didn’t understand how Helena could be so lucid. She was no ordinary wraith, but then, she had not had an ordinary death. But if she could speak, maybe she could also listen. He didn’t use the potion. “Helena, ya know we never meant to hurt ya.”
“Would you take it all back if you could?” she asked.
“Aye.” Niall nodded.
“Niall, careful,” Erik warned.
“Would you rewind time?” she asked.
Niall started to nod, only to stop. He watched her suspiciously.
She leaned closer to whisper in his ear. “Would you let me see the truth if that meant I would look at you the way you see me every day?”
“What is she talking about?” Erik asked.
“How…?” Niall tensed. How could she have heard the words he’d meant for Charlotte?
He felt the cold press of lips to his cheek before Helena walked through him. She pulled at his power, using it as fuel for herself. “An amazing ripple of power washed over me, bad luck for the MacGregors meant good luck for me. It woke me up. Ley lines did the rest. Luck and ley lines, a convergence of happenstance.”
“What do ya want, Helena? Do ya understand that ya are long dead? Nothing is as ya left it. Move on. Find peace.” Erik held his vial a little more openly as he moved next to Niall.
“You stole from me,” Helena said, staring at the brothers. “You took it all—my memories, my love, my sanity, and then my life. You even took my death, bringing me with you across the ocean to this place. You didn’t even let me rest in the soil of my homeland. Those sins don’t just go away. Those sins must be atoned for. There is a debt to be paid. That is when I’ll find my peace.”
“What do ya want? My atonement? I’m sorry, Helena.” Niall put his hand on Erik’s to stop him from lifting the vial.
“Ya can’t trust her, Niall,” Erik whispered. “She is no longer a woman. That is not innocence ya see in her face.”
Helena laughed. “I will take from you, as you have from me. I will take your love and the memories you would have had, and in doing so I will take your sanity. After that, you will be as good as dead.”
Niall and Erik lifted their potion vials at the same time, released the corks, and threw them at her feet. Smoke curled from the liquid but her laughter only grew. The magick did not affect her as it should have.
Instead, she gave a small shiver. “Oh, that tickles.”
“Don’t do this,” Niall said.
“I would take it all back if I could,” Helena said, looking sincere as she mocked the words he’d whispered to himself about Charlotte. “I would rewind time if it would fix the future. I would let ya see the truth if that meant ya would look at me once the way I see ya every day.”
“What is she talking about?” Erik asked.
“Ya will not harm her,” Niall growled, lunging at Helena. He shifted as he flew toward her, using the strength of the wolf and the power of the warlock to make her corporeal so he could push her against a tree.
“Thank the luck demon for me. I couldn’t have done this without him,” Helena said before dissipating into a mist. Niall’s clawed hands sank into the bark as Helena fled.
Charlotte!
The one word focused in his mind as panic filled him. Helena would go after Charlotte.
Niall stayed shifted as he ran on all fours. His messenger bag dragged on the ground, forcing him onto two shifted legs. The wolf was faster than the man. He heard his brother running behind him and glanced back to see Erik shifted into panther form. The smell of ash greeted them as they neared the burnt goblin den marking the way to the back of the mansion.
When Niall would have run toward Lydia’s house, Erik shifted into his human form and called, “Niall, the mirror!”
Niall switched routes, shifting from his wolf form to follow Erik inside. They hurried through the mansion, up the stairs.
“Niall? Erik?” Euann yelled as they passed. “What’s happening?”
“Helena is loose,” Erik said.
“Helena?” Euann started to run after them.
“Call Iain,” Niall ordered. “Have him bring Jane. Everyone is to stay in this house.”
Erik went to his room in the mansion where he kept a full-size portal mirror that would take them directly into the Victorian house he shared with Lydia. Dark wood accented the lightly colored walls of the room. A large painting of Erik in full MacGregor plaid similar to the one Niall had was set against the frame of the mirror. The canvas had been ripped down the middle. Erik grabbed it and thrust the painting aside before stepping into his own reflection.
Niall followed him into the mirror.
