by Cherie Marks
Maggie’s face curled in delight. “Finally! I will have my revenge!”
She leapt from the platform and scooped up the knife, charging toward the stranger. Yet, the minute she was a few feet from him, he flung his arm out and she flew backwards and hit the ground with a thud. The knife fell from her hand, and she lay very still.
“John, I never thought to see you again.”
“I would say you did not, seeing as you bound me nearly twenty-seven years ago and trapped me in a dimension that nullified my powers.”
Jethro lifted his chin. “You left me no choice. I’d finally convinced my beautiful wife to abandon her wickedness and run away with me.”
“She was under my protection. I couldn’t let you take away her Goddess given powers. She deserved to live her life as a fully-functioning witch. And you didn’t convince her. You kidnapped and raped her.”
“And you would’ve taken her away from me. When you found us six months later, I used the powers I had confiscated from the wickedest witches and attacked. Unfortunately, I hadn’t realized your wife would be as stubborn in her pursuit.”
My father snarled angrily before saying, “You didn’t even know what you were doing. You sent me to a non-magical dimension where I’ve been trapped all these years. I couldn’t come to save Oriona from her fate. Because of you, my wife and my last words to each other were focused on fighting you. We argued and parted, but that’s not how it should’ve ended. I’ll never forgive you for that.”
“What would you have me do? Give up my own wife?”
“She…wasn’t…yours! Thank the Goddess that Oriona was able to find and rescue Dane before you killed her.”
Dane spoke up then. “She found my mother and me hiding from him. We’d managed to escape him finally, but my mother knew he’d never stop coming after us. Not until he’d killed us both. She’d sent me with Oriona, to find some place safe.” Dane closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “I never saw my mother again.”
Jethro didn’t even flinch as he said, “She refused to take me to you, son. No one should try to keep us apart.”
“I’m not your son. My mother told me the truth. She was pregnant before you took her. My father was the man you killed the night you kidnapped her. She could never have had your child. Humans and witches can’t actually have children, you idiot!”
“I still thought of you as my son. Wanted to raise you as a good, decent person.”
“And I thank the Goddess I’m not your son!”
As difficult as it was to follow this conversation, one thing stood out to me. The stranger who’d come into the clearing with Clooney was my mother’s husband, which meant, he was my father. John was my father. The hollow feeling I’d carried around since my mother’s death returned with a vengeance. I missed her terribly, but to see the man she’d loved in front of me, made me feel close to her once more.
I slipped free from Dane’s embrace and lowered myself to the ground. Dane and Karrena both followed quietly behind me.
When I was close, I stopped and stood nearby, not sure exactly how to approach.
John’s eyes seemed sad even as he smiled at me. “You look so much like her. I’d know you were my daughter anywhere. Just glad you’re safe now.”
“Touching reunion, but maybe you forgot that she has to die tonight.” Jethro raised his hands high. The sky above us blackened even more and began to swirl. We all looked up, and I covered my face. This was what I was supposed to battle? I didn’t even know where to begin.
I looked at Dane. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Destroy the source of the evil.”
I glanced upward and raised my hands. I forced my magic into my fingertips, pushing the air to be an opposite force against the swirling darkness. Yet, my air just pushed toward it until it combined with the black mass to create an even larger swirl. More determined than ever, I chanted loudly until fire blasted from all corners of the sky and engulfed the entire scene above us. Unfortunately, the minute it touched the thickening evil, the fire was sucked inside and now it glowed with orange and red swirls. I pulled chunks of the surrounding mountains and threw them at the dark eddy above, but it just swallowed them whole.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this. Everything I throw at it makes it worse. Somebody, help me!”
When I looked around, I was shocked to see everyone except Jethro and I passed out on the ground. Was this why it had to be me? Was I the only one immune to the evil in this swirl? Then, how was Jethro still standing?
Of course! If I could’ve I would’ve slapped my own forehead. Jethro was the source of the evil. Even he didn’t realize he was the reason that every twenty years, one of the witches in the Hale family had to battle the forces of evil. Most of them had sacrificed themselves and their magic to feed the monster driving Jethro, but I was strong enough, I knew I had the power to defeat him once and for all. My mother had known it. It was why she wanted me to get away from them. Why she didn’t try harder to defeat him herself. I couldn’t let her sacrifice be in vain.
I turned my hands toward Jethro. From the clouds and the hills surrounding us, I pulled as much water as I could muster until a crashing wave filled the clearing, knocking Jethro to his back.
“Stop this at once, you wicked, wicked witch!” He cried out and thrashed around, but it was useless.
