If there was one thing I was good at, it was finding corpses.
I closed my eyes and searched for the cold spots inside his mind. Instantly finding them, I focused on their faces. Aside from Agatha, I recognized two of them from around town.
I had never spoken to the dead before, but based on what happened with Daire’s father, I was able to channel the dead.
“Help me witches! Don’t let Reed use you or your power. Fight him! Together, we can stop him from hurting anymore people!” I opened my eyes to find the zombies gathering around me.
I couldn’t see Reed’s face, but I suddenly felt his fear.
“Shut up!” Reed tried to hit me, but Agatha caught his arm and pulled him off me.
Backing away from him, I rubbed my neck, thankful for Agatha’s bravery. I watched as the zombies swarmed Reed and took him to the ground.
“What’s going on?” Aiden looked around, unable to see anything.
“He’s channeling the witches or trapping them in his mind. I don’t understand it, but he’s using their power to enhance his own. Apparently, they don’t like him or what he’s doing to them.” I motioned to the ground where Reed was struggling to free himself from their hold.
“We need to get out of here.” Aiden grabbed my hand as if he was ready to run away from here.
Looking at Ian and Daire, who were still fighting the spells hiding Reed, they both shook their heads as if they weren’t ready to leave yet.
“If we leave, we’ll still have no idea where Reed is. We need to finish this. If he runs, he’ll hurt more people.” I hated the idea of staying inside the head of a murderer, but I owed it to the witches to stop him. They would never find peace trapped here.
Hearing a roar, I saw the zombies tossed aside as Reed’s dark form stood up.
“Umm, that’s not good. Reed’s back up.” I quickly backed away. Aiden followed me, still trying to locate Reed.
“What’s he doing?” Aiden stood in front of me to protect me.
Seeing the fog swirl as it thinned out around Reed’s body, I got the impression that Reed was performing a spell.
“We have to keep Reed busy before he attacks Daire and Ian. I think their spells are starting to work, but they need more time.” I stepped around Aiden as I racked my brain for a way to stop Reed.
Aiden tried to pull me back behind him. “I can’t lose you, Dahlia. We need to leave here and fight him in the real world where I can get my hands on the bastard.”
I pulled my hand away. “We can’t fight what we can’t see.” I patted his chest to calm him and make him understand that I wasn’t going to run.
Sighing, he nodded.
“Dahlia, Reed’s trying to block us. We can’t fight him and perform our spells. Do something!” I could hear the strain in Daire’s voice.
I nodded, understanding what was at stake. Taking a step closer to Reed, I laughed. “I’ll bet you were really pissed when I called the cops on you. You were the master of your world until it came crumbling down on you. I took everything from you. You lost Charlie, you lost your freedom and you lost your control and power. Abusers like their control. It must have driven you mad to have all that stripped away because of me.” I was gambling with my own life, but it was the only way to keep Reed focused on me while Daire and Ian worked.
“Dahlia, what are you doing?” Aiden’s alarmed voice made me step closer to Reed so that Aiden didn’t try to stop me.
Hearing Reed growl in frustration, I knew I had his attention.
“I saw what you did to Charlie. You believed you had the right to hurt her. You enjoyed hurting her. I stopped you from doing that.” I held my breath, waiting for Reed to attack me.
“You stupid bitch. You stole my life!” Seeing the fog move, I knew Reed was charging towards me.
Unsure of how to stop him, I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle. I couldn’t punch him, I couldn’t physically harm him and he had beaten back the zombies. Without more mental ammunition against him, I was in trouble.
Closing my eyes, I braced myself. There had to be a way to fight Reed.
Hearing a different kind of growling, my eyes flew open to see Gray and Milo standing between Reed and me. Reed stopped advancing on me when he saw them.
Confused, Gray looked at Reed and turned back to hold up her hands questioningly. “Why is Jack here? And where are we?”
“Ahh, short version, I’m psychic and I accidentally pulled you into the mind of a dark wizard. That’s Charlie’s ex-husband, Reed Walker and wait a minute…you can see him?”
