Bewitching the Beast

by Tamara Hughes

  The black tarp didn’t quite cover one leg, and a sneaker-clad foot protruded from the plastic. A wave of relief eased some of her trembling, but the bad vibe remained. Ethan took her hand and led her away from the sight.

  A small huddle of neighbors stood off to the side, taking in the scene. “Who is it?” Tess asked them.

  George, an elderly man who lived two floors down from her turned. His expression was solemn. “Dave Stewart, Apartment 305.”

  A lump closed off Tess’s throat.

  “Dave? Your neighbor Dave?” Ethan asked.

  She could only nod.

  “Maintenance,” a woman behind George murmured. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called about my disposal. Nothing ever gets done around here.”

  “What happened?” Tess asked.

  George frowned. “His balcony railing broke away.”

  “An accident?” Tess’s trembling returned in full force.

  Ethan circled his arm around her and pulled her close. “Let’s go up.” Following a couple entering the building, he ushered her inside and headed for the stairs.

  A flood of activity greeted them when they reached her floor. Police officers beat a path between Dave’s apartment and the elevator. An officer stationed outside the stairwell stopped them. “Do you live on this floor?”

  “Yes,” she answered in barely a whisper.

  He flipped open a notebook. “I’d like to ask you a few questions.”

  “Sure,” she breathed as the shock began to settle in.

  The officer took down their names and addresses. He wrote it all in his notepad with a pencil too small for his hand. “Were you home between the hours of 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. today?”

  “No.” A chill raced through her, and her head grew fuzzier by the second.

  “Do you know of any threats made to your neighbor, David Stewart? Any disagreements you might have overheard.”

  “Dave got along with everyone.” She remembered Dave’s face, his dimples and bushy brows. Oh, Dave.

  The police officer’s remaining questions barely registered. When Ethan led her down the hall once more, her mind had numbed out, the situation surreal.

  They passed by Dave’s open door, and her stomach sank like a lead weight. Debris scattered on the floor, chairs overturned. The place had been trashed. George had been wrong. Dave’s death was no accident.

  Ethan plucked the keys from her grasp—how they’d gotten there, she had no clue. He reached out to unlock the door, but it swung open at his touch. “What the . . .?”

  Her apartment lay in ruins.

  Tess pushed past. “Mom.”

  “Wait.” Ethan stepped in front of her and scanned the room. “Stay here,” he commanded as he opened the closet door, then moved on to the bathroom and bedroom.

  Tess wandered around the living room and kitchen, taking note of the damage, a smashed picture, a broken lamp. On the floor lay a tri-folded bundle of paper. She picked it up, unfolding the stack. Divorce papers? Her hands shook. Dave’s divorce papers.

  Ethan came back into the room. “No one’s here.” He looked over Tess’s head.

  “What happened? This place is a mess.”

  Hearing her mother’s voice, Tess spun toward the door. “Oh, it’s so good to see you.” Tears misted her eyes, and she rushed over to throw her arms around her mother.

  Shifting the paper bag she held on her hip, her mother hugged her back. “What’s all this?”

  Tess pointed toward the hallway and swiped at her eyes. “Dave.”

  Her mother set her bag onto the small table by the door. “Yes, I saw. Did Dave do this to your apartment?”

  “No.” Tess surveyed the room. What little she owned was smashed. “He wouldn’t.” She watched Ethan unplug the television, now a worthless heap on the floor. “Not Dave.”

  “Was anything stolen?” her mother asked.

  Tess shook her head. “Just destroyed.”

  “It wasn’t Dave,” Ethan agreed. “Kade did this. He was here. I can feel the residue of his power.”

  “Kade?” Tess moved to the couch and sank onto its cushions. “He came to kill me and murdered Dave instead.”

  “What?” Ethan stepped closer.

  Tess lifted the papers in her hand. “Dave was here, in this apartment.” She couldn’t hold back the sob that choked her. “His divorce papers were lying over there. He didn’t want to be alone tonight. He must have come over to talk and found the door open.”

