Witch of Shadows (Shadowhurst Mysteries Book 1)

by A. N. Sage

  As soon as my skin touched the stone, a sharp pain shot through my arm. It was so quick I almost didn’t notice it but when it was gone, I could move my hands again. The skin that was dried out and deadened before was regaining color and I could feel my blood pump faster through my veins. Next to me, Evanora’s eyes were still shut as she continued to speak the words I didn’t understand over and over. My eyes jerked to my ring and I turned it around on my finger to press the stone into the soft part of my palm. I fisted my hand and focused on my mother’s face that continued to flash in my vision.

  Suddenly, Beatrix was gone and I hated to admit that I missed seeing her. Her face evaporated from my thoughts and was replaced by something very different. A shadow of a man.

  He was tall, with wide shoulders and a long neck, but that was all I could see. It was like I was looking through the darkness that was his body. The man moved and the shadow dispersed, spreading over my vision until all I saw was night. My eyes shot open but when they did, I found myself in pitch black. The field disappeared, as did the circle and Evanora, and I was lying amid shadows so thick I couldn’t see an inch ahead.

  My hand shook and I raised myself on my forearms to look around but no matter where I turned my head, the shadows followed. They had swallowed me whole.

  Somewhere near me, Evanora gasped and I snapped my head in her direction. Granted, I couldn’t see her, but I assumed that’s where she was based on the sound. Trembling, I brought my palms to my face to inspect them and the shadows reflected the movement. They covered my hands in darkness but through it, I could see the moonstone of my ring glow brighter than the sun.

  “What are you?” Evanora whispered.

  I pointed my ring hand to where her voice was and pushed my magic out. A guttural scream escaped me as I let it go free and slam into her. The shadows followed the scream, bursting from my body, and wrapping around her neck as I twisted my fingers like I was squeezing Evanora’s skin. She choked and gasped as the shadows tightened their hold on her windpipe and my jaw dropped to the ground.

  This wasn’t possible! A moonstone crystal was only useful to create balance. It had no power on its own, at least not one that manifested physically. How am I doing this? Bile rose in my throat as I replayed Evanora’s words in my mind.

  What in the hell was I?

  You Can’t Kill Her

  The shadows spread across Evanora’s body like vines until only her head could be seen. Her eyes bulged and spit collected at the side of her lips as she grit her teeth together. Watching her struggle to breathe brought me more joy than I cared to admit and I raised my hands, directing the shadows to bring her off the ground.

  Evanora’s horror-stricken eyes jumped in every direction as she tried to find a way out of this but I knew she couldn’t escape me now. Her crystals and my dagger lay on the floor below her feet and the bushel of herbs around her neck did not offer enough energy to free her. She was mine.

  My lips curved into a vicious sneer and I squeezed my fingers tighter, watching the blood rush to her face from the pressure. I could almost laugh at the situation. Just seconds ago, Evanora had me on my deathbed and now, she was under my control. I was stronger than a witch with four fae lines inside her and it made me giddy.

  Bet you’ll never talk down to me now, Sebyl. Ooooh! I wonder if I could be a high priestess now that I’m kick-ass strong? Man, I LOVE this!

  The thought of telling Sebyl and the other high priestesses what to do for once felt amazing but Evanora’s agonizing screams brought me back to reality. As I watched her crumble under the hold of my shadows—I still couldn’t bring myself to refer to whatever it was I was doing as magic—a sickness spread through me. What I was doing wasn’t right and what was worse, if I killed Evanora, I would be just like her.

  I couldn’t do that. Not even to her.

  For sure not to River.

  My gaze met hers one more time and then I pulled the shadows back into myself. To my shock, they obliged without question and Evanora fell to the ground from five feet high, dropping to her knees like a sack of potatoes.

  I can’t kill her. I had to bring her to the High Coven, just as I planned.

  Slouching, I turned to pick up my dagger from the ground when something hit my back and knocked me forward. My palms scraped the earth and the skin on them burnt from the friction. I slid on my knees, turning to see Evanora back on her feet, clear quartz in one hand and sapphire in the other. Her fingers tightened around the quartz and she slammed her magic in my face.

