by Tara Brown
Chapter 11
Witchy woman
Ophelia
The woman in the snow globe waved and blew me a kiss. I spoke to the six balls of light, “Do you see her often?”
Other than this snow globe, we have not seen her since birth. We each remember her from the minutes we had when we were born, before we were taken.
“Why can’t you go there and see her if you can see our brother?” I called them my sisters now and was facing the fact this nightmare wasn't just going to end. It was real. I was a witch and these spooky balls were my family.
It was insane, but hard to deny.
There is a guard around the tower. No one may enter but our father.
“How did Annabelle make this snow globe then?” It was creepy watching the woman, obviously my mother, wave and blow kisses.
One of Mother’s maids sacrificed her life to create a live link to her cell. It’s made of her blood and soul.
“Gross.” I was grateful I’d gotten Sam to grab it for me.
He made me promise a favor if he did it. He was being weird. He had snuck into Lydia’s like he didn’t want to be seen and then came to see me as if he wanted to ask something, but he didn't. He just made small talk. Then I asked him to get my snow globe and he seemed better.
The problem was I had to go too. He still couldn't get through the guard on my house.
My mom and dad weren’t home.
No one was.
Abbey was missing, I could tell. Her things were the same as they had been the night she disappeared.
No one was saying it, but I started to think they all knew Abbey was dead. They just didn't want to tell me.
I prayed I was wrong.
I left the snow globe in my room at Lydia’s and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.
“She needs to convince them to give her their power after she kills her brother,” Lorri spoke in a hushed tone.
“Shh,” Lydia shushed her.
I stopped as I opened the fridge door, motionless, holding the jug of orange juice.
Were they talking about me?
“Ophelia, honey, do you want to come in here?”
I carried the orange juice into the sitting room next to the kitchen. Lorri and Lydia sat on the chairs.
Lorri raised an eyebrow at the juice.
“I was getting a glass, I swear.”
“So you heard that, I assume.”
I nodded. “You want me to kill my brother? The brother I haven’t ever met and don’t really believe exists?”
“The witch who birthed the others did the spell so that whoever was the last one standing would be graced with the power of them all. It’s the only way to defeat him.”
“They told me you’re Lucifer. If that’s true, how is he stronger than you?”
Lorri stared directly into my eyes. “He has allowed the shadow to fill him up. He is full of the hate and pain of the world. He is the actual Satan that humankind believes me to be. The reason we guard is to protect humans against the darkness your mother cursed the Earth with.”
“I know. Annabelle and my sisters told me this. Adam raped her in the garden.”
“Shhh, child. Do not speak the words.” Lydia glanced around nervously.
“Why?”
“Better to be safe than sorry.”
“Look, I get that this is very real to you all, but the part that’s real to me is my sister. Do you know where she is?”
Lydia glanced at Lorri who nodded. “We think there are two possibilities: One, Jon, the Viking werewolf killed her. Or two, she’s in Alaska, if she’s still alive.”
“Still alive?” The words tasted as bad as they sounded.
Lorri offered, “Look, kid, the people who have her have all the darkness in the world inside them. Bad things are kind of their gig.”
“Can we go get her?”
“Not until July 7. It’s when you’ll be at your strongest.”
“Are you insane? I’m not waiting that long to get her. Especially if she might die. My parents have probably called the police. Everyone knows we're missing. They have to!” I stormed up to the room where Sam always hid lately. I tapped on his door.
“Yeah.”
“Hey.” I opened it, scowling at the bag he was packing. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
My heart sunk. I hated the house and the stupid people in it. The little kids were creepy and the girls my age were bitchy. No one just told you the whole truth on anything. Sam was my favorite. “Can I come?”
“Sure.” He shrugged.
“Be right back.” I ran to my room and snagged my snow globe and hurried back to him.
“Sam, don’t do this,” Lydia’s voice rang through the halls as I got to his room.
