by A. N. Sage
My mind was chaos and my pulse raced like a jackhammer as I let myself remember the conversation with Ms. Broussard. She didn’t tell me much—and not for my lack of constant questions—but one thing was for certain, my mom lived here until she was about my age. Until she met my father. I pried for information on him but Ms. Broussard assured me she had never met him and my mother refused to speak of who he was. She said she got the sense that he was someone important which would explain why it was so hush-hush. Beatrix, did you sleep with a married man, you hussy? I wouldn’t be surprised if she did. Even as a kid I noticed the way men gravitated to Beatrix; the way she lured them in with her charm and legs that went on for days. It would explain why she ran off so fast and left Shadowhurst in the dust. News traveled like wildfire here and a young girl getting knocked up by a wealthy married dude was a front-page story.
When Ms. Broussard first mentioned Beatrix’s past here, I felt a ping of excitement at the prospect that I might have a family somewhere nearby. Grandparents or something like that. But my hopes died when she revealed that much like me, Beatrix was totally and completely alone. Apparently, she lived in the orphanage at the edge of town and hated her life. Guess we had something in common.
I despised that I had to find this out from a rando shop owner in a town I was just passing through. Would it have killed the High Coven to let me know? I mean, I couldn’t count on Beatrix to tell the truth to save her life but the high priestesses? I trusted them! I thought of them as surrogate mothers for Goddess’ sake!
OMG! What if my dad was someone I met already?
I was still running inventory of every well-to-do, middle-aged man I’ve encountered in Shadowhurst when an arrow sliced the air and landed in the ground next to my feet. My leg jerked back and I followed the trajectory to Savannah’s scowl in the distance. Her fingers were wrapped around the bow she held over her shoulder and her eyes burnt into me with rage.
Oh, right. I’m training with the witch-burning hunters. Got it.
My cheeks blushed and I reached to pull the arrow out of the ground before tracing it with my finger. We’ve been in the extensive field of Savannah’s family farm for hours—because of course she lived on four hundred acres of land—and they were yet to let me join them in training. It seemed my job in this group was to watch them practice their moves and get water when I was asked for it. I bit my tongue each time someone hollered for a bottle and tossed it their way. This was such a waste of time. I could kill them all right now before they even had a chance to fight back.
Still, I had to say that the hunters were better equipped than I imagined. Most of them ran through drills and staged fights like it was second nature.
“You keep trying to kill me and we’re going to have a problem!” I yelled out, eyeing Savannah carefully.
“Get over yourself, new kid!” She yelled back. “No one is trying to off you here.”
“Could have fooled me!” I turned my gaze to the arrow at my feet. “Pretty sure your parents don’t want to find a bleeding girl on their land.”
Savannah’s eyes turned somber for a split second. “They’d have to be around long enough to notice,” she hissed before changing her features to the stone-cold bitch look I was very accustomed to at this point.
Hmm… Absent parents and a shitty attitude—I was starting to understand why Savannah was such a problem all the time. It almost made me sad to think we might actually have something in common. Almost. She was likely just as abandoned and as lost as me but the main difference was that I didn’t go around acting like a bitch every time someone wanted to play with my toys.
I stuck my tongue out at her and rolled my eyes before tossing the arrow over my shoulder. As she walked away with a huff, I leaned back in the tall grass and continued to study them.
They broke off into groups, some training in hand-to-hand battle and some picking up random weapons tossed onto a rolled out blanket in the field. It was no surprise to me that Savannah gravitated to the bow and arrow and her annoyingly perfect skill with it was impressive. She knocked another arrow and sent it barreling to the target board, firing the tip straight into the center. Bullseye. Beside her, Jayden and Morgan cheered before knocking their own arrows to try. Near them, Tyler was trying to teach Abigail the correct way to flip an opponent on their backs but it was a wasted effort. All the girl could do was giggle and flirt before getting flipped over on her back. She made such a small effort to stay standing that I wondered if she was letting her boyfriend knock her around on purpose.
