Strega (Strega Series)

by Karen Monahan Fernandes

  "Jay, are you okay? You seem nervous."

  Adrenaline dumped into my veins each time he spoke. "I'm fine." I jumped. "I'm just worried about Rena."

  "I'm sure everything will be fine," he said as he sat down beside me on the bed. He pulled my hair away from my face. His touch made me recoil.

  "I'm just going to get another water."

  I stood up abruptly and moved like a machine toward the kitchen. He followed me and sat on the sofa in the living room, waiting for me to come sit beside him. Everything in me resisted, but I knew that if I didn't join him, he would be suspicious. I was so close to escaping. I took my time opening the bottle and then took several long sips before I made my way over to the sofa.

  "I wish you didn't have to leave," he said, stroking my hair and pulling me closer. I wanted to vomit. He knew I was pulling away. I couldn't hide it. But he didn't seem to care. It was strange. He was strange. He knew I wanted to talk to him about something, but he wasn't the least bit curious about what it was. He never asked. I was relieved. Having that conversation now would have been a really bad idea.

  As I sat there, my eyes settled on the door to his uncle's room. In all the time I knew Shaun, his uncle was always either gone or in his room alone, not wanting to be disturbed. I realized then that I'd never actually seen him.

  As soon as I heard Rena's little car horn, I shot off the sofa like a rocket.

  "There she is! I'll call you," I said as I ran for the door.

  "Wait, Jay..." he said. "Don't I get a kiss goodbye?"

  He looked at me with sad eyes. His head hung low as he made his way to me. His arms tightened around me as if letting me go would cause him to shatter. For a second, I felt bad. Maybe he had a perfectly good reason for taking Gram's pendant, though I still couldn't imagine what it was. Maybe he wasn't the bad guy that I feared he was. I didn't know who I could trust anymore.

  "Oh, Jay," he said with disappointment. He held my face in his hands and looked into my eyes. My feelings were a complete mystery to him. He had no idea the emotions erupting within me. Then his expression suddenly changed, and I wondered if maybe he did know. His sadness and desperation melted away. Instead a cool, controlled face emerged. One that looked strangely familiar. Just like the face of the shiny-shoed man on the beach right before he grabbed me.

  "You really shouldn't lie to me."

  His fingers slid down my arms to my hands. He held them in his own for a moment and then slowly lifted them, turning my palms up. My fingertips were still black from the ash that covered the pendant. I pulled my hands away and looked into his eyes in terror.

  He grabbed my wrists and pulled me closer. I tried to pull free but he wouldn't let me go. Then for a split second, I swore his face shifted. His teeth were strange. Almost bigger. Sharper. And I swore his eyes went black.

  "Don't run from me, Jay." His voice reached a creepy depth. He pressed his face against mine and he pinned my arms behind my back. I panicked. I didn't know what to do. Without even thinking, I opened my mouth and sunk my teeth into his neck as hard as I could. He yelped and his arms loosened enough so that I could raise my knee between his legs. His body folded, and I pushed myself free. The door crashed against the wall as I flung it open, and I ran up the dock toward Rena's car.

  "GO!" I yelled as I slammed the door behind me.

  "What's going on?" Rena asked nervously, sitting in her pajamas with her hands on the steering wheel. She stared at me with big, tired eyes outlined by smudged mascara.

  "Just drive!" I shouted. Her tires screeched as she floored it. I kept my eyes fixed on Shaun, who was on the dock watching us drive away.

  The gentle mist of a coming storm turned into heavier raindrops and flooded the windshield before we made it to Ruth's. Rena methodically turned on her wipers. She didn't know what to say. She just kept her mouth shut until I spoke.

  "Thank you for coming to get me."

  "Of course. Jay, is everything okay? What happened?"

  "Yes, I'm fine. We just had a fight."

  "About breaking up?"

  "Yeah."

  She didn't ask anything more, which was unlike her. Until recently, I told Rena everything, especially any relationship troubles. She knew she could ask me anything and I would tell her the truth. But that night she looked straight ahead with both hands on the steering wheel, knowing that I was lying to her.

