Dark Coven

by J. C. Diem

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Sixteen

  I managed to take two steps before I bounced off an invisible wall. With a muffled, “Oof!” I hit the ground and rolled over onto my back. Talitha stood over me wearing an expression of pure malevolence. Her eyes narrowed as she recognized me.

  Remembering Mark’s advice, I went for my gun. Invisible ropes pinned my arms to the ground before I could grab my weapon. Lifting her hands, the witch began to chant. Pain erupted inside my body from my head to my toes. I tried to scream and a wave of her hand silenced me.

  “Lexi?” Reece called through the earpiece. He became alarmed when I didn’t respond. “Alexis! What’s wrong?”

  I could only manage a pained gurgle. My vision began to turn black. Desperate to survive, I mentally grasped for assistance. On the edge of passing out, I brushed several minds that didn’t belong to humans. Help me, I screamed silently. A moment later, the night was shattered by howls, yips and menacing growls.

  Talitha’s spell faltered momentarily when the first dog padded into view a few seconds later. The Pekinese lowered its fluffy head threateningly, growling in warning. Its yap was shrill enough to hurt my ears. I recognized it as the dog I’d seen being walked by her owner just before Mark’s nose had begun gushing blood.

  “How cute,” the witch said and turned her attention back to me. “The itty bitty puppy is trying to save you!” Her laugh was cruel and held real amusement. She clearly enjoyed making people suffer. This was probably the highlight of her day.

  The pain had faded enough for me to catch my breath. Behind her, the street rapidly filled up with dogs of all shapes and sizes. The Rottweiler stood at the head of the pack. He was growling so low that only I and the other dogs could hear him. His face was bloody from bashing his way free from his yard. The scrapes gave him an even more frightening appearance.

  “I don’t know who you are or what your plan was,” Talitha said menacingly, “but you made a very grave mistake coming to Bradbury. Your death will serve a purpose you couldn’t even begin to comprehend.” Her arrogance was stunning to behold.

  Baring my teeth, I smiled at the witch. “I comprehend plenty, you psychotic weirdo.” She drew in an affronted breath and I mentally urged the motely pack that was creeping up on her to move faster. They responded by snarling, howling and sprinting towards her. “Get her!” I shouted out loud and they obeyed.

  Mobbed by dogs both small and large, she screamed in rage and pain as teeth tore through her clothing and into her flesh. Her shock at being attacked only lasted for a short moment. Clapping her hands, she sent a shockwave of air outwards in a circle.

  If I hadn’t already been lying down, I’d have been sent flying. Some of the smaller dogs cartwheeled through the air with yelps of pain. Scrambling to their feet, they went straight back on the attack. Sending me a look that promised retribution, the witch fled.

  Released from the invisible bonds, I sat up with a pained wince. I called the dogs back before they could be injured worse than they already were. Most of their wounds seemed to be superficial, mainly scrapes and bruises.

  The Rottweiler trotted over and sat beside me. A bloody swatch of fabric that he’d torn from the witch’s skirt dangled from his mouth. “Good boy,” I said and stroked his head with a shaky hand. “You just saved my life.” He grinned widely and I had the uncanny feeling that he’d understood me.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Seventeen

  I felt Reece approaching long before he sprinted into view. Our bond had alerted him that I was in danger. It had then told him that I was okay. He came to a stop with his hands on his hips, wearing a strained smile. “I see you’ve made some new friends,” he observed.

  The pack had formed a protective circle around me. They all cringed away from him. Most rolled onto their backs to display their stomachs in acknowledgement of his superiority. The Rottweiler bared his teeth and leaned against me. He was willing to defend me even from a being that was alpha to him.

  “It’s okay,” I said to the dog and scratched him behind his ear. “Reece is a friend.” The canine relaxed and closed his eyes in enjoyment.

  “I hope I’m more than that to you,” Reece said in the low tone that made my stomach clench in reaction.

  “Please,” Kala’s voice broke in before I could respond. “Spare us your burning passion for each other.” She and Flynn jogged into view from opposite directions. Now that we were in close proximity, we removed our earpieces and switched them off.

  “Is there a dog convention that we weren’t informed of?” Flynn asked as he eyed the pack that surrounded me.

  “I told you two to head back to base,” Reece said. His frown was disapproving.

  “Lexi was in trouble,” Flynn said in self-defense. “Did you really expect us to just leave her?”

  Reece shook his head after a moment of internal debate. “No. I’d have come to her rescue as well.”

  “What happened?” Kala asked as she helped me to my feet. With a thought, I sent the dogs back to their homes. Hanging their heads in disappointment, they loped off into the night.

  The ghost appeared again. He was even more frantic than before. Waving at us to leave, he looked over his shoulder as if he knew someone was coming. “I’ll tell you when we get back to base,” I said. “We’d better get out of here before the rest of the coven arrives.”

  Without bothering to ask me first, Reece scooped me into his arms and took off at a full sprint. My weight didn’t slow him down at all as he streaked through the night. We moved far too quickly for a human to make out more than just a vague blur.

  Once we reached the outskirts of town, he slowed down enough for me to catch my breath. “I can walk, you know,” I said tartly.

