Burkheart Witch Saga Book 3

by Christine Sutton

  "Well, enjoy your night out," Kayla replied coldly.

  Grace decided to leave it at that and walked out of the house. When she got into her car, she spotted Kayla standing in the window, peering out at her. A feeling of what could only be described as disdain filled her head as it rippled from the figure standing there with the curtain pulled back. Grace drove off before she started crying. She needed to see David and get all of this worked out, now.

  Grace walked into the apartment to find the two men sitting at her table next to an empty crib box and a pile of wooden pieces and screws.

  "It's coming right along." She kissed Harold.

  "We did manage to get it out of the box," he replied, rubbing her growing belly.

  "Dad, I need to talk to you about something important."

  "What is it, honey?" her father asked, and she felt his concern.

  "It's about Mom. She is acting very strange lately, and I think I might know why."

  David sighed and his shoulders slumped a little.

  "I know, Munchkin. I think it must be stress or something," he said with sadness in his voice.

  "I saw a bottle of vodka under the sink, Dad. I think she's drinking. I asked her about inviting the coven over for dinner and she called them midgets and said that she didn't want to see them. She fed me grapefruit and told me I was getting fat." Grace rambled out the words in a flood, relieved to be able to tell someone about her worries.

  "What?" he asked, shocked. "You found vodka under the sink?"

  "Yeah. I know it is not yours, Dad. She is just acting so damn strange. I don't know what to do," Grace began to cry softly.

  "Don't cry, sweetheart. I'll talk to her and find out what is going on. We'll get her some help if that's what we need to do. I promise we will figure this out," he said, reaching over and taking her hand in his.

  She felt so lucky to have these two men in her life, but she had always been able to lean on her mom for support. Kayla had always been her best friend.

  "Well, I think that the crib will have to wait, then. I am going to go home right now and talk with your mother. We need to get this situation under control before something really bad happens," David stood up and moved to get his coat.

  "Do you want us to go with you?" Harold asked, always trying to help.

  "I think that this is something I should do alone."

  "Call me and let me know what she has to say about all of this," Grace told him.

  "You know what? I'm so happy that the two of you found each other. I see so much of your mom and me in you guys. I hope that you have what Kayla and I have. It really is magical," David said and turned to go.

  "Be careful, Daddy," Grace said, confused by the sudden feeling of dread.

  "I'll call you later, Munchkin. I love you both." And then he was gone.

  Grace turned to Harold and looked into his eyes. He brushed her hair back and kissed her.

  "I'm really scared, Harry."

  "Everything will be okay, Grace. You'll see."

  She leaned into his arms and let him comfort her.

  "I really hope so."

  5

  When David entered the house, he didn't proclaim his arrival with his usual exclamations. He simply walked in and headed straight for the kitchen.

  When he walked in, he saw his beautiful wife sitting at the table with a tall juice glass of clear liquid in front of her. When he stepped in, Kayla cried out, almost dropping her glass.

  "Shit! What is it with you people and sneaking around? What the hell are you doing here?" She looked at him angrily. "You are supposed to be putting that hideous crib together. I figured that would take you two rocket scientists all day."

  David was no telepath, but he could feel the hot waves of hate coming from her. This was a side of her he had never seen in their decades together. It was ugly and frightening.

  "Baby, what are you doing? Are you drinking again? Why?" He sat next to her, feeling a mix of sorrow and anger.

  "Baby, what are you doing?"she said in a mocking tone. "What the fuck is up with you people? Should we listen to some Air Supply songs and braid each other's hair while we proclaim our undying love for each other? Maybe I can knit you a pair of new panties, you fucking girl."

  David was so shocked at Kayla's behavior that he almost forgot about the drink in front of her. He snatched the glass up and took it to the sink. Kayla got up and ran to him, punching at clawing at his back while he poured it down the drain.

  "What the hell did you do that for?" she screamed.

  "We'll get you the help you need, Kayla," he said, trying to take her in his arms.

  She struggled away from his grasp, punching at his chest.

  "The only help I needed was in that damn glass. That was the last of it, too. You asshole," she snarled.

  "It's the alcohol talking, Kayla. This is not you."

  Kayla burst out in laughter, looking at David as though he had just told the funniest joke ever.

  "Well, you're half right."

  "I don't understand," he said, feeling helpless.

  She looked at him and started laughing again. It was a loud, trashy cackle that made him cringe.

  "Kayla, what the hell is happening?"

  She raised her arms and began chanting as realization dawned on him.

  As the blackness bled into his field of vision and he began to feel sleep taking hold, he reached out for her. She easily sidestepped his groggy grasp.

  When he hit the floor, his last thought was that he would not be able to warn Grace. He sent out a mental warning with the little bit of energy that he had left, praying that his baby girl would be able to pick it up.

  The world faded as she continued laughing.

  6

  Sitting at the table with Harold, Grace suddenly felt a tiny electric shock shoot through her head. It felt like someone was trying to buzz her, but she couldn't make out who. A second later, the phone rang.

