The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “No. Aimes. Something’s wrong.” She clutches her stomach and groans.

  “Shit.” I touch the swollen belly and feel it tightening. She’s about to have the baby. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don't leave me!” she cries, but I wink back to the house. I grab Lucas who’s screaming her name and running out the back door. I wink him to her by taking the same trip as before, stopping at several places to create a distraction for Sam, in case he gets my scent.

  I drop Luke and wink back to Shane’s, searching for Anna.

  The witches, O, Lydia, Annabelle, Lorelei, Sarah, and Anna have Sam surrounded. He’s still fighting Hanna but something’s different.

  She’s different.

  Her skin ripples. She screams and reaches around behind her, ripping off one of her wings as her body shivers and changes. She grows in size, tearing her clothes and skin a bit.

  “Oh shit,” Lorri mutters as a one-winged and bleeding Hanna grabs Sam, pinning him to the ground and then winking with him. She laughs that crazed laugh as he tries to wink, but she winks him back, slamming him into the dirt again.

  I wink to Anna, grabbing her and winking. I take a separate route this time, stopping by the Tower of London, the lake Dorian and I bathed in, the Great Wall, and the pier where my mother claimed her magic, before I stop at the hotel, leaving Anna in the middle of the room. “Kill her if she doesn’t help or if she even glances at the baby the wrong way,” I point at her and shout at Luke as I wink back.

  When I land, Danny and Marcus are running toward the house with lightning following them.

  O is in the middle of the lawn, bringing fire from the sky and wind in the form of a cyclone. She appears possessed as she uses her hands and magic to create a storm around Sam. Lorelei casts hellfire, hitting Hanna the monster and Sam. Both are burning but continue to fight. The storm cell surrounding them must be preventing them from winking. Sam fires back, trying to take the storm down, but the witches join O and are too much together so the walls of the storm just stretch under the added pressure.

  Near the cyclone, Hanna takes a hit to the back. Sam screams as he does it, and she takes a knee with black blood heaving from her lips.

  She shrinks back to normal size with her lone wing covering her naked body on the grass. Sam shrieks again, mirroring Aleks perfectly. Both of them are screaming on opposite sides of the wall of air, debris, and flames.

  Fire shoots from the sky as Sam lifts his arms, shrieking louder.

  A fire droplet lands near me, sizzling down into the earth.

  “I hate witches,” I mutter and make my way to where Ben dodges the fire pellets. “Ari’s safe. She’s with Luke.” I say it softly, even though the loud noises all around us drown me out.

  “She’s safe?” His eyes dart to mine, flashing from me to the cyclone and the witches. “Take me to her.”

  “No. We need to stop this first.” I can’t tell him the baby is being born. I can’t risk Sam hearing it.

  Across the yard, a screaming Aleks runs at the cyclone, getting lifted into it and dragged off. He disappears and reappears in the storm, stuck there. Through the walls, I see Sam is still stuck inside, flashing magic and fighting the witches but it’s no use. The storm bounces the magic back at him.

  Oliver winks to me and yells, “We have to get inside that cyclone and pin him. It has to be you. Anthony and I will die against him. None of the witches are strong enough to weaken him. Lorri has a plan.” He winks Ben and I across the yard as a huge ball of hellfire lands where we were.

  Lorri flashes to us, shouting at me, “The moment we get inside that cyclone, you wink him to the bedroom. The witches and the kids will meet you there and use the magic in the room to freeze him and you, mid suck.”

  “That's risky.” I swallow hard, watching the cyclone.

  “Giselle and Shane are with the kids, keeping them safe. I think Marcus went there too. We’ll all meet in the room. Ari’s gone, right?” She ignores my comment.

  “Ari’s with Luke and Anna in a safe place. I’m the only one who knows where.” I force myself not to think of the location.

  “Then it’s time.” Lorri turns to Oliver. “You ready?”

  He nods once and glances at me. “Send her home to me the moment this is over.”

  “Okay.” I don't know what he means, but before I can ask, he runs at the wall, flinging himself into it the way Aleks did. He grabs Aleks in the cyclone. Lorri nods, watching them and then winks. She catches them, bursting her way into the cyclone.

