by Cassandra
Intern
13 Covens™ Book 2
Cassandra
Hayley Lawson
Michael Anderle
Intern (this book) is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2019 Hayley Lawson and Michael Anderle
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US edition, March 2019
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Epilogue
Contamination
Author Notes - Hayley Lawson
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Other Books from Hayley Lawson
Books by Michael Anderle
Dedication
To my awesome daughter Callie &
always supportive husband Gavin.
— Hayley
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
to Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
to Live the Life We Are
Called.
—Michael
Thank you to our JIT Readers
Micky Cocker & Angel LaVey
Editor
The Skyhunter Editing Team
Chapter One
Jessica tossed her phone onto the couch. She was tired of scrolling through her various social media accounts and looking at pictures of her friends enjoying themselves on this beautiful Saturday night. There were plenty of things going on that weekend and unfortunately, she was missing all of them.
On Instagram, she’d seen classmates out at a birthday party for one of the popular girls at school. Videos had been posted on Facebook of friends waiting in line to play laser-tag at a new arcade. On Twitter, some of her friends had tweeted about the sundae special at one of her favorite ice cream parlors. Finally, she’d received a text message from her friend, Erik, asking if she wanted to join him, Sara, and Ashley to see a new horror film.
But where was Jessica? Stuck in her own little horror film, babysitting the neighbors’ three snot-nosed brats.
Their parents lived next door to Jessica’s grandmother, Ethel Libbons. They had a fancy dinner banquet to attend and had searched relentlessly for a last-minute babysitter. Initially, Jessica hadn’t imagined that would have anything to do with her. However, when Grandma Ethel caught wind that they were in need of a babysitter, she volunteered Jessica for the job.
“Unless you’d rather go with me tonight? The girls and I are having another knitting party! It should be a riot, as usual!”
When she thought about sitting around with a bunch of old women, babysitting suddenly didn’t sound so bad. She had attended one of their knitting parties before, and once had been more than enough.
She stared at the large television screen on which the children played Five Nights at Freddy’s for the umpteenth time. Part of her wondered if it would have been more entertaining to listen to the old ladies gossiping while they knitted, after all. Her mind went into a stupor as she stared at the TV screen, lulled by the creepy music from Freddy’s that drifted through the house.
For someone who had recently found out she was a witch, this certainly wasn’t how she had anticipated spending her Saturday nights.
Jessica sighed and folded her arms across her chest. She reflected on everything she had been through thus far. She had fought imps, demons, and stood up to mean girls. Her life had already changed so drastically that it was hard to fathom.
She supposed it all started when she unexpectedly found Chad and Roger sitting on her living room couch one afternoon when she came home from school. They were demon hunters.
That led to the revelation that the crazy old cat lady she called Grandma was secretly one of the most badass witches around. That was a detail that had been hidden from Jessica her entire life. Apparently, her parents didn’t want to raise a child in the magical world.
Of course, she had been furious that such an enormous secret was kept from her. Over time, though, she realized her parents meant well.
“As you can see, life as a witch isn’t always safe,” her mom chided when they had spoken over the phone. “I simply wanted your life to be easy, Jessica. Normal. Not filled with magic spells gone wrong and demon hunting. You understand that, right, sweet?”
And she did, on some level. She had several close calls with demons under her belt. Jessica understood wholeheartedly how dangerous things could be in the magical world.
Which made it all the more difficult to figure out what she really wanted.
She couldn’t deny feeling a strong sense of pride knowing who her Grandma Ethel truly was. Jessica had been thoroughly astonished by the respect and admiration people in the magical community had for her grandmother. It had been nothing short of astounding, especially considering she had gone her whole life with people teasing her about her grandmother.
For as long as she could remember Grandma Ethel had always been on the eccentric side. She was the neighborhood cat lady, and all the children teased and joked that she was secretly a witch. And as much as she loved her grandmother, she couldn’t blame kids for thinking the way they did. Grandma Ethel was batty in a way that sometimes seemed senile. And she did have a mysterious aura about her that anyone could see, witch or not.
Never in a million years did Jessica ever think she was actually a witch. She was pretty sure that despite all the teasing, none of those kids knew how close to the truth they really were.
