Wicked Good Witches- Complete Series Bundle

by Ruby Raine

  Eva/Emily’s body contorted and shifted, matching Charlie’s deliberate movements. She would not be so easily intimidated. A haughty grin spread across her face as she reveled in the fact that her death had ended the fake pregnancy spell. She could shift again. It was not a full moon and Eva did not have a Guardian ring, but she was a shapeshifter and could take the form of her werewolf at will.

  Her wolf was equal to Charlie’s in height and ferocity.

  They stared each other down.

  Snarling. Growling.

  Jack spotted the silver chain Charlie’d been carrying to use against Eva. It was lying on the ground behind his son. Charlie and Eva circled each other with cautious, heavy steps. Each threatening to attack, but neither making the first move.

  Lizzy struggled to keep Michael from getting involved. He was losing it, not knowing where Emily really was. And with the Feyk gone, Eva was the only person who knew.

  Jack saw his moment and sprinted, sliding across the ground. He grasped onto the silver and flicked the chain outward. It slashed into Eva’s side. She snarled and spun, spotting Jack.

  Charlie lunged. Eva lunged.

  Charlie landed where Eva had been.

  Eva landed on Jack Howard, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. Deeply.

  Charlie howled as if he’d been bitten himself.

  She was finishing the job she’d started ten years before. When she’d tried to bite Jack and Charlie had gotten in the way.

  Michael escaped Lizzy’s grasp, scurried across the floor grabbing the silver chain. He climbed up Eva’s back and lassoed it around her neck.

  Werewolf Eva released their father. Grasping at the chain. It burned her skin. Choking her.

  Michael pulled tighter.

  “How’s it feel to burn?” he spat out. “Where’s Emily?”

  Eva choked, her arms thrashing at the silver. She spun around only to come face to face with Charlie’s werewolf. He thrust his claws into her chest, his eyes watching shock and dismay bulge into hers.

  He didn’t want to kill her yet, they needed to find Emily first. But he planned on her death, hurting. A lot.

  Blood spurted out of Eva’s werewolf mouth. She started to shift again, no longer able to hold the form. The wolf contorted back into Emily.

  Fucking hell. Why take her form again?

  To make me hesitate.

  Charlie pushed the face he knew so well out of his mind and put Eva’s face onto Emily’s. This wasn’t Emily, and he could not waver in his judgment.

  His claws pushed in deeper; to show Eva just how sick he thought she was for doing this. And to prove exactly how in charge, he was. He forced back the memories of their time together. Although a little piece of his wolf basked in the glory that he’d made her submit to him.

  His eyes danced in wild anger. He leaned into her ear with a guttural growl. “You will submit to me, Eva. One last time before you die.” He raked his claws deeper yet. “Where. Is. Emily?”

  Eva/Emily laughed. A drunk, feral sort of laugh.

  Doubt spread through Charlie. Along with disgust and disappointment. From the ring? His own subconscious, he was not sure.

  He withdrew his claws. His body shifted back into his human self. Naked again. He didn’t care, this had to end and clothing was optional.

  The lust for the kill raged inside him... it was wrong. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t part of his job. Sometimes they had to kill, but not for revenge or pleasure. They were not murderers. Eva being dead would make him happy, he could not deny that emotion. But it needed to be because there was no other choice.

  Michael held the silver chain firmly and wrapped it around her arms to bind her tightly. Eva screamed as the silver seared into her skin.

  Charlie got into her face. “You’ve got about three seconds to talk. And live.”

  “You’ll just kill me anyway. Why not just get it over with?”

  Charlie looked at Michael. Michael closed his eyes. Eva wasn’t going to tell them, and they could not let her escape.

  “We will find her,” Charlie promised.

  Lizzy shouted to them. She had their father’s head in her lap, putting pressure on his wound. “He’s bad guys.” Her tone insinuated, whatever you’re going to do, hurry the hell up. Jack gasped for air. Blood gushing out of his shoulder, profusely. Lizzy attempted to use magic to close the wound but the werewolf bite was tricky, and too deep to heal.

