Heirloom Magic: Every Witch Way

by Megan Berry

  Harper opened her mouth to ask what the hell all that stuff meant, but Keaton shushed her.

  “I don’t have time to explain all of it to you now, but you have to come with me,” he told her, reaching out a beefy arm to pull her along before she could even decide. Harper dug in her heels, but she was powerless against his strength.

  “Wait!” she spluttered, confused. “What do you want me for?” Mr. Bell didn’t even pause when he answered.

  “The only thing keeping us from war these last four hundred years has been the protection of a Jones witch. The Northerners must have heard your gran passed. They don’t know another one has taken her place.”

  The idea that she was the only thing standing between this town and a major war breaking out made Harper’s stomach flip flop.

  “But, I don’t even know magic!” she yelped when he started to propel her forward again.

  “Let’s hope they don’t know that,” Mr. Bell said. Harper twisted to look at Jasper for help, but the vampire was surprisingly silent and stony faced.

  “Where are you taking her?” he asked, just as she was being hauled out the front door, and Keaton glanced back.

  “Town hall. We are meeting with their leaders.”

  Jasper nodded. “I’ll be right there,” he said, causing Keaton to frown.

  “You’re not on the council,” he snapped, unable to hold back his ire, and Jasper snorted.

  “She wears the ring now. You know the one that ties my life to hers, you think I’m gonna leave her protection up to you?” Keaton didn’t rise to the bait, but finally, after a tense moment, he gave a gruff nod, like it killed him to do it, and then he was forcing Harper outside into his fancy sedan.

  “I don’t want to go!” Harper protested once she’d been pressed into the seat and Keaton was speeding them away from the safety of the house.

  “I’m afraid it isn’t quite as simple as your feelings. Your family swore to protect this town,” he told her, and Harper seethed at his words.

  “My grandmother and I are not the same person!” she said from between gritted teeth, like that wasn’t already clear enough? Mr. Bell gave her an assessing gaze.

  “That is true and if you really don’t want to do this, there is no way I can force you, but I beg you to reconsider.” Harper blinked at his change of attitude. “If you turn your back on us now, every person in this town will be slaughtered. That is every man, woman, and child—both human and supernatural.” Keaton pulled up in front of a historic looking building with a large clock on the front and put the car into park. “It is time to choose,” he told her seriously, and Harper cracked under the pressure.

  “Of course I can’t say no when you put it like that,” she muttered, and Mr. Bell sagged in relief. He had been praying that there was enough of Liz in her to make her rise up to this challenge.

  “Thank you,” he told her sincerely as he got out of the car, and Harper had to run to keep pace with him.

  They skirted away from the front door and went around to a smaller side door instead. It was hidden behind some tall trees, and Harper nearly walked right by it. Mr. Bell paused, pulled out a key card, and swiped it across the lock. “This way,” he said, motioning for her to follow as he took off down a dark passageway. Harper swallowed nervously but forced her shaking legs to step, one in front of the other.

  “This is really creepy,” Harper whispered to Mr. Bell, causing him to grunt in acknowledgment.

  “I can see in the dark, don’t be afraid,” Mr. Bell tried to comfort her, but he was too worried about the council, and Harper could tell his heart wasn’t really in the reassurance. Also, it was a lie. According to Mr. Bell himself, there was definitely a reason to be afraid.

  Mr. Bell came to a sudden stop, and in the darkness, Harper didn’t realize it until she walked right into his back. It was like walking into a brick wall. She let out a soft groan and started rubbing at her boob, which had been taken the majority of the hit—until she remembered that the wolf had said he could see in the dark. She yanked her hand away quickly and grimaced. She nearly said something, but the slide of a dead-bolt interrupted her, and then a door was opened and light flooded in. Harper blinked, looking around. They had been walking down a small concrete pathway in some sort of boiler room. There were pipes overhead, crisscrossing everywhere, and the path was only three feet wide at best.

  Mr. Bell motioned for Harper to go first, and she stepped out into an oval room that was well lit by an enormous glass ceiling. “What is this place?” she asked, but Mr. Bell put his finger to his lips.

