Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) (15 page)

“We’ll be there soon, don’t worry,” William said as he patted her arm. He could feel the tension bubbling under her skin. Finally, after what felt like an eternity but in reality was less than twenty minutes, William pulled the car onto the street by the bookstore. Before he had even finished parking, Jilly bolted out of the car and ran toward the building. William swore under his breath and ran after her as soon as he finished parking.

When he caught up with her, Jilly was standing in front of the bookstore looking around frantically for Hannah. “She’s not here!” she screamed at him. “We’re too late.” She crumpled to the ground in a heap at William’s feet. “I really thought we’d get here in time...”

“Get up, let’s keep looking. She’ll probably be hiding somewhere if she’s here. She won’t want to be out in the open anywhere.” Jilly jumped up quickly and they began to search the various alleys around the store. After over thirty minutes of searching, Jilly heard something move behind a large dumpster.

As she heard them approach, Hannah whirled around to face them, her long hair blowing wildly in the wind. Her eyes held a terror neither Jilly nor William could comprehend, and she backed away slowly.

“Did they send you?” Hannah screamed. Her whole body poised to flee.

“Hannah, it’s Jilly. You called me to come get you. We don’t want to hurt you. Do you remember me from the bookstore?” Jilly spoke softly as she walked toward the young girl slowly, holding her palms up in a gesture of peace. Hannah looked at her for a while, trying to decide if she trusted her or not.

“I didn’t call you, I don’t even know your number,” Hannah said in a jumble of panicked words.

Jilly exchanged a puzzled look with William. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I’m here now and you’re safe. Do you remember me from this morning?”

“Yes,” Hannah said in almost a whisper. “I thought I had imagined you, but I wanted so badly to believe you would come for me.”

“I did come for you. Nothing will hurt you now. William and I won’t let anything happen to you ever again.” Jilly gathered Hannah into her arms and hugged her tightly. Hannah was tense in her arms, not letting herself relax into the embrace. Suddenly, there was a loud shrieking noise coming from above them and Jilly saw the same shadows from before, creeping down the walls towards them, their eyes glowing red in the pitch-blackness.

“We have to leave, it’s not safe here, anymore. They found me again!” Hannah screamed. William grabbed Jilly’s hand and pulled her and Hannah after him toward the car. They ran full speed for a few blocks until the shrieking grew fainter. They slowed to a walk to catch their breath.

“What were those things?” Jilly asked, as she looked behind them to see if they were still following them.

“I don’t know what they’re called, but they can always find me,” Hannah said. “It doesn’t matter where I hide, they always find me.” Jilly looked at William, but he shook his head. He didn’t know what they were either.

“Come on, we need to get out of the street,” William said as he urged everyone forward. They reached the car a few minutes later and quickly climbed inside. William peeled out into the street and they sped off toward the house.

The drive home was a silent one. No one spoke and the only sound was the purr of the engine. Hannah had her head against the window looking out into the blackness outside. Jilly was concerned; Hannah hadn’t spoken much at all, and she worried about what the girl had been through in her short life. They reached the gates in front of the house in about twenty minutes and Jilly let out a sigh of relief. Being behind the wards that they had put up made her feel much safer.

She turned to face Hannah. “Don’t worry, its safe here. Nothing will find you here.” Hannah nodded her head silently, her eyes wide with apprehension. William pulled the car up to the front door and they all climbed out and walked up silently. Jilly took Hannah’s hand and led her up the stairs to the room next to the one that she and William shared.

“There’s a bathroom with everything you’ll need and we’ve got clothes in your size in the dresser,” she said with a smile.

“Why are you doing this? What do you get from helping me?” Hannah asked, wariness painted on her face.

“We don’t want anything from you, Hannah, we just want to help you. As for why, it’s because you need the help, honey. After seeing your picture on the wall in Sabine’s house, my fate was sealed. I had to find you.”

Hannah’s eyes darkened when Jilly said Sabine’s name. “How do you know Sabine?” Hannah asked angrily.

“It’s complicated but we know enough to know that she’s not to be trifled with. She had similar pictures of my twin sister, Caroline, and my friend Katya on the wall along with yours. She was also holding them captive. I’m not sure what she wanted them for, but I know it wasn’t good. I knew that if she wanted you, we needed to find you and help you. You can trust us. I know you don’t know us, but we really do want to help.” Jilly tried to reassure Hannah as much as she could.

“You keep saying I can trust you, but how do I know that? How do I know that you won’t hurt me too?” Tears streamed down Hannah’s cheeks. She had carried the weight of the world on her shoulders for so long, it was very tempting to let someone take over for a while.

Jilly’s heart broke. She wanted nothing more than to reassure her that she would keep her safe. “Hannah, I swear on my life, I will keep you safe as long as you are with me.”

Hannah nodded, willing at least to try and believe her. “Who was that guy?”

