Hexed (The Gwen Sparks Series Book 4)

by Nelson, Stephanie

  Aiden watched her, his features undecipherable. “I’ll meet you guys back at my place. There’s a lot we should discuss.”

  “I think we’ll stay at the apartment tonight,” Gwen replied, turning and pushing through the crowd.

  “Looks like whether she remembers you or not, she doesn’t want anything to do with you,” I told him, turning and following Gwen out.

  “FIONA, SLOW DOWN,” I said into the phone. “Who did you see?” Dorian and I were about a block from my apartment when she called me in a panic.

  “No, I didn’t see anyone,” Fiona clarified. “Micah called me to tell me he saw Patrick.”

  “Who’s Patrick? And why didn’t Micah call me?”

  “Ugh! This memory loss thing sucks,” she complained. “Patrick works for the NAWC as a guard, and Micah said he tried calling you.”

  “I was at a dance club,” I explained. “I must not have heard my phone.” While I was talking to Fiona, Dorian turned down a street leading away from my apartment.

  “What are you doing?” I asked him.

  “If Patrick is in town, we’re not going back to your apartment. Is Fiona at Aiden’s?”

  “Are you at Aiden’s?” I asked Fiona.

  “Yeah, and he and Lauren just pulled up. Are you guys coming here?”

  “Are we going to Aiden’s?” I directed the question to Dorian. I really didn’t want to see Aiden. I didn’t know what it was, but being in his presence caused a strange tingling sensation to erupt through my body. It was as though those pesky butterflies were drunk off their asses and fluttering in haphazard patterns. Plus, the possession in his eyes when he looked at me unsettled me. I couldn’t remember why we’d broken up, but I knew he shouldn’t be looking at me like that when I was clearly with Dorian. I’d been so tense in the club, afraid the two men would attack each other, and I’d be caught in the middle. Luckily, both men held back their tempers and I was able to escape before it escalated. Unfortunately, my stress-free night was unsuccessful.

  “Depends,” Dorian said, his fingers flexing against the steering wheel. “Do they have the stuff for the spell?”

  “Why don’t I just put it on speaker so I can stop playing the relay game.” Pressing the button, I said, “Fiona, you’re on speaker. Do you guys have all the ingredients for the spell?”

  “Everything except the lemons and distilled water,” Fiona replied. I could hear voices in the background. By the tightness in Dorian’s jaw, he noticed them, too. Aiden’s voice was smooth and accented, recognizable. Even over the phone, it held a hint of power over me. I blamed the bond, having read in the Magick Encyclopedia that those bonded had a certain level of awareness and attraction to each other. Since bonded people were attuned to each other, our bodies were tricked into believing there was something there when—at least in Aiden’s and my situation—there wasn’t. I may not remember either Dorian or Aiden, but in the few short days since I lost my memory, Dorian had gained my trust, and okay…my attention.

  Peering over at him, I smiled slimly when I remembered how he’d sidled up behind me on the dance floor, the grip on his hands on my hips as he tugged me against his body, and the soft caress of his breath as he whispered against my ear. Yeah, I was completely into Dorian.

  As though he could feel my eyes on his, Dorian looked over at me. A wrinkle formed against his forehead before he stared back at the road.

  “Hello?” Fiona’s voice broke through the silence of the car.

  “The lemons and water are at Aiden’s,” I said. “We’ll be there in a few seconds.”

  “See you soon.”

  Pressing the END button, I dropped my cell into my purse and leaned my head back against the seat. I stared out the window as quaint little houses skipped past. Flora really was a cute little town. I mentally told myself that someday I would own one of these houses, trade in my small apartment for a small, but cute, house. As silly as it was, it gave me something to look forward to, even if I didn’t know how long my future would be.

  Warm fingers slid across my thigh, squeezing gently. I closed my eyes and absorbed the sensation of Dorian’s skin against mine. In this moment, I desperately wanted to remember him. I was jealous of my former self for having those memories, knowing all the ways he’d touched me. I wanted to remember how I felt when I saw him on that rainy night. Did my heartbeat speed up when our eyes connected? Did time stand still? Did we exchange words, smiles? What came after that, how did we cross paths again?

