Serendipity: A Bayou Magic Novel

by Proby, Kristen

  “I felt powerless,” Lucy admits softly and stares down into her tea. “And I knew that I couldn’t let on that I was a witch because, well…you know why. He would have made it hell for me. Even more than it already was. Anyway, we heard you earlier today. We heard you walking through the house. The other girls screamed for you, pled for you to save us.”

  “But he’d cast a spell, preventing us from seeing or hearing anything,” Lucien says, frustration in his voice. “We were right there. I’m so sorry.”

  “He was furious,” Lucy continues with a shiver. “He ranted and raved, stomped around. And then he killed everyone.

  “Before that, when he killed a girl, he was always calm about it. Methodical. He clearly enjoyed it. But today, he killed in a rage. I was the last.”

  She blinks, then frowns.

  “How did you come back to life?” Brielle asks. “How did you heal that wound on your throat?”

  Lucy smiles softly and turns, pointing to the tattoo on the back of her neck before turning back to us.

  “I assume each of you has an affinity. A gift. Daphne’s is psychometry.” She smiles at me. “I cast a spell on this tattoo. It prevents me from dying at the hands of anything supernatural.”

  The room is silent. Finally, Miss Sophia stands and crosses to Lucy, examining the tattoo on the younger woman’s neck.

  “I’ve heard of this magic before,” Miss Sophia says. “Whispers, anyway. But we believe that we shouldn’t interfere in life and death, so it’s not something I’ve ever pursued.”

  “It’s a spell that can only be cast once for each person,” Lucy says. “So, I cast it on this tattoo. I’ll never lose it. And I agree, we can’t interfere with life and death. But there are some crazy things afoot in Salem, and ninety-nine percent of them aren’t human. I needed the added protection.”

  “I wonder,” Millie says, tapping her lips with her finger. “Could this spell be cast on stones? To protect the witches who are coming here to help us? He’ll try to kill them tomorrow.”

  “I’m sure I can do that,” Lucy says with a nod.

  Suddenly, Millie’s eyes widen, and she looks at Lucien. I can see they’re having a telepathic conversation.

  “We’ve never tried that before,” Lucien says thoughtfully. “Never in any other lifetime. It could work.”

  “What could work?” Brielle demands.

  “I need to do some quick reading,” Lucien says as he stands and hurries from the room.

  “You’re all so interesting,” Lucy says and spoons up some soup. “I have so many questions, but there’s no time. We have twenty-four hours until the eclipse.”

  Millie turns to Miss Sophia, who now has a broad smile on her beautiful face.

  “You’ve figured it out,” she says as tears fill her eyes. “I’m so proud of you.”

  * * *

  “We need this time together,” Millie says. The three of us are up in the attic of Millie’s house, sitting in the same spot we had when Millie showed us the hiding hole where she found the items hidden from her past life.

  The rest of the house is quiet. Lucien is reading, and Jackson and Cash are talking quietly in the library.

  Miss Sophia and the others went to bed. Even Lucien’s parents decided to spend the night. We’re all safe and under one roof.

  Our sanctuary.

  “This house is huge,” I inform my sister. “I mean, I knew it was big, but we have thirteen people sleeping here tonight, and there is room for all of them.”

  “The inn is officially full,” Millie says with a laugh. “We’re at capacity. But I’m grateful that we have the space. This would have been much more difficult without it.”

  We hear a door slam downstairs. Twice.

  Then some scraping along the floor in the attic.

  “She’s been more active,” Brielle says as she seems to watch something move through the attic. “Your ghost. She’s not just unhappy at having so many people here. She’s also looking out for you and Lucien. I don’t think she was related to you before. She just feels responsible for you. She’s protective.”

  A door slams again, and we suddenly hear a baby crying.

  “I hear the baby,” I say in surprise.

