by R. L. Weeks
The walls were made from stone. Grays and blacks swirled together, casting everything in a dim, depressing light. I hated each and every one of the witches. Not one of them deserved an ounce of happiness after what they had put us through. Lucifer had no power to break the curse they had placed on us, as those witches weren’t under his domain. The other coven, The Black Rose, was so small. The few remaining members were coming to visit us today.
“Morna,” my mother said, addressing the woman in black as she walked into our home. “How are you?”
“I’m well,” the woman replied. She reminded me of a human form of a mothball. “How is your son?”
“Axel is well.”
They sat and exchanged niceties. After all, we needed the Black Rose witches as much as they needed us.
I listened intently as they went into detail.
“The Black Lily witches have killed more of us,” Morna told my mother.
My mother nodded. “Our cousins out east were killed off. Even the children.” She grew paler, if it was possible. “They had no mercy. Anyone linked to the Dark Lord, they want dead, regardless of their true nature.”
Morna growled under her breath. “They think they’re so much better than us.”
“The sirens are in hiding too,” my mother said. “They will never stop, unless we stop them.”
Morna agreed but looked hesitant. “They’re strong. Their numbers far outweigh ours, by thousands.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “There’s talk of a prophecy of the five witches. Children who will be born under the blood moon in many years. If those five fulfil the prophecy, it will mean the end of vampires, wendigos, sirens, shifters, and us Black Rose witches.”
My mother shuddered. I leaned forward as much as I could, without attracting attention, to listen better. “How do we stop them?”
Morna’s eyes darkened. “We must break Lucifer from the Underworld, bring him back, and have him restore our powers to full strength.”
***
Ridgeview - 1932
A curse hit me square in the chest, sending me flying backward. I landed next to a willow tree. The bones in my back snapped and crunched as the air was knocked out of my lungs.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing. All the pain had subsided as fast as it had come. I was standing next to my body, looking down at my mangled corpse.
From behind me, I sensed someone watching me.
“You need to go back,” a sultry voice told me.
I whipped my head around and rotated my waist. A man—at least, he resembled one if it wasn’t for the gaunt skin tightly wrapped around the bulging bones on his hands—was staring at me. His hooded gaze locked onto mine.
“Lucifer.”
He didn’t show any emotion at all. He seemed awfully indifferent about seeing my body next to my ghostly self.
He didn’t answer my question. Instead, he pointed at the old willow tree where the battle had happened just moments before
His lips cracked as he spoke again. “You must return to the world of the living. I will return soon. The prophesied ones will rise. You are responsible for finding them and killing them when they come of age, before they fulfil the prophecy.”
Confusion seized me. “I don’t want to be a part of this—”
“You must obey your orders,” he interrupted, his tone unchanged.
I opened my mouth to argue, but I knew better. “What do I need to do?”
He told me everything I needed to know. The memory of his words stayed fixed in my mind as I was brought back to life.
It was painful coming back from the only curse that could kill vampires. I spluttered, gasping for air. My neurons were firing in all directions. My body was going into shock, then reverting back to feeling all the pain at once. My body wanted to shut down. My brain and I agreed, yet we weren’t allowed to die again. Together, my soul and my body fought between consciousness until I passed out into a semi-permanent darkness.
When I finally could sit up, the carnage around me tore through me harder than any pain I had experience moments ago. My mother, my beautiful mama was lying next to a tree, dead. Her almond-shaped, kind eyes stared up at the sky blankly.
My cousin had been torn apart by werewolves. The marks were unmistakable. They were siding with the witches.
The witches had killed them, every single person in my family: my mother, cousins… even my baby sister. She was new, only seven years of age. How could they?
I hadn’t wanted a part of this, but the Black Lily Coven witches and werewolves needed to pay.
Ridgeview was peaceful with a vast forest. It was my home, and now it would be the scene of murders. I would take blood when I wanted it and hunt down every Black Lily witch and werewolf until the day the prophesized children would be born, then I would end their entire line. I would tear into every single one of them, torturing them until they begged me to end their miserable lives.
***
Present day
Pierce was attempting to put on a brave face as I spilled the details of my gruesome past. Despite having to kill her, I wanted to give her an explanation. Before my family was murdered, I was called the gentle one. Seeing her afraid and not knowing anything about her family or us made me feel something I hadn’t felt in half a century: empathy. She had been forced into a life she didn’t want, just like me.
I hadn’t expected to grow as close to her as I had, but she surprised me. I’d planned to kill her straight away, but as we talked and I got to know her, it became more and more difficult. I had hoped on finding a way to spare her and just kill the others, but Lucifer had not agreed to my terms when I’d contacted him.
He forced me to go into the forest that night to end her once and for all, but I couldn’t do it despite his orders. Now, standing in front of her, I knew I had to do it—else he would kill me—but the fear in her eyes, the trembling of her lips set me on edge.
“Please understand.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. I wanted nothing more than to hold her and get her away from all of this, but I couldn’t. Instead, I remained rooted to the spot unable to speak.
