He leapt back, surprised and hurt, but his wand stayed right where it was: firmly in my grasp. I’d grabbed it while I was talking to him. I’d grabbed it, and I hadn’t let go of the damn thing. It was mine now.
James seemed to realize just what was happening as I took the wand between my hands, and I broke it in half.
“No!” James screamed as he threw himself at me.
It was time to fight.
Chapter 19
Jaden
“It’s him,” I whispered, looking at the werewolf. He was creeping along the barrier, trying to figure out how he could break in. “It’s Stanley.”
Fiona, Natasha, and Rock all turned to look.
“You know it?”
“Not it. Him. Yeah. I know him.”
At least, I had, a long, long time ago. I’d known that werewolf better than most people could ever dream of knowing another person.
Once upon a time, long before the curse, we had known each other very, very well, and we’d been in love.
Stanley had stolen my heart and my youth, and I’d gladly give him both all over again. He was everything to me. He was my everything. My heart. My hope. My love.
And now he was here.
“The moon must have drawn him out,” I whispered.
It was just as James had intended. Only, James wanted to kill Stanley. I didn’t want that.
I wanted Stanley for myself.
All of a sudden, the barrier around the group of witches started to flicker and flash.
“What’s happening?” Fiona whispered.
Rock smiled. It was a strange sort of thing coming from a warlock. I would have imagined that Rock was the type of being who didn’t often get a chance to smile, yet there he was: grinning like nothing else mattered.
“She’s doing it,” he laughed and threw his head back. “The mayor is fighting the master. How nice.”
Natasha looked at Rock, cocking her head.
“You’re being serious, aren’t you?”
“Very serious.”
“Why do you hate him so much?”
Rock paused, and for a second, I thought he wasn’t going to answer. He did, though. He did.
“Because James stole me from my family and forced me to do his bidding. It’s easy to control a warlock if you know how.”
“And how do you control a warlock?” Natasha asked gently.
Rock was silent once more, though, and I knew we’d gotten all we were going to get out of him.
Stanley was here, though. He continued to creep along, testing the edges of the barrier. He was trying to get to the moonlight.
“It’s like we thought,” I said. “I think he’s been trapped in that wolf form all year.”
“If he gets through the barrier, the barrier will dissolve,” Fiona reminded me.
“But what will happen to Stanley? Will he turn back to his human form?”
That was what I wanted more than anything else. When Helena’s cursed moon had dissolved with her death, my husband had been trapped as a werewolf. Now there was a new moon. When this one vanished, would he still be trapped?
“If he gets through the barrier before the curse lifts, he’ll turn back into his human self,” Rock told us.
“How do you know that?”
“This is how all werewolf hunts are done,” he said. “They go through the barrier, and they turn back into a man. Then they’re killed.”
My mouth dropped open. I couldn’t have imagined something so cruel happening, yet there it was.
“Does it cure their werewolf form?” I asked.
My mother had been working on a cure. Werewolves couldn’t control when they changed from human to monster, but shapeshifters could. The potion she’d been working on was designed to help a werewolf regain the control they had lost.
It was designed to help them to experience total freedom in their bodies and selves.
Rock looked at me for a moment. It seemed as though Rock was constantly considering all of his options before replying. It was both interesting and annoying.
“Look, I get that you’re the strong silent type, but you’ve already turned on your boss. Any information you could give me would really be helpful right about now,” I told him.
“No,” he told me. “It won’t cure them. Only death will cure them.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said. I turned to Fiona and Natasha. “Stay here.”
“What are you going to do?” Fiona asked.
Natasha seemed to understand, though.
“Go,” she urged me. “We’ll protect Rock.”
“Protect me? Protect me from what?” Rock seemed to dislike the idea of being protected. He didn’t seem to know why he might need that sort of help at a time like this.
“You just betrayed your people,” Natasha reminded him. She looked at him like she really cared, like she understood that he was about to go through something difficult that even he didn’t really get. “They aren’t going to forgive you for that, Rock. You need protection.”
“I’m strong.”
“I know you are. Even strong people need help sometimes.”
I listened to her words as I watched Stanley. I couldn’t let him leave. He needed to break through that barrier so I could get him turned back to his human self.
If he left, I had a feeling I was never going to get him again. He growled as he pawed at the ground. The people inside the barrier were ignoring him. They were completely focused on the fight that was happening between Eliza and James.
“This is it,” I whispered.
“Do it,” Fiona nodded.
“You’ve got this,” Natasha encouraged me.
Rock just nodded. He knew what I was about to do, and he knew it was going to change everything.
And then, I ran.
I raced toward the man who had saved my life a million times. I raced toward the man I’d stood beside through thick and thin. I ran. Stanley had been everything to me, and I wasn’t going to let him down.
