White Witch

by Trish Milburn

  “A girl, outside. She was in a car wreck.” As I lead the way back to the truck, I notice Egan heading for a bench at the side of the parking lot, Toni trailing behind.

  Medical personnel swarm the truck. “You shouldn’t have moved her,” one of them scolds.

  “Her car was on fire,” Keller replies. “We had to get her out.”

  “Why didn’t you wait for an ambulance?”

  “It was on Shiprock Curve, too dangerous to sit there in the rain,” Keller says.

  Everything goes in a blur as Stacy is wheeled inside. She’s coming around and complaining about her head hurting. I hate to think what would have happened to Stacy if her car hadn’t had airbags. I answer the nurse’s questions as best I can, depending on Keller to fill in information I don’t know.

  When the medical staff finally fades away, intent on helping Stacy and the other people in the ER, I wander outside in a daze. When the damp, post-rain air hits me, I begin to shake. Oh, God, Egan and I used our power, a lot of it. We might as well have blinking red target signs on us. A wave of dizziness swamps me, but when I think I might topple over, Keller wraps his strong arm around me.

  “Are you okay?”

  I can’t answer, can only turn toward him and bury my head in his chest. His arms come around me, tempting me to believe that everything is going to be all right.

  “We could’ve all been killed.”

  “But we weren’t, thanks to you and Egan.” Keller pulls back enough to caress my cheek with his thumb. “You were amazing.”

  I try to smile at him as I slip out of his embrace, but it takes too much effort, like I’m lifting giant barbells at the edges of my mouth. What I’d done wasn’t amazing. I’d been the death knell of my normal life. “I need to check on Egan.”

  Before Keller can touch me again, I head for the edge of the parking lot where Toni sits on a bench next to Egan, a tight, worried expression on her face.

  “I tried to make him to go in and get checked, but he won’t,” Toni says.

  “I’m fine,” Egan snaps as he scoots farther away from her. “Stop hovering.”

  My heart breaks when I see how close Toni is to tears.

  “You look like all the blood’s been drained from your body,” Toni says, not letting Egan’s foul mood dissolve her concern.

  “He’s okay,” I assure her before he can say something even harsher. At least he’s fine physically. I know what he’s thinking because those same thoughts are pressing on me, too. “It’s normal to be physically spent for a while after using that level of magic, especially if you’re not used to it.”

  Egan looks up at me then, seriousness residing in his eyes where the teasing flirt usually plays. “Guess we know a little of what we can do now.”

  “Yeah. Knowledge is power and all that.” Just not enough power.

  “What?” Keller looks from me to Egan and back. “What are you two thinking?”

  I break eye contact with Egan and sigh deeply. “The power we used tonight saved all of our lives, but magically speaking it also lit up Baker Gap like a nuclear explosion. There’s no doubt the covens will figure out where we are if they don’t already know.”

  “That wasn’t members of your coven tonight?” Keller asks.

  “No. That was something else, something tied to that spot,” I say.

  “That’s why they didn’t come after us,” Toni says.

  I nod.

  “How will your covens know then? They’re hundreds of miles away.”

  I press my hand against my forehead, still feel the heat there, residual power. “But the closest coven will. There’s one in Charlotte, another in D.C. They’re close enough to feel the disturbance in the natural energy we caused. They’ll be able to tell it’s no one from their coven.”

  “How?” Keller asks.

  “Each family’s power is unique. I mean, we can all do the same things, but . . . think of it as a fingerprint. It won’t take long for us to be identified and for our families to show up.”

  “How much time do we have to get ready?” Toni asks.

  Egan looks over at her. “Are you an idiot?”

  “Egan,” I snap, at the end of my own frayed nerves.

  Keller takes a warning step toward Egan. “That’s enough.”

  “No, it’s not. You two will be dead in a microsecond if you try to face just one witch, let alone two full covens.” He glances at Toni, and I notice something in his expression. Regret. For once in Egan Byrne’s life, he’s going to regret leaving a girl behind. I’ve been so focused on Toni not getting hurt that I’ve not considered Egan might be an emotional casualty, too. But he’s being the stronger of the two of us and pulling away.

