High Witch Box Set

by Mona Hanna

  “Before we all panic, I want us all to think about the prophecy,” Raven said. “I know it will be hard to focus on, but please, hear me out.”

  He waited for everyone to look at him, then cleared his throat and continued. “The dark force spoken of is Innes—no one knew what it would be, but it’s him. But here’s the key. The prophecy expressly stated that you will have to battle the dark force. It says nothing about surrendering to him, about giving up. It says you, and any witches who want to join you, will need to fight the dark force. The prophecy said people would die, and I’m afraid we’ve already seen that. I’m not sure if more lives will be lost before this is done. But please, I beg of you, don’t lose hope. Giving yourselves to him isn’t how this is supposed to go. Trust me—I promise you.”

  Silence filled the room after Raven’s speech, and then Ariel, sitting next to Brayden, shook her head. “But lives being lost isn’t nothing. It’s not something small that we can overlook for the bigger picture. Because of what we did, all those people died in the fire, people just like us, with lives and families and children. If I lost Erica, it would kill me, but how many daughters and sons died today? You say we should fight Innes, Raven, but if that means one more person is killed… I don’t know if I can do it. Innes said he wouldn’t harm anyone else if me and Hallie go to him. I don’t know if I could live with myself if anyone else was murdered because of me.”

  “Ariel, you can’t go to him,” Brayden said. He reached out and grasped her hand firmly. “Think about this. Do you really believe Innes won’t hurt any more people if you and Hallie surrender? He said he was here as retribution for the spell you cast—I don’t believe for one moment he would stop causing pain if you give yourselves to him. How can you trust the word of a killer? And who knows where he wants to take you—he said something about a place where you won’t be able to interfere with this world. What does that mean—does he mean to take you out of this world, to wherever he came from? I can’t… Ariel, this is madness. He’s barbaric, he won’t stop killing even if you do what he says, and the only thing I believe out of his mouth is that he’s here to bring pain. You have to fight. You just have to!”

  Hallie burst into tears. She looked down, covering her face, unable to contain her misery any longer. Sean put his arm around her, but she had to get out of there—she stood and raced towards the door, hurled it open, and ran outside. She ran several paces away, then stopped, her breath coming out in gasps from her crying. All of this was too much—she couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t stand it.

  Then strong arms were around her, bringing her into a hug. She knew it was Sean. He pressed her against his chest, and she wept against him. He held her close, running one hand over her hair. Finally, when she’d managed to catch her breath, Hallie looked up at him.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she said. “I don’t want to go to that horrible man, but I don’t want him to hurt any more people. And I don’t… I shouldn’t be thinking about it, but he said…” Hallie’s eyes filled with tears again.

  Sean put one of his hands under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him. “Hallie, listen to me. Look at me. I know the news is devastating, but I’ll always love you. Forever. If we can’t have children, we can adopt. If we never raise a child, I’ll still have everything I need because I have you. I want a baby with you because it will be part of you, part of us, but you always are and always have been all I ever want. Don’t think for one moment I’m not ecstatic just from knowing you love me. You’re everything, Hallie. You’re sweet and kind and brave and strong, and—listen. You can do this. You can fight him. You will not give yourself up to a beast of a man who would take you away from me. Never leave me. Never.”

  Hallie looked into Sean’s burning green eyes, absorbed his gaze, felt his words, felt his love. She suddenly felt a strength inside of her and a closer bond with her husband. She realized she had been partly closed off from him these last days. She’d shut down inside ever since she’d first heard about the prophecy from the vision she’d had. But not anymore. It wasn’t just her life she would be saving. It wasn’t just Ariel’s. It was her relationship with her love. It was her future.

  It was the future of all the witches they had helped with the spell. Because Brayden was right: Innes wasn’t going to just stop hurting people if she and Ariel gave themselves up to him. He was just trying to trick them into surrendering so they wouldn’t stop him. And no one, no matter how strong or powerful or terrifying, was going to turn Hallie into the fearful little witch she’d spent her entire life being. She had to fight—they all had to fight. Her. Ariel. And any witch they could get to join them.

  Hallie took Sean’s hand firmly, then marched with him towards the house. They walked inside, and Sean shut the door. Hallie stood before everyone, nervous because she rarely spoke in front of the entire group at once. But this needed to be said.

  “I want to battle Innes,” she began. She took a deep breath. “I don’t want to surrender to him. I think, like Brayden said, that Innes won’t stop hurting people even if me and Ariel give ourselves up. Heaven knows what he’d do to us, but I believe he’d still hurt and kill people as punishment for us casting the spell. So there’s only one thing for it. I want to join my magic with yours, Ariel, cast whatever spells we can together to stop Innes, and I want us to gather witches from everywhere we can to join us. The witches will have their extra power, which will come out when they’re threatened. If there’s ever a threat, it’s this. So, even though I’m scared—terrified, in fact—I don’t want to give up. I want to fight. Will—will you all fight with me?”

  Hallie was scared even as she spoke, but waited for everyone to respond. It was really Ariel’s response that mattered most. It would be her life on the line. It would be her up front in the battle with Hallie. Hallie looked into Ariel’s vivid blue eyes, and Ariel stared back. Then Ariel stood, walked up to Hallie, and gave her a huge hug.