  LII

  I ran upstairs to my room and pulled out the pendant that for years had hung around Gram's neck. I clumsily tied together the broken ends of the chain and put it on. I pressed the pendant against my chest, trusting that it could protect me like she promised it would so many years ago. I didn't understand how. I just believed. I wanted more than anything for it to make me feel safe as it once had. As I held it there, a strange voice whispered in my ear.

  Seek the ones you know. They will protect you.

  I was too afraid to sleep. If Shaun truly was a demon, then it was only a matter of time before he came for me. But if he was, then why hadn't he killed me yet? He had so many opportunities. I started to wonder if I was just projecting my fears on him, seeing things that weren't really there. Either way, I didn't trust him.

  Compulsively, I looked out the window anticipating his arrival. Rena poked her head in and told me to come by if I needed to talk. I needed her more than ever. But this time she couldn't help me.

  Thunder rumbled and lightning struck continuously outside as the storm moved in. With each thunderous roar, the bolts of light that followed seemed to get closer and closer until one touched down just outside my window. It was so loud, I was sure it hit the tall oak in the front yard. The tree leaned dangerously close to the house and I hoped it was not about to fall into my bedroom.

  Then I heard loud, aggressive voices. It sounded like a struggle, and it was coming from the front lawn just below my window. I shut the lights off in my room and crept over to peek.

  I recognized one voice. With pure desperation, he called out to me. It was Shaun. He was on the ground struggling to get up. I crawled on my hands and knees away from the window and stood up when I reached the hallway. Instinctually, I ran toward Rena's room.

  I was halfway there when I stopped. Rena's lifeless body was lying on the floor in front of me, dead, murdered by the same hands that murdered everyone I loved. Her desperate eyes looked up at me as she took her last breath. Then I snapped back to reality. She was in her room, safe and sound. I took in a deep, grateful breath. No matter how scared I was, I refused to involve her. I had to protect her.

  I ran back to my room and looked out the window again. Shaun was lying on the front steps in the pouring rain, clutching his chest. He was hurt. He continued to call out for me. I had to do something. Rena always slept with her earplugs jammed in tight, but Shaun was so loud. His hollering was going to wake her up. I ran downstairs, but when I reached the door, I couldn't bring myself to open it. I paced the wide wooden floorboards that squeaked beneath my feet, biting my nails and contemplating my options.

  "Jay, please help me. I don't want to hurt you. I'm trying to protect you! Jay! Please help me! He's going to kill me!"

  His words were like a million questions thrown at me all at once. What was he talking about? Until that moment, I was sure he was there to kill me. Who was trying to kill him?

  I continued to pace at the door, scared to open it, but scared to do nothing.

  "Jay, I know you're there. I know you can hear me. Please help me. I need you. And you need me too, whether you realize it or not."

  At this, I slowly opened the door. Damn you, Shaun. I needed answers.

  His body was sprawled across the steps. His face was a bloody mess, his nose was broken, and his clothes were torn and covered in black scorch marks. I stepped outside and helped him to his feet.

  "What are you talking about?" I asked, still scared to death of him.

  "Jay, please. Let's go inside and I will explain everything."

  "I am not letting you in,"
I declared. But in his eyes I saw only tenderness. My feelings spun into chaos again as I remembered his love, his support after Gram died. He took care of me. I knew he loved me somewhere deep inside. And even though I didn't trust him, something possessed me to let him in.

  I sat him down on the sofa while I went to the kitchen to get some water and cloths to clean his wounds. I handed him two towels to dry off from the rain and I sat beside him, gently dabbing the gashes on his face and chest with a damp cloth.

  "What happened, Shaun? Who attacked you?"

  He shook his head in misery and wallowed in his wounds, clearly dodging the question.

  "Why did you have Gram's pendant? How did you get it? And when?" I insisted, bombarding him with more.

  "Jay, why do you think I had it?" he said, flinching in pain.

  "I don't know. Can you just answer me?"

  "I saw Gram wearing it, before she died. I knew it must have been special to her, so I figured it would be special to you. I wanted to fix it and surprise you with it."

