The Witch Is Back (24 page)

Holy crap! I am a witch!

And that was when I realized for certain that I was something more than I’d ever thought I was or could be. It wasn’t really so much that I’d turned myself from
human girl into wild cat; more that I’d been able to control whatever power existed within me to actually be able to do something so completely … impossible. At that moment I felt a huge outpouring of emotion toward Sinjin. He’d been right all along—I was far more than I thought I was and it was because of him that I’d been able to cultivate my abilities, to hone my powers. Sinjin was my teacher, my mentor, and what was more, he had never stopped believing in me. Even when I doubted myself.

You will never doubt yourself again, Jolie Wilkins
, I thought firmly.

Taking a resolute step forward, I focused on my surroundings. Everything appeared almost colorless, and distorted—as if I were looking through a bottle. I looked up at Sinjin and felt my heartbeat increase. He was just as stunning as always, but his eyes were bright red. The way he shifted looked as if he were moving a million miles a second, and strangely enough I could see every fraction of his movement. It wasn’t just a blur.

I took another few steps, feeling wobbly on my new legs. I glanced up at Sinjin again and tried to say something, which only came out as a growl. He approached me, kneeling until we were eye level.

“You are stunning, love,” he whispered.

At the word
love
, I growled at him again and he chuckled, as if he understood. Then, just as quickly as the bizarre sense of light-headedness had overcome me, it started again. I shook my head and found myself suddenly lying in Sinjin’s arms. I glanced down and felt my cheeks flush as I realized I was completely naked, just as Bella had been.

“She is a tigress, as I knew she would be,” Sinjin announced to the room, pulling me closer. Apparently realizing I wasn’t as comfortable as Bella with public shows of nudity, he tore off his shirt and slid it over my
head and arms. It fit me like a dress. And of course I didn’t miss the display of his incredibly muscled chest, which caused a hiccup in my heart rate.

“Very good,” Bella said in a hurried, dismissive sort of way. “I imagine we will be in touch.”

He smiled at her courteously and kissed the top of my head. She stormed out of the room. Judging by the fact that I heard the front door slam shut behind her only moments later, I had to imagine she’d seen herself out.

“You share an unusual friendship,” I started.

He nodded. “Truly we are not friends.”

“Then why?”

“She owes me,” he interrupted. “Speak no more of her, poppet. I am much more interested in you.”

I imagined this was his line to move us into the bedroom. I smiled up at him. “Interested in me?”

“You had a multitude of animals to choose from, you said?” he asked. I felt my hopes deflate. I mean, how hard was it for a girl to get a little action?

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Can you demonstrate?”

I took a deep breath and figured there was no point in arguing with him. Besides, I
was
curious as to whether or not I could become another creature. I closed my eyes and was surprised to find it took no time at all for all the animals to assemble around me again. This time my attention centered on an eagle, perched in a nearby tree. I focused on the gallant raptor and the same feeling of light-headedness began to fill me. Then, in the span of a blink, I was in Sinjin’s kitchen, standing on the counter and glancing down at the room while an array of colors reflected back at me. The brightness of the colors astounded me—they were like nothing I’d ever seen before. I guess it made sense because a bird’s vision included a much broader spectrum of colors than a human’s.

I heard Sinjin chuckling but couldn’t seem to focus on him and realized my eyes were now on the sides of my head. I hopped around, turning my head in order to see him. The scratching of my talons against his granite countertops scraped in my ears and I had to hope he wouldn’t be concerned about me damaging them. When I turned my eagle head, I could see him out of the corner of my eye. He was entirely black, like a shadow.

“Can you fly, poppet?”

I lifted my arms—er, wings—and flapped a few times before kicking off with my legs to find myself airborne. But I never had the chance to fully experience the rush of flying, because seconds later the dizziness from before returned. My heartbeat escalated at the thought that I was midair and resuming my human body. I didn’t have much time to worry, though, because the next thing I knew, I was falling.

“Sinjin!” I screamed out and felt the air stirring beneath me as Sinjin materialized just in time to catch me in his large arms. I glanced down at myself, to find I was naked again. When I looked up at Sinjin, he was grinning from ear to ear.

“You do not realize the immensity of the gift you have,” he said softly, his eyes running down my naked body as his fangs began to lengthen.

“Gift?” I asked with a smile, loving the expression of pride in his eyes. “Well, one thing I can say is I’m pretty convinced that I’m a witch.”

He chuckled deeply, heartily. “You are much more than a witch, my pet.”

“More than a witch?”

He nodded. “I have never known of any witch or warlock with the power to transform into more than one creature, poppet.” He shook his head in apparent surprise. “You are an anomaly.”

An anomaly? I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I was
having enough trouble just coming to terms with being something super-human. After everyone else decided I was a witch, I sort of figured there must have been some truth to it. But to be something more than a witch? I didn’t even know what that meant, or could possibly mean …

The next evening, I found myself sitting on my couch, bobbing my leg anxiously as I tried to watch television. I actually had no idea what program was on because my mind was wholly absorbed by Sinjin. We planned to have dinner in at my place (well, dinner for me, anyway) and a nice, relaxed, romantic evening with just the two of us. The night before had been anything but relaxing, what with the Bella drama, so Sinjin had promised to make it up to me tonight.

Speaking of my last meeting with Sinjin, I still didn’t quite know what to make of everything. Really, for the first time since Sinjin entered my life, I found myself concerned about what was becoming of me. I felt different down to my very core. Yes, I looked different because I was paying more attention to my outward appearance, but the changes within me were much more significant. I was not the same woman today that I had been two months ago. And truth be told, I was struggling with those changes, not the least of which was my ability to morph into two animals. I had no clue what had made that at all possible. How could I, Jolie Wilkins, now turn myself into a tiger and an eagle?

