Witch: A Horror Novel (The Cursed Manuscripts)

by Iain Rob Wright

  Ashley entered her bedroom and sat on the bed beside Jude. He’d been waiting while she took a shower, and they planned on watching a film together. Then they were going to have an early night, ready for school. She leant over him now in only a bath towel. Her dark hair was wet and dripping. “What you thinking about?” she asked.

  He moved up onto his elbows and looked at her. Her face was close to his, uncomfortably so. “Just about school. I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be good to put this summer behind us, don’t you think?”

  She shrugged. “It hasn’t been so bad. I feel like we can deal with anything now. People at school won’t know what’s hit ’em once we’re through with them. This is our time now, Jude. No more being pushed around or bullied. I’m done with that. I doubt Ricky would even come near me after what I did to his hand.”

  He nodded. “That was… pretty rough. You think his hand will heal?”

  “Who gives a shit? He’s never going to mess with us again.”

  “I suppose you’re right. I’m just glad you and I are still friends after everything that happened.”

  “Friends?” She chuckled. “Is that what you think we are? After everything that happened?”

  He frowned, not knowing what she meant, and flinched when she moved her face right up against his. He went to object, but his words were cut off by her tongue probing into his mouth.

  She’s kissing me. Ashley is kissing me.

  He was deeply uncomfortable for a moment, but then something took over him. All of a sudden, they were making out on her bed.

  Is this happening?

  Jude felt a rapidly growing bulge in his jeans, and when Ashley reached down and fondled it, he groaned. Then she was pulling at his clothes and throwing off her bath towel. She climbed on top of him. His hands slid over her silky thighs and up to her large breasts. Rose’s locket hung around her neck. She had refused to take it off, even after he’d begged. She called it her trophy. After a few days, he had stopped nagging her and just forgotten about it. Other than her newfound confidence, she was the same old Ashley.

  Except she’s naked and on top of me.

  She’s so beautiful. Why have I not seen how beautiful she is before?

  The next ten minutes flew by in a breathtaking, emotional whirl. Afterwards, Jude wanted to cry and shout triumphantly at the same time. He wanted to tell Ashley how much he loved her, but he couldn’t get his thoughts in order. She was his friend. Like a sister.

  No, not a sister. Not anymore.

  What is happening?

  Ashley remained sitting on top of him with a mischievous smile on her face while he went soft inside her. “Still think we’re just friends?”

  “I… I don’t know what just happened. It was… amazing.”

  “Yeah, it was. Like I said, this is our time now. Nobody’s gunna tell us what to do. We have the power now, Jude. I…”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “I love you. Always have, I guess. Just took a naked child killer in the woods to make me realise it.”

  He was shocked, and at the same time, not in the least surprised. He nodded. “Yeah, I love you too. There could never have been anyone else.”

  She kissed him on the mouth. He ran his hand behind her ear like he was going to pull out a coin, but instead he brought his fingers back along her cheek and stroked her face. “You’re a treasure.”

  The door to Ashley’s bedroom opened and her father stepped inside. It looked like he’d been about to say something, but when he saw his naked daughter sitting on top of an equally naked Jude, his face broke apart in anger and he raced forward. He grabbed Ashley by the hair and threw her to the floor. Jude tried to get up off the bed, but Ashley’s dad struck him in the face and knocked him back down on the mattress. “I’ll kill you,” he snarled. “You do this in my house?”

  Jude closed his eyes in fear as Ashley’s father raised his fists to pummel him again.

  “Leave him alone!” Ashley bellowed in a voice Jude had never heard her use before. It was so… angry.

  Jude opened his eyes to watch what was happening and saw Ashley’s dad turn away from him to face his daughter. Ashley was bleeding from her mouth. It stained her teeth, turning them red as she snarled like a wolf.

  “You’re never seeing this boy again,” her father raged. “And you’re grounded for life. Do you know how disrespectful this is? Under my roof!”

  Ashley didn’t appear afraid or at all ashamed. She stood before her father, completely naked, with her fists clenched. “Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Room.”

  “You dare speak to me like that?” Her dad raised a hand and took a step towards her.

  Then he dropped like a sack of potatoes.

