WitchLove (14 page)

I heard him pause under my window, but after several minutes the kitchen door was quietly opened and then clicked shut. Two floors below me the faucet was turned on and I heard the water rush out and then stop. Lights clicked on and off again, then footsteps began to climb the first set of stairs. I stopped breathing - it was becoming a bit of a habit - wondering if he would come up to my room… but no. Directly underneath me the door was gently pushed open and then clicked shut. The house fell silent. Brittany, in the bed across the room, mumbled in her sleep and huddled deeper under her duvet, and feeling guilty I slipped out of bed and quietly closed the window again.

An hour passed and I’d failed to fall asleep, I felt wired, alert… hungry. It was always so much easier to fall asleep on a full stomach. I decided to wait another thirty minutes to ensure Noah had gone to sleep and then I’d tiptoe down and give in to the processed gloop which would at least satisfy my physical needs. Yet after ten minutes I found myself drifting off into a restless sleep, faces from my past merging into a sinister collage, Daniel, Sebastian, Cole, Carrigan and Morgan; shouting at me, pleading with me, coercing me; all of them having different plans for me, different objectives.

‘No, no…’ I pleaded, feeling pulled at, pushed around and confused. ‘No-o-o.’

Daniel was frowning at me, his face sad… disappointed. Carrigan was beckoning to me, her arms wide and welcoming and Morgan was grinning, her face split in two in a sinister smile.

‘Hey… Shhhh!’ A warm body climbed into my bed beside me and a hand gently stroked my cheek.

‘Daniel… Morgan, he doesn’t… What she told me… he must… No-o-,’ I mumbled, half stirring from my sleep and opening my eyes.

‘Here, you need this.’ The voice was familiar, soft. I opened my eyes and saw Noah lying next to me, still fully clothed, thank god, his scent inviting and seductive.

‘Noah, I said…’ but before I got any further the scent which had drifted lazily around my nostrils enticing me suddenly deepened, quadrupled and burst forth with such dizzying force it could only mean one thing - fresh blood!

My fangs instantly burst forth and I lost the last scrap of restraint as he placed his sliced wrist to my mouth, the first drop of blood hitting my dry lips like rainfall after a drought.

Heaven
!

I bit down hard and ran my tongue over the wound, closing my eyes and savouring its chocolatey sweet bitterness as it ran down my parched throat. Beside me Noah moaned quietly and interrupted my feast. I opened my eyes again and watched him as I drank.

Shit! What had I got myself into now?
Damn persistent men!
Still, seeing as the damage was done I may as well have a few minutes more, so I closed my eyes and savoured the last few minutes before all hell let loose. If I’d had my eyes open, I would have noticed my already darkened room get darker, when the light from the moon was blocked suddenly by the silhouette of a very angry witch.

Seconds later the entire window exploded, sending tiny fragments of glass flying across the room and then just as quickly turning into harmless grains of sand before they reached any of us. Noah jumped next to me and I quickly retracted my fangs as he leapt out of my bed.

‘Sis, it’s not what you think,’ he said.

‘It’s
exactly
what I think! Just because
sex
isn’t involved this time, doesn’t mean I don’t find what you are doing totally and utterly repulsive. I told you how it affected me, but clearly that doesn’t matter to you, and fine, if that’s how you want to play it, I don’t care! But what I do care about is you… YOU! Living in my house, biting my brother. I thought you knew not to mess with me,’ Susannah said staring directly at me, an angry whirling vortex of blackness suddenly descending around her crown.

‘Whoa, what’s going on? Who invited the She-Devil?’ Brittany said, jumping out of her bed and leaping onto mine, squashing Noah between us and covering us all in one of her glossy, protective orbs of light.

‘Like a child’s spell is going to protect you against this,’ Susannah said, rubbing her hands together faster as if warming then, but then pulling them slowly apart to reveal a massive electric fireball glowing within them.

‘If you throw that at her, it will hit me,’ Noah said, his voice calm, but his eyes more than a little anxious.

‘Fine, how about this then,’ she said, a long wooden stake suddenly materialising in her hands and instantly aimed and thrown with perfect accuracy at my now screaming person. Luckily Brittany’s shield held.

‘Hey, back off,’ I said, regaining some composure and swiftly creating my own fireball to throw her way.

‘Jessie, No!’ Brittany said. ‘If you throw that it will bounce off the shield and come straight back at us.’

‘Well let me at her then, stupid stubborn witch. Stupid damn family!’ I yelled, glaring at Noah.

‘What in… Susannah! W
hat
are you doing? Noah?’ Aunt Sarah had burst into the room, the light from the hall perfectly illuminating us all as we all reeled round to face her.

‘He’s at it again and this time the little innocent witch you brought home decided he’d make a tasty midnight snack. I came to break up the party,’ Susannah said, the vortex over her head fading slightly.

‘Jessica, is this true?’ Aunt Sarah asked. ‘And Susannah, whilst you are within our home boundary you will divest yourself of that filthy black vortex and act like the witch I brought up.’

I hung my head. I couldn’t really deny it, as I could still taste lingering droplets on my lips, which I was sure she would see if she looked close enough.

