A Girl Beyond (War of the Witches Book 2)

by Marjorie Weismantel

  He shifted his body around and pulled my head to rest against his upper chest. “So sorry for all of this,” he whispered. I rested there for a minute with my forehead nestled into his neck, and let my mind drift into oblivion.

  “Thank you, Will,” I breathed.

  After a minute Will shook me lightly, pulled away and held my face. “Unfortunately, you have to be checked, Tess. We have to go inside.”

  I sighed, “I know.”

  He carried me into the house and carefully laid me down on the living room couch, placing a pillow under my head and tucking a blanket around me. When he was done he crouched down and asked, “How’re you feeling?”

  “A little better,” I responded.

  He took my hand and looked me in the eye. “You know, I was really worried about you for a while because it appeared as if you were going into shock, but I think that’s slowed down. Your color’s returning, you’re not shaking like a leaf and your eyes look like you’re in the present. Is that true?”

  I nodded and answered softly, “I started feeling better after we put some distance between us and those rats. You were the one who got me outta there, Will, and I will be forever grateful.” As I squeezed his hand I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Will’s expression changed as if he was caught off guard by my show of emotion. I think he was blushing! He’s always so confidant, sometimes too confident. But none of that matters. He got me out and I will never forget what he did for me.

  Suddenly, we heard footsteps on the stairs. It was Will’s mom, wearing a bathrobe and slippers, her hair wrapped in a towel. “So Will, how did the…..?” Her voice drifted off and her eyes widened slightly when she saw me. “Tess, is that you?”

  “Mom, Tess had a rough time tonight. I wasn’t sure if this was hospital worthy and I didn’t want Tess to have to wait for hours in the emergency room. I figured that my beautiful mom, who is the best nurse around, could check her out.” Will smiled broadly at her.

  Mrs. Jacobsen was frowning, as she came closer to me. “What happened to your feet, Tess?”

  I glanced down self-consciously. There were small bite marks on my toes and the tops of both feet! I’d been totally oblivious with all that was on my mind and I hadn’t noticed them. Who checks their feet anyway? Up to now they just felt numb, although I was starting to feel little zaps of pain. My flip flops were totally disgusting. Fortunately, most of the damage was on the top of my feet, not the bottom. Instinctively, I was embarrassed at their grossness so I tried to tuck them away. Mrs. Jacobsen sat down on the edge of the couch, took my right foot in her hand and gingerly removed my dirty old flip flop. “Those look like teeth marks.” She leaned down and studied my foot more closely. “What kind of animal was biting you, Tess?”

  I shuddered, “Rats, hundreds of them.”

  “Rats?” Mrs. Jacobsen looked shocked.

  “Yeah, mom, I saw them, too. And it was like she said, hundreds of them,” Will said impatiently. “Tess got stuck in a bath room and couldn’t get away from them.”

  Mrs. Jacobsen frowned as if in thought. “Hmmm, that’s funny. I just read an article in the Tri Town Journal. People have been reporting packs of rats roving around, particularly during twilight or early morning hours. It’s odd because I’ve lived here all my life. I’ve never heard about packs of rats around here.”

  Will grimaced, “In this case it wasn’t a pack; it was more like a herd. They crawled through a window into a basement bathroom at the school. You’d think they were deliberately seeking Tess.” He shook his head. “It was one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen.”

  Mrs. Jacobsen looked between Will and Tess, “It’s probably best to finish this conversation later. Right now, Tess’s wounds have to be cleaned thoroughly with a strong antiseptic and she’ll definitely have to go to the emergency room.” She touched my arm sympathetically. “Tess, I’m sure you’ll need a tetanus shot and some antibiotic treatment. You should also be aware that rat bites can cause rat-bite fever.”

  I squeaked, “Rat-bite fever? Is it as bad as it sounds?”

  “Yes, and it can be fatal,” she answered.

  “Fatal, like you can die, fatal?” I yelped.

  Mrs. Jacobsen nodded her head. “I’m afraid so, dear.”

  I put my head in my hands and sat there for a minute, thinking. I finally looked to Will. “This can’t be put it off any longer. I better call my Aunt Amy. I was hoping to avoid telling her because she’s such a worrier. This is all she needs.”