  The car stopped, and I knew we were at Aiden’s. I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds longer before lifting my head. I stared at the dashboard in fear that Dorian would see the anxiety written all over my face. It felt as though we’d been waiting months for Fiona and Ethan to gather the supplies for the spell, when really it had only been a couple days. I hadn’t realized how much stock I’d put into this working until this moment. I had kept a positive mind, told myself that everything would work out and come morning, I’d be back to normal. But what if the spell didn’t work? What if we’d put all our eggs in this basket and the damn thing broke?

  I heard Dorian shift and then his fingers were guiding my face to look at him. All of the earlier tension had been erased and now only concern crossed his features. Was he worried about the same things I was?

  “Whatever happens tonight,” Dorian said, his voice low and soft, “I won’t let anything happen to you. I’ll go to the ends of the earth for you, cupcake. It’s you and me.”

  My vision blurred with tears, one slipping down my cheek until it dropped off my chin. I felt so silly for crying, but it felt as though we were at a precipice. We would either fall over the edge or be yanked back and saved.

  “Thank you,” I told him, sniffing and getting control over myself, “for everything, Dorian.”

  A crooked smile bent his mouth. “That sounded genuine.”

  I laughed, remembering when he first found me on the street and how he’d chastised me for not being grateful. Gosh, that felt like eons ago. So much had happened between then and now.

  “It was,” I told him, feeling a lingering tear slip down my cheek. “You’ve been…more than I ever expected.”

  Dorian reached over and brushed the tear away, his fingers sliding down to clasp the back of my neck. Leaning forward, he rested his forehead against mine, and I closed my eyes. I concentrated on our breathing, a soft hush of air mingling between us.

  I jumped when two knocks sounded at the window. When I began to turn my head to see who was interrupting this moment, Dorian held my head toward his and kissed me. When his tongue flicked against the seam of my lips, I opened my mouth to him. The first contact of his tongue against mine caused me to reach up and fist his jacket to keep him from moving away. With a single kiss, he was able to chase away the doubt clouding my head. In this moment, it was just him and me and the sensations our bodies created when they touched.

  “Uh, guys,” Fiona said from behind the glass, “we’re on a bit of a schedule here.”

  Breaking our kiss, Dorian and I both exhaled with shaky breath.

  “Ready?” Dorian asked.

  “Not really.” I smiled, and then we both exited the car.

  “SO…WHY THE lemons and water?”

  We all stood in a circle around Gwen, who was standing in a blow-up kiddie pool, dressed in a tank top and a pair of jeans. Her hair was still up in the messy bun, but a few pieces had escaped and now teased the curve of her shoulder.

  “In order for the spell to work,” Fiona said, squeezing juice from the lemons into a bucket of water, we need to purify Gwen. The lemons and distilled water help with that.” Looking up, she said, “I’ll also burn sage around her.”

  I shrugged out of my jacket. “I’m going with her, though. Shouldn’t I also be in there?” I nodded toward the pool. There was no way I was sending Gwen back in time by herself.

  “The less people sent back, the better chance we have at not screwing with the future.”

  I
snorted. “The whole reason we’re doing this is to screw with the future.” I worked the strings on my boots loose and slipped them and my socks off. “She’s not going without me.”

  Fiona and Ethan shared a look, Ethan cocking a smug brow. “Told you.”

  “Yeah, yeah you were right,” Fiona deadpanned. “Good thing we got enough ingredients for two spells.”

  I was actually surprised Ethan had called my actions before Fiona. She had to know when it came to Gwen’s safety, I’d be on the frontline. Stepping into the pool, I slipped my sunglasses off and handed them to Fiona. Gwen’s head lifted and our eyes met. She stared into the abyss of my sockets, her face relaxing the slightest bit. When she lifted a hand to my chest and rested her head against me, my arms automatically came around her back. I wanted so badly to look over to Aiden and show him the smugness I felt, but he wasn’t worth my attention.

  “Ow,” Gwen moaned, leaning away from me and cradling her head in her hands. “Ow…son of a bitch.”

  “What’s wrong?” I knelt down just enough to be eye level with her. Her entire face was creased in pain, her eyes squeezed shut.