Chapter Fifteen
“Sounds like a storm is coming.” Lydia stood and moved toward the kitchen window.
Charlotte felt a small panic wash over her. The light changed and she stood from the table. Blue lit up the kitchen from outside, flashing like a camera through all the windows.
Lydia didn’t seem to notice. “Listen to that wind screech.”
Charlotte felt the cold creeping in on her. She shook violently and balled her hands into her lap. The light flashed again as she stared out of the window and day turned into night. She’d been through enough hallucinations to know this couldn’t be real. If she just held still maybe it would go away.
“It’s real. Magick is real.” Charlotte gasped, turning to look toward the living room as she heard a recording of her voice. The pop and scratch of an old record player filled the silence between words. “You said it was, but spells are one thing.”
“It’s okay. We’re safe in here,” Lydia answered.
Charlotte looked at the window. Lydia was gone. Her voice came from the living room, answering Charlotte’s memory.
“Your house is glowing blue. Why is your house glowing blue?” her recorded voice said, the words coming out of nowhere, like a haunting.
“That’s how I know we’re safe,” Lydia answered. “It’s Gramma’s barrier spell. He can’t get in unless I invite him.”
“Like a vampire.” Charlotte heard the hysteria in her recorded voice, but felt the fear in her chest as if it was currently happening. Her heart physically ached each time it beat, sending a constricting pain over her lungs. “Nothing is ever going to be normal again…”
Another flash of blue lit up the windows, prompting Charlotte to stand from the table. This hallucination wasn’t going away. She forced herself to confront the memory but as she reached the doorway, it was to see an image of herself on the couch with Lydia fading into nothingness.
Lightning flashed through the window, followed by the crack of thunder. Charlotte inched toward the couch to look out the big picture window. The storm picked up force, blowing leaves and sticks across the lawn. A plastic bag rolled toward the tree line.
&nbs
p; “You don’t have to stay, Charlotte. I’ll understand if you want to go home.” Lydia’s recording was back, this time coming from the kitchen.
“I’m not leaving you,” Charlotte answered. “Gramma Annabelle? Are you here?”
“I’ve been trying to talk to her all night. She won’t appear, and I don’t know how to make her,” Lydia said. A series of crashes sounded as if the house was being torn apart. She saw curtains fly past the doorway to the kitchen. “Let’s try redecorating. Remodeling is supposed to stir spirits because it changes the environment.”
She saw movement in the shadows. The table slid across the floor, knocking the chairs aside. Charlotte gasped, jumping back. The voices were familiar, and the actions became more so, but then so was the intense fear growing with each moment.
Curtains were pulled off the windows behind her. Furniture slid across the floor, pushed by unseen hands. Lotion bottles flew from the shelves, crashing all around her. Charlotte cried out and lifted her hands to protect her head. She closed her eyes tight, wanting the hallucination to go away. She didn’t want to be crazy. She wanted to be normal.
Nothing is ever going to be normal again. The thought repeated itself in her mind, even as she tried to think past it.
Suddenly, the destruction stopped and Charlotte was left standing in a destroyed home. But outside, the pounding storm only became worse. She wasn’t sure what to do. The hallucination didn’t fade. Tears slid over her cheeks. She didn’t want to be crazy. None of this could be real, but the pelt of lotion bottles as they’d struck her said differently.
Lightning flashed and Erik appeared in the curtain-less window. Charlotte yelped in surprise and jumped back. She pressed her hand against her chest. Storm clouds rolled and the room became darker. Erik’s eyes glinted with light as his face shifted and changed. Fangs grew. Fur covered his features. He lifted a clawed hand and began tapping the glass.
Nothing is ever going to be normal again.
Charlotte took a deep breath. She’d been so terrified when she saw the shift, but felt that fear leaving her now. Niall was a werewolf, and as terrifying as he looked, he hadn’t hurt her. Erik would not hurt Lydia. This was the past. Nothing was going to happen to her. She was safe. This was over.
Spirits and Spells (Warlocks MacGregor Book 5) Page 11
