Magic Unleashed (Delphine Rising Book 2)

by Angela Sanders

  ***

  A firm knock at the door woke me up and my alarm hadn’t even gone off yet. “Who is it?”

  “Danielle. Get some clothes on and open up.”

  I threw on my red silk robe, tying it at the waist, and answered the door, telling her to be quiet because Danny was still asleep. “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Liz. I can’t get her to wake up. I know she’s free from possession; I made sure of it. Maybe her body’s still healing? I don’t know, but you need to check on her.” Danielle was trying not to be frantic, but her hands were shaking.

  I ran across the hall to find my sister in a deep sleep. She seemed peaceful, but that didn’t mean anything. I sat down beside her on the bed and shook her a few times, but she still didn’t wake up. What the hell? “Danielle, get Mom. Now.”

  Danielle rushed downstairs to find Mom while I tried to use my magic to wake Liz, but nothing seemed to work. I had no idea what was wrong or what to do to fix it. Then I thought of Daddy’s magic and God’s light. If I concentrated, maybe I could fuse our magic together and see inside of her mind. After all, we shared many of the same gifts. I might be able to borrow hers. It was a long shot, but worth a try.

  I prayed to God for His strength and concentrated on the love of my family and friends—the key to unlocking the magic inside my soul. White light bathed the room, surrounding Liz and me. I placed my hands on her head and closed my eyes. I asked to unblock what could not be seen and awaken her powers within.

  When my hands touched Liz’s temples, I felt a strong force try to push me out, but I carried on, praying to God and the ancestors for strength and power. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

  Liz was trapped inside Delphine’s illusion from hell—the old mansion on Royal Street. She was fighting Marie with her own magic and winning. How did this happen and why? The talisman was nowhere near us that I knew of. Could it have happened through the connection Marcus had with the lost spirit who possessed Liz’s body earlier?

  I was pissed. I found an entryway in her mind—a set of double doors leading into the illusion and ran to it. I threw the doors open with every bit of strength I had and rushed up the wrought iron spiral staircase and down the long, creepy hallway to find my sister in the same bedroom where Delphine had appeared to me before.

  “Back off, bitch! You can’t have my sister!” I flew at her without giving Liz a chance to respond, hands ablaze with Daddy’s magic. They erupted in blue and white flames when I wrapped my fingers around Delphine’s neck. “I warned you to stay away from my family. Now you’ve crossed the line!” I snarled and continued choking her. Marie’s eyes bulged with surprise and then she laughed. Actually laughed. The magical flames weren’t touching her skin.

  “Abby, stop!” Liz cried from behind me, pulling on my shoulders.

  “No. I’ve had enough and it’s time for her to go back to her talisman. I’m sick of her torturing our family. You have to snap out of it, Liz.” I kept my hands around Marie’s throat, then decided to pull my right hand back and punch her in the face. I was done playing around.

  The next thing I knew, Liz and I crashed against the floor, landing on our butts. “I told you to stop,” Liz said, looking at me, irritated.

  Delphine wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand and looked at me with what seemed to be hatred and admiration at the same time. “Well, hello, Abigail. Nice to see you again. It seems we are having a bit of a family reunion of sorts.” She threw her head back and cackled, walking closer to us.

  I jumped to my feet, pulling Liz up with me. “What the hell do you want this time?” I seethed. I was growing angrier by the second and didn’t understand why Liz was so calm.

  “Why, your soul and magic of course. I knew you’d come for your sister and I was right. Look at the two of you. Beautiful. Now I can take both of your souls,” she said with a sardonic smile, reaching out to caress Liz’s face.

  This hag had seriously lost her damned mind. “And how do you plan on going about that? If you remember correctly, I kicked your ass right back into the talisman last time. You don’t have the power, and get your nasty ass hands off my sister.” I pushed her back just as Liz swatted her hand, looking disgusted.

  Delphine collected herself, smoothing her red gown and hair. “Little girl, I’m much more powerful than you know. I’ve collected a few more souls since we last met. It won’t be much longer before I’m back on the earthly plane for good.” She raised her eyebrows, taking a small step forward. She had something in her hand, but I didn’t want to stick around to find out what it was. I was afraid she might not be bluffing this time.

