Of Time & Spells

by Jennifer Snyder

  Of Time & Spells

  Ward Witches - Book Three

  Jennifer Snyder

  OF TIME & SPELLS

  WARD WITCHES, BOOK 3

  Copyright © 2016 Jennifer Snyder

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the above author of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  Cover Design Created By C & K Creations

  Editing by H. Danielle Crabtree

  Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  Did You Know This Series Is A Spin-Off?

  Prologue

  One

  Want To Read More Witchy Stories?

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

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  Chapter 1

  A haunting rhythm woke me. It rippled through the heavy silence of my bedroom, saturating the air in an unbelievable amount of power. Dark magic coated the back of my throat and built on the tip of my tongue. The breath in my chest stilled as I pulled my blankets to my chin, listening. Chanting. Someone was definitely chanting.

  The voices were female. While I couldn’t make out their words, they sounded as though they were singing a creepy lullaby. I knew better though. Their monotone words weren’t meant to lull anyone to sleep. Instead, they were meant to draw power to something. The question was: to what?

  Alarm trickled through my veins. Of two things I was certain. One, the Vodun witches had found us. And two, they were crafting a powerful spell originating in dark magic just outside.

  I pulled in a deep breath before flipping the blankets off and slipping out of bed. Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains covering the window, allowing me enough light to see by as I made my way toward the door. The knob was cool in my shaky hand when I gripped it. As much as I wanted to remain hidden beneath the warm blankets of my bed, I knew I couldn’t. I had to see what was happening. The door whooshed open wider than I’d anticipated the second I opened it. Magic had been building inside the walls of the house. It pressed against everything, including me, as I cut down the hallway. I’d never felt anything like it before.

  Jasper. Getting to my brother seemed important. He would know what was happening, what the Vodun witches were doing. If he didn’t, then Anna would.

  I glanced down the hall toward the other bedrooms. No lights were on. A soft glow at the opposite end of the hall caught my attention. Someone was in the living room. My muscles loosened at the thought of not being the only one woken by whatever was happening outside. I didn’t want to be alone.

  Liam stood at the large window in the living room. His back was to me as he stared into the night.

  “It’s the Vodun, isn’t it? Are they out there?” The words stuck in my throat on their way out.

  Liam flinched at the sound of my voice, but he didn’t move to face me. “It is.”

  I wrapped my arms around my middle, his words having shaken me more than I cared to admit. “Do you know what they’re saying? I can taste the dark magic they’re working, but can’t make out any words.”

  “Do me a favor, love.” He shifted to face me revealing an excited smirk. Shivers slipped along my spine.

  “What?”

  “Go wake your brother.”

  The excitement festering in his deep-set eyes intensified at the mention of my brother. I wasn’t sure what I found to be creepier: the sounds of the witches chanting or the look on Liam’s face. He was obviously ready for a fight.

  “Okay.” I headed back the way I’d came. There were still no lights on as I padded down the dark hallway to my brother’s room. The magic was thicker here. It congregated in the air making it hard to breathe. My heart pounded. What if the witches were doing something to my brother?

  I bolted to his room at the end of the hall and knocked. When I didn’t get a response, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Moonlight lit his room, filtering in through the shades that covered a large bay window opposite the door. I could see my brother’s figure lying in bed, one arm tucked beneath his head, and the other wrapped around Anna.

  Maybe Tristan had been right to bet they’d be married by the end of the year.

  I tip-toed to my brother’s side of the bed and lightly shook him. “Jasper, wake up,”

  He didn’t stir and neither did Anna. A charge slithered through the air as the witches chanting grew louder. Goose bumps prickled across my skin. Whatever spell they were working was building to its peak.

  “Jasper, wake up,” I repeated, feeling officially freaked out.

  The hairs on the back of my neck lifted as the Vodun witches’ magic caressed my skin. The air was so thick with it, my lungs struggled to breathe.

  I shoved Jasper. “Get up!”

  He stirred but didn’t wake. I shoved him again, this time harder. “Jasper. Wake up.”

  My mind dipped into a well of what-ifs when he didn’t wake, and I worried the witches chanting was somehow immobilizing him. I gripped his shoulders and shook until he jolted awake. Jasper’s arm beneath the pillow swung out clasping a dagger in his fist. I jumped back, barely avoiding the edge of the blade as he swung it.

  My hands lifted in surrender. “Whoa! Chill out. It’s me.”

  “Piper? What the hell are you doing in here?” He pulled the comforter with him as he moved into a sitting position and glared at me. “And what is that noise?”