  The wind that rushed from her knocked me further back until I was on my ass in the dirt. I reached for my magic but Evanora was one step ahead, working the sapphire in an epic display of power. A stream of water shot out from her palm and into my open mouth, sending me reeling back from the impact. The water rushed down my throat and I coughed and choked, trying to get it out of my system. My body jerked and I fell forward and retched onto the earth. My throat still burnt when I looked back to Evanora just as she was about to fire again. Her braid was loose and her hair whipped around her face making her look like an evil villain from a movie. She was petrifying and I couldn’t believe a witch this evil could create someone as kind as River.

  My head hurt thinking about him but I shook the thought away. I would never see that hot specimen of a man again.

  Evanora threw her arm out and I readied for her attack when suddenly, something knocked her off balance. The sapphire flew from her hand, landing somewhere too far to see. Next to her feet, a knife stood on end, the tip impaled in the earth. Evanora’s eyes snapped back and I followed her lead.

  NO!

  Close to us, stood River. His hand was still outstretched from throwing the knife and he was breathing so hard I could see his pecs move up and down under this shirt. My eyes traveled down his body to the waistband of his jeans. YUM…

  For the love of the Goddess, can you get a grip?!?

  Reluctantly, I forced my gaze back up his body, pausing only a little to admire his chest again. A girl had to get what she could, right? Our eyes locked and confusion spread over my face. He came back and he stopped his mother from killing me. But why? He can’t be here to save my sorry ass, could he? No. Uh-uh. That’s not what’s happening here. River was a witch hunter and I was a witch. There had to be another explanation for this.

  “You’re back?” I asked.

  “Why, son?” Evanora said at the same time.

  River peeled his gaze from mine and glared at her. “I can’t let you kill her, mom. I just can’t.”

  “River Hunting,” Evanora scolded. “You are a witch hunter and you will step aside and let me do the job for you if you cannot. You kill witches, son.”

  “I won’t kill this one,” River said. “And you won’t either.”

  Despite Evanora’s screams otherwise, River walked to stand by my side. His hand reached for mine and when I felt his fingers, my soul relaxed. He was my personal valium and I couldn’t get enough of his touch. And he was here. With me. He came back for me.

  I was still in shock mode when River squeezed my hand and urged my attention toward him. “I’m sorry I left. And I’m sorry for what I said,” he whispered. “You’re not like her, Billie. I know that. You can’t be. You just can’t be. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “You were thinking that you just found I’m a witch and I don’t blame you. Thanks for coming back.”

  “I know but—”

  Before he could finish the sentence, his body shot back and away from me. He landed on the ground with a loud bang and groaned as he rolled over to the side. Rubbing his chest, River jumped back to his feet and glared at Evanora. “What the hell, mom? Did you for real just do that?”

  Evanora chuckled and blew him a kiss then threw another gust of wind our way. It aimed at me and it didn’t miss its target. My feet skidded across the ground as it pushed me back with a force so strong I thought I got hit by a truck. My back collided with River’s chest and we tumbled bac
k, limbs knocking against each other as we rolled.

  With a grunt, I pushed myself off River and crouched, slamming my shadows into Evanora’s chest to knock her back. She catapulted through the air, landing on her back inside the circle.

  “Doesn’t feel great, does it?” I yelled and brushed the dirt off my knees.

  I walked toward her, steps quickening the closer I came. Both my arms stretched in her direction and I saw the shadows grow around them as I built my magic, ready to charge. Evanora crab-walked away from me and the fear on her face told me everything I needed to know. I was going to win this. The shadows burst out of me and pinned her body to the ground as I came to stand over her. Cringing, I pulled my arms apart, forcing my shadows to spread Evanora’s arms to match mine. She was inside the circle and laid out in a cross just like her victims had been. A laugh bubbled to the surface as I thought about how good it would feel to end her right there and then in exactly this position.

  “Billie, NO!” River shouted and ran to my side. “You can’t kill her!”

  “She killed those students! Your friend was one of them!”