  “Eva, I’ll give you one more chance to redeem yourself before leaving this world for good,” said Charlie, as calmly and clearly as possible. “I do not know what happened to make you this way. We have all suffered loss. I really don’t believe that all of you is this evil. I saw a good side of you. Part of me was falling for that side. But you will have to live, or die, by your choices tonight.”

  Eva just stared. Her gaze even, unchanging.

  There was only one last thing Charlie could try.

  He got down on his knees in front of her. “Is this what you want? My submission to you... for me to beg you?” He gazed down at his naked self. “I can’t possibly be any more submissive than I am right now. But I will beg, if that’s what you want... please, Eva. Do the right thing. Tell me what you’ve done with Emily.”

  Eva was far beyond doing the right thing. Darkness had claimed her and there was no going back. Although seeing Charlie Howard on his knees, begging, gave her quite a thrill. But no. She would not submit. She would not surrender now.

  They believed she was shifted into Emily’s form. That she had Emily hidden somewhere. Once she revealed she had taken over Emily’s body, they wouldn’t be able to kill her.

  It took painful movements, but Eva/Emily wiggled her empty ring finger. Charlie didn’t know what she was doing, except stalling.

  “Catch on yet?” she hissed triumphantly.

  Michael’s eyed widened, complete horror enveloping him. He let go of her, the silver chain loosening. “Ring,” he stammered. A gut wrenching pain stabbed into his heart.

  “I thought you’d come around,” said Eva/Emily smugly. She shimmied out of the silver chain, letting out a wince as the silver brushed across her skin and fell to the ground.

  Charlie hadn’t stabbed Eva.

  He’d stabbed Emily.

  Dear, precious, Emily... his arm went to reach out for her but fell short.

  If Eva left Emily’s body now, she would lose the ability to heal.

  Emily would die. Her wounds were too extensive.

  Charlie didn’t think her plan was to do that though. Eva wanted a new body. And she had control of Emily’s.

  William had killed her. Eva had died.

  Emily’s frame started to shift. Her long brown locks shifting to stark white. Eva’s shorter toned body formed with a satisfied moan. “So much better. The vessel’s body is... cute. But I do prefer my own.”

  Something hit Charlie. Lizzy’s handbag. She’d thrown it at him.

  Michael went to his father. He didn’t know what else to do. Everything was supposed to be okay now. Instead, it had spiraled out of control again.

  Charlie opened the bag, another pair of shorts and a tee shirt pushed up out of it. He pulled on the shorts with a silent gratitude he’d figure out how to repay later. He looked up, hatred in his eyes, and handed Eva the shirt.

  “At least cover yourself so I don’t have to look at you.”

  “Oh. Poor Charlie. Don’t want to have another round, for old time’s sake?”

  Charlie only stared in silent warning.

  Michael cringed and pretended he did not hear. It was his girlfriend’s body. Not Eva’s, and she was defiling it with her presence.

  “You can’t let her escape,” spurted Jack.

  “I can’t kill her, Dad.”

  Neither could Charlie. He wouldn’t do it. It was asking too much.

  Jack’s breath grew uneven.

  “He’s lost too much blood,” warned Lizzy. “Charlie,” she called out. Her tone pulled him to his father’s side at on
ce.

  Eva strode over to the power source. Her greedy eyes taking it in.

  “Dad,” cried Charlie. They couldn’t get him back just to lose him again. Not like this.

  “It’s my time,” comforted Jack. He’d had the ominous feeling almost since his son had found him on the side of the road. His wounds were deep. He could not recover.

  He looked at his sons. Love and pride in his eyes.

  “Tell Melinda how much I love her.” He spoke with strained effort. He hadn’t even had the chance to see his daughter yet. Other than the nearly dead mess she’d been when William rescued her. “I’m so proud of everything you’ve done here.”

  After seeing Michael take the reins and deal with the locals, allaying their fears, and the depths at which Charlie was willing to go to fulfill his duty and not give in to the temptations that would only lead to darkness, he knew they’d be okay now. He had been given a last day, and he had given his son’s as much as he could.

  Jack Howard’s last movement was to turn his gaze to Eva Jordan. His final thought, unfinished business... he would do what his sons could not. But first, he had to die.