  “That’s a very good idea, Tess. Let me get the phone,” said Mrs. Jacobsen.

  I quietly added, “I’d like to have my aunt come get me and take me to the emergency room. I’m so grateful for everything you guys have done for me but, really, I just can’t ask you to do any more.”

  “Oh, no, dear. We’ll take you to the emergency room, after all, I work at the hospital and I can get you in quickly. Just call your aunt and let her know. I can explain everything to her once you get her on the phone. She can meet us there.” Mrs. Jacobsen smiled reassuringly at me.

  This whole situation was making me feel too emotional and I was getting all choked up. I better calm down so I can talk to my aunt. I leaned back and closed my eyes, but that made it worse. I could feel the darkness closing in on me. My heart started racing. Then I heard that awful clicking; the rats clicking, clicking their teeth.

  Will came over and stroked my hair. He spoke in a low, soft voice. “Tess, it’s OK. You’re all right now. You have nothing to worry about.” I opened my eyes and looked at Will, deliberately slowing my breathing.

  Mrs. Jacobsen bustled in with a basin of water and some supplies. “Tess, just put your feet up on the table and we can clean you up nicely. Will, why don’t you call Tess’s aunt and explain everything to her?

  Breathe in, breathe out. I felt the panic fade into the background. I whispered, “Thank you.”

  A few minutes later I was stretched out in the back and Mrs. Jacobsen was sitting in the front passenger side.

  ‘Are you doing OK back there, Tess?” Will asked, glancing in the mirror as we backed out of the driveway.

  “Yeah, I’m doing all right,” I responded.

  Mrs. Jacobsen said casually, “There’s something I wanted to tell you before and it completely slipped my mind. I finally remembered what it was.”

  “What’s that?” Will asked.

  Mrs. Jacobsen turned so I could see the side of her face. “You know that newspaper article I was telling you about? Something else was mentioned that’s rather strange. People in town have been claiming to see packs of another animal around here. Have you heard about that?”

  Will answered as if he were just humoring his mom, “No, Mom, I haven’t heard anything. What other animal are they seeing?”

  She turned to me, frowning. “People have been seeing roving bands of cats. One elderly woman was working in her garden and a pack of seven cats went right up to her. She got so scared she ran into her house. They’re not just any kind of cat, either. Most of them have been from that exotic breed.”

  “Is it Siamese, by any chance?” I asked in a small, tight voice.

  Mrs. Jacobsen stared at me. “Yeah, how did YOU know?”

  “I just guessed,” I sighed.

  45. Visitors

  I was lying on the couch, my bandaged feet propped up, staring out at the miserable weather. It had been showering off and on with intermittent thunder and lightning since I had gotten up. Beauty Queen, as usual, was sticking to me like glue. She wasn’t even letting me go into the bathroom by myself. And I was so bored sitting around that I was even thinking about doing homework. My aunt’s voice made me jump.

  “Tess, Mercy’s here to see you. Are you up for it?” She asked, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips. “You know, I think you could use a little more rest. Why don’t I just tell her you’re sleeping?”

  “Aunt Amy, I don’t want to lie to Mercy. Besides, I’m bored out of my mind. I’ve been sitting here wit
h my feet up for the last two hours. I can’t take it anymore,” I whined.

  “Oh, dear, two hours! I’m sorry that you have to suffer so much when you’re stuck here with us,” Auntie responded in a dry tone.

  I frowned at Auntie. “Could you just send Mercy in, please?”

  Aunt Amy sighed. “All right, all right. How about I bring in a batch of peanut butter drops, your favorites? I made them last night after we got back from the emergency room. I find that it’s best to keep myself very busy when I’m crazed with worry.” Aunt Amy glared at me.

  “I’m sorry, Aunt Amy. People don’t get bitten by rats on purpose you know! It was a freak thing.” I gave her the most pitiful look I could manage. I had to be careful not to overdo it because I wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible. Thank God she doesn’t REALLY know what was going on. She’d lock me up in the attic and throw away the key.