  "Grace! Oh my God! Come home now! Something is wrong with your father!"

  Grace held the phone away from her ear while her mother yelled from the other end.

  "What is it? What's happened?" She felt panic rising in her chest.

  She must have turned white, because Harold jumped up and ran to her side. Her heart pounded in her chest like a bass drum, and she felt queasy and lightheaded.

  "He's unconscious. I don't know what the hell happened," Kayla continued to shout.

  "Call an ambulance, and we'll be there right away," Grace said, trying not to lose her composure.

  She hung up the phone and ran to grab her coat. Harold trailed after her, keys in hand. He knew better than to stop her by asking questions. She would explain it all in the car.

  They peeled out of the driveway and sped toward the house.

  "Something has happened to my dad. She said he lost consciousness."

  "Oh God, babe. I'm sure he'll be okay. We'll get there as fast as we can."

  "I hope he is okay," she said through her tears.

  Harold said nothing. He just reached out and took her hand. He always knew when to just be there.

  "The weird part is I think that he might have tried to contact me."

  "You mean mentally?"

  "Yes. The other thing is I didn't feel any fear from my mom. I didn't feel anything, actually."

  "Maybe it was because you were on the phone."

  "Something is wrong here. Something is very wrong. I need to find out what is going on."

  They pulled into the driveway within a few minutes, and the ambulance pulled in right behind them. Paramedics rushed in, holding big black duffle bags full of equipment, and Kayla directed them to the kitchen where David lay on the floor.

  Grace and Harold watched helplessly while they checked his vital signs and asked Kayla questions about what he was doing before he passed out. Grace still felt nothing coming from the woman that seemed to be playing at the role of the frightened spouse.

  A young, female EMT with a
tag on her shirt that read Amanda walked up to Grace.

  "Honey, you shouldn't be in here until we can figure out what's wrong. If there is some kind of infection or something airborne, we don't want to put your baby at risk."

  "I just saw him an hour ago. What the hell could do this?" Grace asked her pleadingly.

  Amanda looked at her with a deep frown, and Grace felt compassion emanating from her, but she still felt nothing coming from her mom.

  "I don't know. We're taking him to the hospital, and the doctors will take a look at him." She placed a hand on Grace's arm. "We are going to do everything we can for him."

  "I know you will. Thank you."

  Amanda went back to helping her fellow paramedics, and they wheeled David's unconscious body to the ambulance.

  After they left, Grace walked up to Kayla, determined to get to the bottom of the situation.

  "What the hell happened here?"

  "We were talking, and he just fell to the floor," Kayla said with what felt like mock concern.

  "Bullshit," Grace said defiantly.

  "Don't you speak to me that way, young lady," Kayla said, radiating irritation. Grace was grateful to feel any kind of emotion from the woman.

  "He was coming here to talk to you about your drinking and suddenly he is being taken to the hospital? Something is going on here and I am damn sure going to find out what it is." Grace spat the words out and then turned around and left the house.

  Harold followed her out.

  "What the hell was that all about?" he asked when they got into the car.

  "I don't know yet. I need to make a few phone calls, and I may be able to find out."

  Grace took out her cell phone and began making calls. In a few minutes, she had arranged for the entire coven to meet her at the hospital. She took a business card from her pocket and called the number on the front.

  "I need to talk to you about my wish," was all she said before she hung up.

  They rode in silence for a few minutes before Grace turned to him and began her story.

  "I did something, Harry. Something that might turn out to be terrible."

  She told him the entire story of Roland Stillson and the contract, Kayla's death, her new powers of materialization, and her fears about the whole situation.

  He listened to the whole narrative without saying a word. When she had finished, he pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned to her.

  "Grace, if someone had given me the opportunity to have my parents back, I would have jumped at it without a second thought. You did what anyone would have done in your situation. Don't you dare beat yourself up over this. If something is wrong, we will fix it. The coven will know what to do, or we will get this Roland person and he will fix it. One way or another, this will get fixed. Do you understand me?"

  Grace nodded. Harold reminded her so much of her father. He was strong and caring, but he respected her independence and knew when to stand in the background and let her handle things. This was one of those times she was grateful for his strength.

  He pulled back onto the road and headed for the hospital.

  When they arrived, Doc and Joy were already there. They rushed over to Grace and she bent down to hug them.

  "How are you doing, sweetheart?" Joy asked her, concerned for her and the baby.

  Mooney showed up minutes later with Gus, Daisy and Violet right behind him. They all said their hellos and gave hugs. They took seats in a semi-private corner of the waiting room, and Grace once again recounted the story of Roland Stillson and the changes that had taken place in Kayla over the course of the last three months.

  "Did he have very blue eyes?" Doc asked her.

  "Yes, unnaturally blue," Grace replied. "Like sapphires."

  "Oh, no. Grace, I think that Roland Stillson is a djinn. A genie. You signed a contract, you said?"

  "Yes I did," she was feeling more afraid and embarrassed that she may have been duped by the suave trickster.

  "There is only one way to break a contract with a djinn. You have to find his master and kill and kill whoever it is," Mooney chimed in.