Well, not most of them. Debbie McCrow, Marie Sanchez, and Patricia Tony had known what they were talking about. But that was a different story.
The magical world fascinated Jessica. The thought of learning to cast spells and fighting against the evils of the world was rather appealing. When it was suggested that Jessica move in with her grandmother for her safety, she had been all for it. She had convinced herself that she was ready for whatever magical adventures awaited her.
Even now, she wanted to know everything. To learn everything. To hunt demons and save the world like some sort of superhero.
At night, however, the demons had a bad habit of populating her dreams. She often found herself waking up with second thoughts about her lifestyle.
Each time she encountered a demon, her life flashed before her eyes. While
she had miraculously improvised in her fights and made it out alive, she couldn’t quite overcome the feeling that she was in over her head. That she was kidding herself if she thought that she would ever be a revered witch like her grandmother.
Chad, Roger, Pastor Norman, and Grandma Ethel herself had all been stunned to find out that she was able to fight an imp off by herself. When she started fighting her way out of genuine demon attacks, she officially became their protégé.
Jessica, on the other hand, knew that the only skill she really possessed was luck.
Who was to say that her luck wouldn’t run out one day? That thought alone left her feeling inadequate.
She wondered if Grandma Ethel ever felt that way. If so, it was hard to imagine. Jessica had never known her grandma to be anything but absolutely sure of herself, despite all the rumors that surrounded her. If she had an ounce of her grandmother’s confidence, life would be so much easier.
“Ahhh!”
Jessica jumped. It took a moment for her to realize the screams came from the children in front of her. All three of them had sat in front of the TV, thoroughly engrossed in their game. Now, two of them leapt to their feet and screamed at the top of their lungs, while the third had fallen onto the floor and was now doubled over with laughter.
On the screen was one of the creepiest marionettes she had ever laid eyes on and Jessica grimaced. It had large white eyes with black slits where its pupils should have been and was dressed in a black-and-white striped outfit.
“I told you this stuff was too scary for you guys.” She was trying to pretend that her own heart wasn’t beating erratically. If the truth be told, she halfway suspected that she would see the dreadful puppet in her own dreams that night, although she felt silly for thinking it.
How was it possible to be afraid of a stupid puppet when she had come face-to-face with real, live, breathing demons on more than one occasion?
“It is not!” Tamika protested after she had finished her screaming fit. She was the middle child and calling her precocious was an understatement. The girl stuck her tongue out at Jessica. “You’re only mad because it scared you, too!”
Jessica rolled her eyes and refrained from telling the girl that she had seen things far scarier than a stupid puppet.
Stephen, the oldest child, finally stopped laughing and sat up. He shook his head at his younger siblings. “You big babies!”
“Gary, are you all right?” Jessica asked when she noticed that the youngest had grown suspiciously quiet. He was only eight, and his face looked a little too pale. She hoped he wasn’t about to faint and didn’t relish the thought of explaining that to his parents. Already, she would have a hard enough time explaining that she had allowed the kids to stay up all night playing scary video games without throwing that into the mix.
Gary nodded slowly but his little chest rose and fell rapidly with deep breaths.
Jessica checked the time. “It’s time for you guys to get to bed.”
“No, it’s not!” Tamika cried.
“Yes, it is,” she snapped, annoyed. “I’m not stupid. I know your bedtime.”
“Then you should also know that since it’s Saturday, we get to stay up an hour later,” Stephen replied smugly.
She closed her eyes and muttered under her breath.
The night could not pass quickly enough.
The moment of fright was over, and the kids all settled in front of the TV once more. They basked in their triumph that they would be permitted to stay awake an extra hour.
Jessica, on the other hand, remained on the couch. A feeling of unease that she couldn’t make sense of overcame her. As she listened to the kids talk and laugh, her arms broke out in goosebumps.
The heck is wrong with me? she wondered. She glanced around the house. Without knowing why, she suddenly had the overwhelming feeling that they weren’t alone.
There was another presence lurking nearby.
Watching.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Just calm down. There’s no one else here, she told herself and tried to shake her jitters away.
“Jessica!”
Her eyes shot open. Gary stood in front of her and looked annoyed.