Stanley looked over at me as I approached. Everyone else was caught up watching Eliza, who had just swung a punch at James. Each time she hit him, the barrier wavered. I had to hurry before the entire thing was done.
I needed to shove Stanley through that barrier before it was gone for good.
I needed him.
I needed my Stanley back.
And I needed him human.
Racing as fast as I could, I threw my body at him. He turned and looked just as I hit him, pushing him through the translucent barrier.
We hit the ground together. Just as we did, Eliza knocked James off his ass with a spell I was proud to say I’d taught her, and he passed out. The barrier disappeared.
It was over.
And Stanley was human.
It was him.
It was the face I’d missed, the face I’d cried over. It was the man I had dreamed of for so very long. He was finally here. It was him.
I looked down at the man who had captured my heart all of those years ago, and I reached for his cheek.
The fighting was still going on all around us. Witches were fighting warlocks and werewolf hunters. Even some of the children were casting little magical spells they knew. Eliza was standing over James, making sure he didn’t regain consciousness and try to cast another barrier.
And me…
I was looking at Stanley.
He looked at me, cocking his head. His eyes seemed to clear from being hazed over with anger and pain. He reached for my cheek, and I closed my eyes for just a moment.
This was it.
We were finally reunited.
Then he spoke again.
“Who are you?”
Chapter 20
Eliza
I saw the look on Jaden’s face when Stanley spoke. He didn’t remember her. He didn’t remember their life together or the fact that he had loved her once. He didn’t understand that she had given her entire life to him or that she had spent the las
t year searching for him.
He didn’t know.
Devastation covered her face, but it was quickly replaced with determination. That was Alicia in Jaden. That was how the love of my life had always been. She’d been determined and strong. She’d been brave.
She’d always stood up for what she believed in, and she’d never backed down from a fight. She’d never backed down from anything hard, anything tricky, or anything difficult.
I stood with my foot pressed on James’ chest. He wasn’t going anywhere when he woke up. I gestured to the witches and wizards who were hanging out. They’d managed to subdue James’ team. Apparently, his warlocks were a lot less brave when they didn’t have a leader.
“Take them away,” I sighed. Gregory appeared beside me. “Nice of you to join us,” I told him drily.
“I, um, I…”
“Can you take care of this?” I asked him.
“I…”
“Gregory! Can you take care of it?”
“Yes,” he nodded. I knew it wasn’t his job, but I needed him to step up and help. I also understood perfectly that Gregory was the type of person who knew everyone in town. If there was anyone who could be responsible for organizing and arranging the transportation of these invaders, it would be him.
Well, him and the coven leader.
Melanie was lurking nearby, slinking around making sure that each and every warlock was carefully restrained. I had seen Gregory eyeing her enough to know when love was in the air, and those two?
Yeah, there was something between them.
“Melanie,” I called out. “Can you take James?”
“You got it,” she nodded and came over. Her long dress dragged on the ground as she made her way toward the fallen leader. “He’s a big guy,” she murmured.
“Not as strong as you,” I told her. “Keep him here.”
“What are we going to do with him?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “Lock him up. Figure something out tomorrow.”
There were councils of witches who dealt with people like James, and I knew that there were plenty of people who would want a shot at fighting him in particular.
For now, I needed to get to Jaden.
I needed to reach her.
“He’s alive,” she looked up at me when I got close. Stanley was still lying flat on his back, looking around. Jaden had slipped her jacket off and draped it over him. This offered him a small amount of privacy. Werewolves didn’t wear clothing, after all.
“He’s alive,” I repeated. “Stanley. Good to meet you.”
“So, I haven’t met you before?” Stanley seemed slightly confused and a little bit dazed. “But I’ve met her,” he swung his gaze back toward Jaden.
“You’ve met her before,” I nodded. I didn’t say that she was his wife. If Jaden wanted to be the one to break the news to him later, then I wouldn’t take that away from him. “How do you feel?”
“A bit strange,” he admitted. “I was in my werewolf form for as long as I can remember. Being in this body,” he gestured to himself, “feels a little strange.”
“Don’t worry,” I said smiling. “You’ll get used to it. I’m sure Jaden will be happy to help you with that.”
Before he could dwell too much on my comment or read anything more into it, I stood and prepared to walk away, but Jaden leapt to her feet.
“I’m not letting him go,” she told me. “We’re going to keep searching for the cure.”
“When the moon changes, he might turn back into a werewolf,” I told her. “But right now, that isn’t something we need to worry about.” I looked up at the bright sun, which had raised into the sky once more.
Then I walked back to the center of the crowd and looked around.
“Well, what are you all waiting for? We have a festival to enjoy,” I called out to the witches who had gathered. “Everyone, let’s go!”
Everyone cheered. Everyone yelled. Everyone ran to their booths and to the rides they had been itching to climb on. Everyone was excited and wild and most of all, happy.
