Double Magick in the Falls

by April Hollingworth

  “Wow, they’re seriously cool,” she murmurs. “They’re beautiful and strangely suit you. Now, let’s go eat dinner before it gets cold.” Smiling, she drags us into the kitchen.

  Kheda’s serving steak and salad with baby mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. Turning around in curiosity to find out what is taking us so long he drops the serving spoon he’s using when he catches sight of my arms. “What, how…what?” stammers Kheda in shock, unable to formulate a sentence. Rubbing a large hand over his face, he takes a deep breath and starts again. “What happened to you, and how?”

  Sucking in my lips, I drag in a deep breath, and once again explain what happened as best I can.

  Bending down, Kheda picks up the dropped spoon and dumps it in the sink while he listens to my unusual story. “So you dreamed it happened, and you woke up with them?”

  “Basically, yeah, that’s exactly what happened.” I laugh.

  “I think we should go to the ruins of your pub after dinner, see if there is anything there, but I also think we should be careful, in case someone we don’t want to meet is actually looking for something,” he instructs, looking thoughtfully at my arms.

  “So basically, you want us to take my dream seriously?” I ask doubtfully.

  “Candi, you have tattoos you dreamed of on your skin, as if you were born with them. So yeah, we’re taking your dream seriously,” Kheda answers. I spot the moment Kheda realizes it isn’t doubt of my dreams, but fear of them that causes my question.

  These markings had burnt themselves into me, through a dream! They had hurt like hell, and going by Victor’s pallor, he had seen it happen and was feeling helpless at not being able to stop it. Silently Kheda brings over our dinner, giving Victor a bloody steak.

  We sit and eat in silence, each of us thinking about what the night might bring. I hope we’ll all be okay, and that no one will be hurt. Mind you, I also hope I’ll win the lotto, so what I hope for means diddly squat when you really think about it. On such a happy thought, I finish my dinner.

  One by one we all finish and tidy up after ourselves. I give a big stretch. I can feel the moon’s pull, glancing at Kheda I know I’m not the only one, his muscles twitch, and crawl under his skin, and his eyes turn green.

  The werewolf within him looks at me curiously. Sniffing the air as if trying to figure out what exactly I am. The change comes over me instantly, transforming me from human to werewolf in the space of a breath. I let out a little chuff of a laugh, as I look at the surprise in Kheda’s wolf eyes, and realize even though Kheda has seen me as a wolf, his wolf hasn’t. And with my witch magick allowing me to keep on my clothes, I’m definitely unique.

  “I’ve never seen a change so effortless,” growls Kheda just before his body goes into the most painful transformation I have ever seen in my life. His body bows in sudden rippling, bone-crunching viciousness. I back up with a little yelp into Victor’s legs.

  Quickly Kheda strips, hunkering into a crouch, just before his legs shoot out from underneath him, his body rippling and distorting, bones breaking and reconnecting differently. His face elongates, distorting and transforming until finally he turns into a wolf, panting in agony before our shocked faces.

  None of us realized how much pain and agony werewolves, normal werewolves, I amend, suffer. After all, other shifters don’t, so why werewolves? Maybe it’s to do with the moon’s pull? I’ll have to ask him about it sometime. I’ve never seen another werewolf shift before. A couple of the girls from the army are werewolves. They always transformed in private. Looking at Kheda, I understand them wanting to do so privately! Jasmine strips and transforms into her dog form and curls up beside Kheda, offering him comfort and a warm lick of her tongue.

  “Holy shit,” Victor whispers, as he scratches me behind my ears making me shiver in great satisfaction, my tongue lolling out as I look up at him, giving him an adoring look.

  After about three minutes, Kheda finally gives a satisfied grunt and licks her back, slowly standing up so as not to disturb her. I get up as does Jasmine. We exit through the back door which Victor opens for us, and as one, we run silently over the bridge, into the woods until we come out behind the back of the burnt out shell of Vlad’s Bar.