  Mercy made her appearance while my aunt went to get the cookies. It was great to see her breeze in with her big smile. She was wearing pants for a change with a big crazy top. Her hair looked like she stuck her finger in the plug and kept it there. “Tessie, how are you doing?” She leaned over to give me a hug.

  “Where’d you get that top?” It just popped out of my mouth. I couldn’t help myself. I really wondered because she couldn’t have bought it in any store I’ve ever been in, not that I’m any fashion expert.

  “Oh, this”, she answered breezily. “It’s my mom’s. She used to wear it in her old hippie days. I think it’s called a dashiki. I wear it so much she finally gave it to me. Don’t you just love it?” She asked while turning around to show me the back. I literally had to shield my eyes from the bright glare. I was getting a headache.

  “Oh, yeah, uh, it’s really nice,” I murmured.

  She glanced at my bandaged feet before squeezing herself onto the edge of the couch right up next to me. Then she leaned in and asked in a soft voice, “What’s this I heard about rat bites, Tess?”

  I answered with a shudder, “What you heard was true. I got bit by rats in the basement of Rockledge High School. There were hundreds of them that got into the window when I was holed up in a bathroom. It’s like they were going after me, personally.”

  Mercy looked at me shaking her head. “I don’t even want to know how you happened to get stuck in a bathroom in the basement of Rockledge High School.”

  I gave her a dark look. “Yeah, don’t ask.”

  “It’s definitely weird, mobs of rats. Was the school a real dump or something?” asked Mercy.

  “No, it was just a normal high school,” I said.

  “Something doesn’t seem right to me. I can’t imagine that rats were targeting you, but at the same time, you have to admit, you are a trouble magnet! In fact, I feel a little nervous just sitting here with you!” Mercy smirked.

  “Yeah, like you’ve been hurt!” I exclaimed. “By the way, have you heard about the packs of roving cats that have been sighted in Woodley and the surrounding towns?”

  Mercy paused for a minute before responding, “Let me get this straight. There are now packs of cats and rats roaming around the Woodley countryside. Are the cats also running around attacking people?”

  “I haven’t heard that, but this reminds me of what Mrs. Petrov talked about. Remember she said that diaboles may come back as rats in another life, and cats can be reincarnated luminars?”

  Aunt Amy came in at that very moment carrying a tea tray. Did she hear what we were saying? She stopped for a second and frowned, “Is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine! Mercy was just telling me about the latest horror movie she just saw. You want to hear about it?” I knew that would stop her from bugging us. Aunt Amy flips out over horror movies.

  “I heard you say something about cats and rats. Tess, that reminds me, have you heard the cats recently?” Aunt Amy asked.

  I frowned. “Heard the cats? What’re you talking about?

  “There have been cats howling outside of the house throughout the night. It started about a week ago. At first, Grandma thought that Beauty Queen was in heat, but that couldn’t be it. Beauty Queen is fixed and it’s not even that time of year. What an awful racket! I can’t believe you didn’t hear them last night,” she exclaimed.

  “I was dead tired when I went to bed so I probably just slept through it,” I replied. Beauty Queen, who was lying against me, suddenly nipped the finger I was scratching her with. “Ouch,” I yelled at Beauty. What’re you doing?”

  Auntie proceeded to the kitchen. “Anyway, girls, relax and have a cup of tea. I’ll be back with the cookies.”

  As soon as Aunt Amy left, Mercy remarked, “That’s weird about the cats. It reminds me of the cats at the Petrov’s house. Remember how they were trying to communicate with you? Do you think these cats are trying to do the same?”

  I shrugged. “I have no idea. Whatever the reason, it’s just another strange thing going on around here.”

  Mercy leaned in and said in a quiet tone, “One reason I came over today was to figure out a time when you could come see my mom again. She has to conduct another regression session with you before things get much worse. She wants to take you back to the Apocalypse. We’re running out of time. It’s becoming apparent that the next ‘unfortunate incident’ will get worse.”

  “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. No sense putting it off. What if I stop by tomorrow late in the morning?”

  “That should be fine. My mom works tomorrow night so she can take you home on her way in. I’ll ask her what she thinks about this crazy rat incident. Maybe she knows something.” Mercy got up, grabbed her giant purse/suitcase and headed for the door. “Think you can stay outta trouble for today, Tess?” Mercy asked, her eyebrows raised.