  When he stepped through the doorway, having to turn sideways to fit, Harper was surprised to see a bookshelf, not a door, when he shut it again. “It’s a secret tunnel?” she exclaimed, and Mr. Bell nodded, though he still didn’t speak.

  Harper followed Mr. Bell across the circular room to three doors that were white and stood out starkly in the richly decorated room. “Is this where I pick?” Harper asked with a snicker, earning herself a frown from Mr. Bell.

  “Door number one,” he said as he pressed his thumb to a scanner and a red line scanned over his thumb before turning green with a small beep. The door clicked open, and Harper’s pulse sky rocketed. She knew this was serious, but all the secrecy and high tech equipment was pushing her anxiety through the roof.

  “After you,” Mr. Bell said gallantly, and Harper balked.

  “Not on your life,” she told him, meaning every word, and thankfully he didn’t put up a fuss as he went through the dark doorway first.

  Harper followed him in and then peeked around his massive girth to see a well-lit sitting room where a woman, wearing a business suit, was pacing back and forth. She stopped when she saw Keaton and Harper.

  “She came,” she exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief.

  Keaton nodded. “She did, but it’s not all good news.” The woman’s face fell.

  “She doesn’t know her craft?” she guessed, and Keaton nodded. The woman frowned and returned to her pacing, and Harper began to feel a prickle of annoyance.

  She wanted to shout at them that she was right here! They didn’t have to talk about her like she was invisible, but Harper was also shaking in fear and didn’t really want to draw too much attention to herself either.

  Mr. Bell turned, like he suddenly remembered she was there. “Harper, this is the Mayor, Mary Porter.” Harper stepped out from behind Mr. Bell and gave a small wave when the woman looked at her.

  She really wanted to ask Mr. Bell what the woman was, but she thought it would be too rude. “She’s a wolf,” Keaton told her like he could read her mind. It was a bit unsettling.

  The mayor stepped closer and leaned in close to sniff her. Harper froze. “Her aura is powerful. It might be enough to fool them,” she said to Keaton, and he nodded.

  “That’s what I was hoping,” he agreed.

  Mary stood with her arms crossed and examined the pale, shaking girl in front of her. She didn’t look like a powerful witch at all. “She needs a cloak,” she decided, and Keaton nodded, going to the closet and pulling out a black, hooded cape.

  Mary shook her head. “Not that one. The green one. It will match her eyes,” she commanded and, like a well-trained puppy, Keaton pulled out an emerald green cloak. The material shimmered and almost seemed to come alive under the light.

  He handed it to Harper, and she took the slithery material in her arms and stared at it. “Put it on dear. We will protect you, but you’ll have to do exactly as we say,” Mary spoke directly to Harper for the first time.

  Harper’s stomach flip flopped, but she had already given her word that she would do her part to protect the town, so she threw the cloak over her clothes. It fell to the very tips of her toes, and Mary flipped the hood up. “That will do very nicely,” she murmured, though Harper had no idea if she was speaking to herself, Mr. Bell, or Harper.

  A knock came at the door and Keaton went to answer. A young man wearing the garb of a roman soldie
r poked his head in the door and eyed Harper curiously, but he spoke to Mary.

  “Excuse me, but they are growing anxious. They think you are trying to stall them.”

  Mary nodded. “We are on our way. Return to your post.” Harper watched as he actually bowed before turning and leaving with a military march to each step.

  “We can’t keep them waiting any longer,” Mary decided, taking a deep breath and motioning for Keaton and Harper to follow her. They went back into the oval room, but instead of going to one of the other doors, or even the hidden bookcase door, they walked to the very center of the room. Harper looked around in confusion as Keaton bent down to inspect the carpet. He felt around, found a nearly invisible seam, and then pried a trap door up with his fingertips. It took a lot of brute strength, which was obvious by the grunt of exertion he gave as he finally got it free.

  Harper peered down into the hole and saw rough stone steps that disappeared into blackness. Harper gave a shiver, imaging how many spiders were probably lurking around down there. Mary began her descent, and Harper grudgingly followed, being careful not to trip on the robe and leaving Keaton to take up the rear. He paused just long enough to pull the massive trap door shut again. Harper thought it would bathe them in darkness, but was surprised to see a faint light up ahead.