  Ashley’s dad lay on the floor, clutching his chest and groaning. The anger left him, and suddenly his eyes were wide and desperate. He reached out a hand to Ashley and tried to speak. He could only whimper.

  Ashley clutched the locket against her chest and growled. “Nobody hits me. Nobody.”

  Jude sat up on the bed. He was aware he was naked, yet it was unimportant right now. “Ashley… stop!”

  Her dad tried to get up, but it was a hopeless battle. The life left his eyes and he collapsed onto his back. He went still.

  No question, he was dead.

  Jude collapsed onto his side in shock. “Ash…”

  Ashley’s mum came rushing into the room. She looked around for a moment, confused, and then when she saw her husband lying on the floor, she dropped onto her knees and started screaming. She shook him over and over again, and wailed at Ashley to get help. But Ashley just stood there with a satisfied grin on her face.

  Jude realised then that Ashley had changed. The anger that had always been inside her was now an ugly, dangerous thing. It was a weapon she could wield to hurt people. Sixty-odd years of Rose’s hatred and malice was now hanging around her neck and infecting her with its evil. Strengthening her. Jude had known it the night in the clearing when she had healed the deep wound on his cheek. Part of him had also known it when she had refused to take off Rose’s locket.

  She likes the power.

  And now she’s killed her dad.

  Jude looked at his best friend and tried to hold back tears. Blood trickled down Ashley’s lip and some of it dripped onto her naked breasts. She was still staring at her dad, pleased by what she’d done.

  He tried to get her attention. “Ash? Ashley, we need to get help. Your dad…”

  She whirled on him, fury in her expression. It took several seconds for her to relax, and he found himself fearing her terribly. His heart thudded, and he wondered if she would ever make it stop beating in his chest.

  “It’s too late,” she told him. “He’s already dead. He’ll never hurt me again.”

  Her mum stopped screaming and looked up at Ashley with a mixture of anger and confusion. “What are you talking about? He’s your father. Ashley, please, just call for help.”

  Jude sat up on the bed again. “She’s right. Ashley, we need to do something.”

  “He’s dead.” She spoke without emotion. “It’s too late.”

  And Jude realised she was right. It was too late. Ashley was gone.

  “Ashley…?” He shook his head. “Ash.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him and her upper lip curled slightly. “Don’t turn on me, Jude. Not you.”

  “I-I need to go.”

  She smirked. “Shag and go, is that it?”

  “What, no, of course not. I just…”

  She motioned to the door. “Just go.”

  “I’ll call you later.”

  “You’d better.”

  Jude put his clothes on rapidly, fled the bedroom, ran down the stairs, and rushed out of the front door. He broke into a run that didn’t stop until he reached the playground, where he collapsed against the railings before guiding himself unsteadily to the bench. There, he sat and tried to catch his breath. Ashley was a killer, and the worst part was that she didn�
��t even seem to care. In fact, she had enjoyed watching her father die at her feet.

  We made love. She made love to me.

  I can reach her. I can get her to take off the locket.

  No, she will never agree to it. The power, it’s inside her now, corrupting her. She’ll never let it go. She won’t stop. People around her are going to get hurt.

  “Hey, Jude. You okay?”

  Jude flinched. Ricky Dalca was walking towards him, his hand covered in bandages and a nasty bruise around his left eye. He actually smiled and called Jude by his actual name instead of calling him Judy, which was unnerving.

  “Ricky? Um, what’s up?”

  He shrugged and took a seat on the bench beside Jude. “Nuffin’ much. I’m actually looking forward to school. My last year before I have to get a job. Might as well enjoy it, aye?”

  “Yeah. Have you heard anything about, um…?”

  Ricky shook his head. “Lily’s family has been knocking around, asking questions, but so far they haven’t got any answers.” He motioned to his bruised eye socket. “This was their work. I reckon the twins know I had something to do with Lily disappearing, but they haven’t said anything yet. If they do, then I’m probably a dead man. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” He leant forward, elbows on his knees. His bandages seemed small, like his hand was still withered and crippled beneath. “My head’s a mess, man. Did all that shit really go down?”