  “I can, too,” Millie whispers. “Yes, things are ramping up, that’s for sure. The energy surrounding the house is just massive. I feel as if my skin is vibrating with it. But it doesn’t feel like bad energy. It’s protective.”

  “My abilities are ramping up, too,” I confide. “I can feel emotions now. I can’t read thoughts like Millie can when she lowers her shields, but things are definitely growing and changing. Like my psyche is getting ready for tomorrow.”

  “It’s happening with me, too,” Brielle says. “I should also add that the girls are gone now. As soon as we got to the house earlier and found them all, they stopped following me.”

  “Thank goodness.” I run my hand down Brielle’s long, dark hair. “I hate that they followed you. It’s just damn creepy.”

  “All of this is creepy,” Brielle says with a sigh. “I want to talk about tomorrow night.”

  “No.” I shake my head. “I don’t want to overthink it. To overanalyze. We have a plan, a very good one thanks to Lucien, and I know it’s going to work. I don’t want to keep talking about it over and over again.”

  “I don’t want to pick apart the plan,” Brielle says with a scowl. “That’s not what I meant. I just wanted to say that I think we should open the doorway between our minds the way Millie and Lucien do with each other. We need to be linked at all times during the eclipse. This asshole likes to separate us. Confuse us. We can’t let him do that.”

  “Okay, I agree with that,” I reply with a nod. “I want to be able to reach out to each of you with my mind.”

  “We can do that,” Millie says. “It’s a simple spell. Lucien will help.”

  We’re quiet for a long moment, soaking in our love for each other and the noises in the house.

  “This reminds me of when we were kids.” I reach out for Brielle’s hand. “When we’d hide under the stairs.”

  “I hate that house,” Millie whispers. “I’ve never hated anything the way I do that house.”

  “And none of us ever has to go back there. We aren’t vulnerable little girls anymore,” Brielle reminds us. “We’re powerful witches. And this son of a bitch underestimated our power.”

  “Damn right,” Millie says and covers our hands with hers. “We will come out the other side of this.”

  “What will we do then? I don’t remember a time he didn’t torment us.”

  Brielle blinks at my question. “You’re right. Well, I guess we’ll figure it out. But the most important thing is, he’ll be gone, and we can do whatever the hell we want.”

  * * *

  Just a couple of hours later, I slip quietly into the bedroom in case Jackson is already asleep. Millie coached Brielle and me through some meditations, and we spent time together, getting stronger.

  We’ve always been strong together.

  We’re even more so with our men.

  After I close the door as silently as possible, I turn around to find Jack sitting in a chair by the window, a book in his lap, and a candle burning at his elbow.

  “Hey.” I grin and hurry over to him, sitting in his lap. “I thought you might be asleep.”

  “I was waiting for you,” he says and nuzzles my neck. “What were you girls doing for so long?”

  “Just sister stuff.”

  He waggles his eyebrows, and I scoff, smacking him in the shoulder. “You’re such a pervert.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  I laugh and glance down at his book. “What are you studying?”

  “I’m resubmerging myself in the magic—the craft. I remember a lot of this, but there’s plenty that I don’t. Lucien has been giving me pointers when we’re not being interrupted by a psychotic being.”

  “Which is all the time,” I add, kissing his fo
rehead. “The more armed you are, the better, Jack.”

  “I figured that, as well.” He grins. “Want to see something cool?”

  “Always.”

  “Okay, I have to move you.” He takes me by the hips and pushes me to my feet, then leans over and blows out the candle, making the bedroom go dark.

  In the moonlight, I see Jack swirl his finger. Then, suddenly, the candle lights once more.

  “Okay, that’s the coolest thing.” I lean into him, wrapping my arms around his middle. “And, I have to admit, quite sexy.”

  “I’m done watching your eyes light up every time Lucien does it.” I glance up, and his eyes narrow on me.

  “You were never a jealous man before.”

  His lips twitch into a grin. “Yes, I was. I just never needed to be because you never looked at anyone like that except me.”