  Damn and double damn. Why can’t the covens just leave us alone?

  Because Egan and I are powerful and dangerous to the status quo. Not because of our power, but because we’ve broken rank, might inspire others to do the same if the covens don’t make examples of us with their punishment. The head of the covens will never allow disobedience and defection from anyone. Their power is absolute, and they fully intend to keep it that way.

  “Well, we’re not about to let you and Jax face them alone.” Toni’s voice goes up in indignation, obviously because Egan thinks she and Keller can’t help fight the covens.

  “We’re not facing them, at least not here.” Egan stands and takes a couple of steps away from the bench.

  Watching this is crushing me—that is if the idea of leaving Keller behind doesn’t complete the job first. I catch Keller watching me.

  “He’s not saying what it sounds like, is he?” Keller says.

  “We can’t stay here. We would be endangering you, your families and all the other innocent people who don’t have the first clue what’s going on.”

  “Then I’m going with you.”

  “Me, too,” Toni says.

  “No.” I glance at my closest friend then back at the guy I definitely love. “Keller, this place attracts evil spirits, all kinds of dark beings. You and your dad are needed here. After tonight, that’s never been truer.”

  “How do you know the covens won’t come here anyway?”

  “If they’ve detected us, they’ll know when we move because we’ll leave a trail of residual energy for a while.”

  “How long?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know. We’ve never used that amount of power before. But if the covens come here, they’ll realize our signatures are gone and try to follow.”

  Tears streak down Toni’s face. “But . . . I don’t want you to go.”

  Egan does nothing to comfort her, his face a mask of uncaring, and I can’t fault him for his decision. I search for the strength to do the same, but it proves elusive.

  “What exactly did we see tonight?” Keller has rid his voice of emotion, assuming his role as supernatural hunter.

  I shiver at the remembered cold wave that hit me below the Shiprock. It’d frozen me in places so deep there’s no denying the pure evil of it. I turn back toward my friends.

  “You remember when we were looking through the newspaper clippings in your father’s office, there was the old one about the wagon that went off the mountain at Shiprock Curve?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t think that and all the car wrecks there are because of people going too fast. They were pushed, like Stacy was, like we were.”

  “But that wagon wreck was more than a hundred years ago,” Keller says.

  “And I think those witches have been there more than three hundred.”

  “You’re immortal?” Toni asks, her teary eyes wide.

  I shake my head.

  “They weren’t alive,” Keller says, the truth dawning. “They’re spirits.”

  “I think we found one of the spots where the covens harvested their dark powers.”

  “So those three were some of the first who were killed in the process,” Egan says. “God, they’re still around.”

  “And they’re
pissed because they died while their descendants enjoy the power, while everyone who passes by is alive.” Keller looks toward the dark shape of the mountains rising above the town. “They’re stuck in that spot for some reason, so they take out their anger on the innocent.”

  “Yeah. They’re so angry, so full of . . .” I shiver again. “I’ve seen evil, but I’ve never felt anything like that, not even when . . .” I stop, swallow hard at the memory. “Not even when the coven killed my mother.”

  “Then we’ve got some serious hunting to do.” Keller turns toward his truck.

  I grab his arm. “No, you and your dad can’t go anywhere near Shiprock. They know Egan and I are here, so they’re going to be ready.”

  “Dad and I have killed a lot of evil spirits. We know what we’re doing.”

  “No, you don’t,” I snap, angry that he’s so eager to put himself in mortal danger. “This isn’t a surly poltergeist we’re talking about here. This is power like you’ve never faced. You saw what happened. Egan and I had a hard time fighting them off. You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

  I know I’m belittling him and his ability in front of other people, making him less than me, but I have no choice. If it saves his life, I’ll anger and embarrass him until the end of time. I’ll make him hate me, if necessary. Maybe that would be better for everyone anyway.

