“I knew it! I dreamed about it last night, but you did more than kiss, Abby. You can’t lie to me, remember? And I can see it all over you; you’re aura is glowing. Oh crap! If I can see it, you know Mom saw it too…” she said, her eyes glowing a yellowish hue.
Dammit!
Liz was right. I didn’t even think about my aura when I was talking to Mom earlier and she could read everyone…
Oh well. I’ll just suffer the embarrassment, I told myself.
“Busted! Just keep your voice down, okay? Even if she does know, that’s one conversation I don’t want to have,” I said and buried my face in a pillow.
I seriously wanted to get my own place, but the coven scoffed at the idea of female witches leaving the home until the age of twenty-five unless they were married. They acted like we lived in the 19th century or something – it was ridiculous. But hey, Danny was moving into his own apartment next weekend. The possibilities…
“Okay, I’ll let you get back to it. I just wanted to tell you my amazing news,” I squealed and did a little happy dance.
After taking a long nap, I decided to text Danny and see what he was up to. It was Saturday night and I didn’t have to work. Thankfully, Mom and Liz had taken over the shop for the day. Not even thirty seconds later he replied back:
“Hopefully you.”
I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. I’d never thought of myself as a sexual person, especially considering I could count on one hand how many times it had actually happened, but the feelings stirring inside of me were insane. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming.
I texted him back and asked if he wanted to hang out later, maybe watch a movie or something. I definitely didn’t want alcohol, not after the raging hangover I had earlier that morning. Although, the cure was quite nice…
Instead of a text, my phone rang; it was Danny. Excitedly, I answered it.
“Hello gorgeous.”
“Hello my sex goddess.”
I thought I was gonna die. He did not just say that.
“Texting takes too long, so I thought I’d call you instead. Ya know, I had the strangest dream. I’m not sure if I should tell you. I don’t want to spoil our date and it could mean nothing, just freaked me out a little.”
“No Danny, what is it?” I asked.
“Sometimes my dreams are nothing, some are premonitions, visions, or things that have already happened. It was about Danielle, but it wasn’t clear. I just didn’t have a good feeling when I woke up,” he said.
“Seriously? Anything specific? You’re scaring me.”
“Not really, she was just driving and all of a sudden, I felt her panic, but I couldn’t see anything. See why I didn’t want to tell you? It doesn’t really make much sense,” he said.
“Okaaay… You’re right, maybe it’s nothing, but we definitely need to tell her. Do you mind if she comes over later? Package deal, remember?” I reminded him.
“Of course I don’t mind. I’ll order pizza and we can veg out. I just don’t want to worry her over nothing, you know?”
“Yeah, but I’m telling her anyway and maybe she shouldn’t drive for a while or I’ll drive her around. I can’t imagine what I’d do if anything happened to her, Danny.” I said, feeling tears brimming my eyes at the mere thought.
“Okay, Abby. I understand. Wanna meet over at my place at seven? You can call Danielle and give her the time if she isn’t busy,” he asked.
“Sounds like a plan. Thanks for telling me, Danny. I’m sure it’s nothing, but, you know…” I trailed off.
“It’s going to be fine, Abby. I can’t wait to see you. I miss your face already,” he said, making me smile.
“I’ll see you at seven. Bye.”
“See ya then.”
I immediately texted Danielle and told her to meet me for pizza and a movie at Danny’s. She thought it was lame, but felt like shit and decided to come as long as she could wear her comfy pajamas. I laughed and agreed; she was such a nut job sometimes and that was just another reason why I loved her so much.
I arrived at Danny’s house at six-thirty, I wanted a few minutes alone with him before Danielle came over. When he opened the door, he looked like he’d just gotten out of the shower. Again. My imagination went wild as I gawked at his chiseled features. I was still standing outside the door gaping when I heard him say:
“Like what you see? You can come in now if you’re done taking advantage of me with your eyes,” he laughed.