“Pathetic,” I growled and sank deeper into the grass. The large cornfield behind me rustled in the wind and I pressed my palm to the earth to suck in its energy. My body shivered and I half-smiled at the warmth that spread through me as my magic connected to the elements.
“Don’t let her fool you,” River said and I startled, turning to see him towering over me. “Abigail is fierce, even if she won’t show it.”
My gaze turned back to Abigail who was now inspecting a broken nail with a pout. “I find that very hard to believe.”
“Watch this.” River winked and snatched the small knife he had stashed in his back pocket.
He whistled in Abigail’s direction and threw the knife without so much as waiting for her to notice him. The blade twirled through the air, slicing its way straight for her throat. I gasped and covered my mouth, ready to dial nine one one to let them know we had a girl bleeding out in a cornfield. To my surprise, Abigail’s eyes snapped to the blade and she yanked her arm up to snatch it by the hilt before it could impale her.
“Nice try!” She yelled out and tossed the knife down, burying the tip into the earth.
River kicked my boot with his trainers and smiled. “Told you. Fierce.”
“Wow,” I whispered, picking my jaw off the ground. “That was… surprising…”
“We’ve been doing this since we were kids. Abigail is an oddball but there’s no one else I could count on more in a fight. Even after she had her nails done.”
A loud laugh escaped me and I leaned in to bring my knees closer to my chest. “So have you been in a fight before?”
“Assuming you don’t mean just at school, right? Cause I’ve had my fair share of those. Football guys can be a bitch.”
What a shocker, River’s a jock. UGH. Gross.
“Obviously,” I answered, trying not to roll my eyes.
My gaze narrowed and my neck felt tight like a noose has just been draped over it. We both knew what I was asking. I wanted to know if they’ve killed a witch before; if they’ve killed someone like me.
“Not yet,” River sighed. “But better safe than sorry, right?”
I nodded despite the bile that crept up in my throat. “Your tricks are cool,” I said and swallowed down nausea, “but I’m pretty sure you don’t stand a chance.”
River’s brows arched and his eyes darkened as he stared me down. “You think you can do better?”
Not breaking a sweat, I hopped to stand. My eyes burrowed into his and I shook the inviting scent of his cologne off for fear it might break my focus. If he thought Abigail was fierce, he was about to get his ass handed to him. My hand reached around him and I grabbed a fistful of his hair to pull his head back. My lips brushed against his and I turned my head to his ear. “Dare to find out?” I whispered and ducked down, spinning my legs from under me to loop around his shins.
River hit the grass and I could hear his butt smack the ground with a thud.
“Hope that doesn’t bruise,” I teased and buried my feet into the earth.
He was up before I could blink, kicking his legs forward and flipping like a freaking ninja. His hair swung over his eyes and he shook it off, gaze trained on me. His lips curled into a sinister grin and he waved me forward.
Oh, it’s SO on, hunter!
I pounced for him. My fists colliding with his chest and sending him barreling backward. River regained his balance and chuckled, which only infuriated me more. His thin shirt
emphasized every muscle in his abdomen and I forced myself to peel my eyes off his stomach to glare back. Before he could come for me, I pounced again, this time kicking him in those panty-dropping abs with my boot. River rebounded and lunged. He was so fast, it was almost inhuman. His body soared through the air and before I could swerve out of the way, he was on top of me. My heart burst from my chest as my back hit the ground and his legs wrapped around my mid-section. Above me, River grinned again, but I knew I wouldn’t let him win this. I turned under his weight, bucking my hips up to push him off. He flew back and rolled a few feet away from me. As he tried to get up, I ran for him, pushing off the grass to jump in the air. Wind whipped my hair around my face as I blasted toward him like a Black Widow in heat. My legs shot out from under me and I buried my knees on either side of his face, squeezing hard to lock his neck in place.
River tapped the ground with one outstretched arm and smiled.
“If I had to pick a way to die,” he said breathlessly, “this would be it.”
