Emily’s back, arched. Eva’s spirit form splitting out of her.
The Heart of The Isle pounded rapidly, its membrane-like casing throbbing powerfully with each pulse.
With a violent pull, Jack Howard tore Eva Jordan’s spirit out of Emily Morgan.
She slumped to the ground. Limp. Lifeless. Still injured. Her wounds not fully healed. Michael and Charlie raced over, dragging her away from Eva and their father. Blood pooled on Emily’s chest, soaking the tee shirt in red. Her pulse was weak, her breathing labored.
They looked up when a crackle of electricity sparked. The Heart’s pulsing stopped, replaced with an ear pounding hum. It buzzed, like energy with no place to go.
Behind Jack, a wooden door appeared out of nowhere.
It creaked open.
Eva flailed, trying to escape his grasp.
She spied the door, her spirited eyes widening in horror as she saw the shapes of her parents waiting to greet her.
“I’m not going in there,” she shrieked. Wispy tendrils started to spark out of her body and reach toward the door. It was calling her through.
Jack thrust his arm, throwing her into the door. She got sucked in but grabbed hold of the frame, refusing to let go. She gripped and pulled, prying herself back out into the frame. A sneer covered her face. “I’m not that easy to get rid of…”
With a strike as fast and hard as lightening, a roar of energy blasted out of the power source and hit Eva straight in the chest. Her eyes bulged. Her fingers slipped. She flew backwards into whatever hell awaited her.
The door slammed shut.
Eva Jordan was gone. This time, for good.
The pounding buzz of the Heart, slowed, its regular pulse returning.
Jack Howard faced his sons.
They could no longer hear him. Only see him.
Lovingly, he embraced each of them with his eyes, saying a final goodbye.
A door appeared behind him. It opened slowly.
A silhouette formed.
“Mom,” mumbled Charlie.
She smiled out at her sons and mouthed the words, “I love you.”
Jack Howard turned and smiled at his wife. She took his hand and pulled him gently through. The door closed and vanished with a soft swoosh.
They had no time to mourn.
They needed to save Emily.
She was still losing blood from where Charlie had stabbed her with his claws. Eva wasn’t in her body long enough for the wounds to finish healing. They’d never make it out of here and to a hospital in time to save her.
“It’s my fault she’s dying,” cried Charlie. He couldn’t face his brother.
Michael leaned over her, begging her to speak to him. To open her eyes. To breathe. Tears cascaded from his eyes onto her face. He might not have dealt the blow, but he’d relished in the act. Wishing he’d done it himself. It wasn’t just Charlie’s fault.
Charlie slid the tee shirt enough to look. He laid his hands over her wounds as if willing them to heal. He didn’t quite dare touch her and wasn’t sure where to start. He tried to clear his head and calm himself.
Lizzy came to Charlie’s side.
He gazed up at her. “I don’t know what to do.” His hands shook. Lizzy reached out to steady him, but gasped, pulling back.
A warm glow started to emanate out of Charlie’s ring.
It grew and expanded, stretching outward and down, encasing Emily from head to toe. Michael let go of her, sliding back.
The glow enveloped Charlie’s hands, feeling like a charge of energy. Sort of like life, sliding out of him.
Emily’s wounds started to close. Color returned to her cheeks.
Somehow, Charlie was healing her.
He didn’t know how, or why. But he was so certain of it.
The glow started to fade.
Emily inhaled, her eyes fluttering open.
Michael reached down and pulled her to him, embracing her.
“Michael…” she whispered weakly.
“You’re okay, Em. You’re okay. I don’t know how, but God, you’re still with me.”
Emily rested her head on Michael’s shoulder.
She was healed. Her wounds gone. Her physical ones at least.
The wounds ravaging her soul might never heal.
She whimpered on his shoulder. Confused. Tired. Fatherless. Ringless. With no idea what this meant for her future. And not caring much about the future.
Lizzy grabbed hold of Charlie’s hands, looking them over.
He had no idea what had just happened. It was the Guardian ring. It had to be. And whatever it had done, it healed Emily. Brought her back from the brink of death.
He looked over at the lifeless body of his father, then down at Lizzy.
She shook her head. “I don’t think you were meant to save him.”
How could he be given such a gift, and been made aware of its existence too late to save his father? Maybe Lizzy was right. Maybe it was his dad’s time and nothing would have stopped his death.
Maybe his dad was supposed to have died four years ago, alongside their mother.
Perhaps this last day gave them only what they needed.
His help. Closure. A chance to be with him, learn from him, one last time.
Charlie dropped his head, his heart twisting into a knot he didn’t think could be unraveled. They hadn’t all been able to see him.
Melinda…
He got to his feet.
It was time to leave.
And he was tired, beyond measure.
And yet still wired, the adrenaline waning.
But also weary and in need of a stiff drink. Or ten.
They had their confirmation. They had located the power source.
The rest would need to wait.
Michael helped Emily to her feet. She didn’t talk, only leaned on him. A shell of her usual self.
“How… how are we going to get Dad’s body out of here?” asked Charlie. Their mother’s urn was on the ground, just a couple feet away from him.