  “I don’t look at Lucien in any way. I like the parlor tricks he can do. It doesn’t mean I want to jump his bones or anything. Millie would not approve.”

  “Neither would Jackson.” He picks me up, sits in the chair once more, and settles me back in his lap.

  “What other things have you learned?” I brush my fingers through his dark hair. I always did love how it felt against my skin.

  “A little of this.” He kisses my neck. “A little of that. Mostly, I’m learning to drop the shields I’ve had in place for so many years and control myself when they’re down. A lot of this is about control. Having a strong mind.”

  “Speaking of a strong mind.” I tell him about the telepathic link I want to establish with the others, and he listens intently.

  “So, we’ll be able to read each other’s thoughts?”

  “Yes. And speak to each other without having to say anything at all verbally. Only for a few hours, of course.”

  “I’m in.”

  “That simple?”

  “That simple.” He kisses my jawline. It’s as though he can’t keep his lips off me, and I’m not complaining.

  Sex is powerful magic all on its own.

  But before I have the chance to start getting him naked, he pulls back again and looks at me with serious eyes.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “You said before that you’re scared. Of all of this. Are you still?”

  I rub my lips together, still tasting him there as I think it over. “It’s not that I’m scared of what’s going to happen tomorrow night. I’m a little nervous, but mostly I’m ready to get this show on the road and kick Horace’s ass. So, no, that’s not what I’m afraid of. Mostly, I’m scared that you’ll be gone—”

  “I’ve told you a million times that I’m not going to walk away. How many times do you need me to reassure you—?”

  “Let me finish.” I lay my finger over his lips, shushing him. “I know you won’t walk away. What I’m saying is, it would kill me if, during everything that happens tomorrow night, he hurt you. Killed you somehow. I don’t think I’d survive it, Jack.”

  “Hey.” He cups my face and kisses me so tenderly that it brings tears to my eyes. “He won’t kill me. Any of us.”

  I nod, needing to believe him. I can’t go into it with the fear of one of us dying.

  I need to have the utmost confidence that nothing will go wrong.

  “I just got you back.” His words are a whisper. “And I don’t plan to ever let you go again, Daph. We’re soulmates. We’re linked. You’re meant for me. You are, in every way that counts, my wife.”

  I raise my eyebrows in surprise.

  “Oh, come on. We don’t need a ritual to know what we are to each other. Now, I know that we’ll do that. When all of this is said and done, I’ll be asking you a very important question.”

  I feel the smile spread across my face.

  “But we’re as linked, and our love is as strong as Cash and Brielle’s or Millie and Lucien’s. You know that.”

  “Yeah.” I shift so I can straddle him and loop my arms around his neck. “Yeah, I know it. You’re mine, and I’m yours. For all time. Do you know another tool for making us extra strong for tomorrow night?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Sex.” I bite his lower lip as he smiles. “Sex magic is quite powerful, you know.”

  “The way we do it, it most certainly is.” He lifts me and crosses to the bed, lowering me onto it. “We’ll make sure to get some extra magic tonight, sweets.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jackson

  It’s been a morning of salt baths, herb burning, and more meditations than I’ve ever done in my life. There can be no mistakes today, and the six of us—along with those we love who came to help—need all the witchy assistance we can get.

  The field behind Miss Sophia’s house is alive with activity. Two big, white tents have been set up with tables and chairs, and each is full of supplies for the dozens—maybe a hundred?—witches who’ve come from all over to help us.

  Lucy stands next to a table with Mallory Boudreaux. They managed to accumulate hundreds of pieces of black tourmaline, and Lucy is busy casting her immortality spell on all of them.

  When she’s finished, she turns and yells so everyone can hear her.

  “I want you all to come and choose a piece of this schorl. You can have any piece that speaks to you. It will protect you tonight. Don’t lose it.”

  I brush my fingers over the auralite stone that Daphne gave me just a couple of weeks ago. Has it only been that long? It feels like months.

