Raven Ridge (Witches of Sanctuary Book 2) (14 page)

His eyes go black again as he screams. His head whips up, and it’s the monster from the rooftop. The one I see in my dreams. He claws at the ground, scrabbling to his feet. He comes for me. Reid braces himself to stop him, but then Julien stumbles forward, and he’s back squirming on the ground. The blackness is completely absent again. His fist jerks his hair. “Willa! Help me.”

I take a step forward, tears welling up into my vision. “What’s happening to him?”

“Stay back.” Reid cautiously approaches him. He bends down so Julien can see his face through the sheets of rain. “Julien. It’s me, Reid. We’re here.”

“He’s killing us.” His entire body trembles. His words labored. “Something is wrong. He’s going to kill us both.”

Reid moves closer. “What’s wrong?”

Julien’s eyes go black again, and the monster screeches. “You can’t have him!”

The rain pelts down on us as the monster thrashes back and forth. I run up behind Reid. “Julien.”

The anger fades out. “Willa.” He pulls himself to his knees. He looks so helpless and tired. “You promised to kill me. Do it now. Now while he’s weak.”

I grip Reid’s shirt.

“Kill me, Willa.” Julien can barely muster the strength to look at me. “You promised. You promised us both. Do it.”

“I can’t, Julien. Not like this.”

“You promised. I can’t watch him kill you. He wants to kill you, Wilhelmina.”

“She’s right, Julien. I can’t let her do that. Your brother is with Sadie and Jade right now. I can’t risk unleashing him on them.”

Julien’s eyes flash black again, and the monster claws at the dirt before some invisible pain crashes him to the ground again. Reid pulls me away. “Go back in the house.”

I push against him. “No. I won’t leave him like this.”

Reid leads me back further away from Julien, toward the house. “I’m going to take him somewhere safe, until we can get help.”

“Safe? Where in Frog Hollow can he be safe from himself?”

“The circle. Contessa and Elizabeth will be able to keep him confined there until we figure out what the hell is going on with him.”

I grasp his hand. “I’ll go with you.”

“No. I need you to go back inside. We can’t risk that monster coming out of whatever trance that’s allowing Julien to speak to us and get his hands on you.”

“And you expect me to put you at risk. That monster wants you too, remember?”

“I know. I’m not asking you this as your Sun and your equal, Willa. This is simply a request from your boyfriend. The boyfriend who found you on that street corner in Charleston half dead. You say the thought of losing me is painful. I know that ache. I spent three hours thinking you were gone.”

Crippling pain courses through me and it isn’t my own. It’s Reid’s, and I know I can’t tell him no. “Okay.”

Relief. I almost lose my breath as it rushes through us both. This connection stuff is too much. Too emotionally draining. Reid kisses me, brushing a piece of my soaked hair away from my eyes. “Thank you.”

I glance at Julien. He’s gone still again, his chest heaving air in and out like a machine on hyper-drive. I know Reid can feel the strain in my heart as I look at him. I can’t stop it. Julien is my friend. Sure, at some point it was a little more than that, but he was always my friend. “How will you get him there?”

“I’ll walk.”

We both jerk around, and Julien miraculously stands on his feet. Barely. He’s slumped over, and his shoulders are caved in. “Yeah. I’m still here.”

That worn and pain ridden expression from earlier suddenly looks so much more tortured.

“Julien—”

He holds up his hand. “Don’t, Wilhelmina. I’m hurting enough already.”

All the times I imagined and hoped of getting Julien back, this isn’t how it was supposed to happen. Julien refuses to even look in my direction. Did he see the way I looked at Reid? Does he know the inevitable truth now?

Julien’s tortured gaze turns on Reid. “Let’s go before I lose control again and I try to kill you.”

Reid disappears with Julien into the woods to find the ceremonial circle. I stay there in the rain. Turmoil twirls in my gut. Reid has to feel it. Even with the increasing distance, it’s too strong for him to miss it. There isn’t anything I can do about it, though.

Apparently, we’re all meant to suffer.

Chapter 14

Aunt Delphine

Reid and I drip water onto the dark hardwood floor at Sera’s house. The giant iron pot remains in the fireplace, the pearl colored steam now a vivid red, billowing out of the top and drifting through the house and out the windows. The sweet smell of cinnamon and cherries.

Sera stands in front of the fireplace, her hand clutched over her heart. “You have Julien where?”

“I took him to the ceremonial circle. The original Innocents have him trapped there.”

She shoots Reid a dirty look. “And you just went there by yourself? Why didn’t you call me?”

“It was a time sensitive mission.”

Sera saunters forward, her finger pointed directly at Reid’s chest. “You’ll think
time sensitive
when I hang you by your ears from the steeple of this house, David Reid Thomas. I can’t believe you didn’t take someone with you.”

He takes in a small breath. “Can we focus for a moment? Julien is there. Now what?”

Sera throws her hands up in the air. “We wait. The spell is working, but I don’t know where Delphine is and how long it will take to reach her.”

Reid shoves his hand in his hair. “Time isn’t a luxury we have at the moment. I think the curse is killing him.”

