by Nikki Landis
“Right,” Casey mumbled, frowning. “Why didn’t we think of that? Oh yeah, because it’s nearly impossible to do when you’ve never met the person you’re trying to track down.”
“You’re forgetting that Cora is a formidable witch. She’s no novice. As a Syre, her magic is ten times everyone else’s in this room.” He winked as I caught his mischievous smirk. “Except for me, of course.”
“If you want me in top condition, I need sweets,” I declared. “Candy. Chocolate. Anything full of sugar. It helps to stabilize me when I’m casting heavily.”
Rin giggled. “No wonder you’re always sneaking candy and sweets.”
The guys left and returned a few minutes later with red licorice ropes, saltwater taffy, a few bars of chocolate, and a bag of Skittles.
“Perfect. Give me a minute.” I ripped open the packages and began chewing, eating some of every variety while the others watched on in amusement.
Rin stole a couple of red licorice sticks. “I’m not missing out.”
“Eat as much as you want. I’m not stingy. I’ll just make Colin and Casey go buy more.”
Rin nodded enthusiastically as she alternated with a handful of Skittles.
“You’re corrupting her,” Colin complained, folding his arms across his chest.
“Absolutely,” I agreed. “I need a partner in crime.”
Rin shrugged as Casey shook his head but couldn’t hide his humor.
Rex waited patiently until I was done snacking. “Feeling charged full of witchy juice?”
His words were comical, and I laughed lightly. “Something like that.”
“Finally,” Casey mumbled as Rin elbowed him in the gut.
Rex picked up four white pillar candles and set them on the ground representing the four corners. After he lit each one, he doused the lights in the room and pointed to the circle he was creating with a bag of salt. “Sit in the middle,” he ordered as I obeyed, crossing my legs and opening my palms over my knees. “I need you to concentrate, Cora. Let the noises of this room, the other voices, and the sounds outside fade into nothing. Focus only on your own breathing as your eyes slowly close. A steady rise and fall of your chest as you listen to your heart beating. Relax. The only voice you need to hear is mine.”
Calm washed over my body like a warm blanket. My body relaxed to the point that I was afraid I would roll over and fall asleep in the middle of the casting. A forest appeared in my mind’s eye and I began walking as if my soul was searching for something important in the quiet solitude. For long minutes I heard nothing but the steady thrum of my heart until Rex spoke again.
“Reach inside, Cora. Find that hidden spark of your magic. A tiny thread that connects your power to your aura. Tell me if you can see it.”
Searching through the heavy fog that swirled at my feet, I found a crimson light that drew my presence like a moth to a flame. I longed to find the source of the light and walked beyond the edge of the mist until I found a thin crimson thread that sparkled in the night and glowed with a shimmering translucent spark.
“I can see it,” I whispered aloud.
“Good. What color is it?”
“A deep crimson. It’s so pretty, Rex.”
Instinct kicked in and I longed to reach out and touch the thread that began to pulse, leading down an unfamiliar path.
“Don’t touch it, just follow the path where it leads.”
Listening to Rex’s instructions, I began to walk and followed the winding and twisting path as it led up and over a hill and then sloped downward until it met an empty road. I paused for a moment before crossing and then resumed my pace, picking up speed as I approached my destination. Unsure how I knew, I could only surmise the magic was in tune to my soul and so I had no difficulty discerning its desired location.
“We’re close,” I announced, stopping in my tracks. “The path leads underground.”
A dark tunnel opened ahead with rusted iron gates as I felt a tremor in my energy. Something wailed eerily in the night and I was reminded of my first night at the Bradford house when I heard the same haunted echo in the storm.
“Cora, tell me what’s happening.”
“Rex, I think my uncle’s near. I can sense the pull and drain on my energy. He knows I’m coming.”
“My sweet, I need you to listen carefully. Keep that crimson thread close, reach out and touch the filmy fibers as you lightly grip the strands. Once you’ve done that, open your eyes and blink twice.”
