Hexed Hearts

by Becca Vincenza

  I went on with my daily ritual. I returned to training and Aradia was tougher than normal on me. I managed to dodge most of her attacks thanks to my wolf instincts, but the hits I took to my ribs were tender. At lunch we were met by Jackson and Vance. I was planning on splitting off after lunch to go to the library, which was my normal routine, but something changed.

  Patricia came into the room and headed right to Aradia. I watched her and wondered why she didn’t have her grandmother’s name. Either her or her mother was not the first born in their family yet she was considered strong enough to have a good rank in the coven. When Patricia leaned down to talk to Aradia, I tried to listen in. I couldn’t hear her words, she spoke to quietly and her forehead was wrinkled and she kept biting at her lip. Her eyes drifted to me a couple of times and I saw he flash of worry in them. Jackson didn’t even seem interested. Vance, as always, was watching me.

  “Jackson,” His head turned to Aradia, “Darling, we need to step out for a while. Patricia you will be in charge. Vance, you will join us. Colette dear, we will return shortly.”

  I raised my eyebrows as they headed out. Aradia, Jackson, Vance and Patricia left the room. I watched until they left the room. It was tempting to run up to Aradia’s room, but I waited. I listened. The door to the house shut and car engines rumbled to life. Soon they fled the driveway. And then –

  Silence.

  Patricia didn’t come back to the dining room, so I headed out. I watched as the three humans came in and cleared away the plates. I still didn’t understand why they were here but I had other priorities first.

  I headed upstairs. The place was mostly deserted and I wandered down to the room where Aradia’s scent was strongest. I checked the empty hallways with pounding heart, but I forced myself to breathe slowly. I turned the knob and was surprised when it easily opened. Not even a lock? Tsk, tsk, mother. Shall I teach you a lesson?

  I slipped into the room and closed the door behind me.

  The room was much like mine. Its color scheme was different, instead of the white and gold I had it was white and black with red piping. I didn’t pay close attention, instead my eyes searched the room for books.

  They were everywhere. She had her own small library in here! I couldn’t help groaning, but I had to be fast, and if I had go through every book on that shelf I would be stuck in here forever. I rushed over and pulled off the ones that were already loose. Some were set down on the shelf. Most were spell books, but I checked the names, and most of them were Aradia’s. Some of them were other names. Emery’s diary was what I was looking for. I was certain hers would have the answers I needed. The Aradia diaries, when I looked at them had mostly spells. I couldn’t help it.

  I peeked through one of the Aradia’s diaries.

  I looked over the spells but nothing looked helpful. I placed it down and kept searching. I wasn’t finding anything. Anytime I had heard a noise outside of the room I would stop and listen. Mostly, it was just moving about their business. Even so, it didn’t look like I was going to find it. Time was running out, I knew it was, and I had to be extra careful. I replaced everything exactly where I found it.

  I looked over the stack of pillows, the big fluffy comforter, the soft fabric, luxurious and it was evident that she had really good taste. Once I pulled my thoughts away from her bed, my eyes reached the nightstand. I peeked over to the door nervous that someone was going to come in. I stood for a second longer before I rushed over to the nightstand. When I got there, I knelt and took a deep breath in. I tried pulling the drawer out. It barely budged.

  She had it locked. I wiggled it even though I knew it wasn’t going to open. I would have to find a way to unlock it. I couldn’t break the lock – then she would know someone had been in here. The spell, the book, whatever, something that would help me figure this all out would be in here. I would do anything to save those I loved. I needed to open it.

  I looked up from the drawer. There was a bathroom attached her room and I headed towards it. I was hoping that I could find a bobby-pin or something else long and skinny that I could jimmy the lock open. I found a bobby-pin relatively quickly I sent up a silent thank you. I headed back out and sat on my knees as I worked the lock. I heard the subtle click and I pulled the drawer open.

  Inside laid an old book, as old as Emery’s. It didn’t have a name on the front. I opened it.

  Aradia Grimoire

  This was like the Holy Grail, I knew if I had time it would give me all the answers I could ever need. But right now I only needed one. I moved to pull the book out. I could already tell there were pages tucked inside that had been ripped from other diaries. I pulled those out from the bottom of the drawer as well.

  The top spell sheet sent me reeling backwards. My back hit the bed frame. The words threatened to blur away. I needed to breathe. Yet I was finding it next to impossible to pull air in.

  Bonding Spell

  This spell will not bind a wolf to you in a natural form, it is an alternative, but it is impossible to maintain forever. This is a temporary action.

  Ingredients:

  Blood of the Wolf’s Real Mate

  Hair of the Wolf

  Wolfsbane

  Lavender

  Basil

  Tomato

  Mix all the ingredients, a portion must be used on the wolf you wish to enslave, and another that must be used on you. If the falsely bonded wolf ever encounters their true-mate, the spell becomes nullified. Killing the mate is the only way to ensure this never happens. Sufficient blood should be harvested from the mate following their death. The spell may need to be refreshed over time, as it is a temporary spell. This will allow you to control the wolf but the wolf under your spell but he will not be as he normally is.

