Playing With Monsters

by Amelia Hutchins

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  I pulled into the abbey a mess of emotion. My brain had shut off, while my body was still sore and needing more of what Lucian had done to it. It hadn’t been enough; I was already aching for the next round, and the burning and throbbing had started up again. I was such an idiot. Discovering that our time together had been turned into an exhibit at the same time I found out I had my powers after all was more than I could handle, and honestly, it freaked me out more than I ever believed I could be. It hurt. He hadn’t even been upset, and he should have been. Who cared if the asshole ran a sex club, I wasn’t one of the girls who’d signed up to be on stage, and that’s exactly where I had ended up tonight.

  The abbey was lit up brightly, and I slowly made my way to the door, hating that I didn’t have panties on, and I was pretty sure I could smell sex oozing from my pores. My hair was a mess, and every step towards the abbey hurt like hell. I was raw, swollen and he definitely made sure I would be. He’d been right; with every step I took I was reminded of being with him. It sucked.

  I tried to push the door open, only to find it locked. I used the cast iron knocker and waited; when the door opened, I moved inside, holding my stomach as I came face to face with Helen who blocked me from getting any further than the threshold. I almost groaned, but concealed it.

  “I need help,” I announced, showing her my wrist.

  “You little slut,” she snarled, venom dripped from each word.

  “Excuse me?” I asked, but her eyes raked over me with hatred, and there was no denying I’d been fucked: my legs were red in places from where his hands had held me apart, and some areas were already bruising. I reeked of his scent, which personally I enjoyed most of the time, except for right now; right now I was mad.

  “You’re just like your mother,” she continued, her disdain for my family abundantly clear to hear in her tone.

  I was about to respond when my mother entered the room, her eyes wild with relief as she looked me over. Then Kendra moved into the room, her eyes narrowed on my dress, and she smiled as she put it all together.

  “Mom,” I whispered showing her my wrist, which made her eyes grow wide with fear. I felt my insides turn tightly as I watched the color drain from her face.

  “Oh, Lena,” she whispered as she shook her head. “No…”

  “What? It’s good, I have my powers,” I replied as more people entered the room. I noted that some still looked rumpled from their own Harvest celebration, but the elders looked at me as if something was wrong with me. Shouldn’t they be happy for me?

  “She wasn’t selected by the ancestors, which means she’s dark!” Helen shouted, as if she was afraid the people in the next county wouldn’t hear her.

  “What?” I asked, and watched as my grandmother shook her head with tears in her eyes. “What the hell does that mean?” I demanded.

  “It means you do have powers, child, but in this coven, those who have come into their powers without being selected and blessed by the ancestors, did so because they were dark,” she whispered as she started to move closer to me and stopped. “It means we can’t help you until we know what you are, for sure.”

  “I’m family,” I whispered as nausea swirled through me, mixed with pain. “I’m a Fitzgerald for Christ’s sake! I belong here,” I hissed as what was unfolding started to make sense. “I’m not dark! I’m good; this has to be a mistake.”

  I’d been awakened outside of the ceremony, without being selected by one of the ancestors. My powers weren’t dark, but there was no actual way to prove that to anyone. Helen knew it, and she was already gloating over her victory, I could see it in her eyes. Kendra shook her head as I looked at her.

  “This has to be a mistake, mother. The ancestors made a fucking mistake. Someone made a mistake, she’s our blood!” she cried. “She’s my sister.”

  “It’s the law of the coven!” Helen continued with a gleeful look in her eyes. “She’s an abomination; it explains why the demon was attracted to her before she was even awakened to her powers. She’s not welcome here.”

  I glared at her. My father touched her shoulder and she jerked it away.

  “Helen, she’s my daughter.” His eyes moved from Helen’s face to mine.

  “If any choose to follow her, they have to leave the coven, and reject its protection and any right to belong to it. That is the law that protects the coven. We cannot allow darkness inside this abbey; we must protect it!” she said cruelly as her eyes moved to mine, triumph shining in them.