Laughter and applause rose behind us and I spun to see the remaining hunters watching with wide eyes. Jayden arched one eyebrow my ways before making a crude gesture with his mouth. Blood rushed to my cheeks and I looked down to River whose head was in the most inappropriate position right now with relation to my hips. Get up, idiot! I cursed myself but all I could do was stare.
“Not that I’m complaining about the view,” River purred and ran a finger along my thigh, “but I think Morgan is trying to get our attention.”
I turned to see the redhead wailing her arms in the air like she was out at sea without a life vest.
“What’s wrong?” I yelled out after climbing off River’s neck to stand. “What happened?”
I held an arm out for River to pull him up and we ran back to the group. Their faces were pale and they huddled around Morgan, reading the screen of her phone over her shoulder. Everyone was silent, even Savannah, and a cold chill rushed through my bones. “Guys, what’s wrong?”
No one spoke. Behind me, River stepped closer so my back could rest against his chest and squeezed my shoulders. “What’s going on?” He asked sternly.
“It’s Clay,” Morgan whispered. “Clay Clayton. He’s dead.”
She shoved the phone our way and tears flooded my vision. It was a newspaper article detailing the events surrounding his death. From the looks of the pictures, the reporter was on the scene before it could get cleared by the police. A gasp escaped me as I curled my fingers over her phone. My hand shook and I brought the screen closer to my face, blood cooling as I looked into the dead eyes that once belonged to Clay Clayton. His face was sunken in and mummified much like the other bodies but it wasn’t the state of his starved body that gave me pause.
The dead student lay in the middle of what looked to be an empty field. His hands out to the side in the shape of a cross and around him, salt formed a circle. My eyes drifted over the image and I pinched my thumb and index finger to enlarge the remnants of writing around him. My vision blurred and I blinked away the tears that threatened to drown me as I focused on the symbols in the circle. Peach wood, amethyst dust, salt. But that wasn’t it. There were runes engraved in the dirt at each of the five points of the circle; runes sketched in blood.
I slapped my hand to my mouth and closed my eyes.
I knew exactly what this was. I knew why the witch was killing these students.
A Freaking Bloodhound
“No, no, NO!” I gasped and shoved the phone back into Morgan’s outstretched hand. “This is a damn disaster!”
Beside me, River tensed while the other hunters stared like I was having a mental breakdown. Which wasn’t far from the truth, I definitely, one hundred percent was.
“Billie, what’s wrong? What do you see?” River asked.
“Yeah, girl,” Abigail added, “spill.”
The pressure around my eyes intensified and I had to reach for River’s hand just to stay upright. He squeezed my fingers, rubbing those annoying circles on my palm again with his thumb. Except this time, they weren’t annoying at all. This time, I craved his touch more than the air I needed to breathe.
“Here,” he said and helped me down to the grass. “Sit. Breathe.”
I forced myself to meet his eyes and took deep breaths while Savannah groaned next to us. Her bedazzled ankle-booties tapped the earth and I could sense the vibration reach my body. Every tap sent me spiraling and I cringed at the sound. Noticing my discomfort, River shot her a side-glance and she froze. I pulled my thoughts back and willed myself to calm down before daring to look up at her. Above me, Savannah’s eyes widened as she registered the fear on my face.
“Holy shit. You’re actually scared.”
“We all should be,” I whispered.
“Okay,” Tyler said and I was jarred by how deep his voice was. “Someone better tell me what’s going on or I’m going to legit lose it.”
I filled my lungs with air and ran my gaze over the hunters.
“We are in deep shit if this is what I think it is,” I finally said.
“Dude, come on! You’re killing us with the theatrics!” Jayden yelled.
Less than a second later, Morgan’s slap echoed through the field and Jayden was rubbing his chest with a puppy dog expression on his face. “Give her a second!” Morgan snapped. “It’s okay, Billie. Just calm down then tell us.”
Her smile spread and it helped dislodge my heart from my throat.
“I read about these before. These runes,” I said. “It’s a ritual. A bad one.”
“A ritual for what?”
“Energy collection.”
River’s brow furrowed. “So this witch is stealing energy from these kids? Enough to kill them?”
I nodded.