Stephen snickered. “It looks like you’re the one who needs a bedtime.”
“I said can I have a cookie?” Gary repeated.
Jessica shook her head. “You had some already.”
He pouted and looked ready to protest, but she tuned him out again and listened intently.
A small scratching sound came from the living room window.
“What was that?” Her head snapped toward the sound.
“I don’t know,” Tamika whispered.
Stephen studied the window, unconcerned. “It’s probably only something outside.”
Yeah, but it sounds like it’s trying to come inside, Jessica thought wearily. Tamika and Stephen immediately resumed talking amongst themselves and Gary pestered her about cookies again. “Shh!” she hissed.
She’d heard the noise again and it sent a cold shudder down her spine. Something clearly scraped against the living room window—scratched at it and tried to get through it.
Jessica looked at the kids. They were all completely unbothered by the fact that something tried to claw through their living room window.
They’re scared of a puppet, but not a serial killer at the window. Unbelievable.
She stood from the couch and crossed the room to pause at the drawn curtains.
Was she imagining things, or did something smell?
“Ewww!” Tamika cried and Jessica jumped again. The girl waved her hand frantically over her nose. “Stephen, you farted!”
“No, I didn’t,” he protested. This sent Gary into a fit of hysterical laughter, his desire for cookies forgotten.
“Yes, you did.”
“No, I didn’t! That was you.”
“No, it was you.”
“You smell like rotten eggs.”
“No, you smell like rotten eggs.”
They continued the argument while Jessica turned her attention back to the window. Something certainly did smell, that was for sure. But the smell was too strong to have come from any child’s flatulence. It was worse than rotten eggs. No, that smell was reminiscent of sulfur.
Of evil.
Not again. Not now.
She held her breath while the kids continued to argue behind her. They chased each other around the living room.
“Hey, cut it out!” Jessica called over her shoulder at them. “No running in the house. Sit down.”
They grumbled but obeyed and resumed their game.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.” Whether they’d comply was another matter. With them, she might as well have talked to herself half the time.
She headed slowly into the foyer. There was a baseball bat behind the coat rack, and she grabbed it discreetly. She looked back at the kids, not wanting to alarm them. They paid no attention to her at all.
Carefully, she opened the front door and slipped outside.
The smell of sulfur increased tenfold and she almost gagged.
Jessica swore under her breath when a low and eerie laugh drifted on the wind.
She peered down the street and scrutinized the surrounding houses. It was well into the evening now. The sun had already set, and everything was dark and quiet. It was still with not a soul in sight. The houses all looked empty, their windows like eyes with blank stares.
As usual, there was no one else around to see the demon that undoubtedly lurked somewhere nearby, ready to cause havoc.
Why is there never anyone else around when these damned things show up? She halfway suspected that the demons planned it that way. They simply tried to find a way to lure her outside and to get her alone. Then they would strike.
Why did they have it out for her so badly?
Her nerves were fried. Jessica wanted to take a deep breath to calm herself, but the smell was so t
errible that she couldn’t stand to breathe the tainted air.
The signature demon laughter grew louder. It made her skin crawl.
An uncharacteristically cold breeze whipped across her face. Jessica descended the porch steps slowly with her eyes wide and alert in search of any signs of movement.
She thought she saw a shadow move to her right and turned abruptly, only to find that it was nothing more than a—
What was that?
Confused, she squinted into the shadows. She’d initially thought she’d seen the shadow of a squirrel but her mind was a little slow in processing that it looked wrong. Now that it was brought to her attention, it seemed that the shadow had been that of a tiny creature standing—or walking—upright.
If she wasn’t mistaken, it even made an unusual noise. A squeak that had sounded a little too…
Human.
With the baseball bat gripped tightly in both hands, Jessica moved around the side of the house. She thought she’d seen the shadow disappear in that direction. The second she made it around the corner, it was like her vision was suddenly turned off. She couldn’t see anything but darkness, like a tall, black wall had reared up in front of her.
She blinked rapidly, but to no avail.
The eerie laughter she had heard stopped abruptly and left a terrifying hush in its wake.
Trembling, she clenched her hands around the baseball bat so tightly that they ached.