by J. L. Weil
“I feel sick,” Tori moaned.
“You guys look so cute,” I remarked on their costumes.
“Who are you supposed to be?” Gavin asked.
“Janet and Brad from Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Austin informed him. “Tell me you have seen that movie.”
“And if I haven’t?” Gavin countered.
Austin’s mouth dropped open. “Oh man, we have got to seriously educate you on films.”
The five of us paid for our tickets and got into the weaving line. When our turn came to enter the trail, Sophie, Tori, and Austin went in first, with Gavin and I picking up the rear.
“I think I’m gonna faint,” Tori complained. Haunted houses weren’t her thing, but she didn’t want to miss out on the fun. Nothing with her ever made sense. She loved to watch the goriest films, yet couldn’t handle the haunted woods.
The first guy we came across on the trail was decked in rattling chains and covered in gooey fake blood. If I hadn’t been preoccupied with walking so close to Gavin, he wouldn’t have given me a fright. I jumped like ten feet in the air and grabbed onto Gavin’s arm. He found the situation hilarious. It had a domino effect. Tori jumped due to my jumpiness, which then made Austin flinch and so forth. Before long, we were all laughing.
“Do I need to hold your hand?” Gavin whispered in my ear, and caused me to shiver for entirely different reasons.
Somewhere along the trail, Gavin and I had fallen behind. There was a group in front of us, and I think Tori, Austin, and Sophie had wound up walking with them. We must have taken a wrong turn. There hadn’t been a single sign of anyone.
No Freddy Kruger.
No gruesome blood.
No Jack the Ripper.
I don’t know how else to explain the fact that I was pretty sure we were lost.
“This can’t be right,” I argued. “We’re lost.” The first inklings of concern weaved within me. I hoped the entrance sign wasn’t prophetic.
“Come on,” Gavin said, reaching for my hand. “Let’s see if we can find the trail again and get us the hell out of here.”
For the next fifteen minutes, we walked and walked in what felt like endless circles. A layer of clouds had rolled in above the treetops, and the wind started to pick up. The trees offered little comfort in the descending blackness.
I pulled out my phone and glanced at the screen. “Damn it. I have no service,” I swore, deflated. Fingering the stones on the necklace, I nibbled on my lip.
“Something is wrong.” Gavin was on guard, shining the flashlight over the trees surrounding us. “I can feel it.”
My anxiety hitched with each step, and the wind whipped against our backs, picking up speed. Dried up leaves covered the ground, crunching underfoot.
Gavin came to stand beside me, scanning the woods. “Bri, it’s going to be all right,” he assured in a steady voice.
A twig snapped behind us, and I jerked around, expecting the worst.
A faceless, horrid monster.
A bloody zombie
A thirsty vampire.
Fear lanced through me, while the winds yowled in the distance. “There’s something out there.” My voice was shaky, and there was no doubt in my mind that we were being watched. Or worse…hunted.
This is a haunted maze, I reminded myself. Of course there were nasties out there.
“Nothing is going happen to you. I won’t let it.” He squeezed my freezing hand. The night had been fairly warm, but with the abrupt change in the wind, it added a bite to the air.
I clung to him, seeking solace. “How are we getting out of here?” My hair blew around in crazy circles, constantly hitting my face. I gave up trying to control the skirt that was whirling in the wind. The metal coins clattered together in a chaotic musical array, and the more I seemed to fret, the stronger the wind blew.
He must have noticed the chill in my hand. Pulling off his hoodie, he handed it to me. “Here put this on.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, slipping it over my arms, the sleeves falling past my fingertips. At once, I was enclosed by his scent. I savored the security and warmth instantly. When he went to grab for my hand again, he got a handful of cotton. Grinning at each other, I pushed the end far enough for us to lace fingers.
“Lucky for you, I was a Boy Scout…more or less.”