  The stairs curved and Harper could see torches burning along the stone walls. It lit their way and reminded her of every medieval movie she’d ever seen. This was entirely surreal and a huge leap from the fancy finger scanning equipment up top.

  They went down the stairs, deeper and deeper into the earth, until Harper began to feel her legs burn, and her hair was sticking to her head from sweat. She wanted to pull the hood back and get some air, but she was too frightened. Mary and Mr. Bell didn’t seem the least bit affected, she couldn’t help noticing bitterly.

  “We have arrived,” Mary said at last, just as Harper was about to demand a break, and suddenly, Harper wished there were a million more stairs to descend, anything to keep her from walking into whatever was waiting at the bottom.

  Mary didn’t give her any time to get cold feet as she pushed her way regally into the room. Harper followed, with Mr. Bell right behind her—probably to keep her from bolting. Harper found herself in a massive stone cavern where a group of people were sitting around a large stone slab waiting.

  Harper’s legs turned to rubber as every eye in the room turned towards her, more than a few of them were glowing red, yellow, and green in the semi-lit darkness.

  One of the tallest men Harper had ever seen in her life stood up and began to shift into a wolf. Harper took a step back, but Keaton was behind her, immoveable. Harper felt him grip her arm and hold her in place.

  The enormous black wolf snarled, spittle dripping from his razor-sharp teeth as he advanced towards her, and Harper nearly peed herself. Each of his teeth were the size of her pinky finger!

  He walked right up until he was standing in front of her and then began to sniff her like an overeager dog. Harper pushed his nose away, but he growled at her, so Harper did the only thing she could think of.

  She smacked him in the muzzle with the palm of her hand.

  The wolf growled and lowered himself down on his haunches, preparing to jump up at her face, probably to rip her throat out, and Harper took a deep, gulping breath. She’d really done it this time. She was going to die, and the town was going to die right along with her.

  “Enough,” bellowed a cold voice, and a pale man wearing a gold suit slid his chair back and stood. The wolf backed off immediately.

  “Thanks,” Harper muttered, getting her first clear view of her savior. Her blood ran cold when she saw his face. He was death. She didn’t know how she knew it, but her entire body screamed at her to run. Goose pimples broke out all along her body, and Harper’s knees went weak.

  She wanted the wolf back, Harper couldn’t help thinking wistfully as he came forward and clasped her hand in his own ice cold grip.

  Chapter Seven

  “It is strange not to see Elizabetta here in your place,” the creature said, his fetid breath puffing in her face, and Harper had to repress the urge to gag. She was sure he would be able to sense it, and she knew instinctively that weakness was not an option right now.

  Mary stepped forward. “Caspian, allow me to introduce Harper, the newest witch in the Jones line.” Caspian’s eyes stared into Harper’s own, and Harper began to feel an intrusion knocking at her head, almost like a tiny worm wriggling around in her brain. She gasped and instinctively pushed the tickle from her mind.

  “Very impressive,” Caspian growled in approval, and Harper tried not to act as confused as she felt. “Not even your grandmother was able to resist my powers the first time. Your mind is locked tighter than a steel vault.”

  Harper’s mind raced. He’d been trying to read her mind? Caspian smiled, showing long, sharp, pointy fangs, and Harper’s eyes widened. He was a vampire. She briefly wondered if that meant Jasper had tried to read her mind too—the thought was not a pleasant one.

  “We have shown our proof, Caspian,” Mary interrupted their staring contest with a bored tone.

  Caspian shrugged. “You have brought me a witch, I can ascertain that, and one with a very powerful aura—but you have not proven to me, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she is a Jones witch.” Mary sighed. “You know that trying to pass off another witch would void any agreement we have...”

  Harper’s heart began to pound. How in the heck was she supposed to prove her lineage? Her birth certificate was back in Chicago.

  The door opened and a dark figure swept in, coming to a stop beside her. Harper glanced over, startled, and relief coursed through her body when she saw it was Jasper at her side.