  He stares at me, his pride warring with what he must know is my superior knowledge on the subject. “We can’t let people keep getting hurt and killed.”

  “I know. Egan and I will figure out something.”

  “I thought you were leaving.” He definitely sounds angry, and hurt, now.

  “Not before we take care of the Shiprock witches. We’ll figure it out, somehow.” At the moment, I have no idea where to start, but I’m not leaving Baker Gap until that trio is out of the vengeance business. Not until I guarantee Keller won’t go all macho bad ass and storm off to face them.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Though he may think he’s good at hiding his feelings, Keller isn’t. I can see how much he cares for me, more than logic allows. I also see how his mind is cranking nonstop, trying to figure out how to get rid of the spirit coven and keep me in Baker Gap, near him.

  “You going to invite me in?” He leans his forearm against the doorframe of the RV. After a long day of school, dancing, nearly crashing off the side of a mountain and answering police questions about Stacy’s wreck, he also looks exhausted. But isn’t every minute we have together of the utmost importance now? There’s a hunger in his eyes that is reflected inside of me.

  I think of how Egan walked away into the night after our conversation outside the hospital. He hadn’t even glanced at Toni, hadn’t given her the tiniest goodbye. I should be treating Keller the same, but I can’t seem to turn myself to ice so easily.

  “I don’t think that’s wise.”

  “Oh, it’s very wise.” He captures my mouth in a kiss.

  “Keller . . .” More kissing. “I can’t.” And yet more kissing. “I’m leaving soon.”

  “Then we shouldn’t waste time talking.” He follows me inside, nearly devouring me with kisses. I love the feel of his body next to mine. He’s everything I never knew I wanted. He locks the door and backs me toward the bed.

  We lie down side by side, our kisses growing more frantic. Through the haze of lust, I hear gravel popping outside but figure it’s one of my neighbors. When Keller runs his hand underneath my shirt, I think I’m going to die of stimulus overload.

  He pulls back a little and looks down at me. “I love you.”

  Banging at the door makes us jerk apart, a holdover from being caught kissing in his dad’s office.

  “Ignore it,” he whispers.

  I’m tempted. After all, I might die tomorrow and I want to spend my last hours with Keller. But something that feels like a need to protect him causes me to stand, straighten my clothing, and run my hands over my hair. I feel incredibly flustered.

  Thinking our visitor might be Egan, I say, “We’ve got a lot of work to do.” With that, I move away from him without responding to his declaration. I think I’m in shock.

  When I open the door, I gasp and stumble back a couple of steps. It’s not Egan or Toni at the door, not one of my neighbors. My heart falters when Reverend Dawes steps into the RV, a gun once again trained on me.

  “Dad? What’s going on?”

  “Keller, go outside.”

  “No.” Keller’s response is firm, sure.

  His dad spares him only a brief glance. “I’m afraid you’ve been blinded by this one’s beauty, false beauty, bought and paid for through satanic means.”

  “Jax isn’t satanic.”

  “You don’t see her for what she is, an ugly, evil thing clouding the mind of innocent men. She’ll kill you before you realize what’s happening.”

  “No,” I say as I stare at the cold, awful end of the gun. “I won’t.”

  I could rip the gun from the older man’s hands, but I can’t risk Keller getting hurt.

  “I thought I’d seen about everything, but then I found your kind,” the reverend says. “Why did you come here? Why did you bring your evil to my family?”

  “Damn it, Dad. She’s not evil. She’s a good person. I love her.”

  His father looks as if he’d been stabbed in the heart. “She’s not human at all. She’s a witch.”

  “I know.”

  More shock registers on his father’s face. “You know? Did you know she tried to kill Stacy Parker tonight?”

  “You’re wrong. We saved Stacy. Jax saved us all.”

  “You have been blinded by the evil.” His father’s voice takes on the righteous fury of generations of fire-and-brimstone preachers.