As if answering the question for them, thin wooden-like tendrils poked up through the ground, from under and around Jack’s body. A tendril reached out, wrapping around their mother’s urn, twisting it inside its grasp. It brought the urn to a rest on top of Jack’s body.
The tendrils wrapped around Jack. And the urn. Encasing them.
They started to pulse, the same as the Heart. A minute later, his body disappeared. A new, thick tendril in its place. The tendril plunged itself down into the earth.
The Heart had claimed their parents. Their bodies now rooted to the Demon Isle, forever. They could not think of a more fitting location for their parent’s bodies to rest in peace.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Melinda’s eyes fluttered, trying to open. She moaned, not wanting to wake up. She’d been lost in the most incredible dream. She felt comforted. Rested. Blissfully contented. The fear and pain that had crippled her, fading like a distant memory. Replaced with a quiet sadness and a sense of wholeness. Like she was gaining something, but losing something.
When her eyes finally opened, her first sight was William. It gave her a start to see him. He wasn’t fully healed yet, but close. His clothes were tattered and burned. But he was alive.
“You lived,” she exhaled.
“I am still with you.” He leaned down, peering into her eyes. “How are you feeling?”
She had the oddest sensation, looking at him. Her skin flushed, the dream flooding into her mind. Or had it been a dream? It seemed so real.
He ignored the flutter in her heart, brushing his hand across her brow. “You’re safe now.”
She felt safe. Entombed by love.
“Heya, Kid,” called out Mack.
Melinda turned away from William.
“How are ya?”
“I’m... okay,” Melinda answered truthfully. She wasn’t ready to take on the world yet, but she was ready to face the upcoming hours.
“Willia
m,” she called out quite suddenly.
“Yes.”
“Was I hallucinating, or did I actually see my dad?”
He smiled, pleased that he could admit the truth. “Not a hallucination.”
Melinda had a sudden déjà vu of William telling her this same thing already. She shook it off. “I don’t understand, how did he get free of the Hunter?”
“I do not know. I’m sure when everyone returns we will discover all the sorted details.”
“Return? Where are they? Is the battle not over yet?”
“Rest,” he told her. “We’ll find out soon.”
How could she rest? He’d just confirmed that her father was alive and had returned. She sat up, getting her bearings. Insisting she was okay enough to sit up. Alex left in the I.V. but adjusted it for comfort, to sit at the edge of the bed with her feet on the ground, rather than lie down.
William took the blanket she’d been covered in and wrapped it around her shoulders. He reached underneath and gently pulled out her hair, placing it over the blanket, picking out leaves and debris.
He caught Melinda staring at him, confused by his actions.
He’d never done that before. He was calm, softened somehow.
Instead of pulling away, he smiled. It spoke a thousand words to her.
William slipped into her mind. Yes, Melinda. He spoke softly, answering the question he saw in her gaze. The dream was real.
He wanted her to remember. Not to question. No more secrets between them.
She said nothing. It didn’t change anything between them in this world. It hurt. But it was a pain she thought she could manage.
Melinda wondered about Riley. What had happened to him? Had he been released from the Feyk’s spell? Did her family have to hurt him in the end?
She didn’t hate him. She couldn’t hate him. She wanted desperately to hate him. To blame him. It would be easier.
He’d said and done some things she would never forget. And was not sure she could easily forgive. They left a deep scar on her heart. Regardless, she didn’t want to see him right now. To look at him would force her to remember the terrible things he’d done.
The more she let these thoughts leak into her mind, the angrier she got at him. And at herself. For being unable to forgive him for something that was not his fault. For something he had no control over. A situation caused in part, by her own stupidity.
Just let it go for now.
It wasn’t so easy. Her mind still harbored the images of William bound to the stake. And it was Riley’s dark grin that burst in. She wished she could replace that image with Eva Jordan’s. It was all her doing. Not Riley’s… perhaps with time she’d get beyond it.
But this night, this night was not one to forget.
It had been filled with terror unlike anything she’d ever experienced, as well as complete joy in the fact that her father had returned. Ending with her and William declaring their forbidden love. They had to leave it to the depths of her dreams, but it had happened. It was real. He did love her.
She shuddered at the mere thought of kissing him for real. She wondered if it would feel the same as her dream.
Melinda sighed. There was a longing in her sigh.
She would never find out.
“Melinda…” William whispered her name so softly and sweetly, she thought for a minute it wasn’t real. She cast up her gaze, lost in his for a moment.
“I’m okay,” she told him. “Knowing is… better than always wondering.”
He caressed her cheek, hoping that was true.
There was something he wanted to ask her, but she’d been through so much, he hated to bring it up. But he needed to know. And she was the only person that could tell him.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course, William.” She smiled weakly.
“I do not wish to ask this. And honestly I dread your answer, but I must know.”
“Um. Okay.” Her heart did a nervous flutter.
He sighed hesitantly. “I heard everything Riley said to you while you were bound.”
Her breath hitched. God. She’d hoped he had not.
“Melinda… did someone hurt you? Did someone… force themselves on you?”