  Caspian stared at Jasper with a smirk on his face. “Perhaps we don’t need to do the test after all. The Jones lap dog has arrived—proof enough,” he mocked, and the group assembled around the table began to openly laugh. Jasper’s face tightened up, and Harper felt anger slice through her body at their mirth. Her temper snapped and every drinking glass on the stone slab, in front of the chuckling creatures, ignited into fire.

  The laughter quickly died out when the small crystal clear pool across the cavern turned into a pool of fire, and the small water fall that fed it erupted into a blazing inferno.

  “Enough witch!” Caspian roared, though he looked more than a little afraid—so was Harper. She had not intentionally started this fire; she hadn’t even said the spell!

  Jasper calmly took in the wide-eyed look on Harper’s face, hidden from the others by the hood, and did the only thing he could think of. He reached over and pinched her, right in the ribs. Harper let out a tiny squeak and jumped, and the flames were instantly tamed, falling down into the smoking water and extinguishing.

  Caspian looked pissed. “That was a bold move, and not one I think you should repeat,” he warned her.

  Harper nearly opened her mouth to tell him that she had not meant to, but the smallest jerk of Jasper’s head warned her to keep her mouth shut.

  “Give me your hand,” Caspian demanded, pulling a ceremonial dagger from his pocket, and Harper balked. She looked to Jasper, not sure when he had become the voice of reason, but he was, and he nodded.

  Caspian grasped her hand like she had some sort of disease that he did not wish to catch and quickly ran the blade across her hand. Blood blossomed across her palm and began to drip down onto the ground, and Caspian replaced the blade with an old piece of parchment. The blood ran in small rivulets down her palm, and as soon as her blood touched the Latin words written upon the page, the letters turned gold and stood up, flaring to life briefly before they lay back down, inanimate once more.

  “The contract still stands, her blood is true,” Caspian declared, not sounding thrilled to discover the truth. Harper let out a small sigh of relief, her body relaxing for the first time since Keagan had burst into the house. Caspian put the blade to his mouth and licked the blood from the
steel, making Harper’s body curl away in disgust. It felt like he had violated her somehow, and Harper had to suppress her gag.

  Caspian closed his eyes like he was enjoying himself immensely, and then his eyes flared open in surprise. “Demon blood!” he cursed, spitting the blood out onto the ground and running his sleeve across his lips like it had actually burned his tongue. The table began to buzz like bees. Pretty soon the cavern was in an uproar, even Mary and Keaton looked uneasy. “You bring us a hybrid!” Caspian roared angrily.

  “What kind of trickery is this?” a woman at the table asked with a strangled cry as she stood up from the table and took a step back, and Harper blinked in surprise. “How is such a mix even possible?”

  “Be gone,” Caspian said at last, waving his hand at them like Harper was an annoying insect.

  Harper didn’t need to be told twice. She followed Mary and Keaton back out the door, with Jasper following closely behind, never once taking his eyes off the group assembled in the cavern. Once they got outside the door, Harper’s legs gave out on her and she sunk down to the cold stone steps, finally letting the trembling get the better of her.

  “I just need a minute,” she mumbled to the group of supernaturals that crowded around to stare down at her in concern.

  “I’m afraid that is not something we can afford until we reach the top,” Mary told her quietly, glancing around nervously, and Harper nearly groaned out loud at the prospect of heading back up all those stairs. Keaton looked like he wanted to offer to pick her up, and his hand actually strayed a little bit close before he thought better of it and snatched it back like she might burn him. Harper had to wonder if it was the discovery of her demon blood that changed things. She didn’t know enough about this world to know the significance of being part demon. Jasper had known about it, but maybe it was a secret.

  Jasper let out an annoyed huff and reached down and scooped her up in his arms. She buried her face into his chest, surprised to hear the faint sound of a beating heart—weren’t vampires dead? Harper wanted to protest that he shouldn’t be carrying her, but she was too mentally and emotionally drained to climb back up all those stairs. Her shaking legs were never going to make it, and she really just wanted to get away from those things in the next room.