by Bethany Shaw
“Let’s hope that you’re right.” Zak pressed a kiss to her head.
She prayed she was right too, because if she was wrong and Zak was right, they’d time travel home only to meet their demise.
Chapter Seventeen
“I suppose I won’t be seeing you again until 2016,” Oliver said as the carriage they were in stopped.
Cadence nodded as a twinge of sadness rolled through her. The Smith family was quickly growing on her. Oliver wasn’t as bad as she’d feared, and Harrison was an unexpected good surprise.
"I’ve come to consider you a friend, Oliver. I'll be glad that things will be different between us when we get home," Cadence said as Zak exited the carriage and offered her his hand. She slipped her fingers into his warm palm and allowed him to help her to the grass.
“Yes, and until your return, I’ll ensure that I keep all of this a secret,” Oliver said as he excitedly wagged his brows.
Cadence shook her head. Together they began their way up the hill that led to where the witch was waiting.
“It’s imperative that you do keep quiet. Anything you say could change our future,” Zak reminded Oliver.
“I won’t disrupt the timeline. I know how important it is that things happen exactly as they have. Mother and Father can’t be allowed any more power.”
Zak nodded. “Good.”
“Any friendly advice you want to give to me for the future, Brother?” Oliver inquired with a smirk.
“What did we just go over about the timeline?” Zak grunted.
Oliver shrugged as he laughed. “I’m only teasing, Zakariah. Ease up.”
Zak froze, his arm jutted out blocking Cadence’s path. “Do you smell that?” He inhaled a deep breath. His eyes blazed and fangs dropped.
Oliver sniffed. “Blood,” he stated.
The only thing Cadence smelled was the dying grass that was browning from the lack of rain, but she didn’t have the nose of a vampire.
“Something's wrong,” Zak insisted.
“The witch? I’ll check it out. Stay here,” Oliver said as he raced ahead.
I have you now, a voice whispered in Cadence’s head.
Cadence stiffened as she whipped around. “He’s here. Malcolm. He’s here.”
Zak narrowed his eyes. “Stay close,” he told her as he turned his head from side to side.
“I heard someone’s voice in my head,” she whispered.
“Any idea where?” Zak asked, pumping his fists at his sides.
“No. But I’m sure he can see us,” she said, taking a step closer to him.
“Your witch is dead,” Oliver hollered as he jogged back down the hill. “Blood’s still fresh. Whoever did this is close.”
A tingle charged up her spine, and she cowered against Zak as she sucked in a breath. This was not the time for her magic to be on the fritz.
"We need to get out of here," Zak growled. He wrapped an arm around Cadence and knelt to lift her up, but stopped midway. He grunted and grasped his head.
“Zak?” Cadence asked. Her eyes darted around for the cause of his duress.
“Witches,” he ground out.
Crackling heat ebbed behind her. Cadence whirled around as flames crawled over the grass, creating a wall between her and Zak and Oliver. Oliver dropped down to one knee too, clasping his head between his hands.
She flexed her fingers and swallowed. “I can do this.” She hadn’t practiced magic since the night of the last full moon. It had been at the back of her mind but she hadn’t done it, too afraid of overexerting herself.
Now she didn’t have a choice but to harness it. She closed her eyes and drew on the natural power that coursed through her.
A spark of energy rolled in her belly. She focused on the raw power, drawing it out.
She wasn’t fast enough. Pain sliced through her side, and she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. Her stomach hurled as it dropped. The wind whipped against her face and she gasped, recognizing the familiar sensation of being carried by a vampire at full speed.
She craned and twisted, trying to see her abductor. It wasn’t Zak. Even in his frantic flights, he’d never manhandled her like this. The man carrying her had long blonde hair.
Dear God! Where is he taking me? Malcolm. He’s taking me to Malcolm.
She didn’t know for sure and certainly didn’t want to find out. Her heart raced in her chest. She focused on the surge of energy that had been budding in her only a moment ago, calling on the magic. A spark flickered between her fingers. She gritted her teeth, letting it continue to grow.
