The 13th Witch Complete Trilogy (12 page)

“It's harder when you don't have magic on your side anymore.” He took a step in front of me.

 

“I don't need magic to live my life.”

“No, there are a lot of people in the world who just watch it go by. They never realize what there is underneath. They don't feel the pulse of the earth or the air talking to them, but people like us do.” He smiled as he glanced around us.

“You mean people like you. I don't have magic anymore.” A part of me was upset that I'd given up my gifts. I never even got a chance to use them before I chose to give them away.

“No, but you gave it up for a good reason. When you do something like that, the normal rules don't always apply.” He stopped suddenly almost making me run into him. “It's not far now. Just behind that treeline, I think.”

I didn't say anymore, but kind of followed him as he walked. I thought about everything. Not even a couple months ago I was normal. I was in college and I was just Lucy. There were no dark witches coming to get me and I didn't have nightmares I didn't understand. Sure, the nightmares were gone, but so was any idea of ever being normal. Even when I didn't have magic, people still hunted me and wanted to kill me. I can't even have a normal relationship with my boyfriend. How had life gotten so complicated?

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice when we stepped through the bubble around the commune until Eli said something.

“This is it.” He turned and glanced at me. “Are you worried about him?”

I shook myself out of my thoughts and smiled at Eli. “No, I know Connor will be okay. He wouldn't want me to get myself into trouble. We still need to keep you out of Eric's reach for a few days longer.”

“Not just me,” he said holding my gaze. “What does that mean?”

“You are Eric's daughter. He probably wants you too.”

“I betrayed him in his mind. As far as he's concerned, I'm as big a problem as my adopted father.” I walked past him towards the large building. The look of it made me smile. Something about this place felt right. It felt like home.

An old wood barn had been turned into the main part of the building and repainted a few times over the years. It also had a clear path around the building where others did protection spells on it. Even without my magic, I knew this place held a lot of power and the witches that once lived and met here, were more powerful than anyone I'd ever met.

“This was the old meeting place. My mother used to talk about it,” Eli said, walking up behind me. “Tell me about it.”

He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the big wood double doors and into the main part of the building. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dark, but when they did all I saw were hundreds of crystal hanging from the ceiling. It was a sight that took my breath away.

“This was where the magic took place. The crystals magnify energy and make the spells work better,” Eli said, pointing at the ceiling.

“I remember Connor telling me about crystals and some of what they can do.” I made a face and felt my heart ache. I couldn't help but wonder if he really was okay. It was easy to say he would be, but knowing it was a little different.

Eli glanced at me and then reached up and pulled a crystal from the ceiling. He took the two steps it took to reach me and tied the crystal around my neck.

“This one is special,” he said with a smile. “What does that mean?”

“It was my fathers. He gave it to my mother before I was born. She brought it back here when he died and put it with the others. It carries not just my fathers magic, but the magic of the Fae as well.”

I put my hand on the clear gem and smiled. I could feel the tingle of magic inside it. This was truly something powerful, even without my magic, I knew that much.

“Thank you.”

 

He didn't say anything, but took a step back and looked back to the ceiling. “This is a good place to be.” “Do you think Eric will look for this place?” I suddenly felt a pit in my stomach.

 

“I don't know,” Eli said, not looking at me. “But if he does and finds it, we may not be able to stop him.” I swallowed hard.
Great.

 

***

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. This had been a rough couple of days and it seemed to only be getting rougher. Sleep brought with it, its own set of problems.

I glanced down to see my bare feet standing in the wet grass. I was alone and in the middle of the clearing. We were right in front of the commune and I could feel the magic in the air. Something was happening.

I took a few steps until I was at the big wood door to go inside, but a part of me didn't want to go in. A part of me knew it would be trouble. I took a deep breath and opened the door only a few inches. My eyes focused on the group inside. They were dressed in red robes. I couldn't see their faces, but I knew they were not good people.