I gave him a doubtful look, but if I trusted anyone to get me out of these confounded woods, it was Gavin. “Do you think the others are okay?” I was worried about Tori, Austin, and Sophie.
“They have Sophie. She is better at this stuff than me. They’re probably waiting in the car, wondering where the hell we are.”
I was wondering that, as well.
I glimpsed at my cell phone again, hoping to see a change in the reception bars. Nope. No service at all.
Of course it couldn’t be that easy.
The only light now was the gleam of blue from the moon. It cast intimidating shadows in all directions. We walked to the right, looking to see if we could spot anything familiar, other than trees, trees, and more trees.
Then out of nowhere, a deafening sound reverberated through the woods. It was followed by the rapid smacking of branches.
“Bri!” Gavin screamed.
Chapter 16
His eyes were pumped with fear, and my heart accelerated in triple time. I was in trouble, but the threat hadn’t hit me yet. Literally.
My eyes went over my head. A big mistake. The blood in my veins turned blue, my legs paralyzed. Above me was an enormous tree, falling straight at me and knocking away everything in its path. It was only a matter of seconds before it hit, trapping me under its trunk. A scream tore from my lungs, ripping through the forest, the back of my throat burning from the power.
I don’t know how he managed to get to me as fast as he did, but he knocked the scream right from my lips. I landed on the ground with an oomph and Gavin on top of me. My eyes were squeezed shut, waiting for the monstrous impact of the tree. He was breathing hard above me, winded, his head resting on my shoulder. My back was pressed into the pine-needled forest floor.
As the seconds went by and nothing happened, I cautiously opened my eyes, afraid of what I would see. The image above me was unexplainable and gravity defying. Maybe I was dreaming, or was seeing threats that weren’t there, because the tree was no longer falling.
It was suspended in the air above us. Just floating.
I blinked. A gasp of shock sprung from my mouth
What the holy hell?
Gavin stared into my frantic eyes. A gush of rash wind blew through the forest around us, throwing leaves and debris in a whirlwind. The sapphire of his irises burned with a flaming blue more intense than I’ve ever seen before.
With a sweep of his hand, the hovering tree disintegrated into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of confetti. The particles rained down on us, sticking to our clothes, tangling in my hair, and sprinkling in our eyes. The wind continued to protest in anger, pounding with the beat of my heart.
“Make the wind stop,” I demanded, utterly freaked.
Gavin wasn’t God. It was irrational to think he could do something as control the weather. He bit his lip as he watched me on some internal struggle. He sighed. “I can’t until you calm down.”
I didn’t question him or why I was the one who needed to calm down, besides the fact that I was the only one hyperventilating. Right then, I just wanted to go home. I focused my breathing, taking slow, steady breaths until my heartrate stabilized.
He ran a hand over my hair, sending the confetti of leaves tumbling to the ground. His finger trailed along the side of my cheek to just below my jaw line, before he tipped my face up. And just like that I was caught in a sea of blue, awareness seeped inside my body. He was still on top of me and every contour of him pressed against me. Perhaps it was the near-death experience that had the blood pumping in my veins, but I had a feeling it was just him. He studied me, marveled by something I didn’t understand.
; I wanted him to kiss me. I bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling. He sensed the change, and his finger moved to outline my lower lip. I had the deepest urge to drag his finger inside my mouth and taste him. I might have, if we hadn’t been jerked out of the trance.
Thunk.
A branch fell from the tree, landing just shy of our heads. The winds had finally died down and were nothing more than a gentle breeze. Gavin stood and held out a hand to me.
“Thank you for saving me.” I internally cringed at the breathy sound of my voice.
“You will always be safe with me.”
I believed him. There was no one else in the world I felt safer with than Gavin.
The trip out of the forsaken woods was unmemorable. No joke. We were able to find the trail without a hitch and make it to an exit.
Tori, Austin, and Sophie were leaning against Austin’s car as we came out of the trees. They were all right and by the look of it, overwhelmed with worry. I doubted the sight of our mud-stained clothing and leaf-strewn hair helped our cause.
