“What are you thinking about?” Eli said from the other side of the room. I didn’t realize he was still awake until he spoke.
“Nothing. How long have you been awake?” I wanted to change the subject and get away from my thoughts.
“A while. You’re thinking about Connor, aren’t you?” He raised his eyebrows. “I wish you would let him go. He’s not the same guy anymore.” He said it as though he knew everything there was to know about Connor, but he didn’t understand what we had shared or what I felt for him.
“You didn’t know him before his sister.” I sat up, realizing I wasn’t going to be sleeping tonight. “No, but if he was stupid enough to betray someone like you, then he’s not worth it.” He stopped and let out a sigh. “I know you care for him and still do, but there are other people out there. Someone that would give up everything for you. All you need to do is ask.”
I swallowed hard and wanted to answer Eli, but something else caught my attention. My breathing caught and a feeling of dread came over me. Someone was coming and they didn’t feel friendly. Eli must have felt it too because he was on his feet before I could move.
“They must have tracked us,” he said, watching through the window. “We have time to get out of here, but we are going to have to hurry.”
I shook my dad and Oni to wake them and glanced around the room. There has to be something I can use, I thought and then I saw them. Four bottles tucked neatly against the wall. It was as though they had been put there for this moment alone. I scooped them up and passed them to each person. I smiled at the memory of what they were.
Travel potions.
“Where can we go?” I said in a panic.
“There’s only one place that will be safe now,” Oni said taking my hand. “You’re not going to like it.” Great. Just what I want to hear.
Seven
When I opened my eyes, I could see the porch that I’d spent nights on watching the stars. I swallowed hard. Of all the places we could go, we had to come here. Eli looked at me and then back to my dad as though it was an inside joke he was left out of.
“Where are we?” Eli asked quietly. “Connor’s old house,” I answered without thinking. This was the place where everything had started for me and where I had learned spells and such. It felt odd to be standing in front of it, but the house itself felt odd.
The windows were boarded up to protect the home from the neglect it suffered in the last year. The once trimmed grass seemed to take over the entire yard, hiding the house from the outside world. The wood that was once painted nicely was chipped and falling.
“Why are we here?” Eli asked, carefully. “This is the last place Eric or Connor will look for us. They figure Lucy won’t be able to deal with it.” Oni stepped in front of me and glanced to Eli and my dad. “We can’t just stand here and gawk. We should get out of sight.”
My dad walked to me and took my hand. He smiled because he knew how upset I really was on the inside. I didn’t want to be here, but I had to make a choice between putting my family in danger by not being safe or to face this house and help my family and friends.
I followed the others into the home and was surprised at how much the inside stayed the same. The furniture was still in tact, although it was dusty and gross. The spell books were still in their place and the fireplace seemed to still be able to hold a fire.
“We can use these books and herbs to create something to stop Eric.” My dad was already looking through books and digging up magical items to help us.
“There is only one way to stop Eric at this point,” Eli chimed in as though he knew all along what to do. Everyone stopped and looked his way. “A blood spell.” My dad’s head snapped up to meet Eli’s eyes.
“We can’t do a blood spell. There has to be another way.” My dad’s tone had gone from okay to angry in the blink of an eye.
“We don’t have another choice,” Eli fired back. “I don’t want to do it either, but if we don’t, we’ll be running forever.”
“What’s a blood spell?” I’d listened without knowing what they were talking about for long enough. Both men looked at me and then back to each other. “I should know as much as you two do.”
“A blood spell is a binding spell, but on a whole different level,” my dad offered. “Okay, so why fight about it? I thought binding spells were pretty harmless,” I said, glancing from one man to the other.
“A blood spell binds powers, but it also binds the caster to the one being bound. They become connected forever.” My dad took a breath before finishing his thought. “You are the only one with enough power in your blood to bind his and I don’t want to do that to you.” I took a breath and glanced at the floor. To be connected to a man like that would be a nightmare, even if he had no powers.
“There is a way around the binding,” Eli said, watching me. “If you come to the Fae realm it will block the connection. You could live a normal life.” He ran his hand through his hair as though he hated to make it that way for me, but he kept going. “You’d have to forget about Connor, but there are other people that care about you. I don’t want you to forget that.”
The air seemed to fill with tension as my dad turned from Eli. He was going to pretend he didn’t hear that last bit of conversation.
“The choice is yours to make. I know there has to be another way. We just haven’t found it yet.” He smiled at me to give me some kind of out. He didn’t want me to be connected to Eric anymore than I wanted to be, but sometimes things just had to be done. I understood that better than anyone.
“What has to be done for a blood spell?” I said without thinking.
“You add your blood to a few herbs that make up the spell,” Eli said taking a step towards me. “That’s not so hard.” I glanced at my father who had his head stuck in a book. No doubt trying to find a way to bind Eric without putting me in the middle of it.
“That isn’t, but you also have to add Eric’s blood to it before you can use it.” Eli stopped in front of me and took my hands.