Embarrassed was an understatement. I had just been caught ogling and drooling. I cleared my throat and said, “Thanks, I will,” and winked.
I remembered to take my shoes off in the foyer and walked straight to living room, Danny followed me, still laughing. “I’m glad you decided to come a little early. I was hoping you would,” he said as he scooped me up and planted a heart stopping kiss on my mouth.
A girl could get used to this…
“Well, hello to you too,” I said, catching my breath.
It wasn’t long before we were back upstairs doing the horizontal mambo. We couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. I certainly wasn’t complaining, but we needed to be quick because Danielle would be there at seven.
At five minutes til, the doorbell rang. I was jumping with one leg in and one leg out of my pants. I fell over the bed and onto the floor trying to get my damn pants back on – it shouldn’t have been that hard. I sounded like a rutting pig, huffing and grunting – just what I needed. I knew we wouldn’t finish in time, it was just too damn good to stop.
I finally managed to get my pants back on and down the stairs just in time for Danny to answer the door. I straightened my posture, combed my fingers through my hair, that was mostly likely sticking out at all different angles, and pulled my shirt down just as Danielle walked into the living room. She burst out laughing, holding her belly, and flopped on the couch. I was not amused, but I didn’t dare ask what was so funny, because I knew she’d blurt it right out.
“I see you two couldn’t wait until after I left, you had to do it before I got here? I could’ve just waited and given you more time,” and she burst out laughing again. I wanted to punch her.
“Ha ha, glad we can amuse you. Are you hungry? Danny ordered the pizza a while ago. It should be here any minute,” I said trying to change the subject.
“Are you sure the pizza guy didn’t already show up while you two were –”
“Shut up, Danielle. You’ve had your fun, goofball. Yes we’re sure. Don’t… I see you opening your mouth – don’t,” I cut her off, laughing at her antics.
She was something else. The next thing out of her mouth would’ve been, “How could you have heard anything over your loud screaming – even I heard you from two doors down.” I knew her all too well and she made it her life’s mission to embarrass me if the situation warranted it. My face was already three shades of red.
Danny cleared his throat. “If you’re done, Danielle… want some iced tea?” he asked, sounding amused.
“Sure. Wash your hands first. I know where they’ve been,” and I hung my head. That girl had no shame and just wouldn’t give it up… I’d never live it down. She knew how inexperienced I was, so she was going to play it up for all it was worth. I was a goner.
Danny began laughing hysterically and I realized I was going to be the butt of all jokes, so I stretched out on the couch and put my hands behind my head.
The pizza arrived ten minutes later and I was starving. There were no words, just stuffing food in my face and thinking about how we were going to tell Danielle about Danny’s dream. I knew it was important to me and she would probably blow it off, but I had to get it out there – it was the right thing to do.
I nodded toward Danny and let him begin with his dream. He started by telling her about his premonitions, visions, dreams and things like that, then went on to say how they sometimes add up to nothing at all.
I jumped in and told her I felt it was necessary t
hat she knew only because it may or may not have meaning and she needed to be careful. Just as I had thought, she blew it off as a crazy dream after a drunken night of partying. I felt better after telling her, but I was still uneasy about the whole situation. I also knew there was no way she’d let me drive her anywhere.
Danielle left sometime after ten p.m. complaining of a headache, she had yet to get over our late night party session. It could’ve also been an overuse of magic, she always seemed to get headaches afterward. Her mom had said there was nothing to worry about, but we both thought it was strange. It never stopped her though. When we had to kick vampire ass, we stood side by side without breaking a sweat. I’m sure it was nothing and just too much booze – damn tequila.
As soon as Danny closed the door he gave me a wicked grin. I knew exactly what he was thinking – we were on the same page as our love making had been cut short earlier, it was time to finish what we had started.
What did I ever do to deserve this man?
