by Apryl Baker
Thank you old friend, for helping me to sort through it and make up my mind.
I closed the diary. The last diary really only talks about the events leading up to Emily’s death, and not about her dreams of the darkness on the horizon. I’d skimmed through all three journals, only reading anything that had something to do with her dreams of darkness. I had read that last diary, though, if only to understand what CJ was going through. It made my stomach turn to read what happened to her sister at the hands of the very people Emily had trusted the most. I didn’t blame CJ for hating magic after reading that.
Emily had been very vague about her dreams, not going into many details, so I also understood CJ’s frustration. I assumed she didn’t get into a lot of detail simply because she was afraid, and writing it down made it more real. Her writing, little though it was about those dreams, did convey her fear. She was terrified. That much was clear.
Given everything Xavier had told me today about the Fallen Angels, I assumed the something darker is the one Angel he spoke of, the one we can’t stop from rising. The shadows, though, I’m thinking they might be the Gargoyles. Nothing in her entries described them, but they didn’t have to. Gargoyles served the Angles, Fallen or not. I thought they might even side with the Fallen if it meant they could win back their freedom. It was a gut instinct. I’d need to talk to Xavier about it, though.
None of Emily’s dreams could be stopped from coming true. Her job was to warn people, to prepare them, but she never got the chance. Not really. I’d love to hear what her father found out, though. He may have discovered something through his sources and simply forgot about it because of everything that happened after Emily died.
I’d ask CJ in the morning to talk to her dad. Right now, there were more questions than answers, but they’d wait until tomorrow.
Chapter Twenty-One
~ Unveiled Secrets ~
The smell of bacon made my nose twitch as I trudged down the stairs. I’d planned on a bowl of Mini Wheaties and some OJ, but bacon? I’d sell an organ for bacon on the best of days. It was a weakness of mine, and my Gran knew it. She was either being nice after our talk last night, or she was lulling me with bacon and planned on starting the Inquisition again. My sleep deprived mind didn’t care—it just smelled bacon.
Gran was at the stove in her favorite jogging pants and long sleeved green shirt. Pancakes. She flipped pancakes as she scooped bacon out of a pan with her free hand. Pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Seriously, she’d gone all out. What was she up to? I grabbed a glass and poured myself some orange juice before settling on a stool at the island. My mouth salivated at the smells assaulting me.
“Good morning,” Gran said, her voice dripping with cheerfulness. I grunted in response. I always detested morning people. I was not a morning person. If I didn’t get food and some form of caffeine before I was forced into conversation, there could be no guarantees casualties wouldn’t ensue.
Gran set a plate down in front of me and pushed the maple syrup my way. I closed my eyes and inhaled, the smell of yumminess making my stomach rumble. The first bite hit my tongue and exploded in the delicious heaven that was bacon.
“I talked to your dad this morning,” Gran said, the casualness of her tone making me choke. I coughed and gulped down orange juice to try and help. When I finally looked at Gran, she just stared, waiting. Hell. Full Inquisition mode.
“That so?” I asked after a minute and shoveled more food into my mouth. It didn’t taste nearly as good as before. Dammit. Why did she have to go and ruin my favorite breakfast foods?
“He said you were asking about Protectors.”
I made a noncommittal noise, scrambling to try and remember exactly what I told Dad.
“Your father said you asked me, and I had no clue,” Gran reminded me, making me wince. “Since I know exactly what they are, he knew you lied to him, Melinda.”
Damn, damn, and double damn.
“So just when were you going to tell me you were assigned a Protector, Melinda Rose James?” My full name…ouch. The fury in her tone had me afraid to look up and see the disappointment on her face. “What are you involved in?”
“Nothing, Gran,” I told her, almost managing to sound blasé.
“Don’t nothing me, young lady!” she yelled. “Whatever it is, it’s bad enough to have activated your Protector.”
“Gran…”
“It’s Xavier, isn’t it?” she demanded. “What’s he here to stop you from doing?”
“Gran, it’s nothing…”
“He’ll kill you, Melinda, to keep you from making the wrong choice!”
“He can’t,” I said. “He’ll die if he does.”
Gran’s mouth dropped open. Her look kinda mirrored mine when he told me that. “He…the Elements…they bonded you two together?”
I nodded, still not liking that particular fact. I hated being responsible for someone else’s soul. I was still trying to figure out how I could do what I needed to without compromising Xavier.
“I knew that boy wasn’t human,” she muttered before fixing me with an icy stare that could cower the polar glaciers. “What are you caught up in, young lady?”
I sighed and gave up on trying to eat my wonderfully delicious breakfast. “Gran, what would you say if I told you Jenny was murdered?”
“Sweetheart, that isn’t possible. When she died, the police did a full investigation, and the medical examiner agreed. Her death was a suicide.”
“I’m not disputing that, Gran,” I told her softly. “All I’m saying is what if she had a little help in making that decision? What if she was forced to do it?”
Gran frowned. I could see the wheels turning in her head, almost hear her make the connections to my Stepford transformation. Her eyes widened, but before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang. I jumped up and ran. Cowardly? Sure, but at least it got me away from the Grand Inquisitioner.