  In the ashes, I notice a silver disk glinting at me. I quickly transform into my human form, hurry over, and grab the disk. It fits perfectly in the palm of my hand. Curling my fingers around it, I slink back into the cover of the trees where Victor, Jasmine, and Kheda are waiting for me. Victor’s just about to speak when we hear the sound of someone rummaging through the ruins. Quick as lightning, we flatten ourselves against the ground and watch as the red-haired witch from Beatrix’s house emerges.

  As in my dream, I wonder if it’s the disk she’s searching for. Silently we edge farther into the woods and hear a scream of rage, as the witch kicks at a fallen burnt plank of wood. She lets out another curse, I’m guessing from hurting her foot. We don’t wait to find out the reason, but instead retreat further back. Victor indicates for us to follow him, leads us through the woods, and to a house near the pub, but set on the other side of the car park.

  The house is enchanting, old stone walls with dark mahogany wood for the door and window frames. The roof has black slate and a stone chimney. I look curiously at the door, for I can’t see a key hole anywhere. On silent hinges, the door swings open after Victor runs a single finger down its center. I stare doubtfully at it and then back at Victor.

  “It’s okay, Candi, this is my home,” Victor whispers before entering. With a final look behind me, I follow Victor inside, with Kheda and Jasmine on my heels. Once we’re all in, the front door closes behind us, as silently as it’d opened.

  Looking around, I notice the hallway is sparsely furnished, holding only a coat stand and a hall table with a phone on it. Following Victor into the sitting room which is decorated simply, the walls painted cream, apart for the fireplace wall and carpet which is a rich chocolate brown.

  The two sofas are dark green leather recliners. A heavy redwood coffee table and two large bookcases in the same wood filled with books frame each side of the fireplace. The only other furniture is a drinks cabinet and a TV in a corner. Apparently Victor doesn’t watch it very often.

  “What did you pick up?” Victor asks me, snapping me out of my perusal of his home. Opening my palm, I look at the silver disk. The head of a werewolf stares back at me, but it has blue eyes unlike the wolf burnt into my palm. Turning it to the other side, I notice it has the same pentagram that is burnt into my palm. I show Victor and inform the others of my findings.

  “It’s quite literally the disc from my dreams,” I say showing my tattoos and the silver disk.

  “The werewolf has blue eyes,” Victor puzzles. “Werewolves don’t have blue eyes, and your eyes are violet in your werewolf form.”

  “Not everything is about me,” I tease Victor. “Anyway, it’s the only difference between the disk and my imprint. Mine has violet eyes.

  A loud silence descends upon us at my statement, as all stare at me.

  “Are you sure?” Victor demands reaching for my hands. “How can this be, and what the hell does it mean?” He traces the wolf’s head on my palm.

  “I don’t know, but I have to get home to do my summoning spell, before we get ready to go to the club tonight,” I admit, removing my palm from his wonderful hands. I head toward the door, pause, I come back to Victor.

  “How the hell do you open your door?”

  “It’s an imprinted door, so no one, other than those who live in the house, can open it,” Victor explains. Seeing the curious and puzzled expressions on everyone’s faces he adds, “Vampires have had imprinted doors for centuries, for protection.”

  “Huh, never heard of it. Clever though, but does it mean you have to constantly open the door for visitors when they’re leaving as well?”

  “Yes, but that is also part of being a good host.”

  “But what about if you have a house party? Doesn’t it
get annoying? Or what if there’s a fire and no one can get out until you open the door or what…?”

  “Candi, vampires can always remove the imprint on the door. Well, we can switch it off at least, if needed.”

  “Oh, okay, that makes sense.”

  “Now, let’s get back to yours, so we can get what needs done tonight, done.” Victor smiles as he brushes his fingers along my arm before sliding past me to run his fingers along the centre of his door, stepping back as it swings open.

  We follow Victor out and the door shuts behind us, locking us out. We move into the forest just as an arrow whistles through the air. Tackling Victor, I knock him to the ground landing on top of him.

  Running my fingers over him and finding no injuries I roll off him, bringing flames to my hands and sending them in the direction the arrow came from.“Do not injure, just restrain,” I mutter. I hear a squeal, as my firebomb hits its target, transforming into bands of fire holding a prisoner in their grasp. Warily I creep to the area lit up by the flames, holding the would-be assassin.