When I got closer, I could see the crystals glowing a peculiar shade of light blue. They were working with the magic the group was raising. I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, but nothing would come to me. I focused on them, trying to see their faces. Only one would come clearly.

Connor.
Six

I sat up in bed and grabbed at my heart. It was beating fast and hard. I felt a little bit of stabbing pain and gasped for breath. The door to the little room upstairs burst open and Eli ran in. He looked concerned and unsure all at the same time.

“What's wrong?” He said, sternly.

 

I opened my mouth to answer, but the pain in my heart seemed to get worse.

“Breath. It's your magic trying to break though,” Eli said holding my face in his hands. I tried to hang onto what he said, but my magic was gone. I'd given it up when I bound Eric, my birth father from his.

My vision cleared and the pain in my chest eased up. I felt like I could breath again and looked around.

“You're alright.” He seemed to notice I was calming down, but didn't let go of my face. “You have a strong will and your magic will too. It's part of your personality.” He smiled and pulled his hands away.

“The magic is gone from me. I did it of my own free will. How can it just come back?” I whispered.

“You're in a powerful place and it knows you need it.” He didn't stand, but stayed back a little. “What did you dream about?”

My gaze shot up to him. “I don't know. It was confusing.”

“Where where you?”
“Here in this place. I think Eric finds it.” I didn't feel like saying anything about Connor. I didn't want to believe he could be with them and I didn't know if it was of his own will either.

“Is there anything else you want to tell me?” He asked, not taking his eyes off of me.

I shook my head. “Maybe I should take this thing off.” I pulled at the crystal around my neck. Eli held his hand up and stopped me.

“You need that more than you realize right now.”

I took a breath and laid back. He still didn't move from his place by my bed. I thought about Eric and this place and what he was planning. If he found us and took this land, he could not only get his magic back, but he could also do things no one is prepared for and nothing would be able to stop him.

Seven

I stepped out into the cool morning air. It smelled different than the air in town. It smelled clean and pure. A part of me wished I could just fade into it. The smell of bacon and eggs drew me back to the house.

“I didn't know what you liked,” Eli said putting a plate on the picnic table in front of the building.

“This is great. Thank you.” I smiled and started to eat. This made me feel normal. It made me feel like I wasn't in the middle of a huge mess. I was supposed to protect Eli, but how was I supposed to stop Eric and his people. They were everywhere and had more magic than I could imagine and they had the one person that would have been able to protect both Eli and myself, Connor.

“What are you thinking about?” Eli asked sitting in front of me eating his own plate of food.

 

“It's just so much to deal with.” I didn't meet his eyes.

“You know, I'm not as helpless as everyone seems to think I am. I have my own brand of magic” He smiled and took another bite. I took a breath, but didn't say anything. “I have faith. Maybe you should have a little too.”

I stared into the forest behind the building, trying to focus on anything, but what came to me was not what I wanted.
***

The sky was dark. I was standing in front of the home my birth parents had taken me to once before. I stepped inside and glanced at the fireplace in the living area. It was lit and burning brightly. The same books I'd once looked through lined the wall. I took a breath and listened.

“They can't run far,” a voice said, causing me to turn around abruptly. It was Eric.

He was standing in the living area talking to someone I couldn't see just yet. He was leaning on the fireplace mantel. “Do you have any idea where they may have gone?”

“No, not yet. They will still be unprepared. Lucy has no magic so she's nothing really to worry about anymore,” the voice said. “Eli is the one to fear. He has a different kind of magic”

“And that's why he's so important. We only have a couple more days until the New Moon. We have to have the halfling by then.” Eric turned and the image cleared. I could see who he was talking to and my heart fell.

“Once this is over, I get my sister back and we are done,” Connor said turning to him. “You just have to leave Lucy out of it.”

“You know she will never come back. You made your choice. She will never forgive you.” Eric turned to face Connor.

