Jonah closed his eyes as hot guilt lanced through his chest. His own parents had practically abandoned Jake, embarrassed by his odd behavior as a child, his talk of vampires and other imaginary creatures. They'd sent him to shrink after shrink, and when that failed to work, they'd just given up on him, doting on Jonah instead as their one chance for a normal family. They'd showered him with gifts on his graduation, set him up with dates, supported him in everything he did, but had totally ignored Jake’s existence. He'd finally had enough last year, and told them not to speak to him until they could show his brother the same amount of love. He'd never seen his mother cry so hard.
Yet, through everything, Jake never held it against him that he was the favored son. There wasn't a single trace of envy. Jake loved him unconditionally, and he should repay his brother with the same consideration. The younger man deserved it, after all the love he'd never received from their parents.
“I'm sorry, Jake, but you gotta admit, that was one hell of a bomb you dropped on me.”
“I know.” He ran a hand through his short hair. “Trust me, it was the last thing I wanted to happen, but… Nyla's not an animal, Joe. She's nothing like what attacked Ronnie. Surely you know I wouldn't be with something like that.”
Jonah considered his brother's words and nodded. Jake wouldn't be with something as vile as those were-hyenas. Hell, he wouldn't tie himself to one woman unless she was absolutely remarkable. “Who the hell would have figured you to be the one to get married first, let alone have a family of your own?”
“Sure as hell not me.” Jake grinned.
“Well, now that that's settled,” Rialto interjected, “I'd also like to know what happened in Hicksville, particularly the part where you killed Curtis Dunn. You did kill him, did you not?”
“Actually, no.”
“No?” Rialto's one word was spoken in a low voice, but with enough power behind it to come out as a roar. “He watched as your brother was hung on a wall, and my wife nearly drained of every drop of blood in her body.”
“Which is exactly why I hunted his ass,” Jake said.
“Then why have you not come back here with his blood on your hands?”
“Surely your mother told you that he saved me.”
Rialto's deep brown eyes darkened to a near black. “That does not mean you had to spare his life.”
“He's proven valuable, so I spared him. If he ever slips up, don't worry. I'll kill him without hesitation.”
“Will you now?”
“Do you think a day goes by I don't see my brother beaten and bloody, hung on that wall?”
Rialto and Jake stared each other down, silently challenging the other until finally, Jonah broke the silence.
“Curtis Dunn saved you?”
Jake broke off the stare-down to look Jonah's way. “Yes. I finally found the vampire who killed Bobby, and that same vampire would have killed me, if not for Curtis's interference.
Jonah sucked in a breath. “You found the vampire who killed Bobby? Did you kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Good.” Relief flooded through Jonah. The image of his best friend's murder had haunted his brother since he was just a kid. He'd found and killed a few of the vampires involved, but the main one had always been just out of his grasp. “Now you have closure.”
Jake shrugged. “Closure doesn't really mean shit, bro. I can still hear Bobby screaming.”
“I'm sorry.”
Jake nodded. “You know, that's the night Nyla entered my life. She saved me from the vampires, and got bit in the process.”
Jonah frowned. “Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
Jake nodded. “The vampire who killed Bobby was the same vampire who gave Nyla her vampiric traits.”
“I thought a bite couldn't infect.”
“Nyla is a Therian, and an empath. Something in her physiology reacted to the bite, and she gained some vampiric attributes. The vampire also took some of her race's traits.”
“This stuff just keeps getting crazier and crazier.” Jonah shook his head. “And now, the two of you are going to father children who will grow up to help save the world from Satan?”
Rialto and Jake looked at each other, and nodded.
“Could one of them be this special child, the Child of Light?”
“Possibly,” Jake answered. “But we haven't yet come across the third mated set. There should be three children in all.”
“You have no idea when the third child is supposed to be born?”
“For all we know, the child could have already been born,” Jake answered. “But the fact that the evil powers that be are after us, makes me think the third set of mates have not found each other yet.”
“Or could already be captured,” Rialto added.
“Well, aren't you a bucket full of sunshine?”
“Honesty is always best when dealing with such matters,” Rialto replied, holding Jake's gaze. “We must think of every possibility.”
“Do you really think these murders have been occurring because of me?” Jonah took a deep breath, helpless as guilt coursed through his body.
Jake scratched his head. “I think Malaika's boyfriend took valuable information from her mind without her knowing about it. And I think the pranic vampire who changed him over, found that information and realized what he'd stumbled upon. Knowing you were a homicide detective, it would make sense to stage murders in this area, knowing you would show up at the scenes, and that I'd come after you if you were captured, but…”
“But, what?”
“I don't really know if that's it at all. If Malaika had a vision of helping Aria give birth, then that means she was already predestined for that role. She was already pre-destined to meet them with or without these murders happening. Even if she'd had visions of you, we don't know if there was enough from those visions to indicate you were related to one of the other chosen sets. We need to know what was taken from her before we make any assumptions.”
