Turning its dark hood towards Marcus, it made an angry, exasperated noise. Marcus shook with fear, bowing his head, as though in respect. “And you…will be coming before the council. You have failed your duty Marcus.” The hooded figure touched Marcus’ shoulder, and the dark energy bonds fell away. Catherine gasped in horror and displeasure. However, Marcus remained where he stood, keeping his head bowed.
Catherine began to let a ball of energy form from her outstretched arms, but Caden raced next to her side, grabbing her arms and holding her. The hooded figure noticed, turning slowly, and cackled. “Yes, at least your vampire understands who I am. You and I will meet again, little witch.” The figure raised a hand, and pointed one gnarled finger at her face.
Jackson leaned over to Shawna. “Vampire?” he whispered. Shawna shook her head, speechless.
Catherine struggled against Caden’s arms, but he kept her hugged in against him tightly, and he shook his head. “No,” he whispered, “this is not a fight we can win today. Trust me, this isn’t over for them.”
The figure turned sharply and snapped his fingers. “Time to be going, Coven! I have work to do.” As Catherine and her friends watched, there was a great roaring noise that filled the air, rather like the sound of a helicopter lifting off. A great flash of light filled the cave, blinding everyone present.
As the light receded, the four figures left in the cave blinked, looking around at one another. All of the coven witches had disappeared along with Marcus and the cloaked figure. Catherine fought her way out of Caden’s arms, and spun angrily round at him.
“What the hell did you do that for! I was on a roll! He killed my father!” Her tone was hard, but a tear rolled from the corner of her eye. Caden’s face softened, and he ran over to her, cupping her face and kissing away the tear.
“Please don’t cry, Catherine. You must understand, the Elders are not like Marcus, you would not have had a chance against him. But I meant what I said; we will find them, and we will make them pay, don’t worry about that.” He brushed a lock of hair from her face. Catherine sighed and nodded, cuddling into him.
She broke away from him again, a slight smile playing on her features. “However, I do now have this.” Lifting her palm, Catherine showed off the swirling grey and white orb proudly.
Caden chuckled, and looked at it happily. “Yes you do, and it would appear you have clicked into your powers as well, no?”
Jackson suddenly spoke up, still looking shell-shocked. “Vampire?” he repeated. Caden and Catherine turned to look at him, and then glanced at each other, laughing merrily…
Chapter 13
The four figures walked slowly along the banks of the swamp. Raindrops had collected in leaves and on grass, and were now glistening in the bright sunshine that had peered out from behind the grey storm clouds, blue sky showing. The humidity had gone, and there was a cooler, calmer feel to the air. Catherine and Caden walked ahead, Caden with his arm tightly around Catherine’s shoulders. Shawna and Jackson followed, still in a stunned silence.
Catherine looked up at Caden. “So…why were you there? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
A muscle in Caden’s jaw ticked. “Yes, you’re right. I came here to protect you. Although I’m not a Wiccan, I knew your father. The organisation he belonged to was not exclusively for witches, but for any supernatural creatures who wanted to make sure the world was kept in balance. When you were born, he was so proud of you...before he died, he asked me to watch out for you. I swore to him that I would die to protect you, and Ravensworth would never kill you. Unfortunately…he knew that going for the orb may mean his death.”
Jackson ran up behind him, and tapped his shoulder. “That’s all very great, but…what the hell did he mean that you are a vampire? Are you?”
Flashing him a grin over his shoulder, Caden nodded at him. “Yes, I am. And I’m impressed that you stood up to me, by the way. Not many people have in my lifetime.”
Seeming pleased at that, Jackson grinned to himself, and nodded. “No problem. I’m just glad to know such a nice guy is protecting Catherine.” Unseen by Jackson, Catherine rolled her eyes, but a slow grin spread across her face.
There was a derisive snort from the very back, from Shawna. “Now, this is all very neat and tidy, but hang on-what the hell do you mean ‘you’re a vampire’? Surely they don’t exist?”
Stopping abruptly, Caden turned, and Shawna nearly ran into him. He smiled at her, and placed a hand on her arm. “Shawna, I know you are Catherine’s best friend, but you need to know this. I…I love her.” He cast a glance at Catherine, whose jaw dropped in surprise. “No matter what I am, that is true. Just because I am a vampire, does not mean I’m going to ever harm her-you know that now, right?”
Shawna folded her arms, tilting her head back to look at him defensively. “Yeah, alright…but are you really?” In answer to her question, Caden raised his eyebrows, as if he was pretending not to know what she was asking, and then slid his fangs out, winking at her.
Laughing at her flabbergasted face, he put his arm back around Catherine’s shoulders, hugging her into him. Shawna ran after them, her eyes wide with amazement. “Now wait up! So are there just vampires? Or are there other creatures?”
“Oh yes. There are pretty much any number of creatures you can think of; werewolves, demons, ghosts…and some of them are on our side, others are not.”
“Jeez!” Shawna looked at Jackson, who was still wearing a look of pride on his face. “Can you believe this?” Jackson shrugged, and linked arms with her, walking along.
A noise suddenly made them look up; a crashing sound of someone running through grasses from the direction of the town. A figure appeared, running awkwardly, as if they had been running for a long time. The group stopped, and watched the figure as it grew closer. Shawna put a hand over her eyes, to see better, and frowned. “It’s Hannah!”
Sure enough, the bright pink and blond of Hannah came into view. She caught sight of the group and waved, sprinting towards them. She stopped in front of them, grasping her knees and gasping for breath.
Catherine patted her on the back, and asked, “Are you okay, Hannah? What the hell are you running for?”
Straightening herself up, Hannah wiped the sweat from her brow, and nodded, still gasping. “It’s…your...mom…Catherine. Someone…has…taken…her.” She took a deep breath, swallowing it into her burning lungs.
“My…mum? What do you mean, someone has taken her?” Catherine nearly shook Hannah, her face draining of colour.
“It was in the town centre…your mum was looking for you. She kept…kept saying that she could feel something had happened to you. There was…this huge light, and then she disappeared…right in the centre of a crowd. Everyone has being looking for you…”
Caden growled, knowing immediately what had happened. Taking a frantic glance at the others, Catherine began to run blindly through the trees, the small group following her in panic…
Look out for the next Bassinville Witches Book…
Playing With Fire
Out July 2012
More books by Miranda Stork….
With You In Spirit (The Bassinville Witches Series) Page 9