  My voice shook as I yelled but my hold on Evanora stayed strong. I couldn’t let her get away this time.

  “Please,” River begged. “She’s still my mom. Please, Billie.”

  A shiver ran up my spine and I turned to look at him. “Then what? We can’t just let her go. She will not stop. She’s a freaking lunatic.”

  “I know.”

  “You might as well kill me because I don’t think I can live knowing my son is dating some filthy little High Coven supporter,” Evanora sniped.

  My eyes snapped to her and I flicked my finger. At my command, a shadow crept from her shoulder and wrapped around her mouth like a muzzle. “Stay quiet or you’ll get what you’re wishing for,” I hissed then turned back to River. “So what do we do?”

  “I don’t know, can’t you just trap her somehow. With magic?”

  “That’s what I’m doing now!” I yelled and rolled my eyes. “I can’t hold her like this forever. I can feel myself draining already and I don’t know how long I can last this way.”

  “Okay, fine. So we tie her up.”

  “She’ll just escape,” I murmured. “Unless…”

  The field around us grew quiet as my thoughts ran a million miles a minute. River was onto something here. I could trap her but not in the way he was thinking. I could use magic to hold her down, at least until the High Coven gets here. Something that didn’t drain my energy and though the shadows didn’t seem to do much to steal from my power, I worried at some I would run dry. My eyes scanned the ground for the rest of Evanora’s crystals. She came here to finish the ritual which meant she must have brought something for all the elements in the circle. Slowly, I rotated my head in each direction until I found what I was looking for.

  “Over there!” I yelled, gesturing with my head. “Get that emerald.”

  River ran to where I was pointing and snatched the crystal from the ground while Evanora squirmed under the shadows beneath me. I was still worried this new magic would suck me dry so I was hopeful my plan would work or we’d be royally screwed.

  “Now what?” He asked when he jogged back to me.

  “Put it in my hand.”

  He did as I said and as soon as the emerald was on my skin, I could feel its energy course through me. Careful not to let go of the shadows, I lowered to my knees. With one hand holding Evanora in place, I slammed the other to the earth and reached deep into it with my magic. The emerald burnt against my skin and my body shook as I took in its power. The little lights twinkled in my peripheral but for once, I was grateful for their presence. They meant I had gotten what I needed. The earth rumbled under us and I noticed River try to hold his balance. Both his feet were stretched out wide like was surfing a wave and his panicked eyes bore into me. I wanted to reassure him but this always worked better with my eyes closed. Against myself, I shut my lids and poured my magic into the earth. The ground shook more again and my knees slid beneath me as I pulled on the deep-seated tree roots under us. They were so far that I wasn’t sure I could reach them but after a few more tries and a lot of unattractive heaving, I had them in my grasp. I pulled my magic up, taking the roots with me until they spun out of the earth all around Evanora. My body was vibrating from the magic and I had to drop the shadows I had around her to wield the roots with both my hands. As soon as she was free, Evanora bolted but I was faster this time. I crossed my arms, directing the massive roots that hovered above her. They intertwined around her body, locking her in and forcing her back to the earth.

  Still shaking, I stood up and inspected my work. Evanora’s limbs and mid-section were covered in a weave of tree roots; there was no way she getting away now. As a final ‘screw you’, I flicked my finger and sent a root to wrap around her mouth. Then I turned to River.

  I was on him like a freaking spider monkey before I could stop myself. My lips crashed to his and I wrapped one leg around his as I pressed into him. My body was on fire from his feel and I breathed out so heavily, it sounded like a moan. River shivered and parted his full lips, his tongue brushing against mine. My magic went into overdrive but I didn’t stop it. Instead, I let it pour out of me, covering us in shadows that swirled at tornado speed over our entwined bodies. My hair flew in every direction and it didn’t matter. A house could have crashed on me and all I would know was River. He pulled back from me, his panty-dropping dimple making an appearance.

  “Not that I don’t want to do this forever,” he whispered and pressed his forehead to mine, “but we should figure out what to do about my mom.”