Sebastian’s smiling face was on the other side of the door. Not who I was expecting, especially this early, but I’d take any help in getting away from Gran.
“Just wake up?” he asked, his eyes laughing at me.
I glanced down to see my flannel penguin pjs and grimaced. “Yeah, you’re here early.”
“Well, I figured if I wanted to catch you before you disappeared for the day again, I needed to get you at the crack of dawn.”
“I’d hardly call eight in the morning the crack of dawn,” I said. “Come in before you and I both freeze to death.”
“Cali girls,” Sebastian laughed. “Still not used to the cold?”
“I’m getting there,” I grinned and turned when I saw Gran come in. “Sebastian you met my Gran yesterday, right?
“Yeah, hey, Mrs. J.” Sebastian flashed Gran his megawatt smile, and she lost her frown in a heartbeat. I just shook my head. Even Gran wasn’t immune to The Sebastian Caine. “I swung by to pick James up. We’re all getting together and thought she’d like to hang out.”
“I don’t know,” Gran said. “We were in the middle of a discussion, and her father is arriving today…”
“Dad’s coming today?” I shouted. “He said he wasn’t coming until Friday night!” Today? He was coming today? When he got here, he’d demand the truth, and I’ve never lied to him, and I wouldn’t start now. I’d tell him. I didn’t have anything ready yet. How could I make them all pay today?
“No worries, Mrs. J.,” Sebastian told her. “I’ll have her home before her dad’s flight even lands. Promise.”
“Well, I suppose…” Gran sighed, not looking too happy, but who could argue with those Caine dimples? Certainly not Gran. Thank the Fates for female hormones.
“Thanks!” I said. “Give me five minutes to get dressed.”
I dashed upstairs, pulled on a pair of jeans, a tee-shirt, and a sweatshirt before bounding back downstairs. I needed out of the house before Gran changed her mind. I had to figure out some way to make them all suffer for what they did to Jenny today. My time w
as officially out.
I hurried into my coat, and then rushed Sebastian out the door.
“Slow down, James,” Sebastian laughed. “You’re going to fall on the ice.”
I grimaced. Just another thing to hate about winter—ice. I’d fallen flat on my face trying to grab the newspaper for Gran my second day here. I slowed down until we got to Sebastian’s Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was clean inside, which didn’t surprise me. Guys treated their rides almost better than they did their mothers.
“I grabbed you a coffee on the way over,” Sebastian said, putting the car into gear and pulling out of the driveway.
“So where are we going?” I asked, turning the heat up, before taking a sip of the steaming coffee. It was black, so I only took a couple sips. I needed cream for my coffee. I set the cup back down into the cup holder.
“School, actually,” Sebastian told me as he turned out of my neighborhood.
“School?” Why were we going to school on a Sunday?
“Yeah, that’s where we all meet for our fun stuff,” Sebastian said.
“Where you guys play at magic?” I asked. Maybe the school library? Please don’t tell me they were Buffy fans, playing out some fantasy.
“We don’t ‘play’ at magic,” he said, turning down another street that led into town. “We actually do magic.”
I snorted. They had no idea what real magic was, what it could do. If they did, they’d run for the mall and stay there until the zombie apocalypse came and went. “Were any of you born witches, or did you just decide one day to start doing magic?”
“No, none of us were born witches,” he said with a shrug, “but, we’re doing pretty good with it.”
“That remains to be seen,” I murmured and looked out the window. We were pulling into the school, and Sebastian drove around to the back. Several cars were already parked there. I was starting to get a hinkey feeling, and it made me nervous. At least Gran knew who I was with if anything happened.
Sebastian and I went into an unlocked door that led down the hall to the kitchens. From there we took another flight of stairs down into what I assumed was the basement. While there were lights turned on, the place still seemed dark. My hinkey feeling got worse. Where was that Gargoyle when you needed him?
We ended up near the back of the building in a room that was extremely well lit. There were several chairs and couches scattered throughout the room. A long table stood near the back wall. There was a definite odor coming from back there. It must be where they did their spell casting.
The entire little gang was there waiting on us. Mandy, her eyes glowing black, smiled like the Cheshire cat. This girl screamed dark witch. I knew it without having to be told. I could feel the darkness coming off her. It gave me pause in my own plans. I wasn’t sure I could handle becoming this creature I saw in front of me.
“Melinda,” she said. “So glad you could join us this morning. We missed you yesterday.”
I shrugged. “I had plans yesterday.”
Mandy’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, you’re here now. We have some things we’d like to talk to you about. As you know, we have an established Coven here, and we’d like to invite you to be a part of it.”
“As I said Friday, what makes you think I’d want to be part of your Coven?” I asked, challenging her. Her eyes narrowed, but it was Brandon who answered me.
“Do you already have a Coven?” he asked point blank.
“No, I’m not part of a Coven,” I answered honestly. No point in lying. Lying about something that simple could trip me up later.
“Then there’s no reason you shouldn’t join ours. We can offer you so much, Melinda. Let us be your Coven, your family. We can grow our power and learn from each other. Imagine what we could do together.”