Gray nodded slowly as she looked to Milo. “We can see him.” Turning to Reed, they both let out a snarl that sent shivers through my entire body. “Nobody uses me to get to Dahlia!”
Hunching down on all fours, Gray burst into a gray ball of fur and teeth. Milo exploded a second later. They advanced on Reed, forcing him to back up.
“Since when do you have familiars?” Reed grumbled.
I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I was grateful that Gray and Milo were here, even if they were terrifying wolves. Seeing them helped to drain some of my fear away, allowing me to focus on the problem. I guess I found my rooks.
Hearing Daire and Ian’s chanting getting louder; I noticed the fog thinning out around me.
I scanned the area around Reed and smiled when I saw his blue jeans.
“Your spells are working! Hurry!” Daire and Ian looked pale and tired, but they nodded.
Another second and I could see the blue eyes of his glamour turn brown. Standing before me was the face of the man I had seen terrorizing Charlie years ago.
Aiden smiled. “I can see him.”
“Me too.” I looked around at the ground to see a familiar shape in the fog. “I also see a headstone. He’s hiding in a cemetery. We just need to figure out which one.”
Reed’s eyes darted around at the ground as the wolves continued to back him up. I could see the fear and panic in his pinched features.
Daire and Ian dropped to their knees as the cloaking spell fell, revealing the entire landscape, including the Tavish Mausoleum I recognized from the Silver Springs Cemetery.
Pointing to it, Aiden nodded. “Dahlia, I know where that is. Let’s get him.”
Gray turned to look at me and nodded. I assumed she wanted to get a piece of him in the real world.
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure how to release them from Reed’s mind since I wasn’t sure how I pulled them in.
Closing my eyes, I mentally pushed everyone away. “Go.”
When I opened my eyes again, I saw that Reed and I were the only ones left.
He smiled and shook his head. “întemnița!” He made a clasping motion with his hands and turned his hands in the opposite directions.
I tried to leave, but something stopped me. “What the fuck?”
“Now, you’re stuck here with me forever, Dahlia. I just needed your friends to leave so you’d stop drawing power from them.” He knelt down in front of me. “The second I escaped from the hell you put me in, I came straight here. I had to figure out how you were able to see what I was doing to Charlie through a simple phone call. It’s all I’ve been able to think about all these years. When I felt someone prowling around my head, I wasn’t sure it was you, but I hoped it was. If you could get into my mind, it meant that I could find a way to keep you there. I just needed to draw power from the right witches and find the perfect spell.” He tipped his head to the witches as if he was thanking them. “Taking over their coven will be a nice little bonus. Once I have your power under my control, I will be unstoppable.”
He grabbed me and threw me into the mausoleum. He rounded up the zombies and tossed them inside with me. When the door slammed closed, I felt a humming sensation travel throughout my body. I fell to my knees and watched the witches fall to the ground. I tried to stand, but I couldn’t. I felt so tired all I wanted to do was sleep.
So much for being more powerful than he was. Whatever he
was doing, I could feel all my energy draining away.
Chapter 22 Daire
Popping up off the floor where we had fallen asleep in the living room, Aiden and Ian were halfway through the front door when I realized that Dahlia was still asleep.
“Dahlia! Wake up! Get out of there!” I shook her, but her body was limp.
Hearing howling outside, l looked to Aiden. “I don’t know how Dahlia has a pair of wolf shifters as her familiars, but they’re headed towards the cemetery to kill Reed. We can’t let that happen, until Dahlia is safe.
Aiden nodded and ran out to stall the wolves.
Ian pointed to Dahlia. “We should bring her with us. We need to know the second she’s awake so we can secure Reed. The bastard has her trapped like the other coven members. He’ll try to use her power, if he figures out how to use her. I saw the witches and wizards fighting against Reed. Once he gets control of them, he will own their abilities. I don’t know how he’s managed to syphon their power, but he will be unstoppable once he controls Dahlia.”