I pushed the water like a geyser under him and lifted him high into the air. The water kept coming and lifting him higher and higher. My arms began to shake with the effort, but as I glanced around at the people on the ground, I dug deep inside me for strength and pushed Jethro into the swirling cloud. In an instant, like a great chewing mouth, it began to close in on itself, pulling the massive amount of air, fire, earth, and water I’d shot into it into the smallest of pinprick dots. With a final pop, everything disappeared, and Jethro was gone forever.
I shouted, my voice quavering with unshed tears, “That was for my mother, you sick son of a bitch!”
“You did it, Evie! I can’t believe it! You did it!” I looked around and saw Dane getting to his feet.
I swiveled and jumped into his embrace. “Oh, Dane. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“Never, baby! I’m always in your corner.”
Yet, the next moment, I heard a shriek and turned to see Maggie coming at me, knife raised high, ready to strike, taking away my victory, taking away my happiness. I shielded my stomach and closed my eyes but was surprised when the knife blow didn’t come. As Dane pulled me backward, Karrena jumped in front of me and the knife sunk into her chest. Within moments, blood bubbled from her mouth, and she breathed her last breath. The final word on her lips, “Innocent.”
“Noooo!” Maggie dropped to the ground. “I’ll kill you all!”
But even as she began to rise, she froze in mid-leg-lift.
In front of us, Baba Yaga appeared, in a shiny blue leotard that rose high on her hips, thong-style, over hot-pink legging-style tights. Her hair was curled, shaped, and held in place with a matching, hot pink headband. She looked like she’d taken all the style advice from an 80’s version of Olivia Newton-John.
“Well, some people never learn.” With the snap of her fingers, Maggie disappeared. “Off to jail with you forever.”
“Carol?”
Baba Yaga turned and met my father’s gaze. “It’s Baba Yaga nowadays, John. A lot has changed since I saw you last. Sorry about Oriona. She was an amazing witch. But can you believe the child you two made together! I mean, I had my doubts she could pull it off, but she pushed the source of evil right on up into the little evil butthole he’d created. Too bad he dragged Karrena and Maggie down with him. Those two were raised to be a couple of the best and brightest witches. Then, Maggie had to go and give Jethro her powers. And Karrena sacrificed herself to save you, Evie. Maybe she wasn’t entirely lost.” She waved her hand and Karrena’s body disappeared. “Well, will give Karrena a proper ceremony anyway. Clearly, Maggie still blamed you for he
r daughter’s death.”
“I tried to warn Maggie not to trust Jethro, but she insisted he’d care for her daughter. When Bryleigh gave her son, Dane, to Oriona for safekeeping, she knew she wouldn’t see him again. Maggie blamed me for not just letting Jethro keep Bryleigh against her will. I don’t know how she could do that to her own daughter.”
“I just wish my last words to Oriona hadn’t been in anger.”
“She knew you loved her, John. It’s why she continued with the mission, even after you’d disappeared. Oriona was not the type of witch to do things for unselfish reasons. She gave herself up out of love for you and Evelina.”
My father nodded solemnly, but he looked far from satisfied with the loss of the opportunity to say goodbye to my mother.
Baba Yaga put her hands on her hips. “But, thanks to your daughter, the curse is lifted and lives can return to somewhat normal.”
Anger rose from inside me as I realized she wasn’t planning to apologize for what she’d done to me. She might think I was okay since everything turned out well in the end, but I wasn’t ready to let all I’d been through go just yet.
“Can I ask you a question, Baba Yaga?”
She eyed me suspiciously, as she probably should. “Proceed with caution. There are still some available jail cells.”
“Speaking of which, would you really have locked me up to send me up into that…evil butthole…as you put it?”
“Unfortunately, if it had come to that, I wouldn’t have had a choice. But I had complete faith in Dane to get the job done with your education. The one I really worried would screw the whole thing up was Clooney. Little turd tried to avoid me, but once I cornered him and told him his job, I was pleasantly surprised to see he was successful in getting your father out of that non-magical dimension. That was impressive.”
I glanced over at Clooney, who had patches of fur missing all over his body. His eyes and nose looked a little swollen too. He’d definitely looked better, but it was nice to have an explanation for his absence that didn’t include him never wanting to see me again.
Clooney licked his paw with a tongue that looked swollen even. He’d clearly had a rough time of it. Finally, he spoke up and said, “Bewieve woo pwomussed a heawing.”
She nodded. “I’ll send you to Zelda right away. She knows to expect you.”
He disappeared, but I wasn’t entirely done with Baba Yaga. “So, what would you have done in twenty years with the last Hale witch gone forever?”
“I presumed I had twenty years to figure it out.”
“Well, you’re welcome.” I couldn’t keep the sarcasm from my voice and knew I was pushing it.