“It doesn't mean I want her hurt,” Connor stood as he spoke.

 

“Then you better hope she stays out of the way.”

 

***

 

I turned back to Eli gasping for air. He jumped over to me and grabbed for my hands.

 

“It happened again, didn't it?” He asked, but it seemed he already knew what was going on. “I saw them again. This time I know it's real,” I whispered.

“You know what's real?” Eli didn't let go of my hands and knelt down in front of me. I opened my mouth to tell him, but I knew I was going to fall apart. The first man I'd ever loved betrayed me. He may act like he loved me, but something had changed him and it scared me.

“It was Connor wasn't it?” Eli didn't wait for me to tell him about what I'd seen. “I knew something was off about him when you came to get me.”

“Why would he do this?” I whispered. “Because he loved his sister and love can make us do stupid things sometimes.”

I met his eyes. He was full of strength and kindness. I had seen that behind Connor's eyes, but from the beginning I'd known there was a little more darkness than I would ever want to see.

“They want your powers. They want to restore Eric's magic” I pulled my hands away from his. “They said something about you having a different kind of magic” He stood and stepped back.

“I do have different magic than a full blooded witch. I have a little Fae mixed in with the witch.” “What does that mean?” I asked, standing myself.

“It can mean trouble.” He glanced around and then back to me. “If you want to hold this place back from Eric, we are going to need help.”

“What kind of help?”

 

“The kind that doesn't come from this world.” He sighed. “We have to go back to my world.”

 

***

“I have been waiting for you,” the Oracle said opening the door to her home. When we went inside, I could see the same circle as before. A part of me was scared of traveling like this again, but I knew it was important. If Eli said we needed more than the two of us, I believed him.

“As before, you will have a limited time to get what you need and get back,” the Oracle said ushering us into the circle.

I stopped and turned to her before getting into the circle. “I have to know. Did you know Connor was going to hurt me when we were here before?” She smiled and took my hand.

“There is always a chance the visions are wrong. There is always hope for those we love.” She pushed me into the circle and kept smiling. “Don't be too long. I fear there will be trouble if you are.”

I felt Eli grab my arm and pull me closer to him. “Close your eyes or you may get sick from the travel,” he said holding me tightly. I closed my eyes and took a breath. A part of me didn't want to go back to the Fae world, but I also knew I had too in order to save my friend, Eli and myself.

I felt the air heat up around me and my feet find the ground. I let out a breath and opened my eyes. We were in the same field I'd met Oni in.

I glanced up at Eli. He was still holding me tightly and for a second it felt a little awkward, but it also felt right. He finally smiled and let me go.

“What are we looking for?” I asked, trying to think a little clearer.

“It's not what, but who,” he said glancing around before starting to walk to what I figured was the west. “I thought she would be here, but it seems she's not.”

“Who?” I stepped in behind him as he walked. He didn't answer me, but kept walking fast, making me almost run to keep up.

Before long we were out of the clearing and back into the little town I'd visited before. Eli just looked at people coming at him and didn't say a word. Finally he stopped in front of me and I looked up to see what he was looking at. It was Oni. She was on the other side of the road sitting in a tree. I could see her long iridescent gown hanging from the branch, hiding her legs.

Eli smiled and started towards her. “I need your help, Oni.” I glanced quickly from her to him. She only smiled.

“What do you need me for?” She asked, jumping from the branch.

“I need to protect a place in the earth world. I figured you would want to help me out.” Eli didn't take his eyes off her.

“Protect a place or a person?” She glanced in my direction. I let it go. What was the point in starting a fight about protecting me. I was getting tired of people thinking I couldn't take care of myself, though.

“Do you remember the crystal land?” He asked her. He eyes got wide and she waited. “There are people looking for it and if they find it, things could get bad for all of us.”

She sighed and put her hands on her hips. “If I help you this time, you both are going to owe me big time.”

Eli held out his hand to her. “We don't have a lot of time.”