Bitten (The Wiccan Way Book 7)

by Nicole Coverdale

A whirl of black smoke whipped around them, a moment later three werewolves and three vampires surrounding them.

  “Holy crap!”

  “About time I had a little help,” Jax said, grabbing Jami by the arm and flinging her off of her.

  “Ahh!”

  Jami screamed, her body flying through the air, and hitting the sofa on the other side of the room.

  “Jami!” Jessi rushed forward.

  Jax laughed. “Well isn’t this a great family reunion,” she said, extending her arms outward, a sword appearing in each hand. “Hello, Josslyn.”

  “Jax.” Josslyn lifted her head, staring at her twin sister. “It’s been a long time.”

  “Yes, it has,” Jax said. “And I’ve waited a long time for this.” She rushed forward.

  “You’ll have to catch me first,” Josslyn said, turning, and disappearing in a whirl of icicles.

  “Hey! No fair!” Jax cried, narrowing her eyes. “Fine. I’ll just have to do this the hard way.” She turned, racing out of the attic.

  “Josslyn!”

  “Oh, you’re not going anywhere, witchy, witch,” one of the werewolves said, as he and his buddies stepped forward. “We made a promise to Talia, to get rid of you, and that is what we’re going to do.” They lunged forward.

  “Ahh!”

  Jorja opened her mouth, letting out a loud scream.

  The werewolf laughed, cocking his head to the side. “Oh, your screams have no effect on me, witch,” he said, lunging forward and wrapping his large paw around her and knocking her to the ground.

  “Mom!”

  Jordyn raced forward, flinging her hand out. Crystals spread from her hand, sinking into the werewolf’s back.

  “Argh!”

  The werewolf growled, swinging toward her “Oh. You’re going to pay for that.” He stalked toward her.

  “Get away from her, you beast!”

  Jade flung her hands forward, electricity zinging from her hands. The werewolf stumbled back, and she hurried forward, grabbing Jordyn and pulling her back. “Keep your distance, Jordyn. We don’t need anything happening to you.”

  “Or to you two,” Sky said, glancing at Julie and Jasmine. “We need to get you out of here. You’re too weak to fight, and if something happens to you…”

  “The chosen ones will be no more. I know,” Jasmine whispered, nodding. “Okay. We’ll go.”

  “Good.” Sky wrapped his arms around the two of them. “Because I know just the place.” He disappeared in a reign of light.

  “Well, I guess someone’s back to his old self,” Elijah said, gasping, as he held a hand to his ribs. He turned, ducking as a vampire lunged toward him, and struck his hand forward. Fire spewed from his palm, striking the vampire and turning him to dust.

  “Ahh!”

  “Serves you right, bastard,” Elijah said, just before he dropped to the ground.

  “Elijah!”

  Ashwin turned, jabbing his elbow back, just as the vampire came up behind him. The vampire lurched back, and Ashwin turned on his heel, hurrying across the room to the trunk. “Come on. There has to be something in here!” he cried, digging through the contents, his hand wrapping around a bottle of holy water. “You never seem to let me down, Grandma Morgan.” He uncorked the bottle, turning, and tossing it at the vampire.”

  “Ahh!”

  The vampire screamed as it got him in the eyes. “My eyes! My eyes! You…” He trailed off, his gaze lowering, as his body turned to a puddle of liquid. “You killed me.”

  “Damn right I did,” Ashwin said, turning and hurrying toward his brother. “Ashwin!” He dropped down next to him, pressing a hand to his forehead. “He’s burning up!” He turned, staring over at Jami and Jessi sitting on the loveseat. “Jessi, is she okay?”

  “I think so,” Jessi said, looking at Jami worriedly. “You were out for a moment there.”

  “I just hit my head. I’m fine,” Jami told her, brushing her hand away, and hurrying toward Ashwin. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked, kneeling next to Elijah.

  “He got attacked by one of the vampires. I think it’s infected. He’s burning up.”

  “Okay. I got this.” Jami rolled up her sleeves and laid her hand over the wound. “I got you, Elijah.” A yellow light spread from her palm, washing over his body.

  “Take that!”

  Josi turned, stabbing her sword forward. It sliced through the werewolf.

  “Grr!”