  I have no idea what’s going on for half a second and then I see it. The three of them are holding hands and riding the cyclone sideways, making a hole. They pass by again, revealing a tiny hole.

  A tiny hole I must run and flash through. That’s their plan?

  Blake does the same thing, running at the cyclone and getting caught, joining the efforts of making a spot for me to get through.

  “Yikes,” I mutter to Ben. “If this doesn’t work, I’ll find a way to get you Ari’s location.” Before he can respond I take off running, hoping I’m timing this right.

  As the gap comes into sight, I wink and flash into Sam who blasts me. His face contorts in rage. “You lied!”

  “No, Sam. I didn’t.” I wink before he can blast me with lightning. “We’re here to help you.”

  “Liar!” he screams, launching himself into me as I wink. We wink, flashing and fighting. His skin burns mine as he seeps hellfire from his fingertips into my arms.

  The pain is unbearable but I manage to scream, “Sam, I love you! You’re my brother! I love you. Please, see that.”

  “You said Hanna came back for me!” He flings me toward the cyclone wall. I wink before I get sucked in too. The wind screams around me as I land on the grass again.

  “She did. They all came back for you. Even the kids left the garden for you. We love you.” I plead with my eyes but prepare to wink again. “We all want to help you be free of her. Lillith doesn’t love you. She never did. She’s twisting you, Sam. She’s making you evil, for her own end. She knew Lorri would make us indestructible. She knew she would have a super soldier. You’re just part of her plan.” I wink as he blasts me with hellfire. “But you’re part of my family,” I mutter as I land behind him.

  He spins, pointing like he might shoot but he pauses. “You lied to me.”

  “I didn’t. I swear I didn’t. We are all here for you. All of us.”

  “No, she lies!” He speaks like he’s trying to convince himself and grips his head as if struggling with what he’s saying to himself. I take the second to scream at Lorri, “NOW!” I wink behind him, spinning him, and planting my lips on his. I wink to the bedroom as the barrier comes down.

  They wink to me, all the witches and the kids. We all enter the bedroom in a state of slow motion. Sam’s mouth parts to scream, but he moves so slowly, he doesn’t even have the inhale yet when hot magic surrounds us. The witches have intensified the time spell.

  “Ssssaaaaaaammmmm!” Sarah shrieks in slow motion.

  His eyes dart to the kids, his breath is halted. His eyes focus and I swear he’s himself for a second.

  I step back, pausing the kiss of death as Sam smiles. “Sarah, you’re okay. Dawn. Anne. Danny. You guys are all here.”

  “We love you, Sam,” Danny shouts, his eyes glistening with tears.

  Lorelei flashes behind Sam with Lorri. He’s distracted by the kids the moment Lorelei’s hands grab either side of his head. He freezes as she says something in their weird witch language.

  His eyes gloss over for an instant. It takes me a bit to realize the other witches are working with her, holding him. Somehow, they’re able to move fast, unlike us.

  A glint of steel hits the light coming in the window as she whispers in his ear.

  I try to move to him but the wink is slow, it drags out and lags as she jerks forward, his eyes widening as slowly as my wink. He parts his lips to scream as I arrive in front of him. It’s the slow
est wink I’ve ever done. His glassy black eyes meet mine, clear and peaceful for a second before they fill with agony.

  I step closer, my breath hitching in my throat as I lift my hands to his cheeks. “Sam,” I whisper.

  “Aimes.” He chokes on my name as more blood oozes from his perfect lips. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “No.” I grab his face, supporting him as he stumbles forward. “No. It wasn’t you. I know it wasn’t. You’re good, Sam. You’re good.” I hold him to me, hating the single tear slipping down his cheek and the way his mouth trembles. He’s dying and yet not. The burns on his body from the hellfire match mine.

  “Send me home, Aimes,” he pleads.

  “No, you’ll be fine in a minute. Wait for the healing.” We’re both talking fast but the words come out slowly, like we’re in water.

  “No. I don’t want to. I’m tired.” He twitches his head. “Sen—send me home.” His eyes dart behind me. “You guys be good.” He heaves in pain, and his fingers grip to my shirt as I sob silently. The kids rush us, clenching him.

  “Sam!”

  “Sam, don’t go!”