Jilly laughed a little bit. “Oh, I’m sorry; I never really introduced you to him. There was so much going on and I was more concerned with getting you out of there. His name is William. He’s my fiancé. You can trust him, he’s one of the good guys. He will do whatever he needs to do to keep you safe. You can count on that. I’ll leave you to get cleaned up; we can talk more, later tonight or in the morning. I’m in the next room if you need me.” Jilly rose to her feet. She leaned in and kissed Hannah’s cheek, softly, and then left the room.

Jilly found William in his study typing on his laptop.

He looked up when she came in. “How is she?” he asked, his face a mask of concern.

“She’s scared. She doesn’t know if she can trust us or not, yet. She’s been through a lot; though exactly what, I don’t know yet. We need to tread lightly around her for the time being. She knows Sabine. When I mentioned her name, she got angry.” Jilly walked over to the leather couch and sat down.

“I think we should leave for the states tomorrow or the day after, at the latest,” William said as he resumed his typing. Jilly sat back on the couch, thinking about Hannah and what she had been through.

“Do you think it’s wise for us to move her so soon? She’s obviously scared and I don’t want to freak her out any more then we really need to.”

William stopped his typing again and looked at Jilly. “I don’t know, but we really don’t have the luxury of waiting right now. My brother is out there somewhere and he’s cooking up some plan, just biding his time until he’ll spring it on us. I need to be back in Boston, Jill. He’s my responsibility, not Nik and Kat’s.” William’s voice was soft, but Jilly could feel the heat coming off the words he spoke.

“I’ll talk to Hannah in the morning.” Jilly got up and walked out of the room, leaving William to whatever he was working on. She wandered around the house for a while, feeling too keyed up to sleep. She eventually found herself in the library and perused the shelves for something to read. William had every book imaginable, and most of them looked like first editions. She settled on a book about Celtic folklore and brought it back to her room. As she was rounding the corner, Hannah was coming out of her room. Jilly jumped a little bit, startled.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Hannah said softly.

“It’s ok. I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone. Did you need something?” Jilly asked as she walked over to Hannah.

“I’m actually kind of hungry. Can you point me in the direction of the kitchen?”

“How stupid of me. Of course, let me just drop my book off and I’ll take you.” A few minutes later, the girls were in the kitchen and Hannah sat down at the table. “What can I make you?” Jilly asked as she rummaged around in the fridge.

“I’m not picky. A sandwich would be great,” Hannah replied shyly. As Jilly prepared the food, she thought about how best to broach the subject of Hannah’s parents. She brought the sandwich and some chips along with a soda over to the table and set them in front of Hannah. Jilly watched as the young girl tore into her food. She ate as though she hadn’t eaten in awhile. Jilly cleared her throat and asked Hannah about her life.

“Are you from England?”

“No, I’m from America. My parents brought me here last year. They thought it would be safer. They were wrong,” Hannah said, sadly.

“Where are they now?”

“Dead, or at least I think they are. Those shadow things got them six months ago. I’ve been on my own ever since then. I hide, but they always find me.” Hannah looked down at her hands as the tears slid down her cheeks.

Jilly put her arms around her. “You’re safe now. William and I will take care of you. You’re not alone anymore. Why are they after you?”

“Sabine sent them after us when we ran. She wanted me for something, but she wasn’t clear about what. My parents didn’t trust her.”

“They were smart. She’s not a good person. I’m not sure what she wants you for either, but I know it’s not good. We need to go back to Boston tomorrow or the day after at the latest. Are you okay with that?”

Hannah’s face brightened. “Yes, it’s been so strange here in London. I’ll be happy to be back in America, again.”

Jilly let out a sigh of relief. “Good, I was worried it would be too soon for you after everything that’s happened.”

“No, I’m happy to leave. There’s nothing for me here, anyway.” Hannah finished her food and pushed her chair back. “Thank you for making me the sandwich.”

Jilly smiled. She took Hannah’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “All you have to do is ask, honey. Anything you need at all is yours.” Jilly led Hannah back through the house and tucked her into bed. “I’m going to be across the hall for a while, but then I’ll be back in the room next to yours. Just call if you need me.” Hannah nodded and rolled over to sleep.

William was still at his desk working on his laptop when Jilly came back in. He looked up and smiled at her. “I thought I heard Hannah, earlier. Is everything ok?”

Jilly sat down on the couch again. “Yeah, she’s doing remarkably well after everything she’s gone through in the past year. She told me a little bit about what’s happened to her, but I didn’t want to press her. She said those things that were chasing us got her parents six months ago; she’s been alone in London since then.” Jilly stopped talking for a moment as she cried silently for the young girl across the hall, who had lost so much at such a young age.

William came over and sat next to Jilly. “She’s safe now Jill. I’ll never let anything happen to her again. She’ll always have a place with us.” William pulled her close to him in a hug.