I nodded as I scooped Dahlia up into my arms and followed Ian towards the cemetery next door.
Once we pinpointed the howling of the wolves, I placed Dahlia on the ground next to a sturdy headstone. I kissed her forehead and turned to see Ian pushing up his sleeves.
“You do the barrier spell around Reed to keep him contained. I’ll set up a protection barrier so no one accidentally walks in on our battle.” I pushed up my sleeves and frantically tried to remember the motions of the protection spell as Ian nodded and got to work on his spell.
From my left, the wolf shifters arrived and paced around the edges of the barrier, snarling and scraping at it with their claws.
Inside the barrier, Reed winked at Ian. “Thank you for the protection barrier. I’m glad that we’re all on the same page. If you kill me, I’ll take Dahlia with me.”
“I really hate this guy.” I looked to Ian, who was staring at something behind Reed. Squinting into the night, I gulped. “I’m guessing those zombies are your missing coven members and I’m assuming that Reed has them under his control now.”
Ian grumbled under his breath and nodded. “Yes, they are and yes, he does. He chose his victims well, which means we’re in very deep shit.” Ian’s matter-of-fact demeanor did nothing to keep me from completely freaking out.
“Well, you know the dark wizard motto, go big or else every witch in town will hunt you and hang you from the gallows.” I shook out my hands, preparing for a wizard duel with the dead.
“Indeed.” Ian replied. Glancing at me, he motioned towards the zombie witches. “Can’t you control them, necromancer?”
I chuckled. “If they weren’t already under the control of a dark wizard who is infinitely more powerful than me right now, sure.”
Ian sighed. “Then we do this the old fashioned way. You take the two on the right and I’ll take the three on the left.”
Not wanting to seem like a coward for accepting the smaller group of enemies, I shook my head. “It’s okay; I can take the one in the middle.”
Ian laughed. “Trust me; I’m not being chivalrous by taking three. The two on the right are as powerful as three or four witches. Good luck.” He patted my shoulder just before he ran forward to engage the enemy, who were finally in position and raising their hands or pulling out their wands to battle us.
“Hmm. Wonderful.” Letting out a battle cry that sounded more like a terrified scream, I ran at the two witches and threw an immobilization spell at them, which they immediately deflected. Shit. This was going to be rough.
“Stop all this heroic crap. You can’t win. I have your girl. Love makes you weak, so you’re already at a disadvantage. Give up.” Reed taunted us as he paced inside the boundary spell.
Aiden snapped his teeth in frustration. “Come out here and fight like a man, you coward.”
Reed smiled. “I can feel your hunger, Aiden. That gnawing pit in the bottom of your stomach is telling you to kill someone. Go, drain the life out of a warm human and ease your unending hunger.” Reed focused his mind games on Aiden, who doubled over in pain.
Perfect! All I needed was for Aiden to turn on Ian and me. “Aiden, he’s just screwing with you. Fight him. The hunger isn’t real. He’s twisting Dahlia’s power to make you feel the hunger more intensely. She can calm people or raise their emotional state. That’s why we feel so horny around her. Don’t kill anyone, especially me!”
Ian made a frustrated sound. “Or me!”
I shrugged. “Or anyone!”
Gray and Milo continued to pace, waiting for the second the barrier dropped so they could tear into Reed.
Reed winked at them. “Look at you pathetic creatures. Abandoned by your pack and left to fend for yourselves. You had to befriend a half witch because no one else wanted you. Don’t worry; you’ll never have to find out what she thinks of your true form because you will never see her again.”
Milo threw himself at the barrier, but thankfully, Gray snapped at him. If Milo broke through the barrier, we might lose Dahlia forever.
Dodging a curse that would have turned me into a slug, I ran to Dahlia’s side. “Come on, honey. We can only hold them off for so long. Don’t let this asshat make you think you’re weak. Sure, he captured a couple of really strong witches, but you’re the one who’s been spying on him all this time. You somehow knew he was here. You don’t understand your abilities yet, but you are capable of so much more. Just believe in yourself as much as I believe in you. Kick his ass, baby.”