  “Aimes.” His voice is thick.

  “Okay.” I press my mouth to his. The taste of his black blood mixing in my mouth reminds me of my start, so many years ago. “I love you, Sam,” I mutter against him as I kiss once, softly, and then suck. It’s the worst taste in the world, sending love to die. As he drops to a pile of feathers on the floor, I drop too, covering each one. I can’t let go of one. I scoop them into me, sobbing into them.

  I gag as his loss overwhelms me.

  The dark truth of his being Lillith’s henchman fades as the feathers lose the warmth of him.

  “Aimee.” Lydia grips my shoulder, falling to the floor with me. She takes one of the feathers, holding it tight in her hands. She lifts it to her lips and kisses it. “Sam.” Tears flood her face as she nods, as if telling herself or me or everyone that this is how it had to be. I knew it would; I told myself it would. And yet I’m dying from the pain of it.

  The kids start grabbing me and the feathers. They huddle and hug, embracing me and what is left of our Sam.

  We sit and cry until eventually I’m alone.

  Gathering up all the feathers, I wink outside with them in my hands, freeing them into the wind, just how Sam would want to be.

  The feathers drift on the breeze to where Aleks is, across the yard and sobbing over Hanna’s burned and battered body. He lifts her up and clutches her to his chest. Her soft breaths have signs of a death rattle. When he lifts his face, I cringe. He’s burned and beaten too. The hellfire burns take longer to heal. I’m covered in wounds also, but I can’t feel them. The hole in my chest is too big.

  “Aimes, what happened? Is Ari okay?”

  “Yeah, Sam’s gone.”

  He nods. “I think I felt it.”

  “Hanna needs to come inside.” I nod at her, a bit shocked at how bad she looks. Brandon Green is dead on the grass next to a pile of feathers I assume is Oliver.

  “No, it won’t matter. She’s dying.” Aleks sobs harder.

  “She can’t die. She’ll heal.”

  “She won’t ever heal from ripping her wing off. She won’t ever heal from the damage done. She’ll live, for what? What’s the point of staying here?” His tone shifts and I understand what he’s asking. “Please?”

  I don’t answer. I don’t have anything to say. I’ve lost a lot of respect for him. He and Hanna and their desperation to be together, even at the cost of us. I storm to where he is, kissing her burnt and bloody lips and then his, sending them both away, the same as last time.

  I back away from the feathers fluttering everywhere.

  “Soul mates, huh?” Ben mutters from behind me.

  “Yeah.” I turn, cringing when I see him. He’s no better than Hanna was. He’s naked and burned everywhere. His black blood coats his lips, one of his wings is badly singed, and the other one is gone. “Oh my God.” I rush him, holding him up. “Why are you naked?”

  “I phased.” He says it like he’s confused. “I think I was a wolf with wings.” He scoffs.

  “You did?” If he did it, so can Lucas. He can take the baby.

  “Yeah. Where’s Ari?” He coughs some black blood onto his lips. I wink him to the hotel, pushing him into the bathroom to get a towel on at least.

  Ari is still lying on the bed, moaning a little.

  Lucas gives me a sharp look. “What happened?”

  “Sam’s gone. So are Hanna and Aleks. Brandon and Oliver are gone too.” There’s no emotion in my words. I want there to be, but I haven’t got it. I’m numb.

  “Anthony’s dead too. He was dead as a wendigo and then poofed into a pile of feathers. Creepy.” Ben shudders, slumping onto the bed.

  “If Sam’s dead—”

  “Lorelei has his magic.”

  “It’ll corrupt her.” Anna’s head turns sharply. “You have to get her to the garden. Her magic will be tainted. Lillith’s magic is evil.”

  “I know.” I walk to Ari, running my hands over her tensed arms. “How’s it going?”

  “Nothing much new. I just have a baby trying to kill me, and I’m hungry in a way I didn’t know I could be. And that bitch won’t give me food.” Her deathly stare lands on Anna. “So, all in all, everything is freaking awesome, Aimes. How’s it going with you?” she snarls.

  “She doesn’t mean it,” Lucas mutters.

  “She could end up getting sick,” Anna defends herself.

  “You get no sympathy. You’ve been sleeping for the last few years.” I wink at her.

