The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy (15 page)

“Where is everyone?” I said, walking back into the room. Eli stood and rubbed his hands on his jeans. “I was afraid of this,” he said, pulling at the board over the window.

 

“Afraid of what?” I snapped. The room shook with my emotions.

“You have to get a handle on that or you won't be as useful as you need to be.” He turned back to me. “It's been longer than you think.”

“How long?”

 

“It's been a year.”
The 13
^th
Witch Book Three Final Stand One

I could hear my heart beating in my chest. The fear of what I had to do was taking over. I couldn’t help but wonder how we had gotten here. What could I have done different? I was alone in what I had to do and there was no way I was going to get another choice.

***

I sat up, holding my chest. The wind was whirling through the broken building and kicked up some of the dust in the home we were staying in.

The Oracle was gone when we got here, leaving only myself and Eli to understand what was going on. I glanced to where he was sleeping on the wood floor near me. He seemed at peace considering what we were facing.

My birth father was now in control of the area. He had started a war between witches, hoping to eliminate the ones that could or who would stop him. I was on that list and now it seemed I was the only one that could change anything and help those I loved.

“What are you doing?” Eli rubbed his eyes and sat up to face me.

“Nothing. I just had a bad dream,” I answered. I smiled and stood so I could see out of the window better. “What do we do now?”

“We have to find who’s left,” he answered. I watched him stand up and rub his eyes. “It’s getting dark and that’s probably going to be the best time to go.” He turned back to me. “We have an advantage because Eric doesn’t know we’re back.”

“Are you sure?” I asked.

He sighed. “There’s always a chance he felt us come back through, but that would mean he’s a lot more powerful than we realized.”

“Great,” I said, grabbing a small bag of supplies I’d gathered from The Oracle’s home. “I guess we should get going.”

As we walked out of the home, I took in the way the world had changed. It was frightening to know I’d been here not long ago and everything had changed. The Oracle was gone. My family was still missing and the one man I could trust was not even human. At least fully. I glanced at Eli as he walked in front of me.

“Where are we going to find everyone?” I shoved my hands into my pockets and kicked at the dirt on the ground.

“You can do that. All you have to do is feel them,” he said, not looking at me. I considered his words and took a deep breath.

My powers had changed when I took the same power surge as my birth father. It made them stronger and better than before. Plus, when I tried hard enough, there were amazing things I could tap into. Right now all I needed to do was find where the good energy was at so I could find the people who could help us the most. A part of me wondered if Eric could find them too and if they were still alive.

I concentrated and felt a small blip, drawing me towards it. I let my mind follow. In my head, I could see a small house with bricks lining the sidewalk towards it. The house looked as though it didn’t belong in this odd world we lived in now. It seemed untouched. I let my mind go deeper until I was standing inside the home. A woman was sitting on the couch. Her head shot up as she saw me there, watching her.

“Who are you and what do you want?” The woman said, waiting and watching. “Do you work for Eric?”

“My name is Lucy. I’m just trying to help. I don’t work for Eric and I want to stop him,” I said. “You’re a little late for that. I don’t think anyone can stop him now,” she said, holding my gaze.

“I can and I will, but I need your help. Where can we find you?” I waited, hoping she would trust me enough to tell me where they were.

“We’re in Council Bluffs. I trust you can find me from that.” She didn’t make anything else clearer, but a part of me knew once we were close, I’d be able to find them.

“We’re on our way,” I said, letting my mind slip back to where I was.

Each time I used my new gifts it was easier to get back to where I was. When I used these, I noticed I didn’t feel as drained as the visions I still get from time to time. It was more like a controlled vision and something that was far nicer than what I was used to.

“We need to go to Council Bluffs,” I said to Eli. He turned to face me finally after not looking at me directly almost the entire time.

“Is that all you know?”

“For now. I should be able to find them better once we are a little closer.” I paused and glanced around us. We would never make good time if we were stuck walking the whole way. “You don’t happen to have a Fae thing for traveling, do you? I don’t want to walk forever.” Eli smiled, but shook his head.

“I’m afraid I don’t have anything for that. We will have to walk and hope we get there before the sun comes back up.”

“What happens when the sun comes up?”

“Things will get a lot harder,” he said, smiling, but it was not a happy smile. It was more of the kind of smile you use when you want to keep someone from asking too many questions. I took the hint and started walking. We were not near any of the roads because of the danger, but a part of me wondered if there was still some kind life going on. The vision I’d just had showed me people still lived in homes and maybe it wasn’t as bad as it looked at The Oracle’s home.

We walked for a long time before I finally had to stop. My feet were throbbing and I wanted a drink more than I had in a long time.

“What’s wrong?” Eli asked. He seemed to not really pay attention or he just didn’t realize there was any kind of problem.

“I need a drink. We’ve been walking for a while and we didn’t bring any water or anything. I need to stop.” I leaned against a tree and waited for his reaction. There wasn’t much of one.

We managed to make our way to an out of the way gas station. It was still in service, which made me wonder if the regular people living in the world even knew what had happened. I picked up my water and paid the cashier. I watched to see if there was anything out of the ordinary, but he seemed to be totally oblivious to the fact the world had fallen apart around him.

“What happened out there?” I finally got the nerve to ask. He glanced at me like I was from another planet.

“You don’t remember the big dust storm about a year ago?” He seemed to think I should know what happened. I guessed it was bigger than I originally thought.

“We haven’t been around for a long time.” I smiled, trying to sound convincing. He just eyed me.

“That storm changed everything. It destroyed a lot of the way people make money around here. Changed the US for good.” He handed me my change and made a face. “The only reason we are still in business is because we are so out of the way. People still stop when they need things.” I smiled and thanked him. He’d helped me to understand what was going on a little more.

