The killer went behind me, grabbing my hair to force my head back. I cried out, reaching back to where the hand was. “Are you having fun? I am.” The figure laughed, voice floating like whisper from a distance.
Remembering my training, I jabbed back my elbow, causing the killer to buckle in response. The move elicited a growl. Then I threw out a punch, connecting with a nose. Out of nowhere, my attacker had a sword, and it flickered in their grasp. It was hard to track the weapon as it moved in different directions.
Wincing in pain, the sword sliced me across the chest, blood beginning to stream. I cried out, trying my best to stay focused enough to prevent any more injury. Looking around, a glow began to form over my head, becoming brighter as it filled the room. The killer hissed angrily, swinging the sword toward the bright light. Chanting echoed through the room, beginning as a whisper and then becoming louder. It was as if there were a dozen women present, saying the same thing.
Figures started to appear in front of me, holding hands. First they began as blurred shadows, but then formed into hooded bodies. The killer cried out, smoke coming from his or her body. I watched in horror as my attacker began to melt, the chains of smoke going from me to the killer. Then with a loud crack, the smoke broke away completely.
“The necklace is glowing again! She’s awake.” Drake shook me hard.
I groaned, shoving him away because I was in so much pain. When I pushed myself up on my elbows as I somehow managed to get on my back, I looked down, finding my shirt drenched in blood.
“You’ve healed already.” Drake helped me sit up all the way. Kevin stared at me from a distance, not saying a word. He usually had something to say, but not this time. Something passed between us, but I wasn’t sure what.
“I should go. I’ll try to track down where Stella was last seen, but it may be hard with the imposter out there living her everyday life.” Kevin turned, disappearing into the woods without waiting for a response.
Drake stared after him, frowning. “I do not trust him. He has a secret that he has yet to tell you.”
“Are you psychic now?” I asked, chuckling. I looked down, finding the necklace was slightly glowing.
Frowning at me now, Drake stood up, holding my hands in his. “I’ve lived long enough to tell these things, Sophie. Just know that he’s hiding something.”
I stood up, brushing dirt off my body. “Everyone is hiding something.” I didn’t know why I was arguing with him, but I was pretty shaken up over what just happened to me in the dream. Or whatever the hell it was. The killer was becoming more impatient. I told Drake about what happened, and he didn’t say anything. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“I hope this all ends soon,” I told him. “I don’t know if I can keep going through this.” Part of me was starting to feel defeated because we had yet to figure anything out about the killer, other than that whoever it was had impersonated Stella. All we really knew was that he or she wanted Drake to pay. It wasn’t making any sense. I didn’t have access to any more of the Council files. I should have printed them out when I had the chance.
Drake kissed me softly, running his hand through my hair in such a soothing way, I actually closed my eyes and moaned. He kissed my jaw, traveling down to the side of my neck. Taking a deep breath, I dug my fingers into his shoulders. The man always knew how to get my mind off of things. It didn’t take much when it came to Drake Jacobi, but gods did he know how to turn me on.
Wanting him to distract me from all of our problems, I pulled his face up to mine and kissed him hard. He nibbled on my lip, fangs dragging over it. I purred in approval as his hands went up my shirt, exposing my stomach to the outside air. Wanting more of him, I pressed myself up against him, feeling his hard length. He wanted me just as much. Still, I was weak from the episode I just went through. I pulled away from him, out of breath.
Moving fast, he pulled me up into his arms and headed back toward the house. “Let me ravish you. You don’t have to lift a single finger,” he promised, flashing fang as he smiled.
Every time I saw that visual, it turned me on more. I could feel my body heating up with anticipation. After being with him, I would analyze my fucked up dream—if you could even call it that. Just as he was carrying me inside the house, a white haze began to cloud my vision. I blinked several times, my eyes watering, but they ended up closing as they became heavy.
I found myself in a completely white room with at least forty people standing in front of me, all dressed in white, hooded robes. They were looking down at the floor, so it was hard for me to see their faces. When I tried to move, I ran into an invisible wall that only allowed me a foot of room on each side. My heart started pounding frantically. Was this another trick from the killer?
“No,” came a whisper.
Who was that? I didn’t see any of them move.
“We are your ancestors from the days of Avalon,” came another whisper, but now on the other side of the room.
“I don’t understand why I’m here.” I looked around, finding more of them appearing behind me. My hands pressed against the invisible wall, trying to find a crack in it for my escape.
“You can’t escape the box.” Another whisper.
“Why am I in the box if you’re my ancestors?” I asked, not finding the situation amusing at all.
“Too dangerous.”
I looked around for the person that just whispered. Just as I turned around, something flew at me in a white blur, a face wrinkled and gray. The eyes were red and teeth sharp. I fell back against the invisible wall, screaming in surprise. The figure’s long nails scraped against the barrier, growling like an animal in the night. The hood slid back revealing strings of hair.
“How is it dangerous?” I asked, pretty sure I knew the answer.
“We are dangerous.” This time, the whisper came from the thing in front of me. With one of its sharp nails, it scratched at the barrier. “This is to protect you. Sometimes we can’t control ourselves. We change into monsters. Other times we take on a human appearance.” It shrugged, a red tongue snaking out to lick its thin, cracking lips.
