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The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy

Page 13

by Thompson-Geer, Stacey


  “Then why are we still standing here,” he said, smiling a half smile.

  Four

  The idea of hunting down Eric was easier than actually doing it. I had no idea where to even start. He was the cause of the all the mayhem, but he wasn’t making it easy to know right where to find him.

  We walked around Council Bluffs for a while until the sun looked as though it was going to go down. Eli didn’t think it would be a good idea to stay out in the open. He agreed to pay for a hotel room and I didn’t want to know how he had the money for it. I just wanted to rest for the first time in days.

  I walked into the room and pulled off the jacket I’d picked up on the road. Eli followed close behind and shut the door.

  “We’ll stay here for tonight and leave in the morning,” Eli said, walking to the other side of the room.

  “Where are we going to look next?” I thought we’d looked all over the area, but we still came up empty.

  “I’m hoping you can use that vision thing tonight. You haven’t tapped into your original powers in a while.” Eli sat on the chair near the window and pulled off his shoes.

  “I found the witches that wouldn’t help us and I’m pretty sure turned us in to Connor with that vision thing,” I mocked him. He didn’t meet my gaze, but continued looking at the floor like he lost something.

  “That wasn’t the same thing. You know that. It was part of the power you got, not what you were born with,” Eli said. He finally met my gaze. “You have to tap into that.”

  “What’s the big difference?” I said, laying down on the bed. Eli didn’t answer. I shook my head and let my mind drift to my dreams. I was too tired to care about what he meant or what I was supposed to be doing. But then the dreams come and I wish I was thinking about Eli or anything else but the dreams.

  *** The first thing I noticed was the smell of fresh cut flowers. It made me smile and think about the family I’d been missing for over a year.

  When I opened my eyes, I was caught off guard by the dark sky. The stars dotted it and glowed against the darkness. I realized I was laying on the ground. The grass was cold and damp, but didn’t bother me.

  When I rolled over to my side, I could see the faint light from the large building. It looked old and stylized, like what you would find in an old horror movie.

  I got to my feet and took a couple steps towards the building. The overwhelming sense of fear started to take over me. I tried to seem tough and like I could handle what I had to deal with, but the truth was different. I was scared of what I may have to do. This was my birth father and mother, but they had done nothing good for me or the rest of the people I knew.

  “You shouldn’t be here. He’s going to know you’re around and kill you,” a voice said behind me. When I spun around, I saw Connor standing near me.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, changing the subject. “I’m trying to keep you alive.” Connor took a step towards me. “I thought you would just stay in the world of the Fae and not here.”

  “We’re both full of surprises, aren’t we?” I snapped at him. He turned his face away from me. “Did you get what you wanted when you turned on me?” His eyes snapped up to meet mine.

  “That’s not your concern.” He started to turn from me and walk away. “I’m guessing she’s still gone because she’s not here.” I waited to see if he would deny what I was saying, but he didn’t, so I kept going. “Was it worth it to throw away the ones that still cared for a lie?”

  “It’s not time yet.” He stopped and glanced back. “It will be soon.”

  *** My eyes shot open and I sat up in the bed. Eli was still sleeping over on the chair by the window. When I glanced around the room, I could see the dark sky outside. The rest of the night was a lost cause as far as sleeping. I just sat up and looked at the map in the hotel room.

  I thought about Connor and how much I wanted him back. My heart ached for the love he once shared with me, but that was a long time ago and I knew somewhere deep down there was no going back.

  I had to get to Eric and stop him from causing anymore harm to anyone else. If I wanted to help the people I loved the most, I had to stop him. The problem was finding him.

  The vision had given me some idea of where he was, but it still wasn’t specific enough. There had to be another way. I took a breath and knew what I had to do, but it meant ditching Eli and that was not going to make him a happy camper.

  I glanced at the half Fae still sleeping in the chair. I didn’t like the idea of just leaving him alone and doing this, but I still had no idea where my adopted father or Oni were. I had to find them, if they were still alive.

  My feet slid off the bed and silently hit the floor. I glanced back to Eli every once and a while to make sure he was still sleeping. Once I thought the coast was clear, I stood and took the first step towards the door. There was no change in what Eli was doing or hearing. I was confident he wasn’t going to hear me as I walked from the room.

  I closed the door behind me and took a breath. The cold air of a passing rainstorm caught me off guard and I felt a chill go down my spine. This was the first real choice I’d felt I had from the moment I found out I was a witch. Now I just had to follow through with it.

  Five

  When I walked out the door of the hotel, I felt like my breath had been sucked away. I was doing something to get something back in my life. The feeling in my gut told me I could follow a trail of magic to Eric and get my family back. I had too.

  I started walking towards the south out of Council Bluffs and back towards my hometown. It seemed ironic the things that destroyed my life were so close to the things that defined it.

  When I got to the outskirts of town, I felt a jolt in my body that made me stop cold. It felt like darkness and void. There was nothing that made me feel comfortable, nothing that made me want to keep going without guarding myself.

