Paranormal Word Series Box Set (Books 1-3 and Novella)

by CC Solomon

  It was quiet and I saw no people, none living anyway, or lights on the street. Wherever we were, it was abandoned.

  I looked over to Phillip, who stood a few feet in front of me looking around. He suddenly spun towards me, eyes wild with anger.

  “What the fuck did you do?” he shouted at me.

  I took a step back. He’d never cursed or yelled at me before. I was a bit shocked. “I didn’t do anything. Did you not see Lisa blow that fairy dust?” I exclaimed.

  “You asked her to do it. You knew you would lose, so you had her step in when things weren’t going your way.” He pointed at me, walking closer.

  I stepped back again. “I just won a round, why would I need her? Not to mention she has been missing for two months.”

  “I don’t believe you didn’t have her help you!” He thundered.

  I threw up my hands. “I didn’t do this. I had no role in Lisa doing what she did. We can go back and straighten this all out.”

  Phillip actually sneered at me and then closed his eyes, throwing out his hands. I stood stiffly as I watched him attempt to teleport himself back to Silver Spring.

  Nothing.

  Minutes passed with him cursing in frustration as he attempted to disappear.

  He finally opened his eyes. “Why can’t I teleport?”

  I shook my head and shrugged. “I’ll try.”

  I poured my energy through my hands and envisioned the gym as I chanted the teleportation spell, but I felt nothing. Not a tingle in my stomach where my body would shift and change for the location move. Instead, as I strained it felt like I was pushing against a brick wall.

  I sighed and dropped my shoulders. “It’s not working. And before you start yelling at me like a maniac, I didn’t have anything to do with this. Lisa surprised me, too. If I were a part of this then why am I here?”

  Phillip frowned at me, eyes narrowed. “You love sacrificing yourself. Maybe this was part of it. The only way to send me away is to send you too.”

  I tilted my head. That was practical. “Yeah, that’s a reasonable guess. It’d be a pretty smart thing to do, but you’re going to have to trust me on this. I didn’t have anything to do with it. If I did, I’d just tell you. You know when I’m lying, after all.” I smiled sweetly. I wasn’t exactly happy to be here but I did enjoy seeing Phillip pissed off.

  Something not too far away groaned loudly and I heard what sounded like a large flag flapping but there wasn’t any wind.

  That sound was the sound of wings. Very large wings.

  “It might be a good idea to have this conversation inside before whatever is above swoops down and gobbles us up,” I stated, looking upwards at the full moon.

  “We should go into one of these buildings,” Phillip stated, the anger in his voice relaxing. I was hopeful that he believed me about not sending us here but I knew better. Regardless of that fact, our hatred for each other would take a back-burner for bigger, scarier monsters.

  “We might want to pick something that’s not on this street. Doesn’t look so people friendly,” I replied.

  He growled. “I don’t think we have the luxury of being picky right now.”

  I shrugged and walked away from the commercial buildings, towards the pedestrian bridge. He could stay in an office building. I wanted a house and away from him. Phillip, followed me, muttering, which I found both amusing and annoying.

  We crossed the pedestrian bridge, looking ahead for shelter. We went a block farther and found a five-story apartment building.

  I hesitated but Phillip blew open the door with his magic. It was good to know we still had power. Apparently, we were only hindered in teleporting.

  “You didn’t want to knock first?” I asked, standing behind him.

  “Who was answering?” he replied, stepping inside. “It’s a building and there was no ward.”

  “Still could be people in here and maybe they are asleep.”

  “Well, they’re awake now.”

  I couldn’t see his face well in the dark but I was sure he rolled his eyes.

  “We can’t check this whole place, so we should just ward the building and pick an apartment to stay in for the night,” he continued.

  “We?” I asked. “I’m going in my own apartment and then I’m going my own way in the morning.” And if I found a way back home, I’d just go on without him and leave him here to rot. And I wouldn’t send a recovery team because I didn’t even know where we were. I moved around him and headed up the front steps of the building.