I grabbed his arm as we flashed. When we stopped moving, I opened my eyes to find the most amazing castle I’d ever seen. The only castle I’d ever seen.
“Wow. What is this place?”
“Giselle’s place.”
“The vampire’s house?” I barely recalled the night the vampires were outside Lydia's. What I did remember was horrifying. I glared at Sam, remembering the way he made my mind fuzzy.
“Come on.” He waved and strolled inside.
He seemed different.
The foyer was the size of the main floor of my parents’ house. Sadness filled me as I thought about them. Were they out searching for me right now? Were they scared?
Lorri told me I was a danger to everyone, now that my father knew I was alive. He would know he had been betrayed. He would be looking for me.
I couldn’t imagine being a baby smuggled out as a dead infant while my mother grieved the loss of yet another baby girl. I gripped the snow globe against my chest and tried not to dwell on it. I couldn’t fight the fact I felt something for the snow globe lady, even if I didn’t understand it.
I followed Sam as he stormed to Aimee’s new room. She was huddled on her bed crying.
“I need your help,” he blurted. I lingered in the hall, worried about her crying. She didn't come across as the crying type.
A disgusted look flashed across her red and puffy face. “What? Are you kidding me?”
“I need help. I need to find the spell that breaks my match.”
“Can you break mine too?”
“Yeah, maybe. Is it over?”
“I broke up with him.”
“Is he okay?” Sam didn't sound like he cared, at all.
“What? No—of course not. He’s upset. He cried on the side of the road and yelled at me.”
“What did he say?” Sam was being so heartless, I cringed.
“He said I was making a mistake and that we are supposed to be together. Then he got really mad and asked why the fuck he was staying in random hotels with my dad, and giving up his dreams if we weren’t going to be together. Then he called me my sister and left.”
“You know that’s not true, right?” His voice softened a tiny bit.
“It is true. I am my sister. I loved him and Aleks at the same time. I dated them both. I judged her for the same shit.”
“You saved his life, breaking it off. Think of the shit that's wrong with you.”
She sniffled. “It didn’t feel like it. It felt like I was destroying it.”
“Did you go get your dad?”
“Yeah. We sold his house a while ago and it closed the other day. He cried a lot. He’s staying with my gram in her new condo that I got Lorri to buy her. It’s in the South of France. No one knows they’re there. Not even Shane.”
“He’ll be happy, Aimes.”
“I wish they could all be happy. I wish I’d cut the ties with them long before I became a Rose. I don’t mind my life being screwed, but I hate that they're all separated and scared. Most of all, I hate that I can’t be there. I wish I knew what was going to happen.”
Sam pulled a gold plate from his backpack. “Then I have something to cheer you up.”
“Gold
dishes?”
“Annabelle’s golden scrying plate. Ass.”
Aimee snorted. “What in the world could you possibly want to show me in that plate? You aren’t even magical.”
He pinched his noise. “I’m not, hammerhead, but Ophelia is and she’s here.”
“You’re a moron.”
“Be that as it may, but you can see if it was the right choice.”
“You think Ophelia could use that to see our sisters?”
“I do.” He nodded. “And more. How to get Alise back. I bet she can.”
Giselle brushed past, making me flinch. “Uhhh, that Ophelia chick is lingering in the hall and Hanna just called from Roland’s place. She’s coming over.”
Sam spoke softly, “Ask Ophelia to meet us in the den, please.”
Giselle scoffed. “I’m not your servant. Besides, I got me a vampire date.” I turned and shouted into the hall, “Jeeves, get that witch in the den, and I’m hungry.” She strutted away, completely ignoring me.
Aimee muttered, “I miss poor Giselle.”
“I agree.”
“I HEARD THAT, ASSHOLES.”
Aimee laughed and picked up the golden plate. “Wonder what her date will be like?”
“He will no doubt be young and attractive, and hopefully eager to fill my role as Jeeves the Slave.” Hamish appeared in the doorway and gave me a look. “It’s this way to the den, miss. They will meet you there.”
