But it was only Jeffery, and once he saw them, Rebekah could see the hollowed look in his eyes.
But Holly didn’t pick up on that. “Where’s Mandy?” she demanded as she practically shoved herself inside.
Rebekah followed closely behind, her eyes landing on Mandy’s body, and she gasped silently to herself.
Mandy was sprawled out on the couch; her complexion was deathly pale. Her breathing was slow and calm, and Jason sat next to her, studying her.
From behind the couch, Rebekah noticed the two chaperones, whose eyes immediately met hers and Holly’s.
“What the heck happened to her?” Holly said loudly.
Courtney took a step forward. “We need you two to be quiet,” she stated. “We don’t want Jason to lose focus.”
Holly’s eyes swept right past Courtney and landed on Andre. “Tell me what’s going on,” she said in the quietest voice she could muster.
Upon hearing Holly’s tone, Rebekah shivered a little.
“Jason’s trying to breach Mandy’s mind,” Andre answered Holly. “He thinks Henri may have taken control of it.”
~~~
Mandy: In a State of Unknown
When Mandy woke, it was to a dark, windowless room. At first, she saw nothing, but soon, the outline of the room began to take hold as she blinked away the darkness. It took her a moment to realize she was chained to a gurney, and her entire head pounded like it was going to explode.
Something cold and sharp stroked the side of her face and down her neck. She shivered at its touch, but soon, it was removed, replaced by cold fingers that stroked underneath her chin.
“Oh, Amanda,” someone said suddenly, and Mandy froze. She knew that voice. It was Henri’s.
And she also knew that all this was his doing, though she had done everything he asked her to do. She didn’t understand why he was doing this. After all, he should have been on her side. Right?
As if on cue, Henri’s magic clamped down on her scalp, and she screamed as it tore at her mind, syphoning off a little bit at a time. And then, something hit her as true terror invaded her senses. Henri was never her ally. He did something to her so she would betray her friends, and now, he came to collect what she owed him.
“I thought if I forced you under my control, you would be obedient. Apparently, I was wrong,” Henri began as the last of whatever he was syphoning out of her mind left her. “Perhaps it’s time for a new tactic.”
“What do you mean?” Mandy rasped. Suddenly, it was like her mind could think freely again, and that was also when she realized Henri put a spell on her through the concoction he forced her to drink in her dreams. He had bewitched her, causing her to form a rift between herself and Holly, and she gasped. Oh god, Holly!
Henri slammed the hilt of the knife into her cheek, and she whimpered as the pain from the impact added to her growing headache. “I think I once told Holly the thing I always excelled at was enchanted weapons,” he said as he dangled the tip of the knife directly in front of her face.
Mandy froze, watching as the knife came dangerously close to slicing open her nose. “I told you what I know,” she said, though now that she was no longer under the spell’s influence, she was appalled at what she had done.
“You kept things from me, Amanda,” Henri said, taking the blade away from her face and stilling it on one of her arms. “It’s time you told me everything you know.”
And then, the blade suddenly bit into her flesh, and Mandy screamed—but even more frightening was the sensation that came after it, as if her arm were turning to stone before her very eyes. Within a few seconds, she could no longer move or feel it, as Henri cut downward, spilling more of her blood.
“Tell me what you know, Amanda,” Henri said, purposely using her real name instead of her nickname. “Tell me, and I can reverse the effects of the spell.”
Through her tears, Mandy met the gaze of the immortal warlock as she shook her head. She wouldn’t betray her friends again, not like this. But then, the knife bit into her other arm, and then her legs, and then, it left a shining, red cut up her torso. Yet still, she said nothing as the effects of Henri’s spell began to take hold, paralyzing most of her body.
And then, Henri rested the knife against her neck.
~~~
Rebekah: Munich, Germany
Deep cuts began to appear on Mandy’s body. Rebekah watched in horror as each one manifested, seeming to be without a cause.
Jason still sat with Mandy, concentrating on infiltrating her mind. No one dared to speak for fear of causing Jason to lose his concentration.
Jeffery appeared next to Rebekah, watching his father work. He tugged at her arm, diverting her attention temporarily to him. “We need to talk,” he mouthed to her, and before she had a chance to protest, he led her away to a room that resembled a bedroom. Silently, he closed the door behind them.
Rebekah took one look around the bedroom, baffled. “Jeffery, I—”
“I took you here so that we could talk, and so that they could have their silence,” said Jeffery.
Rebekah took a seat on the bed. “This isn’t about Jake, is it?”
“As much as it pains me to see you with him, no, this is not.” Jeffery shook his head. “This is about Henri and his desire to get in touch with you.”
“What brought this on?” Rebekah wondered. “How do you know about that?”
“Jason was told by your chaperones,” Jeffery explained. “If Henri gets a hold of you, he’ll do the same thing to you that he’s doing to Mandy—only worse. He wants to kill you.”
“You’re telling me this as if I don’t already know. Jeffery, the only reason Mandy fell for him was because he bewitched her!” Rebekah said defensively. “I’ve seen what he’s capable of.”
Jeffery looked at her, amused. “Of course you have.” He paused. “I’m just trying to look out for you.”