  He deigned to glance down at me. “Carrying you is faster,” he argued. I had to admit it was nice being in his arms, but I felt like an idiot being carried around. It was pointless to argue with him and I bore the indignity as well as I could. To be honest, I was still feeling shaky. I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to run anyway.

  Kala took her cell phone out of her pocket and called Mark. “Hey, boss.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, instantly assuming that there was a problem.

  “We had to abort the mission.”

  “What happened? Is anyone hurt?”

  “Lexi had a run-in with one of the witches.” She glanced over at me to assess the damage. “She’s a little banged up and there might be some internal injuries.”

  “I’ll call a doctor,” he said.

  “No!” I protested loudly enough for him to hear me. “I’m fine. The pain is already fading.”

  “How far away are you?” he asked.

  “We’ll be there in a couple of minutes,” Kala replied.

  “I’ll see you soon,” he said and hung up.

  He was waiting for us at the backdoor when we arrived a short while later. “Bring her to my room,” he ordered Reece.

  Margaret was still bustling around in the kitchen. We snuck past without her realizing we were there. Edward was in the parlor, reading a newspaper from the sound of crinkling paper.

  We filed into Mark’s room. The small space seemed cramped with all of us inside. “How badly are you hurt?” he asked.

  “Not that badly,” I replied. My entire body ached and my organs felt tender. I didn’t think there was any internal bleeding from whatever the witch had done to me. “It hurt like hell, but I don’t think there’s any permanent damage.”

  Reece sat me down on the bed. Kala plumped a pillow and put it behind my back. I eased back against it and grimaced as residual pain made my insides cramp. Reece flinched in sympathy and clenched his fists in futile rage. “Calm down,” I told him. “I’m fine.” He sank down onto the only chair in the room. Flynn and Kala sat on the foot of the bed.

  Mark opted to stand and crossed his arms tightly. “Tell me what happened.”

  I recited my search, starting from when I’d
first come face to face with the Rottweiler. I ended my report with the pack responding to my call.

  Kala gave an incredulous laugh. “Are you saying that the dogs saved your life?”

  “You saw them,” Reece said. He was just as disturbed by my tale as she was. “It looked like they were guarding her.”

  “No dog would ever come to my aid,” Flynn said. “All animals hate me.” He thought about it then amended his statement. “Except for snakes, of course.”

  “Cats love me,” Kala said. “But I’ve never had one try to save my life before.”

  “Maybe you’ve just never needed their help badly enough,” I pointed out.

  Mark had a theory, of course. “They came to your aid because you’re an alpha. You’d already established dominance over them when you’d entered their yards.” Now that he’d mentioned it, all of the dogs had come from the yards that I’d searched.

  Reece asked the most pertinent question. “How were you able to call them?”

  Everyone turned to look at me and I didn’t have an answer for them. “I don’t really know. I was desperate and in agony. I just kind of reached out with my mind.” I shrugged to indicate that was the best explanation I could give them.

  “You said that the ghost can help us find the witches’ houses,” Mark said, thankfully diverting the attention back to our problem and away from my weirdness. I was glad to have the focus shifted to a slightly less uncomfortable topic.

  “Yeah. I guess I should get my laptop.” I didn’t try to inject any enthusiasm into the thought of having to move.

  Kala waved at me to stay where I was. “Give me your key and I’ll get it for you.”

  I fished the key out of my pocket and handed it to her. She was back in less than a minute and gently placed the computer on my thighs. As I switched it on, the ghost who’d warned me to flee from Bradbury appeared. He’d been extremely helpful so far. We’d have probably all become sacrifices if it wasn’t for him.

  “Thanks for saving our butts,” I said to him. He nodded solemnly in return. “I’m going to bring up a map of Bradbury. Can you point out where the witches and warlocks live?” He nodded again and I brought the map up. Through trial and error, I zoomed in on the areas he pointed to. He managed to pinpoint six different locations.

  “Are there any other buildings we need to be aware of?” Mark asked. He directed the question in the general direction of the ghost, missing him by a couple of feet.

  Shaking his head, the spirit faded and disappeared. “He said no,” I replied to Mark.

  Sitting on the bed beside me, he took the laptop and shrunk the map down so the whole town fit on the screen. One of the houses that the ghost had identified was the one where Flynn had spotted Jeremiah. That meant the other locations were probably accurate as well.

  “Hmm,” he said as he studied the map. “I can see a pattern.” He used a program that I hadn’t even known existed to draw a diagram over the map.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Kala asked uneasily as she watched over Mark’s shoulder.

  “It’s an inverted pentagram,” he confirmed. Five of the coven members lived at each point of the pentagram. The sixth location was in the center. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised to see that Kate’s Kafé was the final building. It had an apartment above it where she presumably lived.

  “The coven must be aware that I’m not just a normal person now,” I said. “They’ll be waiting for us to make our move.”

  “Undoubtedly,” Mark agreed. “That means we’ll have to be extremely careful from now on.”

  I hoped he could come up with a plan that wouldn’t result in my insides being scrambled again. Once had definitely been enough.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Eighteen

  Feeling decidedly unwell, I allowed Reece to help me up to my room once our meeting was over.