“How do I do that?” I almost laughed at the sound of it. Getting Eric to give me his blood was going to be like teaching a hamster to sing.
“This is so boring to listen to.” Oni jumped up and walked towards me. I didn’t even notice her sitting on the couch. “You’re going to have to tuck your tail between your legs and go to him. Get him to trust you, even a little and take the blood from him. Then use the potion.” She looked at me like I should have known this all along. I didn’t take my eyes from her. This plan was crazy. There was no way Eric was ever going to believe I’d flipped and was ready to take over the world.
“He’ll want to make sure, but I think he won’t want to take out another source of power if he thinks it’s on his side,” Eli said, not letting go of my hands. “There’s only one thing he will believe is strong enough to make you want to be on his side.”
“What’s that?” I was getting a headache from it all.
“Connor.”
Eight
I took the newly made travel potion and tucked it into my pocket. Everyone was watching me as though I wasn’t coming back. My dad was clearly upset about the choice I’d made, but it was for him and everyone else. This world was falling apart around everyone and if there was a chance I could give it another shot, I was going to do it.
“I’ll be fine,” I lied to my dad. I was scared and unsure I could really do this, but I also knew I had to. “You better come back or I’ll find you and kill you,” my dad pulled me into a hug and held me there for a moment. I could feel his own fear. He had lost so much already and now I was choosing to leave him too. It had to be tearing him apart, but he was standing there like the rock I needed him to be.
“You have to use that love you have for Connor, but don’t forget what I said. When this is all over, you have a place and someone to come back to.” Eli wanted to say more. I could see it in the way he hesitated, but instead of talking he pulled me to him and kissed me like
I was already agreeing to be with him. I couldn’t move. A part of me wanted to just go to his world and stay safe, but I knew deep down I couldn’t.
I pulled back to break the kiss, but didn’t manage to get far. We just stood there for a moment looking at each other, neither knew what to say.
“That was a parting gift if I ever saw one,” Oni said, giggling slightly. I shook off the kiss and took a step back from everyone. It was time to end this forever. I broke the bottle of travel potion at my feet and thought about Eric. A sharp pain went through my body and at first I thought I’d been shot or stabbed. The pain seemed to get worse until I finally felt ground under my body.
I was laying on my stomach, my face was close to the ground. Finally I could breathe and the pain was better. I sat up and looked at my stomach. It wasn’t hurt, but I could still feel a bit of the pain running through me.
I glanced around, trying to figure out where I was, but nothing looked familiar. I stood and started walking in a random direction when I sensed someone behind me. I stopped walking and turned slowly to see who it was, but didn’t recognize the woman. She shook her head at me and motioned for me to come towards her. I swallowed my fear and walked her way. When I got closer I could see her better. Her light blond hair was straight and longer than most women wore their hair. She left it wild and blowing around her face in a stray wind. Her eyes were a brown color that didn’t match what you would expect from someone with the color of hair and skin she had. She wore a pair of tight blue jeans and a white t-shirt.
I never got a feeling she was not a good person, but she was clearly working for Eric. “You’re the one they are all freaking out about, aren’t you?” Her voice was young, but she knew how to carry herself and demand respect.
“What do you mean?” I really didn’t know what she was talking about, but figured it was because they knew I was coming.
“They’ve been looking for you for days and then all of the sudden you show up here. You’re either really stupid or really brave.” She didn’t seem to care what one I was. She’d already made up her mind on that.
“I want to see Eric,” I said sharply. She snapped her head to look at me better. “You must be stupid,” was all she said as she led me to a large home in the middle of the property. I’d almost gotten right to the front door with my own magic and figured the pain I felt was Eric deflected me because I was his enemy.
The woman led me into the home. I was amazed at how nice they kept it. For someone that wanted to take over the world, you would never think they would have the taste for fine things as Eric did. Every corner of the large plantation like home was decorated with something more expensive than anything I’d ever seen before.
We walked up the flight of stairs to a second floor that made the first look like a junk store. Everything was set in gold and white and made to be glamorous.
The woman knocked on a door and waited for an answer, glancing at me to make sure I wasn’t going anywhere. There was no way I’d get far with all the guards around the place, even if I wanted to. After a moment, the door opened and she motioned for me to go into the room. I hesitated for only a moment before going through. I knew who would be waiting and my heart started beating loudly in my chest just thinking about it.
Sitting on a chair at a large table was my birth father. The one person I’d wanted to know my entire life and the one person I should have stayed away from.
Eric cocked his head at the sight of me and stood from his seat. A smile kept to his face as though he’d just won. “What a surprise.” He beamed at me and circled me as though I was not a real person, but his imagination. “And you came here on your own?” He seemed surprised and suspicious at the same time.
“I did,” I answered simply. Much more might give the fear I felt away. He stopped in front of me and watched me closely.
“Why?” He waited as though I should have an answer ready when he asked. I hesitated but finally said, “I can’t live without Connor. I love him too much and if he is with you, then so am I.” The words came out fluidly and with more conviction than I’d intended, but it was true in a sense. My birth father just stood there watching me like he was trying to read my mind.
