Paranormal Magic (Shades of Prey Book 1)

by Margo Bond Collins

  “Keep us informed,” he said and opened the garage door, letting Naomi take the lead.

  Raven waited until the lights disappeared and the gate closed, locking us in. Then she turned, looking between Tom and me. “Are you two ready for a storm?”

  Tom nodded without hesitation and I followed suit. I was ready to brave a hurricane to save Valerie.

  Raven started unpacking the duffel bag, setting jewelry, and what looked like fancy paperweights, on the table along with candles and oils and a big sea-salt grinder. She turned and tossed a necklace to me. The black wiccan star reflected in the light and I raised an eyebrow.

  “Just put it on,” she said and looked from me to Tom. “Do you have yours on?”

  Tom unbuttoned his shirt, showing her the necklace she gave him back in high school for protection against a crazy ghost. It worked back then and I don’t think he’d taken it off since.

  I slipped it around my neck and waited while she finished setting up the table. Raven turned and walked into the living room, away from the demon, beckoning to us to follow.

  “Block your thoughts,” she said.

  I consciously put up the wall in my head and nodded, glancing at Tom and then Raven where only static resided. “We’re blocked,” I said.

  She looked at Tom. “The only reason I let you stay is because I may need you’re special skills."

  He started to sign but she shook her head, stopping him.

  “You told me you once put your father’s spirit back in his body.”

  Tom nodded and glanced at me.

  “Well, I might need you to do that with Valerie. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Tom signed.

  Raven turned to me. “Do you think your protective shield can repel demon spirits?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, let’s hope that’s the case, because the moment the spirits separate from her physical form and Tom has Valerie’s, I’ll need you to block anything else from getting to her. Or us, for that matter. She’ll still be vulnerable until her spirit is put back in her body. If we fail and the demon gets in there first, she will be lost to us. Understand?”

  The layer of doubt that blanketed me must have reflected in my eyes, because Raven’s face hardened.

  “Understand?” she said more forcefully this time.

  “Yes. I understand,” I said. “How do you know this will work?”

  “I’ve seen it done before,” she whispered. “But we didn’t have the benefit of a ghost whisperer or a psychic shield.”

  “Did it work?”

  She stared at me for a long moment and then shook her head. “No.”

  “What happened?” I asked, unable to get the details from her mind.

  “My father happened,” she said and turned away, storming back to the kitchen, leaving Tom and me staring at each other. A chill settled over me and I looked toward the kitchen. Her father was rotting in jail for two consecutive life sentences for the crimes he committed as the Windwalker.

  “What do you mean,” I stalked into the kitchen after her, with Tom following.

  “We can discuss that later. You know what I expect of you.” She turned back to the table and Valerie chuckled, the demon quality of it left me cold.

  “I want Val back,” I growled at the thing holding her hostage.

  “Maybe we can trade?” it said, raising one of her manicured eyebrows.

  “As tempting as that sounds, I think I’ll see what Raven can do with you first.”

  A shadow passed over her face and her teeth clenched as she focused on Raven’s array of potions and precious rocks on the table.

  Raven turned to me. “Can you hold her still for a minute?”

  I nodded and wrapped a mental straight jacket around Valerie’s body. The demon roared and tried to thrash, but the physical form it inhabited wouldn’t budge under my power. The beast within Valerie roared when Raven slipped a bloodstone necklace over her head, the red jewel rested on her chest, right above her heart and the skin under it singed, sending off a waft of steam.

  Raven stepped out of the salt ring, visibly shaken by the scorching skin. She glanced at Tom and he gave her a nod of encouragement. With a deep breath, she arranged four pyramid shaped stones at the north, south, east and west spots inside the circle and stepped back.

  In the teak bowl, she mixed salt, some fine black powder and added a drop of green, red, and yellow potions to the mixture. Raven paused and glanced at me, waving me forward. I stepped to her side and she took my hand. Without any explanation, she raked a knife across my palm.