  Where are you?

  I smile at the sound of Daphne’s voice in my head. This morning, after meditation and coffee, Lucien led us in the spell that opened our minds to each other. It’s better than any cell phone service.

  In the farthest tent. Headed back toward the house now.

  I walk past several people I used to know when I was a child and stop to say hello, shaking hands and offering hugs.

  I’m grateful. That’s what it boils down to. All of these people took time out of their lives, some even traveled thousands of miles to be here with the six of us. To help us face the toughest battle of our lives.

  How do you repay something like that?

  “I know you have plenty of pieces of protection on you,” Miss Claudette, an elderly woman who has to be in her nineties says as I pass. “But I put some extra blessings on this worry stone. Just tuck it into your pocket.”

  “Thank you, Miss Claudette.” I lean down and kiss her wrinkled cheek, slipping the smooth stone into my pocket as I turn to go and find my love.

  Suddenly, the edges of my sight turn gray, and I know I’m being sucked into a vision—a premonition.

  Wind. So much wind, I can hardly catch my breath. He’s trying to fight us, to keep us from being able to defend ourselves against him. I hear screams, but they’re not human.

  So many spirits rush around us—his army, doing their best to frighten and disarm.

  But we’re not in Miss Sophia’s field. We’re standing before Daphne’s childhood home. Lights flash like lightning inside the house. Shutters fling about, and shadow spirits float in and out, all around the old house.

  “The new moon phase is here,” I hear Lucien shout. “Everyone, take your marks!”

  Suddenly, we’re plunged into darkness when the shadow of the Earth completely covers the moon, turning it an ominous red.

  Lucien lights the torches with the wave of his arms, Millie raises her hands high and directs the wind.

  We hear a horrible scream, and then, suddenly, we’re under attack by wolves, ravens, and bats. I watch in horror as an enormous gray wolf charges Daphne and bites her throat, tackling her to the ground.

  “Jackson?”

  I blink and frown at Lucien.

  “We need to talk with the others,” I say immediately. God, my heart is hammering, and I’ve broken out in a sweat. “We have this all wrong, Lucien.”

  “We have two hours,” he says, his voice full of frustration. “What do you mean we have it wrong?”

&
nbsp; “Wait. We’re linked, but you couldn’t see the premonition?”

  He just shakes his head in frustration.

  I need all of you. I reach out with my mind, calling to the others. Meet me at the house.

  Lucien and I jog across the field and meet up with Cash and the women.

  “It’s damn weird having y’all in my head,” Cash says and props his hands on his hips.

  “What’s wrong?” Daphne asks.

  “You look horrible,” Brielle adds, scowling at me.

  “I had a vision.” I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heart rate. “We can’t do this here. Not here. Not at Miss Sophia’s. It has to be at the old house. At your childhood house.”

  Daphne goes pale and shakes her head. “No.”

  “It makes sense,” Lucien says. “It started there. It should end there.”

  “I hate that you’re right,” Millie says and shares a look with her sisters. She reaches for Daphne’s hand. “We can do this. It’s going to be okay. We have to alert the others. We have to get over there right away and set up. I think the sound system is ready to go.”

  “Someone brought a sound system?” I ask Cash as Millie rushes away.

  “It’s easier to talk to a hundred witches with a microphone,” he says with a nod.

  “I need your attention,” Millie says. She holds a black mic and waves her free arm to get everyone’s attention. “We have to move our location.”

  She explains what needs to happen, and I expect everyone to groan and be irritated, but that’s not the case at all.

  I see nods of agreement. Immediately, everyone works together to gather the tools we’ll need, loading them into cars so we can hurry to the other house.

  Thankfully, it’s less than ten minutes away.

  “Before we go,” Millie says to everyone, “you need to know that this house is the epicenter of something truly evil. It’s dangerous. Keep your shields up. Be careful. Blessed be.”