“Um,” she croaked. “No. It wasn’t like that, it was just… God how do I explain. It was a mistake. On my part. I chose badly. And the experience went badly. But it was consensual, however regretful a choice.” Talking about Jerkwad made her uncomfortable, but mostly, she just wanted to forget about it now. And move on. She had so many wonderful experiences to replace it with now.
“You don’t need to say more,” William said kindly. “I know a lot of what Riley said was embellished for my enjoyment,” he rolled his eyes. “But when he spoke of this, there was enough truth in his voice that I needed to know.”
“I understand. And I swear, William, it was just a stupid choice on my part. Not one I plan on ever making again.”
“Will you promise me one thing?”
“Okay.”
“Don’t ever tell me the bastard’s name…” his gaze warned the man responsible would pay, severely, for whatever demeaning thing he’d done to the woman he loved.
He kissed her forehead gently, and she let out an exhausted whimper.
They sat on the edge of the gurney for what felt like hours. Waiting. When finally a voice shouted, “Someone’s coming.”
Melinda got to her feet. William steadied her. They watched eagerly as Charlie and Lizzy, followed by Michael and Emily, sauntered out of White Pines.
“Oh. Wow.” The sight of them both relieved and petrified her. They were in one piece and alive, but covered in blood. And filth. They looked beaten and defeated.
They heard Mack let out a relieved huff. Like breathing out a heavy burden, and letting it go.
Michael brought Emily directly to the ambulance. He wanted her thoroughly checked out. He saw Melinda from the corner of his eye, relieved beyond words she was conscious and even on her feet. Though clearly weary, like them.
He refused to make eye contact with her. He could not bring himself to do it.
She was about to be devastated beyond words… he was already breaking apart by the pain he knew was coming. He needed to focus on Emily.
Melinda searched the woods behind them, expecting to see her father.
Lizzy stepped away, giving Charlie a compassionate, albeit tired, pat on the arm. She needed to find Lucas and Riley. Someone graciously offered her a ride home. She refused any treatment for her head, insisting she’d deal with it later.
Charlie watched her leave.
William approached him.
They stared at each other. Exchanging no words.
Charlie couldn’t say it. He could not utter the words.
William closed his eyes, releasing a heartbroken sigh.
Charlie stepped around him, facing Melinda.
All she needed to see was the tears in his eyes.
She knew.
He didn’t have to say the words. Charlie’s silent scream shouted them on his behalf.
Her father wasn’t coming home after all.
She crumbled into little pieces.
All the pain William had taken away, cutting its way back into her.
Her anguished sobs lacerated William’s heart, shattering it like glass.
Charlie wrapped his arms around Melinda, muffling her cries.
Emily just lay on her bed, staring into nothing. She hadn’t said anything since she’d come back from near death. There were no words to describe how she felt. No way to vocalize it. Michael didn’t leave her side. His light, his dear Emily, lay broken.
##
Lizzy Deane stepped through the door to the manor. She saw packed bags sitting nearby. Lucas appeared, his back to her, stacking another bag.
“Going somewhere?” she asked.
“We’re leaving.”
“Why?”
He turned to look at her, taken aback. “Wha
t happened to you?”
“I was in a battle. You tend to get dirty. Bloody in this case. Why are you leaving?” she demanded again, uncaring of her appearance.
“You really need to ask that.”
“I want to hear you say it, Lucas.”
“Fine. I shouldn’t have come here. I shouldn’t have brought Riley here. Look what this place has done to us already. We can’t be around magic.”
“So you’re going to run away?”
“I’m not running away. I’m getting out of a situation we shouldn’t have gotten involved with in the first place.”
Riley listened nearby.
He didn’t want to listen to them arguing.
This was all his fault. He was the reason they needed to leave. The reason Melinda, or the Howards, would never forgive him. Would never want to see his face again. People on the island already despised them. This just fueled their distrust even more.
Lizzy followed Lucas upstairs. “You’re wrong to leave. This is where you belong. You need to embrace who you are. If you didn’t fight it...”
“Then what? I’d be what? I’d still be a Deane with my dirty blood.”
Lizzy was too tired to argue. But she didn’t want them to leave.
“Stay for tonight,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave like this.”
“There’s a late night ferry to take the tourists home after the fireworks. It leaves in about ten minutes. We’re going to be on it.”
A door slammed downstairs.
They raced down.
“Riley,” called out Lucas.
“His bag’s gone,” pointed Lizzy.
They heard his motorcycle tearing out of the driveway.
“Stop him,” pleaded Lizzy.
“I’m going to join him.”
Lizzy blew out an exhausted breath. “Actually. You can’t.”
“Yes, I can. It’s easy.” He picked up a bag and threw it over his shoulder.
“No. You can’t,” repeated Lizzy, “because the truck is parked at the Howards. Someone gave me a ride home.”
Lucas had forgotten. He and Riley had grabbed the motorcycle from its hiding spot in White Pines, from where Lucas had parked before he and Melinda… it didn’t matter. He had no way to catch up to Riley. No way to make it to the ferry on time, traveling on foot. He dialed his brother’s cell phone, intent to tell him to come back and get him.
Bite Me Baby! (Wicked Good Witches Book 7) Page 14