Altered Souls (Witch Avenue Series #2)

by Bolton, Karice

  The staircase looked quite steep, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled about going up it first, but it seemed like he wasn’t going to answer me until we got inside. I started up the stairs, but he closed the door behind us and locked it, making the small area pitch black. There was no way I was going to continue going up the steps. I’d certainly trip over my own feet.

  “Lights, please?” I squeaked out.

  I knew he was near. He had to be. This area was so confined he was only an arm’s reach in any direction.

  “Nope,” he said softly from behind me.

  “Seriously, Logan. This isn’t funny.” My heart started racing, but not because I was afraid. “I’m not that coordinated.”

  I knew he moved closer. I could feel the heat of his body and the breeze from his movements gracing my skin. The continued silence was bristling a different type of activity, preparing for something larger. Something I really wanted.

  He slid his finger along the waistband of my jeans, and I pulled away slightly in protest for extra effect.

  “Everything I’ve told you is the truth,” Logan whispered. “Remember, I’m the one who left this big house for you.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

  “There was something there when she was talking. I could tell that—”

  He moved up on the stairs to meet me. I could only see his shadow.

  “You’re right. There was something there,” he interrupted. His lips were so close to mine. “That something can only be summed up as hate now.”

  I wasn’t going to allow him to distract me from getting the answers I wanted.

  “Hate now… but what about before?” I asked frustrated at his cryptic technique.

  “Before the deceit and betrayal?” his words were icy.

  “That’s a little melodramatic,” I said, letting his hands trace around my waist. There were some emotions impossible to turn off.

  “Not really for what she did,” he dropped his hands. “Seriously want to know huh?”

  I nodded hoping my desire to learn every detail wouldn’t ruin what I hoped could be our future.

  We only shared silence for a few moments, not words. My eyes attempted to adjust to the darkness. I wanted to see what his eyes would tell me. He bit his lip as he deliberated — thinking but not speaking.

  The silence was excruciating. I prepared myself for him to tell me all sorts of crushing things. That they had been together, and that he had loved her. That she had broken his heart, or she had chased him out of Illinois to Seattle. I readied myself for anything but what he was about to tell me.

  “She’s the one who introduced me to your father’s practices,” he sighed, “in a roundabout way.”

  “I thought you found him on your own,” I replied, feeling faint and really wishing the lights were on for this discussion. I needed to find the wall to support myself. Instead, I found Logan to lean on.

  “I don’t know what to think any longer. I kind of did. She became my support system after my father’s death,” he started.

  My fault. Completely my fault. His words hit my heart like a jackhammer. My insides churned and the hate toward her began multiplying, but not before the insurmountable guilt came crashing down on me. I hadn’t been there for him. What did I expect? He had to find support somewhere.

  “I’m so sorry, Logan,” I whispered.

  “There’s nothing for you to apologize about,” he continued. “It’s my own fault. In hindsight, I can see it all was a setup. She probably didn’t even completely realize it. But it has your father written all over it. Especially seeing things unfold now.”

  “Don’t stick up for her,” I replied, surprised at my own reaction.

  “Believe me, I’m not. I can’t stand her. I just —”

  “I get it. It’s like the Trevor thing.” I rolled my eyes for only the darkness to see.

  “If I had been there for you this never would have happened,” I whispered.

  “We were both so young. Don’t even go there.” His finger slid along my cheek. “She only confirmed how wonderful you are.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what was going on,” I laughed.

  He shrugged. “You can accept that this is the truth or not.”

  “So she was there for you and I wasn’t, yet you have feelings for me and not her? I look like the real prize here. It’s hard for me to think that you never had feelings for her. I mean, I don’t blame you if you did. I would understand.”

  “Nothing happened between us, Triss. I’m not going to continue pleading my innocence to you. But there never was anything. She tried, but I never went there. Ever. There’s not going to be any surprises that you find out about either. No spells to dig anything up.”

  The last words dug deeper than they were probably intended.

  “I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice,” he replied, trying to hide his laughter. “Guess I’m not quite over it either.”

  “Well. Good. Then we can both just stand here miserable and jealous of things that never happened.”

  “I’ve got a better idea,” Logan said, flipping the light on at long last.

  The comfort his words brought infused my heart, and I could no longer let myself worry about a past that I wasn’t included in purely by my own doing.

  He grabbed my hand and slid by me on the stairs, pulling me up to the top. I let myself enjoy what he was insinuating regardless of what was in store. We both were carrying a heavy burden, but it was as if neither of us could bear to think about it any longer.

  He unlocked the door to his makeshift apartment, and I pushed the door open amazed at what I saw.

  “Really roughing it out here,” I giggled, taking in the beautiful slate floor that was encircling me. “You had your own kitchen?”

  “I didn’t use it much.”

  “Huh. I had no idea that Ellsy would let you get away with this,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “Seems suspicious.”

  “I think she was happy that I was out of the house, to be honest. She sensed a change in me.”

  “When you were studying the dark arts?”

  He nodded. “After my dad died, I really didn’t see eye to eye with most of what my mom was studying. She was trying to find answers in the goodness of our beliefs, and I refused to see the positives. I tried to hide my views, and I think I did a pretty good job of it, but anyway this seemed like the best option to avoid any potential conflict.”