  I closed my eyes and tried to feel around the area, just to know who or what was around. I felt a barrier that kept me from knowing anything going on, but there was a small hint of something. I grabbed onto it with my mind and let it pull me in the right direction.

  When I opened my eyes, I was met with a spell that dropped me to the ground. I didn’t even get a chance to see who cast it. There was only darkness and silence.

  *** I opened my eyes and realized I was laying on a cold cement floor. It wasn’t odd anymore to not know where I was, but it was odd to get hit with a spell like that.

  “This is a nice surprise,” a voice said to my left. I pulled my head up and met the eyes of someone I recognized.

  Eric. “I never thought I’d have to deal with you again.” He knelt down so he was closer to my eye level. “You are the last kink in my plans and now that I have you, nothing can stop me.”

  “Why are you doing this? We’re family. I just wanted to know you,” I said trying not to let tears come to my eyes. It was not easy with all the emotional stuff I’d gone through in the last year.

  “Family means nothing if you can’t trust them,” he spat at me. I could feel the anger inside him. It was cold and lonely. Something that was created because of sadness more than anything else. It was a familiar feeling. I noticed it more and more within Connor before left.

  “It never had to be like that. You just made a choice and it wasn’t the right one.” I slid my feet under me and started to stand.

  “You don’t know anything about it.” His bitter tone gave me chills. I pulled myself up and watched him. There was no way I was going to be able to get away even though I wanted to run as fast as I could in the other direction. “How about seeing some old friends?” He smiled and grabbed my arm.

  As he was dragging me through the building, I realized we were on the main floor. I tried to take in all of the surroundings I could so if I could get away, I would know where to go.

  He pulled me down a flight of stairs into what seemed to be some kind of basement. The smell of mildew and dirt made me cover my nose with my
free hand. After my eyes had adjusted to the light, I realized there were two other people in the dark and nasty basement.

  The people were behind what looked to be a set of iron bars built into the floor. They had their backs to me so I couldn’t tell who they were or why I should know them until we got closer.

  “Lucy? What are you doing here?” The voice made my heart leap out of my chest. It was my dads. When my eyes adjusted, I could see him standing in the little home made cell. He looked older, but still in good shape.

  The other person smiled at me and I realized it was Oni. She had dirt plastered to her face, but she seemed okay as well. Eric pushed me into the home made cell and laughed loudly.

  “Now you can all be together again. Too bad you’ll be here for a very long time.” He turned from the cell and walked back up the stairs. His arms were crossed over his chest like he’d one and in his mind, he had.

  “What are you doing?” My dad put his hands on my arms and looked straight into my eyes. He wanted an answer and I didn’t know if I wanted to give him one.

  “I wanted to stop Eric.” I barely could speak. All I wanted to do was pull my dad to me and hug him. I’d missed him a lot and wanted to know there was something I could still hold on to that wasn’t going to leave me. He let the anger lift and pulled me to him. I knew he could read minds, that was his gift, but I didn’t really think about him using it on me.

  “I’m sorry. I just want you to be safe and you always seem to put yourself in the middle of the most dangerous situations.” He pulled me back enough to look into my eyes. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

  “This has been a fun reunion, but how are we going to get out of here?” Oni was sitting in the corner with her legs pulled up to her chest. She looked oddly like a child when she was sitting like that, but I knew better. She was a Fae and one you didn’t want to mess with.

  “I don’t know,” I answered simply. “You have all that power now. Didn’t Eli teach you anything?” She was getting irritated with my lack of understanding.

  “He taught me how to use it to an extent, but I have to be careful or I’ll be just like Eric. All I’ll think about is the power and how to get more.” I stopped and thought about the power I could feel pushing inside my body. It was clawing to get out and take control, but I pushed it away. “I can’t do anything stupid or it won’t be pretty.”

  “That doesn’t answer my first question. How are we going to get out of here?” She stood and cocked her head at me.

  “You have all that Fae power. Why don’t you use that?” I was getting pissed that she was expecting me to come along and save the day.

  “Don’t you think I’ve tried? This room or something is keeping me from being able to use my powers. I figured you would still be able to use yours since yours and Eric’s are obviously connected.” She huffed and leaned against the wall of the basement. “I guess we’re screwed.”

  “Where’s Eli?” My dad said. We was still holding onto my arms. It was though he didn’t want me to go too far from him either.

  “I left him back in Council Bluffs. I didn’t want anyone else hurt because of me,” I said as though I was sure he’d understand, but the look he gave me was less than approving.

  “You shouldn’t go off by yourself at all. You are really the only one that can stop Eric. It’s important that you stay alive.” He said a little rougher than normal.

  “You always say that and in the end, I screw it up.” I was tired of talking about it and the idea of being some kind of big deal.

  “Just because things don’t go the way you think they should, doesn’t mean it’s screwed up.” My dad smiled and put his hands on my shoulders. “It just means it’s different.”

  Whatever, I thought to myself. My dad gave me a stern look. Oni just huffed to herself again before glancing back to me and my dad. She had a smile plastered to her face.