Sera’s face softens. “You’re concerned for Julien?”

Reid purses his lips. “Wilhelmina is my girlfriend. I don’t see any reason to wish death on the guy.”

Every eye in the house turns on me. Abby jumps to her feet. “He asked you?”

I shoot her a tentative smile. “Surprise.”

She crosses her arms and I sigh. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you. Minutes after it happened, Julien showed up. We can’t catch a minute alone together with a five foot net.”

Sera walks over to her son and hugs him. “I’m happy for you two.” Then her attention turns to the window where the drifting red fog sneaks through the small opening.

Jade walks in, dripping water across the floor, carrying an armload of new leafy greens. “What’s all that?”

Jade lifts the greens up on an empty table. “I’m going to make the spell stronger. We need Delphine fast.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I just got a call from Carolyn. There are reports in town of people seeing odd things.”

Reid eyes the flowers and assortment of roots, picking a piece up and inspecting it. “They’re probably still talking about Willa turning green on Halloween.”

“No, it’s something else. There are reports of things roaming the mountains.”

I step up closer to Jade. “What kind of things?”

“Milly Stern is the closet house to Shadow Bend. She swears on her mother’s grave she saw a mountain lion sneaking across the back of her property two nights ago. Then, of course, this morning, Mr. Gaff at the Farmer’s Market claimed to anyone who’d listen how he spotted a red wolf slinking around the cliff face at Red Crane.”

I look over at Reid, remembering clearly the family emblem plaques above the Haunted families’ rooms in the Raven’s Tower. The Prescotts’ plaque had a mountain lion on it. I would bet money, the missing Bessette plaque has a wolf. “You think it’s George Bessette and Luther Prescott in their cursed forms?”

“There hasn’t been a mountain lion or red wolf spotted in this section of the country for years. They’re supposed to be extinct.”

I take a deep breath. “So, the Raven is right. Something is changing in Sanctuary. Evil isn’t returning here, it’s just making itself known.”

“Grab the lid off the pot,” Jade says, sorting through her stockpile of flowers, herbs, roots, and spices.

Reid uses the poker to remove the iron lid from the pot, and a poof of red steam burst from the top of the bubbling water. Jade motions me over, handing me a knife. “We need to double the ingredients. I’ve written them down. You chop and I’ll start mixing them in.”

I nod, grabbing the list of instructions. I work diligently, cutting the different roots into precise measurements before sliding them across the table toward Jade. My heart thrums in my chest. Reid stands next to the open window, the steam snaking around him to escape. He stares at the darkness as the storm finally starts to settle down, but I feel the tension building inside him. His fists are clenched. Jade nudges my elbow and I try to focus on my task. We need Delphine here. We need that book to figure out what the heck we’re going to do. How we’re going to save Julien.

Reid’s gaze turns on me.

It’s as if he heard me say Julien’s name out loud. I might as well have, because I know I must look guilty. Jade takes the final slices of ginseng root from my hand and adds them into the brew. Sera wipes her hands on the long apron around her waist. “I think we all need to get some rest. Even now, I don’t know how long it will take the spell to find Delphine.”

I’m exhausted. My limbs are weak and my thoughts are sluggish, but sleep won’t find me. Not now. It won’t be the monster of Julien that haunts me tonight, but rather that look on his face. The look that
my
Julien, the one I thought was gone forever, gave me when he realized the truth.

Strong, firm hands wrap around my waist. Reid’s face nuzzles into my hair, until I turn around and his lips touch my cheek. “Of all the nights for Julien to show back up…”

I open my lips to speak, but Reid beats me. He tugs me closer, holding me tighter. “I played nice last time. It’s different now. I’ll help you save him, but if he crosses the line again, I will make him regret it.”

My spine pricks with a cold chill. I spin around. Those perfect, mystic green eyes keep me frozen. His hand tilts my chin up, and his lips take me.

I won’t share you again. Ever.

He means it. The intensity of it radiates through me. It heals all the fractured pieces of myself. Julien is my friend. I care about him. That won’t change, but Reid…he is what makes me whole.

The ground shakes beneath me. A literal tremor along the wood in the floor. Then I hear a voice. A voice I thought I might never hear again.

“Well, look at that…”

I whip around to see a ghost. Her bright purple hat sits lopsided on her head, with the yellow feathers bobbing around the front as she smiles. Priscilla DeMarci. She places one hand on her hip and points the other directly at Reid. “I should have known. That night in the graveyard. I knew the power this child evoked was too much to be just any witch.”

“Priscilla!” I can’t help but laugh. “What are you doing here?”

“Delivering a message.” She glances around at the steam-filled room. “You’ve been calling one of the Innocent, have you not?”

“Yes,” Sera says quickly. “We need my aunt Delphine.”

Priscilla nods. “She will be here by morning.”

“Thank you,” Sera says, sighing her relief.

Priscilla turns her attention back to me. “You’re growing stronger.”

Reid’s hand intertwines with mine. Priscilla catches the movement and smiles. “Take care of her.”

