“I’m going to sound the same. I graduated last year, I have a non-sexual relationship with my Xbox, reading is my soul, I am extremely afraid of goblins. Oh, and my favorite flavor of ice cream is none. I’m lactose intolerant,” Logan explained.
Emma smiled up at him and for a moment it felt as if they were just two teenagers getting to know each other and not in the middle of danger. Emma began to think about Ethan and her smile faded.
“Is is just you and your dad?” Emma asked and just as she finished she wished she could take the question back. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”
“No. I want to answer it. Yes, my mom took her life when I was very young. She was great; she used to play with me outside when my dad was too busy at the witch council meetings. She was everything to me. What my dad hasn’t told you is that your dad was pretty pissed at him for trying to get his power stripped.
“So your dad sent a warlock, Vander Hilt, after my dad. My dad got my mom cloaked but it was too late for me and him. He took me and came here. To protect my mom he didn’t communicate with her and so she thought Vander got a hold of us.
“She killed herself and when my dad found out he went back to Elsmere and her family banished him from their world, including me. That’s our little life story for you.” Emma just stared down at her hands and felt tears coming. She tried her best not to let them out but it was no use.
“I’m sorry my father did that to you. To be honest, I’m glad he’s gone.”
“You don’t have to say that. Your dad loved you; it’s just that he was a misunderstood man. Everyone makes mistakes, Emma. It’s how we deal with them afterwards that defines who we truly are.”
“He’s right,” Emma was startled by Bennett’s appearance in the doorway of the guest room. He was dressed differently, in emerald green cloak with gold tassels on the bottom. She’d seen that cloak in a book years back but she couldn’t remember what it was for.
“Thank you again for helping me and my brother, Mr. Hardwicke. We are both truly grateful for all that you’ve done,” Emma said, wiping the tears from under her eyes.
“Think nothing of it. Now, I will be gone for the rest of the night. I have a meeting with a witch who is helping me decode your father’s journal. It was left on the coffee table, with the initials N.A.D on it. I think it might help us somehow. She’s a dark witch so I’m hoping she will be able to understand it. Do you mind if I do this?”
“No, Ethan and I have been trying to understand it for a while now. If it can help, take it. We didn’t even know it was his,” Emma said. Bennett narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to focus on something.
He made his way into the room, as if in a trance. Logan moved out of the way as Bennett neared the bed, making Emma uneasy. He locked eyes with her neck and right then she knew he was staring at the locket.
“She kept it, all along she kept it,” Bennett said, his eyes becoming misty. Emma attempted to unfasten the clip but he motioned for her to stop. “No. Keep it on, it used to belong to my grandmother. It’s filled with the ashes of an elder witch, and it’s supposed to keep your head safe from manipulation. Do me a favor and never take it off, Promise me.”
“I promise,” Emma responded, touching the locket. It felt cool between her fingers and she couldn’t help but look down at it, admiring it. “I’ll never take it off.”
“Well, I’ll be off now,” Bennett said, avoiding Emma’s face. She knew he had tears in his eyes. She could tell by the look on his face that he missed her mother terribly. She’d give anything to get her back.
Bennett walked out through the bedroom door, and with a backward glance he half smiled at Emma. Logan sat back down on the bed, staring at the locket.
“He gets emotional from time to time. But he hates showing it,” Logan explained.
“I understand. Ethan is like that. He used to get bullied in school for being gay, but he’d come home and act like nothing ever happened. I knew what was going on and one day I went to school, found those guys who were messing with him and beat the crap out of them. No one messes with my family.” Emma’s jaw was set. All she wanted was for Ethan to be right beside her. Where was he now? Was he safe?
“I get you. I’d do the same thing if I had any siblings. And I never got to tell you this but I’m sorry about your mom,” Logan said. Emma looked up at his face and nodded.
“I’m sorry about your mom too. I just wish I knew how she actually died. Mason told us she was killed in a fire along with our father, but I’m thinking he might not have been telling the truth.”
“I know how they really died… and I’ll tell you if you really want to know,” She really did want to know the truth about what happened to her parents. She wanted to know more than anything.
As if Logan could feel her emotions, he took hold of Emma’s hand and squeezed it tightly. She felt tingling crawl down her spine and she knew there was something between them. And for some reason, she knew that Logan could feel it too.
“Tell me,” Emma coaxed.
“Your father was killed by hellhounds. Someone had it done but no one knew who. After he died, my dad was supposed to help your mom come to the mortal world. So he waited for her in Oleandra’s house.”
“They waited for hours but your mom never showed up. My dad went back to your mom’s parent’s house to see if maybe she was there… he found your mom and her family tied to blood trees in the back of the house.”
“They were all dead. Everyone said your dad did it, but he was already dead. There was no reason to kill your mom, she wasn’t a threat. It’s baffling to be honest.”
