by Wendy Wang
“Yep. He called from her phone. How else would he have that?” she asked.
“I need to call Jason.”
“No, don’t do that,” she said. A heavy downpour of rain drummed on the roof. “He’s got enough on his plate with the storm.”
“Charlie, don’t be ridiculous.” Cameron said.
“It’s going to have to be you and me,” she said. “Do you have your gun with you?”
“What are you talking about?” Cameron asked.
“I am talking about you having a weapon that you can use,” she snapped. “Now do you have your gun or not?”
“Of course I do,” he snapped.
“Good,” she said. “You’re going to need it.”
Down the hall Charlie heard the back door open and shut and the commotion that came with several people. Jen called to the house. “We’re back.”
“Oh thank goddess,” Charlie said. “Come on, we need to gather everyone together and tell them what’s going on.”
Chapter 26
"Jason will never forgive me if something happens her," Cameron said.
"He'll never forget any of us," Charlie said. She sped through the rain holding steady to the steering wheel, fighting against the wind.
"Well, I'm sure Jack will never forgive you if you ruin his new truck, Charlie," Ben said from the cushy-looking backseat of the Silverado.
"Believe me, if we don't save his daughter Jack won’t give a crap about his truck," Daphne said. Her usual positivity seemed to have taken a vacation. Charlie glanced in the rearview mirror. Jen sat between Daphne and Ben, her face wan and pinched. She didn't say a word.
"It's okay, Jen,” Charlie said. “We’re going to get her back."
"I know," Jen said, but it sounded rote to Charlie’s ears.
"I don’t get why you think he’s going back to that house," Cameron said. “It’s sealed up."
"Yes, I'm sure that yellow tape and that sticker across the door will hold out.” Charlie didn’t hold back her sarcasm. "He said something to me about registering him to vote, which is the ruse we used to get inside his house. That's why I think he’s going there. That and my intuition,” Charlie said. “Haven’t you ever trusted your gut Cameron?”
"Well, your intuition also said that he was a demon,” Cameron muttered and rolled his eyes. He turned his head to look out the window.
"He is a demon," Charlie said. “No matter what you and Jason think.” She remembered Curtis’s words. He was going to turn her into a demon and eat her soul.
"Just stop. Please," Jen said in a small voice.
Charlie pursed her lips. Why was she doing that? Why was she fighting with Cameron? She knew it would just upset Jen and Jen was upset enough. "I'm sorry Jen."
"Let's just get there and see if he's there," Jen said. Charlie turned her attention back to the road. She had to slow down several times because the rain fell in sheets so thick she couldn't see two feet ahead of her. It made the urgency swell into a balloon, robbing the air around them.
"Did you call Tom?" Ben asked.
"He's gonna meet us there," Charlie said.
"Why are you bringing your boyfriend?" Cameron asked. “He's a mortician, right?"
"Yep," Charlie said, biting back the smart-ass remark she wanted to make. "Among other things." She would not fight with him for Jen’s sake.
Finally Charlie saw the orange reflector and turned onto the gravel drive that led to Gabriel Curtis's house. This time she pulled all the way up into the yard, ripping up what little grass there was in the yard. She reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her wand. It'd gotten more use in the last week than it had in months. She was seriously considering making a holster and strapping it to her belt.
"Okay, Harry Potter, what is that going to do?" Cameron asked.
Charlie glared at him. "Well, it can help us take down the demon that's inside Gabriel Curtis and then if Curtis is still alive, it will be up to you to arrest his ass," Charlie said.
"We ready?" Ben tapped her back seat three times.
"Yep, let's do this." Charlie said.
They all filed out of the truck and ran to the front porch, but couldn’t avoid being drenched by the sideways-blowing rain. The wind whipped around them fiercely. Debris of paper and pieces of tree branches sailed through the air. The old tire that had leaned against the tree now lay on its side.
The front door was wide open when they stepped under the cover of the porch.
"Told you," Charlie said. "He's waiting for us."
“He's probably prepared, too,” Ben said. “Wands up."
Jen stepped forward and handed a small linen bag strung on a long piece of jute to Cameron. “Put this on."
"Why?" Cameron said.
"Just humor me," Jen said.
Cameron's lips twisted with a grimace but he didn't argue. He slipped it over his head and unholstered his weapon. "Okay, I'm going to clear the house. Why don't you wait here until I tell you to come in?"
"Screw that," Daphne said.
"Get behind us, Cameron," Charlie said.
Charlie and Jen took the lead into the house.
The air felt heavy and oppressive, making it hard to breathe. Even Cameron noticed. He gulped in air.
"Okay," Charlie said, calling to the house. "You wanted me here. So here I am. Show yourself."
She heard footsteps shuffle across the floor upstairs. Charlie was on the steps taking them two at a time before anyone could stop her. When she got to the second floor landing Gabriel Curtis was waiting across the long hallway in the doorway of a bedroom.
"Charlie, no!" Lisa screamed. "Get out of here!"
All the doors in the hall opened and slammed shut several times. Gabriel stepped back, slamming the door behind him. Jen let out a growl of frustration and charged at the door. She jiggled the handle and beat her fist against the wood.
"It's locked!" she screamed. "Lisa! Lisa!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed behind the door, and Jen became very still for just a moment.
"Ben?" Charlie said.
He pointed his wand at the door. A white electric energy zapped it, and Charlie jiggled the handle again it. Still locked.
Cameron sighed. “Stand back," he said. He lifted his foot and kicked the door in. The frame splintered, and the door flew back, hitting the wall with a loud bang. He held his gun up and entered the room.
"Gabriel Curtis, put your hands on your head."
Curtis turned around. A leer smeared across his lips. His eyes were completely black.