I met Eli at the door and opened my water. My throat was burning from the walk and exercise we already had managed. I could see the sun was getting low in the sky and glanced at Eli.

“Do you think we’ll make it before it gets dark?” I slid the closed water into my bag and followed behind him.

“I don’t know, but if we don’t, we could be just waiting for trouble,” he said, running a hand through his blond hair.

“I have enough power to protect us,” I said blankly. He stopped suddenly and turned on me.

“Just because you have it, doesn’t mean you should use it at every turn.” He held his eyes to mine and put his hands on my shoulders. His fingers dug in a bit and made me want to yelp.

“I know that. I just meant I could keep any of Eric’s people from bothering us,” I said, raising my eyebrows.

“Then he would know you have power and I don’t want that. If he finds us, everything is lost.” He turned suddenly and started walking again. I followed him to the old road we were traveling on. He didn’t say anything more and I figured the rest of the trip was going to be silent.

Two
The dream started the same as it had so many times before, with me alone.

I felt the cold air hit my body and rubbed my arms. I was standing in the middle of a field. On one end was an old white farmhouse. It looked as though it was there for a long time before me. I smiled at the sight of something that was still intact after all the devastation Eric caused.

I started walking towards it until a sick feeling started to overcome me. I had never felt this way before, but didn’t like it at all. I stopped and rubbed my hands over my stomach to try and make it stop. It wouldn’t.

I glanced behind me, felling like someone or something was watching me. I held my breath when I met Connor’s eyes. He was standing just a few feet in front of me. His eyes were hard and pinned to me.

“Why did you come back?” He asked, clenching his hands into fists.

 

“I have to help you, all of you,” I started. “I want to get my family back.”

“That’s what I wanted, but I got this instead,” he said, putting his arms out slightly. “I can’t protect you anymore. Eric’s too strong.”

“Protect me? You turned on me.” I could feel anger just under the surface. I felt like he’d left me to clean up a mess he’d help create. A part of me still loved this man in front of me, but he had a lot to own up to. Connor turned his head from me. He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his regret.

“Besides, I’m strong enough to take care of myself and clean up this mess,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Good. You won’t see me again.” He turned away from me and I felt myself getting dizzy. The vision was fading in front of me and I was still as confused as ever.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was laying on the ground next to Eli. He was sleeping heavily, but something told me that all he needed was a jolt or sense that something was wrong to wake up.

I looked to the sky and watched the clouds travel over the stars. A part me was broken and the other part was totally pissed. I lost everything and everyone who was important to me and I blamed Eric for taking it all away.

I couldn’t hurt another person and this whole thing was pain waiting to happen. Eli would be the next one to die or disappear if I kept going down this path. I couldn’t let that happen, not to him. He was a friend and I cared about him. I slowly stood and took a step away from the sleeping Eli.

“Where are you going?” He asked, rubbing at his eyes. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say. He glanced around and then back to me. “We can't go anywhere in the dark. The best thing to do is sit still until the sun comes up.”

“We can't just sit here and wait for the world to keep ending. We have to do something.” I felt myself burning with the power that now ran through me. I knew how to control it to an extent, but it was way more than I'd ever had or ever wanted.

He grabbed me and pulled me down. I made a face and tried to fight him, but then I realized what was going on. In the distance, there were a group of people, with flashlights walking around. They were searching for something. I just hoped it wasn't us. Eli slowly stood, pulling me along with him.

“If we're quite, we might be able to slip away,” he whispered. I nodded so he would know I heard him and slid into step behind him. We walked for a bit and I finally felt his guard drop.

We finally got to the edge of the city as the sun was coming up over the cityscape. I smiled slightly as I walked. I hoped I could figure out how to get to the witches house I'd picked up in my vision. Otherwise, we'd made a trip for nothing.

“If you concentrate, you should be able to feel them and know where they are,” Eli said, watching me as we took a break in a local park.

“Why hasn't Eric used that part of his power yet?” I was curious as to the extent of what he could do too, but I thought I already knew by the looks of things.

“He doesn't know about it probably, but he can feel you if we get too close. Your powers are linked because they come from the same source.” He waited and watched me. I rolled my eyes and then looked up. The sky was a deep red and yellow. It made me forget about what was really going on and the trouble I was going to be facing very soon. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, concentrating on the group of witches hiding out in the home here and where they could be.

At first, I didn't feel anything. Then I felt a small tingle to my left. I let my mind follow it and realized we were only blocks from the little home I'd seen in my vision.

“Their not far from here. A couple blocks that way,” I said, opening my eyes and pointing to my left where I'd felt the tingle of magic. Eli was smiling with his arms crossed in front of him.

“What are we waiting for, then?” I didn't say anything, but pulled myself up and started walking.
Three

“I'm sorry, I can't help you,” the woman said, sitting in the brown fabric chair near the door of the home. She was in her early forties with long brown hair. She sat with her hands in her lap and didn't bother to meet my eyes.

“We have to band together or Eric is going to have control of everything,” I said before I thought about it.

“Look around you. That's already happened.” She finally met my gaze. “We couldn't stop him then and nothing has changed.”

“One thing has changed,” Eli said glancing at me. “She has the same power Eric does. She can stop him.” I watched the woman's gaze slip to me.

“I don't believe it. She's just a kid.” I made a face and felt a spite of anger flare up inside me. All I wanted to do was show this
woman
what kind of power I really had, but that had risks and I knew better.

“She may look like a kid, but she is the only one that can stop him and get things back to the way they were,” he said, not taking his eyes off of the woman. “But we can't do it on our own. We need help.” The woman waited and broke his gaze.

“I don't want anything to happen to my kids. They aren't a part of this. I bound their powers.” She took a breath. “I'm sorry.”

Eli ran his hand through his hair and nodded. “I understand. You want to protect your family. We all do.”