  I glanced at Liz giving her a “What the hell?” look. She just shrugged. Okay, dream Liz was beginning to irritate me. Any other time she’d be a badass ninja woman. This Liz was just like, “whatever.”

  I took Liz’s hand before Delphine could take another step. “Don’t come any closer, bitch. You have no power over us. I will stop you. Maybe not today, but watch your back. Touch my sister again and I’ll put you down for good.”

  I drew on my father’s magic, the gift of God’s light, and felt it connect with Liz. White light exploded around us, breaking the illusion where we stood. It was as if it built a protective wall between us and Delphine. I could still see her on the other side, but I wasted no time, concentrating on going home—back to the double doors leading me back to the waking world.

  Once I saw the doors, I pulled Liz along and ran. I could hear Delphine shouting in the background, but she could go straight to hell. As a matter of fact, that’s where she belonged, not locked in a talisman. I turned the knobs opening the door, and then Liz and I fell through, struggling to stand. We were in a fog where there was no beginning and no ending—only shades of gray surrounding us.

  Liz began shaking uncontrollably and I grabbed her shoulders. “Stay with me, Sis. We’re almost home.” She shook her head while her teeth chattered. I wondered what the hell was going on with her.

  I continued walking, holding Liz up by her arm until another wooden door appeared in the foggy distance—barely visible from where we were standing. It was her bedroom door—thank God and the ancestors. We were on our way out of that godforsaken hellhole. I took off running, dragging Liz beside me, then opened the door and fell into complete darkness.

  “Abby! Wake up! Can you hear me?” I could hear Danny’s voice calling to me. I opened my eyes and realized I was on the floor in Liz’s room with Mom hovering over me. Dammit.

  “Is Liz awake now?” I asked, looking around.

  “Yes, she woke up the same time you did. What did you do?” Mom asked her jade eyes glowing.

  “I connected our powers through God’s light and went into her dream. She was stuck in a Delphine illusion. Can I get up now?” I pushed myself up on my elbows and Danny grabbed me from behind, helping me to my feet. “Thanks, babe,” I said looking up at him.

  “You did what?” Mom shrieked.

  “She saved me, Mamma,” Liz said. “It’s okay. At first, I was able to fight back, then it was like I was stuck in my own body unable to defend myself. It’s fine. We’re safe now.”

  I walked over to the bed and hugged Liz with tears flowing down my face. What if I hadn’t been able to enter her dream or the illusion? Could Delphine have really been strong enough to take her soul? The thought unnerved me. “Love you, Sis. I knew something was wrong when you stopped fighting.”

  Danielle came over and dogpiled us. “You two scared the shit out of me! I’ve had about enough of this Delphine illusion business. We need to get rid of her and the talisman for good. It’s too dangerous.”

  “My thoughts exactly,” I said, then looked to Mom and Danny. “Is it possible? Can we remove her essence from the talisman and send her to hell where she belongs?”

  Mom shook her head. “Not that I’m aware of, but we will do what we can to protect you girls.” She took a ragged breath and looked at me. “Abby, I’m not sure how you were able
to pull Elizabeth out, but I thank God for your powers, giving you the ability to use His light to break the illusion. I just can’t imagine…” She trailed off with tears forming in her eyes.

  Danny stood solid as a statue next to Mom, but I could see the fear in his eyes. He wasn’t saying anything, but I could feel his emotions rolling off of him in waves.

  “All right. We’re alive and that’s what matters. Sis, are you feeling okay now?” I asked, pushing Danielle off of me to get up from the bed.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little shaken up.”

  “Okay then. Danielle, you wanna fill her in about tonight or we can just have a pow wow in my room with food?” I suggested with a slight grin. Food sounded great and I honestly wanted to make sure my sister was all right.

  “Why don’t we take it downstairs to the kitchen? I’ll whip us up something to eat,” Mom said. It seemed she didn’t want us out of her sight for a while and who could blame her after what just happened?