  Peering down, I’m surprised to see Sally, the young werewolf we had tried to help a couple of days ago. She is shaking, her muscles twitching like crazy, fighting off transforming.

  “So Sally, we meet again.”

  Kheda and Jasmine arrive, standing on either side of me, baring their fangs in a silent but deadly snarl. I feel Victor standing behind me. His fingers press and prod me as if to make sure I’m uninjured. I call back my bindings. Sally’s not going anywhere.

  “I’m sorry, I had no choice,” Sally pants, tears running down her face, her body shaking uncontrollably.

  “What do you mean? Who are you helping, Sally?”

  “I, I don’t know who—I ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Sally screams, a blood curdling scream of terror and pain. I jump in shock. To our horror, she rips apart in an explosion of body parts, drenching us in blood. A piece of bone hits me in the forehead making me wince.

  “Christ on a stick, what the hell?” I demand, as I wipe blood and gore from my face.

  “Come, let’s all get back to the house and get cleaned up,” Victor interrupts.

  “All of us?” I say, turning to look at Victor who’s spotless. “Huh, how the hell did you manage to stay clean?”

  “I was standing behind you, checking to make sure you were unhurt at the time she…exploded. You protected me from the majority of the gore…” With a grimace he picks something out of my hair and swipes at the top of his head, where I now see some blood, and what looks like gristle. “What caused her to blow up?”

  “Black magick. God, I feel dirty.”

  Leaning closer to me, he whispers in a gruff voice, “I can wash you clean if you like?”

  A shiver ripples through me, and a smile twitches at the corner of my mouth as Victor wiggles his eyebrows suggestively at me.

  “Come on, let’s get back home, and hopefully no one will see us.”

  ****

  I’m glad Victor isn’t offended by my turning down his offer. But with how gross I feel, the thought of intimate contact just feels wrong. An hour later, I’m still scrubbing myself clean, and I’ve run out of shampoo. Finally I switch off the shower, climb out looking more like a prune with raw skin, than a human. I dry myself, put on sweats, comb my hair, and jog barefoot down to the sitting room to do my summoning spell.

  I take a few moments to myself just to breathe, clearing my thoughts from everything that is happening. Once all is quiet, I light the candles, scattering white sand in a circle around me. I call my power to me, placing my hands flat on the ground drawing the earth’s energy into me.

  Normally for spell work I’d use salt, but for a summoning like this, I use sand as it’s part of the earth. The sand glows pink, then gold, until it turns into a shimmering bubble of golden energy with a pearl tinge, surrounding me in a bubble of protection. Bringing the bowl to me, I circle my fingers around it faster and faster, until it sings.

  I summon you, my family of warriors,

  I summon you, on a quest of mine,

  Come to us, my sisters in arms,

  Come to us, your sisters in arms!

  With a clap like thunder, the bowl rises into the air, spinning its song, before slowly lowering back to the ground, until it stops spinning and grows quiet. I place a palm on my forehead, and the other flat on the ground, returning the borrowed energy to the earth with a quiet thank you. The golden bubble retreats, until finally sand is all that remains. I send the sand back into its container. Taking a deep breath to centre myself once more, I look up to see Victor in wide-eyed surprise.

  “You okay, Victor?” I’ve never seen him look so, so flabbergasted before.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” Victor finally manages, while walking into the sitting room. His lean body moving like a large jungle cat, all muscle and power, in a divine wrapping. “Sorry, did you say something?” I blush, realizing Victor was still talking.

  “Do you want to grab a drink from the kitchen, before getting ready for tonight?” Victor repeats grinning.

  “I’d love one.” Clambering to my feet, I leave my candles and stuff behind; we leave the sitting room to join a clean Jasmine and Kheda, who are both in human form. With a contented smile of gratitude, I accept the rum and soda I’m passed. Leaning against the counter to support myself, I take a fortifying gulp.

  We have a couple of drinks and get ready for a night on the town. Hopefully tonight will just be a nice night out, no murder involved. Two hours later we’re all finally dressed and ready to leave. I’m in a gold tie back PU top and a pair of black trousers with black heeled boots. I’ve twisted my hair up and secured it with a clip in the shape of a black and gold butterfly. A bit of eyeliner, green eye shadow, and a little lip gloss, and I’m ready to go. Leaving the bathroom where I’d applied my makeup to retrieve my purse, I spot Victor.