  “I knew you could be strong,” Ariel whispered. “You’re being stronger than me. I love you and I’ll fight with you. I love you so much. Thank you for being brave.”

  Hallie felt tears prick her eyes. “I love you too,” she whispered. “Let’s just hope we can do this.”

  Ariel moved back and stared at Hallie. “If—if Innes is right, about you not being able to have children—don’t worry. A High Witch can heal herself. You know that—you healed yourself of seasickness when you were on the ship. I’m sure that…”

  “Not of this, Ariel. I can’t heal myself of this. I wish we could join our powers together to heal me, but that won’t work. Erica was able to save you when Nicholas stabbed you because she was within you—her power and yours were one. Her power joined with yours, so when you were trying to heal yourself, her power made yours stronger. But your power can’t join with mine for this—even a High Witch can’t heal another person. Being barren isn’t something that can be fixed. I just have to accept it. But let’s just focus on what we need to do. Alright?”

  Ariel nodded, and Hallie went to sit down so they could start planning their attack. But a huge crackling sound from the sky halted her.

  Everyone exchanged glances. Ariel went to the door and opened it. She gasped loudly, causing everyone to gather around her and looked at the sky. Hallie had never seen anything like it.

  The clouds had a green hue. Purple lightning crashed across the sky. There was no thunder, but the anticipation of it cut into Hallie. Then it came—the loudest boom she’d ever heard. All that was left was the rain.

  And the rain came. It was dark red. Ariel held out her hand, then cried out at what she saw. Hallie craned her neck and saw what made her friend so frightened.

  Blood. It was raining blood.

  Almost as if he’d heard them decide to battle him, Innes made the first move. The entire town was going to be in a panic.

  The panic before the war.

  Chapter 19

  Alexandra walked into her bedroom to check on th
e babies. She also wanted a moment by herself, to try to absorb all that was happening. She couldn’t believe all those people were dead—some of them would have been people she’d known. She believed her sister Nina was safe—she only lived a few streets away from her, and rarely went into the center of town. But still, it hurt so much. How dare that man come to her home and murder people! And what in the world was he doing now? How could it possibly be raining blood? What kind of creature would be able to do things like that? Alexandra was horrified. She put her arms around herself as she watched the babies sleeping soundly. She was glad they, at least, were at peace. What if something happened to them? What if they were hurt in this mess? She couldn’t bear it. Her little Julia and darling Erica. They were precious. They had to stay safe.

  There was a knock on the ajar door, and Alexandra turned to see Cameron standing there. She was pleased to see him but couldn’t manage a smile. It was all she could do not to cry.

  “Can I talk with you?” Cameron asked. “Maybe we could go to the kitchen, so we don’t wake them.”

  Alexandra nodded and followed Cameron out of the room. She left the door slightly open, and they made their way into the kitchen. She stood there looking at him, while he gazed at his hands. Alexandra thought he appeared nervous. She wondered what he was thinking.

  “Listen, I… there’s something I want to say to you, but I’m not sure how,” Cameron said. He hesitated for a while, clasping his hands together. “We didn’t really speak when the others were away, so I don’t know how you feel about—about what happened before. If you think it was a mistake that we kissed. I don’t know what you think of me at all, really. I know you wanted to take things slowly, in regards to me being in Julia’s life, and I know the last thing you probably want is to be involved with me again. But Alexandra, you don’t understand. I can’t stop thinking about you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you the entire time I was away, even when I tried to. I know I wronged you so terribly, and I’ll never be able to make up for that. But, with my whole heart, I want to be with you.”

  Cameron stopped but didn’t look at her. Alexandra didn’t know what to say. It was exactly what she wanted to hear, but she was worried for that very reason. She adored him—she always had—but being with him was all so frightening. Her heart—oh her heart. It could so easily be broken again. She could so easily be with Cameron, but she didn’t know if she could survive it if he left again.

  “I—oh this is so hard to say,” Cameron said, rubbing his forehead. He finally met her gaze, then with a trembling hand, reached out and took her hand in his. Alexandra didn’t pull away—she felt for him, looking so afraid. She didn’t want him to feel that way.

  “With all that’s going on—all the danger, the uncertainty—I had to tell you this. I had to tell you how I feel now, just in case… something goes wrong. I want to give you everything. I want to share my life with you, be a father to Julia, hold you and kiss you and whisper how much I care about you every day. I’d love us to have all the time in the world to slowly get used to each other, but I can’t go another moment without telling you this. Not when so much is going wrong. Please, if you can, if you can bear it—consider being with me. I’ll give you anything you want. I’ll do anything for you. Just don’t shut me out. Please, don’t shut me out.”

  Alexandra looked at Cameron as he gazed at her with such tenderness, such emotion, tears glazing his eyes. She was ready to rush into his arms but had to consider his words. Be with him again? Truly? Grow close to him and love him again—oh how she could love him again. She wanted him so much but was so afraid. But then she thought about all they were going to go through, the battle, the danger, and her heart made up its mind. How could she deny herself what she wanted, what they both wanted, when maybe she was going to lose him? Would she regret not going to him for the rest of her life? No one knew what was about to happen—what could go wrong, what the results were going to be. Anything could happen. She had to follow her heart. She didn’t want to keep it closed off anymore. She wanted to be free—finally, completely free, heart and soul. She looked into his eyes and couldn’t take it any more.