  We all agreed, but I told Mom I’d be down in about fifteen or twenty minutes. I went back to my room with Danny to take a quick shower and change my clothes. I wasn’t exactly decent for the dinner table.

  I closed the door to my room and headed for the bathroom. “Abby, you scared me. I thought I’d lost you,” Danny said walking toward me.

  “I’m okay, Danny. I promise.” I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him.

  He wrapped his strong arms around my shoulders and looked down at me. “We couldn’t wake either of you and I thought of what my life would be like without you. I can’t… Abby, I know we live dangerous lives, especially right now, but please, for me, be careful. You’re all I have left in this world.” He was holding back tears, but I could feel his pain in my soul.

  “I love you, Danny, and I swear I’ll be careful, but I have to protect my sister—my family, and that means you too. We’re a team, remember? I know losing Danielle was hard on us before, but she’s back now for however long we’re allowed to have her.” I hugged him tightly, then laid my head on his shoulder. “You can’t lose me, even in death. I’ll haunt you forever,” I said, looking up at him with a cheesy smile.

  He chuckled. “Fine. Just be careful and wake me up next time. You and Danielle seem to forget that I have magic too.”

  “Is someone feeling left out? We’ll include you more, little guy,” I teased and took off running for the shower. I knew he was gonna chase me.

  “Little guy? I’ve got your little guy.” He ran for the door.

  “Ha! But we have to be downstairs in twenty. Too bad.” I smirked then turned the showerhead on and leaned against the counter, folding my arms.

  “Paybacks. Later,” Danny said, inclining his head with a grin, then walked out the door.

  Oh, how I loved to watch that man walk away. I needed to snap out of my lust-crazed thoughts and pull myself together. Shit. Liz and I had just been in another of Delphine’s illusions, for goodness sake.

  I threw my hair up in a bun to keep it from getting wet. Shaking my head attempting to clear devious thoughts, I removed my robe and stepped into the shower.

  Chapter 5

  Once I was showered and dressed I met everyone in the kitchen. It seemed Liz had gotten her appetite back; she was hoarding a plate of food large enough to feed two football players. That was definitely a good sign. I smiled at her, taking my seat at the table next to Danny.

  Mom was going over our plans for tonight and explained to Liz how we had bonded our powers to extract the lost spirit and poison from her body. Then told her all the gory details about when I opened the veil, sending that thing across the veil.

  “I want all of us to be bonded tonight,” Liz said. “I think it’ll strengthen the spell. And don’t worry, Mamma, I’m fine now.”

  Mom looked at her with concern etching her face, but conceded. “All right, but Elizabeth, I don’t want you tiring yourself out. You’ve been through quite an ordeal today.”

  Liz took a sip of coffee. “Mamma, I understand your concern, but I feel much more like myself now. Look, I’m eating again,” she said, holding up a huge sandwich, and took a bite.

  Danielle and I laughed at her, mostly because of the food she was waving around, but inside I was just as worried as Mom. I wondered how Delphine had managed to pull Liz inside her illusion in the first place. She must have grown more powerful as she suggested, or Marcus was aiding her somehow. The thought shook me to the core. I needed to find a way to get rid of them both and fast. I couldn’t be sure if Delphine wouldn’t attempt to use Liz again in order to get to me—the old witch was going down. It was one thing to mess with me, but no one laid a hand on my baby sister.

  “Sis, if you start feeling any different or like your powers are waning, you need to tell someone, okay?” I said, looking at her from across the table.

  “All right, Abby.” Liz looked around the table. “I promise everyone here that if something strange happens, you’ll be the first to know when I hit the ground.” She rolled her eyes and took a large bite of her sandwich.

  Danny chuckled beside me and I elbowed him in the ribs, giving him a sideways glance. Danielle continued eating, shaking her head, while Mom looked off. She seemed to be lost in thought and somewhat irritated.

  Mom sat her cup of tea down on the table and looked at Liz pointedly. “Elizabeth, you have no idea what we saw today, and if the tables were turned and it had been Abby lying on that table, you wouldn’t be making jokes right now. I would appreciate it if you took this a bit more seriously. We could have lost you today.” She stood from her chair to leave the room.