A dull ache throbbed at Jonah's temples. This was all entirely too much to think on. “You said that witches who feared water did so because of the Salem witch trials. Because they were evil. Do you still believe Malaika is untrustworthy?”
Jake sighed deep, flexed his fingers. “I don't know. There were a few instances when completely normal people were put on trial, so who’s to say an innocent witch didn't get tried? Just be careful with her, Joe. Innocent or not, it is her boyfriend who tried to kill you.”
“Ex-boyfriend.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jake held his stare, despite the heat of anger Jonah could feel behind his eyes. “She knew all along that he was involved in some way, followed his trail to every site, but she kept that from us.”
Jonah looked down, unable to dispute those facts. Though he'd seen the desire in her eyes when she looked at him, she still protected Craig. “Still…”
“Don't go in blind, Joe. That man gave her a child, and that's a powerful bond.”
Jonah buried his head in his hands, the dull headache gaining in pressure. How could he explain to his brother the depth of his feelings for Malaika? The instant attraction, the way he'd seemed to sense her at the crime scene before they'd even met. Yes, there'd been a split second when Aria had walked in, her belly round with Rialto's child, and he'd been a little jealous, but not of them. He'd had the image in his head of Malaika carrying his child. What he felt was too strong for a woman he'd just met, but it didn't feel as though he'd just met her. That was the strangest thing. The more time he spent around her, the more he got the feeling that he should have known her for years.
With Grandma Mahdi at her back, and Seta to her side, Malaika focused on the candle burning in the center of the table.
“You control the elements,” Seta said softly. “Gather the wind, order it to obey you.”
Malaika squinted her eyes, focusing harder on the flame. Her head hurt from the strain. The damned wind wasn't listening to her, and why
would it? It was wind.
“You are trying to control the elements with your brain, not from your heart.” Seta made a clicking noise. “I made the same mistake when coming into my powers.”
“I don't understand.”
“Love the wind, Malaika. Love its graceful dance, its freedom and purity. Love the earth for its fertility, the water for its beauty and clarity. Open your heart to the elements, and they will obey you.”
Malaika closed her eyes and thought of the wind. She thought of the way it blew her hair, made the leaves dance on a fall day. She thought of how powerful it could be, building the force to tear roofs off houses. It was a beautiful thing. Full of grace one moment, but a powerful warrior the next. She opened her eyes, focused on the candle, and silently asked the wind to blow out the flame. It did.
Malaika gasped, and the two witches with her clapped.
“Now, move the candle.”
Malaika looked at Seta, and the vampire-witch nodded her head in the direction of the candle. “Pick it up from the table and hold it, suspended in the air.”
With a deep breath, Malaika focused on the pillar of wax, conjuring images of the wind in her mind. The image of a tornado entered her thoughts, and gave her an idea. Focusing her mind and heart on the power of the wind, she created a small, clear tornado and sent it to the table, where it lifted the candle and held it in the air while it spun.
“Good work.”
Malaika let the tornado wind down and set the candle back on the table. Sweat beaded along her brow. She'd mastered fire, water, and now air. All that was left was earth, but Seta said earth was the easiest of all the elements, once the others were learned.
“The more you use your powers, the stronger they will become,” Seta advised her. “The spells we have taught you and the power of the elements will protect you.”
“Now we must find out what exactly we are protecting you from,” Grandma Mahdi said, stepping out from behind her. “Lay on the table, child.”
With a sweep of Grandma Mahdi's hand, the candle flew from the table, allowing room for Malaika's body. She lowered herself onto the table and stretched out.
“Close your eyes and relax.”
Closing her eyes was easy. The relaxing part proved difficult with the knowledge that she was soon going to find out whatever dark truths Craig had kept from her. Craig, the man she'd loved. The man who'd given her the most beautiful child.
“Relax, Malaika.” Grandma Mahdi's fingertips rested at her temples.
Seta started a chant, something strange in a language Malaika didn't understand, but at the same time, she felt an odd familiarity. An unsettling warmth spread through her limbs, rendering her immobile. She tried to open her eyes, but found the lids too heavy. She was frozen in place, unable to escape.
Grandma Mahdi joined in the chant, the strange words seeming to come from farther away as Malaika felt herself drifting down a dark hole…
“Witch! Witch!” The children screamed after her as she ran through the woods, branches cutting at her skin. She ignored the sharp needles of pain, doing her best to see past the tears coating her eyes and run to freedom.
Where am I? What's happening to me?
Malaika hid behind a large Oak, squatting down and wheezing, greedily sucking in large gulps of air. She looked down at her body and noticed how small it was. And what was she wearing? The dingy dress she had on looked as if it were constructed out of a flour sack. And what awful boots.
Oh, shit. This must be a past life.
A twig snapped in the distance behind her, and fear froze her breath. Those kids had called her a witch. What had she done?
“Bertrina!”
“She's not going to come to you, stupid.”
Bertrina? Was that her name?
“She might as well. It'll be dark soon, and she'll be lost.”
“The dark should not matter to her. You saw how she made fire in her hand.”