  Alexandra moved close to Cameron, put her hands on his face, then kissed him before she began to cry. Cameron held her close, deepening the kiss, tightening their embrace until they were pressed against each other. It was everything Alexandra wanted—to be with him, to be held by him. She clung to him, moved her tongue with his, sank her fingers into his hair. He groaned deep in his throat.

  They kept kissing until he broke away, staring at her with such intensity. “I want you so much,” Cameron breathed, his voice so deep.

  Alexandra trembled in his arms. “Kiss me,” she said, and in an instant, his lips were on hers again. He kissed her deeply, bit her lip, then trailed his mouth over her neck. It took everything in Alexandra not to moan loudly. She was mindful of being quiet but just wanted to lose control with him. She wanted to lie down with him, feel his hands touching her body, writhe with him while they made love over and over. She knew it would be good—it would be perfect.

  “Oh we have to stop—you know we do,” she panted.

  Cameron pulled back slightly. “We have to continue this later. I can’t live another day without making love to you.”

  Alexandra stared deeply into his dark eyes, She was so aroused she could hardly think straight. “Later. Somehow. Somewhere. In case you’ve forgotten, a hell of a battle is about to start.”

  Cameron’s gaze darkened. He kissed Alexandra on the forehead. “I have to fight with them. They’re going to need all the magic they can get. Can you stay here with the children? Will you be alright?”

  Alexandra nodded. “My job in this is to watch those two little girls. I’ll make sure they’re protected. Good luck, my hero.” She kissed him again, gently this time, then looked at him fondly. She adored the pride in his eyes. He was her hero. He and Julia were everything to her.

  ***

  Ariel paced the front room, her hands clasped behind her back. She had to figure out what to do.

  “Innes is trying to scare us,” she said to everyone. “He thinks if he can do dark, horrible things between now and dawn, then me and Hallie will be more likely to surrender. Well, we’re not doing it. We have to gather all the witches we can—any witch from around here who’s willing to work with us—and confront him tomorrow. I don’t know how we can stop him, but I’m hoping the extra power the other witches will receive when they’re threatened will be a big help. I guess me and Hallie will just have to use whatever magic we have to retaliate against whatever he does to us.”

  Ariel stopped, frowning, wondering just how they were going to do this. She couldn’t worry to much, though—they just had to go out there and deal with things. She took a deep breath and looked at Hallie. “First we need to stop this rain, all the strangeness going on with the weather. Hallie, please come with me.”

  Hallie nodded and stood, and then they both walked to the front door. Ariel opened it, took Hallie’s hand, then marched with her outside. She felt sick to her stomach as she felt the warm drops of blood rain down on her. It was disgusting. They had to put a stop to it.

  “Alright. Let’s blow all this away. A huge wind, okay, Hallie?”

  Hallie nodded, and Ariel held out her free arm and her sister High Witch did the same. Ariel shut her eyes, imagining a cold wind, a harsh breeze, swirling in and wiping out the crazy green clouds and horrible rain. Even as she just started envisioning it, a quiet breeze flowed around her, moving her hair and twirling her long skirt. The air grew colder, the breeze stronger, a howling sound accompanying the change in weather. Ariel opened her eyes and raised her arm high, willing the wind to be strong, to cleanse the town of the filth Innes had poured onto them. The howling sound grew deafening, the temperature became freezing cold, then sure enough the clouds dispersed, rapidly disappearing, and the red rain ceased.

  The wind blew around, shaking trees, rattling windows. Ariel knew it w
as enough—she lowered her arm and looked at Hallie so she would do the same. The witches stopped the spell, but it took a while for the wind to lessen. It finally died, an eerie silence replacing the shrill sounds. Ariel released Hallie’s hand and let out a deep breath. She was so relieved. And she just wanted to lie down and rest.

  The others walked out of the house and stood with the witches in the front yard. Presently doors of other houses in the street opened. People slowly walked out, looking up at the sky. Ariel guessed the rain must have terrified people—she hoped at least now they would be relieved. Then something happened she didn’t expect. Everyone looked at them.

  People approached Alexandra’s house, people from that street and other roads nearby, until a large crowd was standing before the group. Men, women, children, people of varying ages and backgrounds. The crowd moved this way and that as someone tried to make it to the front.

  “Alexandra?” a young woman’s voice cried.

  Ariel looked out, and soon a woman with curly black hair stood before them. Two young children clung to her skirt.

  “Nina—oh I’m so glad to see you!” Alexandra said, running over and hugging the woman. “You won’t believe what we’ve been through.”

  “Who’s we? Who are all these people? What’s going on?”

  The crowd murmured in agreement.

  Ariel didn’t know who the woman was but knew she had to speak up. “Everyone, please be calm. I want to explain to you what’s happening, but it’s a long story. I want to tell you because we need your help. Your town is in danger. Even more than you already know.”