  “I am a Fitzgerald, one of the original bloodlines to this coven, Helen. It’s not I who doesn’t belong here, it’s you.”

  “You need to learn to hold your poisonous tongue, child,” she sneered. I was still in the doorway, so when her magic slammed into me, it pushed me from inside the abbey and slammed me outside. She should have stopped there.

  She didn’t.

  In front of all those who poured out of the abbey and watched us, she lifted her hand and immediately, I couldn’t move, as it felt as if daggers were slashing at me all over my body. I glared at her and screamed with all of the emotion that had been building up, and the entire forest shook as I let my power out. It was stupid, seeing that I had no idea how to control it. Lightning cracked, flashed, and zigzagged to the ground, dangerously close to us; thunder boomed and rolled, shaking me and those who were witness to what was happening. The wind turned angry, my hair whipped around in it violently, and a few trees snapped in half, crashing to the ground. I pushed my hair away from my face as the wind died down, and listened as the world righted itself as Helen stared at me in surprise.

  “She’s not safe! She needs to be restrained and stripped of her magic! She’s a dark witch!” she howled.

  “That’s not your call,” my mother said with pride shining in her eyes. “It hasn’t been proven that she’s dark, either.”

  “I am the one in charge!” Helen snapped, her eyes were wild as she turned them on me. I heard cars pulling up behind me, and I ignored them as I faced the coven and my family. “Cassidy!” she hissed, and I sensed her daughter as she moved to the front of the coven and held her hand up, as if she expected her magic to be more powerful than mine. I felt them working together to apply pressure to my organs and something snapped. Me.

  I lifted my hand and shouted the Latin words to bring her daughter to me, unsure of how I knew them, or why I was doing it. I watched as her toes dug into the ground and her arms moved like a bird trying to take flight as she started sliding to where I stood, her eyes wild at being unable to prevent it. Helen was frantic and I could sense she was terrified of me. The moment Cassidy was in front of me, I smiled.

  “You want to see what real power feels like, sis?” I whispered before I grabbed her and kissed her. Her eyes bugged out, and the comical look was fucking priceless. I didn’t care that she was a girl, my half-sister, or that everyone was watching us; I kissed her hard, open mouthed, until she was helpless to do anything except kiss me back.

  My hands held her head between them, and I kissed her with everything I had, watching as her eyes widened as she felt the power that pulsed inside of me. I released her and she screamed as her jaw opened and closed at what I’d done, her eyes filled with panic and outrage.

  “That’s what being a descendent from one of the original bloodlines feels like, something you and your mother will never experience,” I snapped as I released her and turned to find my mother watching me with a horrified expression on her face.

  I’d crossed a line, and I knew it. But I hadn’t hurt anyone, and they’d tried to hurt me. Even alone and without a coven, I was justified in my defense.

  “What is the coven’s decision?” I asked, watching my grandmother and the other elders who stood by her. I felt Lucian watching me. I didn’t know when he’d arrived, or how much he had seen.
Why he was here, I didn’t know, nor did I care. What had happened between us was a mistake, one I didn’t plan to ever make again.

  “Until it can be brought before the high priestess, we must agree with Helen and denounce you for now,” Maria said softly. “You came into your powers without being selected, and it’s very suspicious. Magdalena, it’s very dangerous that you have obtained them in such a way. Only a few have ever had their curse lifted without being selected and blessed by the ancestors and those who have, drew their powers from the darkness and broke the curse themselves. I am not saying that’s what you did; however, this coven will not allow darkness inside. This is a very dangerous time for the coven. We must adhere to the laws, and let the high priestess decide.”

  Helen smiled as my stomach sank.

  “There are demons out here,” I whispered more to myself. “I’ll be alone,” I said as I looked at them. “I’ll be an Awakened witch, alone. There’s no one to help me out here,” I watched as my mother looked helplessly at my grandmother, her head shaking silently as they made eye contact. “Mom,” I said, needing to know I wasn’t alone.

  “Go to the cottage, Lena, and wait for the decision to be made,” my grandmother said softly but firmly. Regret shone in her eyes.