  Phillip reached out and grabbed my wrist. “Wait. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to separate.”

  I shook my hand free. “I’m already sharing a building with you. I really don’t want to share a room with you.”

  “We can find a two bedroom.”

  “That’s still too close.” I strained to look around. I did a spell of light and a ball of fire levitated in my palm.

  Phillip shut the front doors and warded the doorway as I looked around. We were in a small front entrance. The floor was dirt-covered and cracked with age. To the right were rows of rusted metal mailboxes covered in a thick layer of dust. To the left was a wall with ripped up, faded flyers. In front of us was an elevator and stairs.

  We climbed the steps to the first level. We had no need to stir things up by trying to get the elevator to work.

  “We’ll stay on this floor. And we’re sharing an apartment. There’s no point in us separating until we figure out what’s going on. I’m no threat to you,” Phillip stated.

  My eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? You are always a threat. You threatened me a month ago, saying you’d murder my friends if I didn’t do the challenge, you hurt me at that sham of a hearing, you maim people. You are dangerous,” I cried.

  Phillip raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond for a moment, as if contemplating my words before speaking. “Fair enough. But hurting you at the trial was a mistake. I apologize. There are things about my power that I’m still learning.” His eyes softened, throwing me off as I wondered if he was being sincere. “You’re too special to me to hurt, Amina. I know you don’t believe me and I get why, but we’re both here and we might as well work together until we get back home.”

  To trust Phillip was foolhardy but seeing as he couldn’t kill me and we were both stranded, I could at least use his power to help me figure this mess out and prevent some scary creature from eating me. “Fine, pick a damn apartment,” I grumbled.

  Phillip didn’t seem too picky and choose the apartment nearest the stairs. When we opened it, a stench of death hit us. Phillip shut the door quickly. “Let’s find one with no dead inside.”

  I didn’t disagree with that and moved in front of him, going farther down the hall to another apartment a few spaces away from the one we’d originally opened. I opened the door this time. No smell. At least not of a decaying body, long dead from the Sickness or some awful supernatural attack.

  The place didn’t smell like vanilla either. There was a staleness in the air with a hint of rotten food or trash and maybe urine. I coughed and opened the hallway closet. A litter box was on the floor. It was filled to the brim with poop and other things I didn’t want to investigate.

  “Shit!” Phillip shouted from somewhere in the apartment.

  I walked down the hallway, unrushed. Maybe whatever it was would eat him. Then, of course, I might die too. I walked a little faster.

  “What the hell is the problem?” I walked into the first bedroom and saw Phillip standing on the other side of the queen-sized bed looking down at the carpet.

  “Nothing,” he said, bending down. “Dead cat.”

  “This is going to be your room.” I turned and walked to the room next door. It was the master bedroom and had an ensuite. I did a cleansing spell and watched in never-ending amazement as dust vanished, pillows fluffed, and dirt disappeared. When the room was fit enough to sleep in, I flopped down on the bed, stretching out.

  A minute lat
er I heard Phillip come in the room behind me. “Seriously? You can sleep now?” he asked in an incredulous tone.

  I shrugged. “I’m not sleeping. I’m just laying down.”

  “We need to figure out where we are.”

  I sat up and crossed my arms. “It looks like we’re in Ireland. Dublin, to be exact.” I got up and walked to the window and stared out at the dark street.

  “How do you know?”

  “I vacationed in Ireland several years ago. This feels like a neighborhood I visited. I’ll know better at daylight.”

  “She sent us to Europe! How the hell can we get back?” Phillip punched a wall and I jumped.

  I turned around and looked at him. “We can find a boat and someone who knows how to sail or even someone who can fly a plane. I’m sure there are communities that survived over here. Or maybe we can find witches who can teleport us back, since we can’t.”

  Phillip walked over to the bed and sat down. “Why would Lisa do this?”