Cameron took a step back, visibly shaken. "What the hell?"
"Witches, three, two, one." Ben held his wand up and took aim, but Jen fired first. Her hand shook a little as she did, making the stream of energy unsteady. Curtis jumped behind Lisa, who was strapped down to a chair in the center of the room. A pair of metal wings hung on the back of the chair, making Lisa look almost like Bethany McCabe.
Jen took aim again, this time more confident in her stance. The other witches fired as well, joining their streams together until they merged into a yellow beam of light that encircled Gabriel's body, holding him captive.
“Demon heart, demon head…" Daphne began the chant. The witches joined in. “I cast you out of this body. Leave this realm. Go home. To the netherworld where you belong.”
Gabriel began to scream. Thunder boomed overhead. The light flickered and the power went off.
"Hold him steady," Ben said.
"Where's Tom?" Jen asked.
"I don't know," Charlie said.
“Demon heart, demon head …" Daphne continued chanting.
Curtis and the demon start to separate. His head shook in all directions. The skin of his face stretched in unnatural ways and his head looked as if it might explode.
For just a brief second, Curtis fought off the energy of the witches holding him captive. He broke free and raised the knife above Lisa’s head. Charlie did not hesitate. She charged him, grabbing his wrist, fighting with him to ke
ep it from stabbing her cousin. He shook her off and plunged the knife into her upper arm. A shot rang out, and the world around her fell into muffled chaos.
Tom appeared, and cut his scythe into Gabriel's chest. He plucked the demon from its human shell and Gabriel Curtis crumpled to the ground.
Charlie’s legs went out from under her. An icy cold breeze overwhelmed her whole body and her teeth chattered. The voices sounded far away. The last face she saw was Cameron's. Telling her to hold on. Why did he seem so mad?
The world began to gray at the edges and Charlie closed her eyes, succumbing to the feeling of falling.
"Charlie girl?" Bunny said.
Charlie felt herself get up from her body and go over to her grandmother who was standing on the sidelines watching the commotion.
"Bunny what are you doing here?"
"I told you I was going to hang around a little bit."
Charlie looked down at her body. It was the strangest thing to see herself lying there so still. Cameron was tying his belt around her arm trying to stop the bleeding.
"It's not your time, honey," Bunny said.
Charlie felt a warm light at her back. All she wanted to do was sink into that warmth.
"I don't want to go back, Bunny. It's cold there.” Charlie said.
"I know honey. But it's not your time. There’s still too much for you to do. And Evan needs you."
Of course he did. Evan needed her. What was she thinking?
"What do I do?" Charlie asked.
"Well the first thing, you gotta get back in your body. It's sort of like falling off a wall. You can do that. Can't you?"
Charlie nodded her head and walked around to her feet and fell forward. Her eyes flew open.
"I'm okay," she said.
"No, you're not," Cameron said. “You idiot. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Cameron, just stop it," Jen snapped. "We need to get you to the hospital, honey."
"No," Ben said. Let's take her back to your dad's. Evangeline and I will heal her."
"You all are the craziest bunch of people I have ever met in my life," Cameron said throwing his hands up in the air. “I should arrest you all for negligence."
"Yeah, whatever floats your boat, buddy," Ben said. “Charlie can you walk?"
“I don't know," she said.
“Okay." Ben scooped her up in his arms and carried her downstairs. Charlie looked over his shoulder and saw Jen and Daphne untying Lisa from the chair. Once they freed her, she threw her arms around them and sank into them with Gabriel Curtis’ dead stare fixed on them.
Chapter 27
Charlie sat on her couch with her feet propped up on the trunk she used as a coffee table. Ben had done a good job healing her arm but it had gotten her out of the after-storm cleanup of her uncle’s property, and she was enjoying the attention that Tom was giving her. He walked in to her tiny living room and handed her a cup of tea.
"Thank you," she said. She brought the warm drink up to her nose and inhaled the scent of peppermint.
Tom, I’ve been thinking about something," Charlie said.
Tom took a seat next to her on the couch. "All right, tell me."
"I think we should make a trip to the beach."
"Why?" Tom asked. "To look for her?"
"I feel like we should. I'm thinking she would come to me if I stood there long enough," she said.
"She's really William’s catch," Tom said. “And do you really want to court another storm so soon?”
"So you don't want to go?" Charlie said.
"It's not that I don't want to catch her. But she's been a legend for so long. Taking her now would be almost like taking a piece of history away from the place,” Tom said.
"Yes, but if we take her then she can't curse anyone else," Charlie said.
"Do you really feel that she cursed you?" Tom asked.
Charlie thought over the events of the last couple of weeks. She wasn't sure exactly what she thought. But cursed did keep popping up in her head.
"Maybe," Charlie said.
"You know what I think?" Tom said.
"What?" she said, taking a sip of her tea.
"I don't think a ghost can cast a curse. A very wise witch told me that once," Tom said.
"Did she now?" Charlie said, a grin spreading across her face.
"Uh huh," Tom said as he leaned in and brushed his lips across hers. "You taste like peppermint. My favorite."
"Mine too," she said.
The End
Author Notes
Thank you for reading. If you loved this book you can order the next in series, or get information on the release here:
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Thank you again for reading!
Check out my other books:
Witches of Palmetto Point Series (Supernatural Suspense)
Book 1: Haunting Charlie
Book 2: Wayward Spirits
Book 3: Devil's Snare
Book 4: The Witch's Ladder
The Book of Kaels Series (Fantasy)
Book 1: The Last Queen
Book 2: The Wood Kael
Book 3: The Metal Kael
Book 4: The Fire Kael
Book of Kaels Box Set: Books 1 -4
Short Stories: Love Lacey