  “I can’t believe my mom didn’t tell me,” I replied.

  “I doubt my mom told her. She wasn’t proud of it. I think she felt like a failure.” His words were riddled with guilt..

  “My mom would never think that about your mom.”

  “All your mom ever did was brag about you, so I’m sure there wasn’t really a moment where my mom would want to divulge that info.”

  “So that’s where you got all of your misinformation about me. I’ll have to thank my mom for that.”

  Promise flickered in Logan’s eyes as his arms wrapped around me.

  “She did a pretty good job of convincing me of your perfection,” he teased. “Now let’s move on to the rest of the place.”

  “I have to be honest. I think I’d rather stay here than the main house. That other is so big.”

  I stretched to place a kiss on his cheek, before the rest of the tour began, and I caught a bit of the sparkle in his eyes. I hoped someday soon we would both be able to enjoy the simplicity of normalcy.

  He flipped on the lights exposing the rest of the main floor. The kitchen opened up to a large great room that housed an overstuffed chair and couch, along with a desk that had been used quite a bit, judging by the wear marks on the wood. There was a set of double doors that were open to what looked like a solarium.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I asked.

  He nodded and led me through the great room to a beautiful glass space that was full of foliage every direction I looked.

  “An indoor greenhouse?”

 
“Of sorts,” he replied coyly.

  “Did you take care of these?” I asked, letting my hand glide along the glossy leaves, wondering what other surprises Logan might have in store for me.

  “I always wanted to have something like this,” I mumbled, walking into the magical space.

  “You’ve got herbs too?” I asked, seeing one of the corners taken over by a table of hard to come by varieties.

  “I knew you were interested in that, and I thought it would be a good idea if I sharpened up my skills a little. When I left, my mom had to hire a gardener to help keep them going though. I guess they’ve done a pretty good job of it so far.”

  “I’d say so,” I was giddy with excitement. “Let’s finish up with the tour so I can come back here and stare.”

  “There’s not much more to it. Upstairs is the bedroom and another bath.” He went back through the kitchen to where the front door was, not the door leading to the other house, and turned the corner. Must have been where the stairs were hiding.

  My heart started racing, and I scolded myself for being so ridiculous. But I was thoroughly flustered at the thought of seeing Logan’s room. I didn’t know what I thought would happen in there, but I was thoroughly intrigued.

  “I’ll sleep downstairs, and you can take my room,” Logan hollered.

  I rounded the corner to see him waiting for my reaction with his brilliant smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

  “Nice try. I’m no less scared here than I was at the cottage. I’m not sleeping alone.” I swatted him but missed as he climbed the stairs two at a time.

  “We’ll see about that,” he replied. “I might want some space to stretch out.”

  “Oh, yeah?” I asked. “Fine. I’ll sleep in your room all by myself.”

  He waited at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed in front of him and the grin that melted my heart every time I saw it. So nice to see it surface again and remain for longer than a minute. Maybe we could pretend things were all right for now.

  The entire upstairs was a loft. One wall was covered in floor to ceiling bookshelves that led to a window overlooking the lake. In front of the window was a king size bed, begging to be used.

  “Wow. This is pretty spectacular — again,” I teased, pointing at the surroundings.

  “It seems more so with you here.” His lip turned up ever so slightly. “You still want to sleep alone?”

  “How do you always manage to turn things around?” I put my hands on my hips, scowling at him.

  “That’s what I thought. I’ll go grab our bags out of the car and bring them in. I can lock everything up over there too. Turn on the alarm and stuff.”

  For some reason this revelation of him leaving made me freeze. I hadn’t really been alone since one of the spirits was conjured at the cottage, and since then, some pretty creepy things happened. Never being the type of girl who was frightened easily, I was kind of irritated with my helpless reaction. Nope. I’m not going to play that card. I’ve got the fear thing handled.

  “I’ll come out with you and grab some of the bags to make it easier and then you can lock up,” I offered. “I can’t be afraid of going outside. I’m not going to let him or anyone start having that kind of control over me. That’s not my style.”

  “Agreed,” Logan said smirking. “I don’t think your father has a clue what he’s up against.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” I said smiling.

  “I caught that,” Logan laughed.

  Mortified, I realized I had been gazing at the bed without realizing it.

  “I’m just exhausted. We’ve had a long trip.”

  “Uh-huh, I’m sure that’s it.”

  “Whatever,” I shot back at him grinning. “Let’s get on with it.”

  With my newfound bravery, I decided being cautious was still a must.

  Scanning out the downstairs window, I saw nothing and gave Logan the go ahead for us to go out to our car. The evening was quite chilly since we were on the lake, and it made me hustle as I gathered everything I could.

  “One trip?” I asked surprised.

  “I think so,” he replied.

  Heading back to the guesthouse, I saw a car driving down the street slow down. It was only in my head. People were allowed to drive slowly in a neighborhood.

  Logan locked the car doors and we were back inside and my paranoia dissipated.

  We dumped everything off in the great room, and I sprawled on to the couch while Logan locked the deadbolts.

