Courting the Darkness (5 page)

Jason smiled, pulling on his lapel, cockily rocking on his heels. “Yes, sir, I have proof.” He pointed to the record book on their desk. “My daddy recorded her name in that book as a witch that got away fifty years ago. Look at the entry for June nineteen-fifty-nine, made by John Hargrove.”

Grabbing the book, the judge opened it to the month and year in question. “I see an entry signed by John Hargrove.” He looked up at Desiree. “Well, Ms. Dupuis?”

“Your honor, be reasonable. It must be coincidence that we both have the same name. I couldn’t possibly be the same woman. I’m not old enough. This jerk has made a mistake and I’m being made to suffer for it.”

He sat back down in his chair, slamming the gavel on the desk. “Desiree Dupuis, we find you guilty of witchcraft. You are hereby sentenced to burn at dawn. You will rot in hell as the devil’s spawn that you are. Get this demon out of my sight.”

Her head reeled with the verdict, and she yelled indignantly, “I am not a demon. I believe in and worship the same God you do!” She narrowed her eyes, and raised her chin defiantly. “You, sirs, will be the ones to rot in hell, not me.”

All three judges covered their ears with the center judge responding, “Do not listen to the lies of the serpent. Take her back to her cell to await her judgment with God.”

She rolled her eyes in frustration, anger taking over, her voice quivering with rage. “If you carry this sentence out, I will come back from the grave and haunt you for the rest of your days,” she shouted. “I will be relentless, and you will eventually die at my hands.”

“Enough! You will hold your tongue, or I will have you gagged, witch. Remove her from our sight, now!”

Jason grinned at her. “It will be my pleasure, sir.” Taking the key, he released the handcuffs holding the manacles to the podium. “Come along, witch.” He viciously yanked on her chains.

Desiree was dumbfounded.
This is a farce; this is not a real court of law. How can this be happening? This is a cult, run by a bunch of fanatical religious freaks. This is two thousand eleven not the fifteenth century. This can’t be happening.
The reality of the verdict sank in. It did not matter whether or not the verdict was just or fair. She had no doubt that they would burn her at sunrise.

Jason shoved her into her cell and onto the cot, motioning for the guards to hold her still. She did not put up a fight; her mind was still too numb to react. Jason removed the chains, leaving the cell in a hurry. “I will be back in the morning to see that your sentence is carried out. Sleep tight, it will be your last.” He turned, strutting back down the hall.

She numbly stared after him. All of her fight was gone. Drawing her knees up to her chin, she hugged her arms around them, staring blankly at the wall, awaiting her execution.

CHAPTER SIX

Caleb took the first exit into Salem. “Mica, hey man, we’re entering Salem now. Are you awake?” He glanced back into the rear of the dark Express Van. “The sun set a couple of hours ago; it’s safe for you to come out.”

Mica sat up. “Thanks, buddy.” He crawled over the seats, climbing into the front passenger seat. “I’m ready to get out of this car.”

Caleb grinned, happy to see his friend finally awake. “I hear you… Hey, I’ve been thinking while you were asleep, and I’ve come up with a plan. Do you want to hear it?”

“Sure, why not? What’s your plan?”

“Well, I’ve had plenty of time to think. If you can get the front door open and stand guard, I can morph into a ferret and steal the guard’s keys. As a ferret, I should be able to get into her cell. I could then morph back and get her out of there, and they’d be none the wiser.”

Mica shook his head. “I was looking forward to taking a piece of Hargrove’s hide back as a souvenir.”

“And that may be an option later." Caleb contemplated. “But the witch might get hurt in the crossfire. Drake would be mighty upset if the witch gets killed before he gets what he wants.”

“You might be right, but at the first sign of trouble, we’re scrapping your plan and cracking skulls.” He smiled devilishly. “I, for one, hope there’s trouble. I’m itching for a good fight.”

He laughed. “Let’s try it my way first, but if Hargrove tries to stop us, then all bets are off.”

Looking at his watch, he smiled. “It is ten. The inquisition hall closed four hours ago.” Pulling the van up to the curb, Caleb parked, cutting the engine. “Let’s do this.”

Caleb popped the hatch; he pulled back the carpet, grabbing two cans of black spray paint, and offered one to Mica. “These are for the security cameras. We don’t want to leave any evidence on the security tapes.”

Mica grabbed the can of spray paint. “I’ll start with the cameras left on the side; you start with the right. I’ll meet you at the front door.”

Caleb nodded, running with his can of paint to the right side of the building, blacking out cameras as he went.

Mica laughed. He ran to the left side of the building, but he did not use the paint. He crushed each of the cameras with his fists as he ran by.

Meeting by the front doors, Mica pulled an electronic device out of his jacket. Placing it over the key pad, it short-circuited the alarm, and the door popped open.

Caleb grinned. “They won’t even know what hit them.” He removed his clothing, handing them to Mica. “I’ll be out in a few minutes with the witch. Be ready to make a hasty retreat.”

Mica shook his head. “You’ll probably scare the hell out of her when you appear before her with no clothes.”

He laughed softly to avoid drawing attention. “I can’t take the clothes with me; she’ll just have to get over it.” He hunched over, morphing into a ferret.

Mica laughed, opening the door for him. He scurried inside.

Caleb found the guard asleep in the front room with the monitors. Grabbing the keys with his teeth, he scurried down the hall. The only cell occupied was at the end of the hall, and he slinked through the bars.

Desiree stared numbly at the ferret bearing keys in disbelief. Suddenly, the air visibly shimmered around him, and Caleb morphed back into a human form. He stood up before her, grinning, but the grin faded from his face when he saw her. “Who hit you?”