Reid’s grip tightens. “I plan on it.”

Priscilla smiles before disappearing as quickly as she came. Sera comes over and places a hand on my shoulder. “You heard her. Delphine will be here by morning. There is nothing more we can do tonight. We need to rest.”

“Care if we crash here?”

Sera smiles at her son. “Sure. You can take the couch. Abby and Willa can crash in her old bedroom.”

Reid purses his lips, and Sera’s grin only widens. “Girlfriend or not. My house, my rules.”

***

My eyes are still heavy when the sun beams through window into them. I rub them slowly, trying to remember the night. Nothing comes to mind except Abby’s excessive badgering over the details of my new relationship with Reid. I’d fallen asleep listening to her gab on about how she always knew we were meant to be sisters.

There were no nightmares. I sit up on my elbow, sifting through my sluggish thoughts, surprised that no matter how hard I concentrate there are no visions of a relentless monster anywhere. I’d slept the entire night.

“Not a morning person?”

My gaze darts to my feet to find a figure sitting at the edge of my bed. It’s not Abby; her snoring lump still lies next to me in bed. “Holy crap.” I grab the blanket and try to unravel myself, but end up falling over the edge of the bed onto the floor. I groan, rolling over. The hardwood is just that. Hard. My tailbone screams at the pain from the impact. The lady sitting at the end of my bed smiles at me. Her deep gray hair is long. The ends hit the top of her hips that are decorated with layered fabrics, creating a heel-length dress. Her smile is thin and warm.

“Good morning, my sweet sunshine.”

I stare oddly at her. “Delphine?”

“You look surprised to see me. Did you not get my message?”

I try to sit up. “No. No. We got the message. I just didn’t expect to find you sitting at the end of my bed.”

She tilts her head to the side. “How else was I to wake you?”

“Good point.”

She reaches down to help me up, and I catch her staring at my neck. Her fingers come up and brush across the moon emblem. “You’re too young for such a burden.”

I reflexively touch the mark. Delphine pushes her hair back, and pulls the corner of her collar down to reveal the yellow circle on her collarbone. “It’s been almost fifteen years now. I can remember the burn like it was yesterday.”

“Did you bring the book with you?”

“Yes. I know what you seek. You will find your answers there.”

“Where is it?”

She holds out her hand, and I take it. “Waiting for you in the atrium. The others are still sleeping. Let them rest. Go alone and find your answers, Willa.”

She leads me downstairs. I instantly spot Reid on the couch. His head is buried beneath a pillow as the sound of soft breathing escapes from under it. We tiptoe silently through the room and into the kitchen. Delphine leads me to the door of the atrium, where she stops. “I’ll be waiting when you’re ready to talk. All of us will be.”

I take a step inside, and I hear her close the door behind me. I walk over and take a seat at the table and small stool Sera uses when she paints out here. The book is propped up against it.

I run my hands down the spine. The leather is soft, but worn underneath my fingertips, and the edge of the pages frayed. A sun embellishes the cover, with jewels and flowers draped over the burning flames that erupt from its core. I pull the thick maroon bookmark, opening the pages to that point Delphine mentioned. The text is all handwritten. Some parts are a scrawling cursive while other parts are a tiny, boxy type print. Pictures and symbols work in odd directions and it’s difficult to tell which end of the book is meant to be upright.

Finally, I spot the words I need.

The Changing.

This is it. This is what we’ve really been looking for this whole time.

The Raven, Estelle Cote, the Mountain Lion, Luther Prescott, and the Red Wolf, George Bessette, doomed to roam the mountains of Sanctuary for eternity. As punishment for allowing the darkness to claim their hearts, they must watch the Haunting of their family lines.

The Haunted not yet consumed by the curse will be drawn to the light that dwells in each Innocent.

I keep scanning, my finger moving faster than I can get the words out of my mouth. I can’t believe it. Sadie is right in her theory. The Haunted, once urged to hide and stay away from the Innocent, will suddenly crave them.

One by one, the Haunted will seek out the Innocent, their affection and admiration transfixed upon those who can save them.

I don’t want to believe it. I don’t want to admit everything that has happened between us and the Haunted has been due to some curse. Julien’s curiosity toward me when I showed up. Ezekiel’s great love for Sadie. Erika’s attraction to Reid. Lyric and Abby.

It is only through the love, kindness, and unrequited charity of the Innocent that the Haunted will be saved. The original three must seek forgiveness. It is only when granted by an Innocent that the Changing will take place. The darkness will be stripped away from the cursed, allowing them to be temporarily free.

Take heed. Once the Changing starts, it cannot be reversed. You must perform the Iniquity spell before the next solstice to purge the blackness from their heart forever…or it will return and claim them in death.

My knees buckle.

“
Willa? Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I grab onto the book and the table so I don’t fall down. Abby rushes to me. “What did you read?”

“Julien will die.”

“What? Why?”

“The Changing. Estelle Cote said watching her loved ones suffer all these years has reformed her cold heart. When Reid and I forgave her, it set off a change in the curse.”