  "How do I find the master?"

  "You have to guess the djinn's true name first, and then who the master is. I can guarantee that his name is not really Roland," Doc warned.

  "How in the hell do I do that?" Grace asked hopelessly.

  "You have to trick him into telling you. Djinn are smart, too. It won't be easy," Joy said, taking Grace's hand.

  "Where is Kayla now?" Doc asked.

  "I don't know. She didn't come with us."

  "The first thing that you need to do is contact Roland," Doc said. "We need to find out what kind of contract this was."

  "I called him."

  "Then he'll come. He has no choice but to come when summoned," Mooney moved closer and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Gus and I are going to go back to the house and work on a few things. Grace, you two meet us there after you make sure that David is all right."

  She nodded and said her goodbyes. Doc and Joy stayed by her side. A short time later, a doctor emerged and made his way over to Grace.

  "How is he, Doctor?" Harold asked.

  "I don't want to frighten you, but he seems to be in some sort of coma. His vitals are stable, and he doesn't seem to be in any sort of immediate danger. We checked for pathogens. We ran an MRI to check his brain. I even tested him for heavy metal poisoning. We just can't figure out why he is unconscious," the doctor said, giving them a look of bewilderment.

  Grace could feel the sorrow emanating from him. He had such a strong sense of duty and compassion that it made her heart ache.

  "Dr. Monroe, please don't beat yourself up about this. You will find the cause, and my father will be fine," Grace said as she projected a feeling of peace and calm onto the frustrated doctor.

  He immediately relaxed his posture and allowed a small smile to spread across his face that made the older man appear quite handsome. Grace felt better that her powers were still working properly. After the run-in with Roland, and then her mother, she had started to doubt herself.

  "We will do everything we can, and I am confident that your father will be fine," Dr. Monroe assured her with his newfound sense of confidence.

  After the doctor left them and went back to his duties, Grace turned to Doc.

  "Roland is immune to magic. I tried to read his thoughts, but he said that it wouldn't work," Grace said, formulating an idea in her mind.

  "That's correct. All djinn are immune."

  "Can he spot it? Can he sense something magical?"

  "I don't know. What did you have in mind?" Doc and Joy were very curious as to the plan that she had come up with.

  "Nothing as of yet. I need a little time to figure a few things out. Do you think that you can distract my mom… Kayla, for a while?"

  "We'll do our best," Joy said, not quite confidently.

  "Okay then, we need to work fast," Grace said. She rose from her seat and grabbed her purse. "You know I love you, right?"

  "Of course we do, honey." Joy took hold of her hand and squeezed. "We love you, too."

  Grace walked out of the hospital with an uneasy feeling and a hope that she could get a plan together that might just work.

  7

  Harold pulled into the driveway and spotted the unknown car parked in front of the house.

  "Who the hell is that?"

  The black Cadillac parked in the driveway was out of character for the suburban neighborhood. It shone like a dark diamond and looked as though it had been waxed only seconds before they pulled in.

  "It has to be him." She stepped out of the car quietly and closed her eyes.

  She tried to get any sense or feeling from the house, straining to grab on to the feelings that were floating just out of her reach like specks of dust in a ray of sunlight. Finally, she was able to catch hold of one.

  Revenge.

  "What the hell does that mean?"

  "What?" Harold wh
ispered, not wanting to break her concentration.

  "Something that I picked up."

  "Oh, I have no idea."

  She turned and smiled at him. He was trying to lift her spirits, and she loved him for it.

  They walked up to the house, and she suddenly wondered why Roland Stillson would need a Cadillac. He should be able to just "poof" wherever he needed to go.

  She entered the house and found Kayla sitting in the kitchen by herself.

  "Whose car is that outside?"

  "That car is mine," Kayla said, lifting a glass to her lips.

  "Where did you get a Cadillac?"

  "I bought it. Where else would I get it? Duh," she replied snottily, taking another drink.

  "Joy and Doc need you to go to the house. They want to do a ritual to help dad recover."

  "Well, I had better get my boots on, then," Kayla smiled and did not move from her seat at the table.

  "You need to go. I don't care what your deal is with the attitude and the drinking, but you had better go," Grace said as forcefully as she could. "They want to talk about dad's will, too. Just in case something happens, they need to make sure that everything goes to you without a problem. You remember, Doc is the executor. "

  That got Kayla's attention. She tipped her glass and finished off her drink, rose from the table, and headed for her purse.

  "Where am I going, now?"

  "To Doc's house." Grace was trying not to let on that she knew whatever was in her mom's body was not Kayla.

  "Oh, cool. I'm pretty sure I remember where that is."

  Without another word, she left the house. Grace wasted no time once she heard the Caddy start up and head out to the road.

  She rushed to Kayla's computer and turned it on. Password protected. She tried every password that she could think might work, and none of them did. She turned off the monitor and sighed. The only items that sat on the desk were a pen and two Post-It notes. One of the notes read "Logan at Smokey's," and the other just had the word "money" written on it with dollar signs on either side.