  “Squeeze,” she said, holding my hand over the mixture.

  As bizarre as it sounded, I did what she said and after three drops of blood hit the mixture, she moved my hand away and gave me some sterile gauze. I wrapped the cut and stepped away as she mixed the cocktail and muttered an incantation.

  “Mháthair a chara, cruthaitheoir go léir, cabhrú liom banish an Demon as an cailín. Cabhraigh léi a fháil ar ais ar a anam. Dhíbirt an olc as a corp. Cabhraigh léi a fháil ar ais ar a anam. Demon a bheith imithe!”

  The mixture bubbled and sizzled and she turned toward Valerie.

  “Repeat after me, boys,” Raven said as Valerie stared thrashing in the chair. “Spiorad olc saoire an gcomhlacht seo. Demon a bheith imithe!”

  Tom and I repeated the foreign chant. “Spiorad olc saoire an gcomhlacht seo. Demon a bheith imithe!”

  Raven flung a spoonful of the mix at Valerie and the scream that followed tore at my soul.

  When Valerie looked at me and whispered, “Help me.” I nearly came undone but the darkness that flashed over her eyes told me it was a demon trick and not the girl I was willing to lay my life down for.

  “Again,” Raven ordered and moved to Valerie’s side.

  We repeated the chant and Raven flung another spoonful at Valerie, this time, the mixture produced scorching welts in her skin and I stepped towards Raven to stop her from scalding Valerie again but Tom grabbed my arm and opened his mind. What I saw stopped me. The struggle of souls coming from her writhing form gave me hope and when Raven ordered us to speak the incantation again, I didn’t hesitate.

  The third time brought forth a wail of pain that made me want to cover my ears. The earth around us rumbled to the point the jars on the counter rattled. The dishes in the cabinets shifted, knocking open cabinet doors and sending plates and glasses crashing to the counter. Even the refrigerator door opened, crashing contents to the floor in a mad swirl.

  The fourth time, Tom let go of my arm and stepped forward, grabbing onto something I couldn’t see, but his command of “Now” in my head along with the vision of what he held set me in motion and I directed a capsule of protection around the four of us.

  Tom took the invisible ghost in his arms and slammed it back into Valerie’s body. The melding of spirit to skin arched her back and she took a deep wheezing breath. Her eyes locked on mine and she moaned in pain. I glanced at the bloody wound on her side and then back to her.

  “Will yourself to heal,” I whispered and her eyes widened and then dropped closed. She sagged in the chair and I knelt next to her, untying her arms and legs that had held her in place.

  The air around us sparked and Tom glanced up. A black cloud attacked my shield, trying to get back into the body it had been expelled from, and I looked up, using Tom’s vision to direct me. With all the anger burning my skin, I sent my wrath in the direction of the demon, willing it to burn. Flames licked the protective bubble and blackened the ceiling and then an explosion rocked the kitchen, blowing the window over the sink open and obliterating the salt line protecting that exit. What was left of the demon spirit fled through that portal, sending a plume of black smoke out into the yard and into the night sky.

  Silence fell over us and Tom stepped out of the circle toward the banging window and closed it, replacing the salt line before he turned back to us.

  “Is it gone?” I asked, knowing deep down it
was, but I didn’t trust my instincts right now, they were too colored by my worry for Valerie.

  “Yah,” Tom said.

  I relaxed, sending the protective bubble around the house in case another barrage of creatures attacked.

  “Give Steve a call and tell them they can come back,” I said to Raven. “And have them call when they get to the gate,” I added as I picked Valerie up and brought her to the couch. The scald burns had already faded and I lifted the hem of her shirt, watching as the stab wound mended.

  “It’s done. I’ll explain when you get home,” Raven said into her phone and then pocketed it. She and Tom started the onerous task of cleaning up the mess the demon created.

  “Why my blood,” I asked and Raven turned toward me.

  “Only love’s blood works,” she said and offered me a fleeting smile before continuing to sweep up the glass covering the kitchen floor.

