"Julia, stop asking questions now. You need to concentrate on your magic. Does it feel different?"
For some reason the tingling had stopped, and I felt empty again. I had no idea what just happened to me. It felt as if I’d just cast a spell and my excess magic was gone.
"Fine, great, the excess magic has disappeared. Did you do something?" I asked, curious. He pinched his brows together and walked over to me, touching my forehead.
"No, I haven't done anything," he said. "We need to leave. I just wanted to refresh my memory, this spell is complicated and dangerous. Are you sure that you’re ready for this?"
"Yes, I'm ready," I said trying to sound more confident than I actually was. Jasper smiled and ran his hand across my cheek. I caught his hand before he could go any further.
"Jasper…I”
"Julia, it’s all right. I know you’re in love with the leech, but don’t you see? We make a great team."
"No, we’re incompatible and the sooner you understand that, the better."
He shrugged and took my hand. We left his lab shortly after. I wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Jasper’s attitude confused me. Okay, maybe he was trying hard, but it was difficult to rebuild trust that was lost long ago.
When he was driving again, I tried to call Quentin, but his phone kept ringing. I just wanted to make sure he was all right and find out when he was coming home. Our conversation needed to happen sooner rather than later. When I looked at my hands the flames were back yet again. Jasper was artfully quiet, and I didn't know if this was a good sign or not.
Jasper was speeding through busy London traffic; he was breaking the speed limit and whenever I asked him why he was rushing, he replied with silence. I was certain he still had feelings for me, but I chose to ignore it. People were being murdered and it was time to put a stop to it.
Soon I realised we were in one of the roughest parts of London, my stomach churned loudly and out of nowhere, new fear jolted through me. Jasper parked the car and then asked me to walk with him. The streets seemed darker, and tension in the air was apparent. Wind blew and although it was the end of April, I felt shivering cold. I tried to imagine that we were on a tropical Island, but Jasper could see the image in my head, so I squashed it. I just couldn't stop thinking about magic stealers. I’d never seen them in public places.
"You have to stay quiet, and do what I asked you, all right?” Jasper asked as we approached a narrow lane between two tall buildings. Memories from the night when I was chased by a group of trolls rolled through my mind, but I had to brace myself. I was doing this to protect my loved ones.
"Should I be worried?"
"No, they want magic and they’ll do anything to get it. Just follow me and don’t speak to anyone."
That’s easy enough, I thought.
The alley narrowed even further and as soon as we took another step all my senses sharpened, my neck felt sore as energy brushed over me gently. A woman stepped out of the shadows. She was dressed in a low-cut top and very tight shorts. She was underweight, with long dirty blond hair. Her eyes were too large for her face. She appeared hungry with hollow cheeks and dark circles under her eyes.
"Hello, stranger. I need a full flask of your power for half an hour," she whispered leaning toward Jasper running her hand across his chest. He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him.
"Do not disturb us," he hissed and pushed her away. She laughed retracting her hands. I saw a few more people watching us from the shadows of the buildings.
Jasper grabbed my hand as we entered through a small half broken door. The smell inside was unbearable but somehow, I held back my gag reflex. Jasper used his magic wand to lead the way, but I was ready to get out of there. People who were insane were kept in institutions, not in abandoned buildings like that.
Then we heard a scream and I jumped, grabbing his hand. He turned his magic wand toward the opposite wall and then I saw a woman. She was a magic stealer; they all had tattoos that marked them somehow. Jasper approached as she scurried away from us pushing her hands to her ears. She was talking to herself pulling her knees to her chin. Terror passed through my body and every muscle strained with tension and fear. Was I ready to use this ill creature to get rid of my own darkness? Jasper might have a plan, but magic stealers were still living, breathing creatures. They didn't deserve to live like this.
"Hey, come here. We need your help. We can feed you with our energy," Jasper said calmly, moving towards the woman.
