The sight that greeted her was something that would haunt her dreams; her mother was moulded to the ceiling above her bed wearing only her black underwear; Emmie looked for ropes or puncture wounds to her wrists, there weren’t any; she was being held in place by an invisible force, probably some spell some sick bastard had conjured up. There was a slash mark across her chest and stomach and thighs deep enough to see bone and muscle; blood dripped from her wounds into the crimson pool that had formed at the centre the duvet cover. Her face had been carved up as well, flaps of skin hung from her cheekbones exposing the raw epidermis below. She was barely recognisable anymore. She must have endured hours of torture. Thankfully the weak rise and fall of her chest indicated she was still alive, but Emmie knew the state she was in and the amount of blood she had lost, she wouldn’t be for long if she didn’t get her down.
“Clara, where are you? I’m at Heather’s…”
Nothing.
Something was definitely off.
She made a growling noise at Heather who opened her bruised and swollen eyes.
“I am so sorry my child, there were too many of them, he’s too powerful,” she mumbled incoherently. “He’s waiting for you Amelia, he won’t stop until you’re his again.”
What did she mean he was too powerful? Will wasn’t a warlock or a familiar; at least he wasn’t before.
She fought against her beast’s rage; if Hope was here she didn’t want her seeing her like this, she hadn’t had the talk with Hope yet about who their family were and what they were capable of. Her beast was strong and clung on, but she had stronger willpower. Her change back into human was more excruciating than ever before. She tried her hardest not to scream out, it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. The pain in her abdomen was so intense, the burn she felt inside her as her muscles and joints clicked back into place frightened her. The sensation was strange, it was like something had been ignited inside of her.
She just prayed the baby was alright and the trauma of her change hadn’t caused any damage. She placed a protective hand over her flat, naked stomach and the heat inside her subsided. Weird.
She rummaged through Heather’s walk-in wardrobe and found some black yoga pants and a black t-shirt which she hurriedly got dressed into. She didn’t know how long Clara was going to be, but everything inside her was screaming at her to check on her little girl.
“Mum, how do I get you down?” she said to Heather who was watching her intently.
“Magic… Clara,” Heather slurred.
“But I am bonded to Clara, can’t I channel her magic?” Emmie asked.
“Only… when… you’re… together.” Heather was having trouble breathing now.
“I have to go and see if Hope is OK, Mum. Clara will be here any minute, please hold on. I am so sorry this has happened, I promise I am going to fix it.” Tears flowed freely down Emmie’s face; she was guilt-ridden having to leave her mother in this state, but she didn’t think she had any other options. Hurry, Clara.
Her strength was starting to return after her change, she was ready to face the monster pretending to be her ex-husband.
“No, wait… he… you… hurt,” Heather begged, her speech now laboured. She was fading.
“Will won’t hurt me, he wants us to be a family. Hope will be terrified. Please Mum, please hold on until Clara gets here, I can’t lose you now, not after we’ve only just found each other again. I love you.”
Heather’s eyes filled with tears. She mouthed, ‘I love you too,’ unable to speak anymore.
“Don’t you dare die on me, you hear me? Hold on,” Emmie said, tears pouring down her pale cheeks.
She reluctantly exited the room; this was the most difficult choice she has ever had to make but her child would always take priority over everything. Heather will be fine, Clara will be here soon, she told herself unconvincingly as she tiptoed across the big landing to her bedroom. She peered through the gap in the door. Will was sitting on the bed with Hope in his lap, stroking her hair. Her head was limp against his shoulder.
Oh no. Hope. What has he done?
She barged in.
“I swear to God, Will, if you’ve even tou—”
He put a finger to his lips and turned slightly to expose a sleeping Hope on his knee. He looked upon their sleeping daughter with affection in his gaze.
“I knew you would come back once you saw my message. That stupid whore in there tried to stop me from seeing my daughter but I soon had her sorted out, we all had a little fun with the great Heather Vandran before stringing her up. She didn’t crack, you know, not once, that bitch is something else… You never should have gone to see him last night, Ems… When you didn’t come back, well, I lost my temper a bit; bad things happen when I lose my temper… But it’s OK, you’ve come back to me now, we can be a family like you said… You remember saying that the last time we were together, don’t you?” He spoke low, but the madness dancing behind his eyes was terrifying and held so much menace. Whatever had happened to him had taken away everything that he used to be and replaced him with this deluded, sadistic creature.
“Can I hold my baby girl please, Will? I’ve missed her terribly,” she asked, holding out her arms for Hope, keeping her voice as calm as possible although all her instincts were screaming to kill this son of a bitch.
“Come sit with us,” Will said, patting the area on the bed next to him.
She walked over on shaky legs and eased herself down.
Will grabbed her hand, making her flinch, and put the back of it to his lips. She felt nothing for this man. Anything she may have felt before had been demolished with his lies and deception, the thought of him and hurting her family so brutally just made her want to tear him to pieces.
“What happened to you, Will? You – you died.” She needed answers; maybe while he was being so forthcoming with her, maybe she could gain some information.