* * *

She blinked blankly at him a few times in shock, his question not registering coherently on her numbed brain. He stormed over to her and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her urgently. “Who hit you?”

He grinned again. “I’m Caleb. Drake sent Mica to rescue you, and I came along for the ride. As for my clothes, uh, I’m a shape-shifter, and my clothes don’t shift with me.” He rattled the keys in front of her. “We have to get you out of here.”

With the mention of Drake, the numbness wore off. Rescue was at hand. She jumped up from the cot, running for the cell door, holding out her hand expectantly at Caleb. “Keys?”

Handing her the keys, she went to work on the lock. Caleb cleared his throat. “Uh, if you’re such a powerful witch, why didn’t you use your magic to get out?”

She barely glanced his way. “Because Hargrove buried amulets all around the room and my magic didn’t work.” The key finally turned in the lock, allowing the door to spring open. She reached up, yanking the amulet from her neck and showing it to Caleb. Glaring at the trinket in disgust, she threw it into the corner. It shattered on the impact. She turned to make a quick getaway.

“Wait.” Caleb grabbed her shoulder. She turned to him in impatience. “I’m going to change again, just in case the guards catch us.” Hunching over, the air shimmered around him once more and he morphed into a black panther. Large, sleek, and lethal, he turned his great head, training his golden eyes on her and letting out a ferocious growl. Turning back, he slinked out of the cell ahead of her.

Chasing after him down the hall, they left through the front door into the crisp February air. Her elated happiness at escape was short lived. She looked up, seeing Mica, and came to a screeching halt. Her mouth dropping, her eyes slowly raked over him in awe. He was every bit as big and dangerous as Drake, and he had the face of Adonis. His wavy black hair ruggedly framed his breathtakingly handsome face, straight nose, firm jaw, and lush mouth. His eyes held her captivated, startling deep blue, framed in dark lashes. She unconsciously lifted her hand to reach out to stroke his face.

Mica handed Caleb his clothes. “What’s wrong with her?” Reaching out, he gently took her chin between his fingers. A growl erupted deep in his chest. “Who hit her?”

Shrugging, Caleb laughed at her expression. “She wasn’t acting that way in her cell. Maybe it’s you.” He nudged Mica with his elbow.

Mica glared at him in return. “Who hit her?”

Mica’s tone seemed to set Caleb on edge. “She says that Hargrove did it.”

Seeing the fury in Mica’s eyes, she snapped out of her stupor, shrinking away in fear.
What are you doing, girl? He’s a vampire, the one thing that your magic can’t defeat
. Her mind raced. “Maybe I, uh, was safer back in my cell.”

Mica flashed her a smile. “So, she can speak intelligently. However, Caleb’s right, we do need to go. There will be a time for vengeance later.”

Caleb ran ahead to the van, starting the engine. Mica turned to run. A security guard burst through the door, grabbing Desiree by the scruff of the neck. Squealing in anger, she stomped on the man’s foot, pulling away from him.

Mica turned toward the man in fury, but before he could react, Desiree did. Bringing her hands close together, she formed an energy ball, hurled it at the guard, and knocked him unconscious into the building. She raised her chin defiantly. “I feel better now, let’s go.”

He laughed softly.

Hurrying to the van, Desiree climbed into the back. Mica took his seat in the front next to Caleb and shouted, “Punch it!” The Express Van sped into the blackness of the night.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ready to eat, Caleb took the Hartford exit off the interstate. “I’m hungry.” He glanced into the rearview mirror at Desiree. “Do you want to get something to eat?”

Until that moment, Desiree had not thought much about food. She had not had anything to eat since that bowl of cereal almost two days ago. “Now that you mention it, I could eat. I’d like to get out of this car and stretch my legs. Where do you want to stop?”

“We can’t afford to be too picky. It’s midnight and there’s not much open.” He glanced over at Mica. “Hey buddy, you going to be okay?”

Mica grinned. “I’ll make do. This is a big city. There are always people up and around no matter what time it is.” He studied the street, pointing. “Stop there, at the Last Chance Bar and Grill. They serve food and they’re open all night.”

“It’s okay with me.” He shrugged, whipping the van into the parking lot.

* * *

The establishment had a full parking lot for the late hour. Music drifted through the open doorway along with the sounds of loud laughter.

Caleb turned in his seat to address Desiree. “We won’t stay long. We’ll just be here long enough to eat and stretch our legs.” Turning back, he opened the driver’s door, climbed out, and stretched his legs.

She peered through the glass at the building. It resembled a dive. Blowing out a breath, she opened the door and climbed out. Arching her back, she stretched. Every muscle in her body ached, but it felt good to stand up. Rolling her head around, she stretched her neck to try to ease the tension. Caleb walked around to her side, putting his arm around her shoulders. Standing up straight, she froze at the familiar manner he took with her.

He did not seem to notice her hesitation. “You’ll feel better once you’ve eaten something.” He nudged her toward the building. “We’ll go in and get a table.” He glanced over at Mica. “Mica will, um, fend for himself and meet us inside later.”

Mica raised his eyebrow. The disapproval of Caleb’s arm around Desiree’s shoulder was evident in his expression. Caleb grinned, holding his ground. She stood between the two, not quite sure what to do. Caleb tugged her again toward the entrance of the tavern. She turned her head, watching Mica as Caleb tugged her into motion. He remained rooted to his spot, staring disapprovingly at them. Caleb stopped and turned toward his friend. “Hey, man, did you call Drake?”

Mica huffed out a disgusted breath. “You know how I feel about phones, but I guess I better call and let him know we got her back. Wait a minute before you go inside.” Caleb and Desiree stopped and waited.

Drake laughed on the other end. “Calm down, Sean told me. I’m not upset with you. Sean brought your stuff here from your apartment.”