I followed the old man to a creepy den to wait for them to come to me.
The castle was off the hook.
Sam entered the room in a hurry. “Dim the lights and light a bunch of candles,” he spoke quickly as he grabbed the plate from Aimee and placed it on the small table. He grabbed a glass of water from the bar and poured it into the shallow plate.
“Make sure the candles are behind the spot. They need to be behind where Ophelia is going to read.” Sam smiled at me. “You need to look into this plate and relax your mind. We will ask questions and you will see answers, okay?”
“This is how a witch gets answers?” I asked skeptically.
“Yeah. I saw some of the Wiccans do this tons. Plus, this plate is really magical.”
“I don't know if this will work. I don't really know much about magic. Annabelle’s been trying to teach me, but I don't think I have it.” I fidgeted with my fingers and peered into the water.
“You’re fine. Calm the mind. Push away every thought and worry. Just relax and breathe.” Sam tried to speak as low as he could.
I closed my eyes and followed his instructions.
Chapter 12
Girls gone wild
Ophelia
The water looked normal. I wanted to help them so they would help me get my sister’s and my life back, but I doubted my own abilities.
I cleared my mind and watched the water in the golden plate. Just as I felt the last cog in my brain stop turning, the water rippled.
Confused, I moved closer. The bottom of the plate fell away, revealing an incredibly deep hole filled with water. “Holy shit, the bottom’s gone.” I gulped.
“I think that’s it,” Sam whispered.
“Then I guess you can ask now.” I felt detached and fuzzy.
Aimee blurted quickly, “Did I make the right decision to break up with Shane?”
The water turned stormy and dark suddenly. Waves started to lap across the top of the hole. A handsome man with dark-blond hair and bright-blue eyes sat alone in a room. He was drinking a beer with the TV on and his police uniform shirt open to reveal a white undershirt, making him appear sloppy. He looked miserable. It flashed and suddenly he was at a scene of an accident. A woman in blue jeans and a baby blue tee shirt held her hand to her face. Blood dripped from her forehead. He wiped the blood away. She smiled at him. The next flash, he was holding a baby in a hospital room. The lady from the accident smiled from a hospital bed. His eyes still had sadness in them.
“He’s going to save a woman, fall in love, and have a baby. He’s happy, I guess. Haunted still, maybe. So I guess you did. His life looks as if he moved on.”
“My turn. How can I break my match?” Sam asked impatiently.
“What?” I frowned. I didn’t understand the question. The water churned again, and when the picture cleared, a beautiful woman stood at the edge of a lake. An older woman walked to her. Her back was to me. The scene was obviously from sometime long ago. They both wore old-fashioned dresses and bonnets. The young woman opened her dress and the older woman whispered, “Fod yn rhydd o’r cadwyni o gariad,” pulled a dagger from the holster on her hip, and dragged it across her hand, making bright-red blood appear. She coated the dagger in the blood and then plunged it into the heart of the woman. I gasped and the woman screamed in agony. The older woman pulled the dagger out. No wound was there but a scar remained. The older woman turned to face me. I gasped again, seeing it was the younger face of Lydia as she walked away from the screaming woman.
“I have to cut myself and say some shit and then stab you.” I gulped and stared at him. “This is a bad idea.”
“You know what to say, right? Not just some shit?” Sam cringed.
“Yeah, words are repeating in my head right now. But I don't think it’s a good idea.”
“It’ll be fine.”
“Lydia did it in the plate to a young woman. She was so beautiful back then.” I peered back down, hoping to see her again.
Aimee asked before Sam could, “Will I get my sister back?”
I thought of my own sister momentarily as the water splashed and rolled inside the hole. I waited for the water to clear but it didn’t. I started to feel sick. “I don’t think I can do anymore right now.” I blinked and turned away from the plate. “That was weird.”