My fingers wrapped around the shimmering thread as I obeyed.
Gasping, I realized I was no longer at the Bradford house or anywhere near a forest. Streetlights cast a pale-yellow glow on the blacktop beneath my feet. Warm air blew lightly over my skin as I stood in the parking lot of my high school. The experience was disorienting. How did I end up here with the others?
“Why are we standing outside the doors of Xavier Academy?”
Chapter 14 – Rex
“Why are we standing outside the doors of Xavier Academy?” Cora’s confused look meant she was unaware of how she’d led us this far.
“You brought us here, my sweet.”
Wide-eyed, she was more than a little confused. “How?”
“When you tapped into your family’s power the energy transformed into something tangible that you could see and feel. That thread is a culmination of every witch in your family, an aura that will lead you anytime you wish to find your uncle or any other living relative. Simply by being in tune with the vibrations of magic and your bloodline’s extensive power you were able to track your way here without even being aware.”
“Wow,” she whispered, “I didn’t know that was possible.”
“It usually isn’t,” Casey admitted with annoyance as he shot a glare in my direction. “It’s far too dangerous.”
“What do you mean?”
“You could have been lost in the Echo,” Colin explained. “A place that’s nearly impossible to escape. A graveyard of memories, past experiences, dead relatives, and haunting or painful regrets. Most witches never try to enter a family Echo. The risk is too great.”
Cora pursed her lips as our eyes met. “Was I in danger?”
“Yes and no,” I answered honestly. “You forget I am a dhampir and a witch which means I have the power to bring you back. Our bond ensures this, my sweet. You were never far enough away that I couldn’t reach you.”
Tilting her head, she bit her bottom lip thoughtfully. The sight of those perfectly straight and white teeth nibbling on that supple wet and curvaceous puff of flesh did funny things to my guts. I wanted to yank her into my arms and kiss and nibble at those lips before I picked her up and grazed my fangs down the side of her neck. The thought of her rich, powerful, pulsing blood spurting across my tongue immediately sent all the blood in my body south. Painfully aware of my arousal, I hoped she didn’t notice. At least, not right now.
“I believe you, Rex. Casey and Colin need to remember it’s different with us.”
Chest puffed out with pride at her words, I couldn’t resist beaming a smile at the twin pains in my ass. “Right you are, my bonded.”
Casey and Colin groaned with her words as Corinne giggled.
“Can you stop calling her that?” Casey whined, kicking at a rock with his boot.
“Jealous?” Corinne joked, poking him in the stomach.
“How about we find this hidden room and get to the task at hand?” Colin steeped forward and captured Cora’s hand, intertwining their fingers as he began to walk briskly around the building.
“Oh yeah, you think it’s this way?” Casey asked, deliberately leaving me in the dark.
Bastards.
“I don’t see why not. Rex, you remember that hidden chamber under the school? Where we spent fifth grade when all those earthquakes kept happening?”
Huh, why didn’t it occur to me before now?
“Yes, I do,” I answered Corrine slowly.
“That could be the same room. It’
s worth a try.”
“Agreed.”
Picking up pace, I moved ahead of her to keep an eye on Cora but also made sure Corinne wasn’t lagging behind. A red maintenance door led into the building from the back of the school. Usually it was locked but that was no deterrent to witches. We opened it easily and entered the dark space with hard concrete floors and pipes along the upper portion of the wall and ceiling. The boiler room was off to the left. To the right, the men’s locker room. Straight ahead were the gym teacher, the football coach, and other faculty offices.
Behind the offices another narrow corridor led through a heavily congested area of metal tubing and more pipes. A hidden stairway led downward almost at the end of the walkway. The heavy concrete steps descended into a foreign world. Mild tingles danced on the back of my neck as my fangs descended. My senses came alive with sensations – magical ripples, incense, candlelight, the smell of rotting flesh, and the metallic scent of blood (both human and animal).