  “I said I didn’t know. She’s been missing. That’s the first time I’ve seen her in over two months.”

  “And she comes back at that exact moment and then sends us away. She knew you were losing.”

  I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I thought it was a tie. We’re equal.”

  Phillip wasn’t looking at me. “This bed is actually nice. Since we have a plan for the day, how about we spend the night having a little…fun?” He patted the space next to him on the bed.

  He was clearly not focused on the important issues. “I know in your egotistical, psychotic mind you think things are cool between us but they aren’t. Maybe you’ve forgotten but we were just in a challenge against each other.”

  Phillip smiled, probably meaning to be flirtatious. “Well, for the time that we’re here, let’s let bygones be bygones. We’re in this together. And what happens in allegedly Ireland stays in Ireland.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

  I clasped my hands together tightly and steadied my breathing. I had to remember that this man was a monster. He would not see or think the way a normal person would. “What happened to you? I can’t imagine you were always this way for Mae and Blake to love you so much.”

  Phillip tilted his head and considered me. “Fine, you want answers?”

  I nodded my head. I was bordering on panic inside; discussing his internal craziness would be enough of a distraction to my growing stress.

  Something flashed beneath his eyes. Confusion? Remorse? Sadness? He quickly regained his mask of a smile, showing me his teeth. But it was too late. I noticed it. Mae had alluded to something having happened to him. It was beyond the hurt that most of us encountered with the loss of loved ones or our former selves. No, something more sinister affected Phillip. Perhaps it was still happening.

  I frowned. “Are you possessed? Or cursed?”

  Phillip stood up, a smile on his lips. “Now, wouldn’t that be fun?” he whispered, before turning and leaving my room.

  “Ok so you really aren’t going to answer my question?” I called after him.

  He hadn’t exactly said no. I was on to something.

  I spent the next couple hours trying every way I could to teleport or communicate with my friends but nothing worked. I was interrupted a few times by unrecognizable sounds from outside. It was now fully dark and something flew past my window. I couldn’t tell what it was behind the curtain but I saw the shape of a large, eagle-sized bird. Only it was not an eagle, because it had pointed ears and a long, thin tail. Nine years in and this new world was still creepy, especially at night, and for the first time I was alone.

  I cursed and I kicked the furniture. I was enraged. I was partly mad at Lisa for doing this when I had a real shot at winning. She could have talked to me beforehand about the banishment. We could have planned it together. I would have gone for it. It was much better than dying if I didn’t win. However, she’d taken the choice from me and treated me like a threat. Maybe we weren’t as close as I believed.

  I wondered if the others were forcing her to get us back. We’d only been gone a few hours but that would have been enough time for them to have her bring me back and yet, I was still here. Were they unable to get her to bring me back? Or did it mean that they agreed with what she’d done? Maybe they were too scared that I wouldn’t win that final round and Erik, knowing that I’d asked him to kill me if I lost, thought that this was a better option.

  My heart hurt when I thought of that. I’d left Erik without telling him how I felt about him. I had barely been kind to him. He’d been good to me and I’d treated him like a stranger.

  What if I couldn’t return any time soon? Would he give up on me? Find another mate? Marry Raya? What if by the time I returned, he had moved on?

  I rubbed at my eyes. I thought of Erik’s handsome face, his scowl that I found so annoying but cute. I willed my thoughts to him. Thoughts of how much I cared about him, perhaps even loved him. That part hurt the most. He might live the rest of his life never knowing the truth.

  I didn’t know how the mate bond worked. Would he eventually be able to find me? Could we share a psychic link like Phillip and I?

  I waited in agonizing silence for anything of Erik to press into my mind but there was nothing.

  Eventually my little bit of energy dried up and I grew tired. I dragged a chair from a desk across from the bed to the door and rested it under the doorknob. I didn’t trust Phillip and if he tried to come in while I was sleeping, I wanted to be ready.