“I have a dagger if you could just do this little spell for me quickly.” Sam raised his eyebrows.
“Already?”
“I need this.” He said it so flatly I couldn't deny it. “And I need to hurry.”
“Okay. All right. We can try.”
He bent down and pulled a small dagger from his sock.
“What is this, Braveheart? Who keeps knives in their socks?”
“I grew up with Earth witches. They always have a spare blade somewhere or salt in a pocket.” He passed me the blade. It was still warm from being near his skin.
“Are you sure I can do this?” My nerves buzzed.
“I’m an immortal. I can’t die anyway. Stabbing me in the heart is just going to hurt, even if the spell doesn’t work. But then we pull the blade out and I heal instantly.”
“Fine.” My brow was sweat covered and my hands quivered, but I held the blade up against my hand and whispered the words still swirling in my head, “Fod yn rhydd o’r cadwyni o gariad.” I slid the blade along my hand, slicing it open. I started to panic but coated the blade in dark-red blood. It seemed darker than I remembered it ever being. It was almost black.
He pulled off his shirt and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “Do it.” When I didn't move, he lowered his gaze to me. “Do it. Please, I need this.”
The desperation in his eyes spoke to me. Without thinking, as if he’d mesmerized me to do it, I plunged the knife into his soft skin. He immediately screamed and writhed in pain. I pulled the blade out and let it drop to the floor.
“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Aimee snapped out of her daydream and grabbed him. She wrapped her arms around him. “What did you do?” she shouted at me.
“I don't know. I don't know! He asked me to!”
He screamed in pain and dropped to his knees, falling to his side. He curled into a ball.
“Oh my God.” I lowered too, my hands shaking and bleeding. “I’m so sorry. Sam, I’m so sorry.” I sobbed, wrapping myself around him and cradling his head in my arms. “I’m so sorry.”
A redhead rushed into the room. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” She dropped to her knees in front of him, sobbing. “No, Sam. No.”
> Aimee reached a hand for the redhead, but Sam put a fist out. “No, Aimes. She isn’t worth it,” he spoke through gritted teeth.
The redhead cried into her hands. “I didn’t mean it. I never meant it, Sam. Please. Please.” She shook her head, reaching for him.
He recoiled at her touch. “Never speak to me again.”
“Sam. I was confused. You were right. I shouldn’t have gone there. Sam, I’m sorry. Please. I love you, Sam.”
He reached for Aimee and used her to get off the ground. When he stood, we all gasped at the brand-new scar in the shape of a heart with singed edges over his real heart.
Aimee helped him walk. “Get out of our house.” She spat as she spoke to the redhead.
Sam appeared weak as Aimee led him from the room.
I knelt on the floor, still reeling. “I didn’t know it would do that. I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know it would work.” I covered my face as the air grew cold.
The redhead turned to me and screamed. Her face changed, becoming frightening. “What did you do?”
I jumped up. “He asked me to do it.”
The redhead lunged at me. Something surged from me. Waves of something shot the angry girl across the room. I was no longer afraid. I frowned at the ceiling filling with dark angry clouds.
Rain began to pour across the tile floor, drenching me and the other girl as power surged through me.
Thunder and lightning filled the ceiling. Bolts of lightning struck the floor around us.
The redhead dove at me. I pulled at the lightning, hitting her in the back. She screamed and flew across the room again, sliding on the water and slamming into the wooden wall. A huge hole was busted through into the next room.
Giselle appeared at the door. “STOP WRECKING MY SHIT!” she screamed into the rain and hail falling all around us.
The redhead snarled at me, completely ignoring Giselle's arrival.
“Hanna, what the hell? Why are you trashing my den?”
The redhead leapt at me, still snarling.
I struck her with lightning again, knocking her to the ground on her stomach.
Giselle cringed. “Ophelia, girl, your eyes are some effed up right now. You need to stop raining on my den. And stop hitting Hanna with lightning. She’s a Rose.”