  "When did you get it? And how did you even know where to find it? And why were you acting so weird tonight before I left?"

  "You were the one acting weird tonight," he retorted. "I knew you were hiding something from me, and it pissed me off."

  Something still didn't seem right. I couldn't remember the last time he'd been to Gram's house with me. He gestured to the chain hanging from my neck.

  "It's broken," he said, pointing to the spot where I tied the ends of the chain together. "I have the tools to fix it. If it comes undone, you might lose it."

  He held his hand out for it. I grasped the pendant and pulled it out from beneath my shirt, still not sure if I believed him. Then suddenly I heard it again. The strange voice that had whispered to me upstairs when I first put it on. This time it screamed.

  Run!

  LIII

  I shot up from the sofa and instantly I was on the other side of the room. Shaun was slouched over, clearly exhausted and in pain. He could hardly move without moaning, and he was struggling to breath. If he'd truly come to hurt me, I wondered how he could have. Something attacked him outside. Was I meant to run from him, or was something far worse coming for me?

  "Who attacked you, Shaun?" I asked again from across the room, this time insisting on an answer.

  "Someone is after you, Jay," he said with alarm. "That's why I came to you."

  I stared at him in stunned silence.

  "Weird stuff has been happening to me lately," he continued. "Unexplainable stuff. I didn't want to tell you. It's so strange you wouldn't believe it..."

  "Try me."

  Maybe I wasn't as alone as I thought.

  "I've been seeing things, Jay. Unnatural things. I don't even know how to explain it all. After you left tonight, I went back inside and someone was there. I don't scare easily, but this scared me. I don't think it was human. It looked sort of like a person, hidden under a long black cloak. I saw its hands. It had no skin, Jay. It was just bones. When it spoke...well, that's why I came here. Jay, it said your name. It was looking for you."

  "Oh my god..." I cringed. I'd seen this creature before, at Gram's house. After all my recent experiences, I didn't know who I could trust. I'd distrusted Shaun, but I realized then that he was not a threat. He was a victim. And like everybody else in my life, I put him in danger.

  "That's what did this to you?"

  "No. It disappeared after it said your name. I came over here as fast as I could to warn you, and when I got here, someone else attacked me. A man, but I couldn't really see his face."

  I thought of the men that had attacked me. In the parking lot. On the beach.

  "The thunder and lightning was so loud and bright, and it was non-stop," he continued. "My skin was burning. I yelled for you and the next thing I knew, you were standing over me. That's when it finally stopped."

  The roaring thunder. The blinding light. Just like Gram's house. Just like the beach.

  "Jay, what did you want to talk to me about tonight?" Shaun asked, eying me closely. "Did something happen to you, too?"

  "No, Shaun, I wanted to break up with you," I said bluntly. His face was still and he didn't say a word until I finished cleaning his wounds.

  "It's okay, Jay," he finally said. "I will always be here for you, no matter what."

  I was still nervous to tell him what I'd seen, but I knew he would believe me.

  "I've seen that creature you described. It came for me once already. I barely got away. And others have come for me too. For the past few days, ever since I was followed home the other night, I feel like I've just been running for my life. I'm seeing bizarre things. Having terrifying dreams..."

  As I spoke, he listened intently to every single word.

  "I don't want you involved Shaun. I don't want you getting hurt again. My mom and dad, Gram, Mr. Whitmore, they are all dead because of me. I can't put you in danger, too. I need to deal with this on my own."

  "There's no way I'm leaving you alone, Jay. If you're in trouble, then I'm going to do everything I can to help you."

  Something in his voice, his eyes. He was serious, and strangely, he was not afraid.

  "Please, Shaun. You need to leave. You have no idea what we're dealing with."

  "The problem is, neither do you." He stood up and reached his hand out to me. "You're coming with me. Let's go. I'm taking you away. We'll head down the coast. Somewhere they can't find you."

  "Shaun, I can't just leave. I have to face whatever this is. I can't run from it anymore. I'm not going to let anyone else die."

  "Jay, something is after you. It attacked me, it has killed people, and it obviously wants to kill you. You can't do anything to stop it if you're dead. Come with me. We will figure out a way to stop it together."