  “Chanting.” I licked my lips, tasting the dark magic rolling through the air. My mouth was dry and my heartbeat pulsated in my fingertips, but at least whatever spell the evil witches were working on hadn’t affected him. “It’s why I woke you. The witches found us, Jasper. They’re here.”

  “Shit.” He breathed.

  I watched as he tossed his dagger on the nightstand and rubbed his face with both hands. Hope blossomed through my chest because I knew the gesture meant he was gathering himself to form a plan. Formulating plans at the drop of a hat was what Jasper was best at. It came with running Sight Unseen for years.

  “What should we do?”

  “What’s going on?” Anna mumbled as she rolled over to face Jasper and me. Her hair was a mess, and her voice was groggy with sleep. “Piper?”

  “Yeah. Sorry to wake you but—”


  “The Vodun found us.” Jasper wasted no time filling her in. “Hear the chanting? Do you recognize what they’re saying?”

  Anna moved into a sitting position. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she focused on the haunting voices outside. “No.”

  I wasn’t surprised. They didn’t seem to be speaking English.

  “Piper, go wake the others,” Jasper insisted. “Let me get dressed and think for a second.”

  “Okay.” I hurried from the room, down the hall, and toward Tristan’s room.

  I didn’t hesitate outside his door. Instead, I barged in, eager to fill him in on what was happening. A blast of cool air kissed my skin as I opened his door and thick magic pressed against me. My skin tingled at the heightened sound of the witches’ chorus.

  “Tristan, wake—” my throat clamped shut as I was suddenly suffocated by raw, undiluted fear.

  Darkness swirled through the air, rippling and rolling in on itself like a puff of smoke. Was it the witches’ magic or a piece of whatever spell they were executing? I stared at it, unblinking. It shifted, expanding as it lowered to hover above Tristan as he lay in his bed. Inches separated it from his mouth. My feet rooted in place as my mind froze. All I could do was trail my eyes over the entity hovering above him. What was it, and where was it coming from? There was no end to it. It appeared to be floating through Tristan’s cracked open window to hover above him. Was it waiting for something?

  This was obviously what the chanting was for, but what was it? Better yet, what would it do once it touched Tristan?

  Without thinking my actions through, I lunged forward and scooped up a towel that had been tossed on the floor. It was damp and smelled of Tristan’s body wash. I gripped it in both hands and wound it up. Adrenaline pumped through me, steady and strong, as I continued to stare at the creepy smoke waiting to suffocate Tristan. Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I snapped the towel at it to ward it away. Hissing filled the room. It startled not only me, but Tristan as well. He bolted out of bed and jumped to his feet, ready to fight.

  The instant he took stock of what was happening, he positioned himself in a fighting stance beside me. “What’s going on? What is that thing?”

  Another loud hiss vibrated through the room. The desire to cover my ears burned through me, but I fought against it, knowing I needed my hands if I planned to defend myself.

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure it has something to do with the Vodun witches standing outside,” I shouted over the crazy noise.

  “Piper!” Jasper rushed into the room, and some of the tension in my body dissipated.

  “I’m okay,” I informed him.

  “Dark magic,” he whispered, and I knew he’d taken a second to taste the air.

  “What else were you expecting?” I wanted to smack him for saying something so stupid.

  Anna burst into the room behind him. “Oh my God! Don’t touch it!” She held her hands out in front of her as though she could freeze us each in place. “Piper, put that towel down and step back. Slowly.”

  I dropped the towel and took a tentative step backward. The alarm ringing through her voice amped up the panic I was already feeling. My eyes stayed glued to the rolling darkness as I retreated. It had coiled itself into a snake-like formation. I held my breath as I took another shaky step backward, scared it might strike me.

  “I get that it’s dark magic, but what is it?” Tristan asked.

  “The Snake of Possession.” Anna’s voice was low, as though she feared it might hear her.

  While I didn’t know what the Snake of Possession was, I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good. The chanting outside grew louder, or maybe it was closer. I couldn’t tell. All I could focus on was the way the snake swayed from side to side as though it were a cobra being charmed by unheard music.

  Jasper positioned in front of me. “It looks like it’s preparing to strike.”

  “It is.” Meili had slipped into the room behind us all. Chi was right at her side. “Tristan needs to get out of its path.”

  “Why me?” Tristan was quick to ask. “Isn’t it Piper who the witches want?”

  “But this is your room,” I answered, understanding what Meili meant. “It was hovering above you because it wanted you.”

  From my peripheral vision, I noticed Tristan take a step back. “Why, though? I’m not the one they’ve been after this entire time.”