  “Mamma, wait,” Liz called after her, getting up from the table.

  I heard them talking in hushed voices in the parlor and assumed Liz was apologizing for acting like a brat. Mom was right—what we saw was the stuff from nightmares, and several times I thought Liz might die. Then the illusion. She needed to be more cautious and aware that she was now in Delphine’s sights. I shuddered at the thought.

  The three of us continued to eat in silence waiting for Mom and Liz to return. A few minutes later, they came back and Liz had a different attitude. She apologized and proceeded to finish her food. To say our meal was strained would be an understatement.

  Mom looked around at all of us and said that we needed to be ready to leave no later than ten o’clock. The night was creeping up on us and we still had to pack up our things. Even though we were heading out to the old Springs Hallow, that didn’t mean we wouldn’t meet trouble along the way.

  Once the kitchen was cleaned, Danielle, Liz, Danny and I went upstairs to my room to hatch a backup plan just in case. We’d seen too much crap in the past few weeks not to be prepared for the worst.

  “Sis, I’m sorry for the way I acted earlier,” Liz said, taking a seat on the edge of my bed.

  “It’s fine, Liz. I know it’s your nature to always play the strong one, but today you experienced a little of what I went through with Delphine and I hate it. We’re gonna finish her, but we need a plan.”

  “Seriously, you scared us all to death,” Danielle said, sitting next to Liz. “It’s one thing to be strong, but you have to know when to ask for help. We’re all a team here.” She side hugged her.

  “Okay, I get it. I’m an ass,” Liz said. “I’m taking it seriously now and, to be honest, it’s only a defense mechanism. I was and am still scared. I need you guys. Let’s just drop it and figure out what we need to do if anything goes wrong tonight.”

  “Finally,” Danny said, grinning. “I’m outnumbered here, but damn.”

  “Shut up, Danny,” we all three said in unison and laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood.

  “Okay, first we need Liz’s sword,” I said. “That’s a given. I’ll bring Daddy’s athame and we need to make sure we take our protection potion before we leave. We have no idea if there are any baby demons running around or infected vamps on our tail.” I looked toward Liz. “I don’t want to take any chances.”

  “I�
��ll run a magical sweep of the area to make sure we aren’t being followed once we get your SUV packed and ready to go,” Danny said, taking my hand.

  “I can help you,” Danielle piped in. “I’ll look for any kind of dark aura or lost spirit, like the one I saw last night. If I see anything, Abby can wipe it out and move it across the veil.”

  “What do you guys want me to do?” Liz asked, looking around the room.

  “What you do best: get ready to kick some ass if need be,” I replied. “Standard fighting gear: leathers, knives and potions. Everyone clear?”

  “Got it,” Danielle answered, as did Liz and Danny.

  “Good. We only have about an hour to get dressed and gather our things. Sis, take a shower. You look like a hot mess,” I teased, nudging her shoulder.

  “Kiss my stinky ass, Abby,” Liz said when she stood from the bed. “I’m taking a shower now. Bye, bitches.” She giggled and waved on her way out the door.

  “Danielle, you can get ready in here if you want,” I offered. “I just need to change.”

  “Thanks. I’ll grab my things and be right back.”

  When Danielle walked out I looked to Danny. “Do you think Liz will be all right tonight?”

  “She seems fine to me,” Danny replied. “You guys need to let her be. She’s strong like you, Abby, and you wouldn’t want anyone hovering over you like that.”

  “I hate it when you’re right.” I leaned over and kissed him just when Danielle walked back into the room.

  “Can’t you two go five minutes without sex? Damn. And don’t even think you were quiet earlier. I heard you loud and clear across the hall. I really need to get laid,” she said, shaking her head and walking to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

  Danny and I cracked up. Danielle did need to find a man, even if it was only for a short time. The thought of her leaving us again tore through my heart. I knew it was impossible, but I prayed God and the ancestors would allow her to have a new, more permanent life on earth. Maybe there was a way.