  Her mother’s hand came to rest on her shoulder. “Tess, I’m sorry.”

  Tess grasped her mother’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thanks.” She snatched a crumpled napkin off the coffee table and dabbed at her tears. All my fault. Kade wanted me. Poor Dave. When she pulled the paper napkin away, black ink caught her eye. Scrawled in shaky digits, the paper read 55-3-15. “What’s this?”

  Ethan leaned closer, and Tess found an odd comfort in his nearness.

  “Looks like a combination for a lock,” he said.

  “Why is it here?” her mother asked.

  “I don’t know. No one’s been in here but the three of us, Dave . . . and Kade.” Tess’s eyebrows raised. “Kade. Maybe he left it.”

  Her mother sank onto the arm of the couch. “By accident?”

  “Maybe.” Tess brushed her thumb over the numbers. Definitely not Dave’s handwriting. “Or maybe Kade, the man, is trying to help us.”

  “What do you mean?” Ethan asked. “The dragon inside Kade has taken over. The man is gone.”

  “Or maybe, there’s a small part of Kade still fighting for control.” Tess stared Ethan in the eyes. “Maybe he’s like you—a man fighting for his life.”

  Chapter 14

  Ethan tested the ropes binding his hands and legs to the dining room chair. Secure. Good. The sensitive dragon scales on his left arm chafed beneath the binding. He savored the feeling. The Beast could go to hell.

  In Tess’s darkened apartment, four candles glowed on the altar across the room from him—yellow, red, blue, and green. And in the center, a trail of smoke from an incense stick rose like a slithering serpent.

  Sweat trickled down his neck to his shirt. After this ritual was done, he might finally be free of The Beast, or . . . He took a deep breath. Or The Beast might win, leaving him dead or worse—trapped inside a body he no longer controlled.

  He stretched his neck from side to side and tried to force the thought from his mind.

  Tess scanned a page of her grandmother’s book. Red rimmed her eyes. Dave’s death this afternoon had taken its toll. Now, more than ever, they needed to make some progress. Kade was getting close. Too close.

  Ethan studied the tambourine at Tess’s feet. “What exactly happens during a banishing ritual?”

  Mrs. Edwards strode from the kitchen, her dark-purple robe billowing around her. “I don’t want to get into too much detail in case The Beast is listening. I’d rather he not know what’s coming.”

  “Right.” Dread spread through his chest like molten lead. Mrs. Edwards knew what she was doing. At least, he hoped she did.

  She offered Tess one of the two mugs she held. “Drink this.”

  “What is it?” Sniffing the liquid inside, Tess wrinkled her nose. “I think I’d rather have another cookie.”

  The drink’s woodsy tang reached Ethan several feet away from where they stood.

  “It’s tea steeped with balm of Gilead, Echinacea, and pine.”

  “Pine?” Tess’s face paled. “Sounds nasty.”

  “It will protect our minds from The Beast’s control. We shouldn’t need it if we stay inside the sacred circle, but just to be safe.” Mrs. Edwards lifted her mug and drank the contents.

  “Salud.” With a sigh,
Tess followed suit, gulping down the potion. She set her mug on the table and grimaced. “Ew. Yuck.”

  “Tess, please. It wasn’t that bad.” Mrs. Edwards exchanged her cup for the knife with the jewel-studded handle. She scanned the space around them. “Looks like we’re all set.”

  “If you say so,” Tess agreed.

  “Then let’s begin. First I’ll protect us within a sacred circle.” Mrs. Edwards walked in a circle around the altar, tracing a line on the floor with the blade. The perimeter encompassed both her and Tess, leaving Ethan out in the cold.

  “I pull up the sacred circle,

  To protect those who stand within.

  Let no evil pass through this wall,

  The banishing shall now begin.”

  Returning the knife to the altar, she faced Ethan. “Ready?”

  He nodded and braced himself, for what he wasn’t sure.

  Tess and her mother exchanged glances and began to chant.