He looked so earnest and honest. I couldn’t believe he’d gotten sucked up in this. I had to at least try to save him.
“That’s typically true of most Covens, Brandon, but only if you are born witches. Humans playing at magic, that’s something else entirely.”
“Born witches?” he asked, frowning.
“A true witch is born with the ability to do magic. They’re physiologically equipped to handle the stress magic will put upon their bodies. The human body can’t withstand the force of some magic. It can kill you.”
“You’re a born witch?” Madison asked, her eyes starting to darken. Dammit. I knew something was wrong here. Were they all dark witches?
“Yes, my entire family is,” I told her, keeping direct eye contact. “My dad’s on the Witches’ Council.”
“There’s a council?” Sebastian asked. He walked over to the couch sitting along one wall and plopped down. “What do they do?”
“They’re like the police, only they deal with witches who’ve gone rogue.”
“Rogue?” he asked, more curious.
“Witches who use magic to harm people,” I clarified for them all.
“Well, we don’t do that,” Sebastian said. “We use it for fun mostly.”
“Servus tenebras, clamávi ad te,
et audi vocem meam audiunt.
Veni ad me, mihi dicto obedire.”
Sebastian’s head drooped for a minute, but when he looked back up, his eyes were a solid black. He stood and went to stand next to his friends, leaving me staring into black eyes. So not good. So very, very not good. I recognized the spell. It was old, ancient. They shouldn’t even know it. Where did they get their hands on a spell like that?
“Servant of darkness, I call upon thee,
listen and do as I say.
Come to me, heed my words, and obey.”
It wasn’t the best translation, but it was pretty close. Mandy had used it on Sebastian, to control him. He wasn’t a part of this. He really had told me the truth.
“What’s going on?” I asked softly.
“We need your help,” Brandon told me, his eyes as crystal clear as the first day I met him. “We’d prefer you willingly do it, but if necessary, we’ll make you help us.”
“Help you do what, exactly?”
“Need to know, Melinda,” Wes grinned. His smile made my skin crawl. His arm was draped around Lori, who looked extremely bored. At least Madison looked worried. She remembered what I did in the cafeteria.
“If you want my help, you will tell me what you want me to do.” I stared directly at Mandy. “I’m not human. I’m a witch. It’s harder to force me to do something against my will.”
“It was easy to manipulate your sister,” Mandy smiled. “She had no real willpower.”
Brandon laughed when he saw my eyes widen. “Did you think we wouldn’t figure out who you were? You look very different from your photos, but once we figured it out, I can’t tell you how excited we all were.”
My eyes darted to Sebastian. “He had no idea,” Brandon said. “He loved her and would never have allowed us to hurt her, so we had to come up with a way to control him. He has no idea he helped to kill her.”
“Was your plan to come here and make us all pay for your pathetic sister’s death?” Mandy asked. “Sorry, Melinda. Our whole point in killing her was to get you here.”
What the hell? “Me?” I asked. “Why?”
“She told Sebastian her sister was a witch, a real witch,” Brandon replied. “We needed that in our Coven. There are things we can’t do, things we need your power to do. Killing Jenny was a sure way to get you here. She told us how much you meant to each other, and we knew that if you figured out her death was caused by magic, you’d come.”
“And here you are.”
I glanced over to see the Chemistry teacher, Mr. Simon, come through the door. My jaw dropped. He was their leader? I knew it instinctively. He’d caused all this. He corrupted these kids and murdered my sister, but why? What was his end game?
“What do you need me to do?” I gave Mr. Simon my best death glare, but he only smiled in response. That set my hackles to rising.
“We need your mag
ic to help us open a doorway,” Mr. Simon explained. “We’ve tried numerous times ourselves, but it’s impossible.”
“Doorway?” What were they trying to do?
“It’s been a long process to find all the necessary items needed to open this particular doorway.” Mr. Simon walked over to where the table was. He bent down, and when he stood back up, he held a book. Its binding was gray and frayed with age. Ancient. This was where they were getting their spells. It wasn’t a huge book, though. “It opens up the prison of an ancient force. It’s a force that has been searching for eons to get out. Those who help free him will be rewarded.”
“Do you realize how cheesy that sounds?” I scoffed. “It’s like a bad plot line to a B rated sci-fi flick.” It really did.
“Cheesy or not, it’s still true.” Mr. Simon shrugged. He flipped the book open and started to turn through its pages. “Do you know what this is?”
“Uh, no?” How could I know what it was if I’d never seen it before? Well, I knew it was a spell book, I just didn’t know what kind exactly.
“It’s a very old book,” he said, walking toward me. “Its pages are full of ancient magic, magic we cannot touch. It requires the blood of a Pagan to work. That is why we need you, my dear. The choice of how we obtain your cooperation is up to you.”
“Not a chance,” I told him. “You just admitted you murdered my sister, and you think I’m going to willingly help you? You’re insane if that’s what you think.”
“Hopeful,” Mr. Simon corrected me. “I’ve seen the darkness in you, Melinda. I’d hoped the lure of so much power would entice you.”
