What Goes Bump In The Night
Page 36
"What's your name?" I was intensely curious about the formality that we hadn't had time to address yet. I just knew she was going to have a sexy name. Something like Alexa or Vanessa or-
"I'm Felicity." Her gaze darted toward me momentarily before she returned her attention to the road. "Liss."
"Felicity," I repeated, rolling the word around my tongue. It had an innocent ring to it that I instantly loved, whether it was simply because of the girl or the name itself, I wasn't sure. I just knew I was suddenly partial to it. "Liss." The way her cheeks pinked when I said her name made me smirk. "Somehow that fits." I took in her profile. Pert nose, full lips, long hair. I wanted to reach for her, run my fingertips along the gentle curves of her face, but I didn't dare. Get it the fuck together, man, I scolded internally.
"What's yours?" She tapped her fingers along the steering wheel in time with the soft tune that was playing through the radio, turned down so low it was barely audible.
"Josiah. My brother calls me Jos, sometimes." The thought speared me right through the fucking chest. The now empty connection we used to share stretched endlessly, and I'd never felt so bereft.
The headlights reflected off of a green road sign directing us to the highway. Good. So far, no suits were in pursuit. We just needed to make it to-
My thoughts went flying as Felicity took a sharp right, heading away from the entrance to the freeway.
"Felicity," I warned, seeing the determination flaring in her eyes, even from the side view I had. "Turn the car around right now!" It was an order, not a request, and I let my tone drop to imbue the threat. I realized that the woman had been distracting me with conversation, hoping I wouldn't notice until it was too late. Yet, there was nothing I could physically do to stop her.
"I have to try!" Her foot pressed the gas pedal, pushing the car forward faster. I'd give it to the manufacturer, the car was smooth.
"This is a stupid, unmitigated risk!" I hissed as the headlights caught headstones rising up in the distance and a maroon sign advertising "Saint Michael's Cemetery" in gold lettering.
"You would do it." She slowed the car and steered it into the cemetery parking lot. "If it were your brother. We haven't known each other very long." She threw the gearshift in park, and pleading eyes met mine. "But I know that much about you. If it was for him, you'd try."
"I didn't know Luca, Liss." I choose to use her nickname, hoping the personal touch would help me connect with her and drive my point home. This was dangerous and most likely futile. "But I do know he wouldn't want his little sister to risk death." Taking a chance, I extended a hand, ready to tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ears, but it seemed I'd forgotten the little problem I was having with touch and the corporeal world these days. My fingers brushed right past the lock of ash brown hair, and instead I ended up skimming my fingertips across her cheek. She shivered, and I stared at the only evidence I had that I could still impact the living world.
Backing up, she gripped the door handle. "Little?" she scoffed. "By two minutes maybe."
I huffed a laugh, watching her escape the vehicle and head into the cemetery. Alone. This girl was going to be the death of me. Again. I rolled my eyes and slid through the doorway. The contact with something solid felt odd. It didn't hurt to pass through objects, but there was a certain pressure associated with it that wasn't there when passing through open space. The correlations between the living world and the spirit realm were fascinating, but I didn't have time to evaluate them all right now. Not when Liss was quickly widening the space between us.
I watched her determined stride, the unbeknownst swing of her hips as she hurried off into the night, and I shook my head at her stubbornness.
Before I started after her, something shifted. Changed. A pain I didn't realize I could still feel tightened in my chest, and my eyes widened as I watched the retreating form of the girl. An invisible tether that I hadn't even realized was there, stretched thin between Liss and myself with every step that took her farther from my side. Shit! I reached up to clutch at the pain radiating through my breastbone, but my attention quickly landed on my fading glow and the way my hand started flickering.
Stark realization hit me like a ton of bricks. My soul was linked to hers. I wouldn't-couldn't-exist without her.
Fuck.
I took off at a sprint.
Chapter Five
Felicity
My hand was resting on the hilt of my knife as I hurried down the gravel walkways of the cemetery.
For the first time in weeks, I felt alive again. Everything in my world had been thrown upside down in just over an hour, but my life had already lain in ruins, and the hope I felt now was exhilarating. I may get to see Luca again… may get to talk to him. I knew it was a minuscule chance, but I had to try. And if I didn't find him in the spiritual realm, then at least I was getting answers to the horde of questions I had swirling through my mind. Josiah knew who killed my brother, and I was going to make them pay. I wanted nothing more in life than to avenge Luca.
It wasn't a surprise when Josiah caught up to me, but his silent movements were going to take some getting used to. The soft blue glow of his aura lit the walkway about two feet in front of us, acting like a lantern in the otherwise dark night. I wondered if I was the only one who could see him, but I'd have to put that question to the test another time. Right now, I felt danger lurking in the shadows, and I quickened my gait.