  His final breath sliced through his son’s minds like a knife.

  He couldn’t be gone. It wasn’t supposed to end like this.

  Charlie and Michael leaned over their father’s body, unable to let him go.

  Lizzy had his blood covering her. She leaned over his head and closed Jack’s eyes.

  Jack Howard’s spirit lifted, hovering over his lifeless body.

  Moving his spirit body would not be easy at first. It took a little getting used to. However, unlike most newly departed souls, he knew what was possible.

  He ignored the mournful sobs of his sons and focused his essence towards Eva. His electric energy floated just on top of the ground as he came up behind her.

  She was running her hands across the power source, defiling it with her touch.

  Eva gasped painfully, her body arching in a stabbing spasm.

  Charlie, Michael, and Lizzy jumped up, no idea what was happening.

  Eva’s body convulsed. Emily’s form and her form interchanging rapidly.

  They were shocked when their father’s spirit materialized in front of them.

  The power source started to pulse harder behind Eva and Jack.

  Jack Howard jabbed his ghostly arms into Eva/Emily’s body, grabbing Eva’s spirit by the throat. His ghostly hands pulled at her in attempts to exorcise her out of Emily.

  Eva’s spirit struggled as Jack yanked on her.

  The power source’s beat sped up faster. Almost as if it sensed the struggle and was feeding off it.

  Suddenly, the ghostly voices of Eva and Jack reverberated through the cavern.

  Charlie, Michael, and Lizzy looked onward in shock. How were they hearing them? Normally only a ghost inhabiting a vessel could speak. Or in Lizzy’s case, since she was a ghast and not a ghost.

  The pulsing Heart thumped hard. And fast.

  “It’s got to be the source doing it,” muttered Charlie.

  Eva fought hard, kicking and screaming. “You can’t win against me, old man. You have no magic here.”

  “Nor do you. And with age, comes wisdom,” seethed Jack.

  “But not power,” she claimed.

  Jack squeezed harder. “Never underestimate the power of a father’s love for his children. Love is a power that requires no magic, and ascends all others.”

  Emily’s back, arched. Eva’s spirit form splitting out of her.

  The Heart of The Isle pounded rapidly, its membrane-like casing throbbing powerfully with each pulse.

  With a violent pull, Jack Howard tore Eva Jordan’s spirit out of Emily Morgan.

  She slumped to the ground. Limp. Lifeless. Still injured. Her wounds not fully healed. Michael and Charlie raced over, dragging her away from Eva and their father. Blood pooled on Emily’s chest, soaking the tee shirt in red. Her pulse was weak, her breathing labored.

  They looked up when a crackle of electricity sparked. The Heart’s pulsing stopped, replaced with an ear pounding hum. It buzzed, like energy with no place to go.

  Behind Jack, a wooden door appeared out of nowhere.

  It creaked open.

  Eva flailed, trying to escape his grasp.

  She spied the door, her spirited eyes widening in horror as she saw the shapes of her parents waiting to greet her.

  “I’m not going in there,” she shrieked. Wispy tendrils started to spark out of her body and reach toward the door. It was calling her through.

  Jack thrust his arm, throwing her into the door. She got sucked in but grabbed hold of the frame, refusing to let go. She gripped and pulled, prying herself back out. A sneer covered her face. “I’m not that easy to get rid of...”

  With a strike as fast and hard as lightening, a roar of energy blasted out of the power source and hit Eva straight in the chest. Her eyes bulged. Her fingers slipped. She flew backwards into whatever hell awaited her.

  The door slammed shut.

  Eva Jordan was gone. This time, for good.

  The pounding buzz of the Heart, slowed, its regular pulse returning.

  Jack Howard faced his sons.

  They could no longer hear him. Only see him.

  Lovingly, he embraced each of them with his eyes, saying a final goodbye.

  A door appeared behind him. It opened slowly.

  A silhouette formed.

  “Mom,” mumbled Charlie.

  She smiled out at her sons and mouthed the words, “I love you.”

  Jack Howard turned and smiled at his wife. She took his hand and pulled him gently through. The door closed and vanished with a soft swoosh.

  They had no time to mourn.