Chapter 8
Two months later, I was working in the shop, when an odd package arrived for me with no return address. I didn’t think anything of it until I saw what was in it. I screamed at the top of my lungs, jumping back and knocking the box off of the counter, sending it crashing to the floor.
Mom came running down the attic stairs to find out what was going on. All I could do was stare at the miniature effigy of myself with a rope around my neck, covered in some kind of animal blood. Only witches who practiced dark magic sent that kind of shit. Being the recipient of something like that basically meant I was on someone’s hit list.
Mom picked up the box from the floor and looked at the doll carefully, taking in every detail. I wasn’t sure what she was doing, but I wanted that damn doll out of my face and as far away from me as possible.
“Mom, do have any idea who would’ve sent something like that to me?” I asked nervously.
“No dear, not at the moment, but I’m taking this to the coven to be examined. We’ll find out. Don’t you worry,” she said attempting to calm my nerves.
“If you don’t mind, I’m gonna call it a day, Mamma. I’m a little freaked out and I just wanna see Danny right now. Is that okay?” I asked.
“Your shift is over in an hour. Go ahead, Abby, but please be careful. This might be a prank, but you could also be in danger. Let me know when you get there,” she said.
I arrived at Danny’s apartment fifteen minutes later, shaking like a leaf. Mom thought it could’ve been a prank, but I knew in my gut it was something else. Danny and I had been getting mysterious calls from unknown numbers, and strange notes written in blood were left on my vehicle. Danny even received a black rose dipped in blood. It was creepy.
We hadn’t told anyone about what was going on, except Danielle, because we didn’t think it was necessary, but things just graduated from beyond creepy to freakin’ psycho. Strange notes, phone calls and even black roses we could deal with, but an effigy of my death? Just no.
Once I made it to the apartment, I told both Danielle and Danny what had happened. They were both pissed and a more than freaked out. Until the coven came back with some kind of answers, we really had no idea what to do next. All we could do was keep our guard up and watch our backs.
Four months went by in a blur and our stalker seemed to have backed off; we’d nearly forgotten about it once the council came back saying they couldn’t trace the magic from the doll. Danny and I were finally left alone and deliriously happy.
Danielle had granted him access to our little club and he had become like a brother to her – the three of us were inseparable. They teased each other incessantly over their names because they were so similar; cracking jokes at the other’s expense. It was usually instigated by Danielle, of course.
Danny started going out hunting vampires with us and I even introduced him to the Hybrid Coven leader, Genevieve. It was a huge deal as the Hybrids were very secretive and only allowed certain witches access to their most private information.
Genevieve called around midnight on a Tuesday and I knew something was up. I answered the phone:
“Hey, Genevieve.”
“Abby. We have another situation on Conti Street. We’re staking out two rogue vampires and we need you down here right away. Several more have been spotted on Dauphine.”
“Of course. Danielle’s here too. The three of us will meet you there as soon as possible,” I said, as Danny sat up in the bed, switching on the lamp.
“Genevieve?” he asked, yawning and rubbing his eyes.
“Yep, get that ass movin’. We’ve got some rogue vamps to kill.”
“Danielle!” I yelled to wake her up from the next room.
I dressed in jeans and a tank, brushing my teeth and throwing my hair in a ponytail. I was too tired for anything else and we needed to hurry.
Danielle was right beside me, doing the same thing, hoping it wouldn’t take too long to bring these vamps down.
Once we were all ready to go, we jumped in Danny’s truck and headed toward Conti Street. Ten minutes later, we parked along a side street where we saw the hybrids staking the place out.
Genevieve was on the corner with her second in command, James, standing nearby. Genevieve’s dark brown hair was left flowing down her back and she was dressed in all black, disguising her petite frame. When she turned to look toward me, her blue eyes were aglow with magic, looking all kinds of badass.
James was across the street, also dressed in black, with his auburn hair slicked back, and brown eyes glowing as well. He motioned for us to join him.