Rebekah looked at him strangely. “I’m not the one in danger right now, Jeffery,” she pointed out. Then, she left the room and returned to where the others were. By that point, Mandy’s body was badly cut and stained with blood.
And Jason was no longer in the room.
~~~
Mandy: In a State of Unknown
All Mandy could move was her head, and the tip of the knife was still placed on her throat. She forced herself to look at the man who had already done so much to hurt her.
“I wish you would just tell me what I want to know,” Henri said, yanking her head back so there was more exposure to her neck. “I don’t want to have to kill you.”
Before Mandy could utter another word, Henri’s attention was diverted off her. She fought the urge to follow his gaze for fear of the knife unintentionally slicing through her throat.
“You’ve been busy, haven’t you?” a new voice said, and Mandy froze. She knew that voice. Jason.
Henri removed the knife from Mandy’s throat and spun around to face the mortal warlock. Now free, Mandy cocked her head to the side, and relief instantly flooded her at the sight of Jason.
“What lies have you been feeding her?” Jason questioned. “What will it take for you to be satisfied?”
“You took something valuable from me,” Henri said. “Such an act cannot be forgiven.”
“You’ve taken your share as well. What do you plan to gain by doing this?”
But Henri didn’t answer Jason. Instead, he simply disappeared without a trace that he was ever there, leaving Jason with no answers.
And Mandy felt herself finally being pulled out of the dream world and back into reality.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
Holly: Munich, Germany
H
olly was by Mandy’s side when the Foreseer temporarily regained consciousness. Though even in her conscious state, she was incoherent and seemed to be unaware of her surroundings. And then, Holly was jerked back as Mandy was transported to the infirmary.
The effects of the spell were unlike anything
Holly had ever seen before, and she shuddered, recalling what Henri had once said to her in Roseway before he cut her with another weapon of his making. “The one thing I always excelled at was enchanted weapons.”
Though she wanted to go with Mandy to the infirmary, Jason wouldn’t allow it. He didn’t allow anyone but himself to go, and Holly was forced to make her own way back. Earlier, Rebekah had already left with Courtney after Andre made the decision to stay behind. At least I won’t be alone.
Together, the two of them set off down the conjoining hallways towards the room.
“How are you holding up?” Andre asked her.
For a moment, Holly remained silent, at first not knowing how to respond. She had no idea how Henri found out about Mandy, let alone how he was able to accomplish such a feat. If he was able to breach the minds of anyone he wished, even with the wards set up on the perimeter of the facility, then no one was truly safe unless the mortals also warded each mind in the facility, which would take a great amount of time and magic.
At last, Holly found her voice. “I’m scared,” she said as another thought came to her. “He still has my parents, Andre!”
Andre pursed her lips together in thought. “I know.”
Holly sighed, suddenly feeling defeated. Even the victory she and Andre secured in Roseway didn’t feel like much of a victory in the grand scheme of things. Maybe all this is futile, she thought. Maybe we should just let him kill us all and be done with it. “I have a question.”
Andre looked at Holly oddly, and she stopped in her tracks.
“I wanted to know if it would be possible for me to live with you,” Holly wondered. “I mean, I’ve thought about this for a while now, and I don’t know if my parents will ever come back. You do have a place, right? Since, well, you know…” Since Hermione’s death.
When Holly expected her cousin to be thrilled, all she got were pursed lips.
“After Hermione’s death when Jason became the king of the mortal magic users, he had offered me an apartment in the castle,” she explained. “He doesn’t think it would be beneficial to send me to a foster home, since I’ll be turning eighteen in April. I don’t know how he would feel about you staying there, too.”
Holly felt confused. “Why wouldn’t he be?”
“Both of your parents are still alive, Holly. You haven’t been orphaned,” Andre said. “Besides, even if you were orphaned, I can’t gain legal custody of you until I turn eighteen.”
Holly sighed in frustration. “Your father’s alive, too. Why should you get the benefits of being orphaned?”
“Holly, my father would have killed me if I stayed with him!” Andre argued. “And what benefits are there for being orphaned?”
“I just don’t understand why I’m forced to stay in Marywood unprotected.”
“Because Jason is legitimately trying to get your parents back,” said Andre as if the answer was obvious. “There’s no helping my father. And besides, you won’t be unprotected. I’ll be with you as much as I can.”
Holly scoffed. “I’m surprised he would waste his time trying to get them back, considering what they were originally accused of.”
Andre didn’t respond right away. Instead, she fell into an eerie silence, listening attentively to something down the hall.
Vaguely, Holly could hear it as well, the sound of scraping nails. Yet, when she looked in the direction of the sudden sound, she saw nothing but an empty hallway filled with flickering lights.
“We need to go,” Andre said after a while, her voice barely above a whisper.
Holly allowed herself to be steered off in the opposite direction of the sound. She stayed silent, her heart pounding inside her chest, for there was no doubt in her mind that the noise she heard belonged to the Bewitched.
The noise eventually died down as they moved farther away from it. Upon reaching the conjoining hallways where the participant rooms were located, Holly started to hear a new noise—someone’s voice. She listened to it, unable to pick up what was being said, but it was evident to her the person was talking on the phone.