My mind had been stretching in order to make room for the reality of vampires, witches, and warlocks. It only continued to stretch with the sure knowledge that I
was included in this much-esteemed company. Yet I felt as though I’d just about reached my limit after the events of last night. It was almost as if my mind refused to accept any more. What if I
had
completely lost my mind and was now living in some parallel universe, fueled purely by my imagination? What if Sinjin and Rand were entirely made up? In that case, maybe the lion, tiger, and eagle transmogrifications were hallucinations too? I mean, that would make a hell of a lot more sense than actually accepting the fact that I was still a perfectly sane woman.

I glanced up at the clock on my wall and noticed it was seven p.m. Sinjin wouldn’t be arriving for at least another thirty minutes. Out the window the sun was on her way out, bathing the world in a darkish rose hue. I never wanted the sun to go down faster than I did now. Although I didn’t want to admit it, and definitely wasn’t comfortable with it, the truth was that I yearned for Sinjin constantly. Whenever I wasn’t with him, he was the only thing on my mind.

I smiled when I remembered last night—how Sinjin had made love to me repeatedly, how tender he’d been and attentive. He said more than once how terrible he felt about the whole Bella situation and how I had become the most important woman in his life. No one else mattered to him. Well, if Sinjin was just the creation of my befuddled mind, I’d done a damn good job, that was for sure.

My inner monologue was interrupted by a knock on the door. Puzzled, I glanced at the clock again and realized only ten minutes had elapsed. Looking out my window, I realized dusk had arrived, although it still seemed too light for Sinjin. But apparently I was wrong.

I stood up and glanced down at my skintight jeans and low-cut black, stretch T-shirt, imagining Sinjin would appreciate my cleavage spilling over the top. I ran
my tongue across my teeth to ensure that my pink NARS lip gloss hadn’t smudged and then fluffed my hair a few times. Finally, I felt a smile begin as I opened my front door.

And instantly my smile vanished.

My first instinct was to slam the door shut, but he was too quick and, instead, threw all his weight into the door, forcing it open. It was like time stood still as I tried to sidestep him, hoping I could make it through my kitchen to the back door, but he seemed to read my mind. As soon as I made a move for it, he thrust himself forward and knocked me on my butt. I squealed as I hit the ground, but immediately tried to stand up. He was too fast for me. In a split second, he slammed the door shut and threw his body back on me, forcing me down to the floor.

Bella’s spell hadn’t worked. Or maybe Rand’s magic had been stronger, and he’d broken her charm.

“Get the hell off me!” I screamed as I pushed against him, but he was way too solid. He pinned my hands down on either side of my head. At his touch, that now familiar sense of electricity coursed through me and those ridiculous feelings of warmth began to well up inside me.

You are a freaking idiot, Jolie Wilkins!
I chided myself.
This asshole is probably going to rape you and then kill you and all you can think about is his great energy and how he feels familiar!

At the realization that I couldn’t fight him, that I was now in serious trouble, I started screaming. He went for my mouth and tried to cover it with his hand but I threw my head left then right, screaming louder in the vain hope my neighbors would hear me.

“Jolie!” he yelled as he grabbed both of my cheeks with one large hand. “It’s no use—I’ve soundproofed your house!”

I stopped screaming and tried to struggle from his massive hand, but of course got nowhere. Meanwhile, a continuous flow of terror was contaminating my insides at the realization that no one could hear me. “What the hell do you mean you soundproofed my house?” I finally demanded in a raw voice.

“Magic,” he answered in a matter-of-fact sort of way. He breathed out a sigh of relief, probably because I was no longer thrashing against him or screaming.

Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. We just stared at each other as we both tried to get our breathing under control. Rand was the first to speak.

“I’m not here to hurt you.”

I shook my head and laughed acidly. “I don’t believe a word you say.” And that was when it occurred to me. If I could just stall him long enough, Sinjin would arrive and there would be hell to pay. I also considered morphing into a tiger and mauling the shit out of him—but then I remembered that whole nudity bit once I returned to normal, and that part didn’t sit so well with me.

“What do you want?” I demanded.

He swallowed hard. I couldn’t help but notice how incredibly handsome he was with his chocolate-brown hair, now completely mussed, and his clothes all askew and rumpled. Well, gorgeous warlock or not, he remained dangerous. And that’s what I had to keep in mind.

“Nothing could keep me from you.”

“What?” I asked, gulping down the anxiety at the very thought that all this time, he could get to me, Bella’s spell be damned. “How is that even possible?”

“It’s a long story,” he started and then sighed deeply. “And it’s the reason why I’ve come here. Did you receive my package?”

I glared at him but nodded. “Yes, I received it.”

“And did you watch the whole thing?”

“Yes but that doesn’t mean I believed a word of it.”

He sighed again, seemingly frustrated. “There’s so much more I need to tell you, so much to explain to you, so you understand.”

But I shook my head, not wanting to hear another word of his “drivel,” as Sinjin had termed it. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I’d be putting Sinjin in a dangerous situation. I mean, he’d have no idea Rand was here or what magical abilities Rand had up his sleeve.

I would never forgive myself if something happened to Sinjin on my account. “I don’t want to hear another lie from you,” I spat back. “I want you to leave.”

He shook his head and I could see his jaw was tight. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I’m leaving the choice up to you.”

Sighing, I figured it was probably easier to persuade warlocks with honey than with vinegar. “What’s the easy way?”