  They needed to save Emily.

  She was still losing blood from where Charlie had stabbed her with his claws. Eva wasn’t in her body long enough for the wounds to finish healing. They’d never make it out of here and to a hospital in time to save her.

  “It’s my fault she’s dying,” cried Charlie. He couldn’t face his brother.

  Michael leaned over her, begging her to speak to him. To open her eyes. To breathe. Tears cascaded from his eyes onto her face. He might not have dealt the blow, but he’d relished in the act. Wishing he’d done it himself. It wasn’t just Charlie’s fault.

  Charlie slid the tee shirt enough to look. He laid his hands over her wounds as if willing them to heal. He didn’t quite dare touch her and wasn’t sure where to start. He tried to clear his head and calm himself.

  Lizzy came to Charlie’s side.

  He gazed up at her. “I don’t know what to do.” His hands shook. Lizzy reached out to steady him, but gasped, pulling back.

  A warm glow started to emanate out of Charlie’s ring.

  It grew and expanded, stretching outward and down, encasing Emily from head to toe. Michael let go of her, sliding back.

  The glow enveloped Charlie’s hands, feeling like a charge of energy. Sort of like life, sliding out of him.

  Emily’s wounds started to close. Color returned to her cheeks.

  Somehow, Charlie was healing her.

  He didn’t know how, or why. But he was so certain of it.

  The glow started to fade.

  Emily inhaled, her eyes fluttering open.

  Michael reached down and pulled her to him, embracing her.

  “Michael...” she whispered weakly.

  “You’re okay, Em. You’re okay. I don’t know how, but God, you’re still with me.”

  Emily rested her head on Michael’s shoulder.

  She was healed. Her wounds gone. Her physical ones at least.

  The wounds ravaging her soul might never heal.

  She whimpered on his shoulder. Confused. Tired. Fatherless. Ringless. With no idea what this meant for her future. And not caring much about the future.

  Lizzy grabbed hold of Charlie’s hands, looking them over.

  He had no idea what had just hap
pened. It was the Guardian ring. It had to be. And whatever it had done, it healed Emily. Brought her back from the brink of death.

  He looked over at the lifeless body of his father, then down at Lizzy.

  She shook her head. “I don’t think you were meant to save him.”

  How could he be given such a gift, and been made aware of its existence too late to save his father? Maybe Lizzy was right. Maybe it was his dad’s time and nothing would have stopped his death.

  Maybe his dad was supposed to have died four years ago, alongside their mother.

  Perhaps this last day gave them only what they needed.

  His help. Closure. A chance to be with him, learn from him, one last time.

  Charlie dropped his head, his heart twisting into a knot he didn’t think could be unraveled. They hadn’t all been able to see him.

  Melinda...

  He got to his feet.

  It was time to leave.

  And he was tired, beyond measure.

  And yet still wired, the adrenaline waning.

  But also weary and in need of a stiff drink. Or ten.

  They had their confirmation. They had located the power source.

  The rest would need to wait.

  Michael helped Emily to her feet. She didn’t talk, only leaned on him. A shell of her usual self.

  “How... how are we going to get Dad’s body out of here?” asked Charlie. Their mother’s urn was on the ground, just a couple feet away from him.

  As if answering the question for them, thin wooden-like tendrils poked up through the ground, from under and around Jack’s body. A tendril reached out, wrapping around their mother’s urn, twisting it inside its grasp. It brought the urn to a rest on top of Jack’s body.

  The tendrils wrapped around Jack. And the urn. Encasing them.

  They started to pulse, the same as the Heart. A minute later, his body disappeared. A new, thick tendril in its place. The tendril plunged itself down into the earth.

  The Heart had claimed their parents. Their bodies now rooted to The Demon Isle, forever. They could not think of a more fitting location for their parent’s bodies to rest in peace.

  MELINDA’S EYES FLUTTERED, trying to open. She moaned, not wanting to wake up. She’d been lost in the most incredible dream. She felt comforted. Rested. Blissfully contented. The fear and pain that had crippled her, fading like a distant memory. Replaced with a quiet sadness and a sense of wholeness. Like she was gaining something, but losing something.