  I come to a screeching lust-filled stop. Dressed all in black, he looks like a sultry dark God, come to wreak pleasure and decadence upon me. I suck in a breath as I gaze at him. My God, he’s divine! His black shirt hinting at his muscular torso is open at the throat. Such a tiny glimpse, but I want to lick the barely visible skin. His black trousers mold to his muscular legs, making me jealous of their close proximity. I blink, a smile twitching at the corner of my mouth. His shoes are the most comfortable-looking trainer boot I have ever seen. I have no idea what they’re called, but I want a pair.

  “You look stunning,” Victor states, crossing to stand in front of me. “I want to strip off your clothing and make love to every inch of you.”

  I turn shy at this statement, looking down, then back up at him through my eyelashes and finally away, smile and back at him.

  “My God, have you just gone shy?” demands Victor in amazement.

  “Apparently, and I have no idea why,” I mutter as I grab my purse and turn to leave.

  Victor stops me by wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me against his rock-hard body. “If it wasn’t for the fact we have to leave, I would take you right here, and savor every inch of your delectable skin, before making you come over and over again,” he whispers into my ear, before nibbling at the side of my neck and sinking his fangs into me. A moan of desire ripples up my throat, escaping me as Victor drinks.

  Extracting his fangs, he places a kiss on the now healed skin of my neck. Releasing me from the circle of his arms, Victor takes my hand and leads me into the hallway, down the stairs to await Jasmine and Kheda.

  Chapter 26

  The music vibrates through my body, as we enter the club. God, I love dancing. Jasmine and I head straight for the dance floor, joining the writhing bodies moving to the beat. I let the music enter me and dance to its pulse, my body becoming one with it, as I move my hips and legs in fluid motions. My arms and shoulders sway with the tempo.

  Victor and Kheda have gone to the bar to get us drinks, but apparently change their minds as they watch us dancing. The scent of lust is strong in t
he club, as people writhe and grind against each other. A couple of men try to reach for us, but we ignore their sweaty hands, and they soon turn toward others willing to dance with them.

  Suddenly, Victor’s in front of me, his hands on my hips as he moves his body to dip and move against mine. I move one of my legs around his and our bodies move in a sensual dance. I wrap my arms around his neck, and as one we move in beautiful sync with each other and the music. Eventually we pull apart to get a drink. Every nerve ending in my body thrums in happiness. As I look at Victor, I see his expression, one of such raw desire, and something else, causing my heart to take joyous flight.

  ****

  Looking at the vampire maul the witch, I feel hatred for him erupt through me. I’ll liberate her from him soon. But first, those troublesome sisters are at it again. Seeing them zero in on a young couple, I decided to phone the police.

  The Protectors do not keep trophies! They were warned, and yet they still disobey. Stupid bitches, tonight the police will arrest them. Feeling smug, I leave the club to make my phone call. After all, there is only one place they’ll be heading with their prize.

  ****

  All four of us are standing at the bar when feelings of anger, hatred, and jealousy bombard us in a rush of malevolence. It leaves me shaken. Catching sight of Jasmine, I see I’m not the only one. Victor puts a protective arm around me, drawing me close to his side as he casually looks for the source of the hatred filtering through the club.

  I spot the red-haired witch first, prowling around the outskirts of the dance floor, watching the dancers. Every now and again she looks back as if seeking an unspoken answer.

  “Who is she looking at?”

  “I don’t know, but I think we need to find out fast,” Kheda answers, as he watches the red-haired witch give a slight nod of acknowledgment. She starts dancing toward a young couple on the dance floor.

  We separate. Jasmine and Kheda head to the left, Victor and I toward the right. We join the dancers and slowly spin, dip, and twirl our way around the dance floor. Each time, getting closer to the back of the room where the red-haired witch had looked. To my eternal frustration, I don’t spot anyone watching the dancers in an obvious way. Victor spins me, just in time to witness Jasmine and Kheda being led outside by the red-haired witch and someone else.