“What the hell happened to you guys?” Tori blurted.
Wincing, I didn’t know what to say. Any explanation that came to mind sounded ridiculous. Gavin and I had talked about what happened, so I kept my trap shut. Someone else could handle this. I wasn’t even sure I could handle what I’d seen.
“We took a wrong turn, and then Bri tripped on a tree.” Gavin summarize, staying as close to the truth without giving away his secret.
Sophie’s eyes bore into her brothers. She didn’t look like she bought a single word that spewed from his mouth.
“I should really get her home,” he added.
“Good idea.” Austin agreed, keeping his eyes focused on my face. I hadn’t the foggiest idea of what he saw when he looked at me.
“Austin, would you mind giving Sophie a ride home? I need to talk to Bri,” Gavin said with a don’t-ask edge to his voice.
Austin looked between the two of us, trying to judge what was going on. “Sure, no problem. You guys have a fight or something?” he asked.
I could tell he was worried about me, and my silence wasn’t helping. “No, we’re fine,” I reassured. My voice came out too high-pitched.
“Gavin,” Sophie called as my friends turned to leave. “You’re sure this is a good idea?” She gave him a hard look.
“I don’t have a choice.” A look passed between them, and Sophie was content with whatever she saw. She nodded her head and slipped into Austin’s car.
“Let’s go, Bri,” Gavin commanded.
I mechanically got in and sunk into the plush leather seat of his car. He turned the heat up, chasing the chill that had settled over Holly Ridge. The ride to my house was awkward and quiet. I didn’t know what to say to break the silence. My mind was still having trouble believing and processing everything that had occurred tonight. In the dim glow of the dashboard, none of it seemed real. If it wasn’t for the awkwardness, it might be all too easy to convince myself it never happened.
We pulled up my driveway, and the little light was radiating on the porch. My aunt had left it on like she always did. That small action made it all rush back to me in a flood of alarm.
Should I be afraid? The unknown of what he was, and what he might be capable of, hung in the air between us. If there was one thing I concluded, it was that Gavin wasn’t like me. He was different.
I studied his profile. This was Gavin. My body screamed that he would never hurt me, no matter what he was. Fear wasn’t an emotion he evoked. I couldn’t feel the way I did about him if that wasn’t true. Those feelings alone validated that I would never turn away from him. No matter what I learned. Sorting through those feelings restored a flow of calm.
He turned the key in the ignition, cutting the engine. The keys jingled, slicing through the dead air, followed by his voice. “I don’t know where to start. This is all so much harder than I ever thought possible,” he admitted. His hands tightened on the steering wheel as he fought to find a way to tell me what was on his mind
I bit the inside of my cheek, clueless how to make it any easier. My eagerness was bubbling at the surface. I couldn’t take my gaze off his form, but he kept his eyes averted. I waited patiently. It was all I could do.
He broke the silence again. “Screw it. Here goes nothing. My family wields magic, and has for generations,” he revealed in a rush. He knew I would need more than words; I would need proof. He flicked his wrist, and the silver woven ring I’d been wearing on my middle finger was suddenly in the palm of his hand.
There had been a ripple in the air. My eyes tapered as I stared at the ring in his hand, then back up at his face. I heaved as understanding started to sink in. “Are you telling me that you’re a…a witch?” My mind tugged back with reluctance, even with everything I had seen with my own eyes. All of it was impossible to believe.
“I am,” he admitted, keeping his eyes focused on the silver ring.
“What do you mean, you’re a witch?” My voice caught. I still couldn’t get myself to accept what he was claiming. If I let go of the disbelief, it made sense. And that scared the hell out of me.
“You know what I mean,” he rebuked, twirling the hoop at his lip, reminding me this was hard for him also.