  “What?” I said, unsure of what she was thinking. If she had that kind of look on her face, then it couldn’t be good.

  “Eric didn’t kill you, why?” She seemed to be working something out in her head. I was having a hard time keeping up.

  “I don’t know. Why didn’t he kill you?” I countered. “There has to be something else going on. Something he wants to do that requires us.” She started to pace with her hand near her face.

  “What are you getting at?” I was getting flustered with everything that was going on. “They needed Eli for the Dark Moon ritual. They wanted you for the original Full Moon ritual. Maybe there’s something else he wants to do.”

  “That’s no scary at all,” I said sarcastically. I didn’t want to be a part of something that would likely mean the total end of the world. That was what I was trying to stop, not help get done.

  “If that’s what it is, we’re all in trouble,” my dad said. He wasn’t joking and that scared me more than anything I could possibly be facing.

  I took a spot on the floor and pulled my knees to my body. I was cold, even if I didn’t really register it before. My dad glanced at me and sighed.

  “I wish you would have stayed away. At least I would know you were safe and not in here rotting with the rest of us.” He leaned his head on the bars and was clearly thinking. I knew that he could hear the inner workings of my own mind and the thoughts of frustration and despair I had. There was no way out of this mess.

  I felt the ground shake under me. This area was not known for having that many earthquakes so it was odd, but that was my life now. I glanced to my dad who had the same look of confusion on his face that I must have had. The bars in front of us shook violently and my dad took a couple of steps back.

  Oni smiled and looked at the pair of us. “Don’t you know who that is?” She acted like it was some big secret we were never going to understand. She rolled her eyes.

  The bars started cracking and breaking until they were laying in on the ground. My dad didn’t hesitate and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet.

  “We have to get out of here fast,” he said, pulling me along beside him. He didn’t wait for any objections from me, but he wouldn’t have gotten any. He pulled me through the house and stopped at the living room area. There were three other witches waiting there for us and they did not look friendly.

  I glanced at Oni who had made her own way up the stairs as she smiled brightly at the group. They acted as though she was nothing special. They were wrong.

  Oni waved her hand and they were thrown back through the plate glass window at the front of the living room. She giggled slightly at the act of magic. I glanced at her and rolled my eyes. She almost never used magic so when she did, it was strong.

  “Let’s get out of here while we can,” my dad said, giving me a hard push towards the door. I reached for the knob and through open the door. When I looked through the doorway, I’d wished I could crawl back in the cell in the basement. Standing there with his arms crossed was Eli. He had a stern look on his face that I seemed to bring out in the people around me.

  “Did you find what you were looking for?” He said harshly before motioning the group of us from the house. I didn’t answer. He already knew why I did what I did and a part of me wasn’t sorry about it. I got my family back and a part of myself.

  *** “That was a stupid thing to do,” Eli said, sitting in the chair across the room. We had made our way back to the Oracle’s home. The one that had led me to Eli and took Connor from me. “He could have killed you.”

  “I still don’t know why he didn’t,” I said simply. This was the same song and dance I’d dealt with from various people for the last couple of years. I wasn’t worried about hearing it again. “Oni thinks he has some other plan.”

  “What do you mean?” For the first time since I’d met Eli, he seemed stumped. Normally he knew more than I did, but this seemed to surprise him.

  “Why keep Oni and my dad alive and then me?” I fiddled with a cup sitting on the table still. It was dusty and gross, but it gave me s
omething to do rather than looking at him. “There has to be another end game. Something we don’t know.”

  “There’s no spells or anything I’m familiar with that make sense.” Eli hesitated, thinking. “He has all the power he can get. Why not leave it at that?”

  “Because once you have as much power as he has, all you think about is wanting more,” I said it as I thought it. This was what I’d been fighting for such a long time. The lust for more. I pushed the power down to a point where it was almost useless because I was scared of it. I didn’t want to be like my birth father. I just wanted my life back and my family. In truth, I wanted Connor back more than anything else in this world.

  “So, we should look for spells about getting more power?” Eli seemed a little confused. “No, I doubt there is anymore power in the world, but he may want to take away the only other real power there is,” my dad said, looking my way. “You can’t just kill someone and the power go away.”

  “You have to strip it,” I finished his sentence. “So, we’re back where we started. Take his power from him and destroy my own.”

  Six

  I laid on the floor in the middle of the room thinking about everything. I didn’t know if this would end it, not truly. I had been here before and it didn’t stop him. What if I have to do more? What if I have to kill him? I pushed the thought away.

  I rolled over and watched the fire dance in front of me. It was odd to have a fire burning inside a house, but the night was cold and the summer was starting to give way to fall.

  I thought about Connor and when we met. He’d saved me from things I didn’t even know I should be afraid of. He showed me love through that gruff exterior he had. Where had I lost him? I felt tears coming to my eyes and pushed them back. Of all the times I’d thought about him, this was the worst one. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop Eric without facing Connor, but that was the one thing I didn’t want to do.

 

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