The vampire slowed as if sensing her intentions, but she didn’t wait. She shoved her hand against his chest, letting the fire and energy transfer from her to him. The vampire howled, halting its movements and sending her flying through the air.
Cadence shrieked as her body catapulted. Her arms and legs flailed, trying to find something to grasp. She landed in a bush, the leaves breaking her fall, but the thorns jabbed her exposed skin and clawed at her flesh. A sob tore from her throat as she crawled out of the brush.
The vampire rolled on the ground in a desperate attempt to put out the fire consuming his body. The more he writhed, the more the fire spread – not just on him, but on the ground too.
“Oh God,” she whispered as she forced her aching body to stand.
Fire ignited across the ground, catching on a leafy bush. The shrub blazed, sending flames billowing up into the trees that were just as desperate for water as the rest of the region. She stumbled back with a gasp.
I started a forest fire.
She forced a breath in as the flames jumped from one dried plant to another, spreading rapidly before her eyes.
I have to get out of here. Which way is Zak? He could be miles away from here. How long was I with the vampire?
Her eyes darted over the forest, but the roaring fire moved just as fast. If she didn’t get out of here now, she’d never outrun the inferno. She backed up with only one direction to go. Hopefully it was the right way.
***
Zak’s head throbbed, and the ground felt like it was shaking beneath him. He pushed to his feet, snarling as he took a few steps forward. Cadence had disappeared, whisked away by a vampire to God only knew where. He had to find her.
He cried out as he pushed forward. His head spun, and the ground seemed to jump up at him. Oliver hollered from a few feet away. He was on his knees with his head in his hands.
Zak swallowed and forced his eyes to focus. One step at a time. He had to break the witch’s hold and find Cadence. His eyes darted around, trying to determine if it was one witch or a whole coven. Every witch wore a red cloak that hid their face, and they’d formed a circle around him and Oliver. If it was a coven, he only needed to take out one to break the spell. If there was only one witch and he was seeing things, he’d have to take out the right one. Hopefully it was a coven.
Warmth trickled from his nose and pooled on his upper lip. He’d pass out if he didn’t get to one of the witches soon. They were scrambling his brain — literally. He gritted his teeth and surged forward. His knees wobbled but he pressed on.
A witch’s face blurred in his vision. The raging wall of fire grew higher. He reached out anyway. The fire engulfed his hand, causing him to holler as his skin caught fire. He kept reaching. The only way out was to stop the witches. His fingers met the soft cotton of a cloak. Growling, he thrust his hand out, curling his fingers around the woman’s neck and wrenching it to the side.
He blinked, trying to clear his muddled head as the pain eased. He had to take out as many of the witches as he could, and he needed blood. His fangs dropped down as he lurched toward the next closest witch.
It seemed the coven were in a trance temporarily confused, because he’d broken their spell. He wasn’t going to give them a chance to regain their composure. Racing forward, he clasped one woman around the throat, drew her close, and sank his fangs in.
Her coppery warmth flooded his mo
uth, and he sucked greedily. He didn’t care when her pulse slowed. This woman had attempted to end him, Cadence, and Oliver. She wouldn’t draw another breath after tonight.
Screams erupted around him as the witches came out of their funk. He dropped the woman in his arms and darted to another, wringing her neck before depositing her on the ground.
Oliver had joined him in the hunt. Together they made quick work of the coven, leaving a pile of bodies in their wake. A few women ran shrieking into the trees. Oliver sprang forward to take chase, but Zak caught his brother’s elbow. They needed to find Cadence. The fire the witches had started had caught and was quickly eating its way across the field and into the trees.
“Have you seen Cadence?” Zak asked as he surveyed the area, hoping by some chance she was here. The fire lit up the sky, sending a billowing cloud of smoke into the air. The inferno was the only thing he could see. There was no sign of Cadence or any other living thing.