“But we were, Logan. Ethan and I were the threat. Whoever killed my mom and her family obviously thought we’d be there too. It makes complete sense. Someone was after us even then. What if it was Craven?” Emma threw the blanket off and got out of the bed.
Logan was silent as he watched Emma put her boots back on. She was done acting beaten, she needed to grow up and take things into her own hands. It had to have been Craven who took everything from her, and now he was coming for them again.
She had to make sure that she was ready. Now was not the time for crying, or worrying. It was time to fight back.
“Emma, what is it?” Logan asked.
“We need to get back to the library and keep researching. I’m not letting Craven win. I’m going to make him pay for everything he’s done and I’m going to be the one who destroys him.”
6
Ethan whacked Adam on the back of his neck with his hand, fast and sharp. Adam wobbled to the side, grabbing hold of his neck in agony. They had landed in a dark pumpkin patch and Ethan had scraped his knee on a jagged stem.
The transportation to Elsmere had been completely horrific.
Ethan had never felt so much pain in his life and he never wanted to feel it again. But there was only one way back to the mortal world and it seemed to involve plenty of pain. It felt as if Ethan was gliding through a thin, dark, freezing tunnel and the sides were jagged and tearing at his skin.
The sky above them was murky and starry and the wind that rustled between the chunks of hay was wintry and thick. Obviously, Ethan thought, it had to be autumn in Elsmere. And that happened to be his favorite season.
Outside of the patch, large, black street lamps lined the street giving enough light for Ethan to find his way through the patch without falling onto more pumpkins.
The patch was deserted and calm. Only the faint resonance of bats squeaking through the sky and trees that surrounded them could be heard.
Adam latched onto the wooden fence that enclosed the patch and turned, glaring at Ethan.
“What was that for?” he growled through gritted teeth.
“That shit hurt. It felt like my skin was melting off!” Ethan navigated his way out of the pumpkins and over to where Adam was now standing. When he finally made it to the entrance way, Adam was leaning over the fence, laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Ethan
picked up a miniature pumpkin and chucked it at Adam’s back. It knocked into him and he curved back, laughing even harder.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I should have told you. But it’s not going to feel like that again. That was a shitty undetectable portal. The actual portals are more like doorways and the council knows when they are being used. We can’t risk anything right now.” Adam explained as he turned to Ethan.
Out of nowhere, Adam thrust a clump of damp hay into Ethan’s face and took off down the patch. Ethan spit out pieces of the musty hay and turned to see where Adam had gone to.
He couldn’t see Adam at all. He was hiding. The town square that rested across the street was empty as well, except for a man sitting on a broken bus bench, clearly sleeping.
A miniature pumpkin hit Ethan in the head and he spun and tossed himself into a pile of hay. It didn’t hurt at all, but he was faking it so Adam would come out of hiding.
If he wanted to play, then Ethan was going to let him have it. Just like he wanted, Adam ran out from behind a large tree and got down on his knees, turning Ethan’s body over.
“Shit. I’m sorry,” Adam said as Ethan’s eyes flew open and he keeled over in laughter.
“You ass, I thought I hurt you.” Their eyes locked for a moment after laughing, Adam’s face looming but several inches from Ethan’s. Ethan’s eyes moved down to Adam’s lips.
“I tell you I heard something crash into the patch,” a man’s voice interrupted them.
Adam grabbed Ethan by his hand and they rapidly coursed through the patch and hid behind the largest pumpkin Ethan had ever seen.
“Oh come off it, Winchester,” said another man’s voice. They both had heavy accents and they were each wearing a dark red hooded trench coat.
Their faces were entirely obscured by the hoods, but the one on the left lifted his crooked nose into the air and engulfed the night.
“I can smell blood,” the one named Winchester observed, giggling. Ethan looked down at his knee and cursed under his breath. How the hell could he smell blood?
“Blood, you say?”
“Dark blood,” Winchester corrected himself.
“Bollocks, your nose is off. I will check for myself,” The other man lifted his face up and smelt the air like a hunting dog.
“They are vampires,” Adam tensed as he gripped Ethan’s hand tighter.
“I can smell the dark blood,” the other man finally said. Winchester backhanded the man with enough force to knock him to his knees.
“I told you.”
Ethan remembered Mason teaching them how to take down the nocturnal fiends. It shouldn’t be that hard. All he needed was something wooden and sharp.
Around them, wooden fence was free for the taking and sooner than Adam could hold him back, Ethan ran up to a portion of the unsteady fence and kicked at it.
He broke off two long, jagged chunks and threw one to Adam. The vampires jerked their heads toward the giant pumpkin and hissed, the hoods of their cloaks falling back, revealing their pallid long faces.
“What are you doing?” Adam yelled.
“I know how to kill them, don’t you?”
“I do. But they aren’t regular vamps. They are elders; they can’t be killed with a wooden stake. I was trying to think of a way to sneak off but now we’re screw—” Adam didn’t get to finish.