I wanted to help him move forward but then an odd, unfamiliar scent embraced me. My body screamed as power rushed throughout my entire being, paralysing me. Then blue light—spells—stirred in the darkness. Jasper and I heard loud voices and then I was pushed to the ground, hitting the floor hard.
Jasper held his magic wand in his hand, but he wasn’t quick enough and what came next took him by surprise. Energy was flowing, roaring in my ears; my head felt as if it was splitting in half when I heard Jasper’s screams. All of the sudden I saw a few people around me—wizards.
I was trained, and I could’ve gained control of my magic, but I couldn't move my limbs. The spells kept hitting Jasper until he stopped moving. Then there was silence for a few moments or so, before a loud laugh broke through. Someone was flashing light toward me and the pain in my skull eased. I was finally back to normal, feeling great, ready to strike someone with a powerful dose of magic.
"We were waiting for the right moment for you to show up and when Astor screamed, it was time to stop your silly date," an unfamiliar voice said. I was on my feet again; a burning smell hit me hard and I instantly knew Jasper was on the ground, defeated.
Slowly, and one-by-one, I saw paranormals approaching me. There was four of them: three were wizards. They kept their magic wands near their faces, so I could see them clearly. All colour drained from my face when I took a closer look at each of them. Their faces were well known to my father. Each of those wizards were highly dangerous and had been hunted by the Paranormal Department for the past ten years and there they were, standing in front of me.
Then I turned my head to the man who wasn't a wizard; the one who spoke. When he brought a flashlight to his face a gasp escaped me, and I thought I was falling. I needed a few seconds to consider my new escape plan.
"Sleep baby, it’s time for you to sleep."
Those were the last words that I fully understood. What came next was just a haze; my dream turned into reality.
I wanted to scream but the voice in my head ordered me to keep moving. My mind felt sluggish and foggy. We left Jasper behind, and I desperately wanted him to live. Those faces reminded me of a nightmare and now I was the part of that nightmare. Other hollow faces stepped out from the shadows watching me.
"Get rid of them, I don’t want any witness," the voice hissed, and the wizards obeyed. They went after the dark, scared creatures. I heard screams, but I wasn’t allowed to look, because I was pushed inside a car and blindfolded. I couldn’t remember what happened after that—I must have passed out.
I heard a loud sharp voice call my name a few times. I flicked my eyes open, but no pain came. My head felt dizzy and my body was a little cramped, feeling as if I’d been lying in an uncomfortable position too long.
My breaths were shallow and uneven as I lifted myself from the floor. My clothes were stuck to my body but then memories flashed before my eyes, and I instantly recognised my surroundings.
"Well, you’re awake. Glad to have you back," a voice snarled. I turned around and felt like someone was playing a cruel joke on me. I was staring at Craig. Kelsie’s ex-boyfriend was in my parents’ home, in their clean old-fashioned living room. I swallowed hard trying to count to ten in my head, but he didn't disappear, he was still there.
"What am I doing here? Where the hell is Jasper?" I asked and at the same time charging my body with magic. There was a tingly taste in my mouth; my magic came to me, but it was faint.
Craig was sitting in my father’s favourite
chair with a knife in his hands. I ran through the facts in my memory and glanced at my hands. There was no blood, so maybe I hadn’t killed anyone yet. I anxiously looked around searching for Mum. It was dark outside and the clock on the wall showed nine o’clock in the evening. He took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, still ignoring me, lighting it with a match.
"Your wizard friend? Well, he might be dead. I don’t know and don’t really care," he said blowing circles of smoke straight to my face. My fingertips tingled, and I darted my eyes around searching for any sings that my mother was here. Waves of heat kept pushing through my skin, and I was finding it difficult to breathe, but I tried to mask my fear as best I could.
I thought about Jasper, but I didn’t want to believe he was dead. I needed to figure out what Craig wanted from me before it was too late.
"What the hell do you want from me? Is this about Kelsie?" I asked concentrating on my energy. For some reason my tingling didn't go anywhere. I felt so empty, as if my energy had just vanished.