“Well, I am not dead anymore as you can see. The how, who, and why, are all technicalities. Now you tell me what you’ve been doing with that fucking warlock,” he seethed through gritted teeth.
“We were seeing each other.” His face screwed up in disgust; he looked twisted and sinister, like he was about to snap.
What the fuck?
“But it’s finished now,” she said quickly; this seemed to appease him slightly, softening his features and he smiled kissing her hand again.
“He’s a bad man, Ems, he tortures people for his own fucked up pleasure. Ask him about his little basement, where he got off on torturing his whores. You would have probably been next.” An evil chuckle left his lips. What was he planning?
A noise from downstairs made them both look towards the door.
“You fucking bitch, you called your boyfriend!” Will snapped, looking manic. The grip on her hand tightened painfully. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from wincing out loud, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.
“No, it’s probably Clara, she said she was calling around today.” Her voice sounded as terrified as she felt.
“Ooh a family reunion, how exciting,” he sniggered. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
The look in his eyes told her he was planning on hurting Clara.
Clara, can you hear me?
Nothing.
Something was wrong, there had to be magic blocking their connection. Shit.
“Will, I swear if you touch my sister, I’ll never forgive you. You know how I feel about her,” she said.
“Yes, I remember, you always did prefer her over me, I never liked her,” he spat.
“She’s my sister, Will. I would die for her. You felt the same way about me once, please Will.” She had to distract him from the direction this conversation was taking. “Let me take Hope, it can’t be comfy holding her like that, she’s getting so big now. She’s missed you terribly you know, we both have.”
It worked. He looked at Hope’s little face, adoration in his eyes. For a second she saw her
husband, that was one thing she could never take away from Will; he had always been an amazing father, he was just a lying cheating bastard.
“I’ve missed her, Ems, I’ve missed you both so much. I’ve been watching you for months you know. I’ve been waiting for the right time to let you know I was back, but I had to make sure you stayed away from that fucking warlock. You belong to me, you’re my wife and he doesn’t get to touch what’s mine.” He let go of her hand and pulled her head forward, savagely taking her mouth in a violent assault, biting her lip hard when she refused to open for him. She tried to push away but he kept a tight grip of her hair. She could taste blood from her lip, as he pumped his tongue in and out of her unresponsive mouth, moaning with pleasure.
She felt sick and prayed the bile stayed down and this torture would be over soon.
The door suddenly burst open; an angry-looking Dominic stood glaring at Will who still had her hair wrapped in his free hand, Hope still asleep in the other. She felt the blood from her lip dribble onto her chin, and she wiped it on her sleeve.
“Take your fucking hands off her!” Dominic snarled.
Will started laughing uncontrollably.
“Oh, I got exactly what I came for,” he said. Standing and fishing his phone out of his back pocket with his free hand, he dialled a number and let it ring before hanging up.
“She knows exactly what you’re capable of now, Mr Master, I told her all about the enjoyment you get from torturing people. It won’t be long before she’s begging me to take her back, until then I suggest you keep your hands off my wife and worry about your own business… Be very careful, Dominic. I’ll see you soon, Ems,” he whispered huskily, kissing her one last time. “Dream about me.” His lips were drawn into a sly smile as he stood. Carrying Hope in his arms, he brushed past Dominic and muttered something she didn’t quite hear but she watched Dominic stiffen and a red ring appear around his iris. Whatever he had said had hit a nerve.
“Stay up here. If you follow me, I’ll take Hope with me,” he spat. He was using their daughter as his own human shield; why wasn’t Hope waking up? Her baby better be all right.
Dominic just stood watching her, his beautiful face full of remorse.
As soon as she heard the door close she ran for the door, pushing past Dominic.
“Go and help Heather,” was all she could manage. Her nerves were shot, and she needed to check her daughter was OK. She sprinted down the big staircase, eyes darting everywhere, expecting to be ambushed by Will’s men. She spotted her then.
Hope had been placed on the couch in the massive hallway.
Emmie stopped, terrified of what she was about to discover; Hope’s eyes were tightly closed and her chest was rising and falling in a deep slumber. Thank God.
Emmie raced over and pulled her into her lap.
“Hope, wake up sweetheart, Mummy’s home.”
She stayed asleep.
“HOPE, WAKE UP!” she shouted, giving her a little shake. Nothing.
Dominic came racing down the stairs; all the colour drained from his face as he took in the situation before him.
“He’s done something to my baby, Dominic,” she sobbed. “She won’t wake up.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Clara
Colt’s van tore down the country lanes; the buzzing inside her head told her Emmie was trying to get through to her but something was blocking their connection.
“Hurry Colt, I have a really awful feeling,” she said, clasping her phone in her hands hoping it would ring with news. Emmie and Heather weren’t answering and she was close to losing it.
She could finally see Heather’s house in the distance; the closer they got the more intense the burning underneath her skin got.
They had spent the best part of an hour trying to get the van to start. If she hadn’t been in her present condition she would have ran to Heather’s.