"So, you're a twin." He sounded a bit shaken up, but he looked straight ahead as he spoke, so I couldn't get a read on his face.
"Yep. Younger by nearly nothing." My lips quirked to the side at the thought of Luca and how he'd always teased me about being second best. The jerk.
"I can relate." He paced a few steps ahead of me and turned around, tucking his hands into his pockets as he walked backwards, regarding me with open interest.
"Really? You're a twin?" It was surprising. I hadn't run across many sets of twins in my lifetime so far. In fact, Luca and I had been the only set in Preston Valley, not that that was saying much given the town's small population. However, it seemed an odd coincidence that my Casper was also a twin. Just more questions to add to that rapidly growing pile.
"The younger half of a dynamic duo. Though, I'm the fun one, if I do say so myself." He playfully dusted off his shoulders, and I enjoyed a moment of his cocky bantering as I stepped off the walkway and began weaving my way through the headstones. Luca's grave was located at the back of the cemetery where the cleared land met the thick covering of trees.
When I finally reached Luca's plot, I fell to my knees in the dirt and read the carved inscription on his headstone, letting it drive home the fact that he was truly gone. Beloved Son and Brother. Son and brother was all it said, because he hadn't had the time to become more. Husband, father, uncle… he'd never be any of those things. Tears gathered behind my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
My senses were on high alert as I warily searched for anything supernatural, turning my head every which way. So far, I didn't see anything, but once again the hair on my arms was standing on end and my hackles rose-so to speak. I sobered, gripping the handle of my weapon tighter in my palm. It was almost as if I could feel the whisper of souls floating over my skin, and I cringed, while my heart rate increased in tempo.
Josiah's prolific curse was the second indication that something was terribly wrong. "Can you see them?" It was no more than an undertone, but I heard it loud and clear.
"No…" I didn't know what it meant, but I was pissed that I couldn't see what was happening around me. I rose slowly to my feet. "How many?"
"A hundred souls, easy." I liked that he kept me in the know and didn't
hide information. It made me feel like part of a team rather than some girl he'd gotten roped into protecting. I still had no idea how he'd even ended up in my room, or how I could see him, but I was extremely aware that he'd most likely saved my life this evening, and I owed him everything for that. And if he could help me track down Luca's murderer, I'd be forever in his debt.
"Luca!" I called out, slowly spinning in a circle to see if I could get a visual on anything. Nothing but Casper's glow and the ambient moonlight broke the monotony of the darkness. "Anything? Did any of them respond?" My gaze darted everywhere, never settling on any one thing for long.
"Not in the way you hope." He inched closer and I felt incrementally safer. Even though he could do nothing to protect me in the mortal realm, I figured the spiritual world had to be a different story.
The slamming of doors in the distance alerted me that we were no longer alone, and I closed my eyes as panic started to rise in my throat. "Luca! Please!" My hushed whisper was urgent as I pleaded for him to show up. "I need your help!" I was crumbling fast, the dissolution of hope like a lid on a candle, slowly suffocating the flame to nothing.
And nothing was the response I received to my plea for help. Luca wasn't here. If he were, there was no way wouldn't have made his presence known to either Josiah or myself.
Near the front of the cemetery, black clad men in long trench coats and low brimmed hats set off in our direction, and every muscle in my body tensed. "Josiah…" I called.
"I see them."
Then they were running in our direction, covering the ground quickly.
The sharp call of the crow made my ears ring as it dove swiftly over my head, fluttering its wings as it angled itself towards the wooded area, landing on a branch. It tucked its black velvet wings away while its grievous eyes observed me. It cawed once more as the woodlands grew silent, and I hurried after Josiah who was nearly shouting directions at me. I felt its eyes boring into my back as I turned toward Luca's grave again, as if it knew I wouldn't likely make it out of here alive.
Kissing my hand, I placed it on top of his gravestone, and then did the same to the wider, larger one next to it. My parents. "I miss you." I only said it once, but it was collective.
Waving frantically, Josiah dove behind a large, wide headstone, and I followed after him. Hunching down, I watched as he closed his eyes and started chanting. His frustration was clear when nothing happened. Footsteps could be heard close by, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Clear," a deep rumbling voice called.
"Clear." This one was higher pitched, but also male.
I looked up toward Jos with wide eyes, and I drew my knife from its sheath. His eyes were hard and he shook his head. The message was loud and clear. Don't you dare make a move.
The footsteps drew closer, and I shut my eyes tightly as the suspense and adrenaline coupled together, making me tremble.