  “Later. We can talk about it later.” Anna insisted. “We all need to get out of this room right now. If this thing feels as though its target is no longer a viable option, it will most likely strike someone else so it can still fulfill its goal.”

  No one argued with her logic. Instead, we all continued to make our way into the hall. As though the thing understood what was happening, it struck out the instant Tristan reached the threshold of the door, latching onto the person closest.

  I watched in horror as its dark fangs stabbed into Chi’s shoulder. He cried out so loudly from the pain my eardrums vibrated. The snake released him an instant later and slithered toward the window, where it seeped out blending into the darkness of the night and disappearing.

  Chi crumpled to the floor as the chanting outside stopped. The sudden silence caused my ears to buzz. My heart pounded hard and fast against my rib cage because I wasn’t sure what would happen next, but I knew it had everything to do with me.

  It always did.

  Chapter 2

  Chi’s face twisted into a horrible expression of pain, but his screams were silent. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.

  Anna rushed to the open window and slammed it shut. “You shouldn’t have opened your window!”

  “I didn’t,” Tristan insisted. “It was closed when I went to sleep.”

  Jasper stepped toward Tristan. “Someone had to have opened it.”

  “Well, it wasn’t me.” Tristan held his hands up.

  “Doesn’t matter who opened the damn window,” Jasper butted in. “All that matters is it was open and that snake thing got in.”

  My attention shifted to Chi. Jasper was wrong. It didn’t matter the snake had gotten in; all that mattered was Chi had been bitten.

  “What does a Snake of Possession do?” My eyes were glued to Chi as I spoke. He seemed locked in a trance. His eyes were glassy and unblinking, while his face contorted in pain. It was nauseating to witness.

  “Exactly what you think it does. It possesses someone to do another’s bidding,” Jasper surprised me by saying. I’d been under the impression Anna was the only one who knew anything about it.

  “And you know this because?”

  “I have a book on it.” Jasper moved to where Chi was lying on the floor and motioned for Meili to get out of his way. She was crouched at Chi’s side. Her hands clasped the shoulder where he’d been bitten as though she could somehow squeeze the venom out.

  “So how do we counteract it? Does your book say?” Tristan asked.

  “We need to extract the venom from him,” Jasper answered.

  “How?” Anna asked. “None of us have the power to do it.”

  “Actually one of us does.” My brother scanned the room. I wasn’t sure who he was looking for until I realized who was missing.

  Liam.

  “Where’s Liam?” Had the Vodun taken him while we were preoccupied? This night kept getting creepier by the second.

  “I’m here, love.” Liam’s voice came from the opposite end of the hall. “I was making sure they left.”

  “Did they?” I couldn’t believe the rest of us hadn’t bothered to check. Our minds weren’t as sharp as they should be, given the situation.

  “Yes.” Liam maneuvered around Tristan and me as he stepped back into the bedroom. “For now.”

  He made his way to where Chi was lying, as though he knew exactly what to do. How on earth could he be of any help though? He was just a leprechaun.

  I watched Liam as he rummaged through his pockets for something. Before he found whatever he was searchi
ng for, Chi sprung back to life. He snapped into a sitting position with an oddly robotic quality. I took another tentative step back, fearful of what his possessed form might do. Chi’s dark, glassy eyes searched the room until they settled on me. His face hardened with hatred, and the whispered words, “Must kill the girl,” pushed past his lips.

  Crap.

  Chi lurched to his feet in one swift movement, pushing Meili to the floor in the process. Her face smashed into the hardwood flooring as Chi used it to push off in his race after me. Tristan spun me behind him and took a stance as though Chi would have to go through him to get to me. Behind him, my bare feet rooted into the floor in an attempt to steady my trembling limbs before taking on a guy I barely knew in a fight for my life.

  Jasper grabbed at Chi as he darted past him, but the guy was too fast. My brother’s fingertips barely grazed the sleeve of his shirt. Chi was in front of Tristan seconds later. Chills raced down my spine as my mind registered his lethargic movements with one word—zombie.

  Grunts pushed past Chi’s lips as he blocked each of Tristan’s blows without much effort. His dark eyes remained on me. Determination pulsed in him. He wanted to get to me and was making it clear nothing would stand in his way.

  Jasper connected a few blows to the back of Chi’s head, but even they didn’t seem to faze him. He kicked outward, striking my brother in the groin and continued blocking Tristan’s blows, his eerie gaze never wavering from me. Jasper dropped to his knees, but Tristan continued to throw punch after punch. Nothing made much impact though.