Colt reached over with his big hand to grasp her right hand. He kissed the back and then cradled it against his muscular thigh. With the sensation of his warm, soft lips on her cold skin, a familiar shiver ran through her, playing havoc with her heightened libido and the feel of his hard thigh through his jeans nearly had her panting. The flame of need that shot through her every time her husband just looked at her only grew more intense with every minute; his touch was the fix she needed and calmed her erratic mood slightly.
“We’ll be there shortly, beautiful, please try and stay calm. I know it’s fucked up, but I don’t want either of you put in danger.” She nodded, she knew exactly what he meant, she was working herself up and that wasn’t good for the baby, she needed to focus and stay strong. She put a protective hand over her swollen abdomen, muttering an apology to their unborn child.
Four minutes later they were pulling into Heather’s massive driveway; she dove out as soon as Colt stopped and headed towards the house, walking as fast as her growing stomach would let her.
There was a big motorcycle parked outside.
“Dominic’s here,” Colt said behind her, startling her.
She didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing, but at this moment she didn’t care, she would fight Airmid herself if it meant she could save her family.
She walked up the steps, the front door was open slightly.
She could hear Emmie’s sobs as she got closer. She picked up her pace and ran the rest of the way, bursting through the door; she was followed closely by Colt.
Emmie was kneeling on the floor next to the couch in Heather’s massive hallway cuddling a limp-looking Hope in her arms and sobbing uncontrollably into the little girl’s hair. Dominic kneeled behind her with a look of sheer devastation on his face; he was rubbing Emmie’s back and whispering soothing words to try and calm her.
Clara was frozen to the spot; not Hope, not their precious little girl.
Dominic was the first to spot them.
“She won’t let me use my magic, she wanted to wait for you,” he said, emotion in his voice.
Emmie looked up, her eyes were red and swollen.
“She won’t wake up, Clara, Will has done something to her.”
Shit.
She had to get her mum, she would know what to do.
“Let me go and find Heather, she may know what spell to use to bring her around,” Clara said, trying to be calm although her insides were in pieces with worry.
“He – they hurt Heather too, she’s – she’s…” Clara’s already pale complexion went even whiter.
Dominic looked guilt ridden as he spoke.
“Heather is laying on her bed. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible, she’s alive but in a bad way, she will be OK once she’s healed. I have to warn you though, it’s not a pretty sight so brace yourself… Clara, Hope is under the litriu codlata or sleeping spell, it’s one of my family’s ancient Gaelic conjurings. I can perform the reversal but it’s not pleasant,” Dominic explained as she was about to take the first stair.
“Well perform it then,” Clara huffed, feeling pissed off now. Why was he stalling?
“No,” Emmie snarled. “Pulling her out of it could kill her, I won’t risk her life.”
They needed their mother, she might be able to persuade Emmie to let Dominic perform the spell.
“I’ll go and heal Heather, she’ll have another solution. Colt, will you come in case she needs moving?” He was watching her intently, she could see he was concerned. Controlling her power had been challenging since falling pregnant; this little being inside of her was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
She made her way up the stairs, anticipation building inside her with each step. She knew what she was about to see would be another thing she could add to the visions that haunted her.
Dominic
For the first time in his life he felt truly helpless.
“Amelia, please let me try, I promise if it feels wrong I will stop, it is breaking my heart seeing you this distraught,” he said, moving around to kneel in front
of her.
She looked up at him with her breath-taking aqua eyes that were shining with the waterfall of tears she was spilling.
“I love that little one like she is my own, I have to at least try and save her. If it’s the magic of my ancestors that has caused this then surely I am your best option. Amelia, please let me try.”
She hesitated again for a moment and then nodded, her shoulders slumped.
“Alright Dominic, but if you feel unsure about anything then you stop straight away.” The look of uncertainty shone from her eyes as she looked from him back to her unconscious little girl.
He nodded. “I promise; now lay her on the floor in the centre of this hallway and leave the room. Don’t return until the reversal is over, I don’t know what’s going to happen once I draw the spell out of her.”
“No, Domin—”
“For once will you please just do as I ask, Amelia?” His tone was abrupt, but she had to listen.
She looked like he had physically slapped her, but thankfully she didn’t argue, she laid Hope in the middle of the floor and walked upstairs, not meeting his gaze again until she got halfway up. She turned and mouthed, “Please save her,” before she disappeared from view.
Kneeling next to the sleeping child he took both of her small hands in one of his; she was so small, so precious. He brushed her dark curls away from her face. “Come on, little one, help me fight this darkness,” he whispered.
It had been so long since he’d used his ancestors’ magic.
He closed his eyes and muttered the spell, he knew the magic he possessed wouldn’t take long to work.
“Dùisg agus ag èirigh,
Dùisg agus ag èirigh,
Sàr-eòlaiche
Scaoil an leanbh seo
Dùisg agus ag èirigh
Dùisg agus ag èirigh.”
The familiar burning that came with every conjuring started in his gut, rose up through his body and down his arms, transferring the magic into the sleeping little girl.
He repeated the spell, alternating between Gaelic and English, a technique he had picked up when he was young and learning his ancestors magic.
Something Familiar (The Vandran Legacy Book 2) Page 11