Lucifer’s orders took over me, bringing out my demonic form to the surface. It scared Pierce. She stepped back and almost toppled over. My demonic side made it easier to brush any feelings I had for her aside, but it still wasn’t easy.
I closed my eyes as I was pulled by my bond to the Dark Lord toward her. He wanted me to tear out her throat, and like a dutiful servant, I must oblige.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jackson
The spirit who had taken over my body was sleeping. I’d tried to force it out of my head, but nothing worked. I had been resisting it for days. It was why it had turned all the mirrors around. Mirrors were a portal, and I could force myself to the surface if I saw myself through its reflection.
I was upset no one had realized I was possessed. Not even Pierce had caught on, but everyone knew something was wrong.
I had important information I needed to tell Pierce. She was in danger. The spirit in possession of my body was Dana, Vera’s sister. She hated the Black Lily witches. Therefore, she hated Pierce. Her dead husband had been a witch, and he’d killed her in a ritual gone wrong. Dana hated Vera for adopting Pierce to her son, which was a complete shock to me even though everyone had said how different Pierce looked than me, my mom, and my dad.
Dana was trying everything to get the key. She kept trying to reach into my mind, which felt like a hundred nails dragging down a chalkboard, to find out how to get to Pierce, to persuade her to hand over the key. So far I’d forced Dana out every time.
There was something in the big library Dana needed. I wasn’t sure what, she had kept the secret hidden from me. I guessed it was incantation or something to kill a witch. I did everything I could to keep her from it, making myself a nuisance in her head every time she was in the room, to keep her distracted.
It didn’t matter if Pierce was adopted or not; she was
my sister.
It turned out Dana could possess me because I was her direct ancestor, her great niece. Vera had worn protection charms in the form of a necklace to prevent possession. Now I wish I had kept the bracelet on Vera had given me. If she’d told me what it was for, I would have worn it.
Well, actually, back then, I may not have believed her.
I eyed the blue bag with the protection bracelet on the nightstand. If I could somehow get back control of my body for a few seconds, I could grab it and shove it on, forcing Dana out.
I settled down and did something I rarely did. I attempted to clear my mind.
The walls creaked when she woke. My optimism at grabbing the bracelet was quickly trampled. Nothing I did made even a flinch in my body. I hated Dana. The stupid ghost bitch! Pierce could die, Tommy would probably break up with me soon, and I’d surely be kicked out of school.
“Get out of my body!” I screamed inside her head, but she didn’t react to the internal screaming at all, not even a flinch.
The fight in me was fading day by day, but I did everything I could to stay strong for Pierce. She needed me now more than ever.
Dana got up and walked us downstairs. I could feel her emotions. This body was too heavy for her. She’d been used to being a spirit for a long time now—weightless. We trudged down the stairs to find Pierce. Dana wanted the key; it was all she thought about.
We walked around to Pierce’s bedroom, then the kitchen and living room. Pierce was nowhere to be found.
Finally, we reached the front porch. A flash of red hair swung past the window on the side of the door, which was followed by a scream.
We rushed outside, throwing open the door. Axel was rushing toward Pierce. His eyes were black, and his face was distorted. It sent shockwaves through me. He was going to kill her. My sister was about to die.
“No!” I screamed in my head. “Get out!” I screamed louder and pushed through every barrier with force.
It was painful, pushing a ghost out of your body. I dropped to the ground. She left, unwillingly, leaving me feeling like I had been stabbed by a thousand knives and covered in icy water.
Although it felt like every bone in my body had been broken twice, I mustered the strength I did have so I could stand.
“Pierce!” I screamed at her to move as Axel’s fangs protruded. He leapt at her and sank his teeth into her neck. Every step I took felt heavier and heavier until I finally reached them. I watched through blurred vision as he drained my sister’s blood. His was in a frenzy, licking the dark blood, but it almost looked like he was trying to force himself to stop at the same time.
My head pounded, and my body felt like shards of glass had torn apart my muscle and skin, but I had to save my sister. I rushed forward, determined to push Axel away. He was a vampire, and I knew a teenage girl would have no chance against him, but as I watched the life drain from my sister’s face and the electricity surging around her body fizzle out, I knew I had no choice.
In the blink of an eye, Axel was suddenly gone, and my sister’s body crumpled into a moldy old rocking chair. My eyes darted over my shoulder, and my foot caught on a rotting wooden board, sending me lurching forward. I put my hands out to catch myself as I fell into Pierce’s body in the rocking chair. The forward momentum was enough to send the rocking chair tipping backward and heaving both of us straight through the rotted-out railing.
“Pierce!” I called as thorns from the overgrown rose bushes tore at my skin.
I fought and tumbled my way out of the rose bushes and rolled onto the ground. I felt the blood dripping from my face, hands, and arms, but I had only one thing on my mind: finding Pierce.
I stood and twirled around.
Bile rose in my throat. I whipped my head back around and put my hands to my face, praying when I looked again, I wouldn’t still see Pierce’s body lying on the ground. Thick, dark blood had pooled under her head, which had been cracked open on the broken cobblestone that jutted from the sidewalk.