“Don't stress yourself, sugar. You can’t do anything to me. My wizards fed you with a potion that strained your magic. Besides, from what I understand you aren’t very good, are you?"
When I didn't answer he took another drag of his cigarette watching me the entire time. "Well, first of all, I want Kelsie back, then we can talk about some serious business."
My hands were tied behind me, but I didn't feel a rope; it was magic. I didn't understand why he thought I would help him with Kelsie.
“You're insane, Kelsie doesn't want you anymore. Besides, my father will be home any minute, so I suggest you let me go if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in prison," I said calmly. The smoke from his cigarette started dancing around me again but then Craig leaned towards me and whispered:
"Your daddy isn't even in London and you’re the one who made the phone call to Kelsie telling her to meet you here. Your mama is probably on her way as well."
Chapter 28
The beginning of my nightmare.
My blood turned to ice as I blinked twice staring at Craig with the desire to smash his pretty face with my fists. My breathing became even more laboured but I knew he was playing a game with me. Dad was in London, he wouldn’t just leave without telling me first, but now I wasn’t so sure because it had been days since I’d spoken to him.
"I don’t believe you. Kelsie isn’t coming here, I didn't call anyone."
"Are you sure about that, Smarty? You haven’t been yourself for the past few hours. Don’t you remember when you talked to her in the car?"
My heart pounded wildly in my chest and cold sweat covered my entire body. Craig was right: I couldn’t remember anything after Jasper was attacked. It was just before he tried to make a deal with that magic thief.
"Okay, fine, I’ll talk to Kelsie, but my mother has nothing to do with this. She doesn't need to be involved."
Craig yawned, then threw his cigarette on the floor.
"Excuse me for a sec."
As soon as he was out of my sight, I tried to search my memory for the right spell. I pulled and pulled but only cut circulation to my fingers. Whatever spell that bastard used was powerful and I had no idea how to get myself out of this mess.
Then my heart leapt twice, and I stopped moving because I heard someone at the door. It was time to forget about magic and start screaming. However, Craig anticipated my next move because he stuck a cloth in my mouth and rushed towards the door. I tried to scream but soon realised that I was only gagging myself making muffled noises. Then I thought my heart would give out because Kelsie and my mother entered the living room.
They were laughing but they stopped as soon as they saw me.
"Julia, what is—"
Mum didn't finish because she was hit from the back with her favourite Moroccan vase and crashed to the floor. I screamed, or at least tried to scream but only mumbled cries escaped my mouth.
Kelsie jerked backwards and went pale as soon as she saw Craig standing by my mother. His eyes changed shape and turned into yellow flames.
"Hello, whore, we’ve been waiting for you," Craig snarled lifting my mother into his arms. I pushed myself with fury, trying to move at least an inch but the magic tied me up and I was helpless.
"Craig, what the fuck are you doing here? Let the woman go," Kelsie barked as her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The whole house trembled, and Kelsie’s body went rigid. It was clear she was just about to shift, and I wished that she could turn into a monster and crush Craig once and for all. Soft wind scattered papers across the table and every small hair on my body stood on end as I called out for my magic, but it was useless.
"I wouldn’t do that if were you, wolfy, or I might accidentally kill this lovely lady, who just so happens to be the mum of your best friend, here," Craig shouted, grabbing my mother by her hair, dipping the knife to her throat; she was still unconscious. From that moment, my whole world came crashing down, and I fought hard to break the spell but whoever used their magic on me was an expert.
Kelsie hesitated but her yellow eyes still glowed; she glanced at me watching as I furiously tried to free myself from the spell. Craig looked like a mean motherfucker and my mum was going to be dead in a second if Kelsie didn’t calm down.
She was breathing so hard that I thought she was shifting, her face flushed, and her eyes went wide. A moment later she stopped shaking and her eyes went back to their normal colour. Kelsie was a full-blooded shifter, but she couldn't possibly think she could take on Craig alone.