  I woke up to an immense pressure on my chest and my breath trapped in my lungs. I was sure I was having the heart attack that I had been eluding before drifting off to sleep. I opened my eyes in a panic, thinking I was dreaming, but it was no dream. I was trapped beneath a great shadow. It was more translucent, as I could vaguely see the ceiling past it. The mass was large and human-shaped. I tried to move my arms and legs but they would not bulge. I was paralyzed under the grip and weight of this shadow figure. I tried to cry out but no sound released.

  I was helpless. My heart began to race as panic grew. I let out a soundless whimper, still trying to move, but my body refused to cooperate. Closing my eyes tightly, I focused on my magic, envisioning the mass being thrown off of me. But it did not budge. In fact, the pressure only increased as the dark, translucent figure tightened its hold on my wrist.

  Suddenly, I heard a thudding on the door.

  Pounding.

  “Amina!” Phillip shouted. “You okay? Open up!”

  Hope surged through me. Times were hard if I was wishing for Phillip to save me. I couldn’t respond and I feared he would give up.

  The door burst open and I could make out part of him behind the figure.

  “Get away from her!” he shouted.

  The figure shifted, then dispersed in an explosion of dark smoke, but not before turning and hissing at Phillip, spitting out his name in a thick whisper.

  I gasped for air and I could hear myself now. The pressure was gone from my chest and I was able to move.

  Phillip raced over to me and grasped my arms. “What the hell was that?” he asked me, a genuine look of concern on his face.

  I moved away from him and noticed then that my chair was no longer near the door and it wasn’t knocked to the ground when Phillip burst in. It was upright in front of the desk where I’d originally retrieved it.

  “The hell?” I whispered.

  A door slammed from somewhere in the apartment and I jumped, taking Phillip along with me.

  “Someone broke the ward,” I stated.

  Phillip shook his head. “I didn’t feel it break.”

  We waited for footsteps but nothing came.

  The sound of something breaking. Perhaps a dish or a lamp. I couldn’t tell.

  “I don’t think anyone’s in here,” Phillip stated in a careful voice.

  “Then what in the world is going on?”

  “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

  Phillip grabbed my hand and
I didn’t fight him as we ran out of the apartment, down the steps, out of the building, and onto the vacant street. Dawn was approaching, thankfully.

  “Haunted house,” I heard Phillip mutter. “I should set that place on fire.”

  I looked back at the apartment building. All of the windows were now filled with light, looking deceivingly inviting in this barren city. The front door slammed shut. Soon other doors on the block began to open and shut.

  “Let’s get away from here,” Phillip stated.

  I nodded and followed him as we headed to the end of the street and off the block.

  “Now we know why this area is vacant,” I said.

  “That was a ghost,” Phillip said, looking around as we walked. “You’re sure you’re okay?”

  I frowned and shivered; not answering. I hated ghosts more than anything. They were one of the few supernatural entities that I couldn’t understand. My magic simply didn’t work on them. They required spells and incantations and a lot of energy to banish.

  We walked on a few blocks in silence, passing more dilapidated houses and a few boarded-up businesses, pubs, and restaurants. All vacant. It seemed that the locals left the city like many cities in America. Large cities were the most heavily-populated with the paranormal, the good, bad, and scary.

  Phillip walked over to a silver SUV and opened the front passenger door. He looked in then motioned me over. “Get in,” he ordered, leaving the door open.

  I frowned. “Why?”

  “Because we’re both tired and it’s still dark out and risky. I’m assuming the creepy crawlies come out more at night here, like in the States. I’m hoping these cars aren’t haunted,” he replied, walking over to the driver’s side door.

  I got in and closed the door. Made sense. He was an ass but he was a smart ass.

  He got in the car and closed his door. “You okay?”

  I sighed. “Stop asking me that.”

  “I’m just saying you sounded kind of upset back there?”

  “A ghost tried to kill me.”

  “No, I’m talking about before all that.”

  I bristled. Of course, I knew he heard me having a fit but it was still embarrassing to be confronted with it.