"Shhh… it's alright." Josiah wrapped his arms around me, holding them in place so they wouldn't slide through my body. The chill he brought with him was welcomed. It woke me up and anchored me into the moment. The familiar tingles pulsed through my body, and I drew on his strength. I could feel the air drop ten degrees cooler as I pulled it in, the ice prickling through my lungs. When I exhaled, I could see my breath cloud between us. Josiah's eyes widened, scanning over the visible parts of me he could see. I gripped his t-shirt in my hand and inched closer.
Dark fabric brushed the grass as a suit rounded the headstone. The man was middle aged with lines etched into his face from his years of life. Graying at the temples, his hat was pulled low, the shadow of it obscuring his eyes. My breathing stopped as I prepared for a fight. My knife was at the read, and I shifted my legs underneath me, prepared to strike. He examined the space we were huddled in. And then his eyes move past us to scan the remaining headstones in the row. Raising an arm, he spoke into a watch. "Clear."
I held my breath as he moved on to the next row, completely shell shocked. A gust of air escaped after he cleared yet another row and continued to move away. The frigid air blew over Josiah's face. A very still, very silent, Josiah.
Scrutinizing every inch of him, I made sure he was alright before locking my gaze on his, taking in his pale blue eyes.
"You're glowing." He reached up and cupped the back of my neck.
"That's what you want to talk about right now?" My eyebrows rose. "How the hell are we alive?" I stuttered out, "I mean… not we… because you're a… but…me." Jittery nervousness had my muscles shaking, and I was careful to keep my voice below a whisper, aware of the oddly dressed men growing more frustrated by every row they cleared.
"Yes, that's exactly what I want to talk about, because you'reliterally glowing." He shifted his attention back down my body, looking awestruck.
I squirmed under his attention, but his words finally registered, and I took a moment for a quick self evaluation. Every inch of me was as faded and glowing as Josiah.
"What. Is. Happening?" I nearly scrambled away from him, but the suited men were still in the vicinity, gathering back on the path to reconvene now that their search yielded no results.Because I was already dead!
My head spun. "I'm… I'm… Oh, fuck!" I let the profanity fly.
Josiah chuckled.
"How can you laugh at a time like this?" I hissed, yanking on his t-shirt to make point.
"You're not dead." Josiah's leaned forward, his murmur spoken against my ear. I felt the coolness of his breath wash over the exposed skin of my neck.
"How can you say that?" I buried my head into his shoulder. "I'm as neon as you."
"Yes, and while you are, I'm quite enjoying touching you." I pulled back at his words, finally registering his hand against my neck and the soft feel of his shirt clutched in my hand.
"That sounded much more perverted than it actually is." I arched a brow at him, and he flashed an unrepentant smolder at me.
"It's nice to know your mind travels to the gutter. I'm going to have fun finding ways to steer it there on our trip."
"Where are we going?" The sound of car doors slamming and engines starting reverberated through the open air. With one last caw, the crow took to the air, following the trail of cars away from the cemetery.
"We're heading to Raven River." Josiah's eyes glinted and there was a confident air in the way he squared his shoulders.
I sheathed my knife and tilted my head as I regarded him. "Why?" I let the syllable extend.
"Because, my little supernatural. You are much more powerful than I realized." Without giving my time to process, he leaned forward and my ghost ghosted his lips over mine in a soft, bold kiss. And then he was gone, standing swiftly and disengaging from the grip I'd had on him. I could still feel the lingering chill of his lips against mine and his fingertips against my nape.
I stood as well, staring after him.
Slowly, the world warmed, my cheeks heating as it did. With a deep breath, I exhaled the ice that remained within my lungs. Blue energy exited my mouth, swirling between Jos and me before he breathed it in. My body resumed its normal coloring, the glow dissipating with the thaw, and I was left with more unanswered questions.
"Much. More. Powerful." Josiah enunciated each word, tucking his hands into his pockets as he donned a cocksure smile.
I shook my head, not understanding what had just happened or where to start my questioning. "And what waits for us in Raven River?"
Ducking his head slightly to connect our gazes, he leaned forward and said one word. "Falcon."
Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first five chapters of Soul Echo! The full book will be releasing February 2019!
Four Lilac Spells
By Bea Paige
Copyright ©: Kelly Stock writing as Bea Paige
First Published: 30th October 2018
Publisher: Kelly Stock
Cover by: Arizona Tape
Kelly Stock writing as Bea Paige to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
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Four Lilac Spells
A Sisters of Hex story
What do you do when the man you love refuses to let you save him?
Nostra is a witch, he's my soulmate, and he will willingly die to protect me.
Stubborn, bull-headed and the most selfless man I know, Nostra will do anything for the people he loves. He risked his life to help rescue Accacia from Queen Adrielle's evil grasp, and now he's paying the consequences.
But, there is a way to save him. He must Entwine with his soulmate, with me.
Yet, he refuses.
What he doesn't understand is that I will do everything in my power to save him, even if that means putting my own life at risk.