  The werewolf turned toward her, and she grinned, shrugging. “You chose the wrong side, Bucko,” she said, ducking as he lunged forward, and pivoting on her heel. She struck the sword forward, the sword swinging down across his neck, his body falling to the ground with a loud thump.

  “Give that to me!”

  A large paw wrapped around the sword, pulling it out of her grasp, and Josi gasped, spinning around. “Hey! That’s mine!”

  “Not anymore,” the werewolf said, tossing it to the side and stalking forward.

  Josi gulped, turning and staring around the room. She stared over at Jessi, Ashwin, and Jami as they tended to Elijah. She spotted Jade and Jorja fighting off a vampire. Then Matthew and Jordyn as they fought off the last two werewolves. She stumbled back, her back slamming into the hard wall behind her.

  “You’ve got fire. I like that,” the werewolf said, reaching his paw out and gripping his chin. “I would like nothing more than to make you mine. To make you my queen. What do you think? Do you want to be my queen?”

  “No.”

  “No?” the werewolf stared at her, grinning. “Okay. Have it your way.” He lunged forward.

  A blade struck through his chest, and Josi jumped, her eyes connecting with Matthew’s as he tossed the now dead, werewolf to the side. “Matthew?”

  “Ah. You know who I am,” Matthew said, extending a hand. “I guess in a way, I’m your uncle, huh?”

  “Which is so weird!” Josi cried, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. “This family is so weird!”

  “Would you rather have it any other way?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Hey, guys, have any of you seen Josslyn?” Jade asked, clapping her hands together. Electricity flew through the air, zapping the last of the demonic beasts, and dropping them to the ground.

  “Last I saw, she was trying to stay away from Jax,” Jorja said, as she rose to her feet. “Come on.”

  They turned, racing out the door, and down the stairs.

  “She’s not here!” Jade cried a moment later, staring around the messy house, her eyes going to the blood on the wall just to her left. “Oh my God. Jax…”

  “Has her,” Ashwin said, hurrying up behind her.

  “But where?”

  “Where else? To Talia. They’re about to start the ritual.”

  Chapter 30

  “I don’t like this Sky,” Jasmine said, pacing the living room of his sister’s house, agitated. “I should be at the house helping, not hiding away! I feel freaking useless!”

  “Jasmine.” Sky walked to her, taking her hands in his. “You’re still recovering. You can’t help. Not right now. You’re too weak.”

  “Weak,” Jasmine scoffed. “I do not do weak well, Sky.”

  “I know,” Sky whispered, smiling, as he squeezed her hand. “But please, come, sit. Let me take care of you.”

  Jasmine sighed, finally nodding. “Okay.” She let him lead her to the couch, taking a seat, staring across the room at Julie, as she stared at her phone. “Julie, anything?”

  “No!” Julie snapped, turning and chucking her phone across the room. “No one is answering their damned phones! I don’t know if they’re okay. If they’re alive, and Elijah…” She bit her lip. “He didn’t look good, guys! What if something bad happened to him? What if he dies before…”

  “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Julie,” Sky said, softly. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

  “Then do something!”

  “Man, you Morgans sure do ha
ve a temper, don’t you?” Stella asked, eyeing the two women as she walked into the room. She set a tray of sandwiches on the coffee table. “I made sandwiches if anyone’s hungry.”

  Julie stared at the sandwiches, licking her lips. “Well, I might help myself to one.”

  “Knowing you, you’ll probably help yourself to more than one,” Jasmine teased.

  Julie glared at her. “Stella, can you please get me my phone?”

  Stella gave her a look, but picked the phone up off the floor and handed it to her. She took a seat in the chair again, glancing at the three sitting in her living room. “So, let me get this straight,” she said, pointing to Sky. “You’re an angel?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which means… you really did die?”

  Sky nodded. “Yes. Now that I have my memories back, I remember everything. The truck hitting me. Going up to heaven. Being offered to do more. To give back.” He swallowed, dragging a hand through his hair, staring at his sister. “Stella, I am so sorry,” he whispered. “You weren’t supposed to know anything about this. About this world. About this life, I live in. I didn’t want to cause you any more pain.”