  Jude’s mind rewound and started playing every tiny event from the moment he and Ashley had gone to spit on cars from the overpass. It seemed like a lifetime ago now. He nodded. “Yeah, it went down, but it’s over now. More or less. It’s just something we’re going to have to live with. Maybe that’s what growing up is.”

  Ricky chuckled, but it was a sad sound. “Trying to cover up dodgy shit so you don’t go to prison or end up in a shallow grave? Sounds like growing up is going to fucking suck. Hey, where’s Ashley? You two not joined at the hip today?”

  Jude felt tears coming and had to fight them. “I think it’s time I find out who I am without her. I miss her already, but I’m kind of looking forward to a future where everything’s different. She and I used to have this saying, one down, two down. It meant we always had each other’s back. I have a new saying now.”

  Ricky raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “Yeah. One day, two day. Because that’s how I’m going to take things from now on. One day at a time.”

  “Sounds like a good plan, mate. Maybe I’ll follow it myself.” He let out a sigh, like his good mood had taken energy he no longer had. He lifted his bandaged hand so that Jude could see it. “She did this to me, didn’t she? I’m not sure how, but it was her, right?”

  Jude wasn’t sure what to say for a moment. He decided on the truth. “Yeah, she did that to you. Ashley’s dangerous.”

  “Yeah, I get that. Think you’re best off keeping your distance.” He straightened up on the bench and sighed. “I’m sorry for being a dick to you all these years, man. You wanna be mates?”

  Jude turned and nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that, Ricky. Hey, do you like magic?”

  “Nah, man. I fucking hate it.”

  “Me too.” Jude stood up from the bench and looked at his new friend. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

  Ricky smiled weakly. “I’ll probably be late, but yeah, I’ll see you there. Think I might even try and learn something this year. One day, two day, right?”

  Jude smiled. “One day, two day.”

  Jude said goodbye again, and then walked home alone, wondering how much more magic was in the world.

  And if it was all evil.

  The trusted mage has lost his princess to the darkness, but he is ready for whatever comes next. It is time for a new adventure and the world needs heroes.

  Jude managed a smile.

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  Plea From the Author

  Hey, Reader. So you got to the end of my book. I hope that means you enjoyed it. Whether or not you did, I would just like to thank you for giving me your valuable time to try and entertain you. I am truly blessed to have such a fulfilling job, but I only have that job because of people like you; people kind enough to give my books a chance and spend their hard-earned money buying them. For that I am eternally grateful.

  If you would like to find out more about my other books then please visit my website for full details. You can find it at:

  www.iainrobwright.com.

  Also feel free to contact me on Facebook, Twitter, or email (all details on the website), as I would love to hear from you.

  If you enjoyed this book and would like to help, then you could think about leaving a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or anywhere else that readers visit. The most important part of how well a book sells is how many positive reviews it has, so if you leave me one then you are directly helping me to continue on this journey as a full time writer. Thanks in advance to anyone who does. It means a lot.

  Also by Iain Rob Wright

  Animal Kingdom

  AZ of Horror

  2389

  Holes in the Ground (with J.A.Konrath)

  Sam

  ASBO

  The Final Winter

  The Housemates

  Sea Sick, Ravage, Savage

  The Picture Frame

  Wings of Sorrow

  The Gates, Legion, Extinction, Defiance, Resurgence, Rebirth

  TAR

  House Beneath the Bridge

  The Peeling

  Blood on the bar

  Escape!

  Dark Ride

  12 Steps

  The Spread

  Sarah Stone Thriller Series

  Soft Target, Hot Zone, End Play

  Other

  Diary of a flummoxed father

  Iain Rob Wright is one of the UK's most successful horror and suspense writers, with novels including the critically acclaimed, THE FINAL WINTER; the disturbing bestseller, ASBO; and the wicked screamfest, THE HOUSEMATES.

  His work is currently being adapted for graphic novels, audio books, and foreign audiences. He is an active member of the Horror Writer Association and a massive animal lover.

  www.iainrobwright.com

  FEAR ON EVERY PAGE

  For more information

  www.iainrobwright.com

  iain.robert.wright@hotmail.co.uk

  Copyright © 2020 by Iain Rob Wright

  Cover Photographs © Shutterstock

  Artwork by Stuart Bache at Books Covers Ltd

  Editing by Richard Sheehan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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