  “Awaken, oh Beast, and hear our command.

  Your time to leave Ethan is now at hand.

  Leave this earth and go back to your domain.

  Where from this day forward you will remain.”

  Ethan’s gaze fixed on Tess. The glow of the candles bathed her in shimmering light. Her loose-flowing floral skirt glided over her bare calves as she swayed back and forth, the sight comforting in a way.

  Mrs. Edwards grabbed the tambourine from the floor.

  At the first jingle, Tess turned to her mother. “Tell me again why we have to dance while we chant?”

  “We dance to channel our power, to increase its frequency and vibration.”

  “And the tambourine?”

  “Same thing. Just chant.”

  Tess repeated the incantation with her mother. She closed her eyes, her movements in time with the clang of the instrument.

  So beautiful. Ethan wished things could be different with Tess. His hands itched to skim over the silky material that covered her hips and waist.

  “Faster,” her mother commanded.

  Tess picked up her pace, her movements bordering on the bouncy side. Ethan cracked a smile.

  The tambourine became a steady rattle. “Again. Faster.”

  Her lip between her teeth, Tess jiggled wildly, until she practically jogged in place with her arms flopping at her sides. She opened one eye to peek over at her mother, and Ethan’s grin broadened.

  Lost in the chant, her mother lifted her arms into the air—the gesture a continuation of the natural flow of her body. Mrs. Edwards danced with her head loose on her neck, her graceful movements like a ripple of waves radiating out. Ethan could almost see the magical vibration in the air. For all their efforts, he didn’t feel any different. The banishing wasn’t working.

  Tess closed her eyes. Her face tense with concentration, she swung her hips as if trying to keep an invisible hula hoop from falling to the floor.

  He stifled a laugh as her body gyrated in unpredictable rotations. She looked like a lunatic. He loved it, every minute. Before Tess, it had been a long time since he’d enjoyed any part of his life. Tess had a special spark that drew him.

  A familiar growl echoed inside his head, and Ethan’s grin vanished. He squeezed his eyes shut, and his grip on the chair tightened. The snarl grew louder and louder until a roar sprang from his lips. Holy shit. Heat flowed through him, hotter than he’d ever felt before, burning him from the inside out. His eyes changed—the sacred circle became a spectral dome before him.

  Although Tess and her mother danced as fast as before, their wary gazes trained on him, and their chanting grew more insistent. Their auras glowed bright.

  “Awaken, oh Beast, and hear our command.

  Your time to leave Ethan is now at hand.

  Leave this earth and go back to your domain.

  Where from this day forward you will remain.”

  Ethan exhaled a ragged breath. Hate. He gritted his teeth and groaned. Hate filled him, seeped inside his every pore. The witch must die.

  “No, stop!” He shook his head. “Get out of me, you freak.”

  His scaled hand flexed of its own will, and Ethan’s heart beat double-time. Fuck. The Beast was finishing what he’d started—taking over.

  Ethan fought the restraints. The banishing had to stop before it was too late. He opened his mouth. A guttural growl came out, and a streak of panic flashed through him. “Tess, get your mother out of here.” Already. Too. Late.

  His gaze locked onto his target, her purple robes flowing with her movements. The witch must die.

  Power flowed through his arms like a tidal wave. He snapped the ropes binding him to the chair.

  Tess gasped, and the memory of her kiss flickered. He fought to hold on to it, focusing on the sweet smell of chocolate and the pressure of her lips.

  Her mother chanted behind her as Tess watched him. Tess’s words were now a whisper and her movements a light sway. Ethan’s body shook as he tried to hold on. The smoke from the incense stung his eyes and clawed the inside of his throat. His dry swallows did nothing to ease the pain, and her face blurred.

  Tess came to the edge of the circle and stopped. “Ethan, what’s happening?”

  His head swam, and energy blasted through his muscles. In two yanks, he freed his legs, then stood and approached the shimmering dome.

  “Ethan! Speak to me,” Tess shouted.