  The words in front of me made bile rise up my throat. Had Aradia used this spell on my father? Is that how she managed to have me? I wondered though…I looked around the room. I pulled in a breath. All I could really smell was Aradia, and there were small traces of Jackson, but not enough that he would have been living in this room. Had she used this spell on Jackson as well?

  My face got hot with the anger that rushed through me. That couldn’t be… I felt sick at the possibility that she had used this spell. It strengthened my resolve to finish this. In order to do that I needed to know more.

  I put the page back in the drawer. I needed to keep looking. The next few pages underneath were the missing pages of Emery’s diary. I recognized the hand writing immediately.

  Dear Emery,

  I have decided tonight I have to confront Aradia. She has gone too far, my darling. I caught her casting new spells to control the wolves. She is obsessed and I fear it will destroy us. I do not believe in what she is doing. I hope and pray my daughter to the Goddess above that she will watch over our line, and you. I fear my time is coming to an end, but I know the Goddess will welcome me home.

  After my own searching I found legends of powerful beings. They were rare, so rare that they are only mentioned in a select tales. Seeing Aradia’s failed attempts I knew she intends to breed more powerful blood. You must make sure that the Aradia line never finds out about the key to the spell. The key is the most powerful blood. A child that is born of both wolf and witch would be the only strong enough to control the wolves through a mate bond. One must never be born. One must never be a willing participate in this spell.

  I charge you with this responsibility, my dear. And all that follow after you in our line. I am sorry for the heavy burden I’ve place upon your shoulders, but I know you will follow the path of light magic and you will protect this secret with your life. It will be only a matter of time before Aradia tells her daughter everything. This is why I must destroy her. She must not pass on her evil knowledge. I do this for the betterment of our race. Her blood magic will destroy all of us if unchecked. I will not allow that to happen.

  Keep this secret safe, my sweet child. And all the children that follow.

  My head spun and I kne
w it I wasn’t already sitting I would have fallen down. I set the page aside and pushed my head between my legs. I closed my eyes and breathed. It became so much more real.

  I tried to think of anything that could keep me calm. I had to get myself under control. I couldn’t let Aradia come back and find me so out of sorts. A pair of yellow eyes, the ones I missed so much, came to mind. I could practically feel his hand press against my cheek as he brought his head closer to mine. Just when I was about to feel a whisper of his lips against mine, I heard a door slam. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn’t even hear it open.

  Flustered, I frantically started looking for all the papers I had pulled out. I could heard footsteps now. My ears perked up trying to catch any slight sound. My blood was rushing through my body urging me to move faster. I pushed everything back into the drawer and closed it. I shut the drawer as quietly as I could and heard the turnover of the lock. I tried to pull it back out but it remained shut. I had to assume Aradia had put a spell on it. Right now it was working in my favor.

  I moved out of the room. My scent would be lingering in there, but I knew Aradia wouldn’t have been able to detect it and I hoped that Jackson wouldn’t say anything. I had a feeling he wouldn’t. There had to be a way to know if he was under the spell. I headed to my room. My head hurt. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I had to do something. She planned on using me to control the wolves, to be the final key in finishing a curse cast all those years ago.

  I wouldn’t be that person. I couldn’t.

  I spent the rest of that day in my room. The words on the pages of the diary kept running through my head. The fear of what would happen to my loved ones, to the weres and witches I didn’t know. I couldn’t allow her to fulfill her plan. I didn’t think that anything would stop her. Taking myself out of the picture wouldn’t stop her. She had Jackson and for some reason she held off all these years trying to make another of were-witch. No hiding would save me. There was nothing else I could do.

  I had to kill her.

  It would be me or her. But was that possible? Was killing her something I was powerful enough to do on my own?

  I had to get to Jackson. He was Alpha here, the wolves listened to him. I had to find out if he was under the spell that I read about, and if he was, I had to find a way to save him before I could save myself. And I was running out of time. In a less than one week the full moon would be here. And Vance would claim me, anyway he could.

  Chapter 28 — Save Me

  I was on my toes for the next two days. I waited for Aradia to attack me, punish me for being in her room. She said nothing, Jackson didn’t say anything, and Vance – well, Vance was being Vance. He was getting bolder, and would follow me wherever I went. I found it annoying and a hindrance. With him around it was harder to study the magic I was determined to learn for the inevitable showdown against my mother. I let out a heavy sigh at that thought. Was I really capable of beating her?

  I watched the other witches and warlocks more carefully. Some of the seemed very comfortable where they were, others watched each other carefully. The look in their eyes was worried, their movements were calculated. The ones who seemed scared or even uncomfortable, usually, were the ones who were being used as punching bags.

  I watched them as they fought and tried to mimic their movements later. Sometimes I managed to do the same spells. Other times, I think I just didn’t have enough power. I started to understand that the witches and warlocks whose spells were slightly weaker were so because they didn’t use blood magic. And inside the house, they couldn’t get the boost they needed from nature.

  I found it surprising how close our two races could have been if it wasn’t for that curse all those centuries ago. But that stalled curse might still come about because of my birth. I knew that even if I managed to get away from my mother, she would come after me. She would try again and again. I couldn’t let her have another chance.