I shivered in disgust, wanting to look away, but unable to. “Why have you brought me here?”
Its red eyes shifted colors, changing to blue. The creature’s body morphed into a woman’s form, but flickered back to the monster body just as quickly. “To inform you that the murderer of Witches practices black magic. The stone will protect you now, so evil forces cannot take hold. The magic is strong. That is why they were able to take hold of your mind with the stone. But the stone is stronger now. We enhanced it with all of our magic to protect you. You are what ends the war between Witches and Vampires, so you must live. Do not take this news lightly. You must take control of everything, or all shall perish.”
Confused, I took a small step forward. “Everything? What does that mean?”
Again, the creature flickered. “You shall soon find out. We can only help you so much. Interfering with life may influence the one chosen.”
Getting frustrated, I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around me. All of their hoods were off now. They were flickering between monster and human form, each looking slightly different in their own way.
The monster in front of me snarled, suddenly able to reach through the barrier. I stumbled back in surprise, just as she grabbed the necklace into her bony palms. Shrieking, the monster leaped back, holding its wrinkled hand. “Take care of it. We mustn’t have it. Keep it. We must never have it.”
Raising their hands in the air, they began to chant collectively. Some of them used human voices, but the rest just sounded raspy and gender unidentifiable. A white haze began to swirl around me, wrapping around my body. A chill ran up my spine as it grew colder and colder in my box. It felt like my bones might break.
“Sophie? Are you awake?”
Drake’s voice broke through the cloud in my mind. I blinked several times at the ceiling. I was in his bed again. A look of
concern was on his face. He stroked the side of my cheek, unsure of what he was supposed to do.
“Visit from the family. It was interesting.” I yawned, covering my mouth.
“Your family?”
“Yeah, my ancestors interrupted my chance to get laid so they could freak me the hell out and yammer on about some kind of gibberish. I didn’t understand any of it. Something about being in control of everything, and that I will soon know. They also made the necklace stronger, to prevent the killer from interrupting any more of my dreams.”
“If only you listened to me in the first place, you would understand the necklace better!” My mother appeared above us suddenly, hands on her hips.
It was a little weird that she was in Drake’s bedroom. Didn’t she have boundaries? I wanted to shake some sense into her, but it would be a bad thing to do as a daughter, wouldn’t it?
Trying not to get irritated, I sat up, my hand behind me for support. “Do you mind?”
“That’s not how you speak to your mother. Are you going to introduce me to your boy-toy?” Mom asked.
I blinked several times in a row. “He’s not a ‘boy-toy.’”
“Oh, we all know you play with him.”
Gagging, I slid off the bed, ignoring Drake’s grin. “We should not be having this conversation, Mom. You shouldn’t be talking about me playing with Drake!” I stomped out of the bedroom, slowing down when I became dizzy. I wanted to ask her about the ancestors, but there was another reason why she was coming around.
“You spoke to the ancestors, didn’t you?”
My mother started laughing, throwing back her head. It was creepy in so many ways. Usually, when a ghost laughs like that, they were on the edge of insanity. But, that was just how my mother was.
“Why are you laughing? It was horrifying.” I shook my head, heading into the large kitchen. It was updated with the highest quality of appliances. I wondered if he even cooked, though, because everything looked brand new, untouched. What was I even coming into the kitchen for? To escape her. Some plan. She just followed me into it.
My mother hovered over by the fridge, staring at me with her spooky eyes. Everything about her visage was more invisible, faint. Something that was red in real life was actually barely pink in the ghost life. You could see parts of the fridge behind her, making the entire thing even more disturbing. You would think I was used to it by now, but it was a long adjustment for me. I didn’t like change.
“One of the girls said you had a visit. I just had to make sure you weren’t in a padded room.”
“I can handle creepy ancestors, Mom.”
“I don’t know about that. Have you even figured out what they said?” she asked.
Getting a glass of water, I leaned against the counter. “It doesn’t make sense.”
My mother shrugged her shoulders, floating around the kitchen as she seemed deep in thought. “You have to think about what they told you. Don’t tell me what they said. Last thing I need is a visit from them. I’m coming close to the time when I am supposed to go to their side.”
Freezing with my glass midair, I stared at her in shock. “That means no more visits?” My heart clenched. I didn’t want to never see my mother again. What if she turns into one of those monsters?
She chuckled, shaking her head, and hair whisking around her. “They’ve been trying to get me since I died. Some of us can keep out of that hell-hole for a while, but eventually, they snag us all up.” Flashing her ghostly teeth, my mother scooted around the kitchen. “That’s why I have to be careful.”
“They have to know you come around me, Mom. I think they’re powerful enough to sense that.” I didn’t know if she was being clueless on purpose, or just in denial.