“Well, no kidding,” Savannah snapped. “We kind of already got that from the fact that they’re, oh, I don’t know, mummified!”
“That’s not it,” I said and narrowed my eyes at her. “Not that she’s taking their energy. It’s what she’s taking it for.”
Everyone fell silent and I could feel all eyes on me. I shrunk in the grass, letting go of River’s hand to hug my knees into me. Every sound and smell intensified and I closed my eyes, wishing when I opened them I would wake up from this nightmare. When I peeled my lids apart, nothing had changed. Wonderful.
“So what’s she taking it for?” Abigail asked.
“If I’m right…” I gestured for Morgan’s phone and she tossed it into my lap. I pinched my fingers to zoom and pointed to the runes I spotted earlier then waved the screen for the group to see. “She’s targeting these students not because they have fae blood, but because they have specific fae blood. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before!”
“Hey,” River whispered, “don’t be so hard on yourself. No one even believed these fae characters were real.”
I should have. ME! The freaking witch over here!
My gaze dropped to the ground and my face flushed. I hated lying to him but they needed to know at least some truth if they were going to help me end this.
“I know. It’s just that I’ve seen a ritual like this before, in books I read back in Stamwick,” I lied. Well, half lied. I saw this ritual in a book but they didn’t need to know it was in Sebyl’s grimoire when I stole it back when I was eight. “And from what I’ve gathered, not all fae are the same.”
“Meaning what?”
“They all have unique elements they control, or unique powers I guess. You guys know about the elements, right?”
The hunters looked at me like I was an idiot and Savannah scoffed. “Obvi,” she said and rolled her eyes. “We’re witch hunters, remember?”
How could I forget, asshole?
“Anyway,” I continued, “there are five fundamental elements. Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit. And there are fae that control each one. At least from what I’ve read. These runes here,” I pointed to the screen again, “are for each of the elements. And I didn’t notice it b
ecause, well, I don’t know why. But the bodies of the students were all positioned with their heads pointing to different spots. Like—”
“Arrows,” River whispered.
“Exactly! She’s picking specific students with bloodlines that date back to the fae of each of those elements. And that’s not the worst part.”
“Wait, what?” Tyler growled. “What’s worse than this?”
My eyes burnt and I swallowed audibly. “She has four already. Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. She’s only missing one to complete the ritual.”
I glanced back to the screen to double check and pressed my lips into a line. There was no mistaking this ritual now that I knew what it was for and I kicked myself for not seeing it sooner. I should have looked into the fae as soon as Sebyl mentioned them. Hell, I should have asked more questions! Why did I even—
“Not to sound like a total moron,” Jayden said, interrupting my downward spiral, “but what happens when she completes it?”
River leaned over me and put his hands over my knees. My pulse slowed and I found myself able to follow the conversation again without getting distracted. Mostly, River’s unexplainable effect on me was frustrating but at that moment, I was glad to have him as a friend.
“We’re screwed,” I answered. “If whoever is doing this completes the ritual she’ll be more powerful than any witch that ever lived. At least that’s what I’m assuming would happen. I’ve never heard of anyone getting their hands on fae magic before. And trust me, I’ve read a lot of occult books back home. Like a LOT!”
The hunters broke off into arguments and their voices carried over me like an orchestra. Words blurred together and I couldn’t make out a single sentence as they talked over each other. I couldn’t blame them, this was a big bomb to drop and despite their knowledge of the occult, finding this out was shocking. Hell, it was shocking to me and I’ve been a part of this world my whole life. I still couldn’t believe it. No one had ever performed this ritual. Goddess, most witches didn’t even believe the fae existed in the first place! But they did exist and after everything Sebyl has told me and the strange occurrences in this town, it made sense that their bloodlines were still coursing through the veins of their descendants. Sebyl said the fae were control freaks and dying off without so much as leaving a trace of power wasn’t something that someone who loved to control would do. The fae left breadcrumbs in Shadowhurst; pieces of themselves scattered across generations. Pieces of their magic. This witch found that out somehow and was trying to use it to get stronger. But for what? And why now?