  “Thanks,” I said and tried to close the door.

  He put a hand out to catch it. “Do you realize how close you came to being captured by the coven?” he said too quietly for the others to hear him. “You know what they would have done to you.” We both knew that I would have become the next sacrifice.

  “I’m well aware,” I replied wryly. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been in danger. Greed came very close to choking me to death then burning me into a crispy critter,” I reminded him.

  “You shouldn’t have to be put in situations like this.” He was anguished and I sensed he also felt guilty for dragging me into his life.

  “Do you think I’d have been in any less danger if I’d become a soldier as I’d planned?”

  He shrugged, but I read his thoughts. If I’d remained human, I wouldn’t have to face monsters. “Ordinary people can be just as monstrous as witches, psychics, vampires, shifters and every other type of creature we hunt down,” I said.

  “You could never have been a stay at home mom, could you?” he asked with a half-smile. It did things to my libido that I really wasn’t feeling up to at the moment.

  “I doubt it. I’d probably go crazy if I tried.”

  Leaning in, he planted a soft kiss on my cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning, Lexi.” He walked to his door and unlocked it. Aware that I was watching him, he turned, winked and stepped inside.

  Snapping out of my daydream of following him into his room and stripping him naked, I shut and locked my door. I took a long shower and was exhausted by the time I’d finished blow drying my hair.

  Changing into my usual sleeping attire of a thin singlet and tiny shorts, I lay down and pulled the light blanket up to my chin. It took me a long time to fall asleep. When I did, I replayed my encounter with Talitha. This time, the dog pack didn’t arrive in time to save me and the witch tore me apart from the inside out.

  I was relieved when my alarm finally woke me the next morning. My sleep had been broken due to a succession of bad dreams. I’d started awake too many times to count. Cautiously rising, I found that my internal pain was gone. I was fully healed again and I was famished when I met the others in the dining room for breakfast.

  Three couples were eating at the tables around us. None were close enough to overhear us as long as we spoke quietly.

  “How are you feeling?” Mark asked.

  “Hungry,” I replied as I took a seat next to Kala. I was the last to arrive.

  “Are you experiencing any residual pain?”

  “Nope. I feel fine.”

  Kala poured me coffee from the pot. “Remind me not to get too close to the witches. I’d prefer not to have my insides microwaved.”

  “It wasn’t a fun experience,” I agreed. Our conversation cut off as Margaret appeared with a trolley full of food. Again, we had a wide range to choose from. I opted for bacon, eggs and toast. It wasn’t particularly healthy, but it would fill the hole in my stomach.

  “I think we should move in and search the buildings as soon as it gets dark tonight,” Flynn suggested after Margaret had finished serving us and had moved to the next table. “They won’t be expecting us to return so soon.”

  “Yeah, because it would be stupid to waltz right back in there when we know they’re on to us,” Kala said and rolled her eyes.

  “Exactly,” he grinned. “They’ll expect us to cower in hiding, praying they don’t find us. What kind of idiots would voluntarily return after discovering that they can subdue us so easily?”

  “It will be extremely dangerous,” Mark cautioned. “They might not be expecting you to return tonight, but they will still be wary.”

  “We’ll be more careful this time,” Reece said and flicked a meaningful glance at me. He was having second thoughts about allowing me to gain some much needed field experience. It was embarrassing that I’d been the only one to get caught. I obviously had a lot to learn about stealth.

  “I can’t take sitting around in this parlor all day,” Kala said. “Can we get out of here for a few hours?”

  “Good idea,” Mark agreed. “I’m sure Margaret could u
se a break from serving us coffee and cake.”

  We piled into the SUV and drove for an hour or so. We ended up in a small town about the same size as Bradbury. It was as good a place as any to while away our time. We spent a few hours sitting in a café drinking coffee and snacking on an assortment of cookies. It wasn’t much different from being in the parlor, but at least we had different scenery to look at.

  People were less suspicious in this town, but we still drew attention. Kala and I received a few interested looks from young men as they walked past. Reece and Flynn were just as popular with the ladies. Even Mark was worthy of a second look from the more mature women. Kala winked at the cuter guys, but the rest of us ignored their scrutiny.

  “Mmm,” Kala said when she was halfway through her third cookie. “These are really, really good.” For once, she wasn’t expelling crumbs with each word that she uttered. The cookie was nearly the size of her head, or had been before she’d started devouring it.

  “Imagine how god-awful it would have been if you’d made it,” Flynn teased her slyly.

  Her happy smile changed to a scowl. “Like you’re a master baker,” she retaliated.

  “It’s Mark’s birthday tomorrow,” he reminded Reece. “Are you still going to bake him a cake?”

  “Of course,” Reece replied. I saw and sensed no signs of panic from him at the prospect of baking a cake. “We should pick up the ingredients on our way back to Dawson’s Retreat.”

  Mark tried and failed to suppress a sigh. It was clear that he expected the cake to turn out badly. I had the feeling that celebrating birthdays and holidays wasn’t something they did very often. Maybe they were making an exception lately because I’d joined their team. They were doing their best to behave like a normal family, which was a stretch considering that we were agents for the PIA.