Transfixed (Witches of Jackson Square Book 1)

by A Lonergan

  Didn’t we all?

  Sterling crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me some more, I didn’t know how it was possible, but the skin between his brows just kept getting smaller and smaller. I wanted to touch it and smooth it out, but instead, I made a snarky comment.

  “You’re going to get premature wrinkles if you keeping looking at me like that.” His brows unwrinkled and stretched upon his forehead in surprise.

  “I would rather have wrinkles than not have a brain.” He rolled his eyes before crouching down next to his sister.

  I decided they needed to be alone, but I also needed to think. I knew there was more on that paper than what they were telling and I wasn’t going to pry. I went up the stairs two at a time and closed the door behind me. On the floor was the blankets and pillows Ayre had supplied and right next to it all was my backpack and duffle bag, full of clothes. I could see the sun going down just outside my window and knew my time would be coming soon. I shoved a clean pair of shorts and a t-shirt into the backpack and then changed into a pair of leggings and a tank top. I slid my feet into my converse and threw my hair up on top of my head.

  I jerked awake, angry with myself for dozing off. The sky outside the window was black, and I knew it was my time to run. I didn’t want to see anymore suffer because of me. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and pulled my French doors open. The cat and the blood had been cleaned up, and all was quiet in the courtyard.

  I tiptoed down the stairs and almost made it to the door on the other side of the vast compound when someone cleared their throat. My head fell back in defeat, and I looked up at the stars, hoping the person hadn’t really noticed me.

  I was wrong. “Your hair practically glows in the dark.” Crap, it was Sterling. Of, freakin’, course.

  I swallowed hard and turned to face him. “I needed some fresh air, am I a prisoner here?”

  He stood up from the swing and cocked his head at me. “I’m not dumb. I know you’re going to them. I saw the wheels turning in your mind. I’ve been waiting for hours for you to make your appearance.”

  “I don’t understand why you are so obsessed with me,” I said, matter a fact.

  He seemed startled by my words and took a step back, his eyes getting round. “That is definitely not what this is. I’m simply waiting for you to mess up.”

  “Good for you then, you won’t have to anymore.” I pulled at a loose strand of hair next to my face.

  He shook his head. “You don’t realize the danger you are putting the coven in.”

  “Then why do you care if I stay?” I stepped closer to him, and he took a step back.

  “I don’t!” We were almost nose to nose now.

  “Then let me go.” I poked his chest for good measure. “You haven’t wanted me here. You wanted me gone the moment you found me in your room.”

  “You’re right about that.” He stepped forward, and I scrambled to move backward, so he didn’t touch me. “I had hoped you died when you fainted, then my mother would get the High Priestess powers she deserves.”

  My heart was beating out of my chest, and his words made me falter. I didn’t know why I was surprised. Nothing he said should have come as a shock anymore. I nodded my head once, and I was gone.

  It didn’t take me long to be discovered by my mother’s clan, or whoever she was. Walking around the empty Quarter was creepy enough, but to know I was being stalked was even worse. I had heard them when they came running at me, and I even let them hit me over the head. My vision swam, and I felt my legs give out.

  I didn’t know how long I had been out, but I woke up to my hands being tied behind my back and a bright light in my face. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

  “You wouldn’t have had to wait if you had just talked to me. I was coming willingly.” I pushed against my binds, looking for a weak spot.

  “We couldn’t take any chances after what happened the other morning, with one of our most powerful at that.” The woman said from behind the light.

  I shrugged my shoulders up, uncomfortably and tried to give a toothy smile. “What can I say? I like to do things my way.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s not how this is going to go.” When she walked around the light, I could just barely make out her features. Her hair was a deep gray, and her wrinkles on her face were even deeper. The years hadn’t been kind to her. I didn’t understand though, her voice sounded smooth like honey, but her features didn’t match at all. “This is what happens when the essence rejects you. The only way you can perform magic is by your own life force once that happens.”

  “Why would you continue to use magic?”

  “I have been searching for you.” She smoothed out her blouse.

  “You didn’t do that great of a job. It’s been that many years since I disappeared?” I tested the binds again. Nothing.

  “We had thought you were in New Orleans this whole time, we were right. We just had to wait for the perfect opportunity, and it arose just a few days ago when your cloaking wore off.”

  I laughed. “You honestly think that the Jackson Square coven was keeping me hidden?”

  She looked at me confused. “Well, of course. How else would you have eluded us this whole time?”

  Before I could respond a loud voice boomed across the room, behind the light. “That is enough, Arabella. I am getting tired of the commentary. She eluded you because she wasn’t in New Orleans, you twit.”

  Arabella blanched. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  I frowned. What the hell?

  “No more of this, I want to see my daughter, bring me to her.”

  I swallowed again, and my mind went blank before a flood of questions rushed forward. Wasn’t she in the Mirror Realm, banished? How was she able to be here in New Orleans? Was I still in New Orleans? Was I ever going to get free? Was my mother cruel and going to kill me?