  I sat reading in my room when a new scent drifted to my nose. Jackson. I had to know if he was under a spell or he was doing this of his own free will. I went to the door and opened it.

  Jackson rushed in. He pushed me backwards and quickly covered my mouth with his hand. I looked into his eyes, all I saw was wolf. Yellow eyes stared at me, and I looked away feeling the full weight of an Alpha. His shoulders were hunched over, and the dark circles under his eyes changed the wolf in front of me from the powerful Alpha to a desperate wolf.

  “Save me,” his voice was quiet as he bent down to my ear. I tried to look over at him, but he kept my head in place.

  “Save me.”

  I nodded and he let go. I looked at him again, his wolf was still on the surface and I saw the pain in his eyes. So it was true. She used that binding spell to control Jackson. Guilt pinched at the back of my mind, reminding me how harshly I had judged him when he was in the same position. Tears stung my eyes. That meant his mate…his true mate was likely dead.

  When it finally clicked for me, he saw it in my eyes. There was shame there. His fists tightened. I moved forward, but thought better of it.

  “How?” I whispered.

  “Find the blood, destroy it,” he whispered before he backed away from me. His head was lowered, and his eyes shifted toward the door as if he was looking for something only he could hear. Before he left the room, he looked back at me. The wolf came back to the fore briefly. I felt the desperation in his voice and saw the plea in his eyes. I had to save him. He would help me escape if I freed him, I was sure of it. I wondered if he wanted me to destroy the blood it was because she needed a steady supply. I knew that the spell was temporary. How quickly it would take to wear off?

  Once I found the blood things would start to move forward and I hoped that I would be ready. I had already been in Aradia’s room. I didn’t think she was stupid enough to place it there. I was positive that Jackson had spent time in that room, but he didn’t live in there.

  My gut told me that the basement is where I would find the blood. That was the most suspicious place. There were no wolf scents in the basement. Only the witches and warlocks went down there. And though I’d been here some weeks, I hadn’t been in any of the other rooms. But there were other doors and I knew another room on the other side of the stairs.

  I would start there.

  ****

  Aradia had been absent a lot more lately since whatever took them away that one day. I didn’t mind, it gave me more time to work on my plan. My hatred for her was growing. I knew that there was no chance that I could love her, not now that I knew everything. Every time I saw her I had to restrain from attacking her outright. I looked over at Jackson and his empty stare. I thought of the wolf that had pleaded me to save him only a day ago. I bit my lip. He was part of my race. I had to look out for him. I was a wolf first and foremost.

  I kept a tight hold on my silverware, reminding myself that I couldn’t simply stab her. Regardless, the metal bit into my skin. I felt so helpless even though I was supposed to have this powerful blood. That was all it was though. It was the stuff that was inside of me that Aradia wanted.

  I finished eating as much as I could. Lately I had been chronically nauseous. I knew that if their spell were ever fulfilled, wolves would be submissive to witches at the head of the table. She would use innocent wolves as human shields.

  She would destroy us all.

  I was thankful that Aradia excused herself, Jackson trailed behind her. Vance made a move to come around the table to me. I stood as quickly as I could, and excused myself to the basement.

  I got downstairs and none of the other witches or warlocks I had seen previously were around. I wandered around the room. The walls were dark wood. I ran my hands against them. Those weeks ago when Vance took me outside, it was like I could feel the spirit of the Earth. I could feel the energy feed me. Touching this wood was different. It felt tainted, cold and dead. There was something unnatural about the room but I didn’t know what it was.

  “It’s infused
with blood magic.”

  A light blonde girl with soft brown eyes said as she looked at the wall behind me. She was a little taller than me, she was thin, and looked a little under fed. She held her wrist in her hand and looked at me with cautious eyes.

  “She likes to be surrounded by it.”

  She cocked her head and stared at me.

  “What are you doing down here anyways?”

  “I…” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t trust this blonde witch, because I didn’t know who she was, but she also didn’t go running back up the stairs to tell Aradia what I was up to.

  “If you’re looking for something, I would recommend you let your magic guide you.” She started to become ghostly, her form fading from sight. I watched trying to keep my mouth from falling to the ground. She looked down at herself and sighed.

  “Time’s up.”

  With that she was gone. I stared at where she was standing wondering what the hell had just happened but I shook my head. Was imaging things? Was it some kind of spell? I kept moving around the room. What she– the ghost? – said had kept going over and over in my head. Let my magic guide me?

  At the thought of letting my magic guide me, my wolf came bounding forward. The magic that had clung to her was brighter than normal. I closed my eyes and hoped something would happen. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting my wolf to move forward so forcefully. I watched as she came to the border between me, her, and the magic.

  And then we all merged together.

  I opened my eyes. It was so strange. I could see through my eyes, but so could my wolf, and there was something else enhancing our sight. I could see darkness shrouding the walls. The two doors that were on the farthest wall of the gym were two different colors. One was black, as were the walls. The other door was a deep shade of purple. I moved to the black door and pulled in the scents. It seemed dark, wrong and musky. I scrunched my nose.