  I stared at the blood soaked bandage around my hand and then at Valerie. I knew I’d die for her, but love? Really? The rational side of my brain scoffed and I wiped the hair out of her face, ignoring the pounding of my heart and the relief saturating my muscles. Instead, I retrieved a wet washcloth and gently began wiping the blood from her now unmarred side.

  Her eyes fluttered open and she met my gaze.

  “Hey,” I whispered, and continued cleaning the evidence from her skin.

  She pressed her lips together and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. Tears immediately sprang from her eyes and she focused on the ceiling. Her entire form shook and I dropped the cloth and pulled her into my arms. She clung to me, trembling and sobbing at the horrors she experienced during the demon possession.

  “I killed...” she whispered in my ear.

  “No you didn’t,” I said, pulling away and wiping her face.

  “The waitress. The one who stabbed me. I... I...” she trailed off and swallowed. “I saw everything,” she added. “Oh, God, Chris. If you had tried that thing in the car...” she shuddered. “I was so terrified you were going to and kept screaming for you not to. If you had, it would have gotten you. It would have stolen your body.”

  I smiled and smoothed her hair back. “Well, then, it’s a good thing I didn’t try, now, isn’t it?”

  Her chin quivered and she nodded, throwing her arms around me and burying her face in my neck. I rubbed her back and cooed “shhh” as she started crying again. The phone rang and Tom picked it up, muttering hello in his unintelligible way. I traded a glance with him and he gave the thumbs up. Concentrating, I opened a gate in my protective barrier until I heard the car pull into the garage and then the opening slammed closed.

  Damian charged in the house with Naomi running after him in human form, his gaze jumped from the destroyed kitchen to the couch where I held Valerie and he stopped. Naomi bumped into him with one of the boy’s car seat on her arm.

  Steve and Jennifer stepped into the house behind them and closed the garage door. The babies were relinquished to their parents and Jennifer stared at the damage, crossing to the kitchen with her mouth drawn in a frown. I couldn’t help but laugh. Jennifer and the kitchen were fleeting connections. She couldn’t cook worth a damn and I would have expected Steve to be more distraught.

  “What...” Jennifer said and waved toward the glass speckled counters and the swept piles of debris.

  “It could have been worse,” I said. “The demon could have blown up your stove.”

  Jennifer’s head snapped in my direction. As soon as my words sank in, her face transformed to a smile, followed by a small giggling laugh. Being privy to the joke, Steve, Tom and Raven joined her.

  Yeah, leave it to me to crack up the crowd.

  Damian was not at all amused, but I guess he wouldn’t be. He never had to endure anything Jennifer cooked. Valerie pulled away from my chest and wiped her face before turning toward him.

  “You’re really okay?” he asked, taking a tentative step towards us.

  “Yes. Raven has quite the talent for banishing demons,” she said.

  “Oh, that reminds me,” Raven said and propped the broom against the wall. She rifled through the duffel bag pulling out four more pendants. She crossed, handing one to each of the adults and then her gaze fell on the children.

  “I think I might actually have something to protect them as well,” she said and marched back to her bag of tricks. She dug around the bag and pulled a little pouch out.

  We all watched as she pulled out half a dozen crocheted bracelets with gems embedded in the designs. She peeled off three of the smallest ones and crossed to the babies, tying the bracelet on each ankle for a loose fit that wouldn’t slide off.

  “That will do for a while,” she said looking up at us.

  “What are these?” Naomi asked turning her pendant over.

  “They’re tourmaline pendants. They’ll protect you from evil spirits,” Raven said and crossed back to the kitchen. Instead of grabbing the broom, she went to the table and started packing up her bag of tricks.

  “They work,” Tom signed.

  He knew first hand, but a ghost was much different than a demon and I wasn’t sure it would protect us from a demon attack the way it did with Tom and his crazy ghost.

  “I know they work on ghosts, but...”

  Raven snapped her gaze to mine and stopped packing. “It wards off evil.”