  All the questions vanished as Arabella moved a large mirror to sit in front of me. The bright light clicked off, and the overhead light blinked on. There in the glass of the mirror was my mother. She didn’t look a day over 23. I gazed at her with wide eyes, taking in every single feature I could see. Her thick red hair hung around her face in glossy, thick curls and her lavender eyes weren’t as light as the other witches I had met. Her skin was perfect unmarked porcelain, and her figure was small like mine. I looked just like her. Except my hair was much brighter and always had a mind of its own.

  “Don’t look so afraid daughter,” Her eyes softened, and hope blossomed in my chest. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. “Someone cut the ropes off of my daughter, I want a proper look at her.” Two men rushed forward from behind me and sliced the ropes. The material hit the floor with a thud, and I rolled my shoulders and straightened up a bit. My heavy backpack now very much uncomfortable.

  “I am not afraid of you or anyone.” I scowled at her.

  She raised her eyebrows. “Hmmm, you remind me of your father.”

  I tried to calm my breathing. I had always wondered what my father was like.

  “Too bad. I always hated that he didn’t comply with my wishes.” She narrowed her eyes at me, assessing me once more.

  I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to stay alive, and I didn’t know what these people had in store for me just yet.

  “Come closer,” She pressed her hand against the glass that separated us and cocked her head, looking me up and down.

  I shook my head and stayed rooted in my spot.

  She shook her head and laughed. It was beautiful and haunting. “That’s fine, we have the perfect thing to make you obey. Bring him in.”

  I tried to think of everyone that had been at the orphanages with me, anyone that could be used against me, my mind drew a blank.

  “My father will make sure that all of you burn. Dammit, I’ll make sure that you all burn!” Sterling’s voice rang through the room, and my stomach dropped. No.

  “This little miscreant was following you around your little escapa
de,” Arabella said as the burly men tossed Sterling down in front of me. His hands were bound behind his back with duck tape, and his legs were bound with rope. His eyes held rage and hatred as he looked me over and saw that I was no longer bound.

  “I knew you were working with them!” He shouted. One of the men came forward and kicked him in the stomach, causing him to choke and curl in on himself.

  As much as I hadn’t liked Sterling, I didn’t want him to see pain because of me. It wasn’t right.

  “Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this.” My mother smiled gleefully as I spoke.

  “Come closer, or you will not like the consequences.” I was about to ignore her request when I saw a knife materialize out of thin air. Arabella drew the knife down the side of his perfectly sculpted face. Blood beaded up from the cut, but Sterling didn’t make a sound.

  Even though he didn’t do or say anything, I knew he was in immense pain by the sweat forming over his brow. I stepped closer to the mirror, against my better judgment.

  “Press your hand against the mirror, right over my hand.” I bit my lip. Everything inside of me, telling me not to do it. To die before I did what she said. “The Master’s son will suffer if you don’t.” I turned away from the mirror and watched as Arabella pressed the knife against Sterling’s chest. His eyes were the only thing that gave him away.

  “Fine, but please let him go when I do. He has nothing to do with this or us. I personally can’t stand the fool.

  My mother narrowed her eyes at me again. “Interesting. Yes, we shall leave him be.” Arabella took a step back to solidify the woman’s statement.

  I was just about to press my hand against the glass when Sterling spoke. “Have her swear on her magi.” A kick to the stomach was his reward, but I appreciated it and had her do so. Sterling watched as my mother swore on her magi with gritted teeth. He nodded once when she did it correctly. I pressed my hand on the glass and was ripped from the world I called home.

  The air was stolen from my lungs, and I felt like I had taken a trip through a vacuum. I could hear an echoing yell, but my mind and eyesight was too foggy to register it. When my brain felt back to normal, I sat up and knew I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. The sky was yellow, and the grass underneath me was a soft blue. There was a cracked mirror laying in front of me, and I knew exactly where I was. The damned woman had somehow traded my spot with hers in the Mirror Realm. Though I wasn’t sure why it was even called that. Everything around me wasn’t a mirror of the earth at all. I kicked the broken mirror and looked around me.

  My magi warmed against my wrist, and I had small comfort that I would have it with me. I was standing in a big field with fluffy purple flowers randomly popping from the grass. I felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book. When I got close enough to pluck a flower free, it swung my way and jabbed into my hand. The little fluff was actually a spike ball. I let out a hiss of pain and jumped out of the way.

  “They don’t like new people.” I whirled around at the small voice, but nothing was there. I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. “Don’t be frightened. I won’t try to hurt you.”

  I squinted my eyes, and there it was. More like, there she was. A tiny fairy about the size of my fingernail. She had brown hair piled on top of her tiny head, and the outfit she wore was an iridescent blue. Her little wings were a blur as she floated in front of me.

  “Oh hi,” This was great, fairies were real too. What else was I going to find out? What else was real?

  “Though my magic is great, I will not harm you.” She landed in the grass and almost disappeared, her dress blending in perfectly.

  “How do I know?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “You have no idea about the place you have fallen into, you are trapped here, and you have no one else. Trusting me is your only option.” She placed her hands on her hips and smirked.

  “Fine, but I don’t completely trust you.” I crossed my arms over my chest. A big gust of wind decided to blow through at that moment and knocked me off of my feet. I blinked hard and tried to stand up, but the wind hit me back down again.