Waving me off, she peeked around the corner of the kitchen and whistled. “That man is one sexy motherfu—”
“Mom!” I rubbed my eyes with my fingers, debating over how to best get rid of her. I was hesitant, however, considering she was convinced the ancestors were after her. How true that was, I didn’t know. She seemed to be getting more and more delirious as time passed. It was probably something that happened to all ghosts. I wanted to read up on it, but I didn’t have any of my books with me. The local Witch group would probably have a library, but did I really have time to do research? Things were starting to heat up here. Stella’s body was found outside of the house, and the killer was entering my dreams. Why was perpetrator even coming after me? Was it because of the investigation? It was all so confusing.
Soon, Daphne would be trying to locate me so that she could legally dismiss me from my duties on the Council. I was surprised that she didn’t have Kevin drag me in. That was, if he was even working for her. She wanted the murders solved, so did that mean he was to finish my job? The assassin?
Coming from my thoughts, I found my mother gone. She didn’t even say goodbye! Shaking my head, I left the kitchen to find Drake. We had to come up with a plan for capturing the killer. The Vampire Council Leader would be coming after us soon if we didn’t make some kind of progress.
Seeing something move at the corner of the hallway, near the bedroom door, I drew in my magic, prepared to strike. Then I realized it was my mother, peeking around the corner at Drake, who was busily buttoning up a shirt. “Mom! He’s my man. Don’t you see how this is wrong—on so many levels?”
My mother shrugged again, turning to face me. “You know how long it has been since I’ve had my lady parts pleasured?”
“Oh my gods. You did not just go there.” I closed my eyes. “The images are stuck in my head now!”
Drake appeared at the door, smiling, yet having no idea what was happening. “What’s going on here?”
Fluttering her eyelashes at him, my mother twirled around. “I must go! I must go!” Then she was gone.
“I don’t know about her.”
Drake laughed, pulling me into his arms. He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “We’ll figure out what’s happening after we solve this case. There is much to accomplish.”
Pulling out my cell phone, I dialed for Mikey. He answered after the second ring, sounding out of breath. “What?” he snapped.
“Geez, what the hell, Mikey?” My eyes widened at his tone.
“Sophie? Oh, sorry. I was doing something.”
“Like what?”
“Just came back in from running,” he said, smoothly.
“Liar. You don’t run!” I shook my head. My best friend was lying to me.
I heard a giggle in the background. It sounded familiar. Jenna? “No way.”
“It’s not what you think.”
“Sounds like my two best friends are having sex! I can’t believe it!”
“We’re adults,” Mikey said, speaking in a mature tone.
“Who are supposed to be helping me!” I knew I was being ridiculous, but the entire thing was shocking. All this time they had talked nonstop crap about each other and argued... Yeah, the signs were there. They were in denial. Should I be happy for them? Of course.
“It was just one time.”
“Liar!” Jenna shouted, laughing. “We’re dating now.”
“You’ve been hiding this from me?”
Drake stared at me in confusion, but I left him to go into the room in search of decent clothes to wear. At some point he had my things brought over from the hotel. Without even asking me. He was going to hear about that as soon as I was finished lecturing my friends about using protection. Last thing we needed was one of them running around. I wouldn’t be able to handle it. They are already difficult to deal with.
“We are on our way to see you!” Jenna shouted.
Suspicious, I went silent for a couple of seconds, trying to decide why Jenna would leave her post to come see me. She knew I needed help, sure, but she sounded far too excited for someone who wanted to make my situation better. If it had been me, I would be dragging my feet and complaining the entire time. Though, I would do my duty as a best friend and help. “What is going
on?”
Jenna squealed. “We’re getting married!”
Chapter Twenty
My silence must have made Jenna nervous because she said, “Sophie?”
“Oh, sorry, I was just stunned. My brain seemed to have twisted whatever you just said into news that you’re getting married. Funny, huh?”
“We are,” Jenna confirmed.
Again, I was silent. I heard Mikey sigh. “I told you it was too soon to tell her. She hasn’t even gotten used to us dating.”
“Well, have fun with that.”
I was mostly pissed off that they didn’t tell me they’d been together. Why would they even keep that a secret? It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t like I had feelings for Mikey. We shared a kiss when we were like ten, but that was all childhood experimentation. After that we both brushed our teeth and vowed to never think of it again. Still, we were best friends. We didn’t break that bond by marrying each other. They probably knew that was how I felt, but that wasn’t a good enough excuse to me.
“She’s pissed,” Mikey groaned.
“Well, I told you we should have said something earlier,” Jenna hissed.
“Look, I know you guys were probably drunk when this happened, but it can all be taken back. Easy-peasy.” I looked over at Drake, who had suddenly appeared with a sandwich. How did he know I was hungry? As if sensing the sandwich near, my stomach growled.
Mikey was suddenly in front of me, half naked. His pale, toned chest glared at me like a ghost in the night. I shielded my eyes, and he rolled his. “This is going to happen. I know it’s a shock, and I’m sorry we hid it from you, but there are no take-backs on this.”
“You could have put a shirt on,” I scolded.
Drake nodded in agreement. “She’s about to eat. You’re paler than the palest Vampire.”
I poked Mikey in the chest and glared. “This conversation is not over. We have a lot to plan as far as this killer goes. Your situation is interrupting our possible progress. You could have held off—”
Spell Hell: An Undercover Witch (Witch's Brew Book 1) Page 14