  “You fucking sheep!” I snapped and the trees cracked around us. The wind picked up, howling as my emotions churned. “You are throwing me away as you did Benjamin, Mother! I’m not bad! I’m your daughter.” Tears slid down my cheeks as I shook my head in denial. “I didn’t ask for this; I accepted being passed over by the ancestors. Why am I being punished now? I am not dark; I’m still your daughter!” A couple of trees uprooted; power flickered and went out, and a few windows from the front of the abbey exploded in response to my pain and fury. The world felt my emotions, and they all knew it. I was using more magic than I’d ever witnessed, even by an entire coven performing a ritual together, and it scared the hell out of me.

  “Lena, baby,” Mom whispered as a sob ripped from her lungs.

  “Screw you, screw all of you.” My whispered words were barely audible from the pain of rejection I was feeling. “I shouldn’t have come home.” I turned to walk away, only to find Lucian watching me silently. Fuck him too; I didn’t need any of them. I’d be fine on my own; I had to be. When it came down to it, I could either be the lake who easily dried up in a drought, or I could be the fucking ocean and destroy anything that tried to hurt me. I walked towards the car, hating that anything I did was wrong. No matter how much I tried, I screwed up everything I touched.

  I slid into the driver’s seat and slammed the car into gear, tearing out of the abbey without a backwards glance. I had no fucking idea how I was going to ward off demons, or if I even could. I had to, because I wasn’t giving up. I’d come too far to do that.

  The moment I got home I raided the cellar of the manor house for salt, pouring thick layers around the cottage. I whispered a protection spell and sat on the top step of the front porch, still dressed in the slinky black dress, with make-up running down my face from the pain of my mother’s startled look, and then her rejection.

  “Magdalena,” Kendra’s voice whispered through my mind. “Stay safe; we will figure this out.”

  I didn’t answer her. Instead, I closed off my emotions and watched as the sleek dark sports car that Lucian owned pulled into the driveway. His door opened and he slid out of the vehicle and looked at me, his face an unreadable mask. I stood up, using the little bit of remaining salt to cover the step I had been sitting on and moved inside the house, ignoring him.

  He pounded on the door and I leaned against it, applying my slight weight there to bar his entrance, as if it would stop him. I listened to him swear, and when he called me a liar, I swung the door open and tried to slap him, but he was quicker. His hand caught my wrist and he held it.

  “I didn’t fucking lie to you, asshole. This isn’t some game to me. It’s my life! I just got kicked out of the coven, and now I’m stuck here with no protection, and demons are all over the place hunting witches. You think I want this?” I cried as he watched me. “Had I known I’d be awakened I would have remained in the abbey. It’s not like your cock is powerful enough to bring my powers online, jerk! It just happened. Now I’m alone.” My voice dropped to a whisper as I yanked my wrist from his steely grip, uncaring that it hurt like hell. “Go ahead, Lucian, destroy what’s left of me. I’m waiting,” I hissed coldly.

  “Lena, you’re not alone,” he said, and I laughed.

  “Yes, yes I am,” I said as I moved behind the door and closed it, listening as his footsteps retreated down the porch a few moments later. I slid down the door, hugging my knees to my chest as tears flowed and the pain in my stomach grew. Eventually I crawled into a ball and slept, unaware that my carefully constructed world was disintegrating around me, and that nothing would ever be the same again.

  *~*~*

  ~Lucian

  I slammed my fist into the plaster; the entire house trembled from the impact. I pulled it back, watching as the skin healed over the exposed bones. Tonight had been a fucking clusterfuck, one that I’d never forget. One I never wanted to forget, either.

  She’d been everything I wanted, and so fucking perfect. I hadn’t been able to get enough of her; even now, my cock was hard and needing more. The connection I felt to her defied laws, and it shook my perfectly controlled world just as I had done the same to hers. Right up until she’d noticed the transfixed audience, a few seconds after I had. Normally I’d have sensed them, but I was lost to the pleasure she was giving while receiving. She’d been fucking wild with it, untamable in her lust. I had seen the results of the Harvest spell plenty of times and I had never seen anything like what I witnessed tonight.