It was time for the festival we’d worked for.
It was time to celebrate the magic that was Which Village.
Epilogue
Fiona
Everything was back to normal.
Everything.
Except for me.
I sat at my kitchen table looking out of the window. I could see my neighbor’s house just as clear as day. It was just as clear as it was the day Alicia died. Not a morning went by where I didn’t think about what had happened and wished that I had been able to stop it.
I’d never tell anyone, but I wished constantly that I’d been able to do something that day. If I had been a better witch, I would have been able to save her. I just knew it.
Living with regret, especially at my age, was a painful thing. It was horrible to have to deal with the idea that I could have helped someone, but I didn’t.
It was even harder to accept the fact that I hadn’t helped Stanley, either.
Jaden had her husband back and that was good. It was great, really. Good for her. She deserved to have him back. That kid had fought for over a year to find him and she finally had, but her problems were far from over.
Stanley had been stuck in his werewolf form for a long time. Jaden didn’t realize it, but Stanley had probably made some enemies during that time.
They wouldn’t show up at first. They never did. No. Instead, they would show up slowly over time. They’d slowly seep into the community as they hunted for him, trying to get revenge for whatever sins he committed in his animal form.
Jaden was happy, but I knew the happiness wouldn’t last. I knew that because I’d been a witch for a very, very long time. I’d been looking out for Which Village for years, and I understood that sometimes, the things we want the most aren’t always the best for us.
My neighbor might be happy that her husband returned to her, but that didn’t mean she was going to have an easy go of it. In fact, if I wasn’t mistaken, I’d say that Jaden’s journey was only just beginning.
I sipped my coffee, watching out of the window, and then a little black cat in the corner of the room meowed at me.
“Hang on, Jasper,” I said, turning to the cat shifter who had made himself at home over the last few days. “I’m coming.”
THE END
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Author
L.C. Mortimer loves books almost as much as she loves coffee. When she's not on a caffeine-induced writing spree, she can be found pole dancing, traveling, or playing with her pet hamster, Neko. Mortimer loves reading, playing video games, and spending time with her husband and kids. Please make sure to join her mailing list here.
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"This isn't what I ordered." The tall man in the suit looked at the coffee and sneered. He thrust the cup back at me. A little bit sloshed over the side of the cup and onto the counter. "And you'd better clean that up."
Biting back irritation, I managed a smile.
"Of course. Anything else I can do for you?” I asked politely. Inside, I felt anything but polite. This guy was being a total jerk, as always. I knew for a fact that his coffee had been made perfectly. He just didn’t like me because I couldn’t do magic.
He wanted Maggie to make his drink.
“A free bagel couldn’t hurt,” the man said, jerking his head toward the display of blueberry bagels.
“I’ll have to get my manager’s permission,” I said. “Please wait just a moment.”
I scurried to the back of the café and knocked on the door to the office.
“Come in.”
I yanked the door open and peered inside. Tony
was sitting at his desk with his ankles crossed over the top. He looked bored out of his mind.
“What do you want, Maxine?” He asked.
“It’s Max,” I said. “Not Maxine. And there’s a customer who wants a free bagel.”
“We don’t give out bagels for free,” Tony said with a yawn. He was obviously bored. He was always bored at the café.
“I know, but he said that his drink was wrong and he wants to be compensated with free food.”
Tony glared at me and got up with a huff. He acted like it was my fault that he was the manager of the café or that he had to leave the safety of his office to come do his actual job. Whatever. I’d been dealing with Tony ever since I started working at the café. He was neither a good boss nor a team player, so I tried to stay as far away from him as possible. Besides, something about Tony made me uncomfortable, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint why.
“Is there a problem, Lionel?” Tony asked the tall man.
“Yeah, your em-ploy-ee,” he dragged the word out sarcastically. “Messed up my drink. I asked her nicely if she could fix it.”
“Not a problem,” Tony said. He jerked his head toward one of my coworkers. “Maggie, make Lionel a new drink.”
Maggie shot me a nasty look but nodded and started the drink. The café wasn’t busy and the drink wasn’t complicated, so I wasn’t sure what the big deal was. Actually, I had the distinct feeling that Lionel’s original drink had been just fine, but that he wanted a bagel out of the deal.
Correction: he wanted a free bagel.
Tony and Lionel sat and chatted while Maggie made the drink. I cleaned up the spill on the counter before starting to check our inventory. I wasn’t a magic user, so I couldn’t just summon cups whenever we ran out of something we needed. Instead, I’d have to trot back to the stockroom, find what we needed, and carry it back. It was kind of a drag for everyone, which was just another reason nobody liked me.
By the time I left work that day, I was tired, exhausted, and spent.
Once Upon a Curse: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Which Village Book 2) Page 7