  It makes my blood run cold.

  Hid dad straightens his arm, pointing the gun straight at my heart. “I will not let you take my son from me.”

  As his father’s finger begins to pull back on the trigger, Keller jumps forward, placing himself between his father and me as the weapon fires.

  No!

  I move faster than I ever have, shielding Keller, taking the bullet that’s meant for me. Pain slices across my shoulder as I stagger, trip and collapse in the floor.

  “No.” Keller drops to his knees beside me, using his body to shield me from his father’s gun, and presses his hand against my shoulder. Raw concern fills his eyes. My vision falters when I see my blood on his hand. Keller uses his other hand to frame my face.

  “Come on, stay with me.” He looks over his shoulder. “Call 911.”

  That jerks me back from the brink. “No.”

  “You’ve been shot.”

  “It’s just a flesh wound.”

  “Still—”

  “We don’t need the police involved. And I’ve made one too many trips to the hospital tonight.” I push his hand away and struggle to my feet, noticing the shocked expression on Rev. Dawes’ face. Despite the fact it’s a flesh wound, my head swims as I head for the sink.

  As I turn on the water, something crashes behind me. When I look back, Keller has his father pushed against the wall, his hand around Rev. Dawes’s throat.

  Before I can say anything, Egan surges through the open door and rips the gun from the pastor’s hand, crumples it into a mangled mess and throws it out the door with enough force that it probably won’t land until it reaches Tennessee.

  I make eye contact with Rev. Dawes, whose eyes are wide with a lifetime’s worth of disbelief. I say nothing. For a moment, I don’t care if my lack of sympathy for him is part of my darker nature. I turn my back and let the guys handle the elder hunter as they see fit.

  When I awake the next morning, I ache like someone has beaten me with a flagpole. It takes a few moments for my brain to clear enough to remember everything that happened last night. With tremendous effort, I open my eyes, hoping I don’t find myself surrounded by a coven or two. I immediately shut my eyes against the bright sunlight streaming in the window of the RV.
I wait a couple of heartbeats then open my eyes again more slowly, letting them adjust to the light.

  I see him almost immediately.

  Keller is sprawled on one of the kitchen benches and looks about as comfortable as if he were confined to a torture rack. Even asleep and rumpled, he still makes my heart do funny things. I smile, happy to be alive and overjoyed that Keller is okay.

  As if he senses my smile—and I’m beginning to believe we can sense such things about each other—his eyes open. Like me, it takes him a moment to fully wake up and realize what he’s seeing. When he does, he slides to the edge of the bench. “You’re awake.”

  “Observant.”

  “How do you feel?”

  “Sore.”

  “What can I do?”

  “Stop looking at me like I’m at death’s door.” I scoot up to a sitting position with a wince. “We’re mortal, but we heal faster than the average person.”

  He wraps my hand between his and brings it to his lips. “You scared me half to death.”

  “Sorry.”

  “God, Jax. You took a bullet for me.”

  I close my eyes for a moment, remembering the hot, searing pain cutting a path across the outside edge of my shoulder. It wouldn’t have happened if I’d been as strong as Egan and walked away last night.

  “I had to,” I say as I reopen my eyes. “I couldn’t let you die, and I couldn’t let your father live with the guilt of killing you.”

  Keller’s face hardens at the mention of his father.

  I squeeze his hand. “He did what he thought was right. If I’d been a normal witch, he would have been.”

  Keller stands and takes the few steps the RV’s interior allows, the anger wafting off him like waves of roiling steam. “He didn’t even listen to me, didn’t trust me to know the difference between good and evil. Damn it, I’m seventeen. I’ve been hunting and fighting since I was a kid. My instincts are as good as his, hell, better.”

  I let him vent. He needs to get it all out so he can move on. His dad will still be here when I’m gone.

  I can’t help marveling at how Keller stood up for me, against the father who raised him, who trusted him enough to teach him how to protect himself against the creatures most people think don’t exist outside of horror movies.