  “Gwen, what is going on?”

  “Migraine,” she pushed through tight lips, “intense…migraine.”

  “Fiona?” I asked, why I had no clue; they hadn’t started the spell yet. I had a feeling this wasn’t just a random headache.

  “I don’t know,” Fiona said, her voice panicked. “Do you think the NAWC is doing something?” I assumed the question was directed at Ethan because I had no fucking clue what the NAWC was capable of.

  “It’s possible,” Ethan replied. The calmness of his voice made me want to punch him in the face.

  “How do we fix it?” Aiden stepped forward but I shot him a warning look to not touch her. A heartbreaking, painful moan traveled up Gwen’s throat and infected my bones. My fingers trembled against her body, my brain at a loss on what to do. What should I do?

  Gwen’s entire body crumpled in on itself. It was only my arms tightening around her frame that kept her from falling to the floor. Her head lolled back, and her jaw slackened. Moving quickly, I carried her out of the pool and lay her out onto the couch.

  “Is she…” Fiona asked, a catch in her throat.

  I shook my head, my chest tightening as my heart beat painfully. “No, just passed out.”

  “If this is the NAWC’s doing,” Aiden said, coming around to stand behind the couch, “they’ll be here once they find out Gwen’s not at her place. They’ll search every person she’s associated with.”

  “I’ll stand guard outside,” Lauren offered, her heels clacking against the floor as she headed toward the door.

  “Only kill as a last resort,” Aiden called after her.

  My eyes snapped up to him before falling back to Gwen. At that moment, I would kill anyone and anything that tried to touch her. Ice consumed the heat in my body and left my bones frozen. My breath came out in puffs of fog as I tried to gain control over my emotions. I bent Gwen’s arm up and rested it against her stomach, gripping her hand as I tried to think of something that could help her. I wasn’t used to feeling helpless.

  “What do we do?” I asked, aggravated. “I don’t know what to do.” What good was having magic if it couldn’t be used in times of need? Surely Ethan or Fiona had a spell that would help Gwen, stop whatever it was that had taken ahold of her.

  “We could try my blood,” Aiden offered.

  My jaw cracked, along with what little hold I had on my patience. “Did you do something to her? Was this your plan all along?”

  “What are you talking about?” Aiden said.

  “She’s not injured,” I snapped. “Vampire blood only heals injuries, so why in hell do you think it would heal her? Lauren told me about your guys’ little plan. Not happening.”

  Aiden’s eyes thinned. “That’s not your choice. If you would put aside your hatred of me, then maybe you’d see it’s a viable option. You guys don’t even know if traveling back in time will work. Do you have a plan B?”

  “What are you guys talking about?” Fiona questioned. Since Ethan was in the room there was no way in hell I was going to tell her about the hybrids. In our world they were still considered a myth, one that many feared. I wouldn’t put it past Ethan to run back to the NAWC and tell them.

  “Nothing,” I answered, still keeping eye contact with Aiden. “It’s moot because it’s not happening.” Blackness seeped around the edges of the vampire’s eyes, and his fingers curled into fists at his side. If the leech wanted to go, we’d go. I’d been waiting months to kick his ass.

  Gwen stirred, her hand coming up to her forehead. She groaned moments before her eyes opened. Kneeling, I brushed her hair away from her face.

  “Gwen? Are you okay?” When she tried to sit up, I slipped an arm around her back and helped her. Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on her knees and hung her head into her hands.

  “What happened?”

  “You passed out,” I said, moving to sit beside her. “How are you feeling?”

  Running her fingers through her head, she looked over at me. “Like someone took a wrecking ball to my skull.”

  “I’ll get some aspirin,” Fiona said, rushing toward her purse. She came back in with a glass of water and held out two oval-shaped pills. Gwen popped them into her mouth and drank the entire glass of water in one breath.

  “We should get back to the spell,” Gwen said, standing. She wavered and I reached out to steady her.

  “We’ll worry about the spell later,” I told her. “Just take it easy. We still don’t know why you passed out.”

  “Patrick’s in town, maybe he worked some of his mojo on me. We’re running out of time. If the NAWC is here, that means Holly’s here.” Her eyes were wide, her face pale.