Slowly, Holly began to trudge through the seemingly-deserted hallway until a hand grabbed her and held her back. Furiously, Holly whipped her head around and glared at Andre. “What are you…” she demanded but suddenly stopped, noticing the eyes of her cousin sweep past her and land on something behind her. Holly followed Andre’s gaze, eyeing the figure of a person she didn’t see before.
The figure belonged to Kat Reid, who had her back turned towards them, holding a phone to her ear. Upon seeing Kat, Holly was about to gasp until Andre clasped a hand over her mouth, shushing her. Then, she felt herself being pulled away until they were both hidden behind a corner.
“What was that about?” Holly wondered in a loud whisper.
In response, Andre pressed her finger to her lips, and Holly knew she was trying to listen to Kat’s side of the conversation. Holly tried to do the same, creeping closer to the corner.
“You have a very imaginative mind, Melissa,” she heard Kat say. “What you’re trying to plan is impossible.”
Plan? Holly questioned. What does Melissa have to do with this?
A few seconds of silence passed before Kat resumed the conversation. “Is that the reason why you wanted Henri to perform Rosalie’s transformation? So you could use her against him?”
Rosalie? Holly wondered during the seconds of silence.
“What makes you think I would help you?” Kat questioned. “Henri trusts me, and who am I to betray him?”
More seconds of silence passed.
“We’ll meet again soon; I can assure you that.” Kat paused. “When that happens, we can discuss what you have in mind, but I can’t guarantee I will play a part in it.” Then, Holly heard Kat mutter her good-byes before shutting off her phone and moving away from them. Confused, Holly looked at Andre, who was shocked.
“What was that about?” Holly asked once she was sure Kat was gone.
Andre didn’t answer her. “Didn’t you once tell me that Rosalie was the name of the girl whose friend died at your school?”
Holly nodded. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Use your mind. What do you think Kat meant when she said Henri was performing Rosalie’s transformation?”
“I—” Holly stammered, racking her brain for the answer. But Rosalie’s a human, she thought until the answer hit her. “It’s not possible to transform Rosalie into an immortal magic user, is it?” But internally, she knew it was. She told Rebekah as much in Roseway.
“Holly,” Andre started to say with genuine concern in her voice, “those who are immortal, with the exception of the Spies, who had somehow managed to create a gene, are made. Rosalie is no exception to that.”
“Then, why did Kat mention betraying Henri?”
Andre shrugged. “I don’t know,” she stated flatly, “but it would be a foolish move to betray Henri Anderson.”
~~~
Melissa: Greenwich, England
Melissa resisted the urge to throw her phone against a nearby wall in frustration. The fact that Kat didn’t give her a definite answer frustrated her, the first person whom she tried contacting about her idea of rebellion. Kat was on her list of who to recruit, and so were Victoria, Rhiannon, and Rosalie. But since there was a possibility that Kat may decline her offer, Melissa started to worry the others wouldn’t be willing to join her either, for staging a rebellion against Henri Anderson would prove to be a difficult task.
But it was a task Melissa was willing to take on. For years, she had the desire to become the new immortal ruler in which she would merge the magic world with the human one, something that even Henri refused to do. She hadn’t discussed this with anyone thus far, since she deemed she would need to get Henri to trust her before she started to build an army against him, and Kat was the first person she told about the gist of her plans.
Since she first started to perform tasks for him, Henri has belit
tled her, making her feel a lot less significant than she felt she was. He was incapable of feeling any emotions; therefore, he couldn’t possibly care about how she felt when such comments were made. Despite the fact that she as well was just as cold-hearted as him, he infuriated her when he said such things. Unbeknownst to him, he goaded her to start building an army against him before he had transformed Rosalie into an immortal magic user, when originally, she would have waited until afterwards.
“Melissa?” someone said from the doorway of her chambers.
Melissa spun around, surprised there was someone there at all. She knew she had to think of a possible explanation to give her visitor as to why she was currently alone, but she couldn’t think of anything that sounded logical.
“What are you doing here alone?” came the question Melissa dreaded.
Melissa opened her mouth in order to spew something completely random when she realized who it was: Victoria. Someone who was on her small list of recruits. “Close the door,” she ordered. “I have something to discuss with you.”
Victoria did just that. “You know, Henri’s looking for you.”
“Let him wait,” said Melissa. “What I have to say is far more important than seeing what he wants.”
Melissa could tell Victoria was shocked by her answer, for no one had dared to keep Henri waiting when he wanted something.
“How would you feel if I one day became the immortal ruler?” questioned Melissa.
Victoria’s eyes widened. “Are you…serious?”
Melissa nodded slowly.
“But Henri is the…” Victoria’s words trailed off. “How would you manage that?”
Melissa took a step closer to Victoria. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, and I think I have a plan,” she said. “I want Rosalie to be a part of this as well, which is why I am having her transformed into an immortal witch. And I want you on my side. And Kat. And Rhiannon. My first task was to get Henri to trust me, which I believe I achieved rather easily.”
Bleeding Misery (Threatening Souls Book 2) Page 19