  Right. Time to get back to Kansas, Dorothy. “Ew,” I laughed. “Don’t talk about your mom when your tongue’s down my throat, please.”

  “You are seriously twisted, witch.”

  “You’re welcome to leave any time, hunter.”

  His lips found mine again but this time, the kiss was so short that I scowled when it stopped. I dropped my hands, calling the shadows to return until we could see around us again. My knees buckled and I could feel my energy draining by the minute. I’d need sleep for days after this for sure!

  “So what should we do about her?” River asked.

  I looked over at Evanora whose eyes said she wanted to rip my head off. Feeling’s mutual, asshole.

  “You need to get out of here,” I said. “Like yesterday. I’ll call the High Coven and wait with her until they arrive. They’ll know what to do.”

  River’s eyes widened.

  “Don’t worry, they won’t kill her. But she’ll be put in a magical prison. Hey, maybe she and my mom can be jail besties.” His eyes got even larger. “It’ll take them a few hours to get here from Stamwick but that should be enough time for you to get the other hunters and Peyton out of here.”

  “Oh, my god! The others! I completely forgot!”

  “They’re fine, don’t worry. But I’m not sure how many of them are conscious and I think Jayden broke his arm. Peyton’s hurt bad too so get them both to a hospital right away. And be careful with Peyton, she’s a shadower so I have no clue what she’ll do if she wakes up and you’re dragging her around.”

  “She’s a what?”

  “A shadower. I’ll explain later.”

  “Shit! Okay, yeah, I’m on it!”

  He ran off then darted back to give me another kiss. When he left, I dropped to sit next to Evanora’s caged body, refusing to look at her. Soon, the High Coven would arrive and take her away and until then, I had to come up with a story for how things went down tonight. Somehow, I knew that telling them about my shadow magic was out of the question. Even I didn’t know what the shadows meant and why I had magic no other witch seemed to wield and it would just complicate things even more. For now, I needed a simple and believable explanation for the events of the evening. One that didn’t include my shadows, or the hunters and my shadower best friend. I was not ready to deal with those repercussions yet and
I knew I couldn’t betray my friends—not after everything they did for me tonight.

  My eyes drifted past Evanora and into the darkness of the trees on the horizon. I did exactly what the High Coven wanted. I found the killer witch and she would pay for her crimes against the coven. Everything was as is it should.

  Then why did it feel like this wasn’t over yet?

  Seek Out The Truth

  The High Coven showed up two hours later like clockwork. They marched in unison down the field, their multicolored robes swaying in the wind behind them. It shocked me to see so many witches arrive but Evanora’s tricks likely got a lot of attention back in the city. She was dangerous and the coven knew it.

  A few steps ahead, the four high priestesses stomped toward me and my stomach turned. Rhiamon and Luna held hands, their crystal bangles ringing against each other and echoing across the field. Next to them, Theodora skipped like she was a nymph in a Broadway play. Her sapphire hair stood high above her head and she flashed her teeth my way as she approached. I peeled my eyes from her to look at Sebyl who was the picture of calm considering the events of the evening. Her dark bangs had grown out since I last saw her and covered most of her eyes, which was likely a good thing since I doubted there was anything pleasant to see in them.

  Sebyl looked past me to Evanora’s trapped body in the tree roots and curled one side of her lips. Lavender rushed into my nostrils and I had to breathe through my mouth before I got too dizzy and passed out. “Well done, Wilhemina,” she said but there was no warmth in her tone. “Sisters, collect the prisoner!”

  Behind her, fourteen head witches rushed to Evanora’s side. Their bodies were so adorned in crystals I wondered how they moved so speedily but they were on her like hungry dogs on a bone. Four of the head witches dug their fingers into the earth and I saw the roots give way and slither back into the ground. Evanora screamed but a witch bent over her and forced a fistful of dirt into her mouth. She pressed her palm atop the dirt and Evanora’s eyes widened, unable to speak. The witches raised Evanora to her feet, tearing the bushel of herbs off her neck and searching her pockets for hidden crystals or weapons. When they finished, they bound her hands with anointed ropes and tossed her to the ground.