Chapter 23 Dahlia
My eyes fluttered and I yawned. Why the hell was I so tired? Wasn’t I already asleep?
I needed an alarm clock, or my mom yelling at me that I was late for school, something to get me moving.
I needed…Charlie…the queen. That made me the pawn.
A second later, Charlie appeared in front of me. “Dahlia, why are we inside a crypt with zombies? Seriously, I was having a really good dream about a hot guy on a beach. I want to go back to that.” She crossed her arms and spun around as if she was looking for the hot guy.
“We’re inside Reed’s mind and I can’t wake up.” I put my head down on my arm to sleep.
“Wait! What?” She bent over to shake me. “Get up. It’s dangerous in here. If he figures out that you’ve been dumpster diving in his head, he’ll be pissed.”
“He knows. I’m trapped here.” I snuggled into the hard ground beneath me.
Looking at the door, she smiled. “Oh no, honey. You’re not trapped here. He just thinks you are. He’s made a big mistake. Get up; we’re heading down memory lane.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing but a cemetery out there. No memories, just tombstones.”
She rubbed her hands together. “That doesn’t mean you can’t access the treasure trove of bad memories in here. Reed was quiet about his past, but you don’t just become a dark wizard because you feel like it. You are led down the path of darkness based on your decisions. If there’s any hint of regret inside the bastard, you can amplify it. Dahlia, you have always been able to subtly manipulate people’s emotions to calm them or get them excited. If you focus that power, you can cripple him.” She held out her hand for me to take.
I waved her away. “Nap time.”
She huffed. “That’s Reed manipulating your emotions, making you think you’re tired. Tell him to fuck off.” She put her hands on her hips when I refused to move. “Do you know what your mother did before she semi-retired to take a desk job so she could be at home to take care of you? She was a bounty hunter. She tracked down escaped magical prisoners. That’s how she really died. It wasn’t a car accident. One of the dark wizards she had tracked for years escaped and came after her. Let me just say that she didn’t go down without a fight. She was the bravest, craziest woman I ever knew. She had skills that put most of us witches to shame. You are so much like her, Dahlia. You are a fighter. You just need someone to show you what you can do. Now, get up!”
Thinking about my mother, I remembered how she was never afraid of the unknown. She always embraced it, excited for a new challenge.
If Reed were hitting me with crazy purple knockout gas, I would make him eat dirt.
Pushing myself off the ground, I took a deep breath. I refused to be influenced by him. Searching inside me, I mentally pushed against the humming in my body until I finally freed myself of it. I could still feel it all around me, but didn’t let it back in.
“Okay. How can I access his memories?” I looked at Charlie, hoping she had some idea about what to do.
She shrugged. “First, let’s get out of here. I’m not exactly sure what we’re looking for, but the memories are definitely here.”
Together, we pushed on the mausoleum door and we stepped out into the graveyard. Looking around, I finally saw the middle of the cemetery, but I couldn’t see anything beyond.
“I don’t know where Reed is, but he’s got to be lurking around here somewhere.” I carefully walked around, searching for something that looked like a memory.
“Huh. This looks promising.” Charlie pointed to one of the headstones. Instead of a person’s name, the tombstone read, Summer 1995. “Try placing your hand on it. It’s possible that the tombstones are his memories. It’s morbid, but Reed was always a strange guy.”
I reached out to touch the cold marble and was immediately assaulted by a bright sun in the middle of a large backyard. In the distance was a little boy around the age of seven. He was on the ground crying. Standing over him was a stern man who was throwing toys at his head.
“If you don’t clean up your toys, I will take them away.” The man was dressed like a butler or nanny.
I could feel the boy’s sorrow. Reed believed that his toys would be taken away.
Pulling my hand away, I nodded. “Bingo. His butler was a dick. What else is there?” I spun around, looking for a memory strong enough to bring Reed to his knees.
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