“I don’t know if I believe you, but you’re too powerful to just kill for no good reason.” He took a step towards me. When I didn’t move, he laughed. “You’re still afraid of me. That much is very clear.” He turned away and waved his hand in the air. “Fear makes people do odd things.”
Two hands grabbed my arm and pulled me from the room. I glanced up to see who they belonged to and realized it was Connor pulling me from the room. The look on his face of was that of pure disbelief. His dark hair had fallen into his face and I couldn’t read what he was thinking.
He pulled a door open a little further down the hallway and pulled me inside before letting me go and closing the door behind us. I glanced around the room and realized it was a bedroom made for someone special.
“This is your room. It’s better than what you would get, but you can’t do magic in it. Don’t do anything stupid and get yourself demoted to the basement. The rooms there are not near as nice,” Connor acted like he wanted to say more, but didn’t. I started to say how mad I was at him for leaving, but stopped myself. He glanced back to me and spoke again, “Why are you doing this? I told you to stay away.”
“I can’t leave you like this. I love you too much for that,” I snapped.
“You’re just a kid. You could have stayed in the other world and been safe.” He took a step towards me. “You’re not telling me you care about what happens to me? You made it clear that you didn’t want anything to do with me.” I was starting to get a little confused at the whole thing, but I was mad too. He’d betrayed me and left me wondering about who he really was. He didn’t answer, but snapped his gaze up to mine.
“It’s complicated,” was all he offered.
“Then uncomplicated it,” I snapped at him, giving him no room to wiggle out of it. When he seemed to realize he wasn’t going to win, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room. I growled in frustration and fell onto the bed.
Nothing about this whole thing was going to be easy.
Nine
The next few days were spent mostly in my room. It seemed like Eric was keeping me as a prisoner until he was sure I was telling him the truth. I didn’t see Connor for the entire time and was left thinking about the confrontation we had just been through. I stared at the ceiling thinking about my dad and Eli back at Connor’s house. I wondered if they were okay and had found anyway to stop Eric without binding me to him. It scared me to think I was going to be connected to the evil he had inside him, even if he wouldn’t have any powers.
The door suddenly opened and the blond from the clearing took a step in. She glanced at me and crossed her arms in front of her like she was truly bored.
“Eric wants to see how much power you’ve learned to use,” she said, waiting for me to stand. I stood and followed her from the room. Instead of taking me back to the room I remembered, she led me from the house completely. We didn’t walk far before I could see Eric standing in the middle of a clearing with tall wild grass growing in it. Someone else caught my eye. When I turned my head, I could see Connor kicking the grass not twenty feet from where Eric was standing. He looked as though he didn’t want to be there and was trying to make it known to everyone close by.
“I want to know how much power you have in that body of yours. When you did that first binding spell, you took all of your birth power, but you regained so much more on the dark moon.” He smiled as he spoke. “I want to see you use it.”
I blinked and dropped my gaze from my birth father. Deep down I knew what could happen if I went too far within the power. It would take over me and I would be no better than the man who was standing in front of me.
“How do I show you?” I didn’t look back to him. “Connor has volunteered to fight you. If you can beat him, you’re doing good.” Eric
laughed and put his hand on my arm. “How much do you really love him?” His touch made my blood go cold. It wasn’t that he wanted to see my power so much as it was he wanted to test me.
I met Connor’s gaze and then dropped it back to the ground. Connor could manipulate earth so that was where the attack would come from. I just wondered how violent the attack would be.
I felt the earth move beneath my feet and closed my eyes. I could see things differently when I used the magic given to me. Connor was moving the grass around me with his power and waiting for something. When I looked at his face, I could see something under the hard exterior he was showing. Inside he was broken. His sister had left him and his mother too. He had no family he could love without losing them. He couldn’t protect his sister or mother and felt that he couldn’t protect Lucy either. Connor just wanted to make it right for me and for Anna, but he didn’t know how.
I felt my magic pull back and opened my eyes. I was standing in front of the man I loved and knew he was in pain, but couldn’t do anything to change it. I felt a sharp pain hit me in my legs and realized the earth was shifting to knock me off my feet. I fell forward, eating a face full of dirt.
I looked up from the ground to see Connor standing over me, waiting. I wasn’t sure what he was waiting for.
“Are you going to fight or let Eric think you don’t have any power?” He knelt down to talk without ears overhearing what he was saying. “He’ll kill you if you don’t prove yourself. Is that what you want?” The was an edge to his voice that instantly made me mad. He must have seen it, because he backed up and raised his eyebrows.
I closed my eyes again, letting the magic bubble up to the surface. Once it was close, I pushed it into the wind, letting it whip around me. When I opened my eyes, Connor was pinned to a tree about twenty feet from me. I smiled and thought I caught a faint smile on his face as well, but could have been wrong.
The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy Page 14