“No.” Oliver turned around in a circle. “Father did this.”
“He’s not the one who took Cadence,” Zak snapped. Yes, his father was responsible for the carnage, but he hadn’t been the one to take Cadence.
“Then he’s here somewhere,” Oliver whispered.
“He’s gone after Cadence,” Zak snarled. Malcolm was determined to make him suffer. It only made sense to take Cadence and then lead him to the spot where she was. He wouldn’t kill her. No. His father wanted Zak to watch her die.
“I’ll help you find her,” Oliver said. “I’ll travel north and west. You take the south and the east. We’ll meet back at the house in a few hours. She can’t have gone far. Malcolm would want to be close to make sure things went off without a hitch, though I doubt even he expected this fire. We should get going before we’re blocked in.” He didn’t give Zak a chance to protest before he charged off in his direction.
Zak let out a breath and headed south as fast as he could, trying to stay out of the flames that seemed to be racing across the dry land as fast as he was. Cadence was out here somewhere. He had no idea where. He covered the countryside, giving a twenty-mile radius in each direction. When he found nothing, he went out an additional ten miles before returning to the home they’d stayed in.
He glanced out across the large yard for signs of his brother or Cadence, but found none. The fire continued to roar, and it was closing in on the cabin too.
He had thought cell phones were silly and pointless... until now. If they were home he could find her with a call or even track her phone, but that technology wouldn’t be invented for centuries. She was on her own, unless Oliver had found her. He gritted his teeth at the thought. What if she’d been injured? What if Malcolm had her? Where was Oliver, damn it?
He couldn’t stand around waiting. He raced toward the north.
***
It had been an hour of constant running, and still no sign of Oliver or Cadence. Smoke billowed from the trees, sending a cloud of black into the sky that stretched as far as Zak could see. He pressed closer to the fire until the heat of the flames was on top of him. The blaze stretched for miles, and he cursed under his breath.
He closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. The flames were too thick to go through. Fire wouldn’t kill him, but it would knock him out. He’d regenerate, but if he didn’t make it through the flames he could be stuck within the fire until it dissipated. That wasn’t a risk he could afford. The way the inferno was raging it could be days, even weeks, before it stopped.
“Oliver?” he said, knowing his brother would hear him if he was close. Nothing.
Zak swiped his sleeve over his sweaty brow as he turned around. Maybe his brother was back at the meeting spot. Cadence could be with him. He flashed back in the direction he’d come from, running for several minutes before he reached the cabin.
Oliver paced back and forth wearing a line in the grass. He turned when he heard Zak approaching, and his face fell.
“You didn’t find her either?” Oliver asked.
“No,” Zak ground out.
“I tried to find a way around the fire, but I couldn’t. I... I’m sorry, Zak.”
“We have to find her,” Zak said as he covered his face.
“We will,” Oliver promised. “You told me she can control the elements, remember?”
Zak sighed as he nodded. She could if her magic was working. Theoretically she could move the fire if she were strong enough, but he had no idea if that was possible, or if she’d think of it.
Oliver clapped him on the back. “We’ll find her, Zak. I promise.”
His brother’s promise did little to soothe him. Cadence was gone. Lost in a time she knew nothing about. She could be hurt — or dead. No, she was alive. He could feel it in his bones. He closed his eyes and drew in a breath. Alive or not, he’d lost her and he had no idea where to find her.
Homecoming
Chapter One
Oliver gripped the edge of the couch as another wave of pain sliced through his skull, causing his stomach to churn and bile to creep up his throat.
His brother Eli sat at his desk, his brown eyes on Jamie as she paced in circles around the room. Her raven hair swayed with her movements, making the nausea in Oliver’s belly worse. His siblings were oblivious to the constant pain he was in, but how could they know? He was a vampire and what was happening to him was unnatural.