Hunger gnawed at my belly as I felt the change coming on. My vampire instincts were easily controlled in the light of day but when subjected to my greatest desire – thirst – not much else posed as great a distraction. Only the lure of sex was as powerful.
My body hummed with a delicious buzz as I joined the others outside the main door. My magic bounced off the locks and they disengaged as they blew off the hinges. Yes, I had a flair for the dramatic, but I was also partially ruled by my baser instincts. I wanted to find the source of my temptation.
The hidden chamber was as gothic and textbook as a cult horror classic. Chalk lines revealed the pentagrams on the ground while upside down crosses hung in three spots around the room. Smoke still billowed from the sticks of incense as if they were recently extinguished. Candles dripped wax onto the cold hard floor as my gaze found the main altar.
Animal remains and bones were scattered around the altar, some falling to the ground in a discarded heap. A red lamp was positioned on a shelf slightly above eye level while various tools were scattered about including a large serrated ceremonial dagger. The sharp metal gleamed with an otherworldly glow as I narrowed my eyes. Blood still dripped from the blade onto the shelf.
My senses never lied. A ritual had been performed only minutes prior to our arrival.
The air was saturated with dark magic and swirled with evil intent. Maleficum was practiced here regularly. The evidence was all around the room. Chains and metal cuffs were attached in the far corners where human sacrifice had been used and the victims restrained. Human bones also littered the ground next to a few bales of straw. Dried blood stains were present in several spots.
The macabre scene caused my lip to curl up in a snarl.
A podium had been erected off to the side of the altar. Balanced on top was an ancient tome that gave off a heavy magical pulse. Green mist hovered above the old worn pages as my protective instincts rose to the surface and I moved within inches of Cora.
Slight movement to my right confirmed my suspicions. We weren’t alone.
“It’s time the truth was revealed,” I announced angrily, “wouldn’t you say . . . Sarah?”
She stepped from the shadows and dropped the hood of the black cloak she wore, her irises burning a bright violet that matched my bonded.
“Indeed.”
Cora
UTTERING A MILD CURSE, I was shocked to find Sarah standing at the back of the room. She emerged fully from the shadows as she dropped the hood of her dark cloak and approached, her movements cautious.
Rex growled lightly as a flicker of something feral appeared on his face. A small contortion of muscle and bone that proved he was partly the monster I heard so much about and feared. The vampire in him was fiercely protective and extremely sensitive to other forms of magic.
“Careful, Cora.”
“I know, Rex.”
His nod was so slight I almost missed the slight tick of his chin. He didn’t have to say the words. I knew he had my back no matter what happened.
Sarah let out a soft sigh. “This moment has been a long time coming. I regret that so much time has passed before the truth could be revealed.”
“Funny, I was beginning to wonder why I hadn’t heard from you. It was odd to lost all contact the minute I stepped through the front door of the Bradford home.” I didn’t hide the sarcasm in my voice. “You have a lot of explaining to do, Sarah.”
She walked a few steps closer as both Casey and Colin crouched into a fight position. It was obvious none of us trusted Sarah or her cloaked appearance in the hidden chamber.
Gazing directly into my eyes she blinked and then uttered a phrase that immediately yanked the breath from my lungs.
“Magic draws magical beings.”
Collapsing to my knees, my ears began to ring as I heard Rin gasp. Choking and fighting to inhale oxygen into my deprived lungs, my eyes fluttered and closed as I sank deep into a distant memory . . .
CANDLES FLICKERED AS I stood in the middle of a dark room. Funny smells assaulted my senses along with a smoky fog that made it difficult to breathe. Strong arms held my body down as I was placed on a hard surface. Leather straps secured my body at the wrists and ankles before another stretched across my throat. Terrified, I began to scream as the horror of being alone and helpless lodged into my head.
My parents were nowhere to be found. I’d been taken in the wee hours of early morning as they slept. Snatched away and transported by a dark and deceptive magic that cloaked my presence. A man stood at my side in a dark cloak. He held a dagger in the air as the light caught the angle and gleamed with purpose.