  He ignored her words. Instead, he held out his hand. The magic radiating off the circle deflected his touch.

  The older witch didn’t falter. His ears buzzed, and his head pounded from the steady ring of the tambourine and the drone of her chant. Must make it stop. Prowling the room, he reached the closet and yanked the door open. He seized a broom and returned to the circle.

  The witch took Tess’s hand, and Tess rejoined the chant, although she watched his every move.

  Near the dome’s hazy edge, a niggling doubt flashed inside his head and faded just as quickly. Stop the witch. Ethan swung the broom and heard Tess’s pitch rise. When the bristles touched the magical field, a jolt of power shot through the broom’s handle. His arm muscles cramped, the pain excruciating. The handle slipped from his grasp, falling to the carpet. The combined chanting swam inside his brain. He growled low as the world began to spin around him. Silence the noise. Grabbing up the broom, he heaved it at the dome, toward the sound that threatened to overtake him. The broom handle sliced into the sacred space. Tess shielded the witch, taking the brunt of the impact across her back. She cried out and crumpled to her knees.

  Ethan roared. Still casting her magic, the witch reached down for Tess.

  He stumbled across the room, clamping both hands over his ears. A buzz rang out from the intercom. He glanced toward the noise, then hoisted a chair over his head.

  Tess stepped toward the witch once more, an anxious look on her face.

  “Stand back,” he rasped.

  “Put down the chair, Ethan.” Tess’s voice washed over him, sinking deep into the recesses of his mind. “Don’t do this. Fight The Beast’s hold over you.”

  Tess? Searing pain erupted in his chest, and he staggered.

  The witch chanted behind her. The tambourine jangled. Stop the spell. “Move!” he shouted to Tess. His mate must not get in the way.

  Tess stood her ground, and her chanting grew louder than before.

  Anger boiled. How dare she defy him! The air around him vibrated, and the world shimmered with bright light.

  A knock rattled the door.

  “Tess, are you in there?” someone yelled from outside the apartment.

  Tess swore beneath her breath. “Holly, go home! I can’t talk now.”

  The fear in her voice resonated in his ears. Tossing the chair aside, he stepped
closer to the door. He gripped the handle and sneered at the sacred circle, prepared to rip open the locked door.

  “Tess?” Holly called.

  “Holly, get back!” Tess bolted forward. “Ethan, stop.”

  “Tess, no,” the witch called out as Tess stepped over the boundary of the protective circle.

  Glancing back, Tess’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

  As he’d hoped, the magical dome faded to nothing. He moved in, the witch in his sights.

  “Mom! I’ve broken the circle. Get out of here.” Tess raced toward him. “Ethan, listen to me. Fight The Beast. Don’t let him win.”

  Knocking her aside, he sent her sprawling onto the cushions of the sofa.

  The witch backed away, her eyes trained on him, as she continued to cast the spell.

  He grasped the witch’s robes.

  “Ethan,” Tess pleaded as she raced up behind him, seizing his arm.

  “Stop,” he snarled at the witch in his hold.

  The hag closed her eyes and murmured the words he’d come to hate.

  “I said stop!” Swinging his arm, he hurled her across the room.

  She crashed into the far wall and slid to the floor.

  “Mom!” Tess released his arm and started for the witch now silent and still.

  The witch must die. He crossed the room and thrust Tess out of the way. Reaching down, he circled the witch’s neck with one hand and squeezed.

  Tess threw herself at him. “Don’t do it,” she sobbed. “Please, Ethan. Listen to me.” Her gasping breaths brushed his ear. “Come back to me.” She pressed her hands to his face, and an electrical impulse rippled from her fingertips. Tremors shook her body, and her lips quivered as she pressed them to his. “Please.”

  The Beast growled. The familiar scent of vanilla teased his nostrils, and her touch awakened what was left of his humanity. Ethan held her to him, the vague memory of who he was flickering in his mind. Tess.

  He stared at his hand, still encircling Mrs. Edward’s throat. Oh, God. In an instant, he released her and backed away.