  My motherfucking match, she’d demanded more the first time I tried to move away from her. She challenged me and grabbed my dick, and started forcing it down her little throat, uncaring that it didn’t fit. She’d taken more than half of it into her mouth and throat, and no one had ever managed that feat. Then what did she do? She motherfucking swallowed it! She’d placed my hand on her throat, which had been the hottest thing I’d experienced in my very long life. I knew she wasn’t into it, but she’d done it, for me! She’d wanted to please me instead of the others who wanted me to please them, and endured the pain just to be with me. I’d known she was going to be different, but never in a million years had I expected the innocent little witch to be my perfect match between the sheets. Right up until Elaine fucking ruined it. Lena’s eyes had been accusing, and she withdrew from me, denouncing me and everything we’d done.

  I had shown her my need to give pain with pleasure, and she’d enjoyed it. She’d given me just as much pleasure as I’d given her. With Lena, nothing was muted; I’d exploded and felt everything. I’d been shocked as her body drained me, so shocked by the magnitude of the release, I was immediately hard enough to fuck her again and again until she was exactly what I told her she would be: nothing but a squirming, coming, quivering mess.

  And then I’d fucked her again because I’d been a selfish prick with the need to find the release only her body could give me. I’d listened to the sounds of her pleasure as it had turned to pain and pleasure, as her sweet pussy grew sore from my cock. She never complained, just took it like a good girl, and even started me up again when I was drained.

  Fucking Elaine was one of the few who knew the secret to turning the glass from that side and had abused my trust by tripping it and allowing everyone to watch my time with Lena, something she’d be punished for. Stupid bitch couldn’t accept the fact that I would never take her back to my bed after she lured my men into her little scene. She knew Lena would be pissed at me, so she recklessly went forward with her little revenge. I could even see the snide little smirk she wore when Lena figured it out, but she wasn’t stupid; I’d never once made a sound the entire time I was fucking Elaine, a
nd I moaned and shouted with every release Lena gave me like some sort of fucking animal. I made noises. Hell, I fucking came, which Elaine knew she couldn’t make me do though she’d tried. She would have been jealous, and watching me with Lena, I knew she was floored. I saw it in her eyes right before she’d concealed it.

  “You’re losing sight of what is at stake here,” Spyder growled as he joined me on the balcony, his body tense with the need to fuck or fight. “They have their powers.”

  “I know,” I replied, turning to look at him. “I’m done playing. Damn, that girl. She was something else tonight, wild. She shook my world, man, fucking rocked it.” I didn’t keep secrets from Spyder, and I wasn’t about to start. He’d been with me from the beginning.

  “You also kissed her,” he retorted. “That’s against your own rules, Lucian, and I know you adhere to them to the fucking letter. I watched you with her, and I understand the attraction, don’t get me wrong; good pussy is hard to find. Doesn’t change what we’re here to do.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” I mumbled as I turned to stare at the dark cottage, which was being surrounded by demons who all sought to get to the little witch inside. They wouldn’t get past the salt I’d placed around the ring she’d laid down just before I arrived, or the runes that marked each side of the cottage.

  “She’s been rejected by her coven because they assume she is a dark witch. She’s vulnerable, and could be of help in finding Katarina. I fucked things up with her tonight. I accused her of shit I knew she wasn’t a part of. Her powers came in and I was caught off guard, so I reacted badly. Said things that hurt her. In light of what we’d just done, I was a prick to her; she’ll keep her distance for a while. I do, however; plan to bring her back and to our side soon. You weren’t at the abbey tonight, but Lena is powerful,” I said as I turned to look at him. “I watched her control the wind, which is something only a few witches that belong to the more powerful bloodlines can do, and even then it’s only a little flutter of wind. Lena blew fucking trees down. She uprooted them in her anger at being rejected; lightning struck and she was fucking glorious to watch. If I can make her mine, Katarina wouldn’t know what hit her and we can finally put an end to this.”