Of course, I did. That didn’t mean I believed him. Exhaling, I stared up at all the luminous stars dotting the night sky. There was so much out there I’d probably never understand. The universe was filled with the unexplainable. Life. Death. The deep stuff. But witches? Magic? My life wasn’t a Harry Potter book. “Is it just your family? Are there other witches?”
“No, witches are everywhere, and have been around for centuries. There is an entire organization,” he informed, slipping the little silver ring back onto my finger. A spark ignited on contact.
Whoa, an organization? Like a cult? For the moment, I decided to play along. “How does it work? Your magic?” My gut said he was telling me the truth. The guy I was absolutely head-over-heels crazy about was a witch.
He finally looked me in the face, and a sigh of relief escaped. “It’s hard to put into words. Mostly, it’s control over energy. Everything around us pulses with a life force. Witches are just more in tuned with those energies.” He absently toyed with the leather cuff at his wrist.
“Is that why your eyes glow?” I recalled the unusually fiery radiance to them sometimes, like tonight.
He nodded. “The stronger the spell, the more power it requires. The deeper I give myself over to a spell, magic pulses from within me.”
“How do you conjure a spell? Do you do so with just a thought?”
“For experienced witches, it can be as easy as breathing. For me it is a little more complex. I have to concentrate on the spell and keep it in line with the energy, whether it is my energy, or someone else’s energy.”
It sounded complicated, not just a swoop of the hand or blink of the eye (Bewitched totally came to mind).
“Some spells come easier, depending on what kind of witch you are,” he continued.
“Wait, what? There are different kinds of witches?”
His lips upturned a little at the corners. “Yeah…I would need all night to tell you everything I know. We should probably stick to the basics tonight.”
Point taken. “What kind of witch are you?” I asked. That was basic, right?
He shrugged. “Defense spells.”
“Defense spells? Like what you did tonight? Saving me?”
He looked out the windshield again, focused on some hidden shadow I couldn’t see. “Yeah.” His normally husky voice was harsher. “That never should have happened. I should have been able to stop it before it even came near you,” he said, obviously berating himself.
I hated hearing it. What he had done was save my life. “Hey,” I said, touching his arm and forcing his attention back to me. I tried to ignore the zap that always came. “Are you kidding? What you did was beyond amazing. You’re always saving me.”
“That ma
y be, but it was close…too close. I should have been more aware of what was going on,” he scolded himself.
“I am fine, okay?”
He nodded, yet his eyes betrayed him.
Gavin blamed himself, making me grind my teeth in frustration. My heart thumped at his protectiveness.
There was one more question I had to ask, just to make sure. “What about vampires and werewolves? Do they exist as well?”
He laughed under his breath, chasing some of guilt from his eyes. It was music to my ears. “No…not that I know of.” His stance was more relaxed now that I hadn’t bolted from the car, and he wasn’t down on himself.
“That’s a relief.” I reached my hand up to my neck, searching for the necklace. My eyes widened as I glance down. Nothing. Closing my eyes, I dropped my head against the back of the seat. “It’s gone,” I groaned, disappointed.
I’d lost the necklace.
Chapter 17
“What’s gone?” Gavin asked, brows drawn together.
“My necklace, the one I was wearing tonight,” I hastily replied.
“The one with the moonstone and amethyst? Are you sure it’s gone?”
The fact he knew which one was impressive. Talk about attention to detail. I nodded. “It must have fallen off in the woods.” And my disappointment sunk in my gut. There was no way I was getting it back.
“I’ll look for it; don’t worry about it. You’ll get it back,” he vowed. I could see the determination in his eyes. Everything about this guy was intense.
“I don’t want you going back there. It’s fine. I’m sure I could try to replace it.”
I didn’t convince him. The gleam of stubbornness was in his eyes.
Yawning, I decided I had enough excitement for the night. “Text me tomorrow,” I said as I reached for the door handle. On a whim, I leaned in close to Gavin and pressed my lips softly to his. “Thanks again for saving me,” I whispered against his mouth.