  I looked to Fiona and Aiden, confused. “Gwen, Holly’s dead.”

  She stared up at me with those wide blue eyes, and slowly her face relaxed. “I know,” she said, her voice implying that she thought I was strange for telling her.

  “Did you tell her about Holly?” Fiona asked, keeping her voice low so Gwen wouldn’t hear.

  I’d been so worried about Gwen’s wellbeing that I hadn’t even realized that she mentioned someone from her past, someone no one had told her about.

  “No.”

  “Gwen,” Fiona said, taking a step toward her, “what do you remember?”

  Gwen shrugged. “What do you mean?”

  “Do you remember…us?” Fiona gestured around the room to signal herself, Aiden and me. We all stared at Gwen, waiting for her reply. She twisted at the waist and looked at Aiden as if just noticing he was there.

  “Of course I remember you guys,” she said, turning back to face Fiona and me. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Can you tell me how you and I met?” Fiona asked.

  “At Hogwarts,” she said seriously.

  I couldn’t help myself, I burst out laughing. The council members of the NAWC all resided in a castle in Moon, where Fiona and Gwen had met when they were sixteen.

  Gwen’s brows furrowed. “What?”

  Getting control over myself, I shook my head. “Hogwarts is a fictional town, Gwen. It’s from Harry Potter.”

  A slight blush colored her cheeks, but she brushed it off. “Yeah, I know. I meant we met in the dark forest. There was a castle in the distance.”

  “I met Gwen at the opening of Moon,” Fiona told me. “That’s what she’s thinking of.”

  Moon was surrounded by a forest and the opening was a shimmer only other witches could see and enter. While her reference to Harry Potter was close, it still unnerved me that she was so discombobulated.

  “I think this is Amara’s doing,” I said. “I asked her to restore Gwen’s memories. Maybe the confusion is a side effect and will wear off.”

  “Who’s Amara?” Fiona asked.

  “Old friend.”

  “She’s the puppeteer of life,” Gwen replied, stretching he
r fingers out in front of her and moving them up and down as though controlling strings on a puppet. She was half-right, considering that Amara was a Fate.

  “She knows the truth about things, but it’s like she can’t process her thoughts,” I said.

  “Maybe your friend messed up,” Aiden chimed in, moving around the couch to stand beside Gwen. She swiveled her head and looked at him, but when she reached a hand out to touch his face, my chest tightened and squeezed the air out of my lungs.

  “The trickster,” she whispered, dropping her arm. “Always playing tricks and wounding damsels with your lies.” She dropped her eyes and turned her back to Aiden. When her eyes met mine, they were glossy. Was she on the verge of crying? I wanted to comfort her, maybe even feel sorry for her, but I couldn’t. At the moment, the only emotion I felt was anger. Was she really still affected by Aiden, after everything he did to her? I thought after I admitted to myself how I felt about Gwen I would understand how emotions worked, but I was just as perplexed as before. I couldn’t understand her feelings toward the vampire. Or maybe I just didn’t want to.

  “Can you call your friend and see when this will wear off?” Fiona asked. “We really don’t have time to wait. Like Aiden said, it won’t be long before Patrick shows up here.”

  “Yeah, I’ll try to get a hold of her.” Heading out of the living room, I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and leaned against the wall in the hallway.

  “He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me,” I heard Gwen say from the other room.

  As I selected Amara’s name on my contact list, the front door swung open. Lauren shoved Bree and Reece through the door, her fangs extended as she snarled at the two.

  Shit, what now?

  “I’ve been waiting for your call,” Amara’s voice sounded over the phone. I hadn’t realized I even pressed the call button.

  “Then you know what I’m calling about. How long before it wears off?” I eyed Bree and Reece as Lauren shoved them further into the foyer. Their eyes found me, calm considering a very pissed off vampire was at their backs. As spirit walkers, they could conjure the victims of murderers, and since vampires almost always leave a trail of blood, they had a lot of victims to call. Bree and Reece could have an army of ghosts here with a snap of their finger, and Lauren wouldn’t be able to fend them off. However, it wasn’t Lauren they needed to fear.