  I'd never seen this side of Shaun before. He was so in control. Calm, despite having no reason to be. He was handling it all so much better than I was, and part of me was relieved that I didn't have to deal with it all alone anymore.

  "What if it's still there, on the boat? Or what if it follows us, or finds us wherever we go?"

  "It's not on the boat, Jay. I saw it disappear. It was coming for you. It's probably coming here. That's why I rushed over. We have to leave."

  "But what about Rena? I can't just leave her here if it's coming!"

  "It's coming for you Jay, not her. The best thing you can do to protect her is leave."

  I grabbed a pen and paper and scribbled a note to Rena, explaining that I was leaving for a few days but that I'd call her as soon as I got back. I gathered Mom's book, Mr. Whitmore's book, and Gram's journal and stuffed them in my bag. I ran out into the rain with Shaun. I didn't know what I was doing. I was confused. Afraid. I hoped that leaving would at least buy me some time to figure things out.

  ***

  Before we reached the car, something rustled in the bushes by the driveway. As I stared into the darkness, a figure emerged. At first, his strong silhouette faded into the dark landscape of wet asphalt and black sky. But his shape suddenly became clear like a shadow that is out of place. I shrieked and grabbed Shaun's arm, and pulled him back toward the steps.

  "That's him!" Shaun yelled. "The guy that attacked me!" He blocked me and shouted, begging me to go back inside. I ignored his demands, refusing to leave him out there alone. I turned to face my attacker, wondering if I would recognize his face from the beach. But he was not coming for me. He was targeting Shaun. And as he emerged from the shadows and onto the front lawn, I realized that I did know his face. It was a beautiful face, and it had burned itself into my mind the very first time I saw it. Hard and rugged, and with determined eyes, Vince closed in on Shaun.

  He looked past me and charged toward Shaun with increasing determination. He lifted his hands, ready to strike, and I ran to stop him.

  "No, Vince! Wait!" I shouted. But he didn't flinch.

  He overpowered Shaun, pinning him to the ground effortlessly, and threw one punch after the othe
r. I jumped on his back and locked my arms around his neck, trying to pull him off Shaun. But he pried my arms away effortlessly, and I fell to the ground. In the struggle, something else fell. I knocked it loose from Vince's belt. Its reflective surface shimmered with soft blue light. There in the green grass was the athame.

  Shaun took advantage of Vince's momentary distraction and slid out from beneath him.

  "Stay out of this, Jay," Vince growled as I tried to restrain him again. He waved his hand at me and suddenly my body sailed through the air like I'd been picked up by a giant gust of wind. I landed on the opposite end of the yard in Ruth's flowerbed. When he was sure I was out of his way, Vince went for Shaun again.

  The power he possessed, what he did to me, horrified me. I remembered the beach, sailing weightless through the sky before crashing in the sand. It was him.

  I got up and ran toward Vince again, desperate to protect Shaun. But before I could get to him, he stopped me in my tracks. With his hand held to the sky, he clenched his fist and pulled it down hard. With it, a bolt of fiery blue light came crashing down with a thunderous roar, and it struck Shaun.

  "No!" I screamed, running to Shaun as he collapsed to the ground. I was sick. Each time I'd been attacked, when I saw that fiery blue light, it was Vince. His power was incredible, and absolutely horrifying. I pulled Shaun to his feet and dragged him toward the front door, desperate to make it inside before Vince struck him again. When we got to the top step, I was sure Vince was ready to strike. But when I turned back, he was gone.

  "Get in the car!" Shaun shouted, urging me toward the street where his car was parked. I grabbed my bag and he took my hand. Despite his injuries, he moved quickly and pulled me along behind him. But he took an unexpected detour across the lawn, and crouched down to grab the athame. It was concealed in the thick grass, impossible to see, and I wondered how he even knew it was there. He said nothing and tucked it into the back of his pants as we ran for the car.

  I threw my bag in the back and Shaun stepped on the gas, slicing through the wet streets toward the docks. We sat in silence the whole way, both of us in shock and processing everything that had just happened.