  “So I can take down the protective barrier?” I waved towards the roof and her gaze jumped from me to the outside and back. Hesitation colored her face, but eventually she nodded.

  “If you want to test the theory, be my guest.”

  I most certainly did not want to put my family at risk, so I left the barrier in place.

  Damian studied his pendant and then let it drop to his chest. “I’ve seen a couple of these along my travels, but it does nothing to deter a hungry vampire,” he said, bringing the point home. “I’m not sure about demons,” he added with a shrug.

  Raven waved toward Valerie. “It certainly helped her,” she said and zipped up her bag, lugging it back upstairs.

  I couldn’t argue with that, although I think it was the entire ritual that helped, not just the necklace. Valerie turned toward me and her gaze dropped to my hand.

  “I think this was the magic ingredient,” she whispered and brought my palm to her lips.

  I clamped my teeth together, offering a tight smile as the healing pain took hold.

  Chapter 19

  The house was quiet and I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only three in the morning and I was exhausted. Despite that, I forced my eyes to remain open and the force field outside to stay intact. It was only a few more hours until dawn and then I could let my guard down.

  The stair creaked and I rolled onto my side, meeting Valerie’s gaze.

  “I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

  I wished that was my problem. I was having a hard time staying awake. I just sent a smile in her direction instead of voicing my thoughts.

  “Are you okay?” I sat up as she approached, making space for her on the couch.

  “Not really.” She plunked down next to me and wrapped her arms around my arm, using my shoulder as a headrest. “Thank you.”

  “Why are you thanking me?”

  “Because if you hadn’t convinced Damian to give Raven’s mojo a try, I’d be dead right now.”

  I remained silent and covered her hand with mine. “I didn’t do it for you,” I said after a few minutes of soul searching. “It was a matter of self-preservation.”

  She lifted her head and looked at me. “What do you mean?”

  I let out a small laugh. “I was responsible for that demon getting to you. If I didn’t try, and I had let Damian take you out to sea...” I pulled out of her grip and slid out from under the covers. The moonlight danced on the water outside and I stared at the hypnotizing patters the waves made before continuing. “If I let you die without trying to save you, I would have lost faith in winning this war.”

&nb
sp; She joined me at the window, wrapping her arms around my waist from behind. “You wouldn’t have given up,” she whispered in my ear.

  I focused on the reflection in the window, on her calico eyes. She didn’t know how close to the edge I really was. “Babe, I’m a disaster away from falling apart.”

  The admission raked its weak nails across my skin, leaving a gradual burn that turned in my stomach. I didn’t like being on the edge. It was not a comfortable place for me and my volatile gifts.

  She reached out, cupping my cheek and turned my head towards her. I met her gaze and shifted to face her. “No, you’re not,” she said and pulled me to her lips before I could correct her.

  Time stopped and I think I stopped breathing with it. Her kiss captivated me like nothing else ever had. Her hands slid from around my neck down my chest and around my waist. Just the feel of her fingertips on my skin lit a fire inside me and the t-shirt she wore wasn’t enough to save her from the need ripping through me.

  It was animalistic and fierce and I tore the fabric from her body in a fit of uncontrollable lust. I maneuvered her past the couch and up the stairs, our lips only parting in order to take a breath. Before I knew it, I was on top of her on my bed with my hands caressing her breasts and my mouth savoring her hard nipples. She clutched a fistful of my hair and pulled me back to her lips.

  I shifted and traced the lines of her stomach down to her underwear, smiling at the sudden appearance of goose bumps all over her flesh. The thin fabric between her legs was damp and I broke the kiss, moving down her body, teasing her with my tongue.

  Valerie made a sweet noise of surrender when I pressed my mouth to her underwear, blowing a breath through the fabric. I didn’t wait for acknowledgement, instead, I ripped the underwear from her body and tossed it to the floor.

  She followed the progression of the ruined fabric and then looked at me. “I just bought those,” she whispered.