  I had expected the little fairy to be long gone, but instead, her eyes were white, and she was rooted in place. She smiled at me, and it was terrifying, her brown hair wiping around her head wildly. She was the epitome of fierce.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sterling

  Just as Sariah stepped through the mirror and Freya was sucked through, someone hit me over the head. She had risked her life for mine. As I blinked my eyes open and rubbed my sore head, I was thankful that they had sworn on their magis or I wouldn’t have survived. Then I remembered the mirror that Freya had been sucked into and I rushed to the other side of the room.

  All that was left of the mirror were sharp jagged edges and no magic left. I pulled my shirt over my head and carefully picked up all the pieces of glass, making sure I didn’t miss any. I didn’t know if it was possible, but I needed to bring the mirror to the compound.

  When I reached my home, the doors were open wide, and a large gathering was in the garden. My mother had just finished talking, and when her eyes flashed to me, I could see a fury there like I had never seen before. Mumbling and whispers flew around me as the witches dispersed to their rooms or left to go to their homes. I ignored it all, all I could think of was the glass in my hands.

  “Where have you been? I have been worried sick!” My mother stormed my way.

  I placed the broken mirror on the table and hung my head. If I hadn’t been such an ass, none of this would have happened. “I’m so sorry.” I didn’t usually apologize, and the words hurt coming from my lips.

  My mother must have noticed my lack of clothing, and her eyes narrowed. “I was worried that Sariah had harmed you in some way. I couldn’t find you.”

  I closed my eyes and recounted my almost death. “So you know she escaped?”

  She looked to her magi hanging low on her neck before she nodded. “Yes, I felt the power leave me and figured it had been Freya, but then I couldn’t find Freya anywhere, and I knew.”

  “I followed her.” I hung my head again.

  “How did you know she was going to leave?” Sadness filled my mother’s features.

  I tried to think of the best way to say it. “I pushed her to go.”

  The sting of her hand on my face had me blinking, though I wasn’t surprised. I had deserved it. My mother had never lifted her hand to me before, but this time, it was justified. I waited for her to yell, but all she did was start pacing in front of me.

  “What happened?” Disappointment had replaced her sadness.

  I closed my eyes against it before I spoke. “Sariah used Freya to get out. Like she swapped places with her through the mirror.”

  My mother let out a gasp and went toward the doors like she could do something to rewrite the past. “I was afraid of her finding a loophole. We need that mirror! She didn’t take it, right?”

  I picked up a piece of it and held it out to her, with shaking hands. “She broke it.”

  My mother’s face fell, and she looked like she was going to collapse. In a few seconds, she aged tremendously before my eyes. “We must bring it to your father, there may be a way to fix this.”

  When I picked up the glass again, I felt hope, not much but it was enough. I had wronged Freya, and because of that, I was the reason New Orleans was now doomed. I didn’t know much about Sariah, but I knew her rule wasn’t going to be a good one.

  My father threw a glass globe across the room, and I stood stoic as it burst into thousands of little pieces. “Do you know what you have done?” The man that was usually calm and collected was losing it.

  I nodded my head, unsure of my voice. The man had never cared for me much, and I was giving him even more ammunition against me.

  “I don’t think you do. Your mother no longer has the High Priestess power. She can’t protect this coven any longer. She can’t protect you or your sister against the madness
that has been unleashed in our city.” He raked his fingers through his hair and caused it to stand up. “The witches ruled this city, but I am afraid with Sariah back in power, other creatures will start to come from their shadows.”

  I looked at the worn wooden floors and shook my head. “What about our people? What will happen to them?”

  My father took my mother’s hand in his and kissed it softly. “Some will leave and join her, some will stay.”

  “How do we get them to stay?” Ayre asked, clutching her hands to her chest.

  “We have to show them that we are still a powerful family.” My mother lifted her head high, ready for the challenge that was to come.

  “What about Freya?” My eyes flicked to the broken mirror on my father’s desk.

  Ayre’s head wiped in my direction, and she narrowed her eyes at me. “What about her? You are the one that pushed her away, you are the reason we are in this mess, to begin with!”

  “If you hadn’t brought her here, she would have gone back to where ever it is that she is from.” Fury laced my words.

  “Foster care?” She flew from her seat and got within inches of my face. She lifted her hands up like she was going to strangle me before she let out an exasperated sound and stormed from the room. I winced at her words. I had been cruel in how I had treated Freya and guilt was eating me up because of it. I didn’t normally feel this way, but I now realized how wrong I had been.

  Heck, I could have even gotten along with her if I had stopped being a jerk and yet, she had still sacrificed herself for me.

  My mother scowled at me. “How did she end up in the mirror, to begin with? Why would she trade places with Sariah?”

  “They were going to kill me.” My mother gasped and put her hand over her mouth.

  “Why would she sacrifice herself for you? You are lucky she did, if I had been in her shoes, I would have let you perish.” My father shrugged his shoulders. “Karma is alive and well within the essence, and you are lucky that Freya is merciful.”