  “Screw you!” Ari laughs and cries at the same time, clutching herself.

  I cry too, dropping to my knees and hugging her. The feeling of her tense body touching mine makes me realize how much pain I’m in.

  “You smell like barbecue.” She buries her face in my hair.

  “Don’t get too hungry for it. It’s not the kind of barbecue you’d want to eat.”

  “Don’t assume things, Aimes,” Luke offers dryly.

  I close my eyes and drift for a moment, needing the instant to try to grieve.

  Chapter 10

  Traitorous witches

  “Where is she?” Lorelei asks softly, her eyes flashing a little something extra.

  “Hidden,” I say and glance at Lorri. “We need to get the magic to the garden.”

  Lorri nods. “I know. You ready?” she asks Lorelei.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She smiles and I realize her accent isn’t as strong.

  “Ready for what?” Marcus strolls into the room, drinking a cup of blood.

  “Time to take the magic to the garden,” Lorri says as if she’s being careful.

  “How does that all work, love?” His eyes don’t leave Lorelei’s.

  “They kill me,” she replies flatly.

  “No.” Marcus shakes his head. He’s gone a second later. So is Lorelei.

  “What the—?” Lorri looks around. Her shoulders sag. “Did that just happen?”

  “Shit.” I turn to the kitchen, not seeing Lydia or Annabelle. When I spin, Sarah isn’t with the other kids. “The witches?”

  “What?” Lorri barks.

  “Where are they all?” I don’t know what’s been going on here. I was with Ari until she fell asleep.

  Blake shrugs. “I haven’t seen them since the big fight.” His cheeks are charred and so is one hand. Only Shane and Giselle were spared from the hellfire. They were with the kids.

  “I’ll go check Marcus’ house. You find the witches.” Lorri points at me and vanishes.

  “You check the yard, I’ll check upstairs,” I say to Blake before I hurry from room to room, searching for everyone. I meet Blake back in the kitchen. “Anything?”

  “Nothing.”

  I grab his hand and wink to Lydia’s old house, gasping. Down at the water’s edge, behind the burned-down house, I see a shirt. I wink us to the water, stepping back when I
see who it belongs to.

  Lydia and Annabelle are floating on the water, holding Sarah. There’s a puddle of feathers on the shore that I can only assume belong to O.

  All of them are dead, blue.

  Each has a bloody wound on them where Lorelei no doubt stabbed the knife into their bodies and stole their magic.

  “Oh shit,” Blake whispers.

  “She took all the magic.” I hurry into the water, dragging Lydia, Annabelle, and Sarah to shore. Blake grabs their hands and drags them out.

  I wrap myself around Lydia’s body, praying for just one more miracle.

  But none comes.

  Blake lifts me off her, winking us back to the house.

  Lorri meets us in the kitchen. Her face pales. “What is it?”

  “They’re all dead. Lydia, Annabelle, O, Sarah, and Olly.”

  “Lorelei stole back the magic.” Her eyes widen. “Lillith is corrupting the witch queen already?”

  “I guess so.”

  “We’re screwed.” She sighs. “Who’s left?”

  “Shane, me, Giselle, Danny, Dawn, Anne, Gwen, Shulster, Ben, Luke, Ari, Anna, Blake, and you. Anthony, Oliver, and Brandon died in the cyclone and Hanna was beyond repair. Aleks left with her.”

  She sighs. “Marcus and Lorelei can’t stand against us. She isn’t stronger than we are. There’s no way. Not stronger than you.”

  “Are they at Marcus’?”

  “No. But Anna should be able to sense them. Magic finds magic. Where is she?”

  “Oh shit. She’s with Ari. Lorelei will be able to find them,” Blake says flatly.

  Lorri’s eyes widen as I grab her hand and wink us to the hotel.

  The room’s empty. I close my eyes and scream. I lean back, screaming as loudly as I can.

  Lorri winks her and I back to Shane’s. I’m still screaming when I land. She does something I don’t expect. She hugs me, squeezing tightly. My screams turn to sobs as I lose my mind.

  “Luke?” she mutters, spinning me around to see Ari holding her belly, Lucas, and Ben in the kitchen. “Where’s Anna?”