“Oh, I can’t be mad at you. I mean, most witches would’ve given up at the loss of their mother. You’re made of some pretty strong stuff. For the record, I’m not saying you can get away with anything, but I’d loan you clothes if you asked nicely.”
I looked at her current outfit and screwed up my nose a little, “Thanks. Maybe another time.” I still wasn’t entirely satisfied, but as I looked around at how things had turned out, I couldn’t be too upset. “So, what happens now?”
“Now, you’re free to go wherever you want without looking over your shoulder, Evie. The possibilities are limitless. What do you want to do with the rest of your life?”
Chapter 16
Freedom felt so good, and with it, the ability to make decisions for the long-term. Of course, when you already loved your life, no reason to fix something that isn’t broken.
I decided I wanted to stay in Assjacket and continue teaching at Mount Shelley. Dane and I were planning to marry next month, and my dad was going to walk me down the aisle. Celia apologized for everything, as did all the other Mounters. They all said it was like someone else had taken over their bodies, and knowing what I did, I believed them. I was happy to dish all about Dane with Celia and asked her to be my maid of honor, which she happily accepted.
My dad and I were getting to know each other, and I found we both liked the same kind of ice cream and the sound of fall leaves crunching under our shoes. Who knew those kinds of things could be genetic?
Of course, the best thing about my decision was that Clooney was back in my life.
He was stretching on the porch, most of his, now, bright pink fur still patchy in places. I smiled and said, “I told you coloring your fur so much was unhealthy.”
He didn’t even bat an eyelash. He said, “I think it was more the huge trolls that were trying to pull me apart as I was dragging your dad’s worthless butt through a dimensional portal.”
I laughed. The story grew every time he told it. “I’m just glad to have you back. I shouldn’t have said the things I did before.”
“I know you love my guts, girl!”
“I do love you, Clooney. You’ve always been there for me. Thank you.”
“Always. And I’ll probably have to keep an eye on the newest Hale witch too, but I’m up for the job.”
I patted my abdomen and smiled, knowing he meant every word.
Dane came out on the porch and took me in his arms. He kissed me lightly on the lips.
Clooney leaped down from the porch and threw over his shoulder, “Get a room!” before disappearing into the darkness of the night.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to say, Evie.”
“I can’t handle any more surprises, Dane. Tell me anything. Just lay it all out there and hold nothing back.”
“Okay. Here goes. I want you to know that I’m not marrying you because of the baby.”
“I know.”
“I mean, I’d marry you even if you weren’t pregnant.”
“I know.”
“Truth is, I love you, Evelina Hale. I fucking love everything about you!”
“I know.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“No. I love you too. I’ve known it since the day before Halloween. Maybe sooner. Just promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
“Never try to protect me from the truth again. Give me everything you got from here on out.”
“I’ll never hold back from you. And to prove it, I think I should show you that I mean it. I’ve got the perfect way to demonstrate, but it does require one thing.” He moved my hair from my neck and began nipping and kissing along the right side.
“What’s that?”
“You naked.”
I smiled at his wicked words. Maybe a little wickedness could be a good thing.
Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Page
# # THE END # #
Note From the Author
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Wicked Is As Wicked Does!
All reviews are appreciated.
If you would like to read more from the Magic and Mayhem series, please click on the link below:
Robyn Peterman’s Magic and Mayhem Page
Keep up with new releases and get a FREE copy of The Vampire Next Door by signing up for my Reader’s Club Newsletter here: Happily Ever After the Write Way Newsletter
Book List
Also by Cherie Marks
The Fae Next Door
The Vampire Next Door
Lost in New Falls
Into the Fire
Wicked Jackal (Woodland Creek Series)
Thief of Sanguardia (Skeleton Key Series)
Lost in Christmas (coming November 2016 in the Romancing the Holidays Christmas Anthology)
Shadow of Ruin (coming December 10, 2016 in the Complex Series)
And writing as C. C. Marks
Edge of Mercy
Heart of Mercy
End of Mercy
Range of Mercy
Mercy
Out of Mercy (coming 2017)
About Cherie Marks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cheriemarks
Facebook: Author Page
Website: http://www.authorcheriemarks.com/
It all started with an old fashioned typewriter
. When my family brought it home, for the first time, I knew what I wanted to do. All those stories rolling around in my head could finally get out. The press and click of the keys were satisfying in their own right, but when I pulled out a finished page, I knew this was for me. Since then, I've graduated to a laptop, but the stories still find a way out.
I'm a breast cancer survivor, a teacher, a wife, a mother, and a writer. I continue to strive for less procrastination and more tact. The battle wages on.