A vampire lodged itself onto Adam’s back, knocking him to the ground. Adam coughed, breathing in hard as he brought himself up from the ground and threw a hand at the vampire. It glided into the air and fell into a mound of large pumpkins, smashing them to pieces. He was using his power.
“Dark blood, how appetizing!” Winchester said as he circled Ethan. The monster looked grotesque. Its sunken in pitch black eyes gave Ethan chills and its teeth and long nose looked as sharp as razorblades.
The vampire’s bald head reflected light from a street lamp and gave Ethan a better look at the monster. It was taller than him, but looked frail and prehistoric. He could take it, he mused. He threw the chunk of wood to the ground and stared head on at the vampire.
“Sorry this meal is reserved,” Ethan said as he raised both of his hands into the air and stared as Winchester arose from the ground, flailing like a crazed cat. Something was tearing at him from the inside.
Adam noticed a hand scythe conveniently stabbed into a large pumpkin and made a run for it, the vampire hot on his heels.
Ethan brought his hands down and Winchester slammed face first into a gigantic stack of wet hay. A thought popped into Ethan’s head. He remembered that beheading them worked and it should have the same effect with elders.
But he couldn’t see anything that could help him. Just then, he remembered his dark magic and how powerful it was. Bennett had asked him not to use it. But this had to be the only way to save him and Adam.
Without a moment of hesitance, Ethan closed his eyes and for once, he allowed his dark magic take over. The familiar sensation began to pull him under, coursing through his veins and spiraling through his head.
The vampire groaned, lifting itself from the hay and growling fiercely at Ethan. It began barreling toward Ethan but stopped midway, noticing a light purple mist enclosing the night sky.
Adam snatched the scythe free from the pumpkin and with all his might, he spun, slicing through the vampire’s neck, severing its bald head from its broad torso. Adam’s eyes switched up to the sky and his heart skipped a beat. He looked across the patch at Ethan and his mouth fell open in shock.
It was coming from him.
Ethan’s eyes were dark and glistening with power. He’d never felt so powerful in his life. This was nothing compared to what he felt when he used his dark magic on Emma. This was new and it was intoxicating.
The vampire hissed again but faster than it could take one more step in the direction of Ethan, the boy’s eyes caught Winchester’s and the vampire’s head exploded into tiny smithereens. The mist hastily left the sky and Ethan blacked out and collapsed into the damp hay below.
7
A high pitched whistling tore through Emma’s ears as she flew back into a bookshelf, knocking a row of heavy books to the ground. Her temples were pulsating with her heartbeat and her entire body was freezing cold.
Logan quickly appeared at her side, keeping her balanced so that she wouldn’t tumble to the ground. He helped her back to her chair and sat down next to her. Emma gripped the edge of the table and waited for the pain to subside in her head.
What had just happened to her? She’d never felt it before and it felt as if someone had taken a hammer to her brain.
The large clock that sat above the door caught Emma’s attention. It was ticking almost too loudly and Emma began grinding her teeth. It took a few moments for the pain to leave her and the coolness to disappear. She turned to Logan and took in the worried expression on his face.
“I honestly don’t know what the hell that was. It felt like someone was beating the crap out of me from the inside,” Emma explained as she wrapped her arms around herself and leaned back in the chair.
“Did you feel cold?” Logan asked. He caught Emma’s attention and she slowly nodded. How did he know that?
“Yes.”
“I was reading about it earlier. I thought Ethan would listen to my dad. What you were feeling was Ethan’s dark power overriding. He must have been using a lot of it, because since you’re his twin sister it’s affecting you too.”
“If his dark power dominates again, he won’t have to wait until his eighteenth birthday; he’ll become a dark warlock on his own. I really can’t stress how much it matters whether you embrace your dark magic or white.”
“Ethan is using too much, and I have this feeling that it is just the beginning for him. We have to get him back here after he finds Oleandra. If he stays in Elsmere with Adam of all people too long, he’ll lose himself in the darkness and you will more than likely lose your brother.” Emma sat still, her head still throbbing.
She couldn’t le
t Ethan become a dark warlock. She couldn’t lose her brother; he was all she had left. She had to do something about this, and she had to make sure he got back safely.
“Why don’t we go to Elsmere and keep an eye on Ethan?” Emma stood up from her chair and began rubbing her temples. If she could just be with him, she’d be able to help him.
“You can’t go there, Emma. It’s like the perfect trap for you and Ethan if you were both there, and at least we’re protected here. I’ll call Adam’s father and let him know what is going on; he might be able to help Ethan keep his powers balanced. He’s one of the most trusted of the dark.”
“That makes me feel a little better, thank you.” Emma tried her best to calm herself down. “And what is it with you and Adam? You nearly killed each other earlier,” Emma slid down against the bookshelf and sat Indian style on the carpeted ground.
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