"Fine, I'm not shifting. Let’s go, it’s obvious that you want me. Julia and her mother don’t need to be involved."
Craig pushed a chair towards her with his foot.
"Sit down and shut up!" he ordered. Tears were streaming down my face as I watched how he left my mother and secured Kelsie’s hands behind her. He was working fast, not giving her any time to even consider attacking him.
"Fuck! Just tell me what the hell you want, Craig! You have no business being here!" Kelsie continued shouting. Craig laughed brushing his brown hair, stretching his arms over his head. He approached me and removed the cloth from my mouth. My stomach heaved but I swallowed hard, breathing like there wasn’t enough oxygen around me.
"Girls, girls there’s no point fighting," he said circling around me. "I'm here for Julia. Unfortunately, I’ve been lied to. I was the supposed to be the last dark leader."
"Oh, please, don’t make me laugh. You can't even take care of your own people," Kelsie said laughing. Craig roared kicking a box on the floor with my mother’s needling items before he took Kelsie’s face in his hands squeezing hard.
"I'm here for her, to show the master that he can't fuck with me. When I kill her I’ll get what I want."
He pushed her away laughing. Kelsie looked startled and equally confused as I was then. I tried to concentrate on my mother, who still wasn’t moving. Dad was going to be here any minute, our connection was deep, and he sensed when I was in danger, I just needed to let him know.
"Take what you want—money—anything. My father has a safe in the back, it’s—"
"Are you fucking kidding, you useless bitch?" he asked walking towards me. His eyes were crazy, but I held his gaze not allowing him to intimidate me. This wasn’t the first dangerous situation I’d found myself in. "Do you remember the first time you killed someone? When you followed her to her home and then tricked her into going back to that factory before stabbing her?"
Craig’s questions inflamed my anxiety. I rubbed my tied hands behind me and glanced at Kelsie, who looked equally surprised that he knew about Jennifer and her co-worker. My throat went dry and I tried not to show any emotion, but my mind stopped functioning.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I said as calmly as I could. Craig didn't like my response, so he smashed another vase on the floor.
“Don't lie to me, you cunt!" he roared. "You didn't even know what you were doing. I saw you killing th
at dark-haired paranormal. At first, I thought you were too weak, too fragile to do it, but you stabbed her a few times before making sure she was dead."
I tried to block Craig's voice, telling myself that he was wrong. My blood ran cold, but I fought with those shattering memories, the joy that filed me up when I checked Jennifer’s pulse. Some of the memories were faint; I only had pieces in my mind.
“Don't listen to him, Julia. He’s lying, manipulating you to believe him," Kelsie shouted but then Craig hit her so hard she must have blacked out for a good few seconds. Blood began dripping from her mouth.
"You see what you made me do?" he growled, massaging his hands as his eyes changed to a bright yellow colour.
"Why are you doing this? I haven’t done anything to you. Kelsie left and started a new life in London. I might have killed those women, but those crimes have nothing to do with you. If you let me go, you can still come out of this unscathed."
Kelsie was coming back to herself, moaning loudly. I concentrated hard, talking to my magic, knowing I could bring it back. I was more powerful than him. Then Craig started laughing but there was no warmth in his laugh, just pure evil.
"He promised me the position of dark leader, he said that as long as I followed the rules he would keep his word. Last night I realised that I was just a puppet. He taught me a spell that causes disconnection between the body and mind."
Craig was talking loudly to himself; he wasn’t making much sense, but I listened thinking his mumbling would give me some indication of why I was here. It was obvious that he wanted Kelsie, but I didn't understand how he knew about my mother’s house, or about the murders.
"He said I could use the whore. I needed her to establish my position as a leader. The whore would do anything for that stupid half breed. He promised if I let her believe that she committed those crimes, then the whore would be mine. All the evidence pointed to the half breed. She was easy to control, easily manipulated, to believe that she’d done it."
Elf's Affection: The Witching Hour Series Book 3 Page 22