  “Sky, would you quit apologizing?” Stella asked, rolling her eyes. “Nothing that has happened, is your fault. In fact, I think it’s pretty cool that they gave you this responsibility, more then that, I’m thrilled I get the chance to get to know you. To spend time with you.

  Sky chuckled. “Me too.”

  “And you two.” Stella turned, glancing between Julie and Jasmine. “You two are witches?”

  The nodded. “Yes.”

  “And demons are real? Vampires are real? Werewolves are real?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes.”

  “Wow.” Stella sat back. “Whoa. My mind is blown.”

  “You know, she’s taking this surprisingly well,” Julie said, glancing at Jasmine. “If I were her, and I learned that all this was… this, I’d be freaking out.”

  “We all had our freakouts when we first found out.”

  “True.”

  “I think it’s pretty cool,” Stella said, grinning at the two women. “Plus, I see enough violence and bloodshed at the hospital, something like this doesn’t bother me too much. Plus, I’ve never been the type to freak out or scream over things.”

  “I like her,” Julie said, laughing. “Just think, Jas, one day she might be your sister, too.”

  “Julie!”

  “What? I’m just saying?”

  “So, where’s the rest of the gang?” Stella asked, leaning forward. “I assume there’s more of you?”

  “They’re fighting off evil… which is exactly what I should be doing,” Jasmine said, glaring at Sky.

  “Jasmine.” Sky sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “For the last time…”

  “Finally!”

  A reign of electricity suddenly lit up the room, interrupting him. “Well, hello, Jade.”

  “Thank God I found you guys!” Jade cried. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

  “So, this is the infamous Jade,” Stella said, leaning back and crossing her arms across her chest, as she regarded the other woman. “Hi. I’m Stella. Sky’s sister.”

  “Sky’s…” Jade trailed off, shaking her head. “Later. Right now, I need your help.”

  “What’s wrong?” Julie asked, immediately recognizing the look on Jade’s face. “What happened? Is it Elijah? Is he…”

  Jade shook her head. “No. Elijah is fine. He’s a little beat up from the werewolf attack, but Jami’s patching him up.”

  “The werewolf…”

  “Later, Julie. Right now, we have bigger issues!” Jade cried. “Josslyn is missing!”

  “What!”

  Jade nodded. “We were all so busy, fighting off the vampires and werewolves, that in the midst of it she and Jax disappeared. I think Jax has her.”

  “And she’s going to deliver her to Talia, to begin the ceremony,” Sky whispered. “We need to get Jax’s soul back, now. If we can get it back, and remind her of who she is, we might be able to save her. Both her and Josslyn, then we can stop this damned curse from being lifted.”

  “Until someone tries to break it again,” Jasmine muttered.

  “That’s an issue for later.”

  “So, what do we do?” Jade asked.

  “You need to go get Jorja.”

  Jade nodded, disappearing in a flash of electricity. Returning a moment with Jorja.

  “Whoa! This is where you ran off to when you couldn’t remember who you were?” Jorja asked, staring around the living room. “It’s so cute!”

  “Jorja.”

  “What? I haven’t seen or talked to him… well the real him. The one with his memories in forever! I have to tease him a little.”

  “Teasing can wait,” Jade said, as she dragged Jorja further into the room. “Right now, we need to work on getting Jax’s soul back.”

  “What?”

  “Just sit,” Sky said, rolling his eyes. “And yes, it’s good to see you too, Jorja.” He glanced over at Stella. “You don’t by any chance have any candles, do you?”

  “Of course I do!” Stella cried, jumping to her feet. “Hold on!”

  “I really do like her,” Julie said, grinning. “She’s so spunky! And she doesn’t take any crap at all! Plus, I think she’s really excited about this whole séance thing.”

  “And is everyone else okay?” Sky asked, eyeing Jade. “No one’s…”

  “No. Everyone’s alive. Elijah is just about healed, the girls are doing what they always do, and Matthew…”

  “Who the hell is this Matthew?” Sky asked, scowling.

  “A bounty hunter.”

  “Oh. So he really is one of the good guys?”

  Jade nodded. “Yes. He’s helped us out a lot, Sky, which can’t be too easy given the fact that Talia’s taken his daughter.”

  “Right. The girls mentioned that, and I saw her in the book. Jezebel, right?”