  “Yeah, thanks, I think I can manage, at least for today,” I grumbled.

  “By the way, be careful on the roads. Tree branches have fallen onto the power lines all over the place because of the crazy winds. Part of the town’s lost electricity. I heard it’s like that throughout the state.”

  “Yes, will do,” I said as I waved her off.

  After Mercy left, I got my math book out so I could start my homework. The problem with math was that after five minutes I had to put my head down and take a nap. It would just be for a few minutes. That’s all. I just had to rest my eyes.

  Who’s that? Is that Ian? What’s he doing here and why is his shirt off? He looks so cold. I’ve got to tell him to put his shirt back on. As I open my mouth to tell him I notice an odd marking on his lower back. What is that? As I stare, it seems to grow. How can it grow? Something about it upsets me. Now I can see that it’s that strange mark, the cross with an X over it. I know where I’ve seen that. It was on that nasty Tattoo Boy in my gym class. Why would Ian have the same mark as Tattoo Boy?

  Ian looks so angry. Is he mad at me? “Ian,” I call to him but he doesn’t hear me. He picks up a glass of water, as if to drink it. As the water goes to his lips, it starts to change. By the time it reaches his mouth, it has become a solid piece of ice. Ian looks disgusted and slams it down. The glass cracks and falls away from the ice. Ian takes the ice and throws it through the window. The window smashes into a million gleaming shards. I go to touch him but the shards fly back through the window and stab me everywhere, sharp pricks all over my body, even my eyes. Everything is blurry. Ian turns away to leave. “Ian, don’t go,” I cry. As Ian looks back at me, shafts of red violet light stream from his eyes. That must be his aura. He stares, his aura screaming at me. I see confusion, self-hate. Which side is he on? I’ve known him from the past, from more than one past. I turn away from him.

  “Tessie”, Auntie says, shaking me. “Wake up. Did you have a bad dream?” She was peering down at me, love and caring in her eyes.

  I looked at her for a minute, getting my bearings. What an awful dream! It seemed so real. But that’s all it was, I told myself, a crazy dream. Best to put it out of my mind.

  “I’m
OK, Auntie. Yes, it was just a funny dream. It was nothing.”

  “By the way, Ian called while you were sleeping. He wanted to come over to visit so I told him to give you a couple of hours.” She glanced at her watch. “That means he’ll be here in about a half hour. Hope you don’t mind that I didn’t wake you. I figured you’d like to see him but I wanted you to get some sleep.”

  “In a half hour? Look at me! I haven’t even taken a shower today. Why didn’t you wake me up a while ago?” I demanded.

  “You’re naturally beautiful, dear. You don’t need lots of time to glam yourself up.”

  “Are you kidding? Of course I do!” I jumped up to get started. “If I’m not ready by the time Ian is here, could you do me a favor and talk to him or feed him or something?”

  “Of course, don’t worry. And by the way, I was nice enough to do your laundry this week since you’re never home and your entire wardrobe was in your hamper. At least you’ll have something to wear,” she said, one eyebrow raised.

  “I love you, Auntie. You’re the best. I’ll be right down.”

  I heard the doorbell ring while I was still working on my hair. I scrunched it up as best as I could. I was getting good at fixing it the way I liked it. I threw on a pair of fitted black jeans and a rose colored blouse that had belonged to Annie. She said she was giving it to me because she was sick of it, but I think it’s because she put on a couple of pounds. Grandma liked to bake and Annie liked to eat. Hey, I’m not complaining if I get her clothes! Next, socks and my cozy fir lined slippers. There’s no way I’m letting Ian get a look at my nasty feet.

  I limped down the stairs and saw him standing there, talking to Aunt Amy. He didn’t catch sight of me so I kept on staring at him. I couldn’t help myself. It gave me such pleasure. Whenever I first see Ian, I get the same gut reaction, a rush of panic and excitement. He’s the perfect combination of toughness and humility. It’s the only way I can explain it. Suddenly, an unwelcome picture popped into my head that was from my dream. It was the scene where Ian was staring at me with the red-violet lights streaming from his expressionless eyes. I shook my head, trying to forget.