Oh, hell. Malaika listened to the two girls, both around thirteen years of age, and tried to figure out why she was having this particular memory. Seta and Grandma Mahdi were supposed to have worked a spell to show her what Craig had taken from her.
“You know, in Salem, they burn witches.”
“How do you know she's a witch? My mother says all that is a lie.”
“She made fire in her hand to light the candle.”
“I know.”
Their steps came closer.
“So what else would explain it?”
“Demon possession.”
There was a loud gasp, and Malaika shook. They were nearly on her.
“If Mother knew one of her servants was demon-possessed, she would order Father to kill her immediately.”
“We must go back and tell.”
“No! She may escape. We must kill her ourselves.”
“No! What if we are wrong?”
They were right behind her. Malaika could barely hear over the pounding of her own heart.
“You know the rule. Demons hate water.”
“They do?”
“Of course they do. They are made of fire. We will throw her into the lake.”
One more step and they would be on her. Malaika took off at a run.
“There she is!” The girls cried in unison, and raced to catch her. It didn't take long before they were on her.
Malaika fought them off the best she could, but they grabbed her hair and dragged her through the woods, sticks and stones cutting through her dress and scraping her skin.
“Leave me alone! I'm not a demon!”
“Of course you deny it,” one of the girls, a homely-looking child with red ringlets replied.
“Maybe she tells the truth,” the chubby brunette said.
“She is a demon, Katherine. She lies.”
Malaika struggled until her energy was spent. The sky had grown dark some time ago, but she barely noticed, her eyes shut so tight against the pain of rocks grinding into her flesh.
Finally. They let go of her.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Of course. My mother has told me all about demons and witches. If we do not destroy her while she is weak, she will smite us, our families, and our whole bloodline.”
“We are doing a good thing?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Then let us hurry before I lose my nerve.”
Two sets of hands gripped her shoulders, and Malaika knew this was her last chance for survival, but she couldn't do anything to save herself. After all, this was her past life. It was already over.
So she let them drag her into the lake and let go.
She was running, her usual jog through the park. She'd jogged every day of her life until she'd met Craig. Soon after they'd started their relationship, he'd insisted she get a gym membership, claiming the park was too dangerous for her to run. In the image, she ran quickly, the wind whipping past, coating her hot skin with refreshing coolness.
“Hey! You're pretty fast.”
She glanced back. It was Jonah! He was gorgeous, with those warm hazel green eyes and his dark hair curling up at the ends from sweat. She slowed her pace and smiled at him, wishing she didn't look so sweaty and unappealing. Then she felt a wave of guilt. She was with Craig. She shouldn't even notice other men. But then again, she'd been thinking of telling Craig to step, anyway. She had her suspicions of what he was really doing when he claimed to be working late. She sure hadn't seen the extra money he should have coming in.
“What's your name?”
“Malaika.”
“Beautiful name, for a beautiful woman.”
She rolled her eyes, and he laughed.
“Sorry. I usually don't hit on women like this. I just saw you and couldn't resist. I'm Jonah, Jonah Porter.”
“Nice to meet you, Jonah Porter.”
“Tell you what. I'll race you to the fountain and if I win, I get to buy you lunch.”
“What if you lose?”
“I'll bu
y you dinner.”
Malaika smiled. “That doesn't seem right. Whether you win or lose, you're still buying my meal.”
“So you accept?” His whole face brightened. Man, when had been the last time Craig looked at her like that?
She glanced ahead at the fountain. “Yes, but if you win, the dessert is on me.”
She lunged forward, thinking up all kinds of things she could do for “dessert” with this man before intentionally lagging behind to let him win.
“I love you, Malaika.”
Malaika struggled to catch her breath as she looked up into Jonah's dark, lust-filled eyes. She'd never known sex could be so good. She'd actually screamed. What would the neighbors think? Did she actually care? “You don't have to say that just because we had sex.”
His dark eyes narrowed, his brow creased. “I mean it. I love you, and sex has nothing to do with it.”
Malaika bit her lip. Maybe he really did. He'd shown her nothing but kindness. And he'd invited her to dinner with his parents. No other man had ever done that. Hell, he'd even put up with her mother's rudeness, and had actually seemed to win the woman over, though she'd never admit it.
His mouth came down on hers, hot and greedy. Just like that, her entire body lit with fire again.
“Marry me.”
“Wh-what?” She grabbed his face in her shaking hands. “What did you just say?”
“Marry me, Malaika. Please.”
Malaika turned before the full-length mirror, admiring herself in the long, white gown. It was very simple and plain, but very elegant. With a deep breath, she smiled. She was going to become Mrs. Jonah Porter today.
“You look beautiful.”
She turned to see her mother standing in the doorway. “Thanks, Momma.”
Helen Jordan smiled and closed the door behind her. “Honey, I know I've been kind of hard on you about certain choices you've made in your life, but…” She reached out and smoothed a piece of Malaika's hair back. “I've always wanted the best for you, because I love you. I think you've found yourself a good man, even if he is white.”
Witch's Net Page 17