I turned and ran to my sister. I collapsed on the cold, hard ground next to her and shook her shoulders. “Pierce! Wake up! Come on, stay with me!”
I pleaded with her lifeless body and shook her violently. Her usually emerald-green eyes were dull and hung wide open, like her mouth. She had died terrified.
I took a deep breath and let out a wail before putting my head on my sister’s chest and sobbing.
“Don’t do this to me, Pierce.” I choked out my words as I begged her to come back to me again and again.
“Jackie! Pierce!” Tommy’s voice rang clear across the front lawn.
I lifted my head and wiped away my tears to see my love burst through the trees and race down the driveaway toward us.
“You’re too late,” I whispered before he was close enough to hear me.
“You’re too late!” I screamed into her chest when Tommy finally reached us.
His strong hands grabbed my shoulders, but I clung to my sister’s body.
I struggled against him. “No! No! I won’t leave her!”
“You have to, Jackie. You gotta let me help her. I can help her!”
Tommy tried to rationalize with me, and I knew I should listen to him, but grief had taken hold of my heart and soul, and I doubted I would ever move from this spot on the earth ever again. I sprawled myself over her body and wrapped my arms around her torso.
“For the love of the goddess,” Tommy muttered. He stepped back as though he were giving up.
I looked up at my boyfriend and saw a mix of frustration and sadness on his bruised and swollen face. He looked so much older in that moment, and I wondered if he really was a witch like Pierce or if he was something more. The thoughts were flung from my mind when my body responded to Tommy lifting his hands slowly, by rising into the air like a feather.
I screamed and dropped my sister who’d risen with me. I flinched at the thud her body made when it fell the three inches back onto the cobblestone walkway.
“Stop it, Tommy! What are you doing!?” I screamed.
“Calm down.” Tommy’s voice was cool but stern.
I stopped kicking in the air and looked at the ground twelve inches below me. My tears marked the pavement like tiny rain droplets as I cried silently.
I could feel Tommy getting closer, and I looked up when he was a few inches away. Tommy lowered his hands and my body responded by dropping six inches, putting me eye level with him.
“Jackie, baby,” Tommy whispered.
He cupped my face with one hand and I leaned into it, letting the warmth of his palm radiate through my cheek, sending waves of calm through my body. I gazed into his comforting brown eyes and felt all the troubles I had in the world just dissolve. The weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I was free, though I didn’t even know what I was free from. I was blissful, at peace, and wanted nothing more than to feel Tommy’s loving embrace around my body.
I reached for him, and he lowered his free hand. My feet were on solid ground once again, and I smiled up at Tommy.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
I could never be mad at Tommy. He was bliss. Peace. Serenity. Love. Pure love. And I was happier than I could ever remember being.
Something nagged at the back of my mind though, something important. I tried to look over my shoulder and down at the ground, but Tommy smiled and took my hand to pull me forward. His busted lips brushed mine, and his hands cupped my face. He pulled away slightly and kissed me again, harder this time, parting my lips with his and gently sucking on my bottom lip.
I moaned into his mouth, and he pulled away. His expression was serious when he looked into my eyes.
“Jackson. I love you.”
My eyes widened, and my heart beat wildly against my chest.
“I love you too,” I said in a rushed.
I had wanted to say it for days but thought it was obviously too soon. We had lived in Ridgeview less than two weeks. I couldn’t possibly be falling in love, but
this confirmed everything I already knew in my heart. Tommy was my soul mate, witch or not.
“Go inside the house with your grandmother and wait for me,” he said, nodding toward the house.
I looked over his shoulder where my blind old grandmother stood silently in the doorway. She held her cane in one hand and a large crystal in the other. Black smoke swirled inside the amethyst, and I yearned to touch it as Tommy guided me up the porch steps and to my grandmother.
Vera addressed Tommy. “How long has she been dead?”
“Five minutes,” Tommy reported. “I’ve still got time. I can bring her back, but I need you to keep an eye on Jackson.”
He spoke like I wasn’t in the room, but I didn’t mind. I was elated. Tommy loved me.
I let my head lull back, and I caught sight of the full moon just peeking over the base of the trees. From up on the hill, we could see the entire rise and fall of both the sun and the moon, but I’d always found the moon more intriguing.
Stomach cramps sent me pitching forward. I crumpled on the top of the stairs and grabbed my stomach as intense pain coursed through my entire body.
I screamed and lurched forward again on all fours this time.
Grandmother’s cry of “get her to the cage” was the last thing I heard before a bright-blue light blinded me, and everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jackson
Everything from my toenails to my arms, back, ass, and even lips hurt. There wasn’t a square inch of flesh on my body not bloody or bruised, and all my bones felt like they had been snapped into pieces and stuck back together with kids’ safety glue. If I opened my eyes and sat up, all the pieces would fall apart.
The floor was cool and hard beneath me, like concrete. No part of my skin was protected from the damp floor, and I realized I was naked. I curled into the fetal position.
“Argh!” I groaned as my limbs rebelled against me, and tears sprang to my eyes.