  “I’m gonna go get the rest of the house locked up. I’ll leave the door in between the two open if you want.” He bent over and kissed my cheek, but I pulled him into me letting my lips wander to his.

  “Don’t be long,” I whispered, letting go of his shirt.

  “With a sendoff like that, you have nothing to worry about.” He gave me a quick kiss and headed back to the main house.

  I looked around the space and was happy to be staying on this side of the property. The other was gorgeous but it was huge, and with my nerves on edge this place fit my imagination much better.

  On the long car ride to Illinois, I spent a lot of time studying the spell books from my side of the family. I had no idea what was going to be waiting for us in Saranac Lake, but I didn’t want to put us at any more of a disadvantage with my skill level compared to Logan’s.

  I grabbed the spell book from my bag that I was in the middle of studying and sat back down. I started skimming the pages, hoping Logan would get back soon. I didn’t really feel like studying. My mind flipped back to Aunt Vieta. Could she really be responsible for some of these things? I couldn’t even begin to guess what would have happened to her to make that choice. I hoped I was wrong. Forcing myself to push those thoughts aside, I focused on something useful.

  I had tagged some spells that had to do with brainwashing and started staring at the different descriptions. Maybe that’s what happened to my aunt too. More tired than I realized, I had to fight to keep my eyes open and finally sleep won.

  Shoot. I wanted to be alert for Logan’s return.

  Leaving the in between stage and landing in a place where my mind took over, I felt content. Relaxed. I enjoyed every second of the peace — until I became trapped. My body was hot with worry. What was I seeing? This couldn’t be real. I wanted to wake up.

  “How could you have done that?” Ellsy screamed. Her back was up against a stone wall. It looked like something from the middle ages. I couldn’t see who she was talking to. “He was my everything, my world. Logan’s world.”

  Oh no. Please let this not be…

  “Besides his son, he was the only real threat I had,” my father responded. “I couldn’t allow that type of opposition.”

  “Did Veronica know?” Ellsy choked on the words.

  Silence was returned.

  “Did Veronica know?” Ellsy screamed at my father, charging at him, but something held her back. The sound of clanking bounced off the walls. Her feet were shackled to the floor. What was this place?

  “No. Of course not. She wouldn’t have approved in her prior state.”

  “Her prior state? What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You’ll see soon enough, my dear,” my father said.

  “You better not touch my son, Nicholas.”

  “Come on, Trevor. We should let her rest,” My father replied.

  Ellsy’s screams were all I could hear. They were all that echoed through my mind.

  I didn’t want to be stuck in this nightmare. Please let me out. The uncontrolled sensation of falling ran through me, visceral and terrifying. Why wouldn’t my eyes open? There’s nothing more to see. I want to be done.

  A light tapping began and its persistence allowed my mind to slowly break free. My forehead was damp and my body behaved as if I’d been out for hours, but I’m sure it was only minutes. Staring up at the ceiling, I tried shaking off my foggy frame of mind. There was nothing worse than finally getting some sleep only to have it
stolen by nightmares. The tapping continued and it was kind of aggravating in my current state.

  “Well, that was fast,” I hollered to Logan, hoping that would make him stop.

  He didn’t respond.

  “Logan?”

  I texted Logan, but his phone buzzed from one of the bags we brought in. That has got to be a new rule we implement. No more leaving phones. He must still be at the other house. I’ve got to calm down. The noise was probably an animal or something.

  The tapping became more aggressive, and it wasn’t coming from the stairwell. Light scratching replaced the tapping, and it was coming from the front door. Fear outweighed my curiosity. Maybe I was still asleep. It was the only hope I had, false as it was.

  Chapter 10

  Their unearthly cries were filled with fury and disappointment. The message was clear and the sender even more so. With every hiss and howl, the walls felt like glass ready to be shattered, and the safety and security of the double bolted door felt like a distant memory. The rattle of the lock echoed into the air as the creatures continued their entry attempt. A quiet beat of metal began next, overtaking the fear that had buried its way into my psyche from the screams. The constant rhythm was a reminder of how close they were to entering. This noise was far worse than their hollers.

  Keep focused. Keep focused. My eyes scanned one of my family’s spell books — the one that stayed out of the coven’s library. Flipping page after page, I desperately searched for the spell that I had come across only days earlier. I needed to send these spirits back to where they came from and this time with a message of my own.

  Scanning the pages, my heart was pounding so fast until I found the spell I needed. Then it was like my world stopped. As I tried to memorize every part of the spell, their screams began replacing the pounding. They seemed to be getting frustrated at their inability to break down the door.

  I couldn’t allow myself to get distracted. There were three different chants listed on the page, depending on the type of spirit. I had to find out what kind I was dealing with.

  Not allowing the terror to debilitate me, I stood up from the couch, clutching the spell book, as I made my way to the window next to the door. This was how I would defeat my father— head on. Even though every breath I inhaled was shaky with fear, I knew I could do this. I needed to see what I was faced with. Pulling the drapes to the side, I immediately recognized the beasts from the drawings in the book. I had hoped they were Lonely Souls, but they weren’t.