Squirming without success, I began to whimper. My young mind could barely comprehend what was happening or the powerful witches that were gathered around the altar. Black cloaks concealed the faces of everyone in the room except for the piercing blue glow of my captor. As his fist tightened on the blade, he brought up his other hand and sliced diagonally across his palm. Smearing the blood with his fingertip, he proceeded to draw symbols on my forehead, cheeks, arms, and legs.
My body immediately felt heavier. The air thickened as if response. My breath increased in rate as I fought against the overwhelming feeling of being restrained and tormented. I couldn’t breathe right. My chest felt like weights were pushing down. His hand rose in the air and I was shocked to see six fingers on his hand. The sign of the devil, or so my parents had warned on numerous occasions.
Watch out for the six-fingered witch.
Panic lodged inside my brain. Screaming, I couldn’t control my fear as he leaned down and smiled an evil grin. His hands hovered over my body as he lifted his head and began to chant. Ripples of swirling energy danced across every nerve in my body. A funny sensation of tingling erupted on my skin. My mind was so frightened I started to hyperventilate. Spots of light darted around in the corners of my vision.
I would never see my parents again.
The voices of the witches grew louder as my screams continued. The will to live overrode the terror and I fought against the restraints. One of the leather straps snapped at the same moment my free hand connected with the blade. The dagger was knocked from the male witch’s hand. He roared as he turned and lifted his hand, prepared to strike.
The doors of the hidden chamber were blown open as I turned my head and found my father, mother, uncle Gerard, aunt Sarah, and the Coven engaging the Maleficum witches. A fierce battle ensued as dark magic fought against the white. Witches from both sides were destroyed. My eyes fluttered and I felt weak as if my body was being drained. The male witch cackled wildly as he began to yell.
“You’re too late. She’s already mine.”
The look on my parent’s face was one of pure terror. They fought harder to reach me as my aunt Sarah blasted the witch in his chest. The leather restraints at my wrists and ankles were broken and disintegrated as strong arms lifted my frail body from the altar. A light groan left my lips as pain lanced through every organ in my body. I began convulsing as my uncle Gerar
d cursed and called to my parents.
“She’s dying!”
Aunt Sarah was squeezing the life from the Maleficum witch’s throat. As his death approached, he began laughing, staring my parents down.
“If I die, she dies. Our life-force, our very souls, are now intertwined.”
My aunt released him immediately, shocked she was causing my pain.
“I’ll find a way to make you suffer for this, Baltus,” my father declared with a sneer.
My mother screamed in agony as a light foam bubbled at my lips. “Release her, I beg you.”
“Never.”
“Please,” she pleaded, “I will give you whatever you ask.”
“Give me your essence. I require both of your lives to sustain us.”
Cries of anger and refusal rose into the air, but he wasn’t swayed. “I can end my own life and take her with me at any time.”
“On one condition,” my mother bartered, “exactly fifty-one percent of my essence is hers, the remaining forty-nine percent is yours. Same with her father.”
Aunt Sarah wailed, shaking her head.
“Watch over her, Sarah. When she’s ready you’ll have to reveal the truth. Tell her we love her and with our final act of sacrifice we save her from a terrible fate.”
My parents kissed my cheeks and hugged my tiny body as long as they could before Baltus forced their bodies to their knees and he siphoned every drop of their essence, magic, and souls.
Screams launched from my throat as my body healed and they collapsed. Merely shells now. Nothing was left. Their bones turned to dust as the chamber silenced. Only a handful of witches remained on both sides. Baltus sneered and then turned my way.
“Until we meet again, my lovely pet.”
He vanished with his followers as I passed out . . .
I MERGED BACK INTO reality as a scream tore from my lips and Rex’s anxious face appeared above my own. Anger, fear, and a volatile combination of murderous thoughts hovered around his aura.