We took off in a run, but before we reached James, a pair of rogues jumped in front of the three of us, blocking our way. Vampire number one looked feral, as if he hadn’t fed in a while and wanted me for his next meal. That was a big, fat hell no!
Vampire number two lunged toward Danielle and she sidestepped him with a clothes hanger punch to the throat and everything exploded into action.
His buddy bared his fangs just as I called upon my fire; wrong move – I was no one’s dinner. I threw a fireball in his face and while he was screaming in agony, three more vampires appeared.
I could see Genevieve and James fighting off three rogues of their own. These bloodsuckers were coming out of the woodworks like cockroaches. Time to fry em’ up!
“Bring it on bitches!” I shouted as a tall, dark-haired vampire advanced toward me and I lit his ass ablaze.
Didn’t vampires know, “Fire, bad.” like Frankenstein? Morons.
The three of us stood with our backs together, taking them out one by one. Just when we thought we’d killed them all, a few more would show up where their friends once stood. Genevieve and James were finally able to join us as we were flanked by five hungry and angry-looking vampires.
That was all the backup we needed as we took them down one at a time in show of fireworks and ash. We walked around the place for several minutes to make sure there were no more vamps lurking in the shadows. Thankfully, we had killed them all and it was time to head back home. Frankly, I was tired as hell. I needed to work out more.
I practically lived at Danny’s apartment and he had made room for Danielle to crash on a more permanent basis. We hated witch politics and wanted to go against the grain. My mother was none too happy about all the nights spent at Danny’s, but she knew we were in love and I was turning twenty-two in three days – it was past time to let go.
The three of us were sitting at Danny’s kitchen table when my cell phone rang; it was Mom again. That was the third time she’d called in the past half hour. My gut told me there was something amiss – it wasn’t like her to keep calling like that. Before I even had a chance to say hello, Mom was shouting,
“Abby, are you there? I’ve been trying to reach you all day!”
“Mom, I’m here. What’s going on?”
“Franklin and Crystal Davenport murdered a council member last night. Everyone’s out looking for them. I don’t want you leaving D
anny’s apartment. I know Danielle’s with you and I’ve already spoken to her mother. You two stay put until they’re found.”
“Abby, you have to take this seriously. The council found pictures of you and Danny all over Crystal’s room – she’s obsessed. They think she might be coming after you next. Promise me you won’t go anywhere,” she pleaded.
“Uh… I promise, Mamma. I can’t believe this. I mean, I knew she was crazy, but she’s really been stalking us? Who did they kill?” I asked, bewildered.
“Georgina Boudreaux. It was a horrific scene, Abby and they used black magic just as the council had suspected all along. They stripped Georgina of her magic and slit her throat. My heart’s breaking for her family; her poor girls…” Mom trailed off.
“Um, okay Mamma. We’re not going anywhere. Please keep me updated. I still can’t believe it – Georgina? Unreal… Love you and please stay safe,” I said, ending the call.
I looked between Danny and Danielle, they’d heard everything as I’d put the phone on speaker. Danielle sat with her mouth hanging open and Danny was working his jaw, looking pissed. I was trying to get over the shock of Georgina’s death before I could even think about that stalking little bitch, Crystal.
Danielle was the first to speak, “We knew she was up to something. She’s been too quiet and hasn’t been coming to coven meetings. I should’ve known… I’ll kill the bitch with my bare hands if she tries to hurt either one of you!” she shouted and pounded her fist on the table.
“Stand in line. She’ll have to get through me first. We’ve been too slack and should’ve guessed it was her sending that shit and stalking Abby,” Danny said, boiling rage rising to the surface.
“Guys, I can handle myself and just in case you forgot, I beat her ass months ago. I think I’ll be okay. I’m not scared of Crystal, but what does concern me is her taking pictures and watching us. And that bloody doll? How creepy is that?”
Winds of Change (Delphine Rising Book 0.5) Page 5