  Jade nodded again. “Yes. Talia has her. She’s one of the twenty-four souls she needs to lift this curse.” She took a seat next to him, glancing over at him. “It’s really good to see you Sky. Things haven’t been the same without you.”

  “So I’ve heard.”

  “But.” Jade held up a finger. “If you ever hurt my sister like that again, you will be answering to me.”

  “That’s fair enough.”

  “I got them!”

  Stella hurried back into the living room, carrying a box. “What do you want me to do?”

  “We need to arrange them in the shape of a pentagram,” Sky said. “A pentagram…”

  “I know what a pentagram is, Sky. I’m not stupid.”

  Sky pressed his lips together, nodding. “Right. Because all of this is just so natural to you.”

  “It is now.”

  Stella placed the last candle, taking her seat next to Julie on the floor. “Okay. What’s next?”

  “We hold hands.”

  They all clasped hands.

  “Now close your eyes.”

  Jasmine bit her lip, a giggle escaping her throat.

  “Jasmine.” Sky creaked an eye open. “Is something about this funny?”

  “It’s just so silly!”

  “Focus.”

  Right. Focus. Jasmine sighed, closing her eyes. “Okay. I’m focusing. Sorry.”

  Sky just nodded. “Okay, Julie, light the candles.”

  “What?”

  Julie’s eyes snapped open. She stared at Sky, her mouth gaping open. “Sky, you know I can’t! The babies…”

  “Just try.”

  Julie sighed, closing her eyes once more. She drew in a deep breath. Okay, I can do this. I just need a little spark. A little flame. Come on, Julie. You can do this!

  She snapped her eyes open, scowling when she saw the bubbles floating through the air. “Oh, you bad, bad, babies.”

  “Try again.”

  “Sky, I…”

  “Try
again.”

  She sighed, scowling again. “You know, I forgot how bossy you could be.”

  “And you missed it,” Sky teased. “Now come on. You can do this.”

  Julie nodded, bowing her head and closing her eyes. A moment later she opened her eyes, staring at the candles lit around them. “I did it!”

  “I never doubted you couldn’t.”

  “Whoa! That is so cool!” Stella cried, her eyes wide. “I am so jealous!”

  “Don’t be,” Jade said, shaking her head. “Be thankful you get to live a normal life. We miss it, and we took it for granted for far too long.” She turned back to Sky. “So, what do we do now?”

  “We focus. One of us is going to be chosen to go into the shadow world. Where the lost souls are, and where, loved ones you have lost will surface before you, but you have to ignore them. You have to find Jax. Find her in her weakest of moments, and bring her home.”

  “Got it.”

  Chapter 31

  “Dude, let me go!”

  Josslyn hissed, struggling against the ropes holding her down on to the cold, metal bed, glaring at Jax from where she stood at the foot end of the bed. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered, tears clouding her vision. “You’re my sister. My twin! You’re supposed to have my back no matter what!”

  “Maybe if she was still your sister,” Talia said, as she walked into the room. She stopped next to the bed, grasping Josslyn’s chin in her hand, and jerking her head up. “But she isn’t. She’s mine now, and she doesn’t care about you or your pathetic little family.”

  “I don’t believe you!” Josslyn cried, inwardly shuddering at Talia’s touch. “We’re still her family! It doesn’t matter if you raised her. If you poisoned her. If you turned her against us, we’re still bound by blood and we will never give up on her.” She jerked free of Talia, her eyes locking with Jax. “Jax, if you’re still in there, whatever she’s told you, have been lies. We didn’t abandon you, Jax. We didn’t forget about you. We never would have. You’re our sister!”

  Jax just stared at her, not blinking.

  “Mom… she loved you,” Josslyn continued, a sliver of light in Jax’s dark eyes causing her to continue. “When she told me about you. How you died, she was broken. She wanted nothing more then to have us all together, and believe me when I tell you if she knew you were being raised down here, amongst the vampires, it would have taken a whole army of demons, vampires, and other supernatural creatures to keep her away.” She hiccupped, a tear streaking down her cheek. “I know you’ve had it tough, Jax. That you don’t know who to believe. Who to stand by, but trust me, if you let her break this curse, things will change. The things you know. The things we all know will change, and not for the good.”