Everything was all wrong. The new memories constantly flooding his mind were unnerving. None of this was supposed to happen, but it had - and he had no idea how to make it right again. Cadence was lost somewhere in 1781, and he and Zak were doing everything they could to find her. He tried to zone in on their conversation.
Their voices sounded like nails scraping on a chalkboard and he wanted to tell them to shut up, but it sounded like the witch might be onto something.
“It’s a re-materialization spell. It’s not going to be easy, but I think it could work, and it would be safest for everyone involved.” Jamie twiddled her thumbs as she took another lap around the room.
“So you would do the spell here and Maddie would do it in her room inside the coven?” Eli smoothed a hand over his mouth as he watched the witch.
“Exactly!” Jamie said, her blue eyes flicking to each of them. “Both of us are strong enough it should work, and if it doesn’t, I don’t think the coven would be aware of it. We can always revert back to plan B if we need to.”
“If this works, she would appear right here in our living room?” Eli leaned forward, the chair creaking with his movements. He threaded his fingers through his dark hair and sighed.
Oliver looked expectantly at the witch. Could she pull it off? He hoped so. They needed every advantage they could get, and having the witch whose blood could kill them was the best one they’d get.
Jamie stopped pacing. “I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that you’ve given your word not to harm her.”
Oliver suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. It would be safer for all of them to slaughter the witch, Maddie, the first chance they got, but it wouldn’t bode well for them if they wanted Jamie’s continued help. Unfortunately, they needed it. Not to mention, there was something alluring about the witch.
“She will remain unharmed and alive.” Eli inclined his head. “This re-materialization spell, could this work for Zak and Cadence?”
Jamie licked her lips and Oliver glanced in her direction, watching, praying that somehow things could get fixed. Cadence wasn’t supposed to be missing; he wasn’t supposed to be with Zak. This whole thing was a big fiasco, and it was causing him one hell of a migraine. But if Eli’s idea had any merit, he was going to have to fess up.
“If we found a date, could Mrs. Hopewell perform the spell herself and control the time to which they jump to?”
Jamie shrugged. “I’m not sure if Cadence is strong enough to do that kind of spell.”
“But what if she were strong enough? Would it work?” Oliver asked as he massaged his temples.
; Jamie bit her lip, shifting on her feet as she seemed to contemplate the question. “It could, but I won’t make any promises. I would need to be at the exact spot where she and Zak are. We would both need to focus on the target date. Before we could even attempt this, we’d need to find out where Zak and Cadence are so we can find a date to send them to. Then there’s the problem that Cadence might not be powerful enough to do the spell. She would have to do it while the witch sending them through time does the other spell. It would be very complicated.”
Just thinking about it was making Oliver see double, but if it could be done, then they’d have to find a way.
“Cadence can do the spell. I already know what time they’re in,” Oliver admitted. It was dangerous telling the witch what was happening, but there wasn’t another choice. Malcolm was hunting Cadence like she was prize game. Zak and Cadence needed a bit of safety. Hell, they deserved it considering everything they were going through.
Jamie turned to look at him. “How do you know when and where they are?” Her face softened slightly as she took him in. “What’s wrong with you?”
Oliver groaned as he swiped his sleeve over his sweaty brow. “I spent a month with them in 1781.”
“You’re just now telling me this?” Jamie asked, folding her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot on the floor. “Wait! They were in 1781, but I’m sure they’ve already time traveled somewhere else by now.”
Oliver grunted and clutched his head as another wave of nausea and blinding pain washed over him. “Zak made me promise not to say something until they returned so as not to alter the timeline, but something’s gone wrong. They were supposed to leave 1781, but they didn’t. Malcolm was there. He...he had witches, and we got separated. Cadence is missing, we don’t know where. We can’t find her.”
“What?” Jamie asked as she looked between him and Eli.
“We’ve been looking everywhere for her, I swear. I can give you the exact date we are in right now so you and Eli can begin your work.” Oliver squeezed his grey eyes shut and raked his hands through his brown hair.