‘I’m sorry, I really didn’t want to,’ I mumbled.

‘It’s true, she didn’t. We kind of coerced her,’ Brittany said leaping to my defence.

‘I can’t believe you would do this to me, to our family, Jessica. I’m afraid this can only mean…’

‘Mom, this is my fault. Jess didn’t want to bite me. I forced her,’ Noah said, pushing his way from between us both, then standing to face his mother. His wrist was already healing and the bite marks were already fading. ‘I came here when she was asleep, I sliced my wrist with this and then pushed it to her lips.’ He pulled a small pocket knife from his trouser pocket and held it up.

‘Are you mad?’ Susannah said. ‘She could have killed you.’

‘She wouldn’t. I knew she’d stop as soon as she realised what she was doing.’

‘But why? I don’t understand. Do you miss India that much,’ Aunt Sarah said quietly.

‘
He
needs a vampire addiction counselling group, and you think
I’m
the lost cause,’ Susannah said.

‘Susannah, I do not think you are a lost cause. I always said you could come back when you are ready and willing to apologise for your behaviour.’

‘Well, you never said that to my face. You never came to find me.’

‘Nor did you, darling.’

‘Which is why I had to bring you two together; and this was the only way I knew how to do it,’ Noah interrupted. ‘I do not need counselling and I don’t miss India anymore, but I did know that if Jess bit me it would be a sure fire way to get Suzie back.’

‘Well you thought wrong,’ Susannah said, the vortex reappearing in an angry swirling mass.

‘Susannah, don’t go, please,’ he shouted, turning to her.

‘Noah, I told you, no one needs me anymore. Saffy is being trained to take over. There’s no point, and if you try that again I won’t forgive you.’ She turned towards the broken window and looked up at the moon.

‘Susannah, stay and have a cup of camomile tea with me. I think we have much to discuss,’ my aunt said quietly before turning to leave the room, but pausing in the frame. ‘Oh and girls, tidy this mess up please. Noah, I don’t want to find you in this bedroom again, understood?’

‘Yes Mom… Gee, I feel like a kid again,’ he whispered, grinning as he winked at us and slid out of the room after my aunt.

Susannah remained in the window frame seeming unsure whether to follow Noah and my aunt downstairs or leap back out of the window, but her vortex had disappeared. She turned round and stared at us.

‘Susannah, I really didn’t want to bite him. He’s been pestering me all day. I kept saying ‘no way’. Tonight he surprised me. I’m sorry,’ I said.

The older girl shrugged, ‘He has issues. We all do, I guess.’

‘You should talk to your mum. I mean she’s nice, and it’s pretty crappy not having a mum,’ I said.

Susannah sighed, ‘I guess.’

She walked past us, towards the door, avoiding eye contact, but once she got there she paused and turned around. She thrust her hands straight out and with her palms flat began moving them in a stirring motion. Brittany stiffened by my side as Susannah whispered unintelligible words so fast they blurred into one long string, and then I watched, amazed as the grains of sand rose from the wooden floor forming a large, thick cloud which hovered between us all before zigzagging across the room like a swarm of angry hornets and filling the window frame once again. A final word transformed the sand back into glass. Susannah gave a quick nod in our direction and disappeared through the door and down the stairs.

‘Whoa! That is one clever witch,’ Brittany said, a look of sheer admiration transforming her face.

‘One dangerous witch,’ I replied.

‘We best get her on side then, hadn’t we?’ Brittany said, grinning and climbing back out of my bed.

Chapter Eleven

After the excitement of the weekend, the days which followed passed slowly. Brittany being both human and nearly sixteen showed herself as a contender for the world championship in sleeping, and didn’t wake until past noon. Thanks to Noah, I had a satisfyingly full feeling for the first time since reaching America, which lulled me too into a deep eight hour sleep, then I lazed in bed reading until Brittany awoke.

By the time we made it downstairs sometime around lunch, Noah had already gone back to New York and Susannah had disappeared.

‘Oh, it’s quiet this morning,’ Brittany said, when we entered the kitchen.

‘Firstly it’s not morning dear, and secondly I think you had plenty of excitement last night,’ my aunt said, smiling.

‘Has Susannah gone then?’ I asked.

‘Yes… for now. I’m hoping she will come back for the celebrations on Saturday.’

‘The Autumn Equinox, right? But I thought that was a Pagan holiday?’ I asked.

‘It is, but we also celebrate the same holidays, due to our coven being one of the oldest in America. It dates back prior to the first settlers arriving in Salem in 1626, before which we lived in England. We were inextricably linked to paganism which was rife, but also hidden as the Christian church doctrine swept across the country, before the Christians stole our holidays and made them their own.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘Well, all evidence points to the fact that Jesus wasn’t born at Christmas, but Pagans already had a midwinter festival which people celebrated, called Yule. The Christians adopted this and turned it into Christ’s birthday. Similarly, Easter coincides with the Pagan holiday of the Spring Equinox, and Pagans have been painting eggs for centuries. Now the Autumn Equinox, which is on Saturday, is basically the same as you will have learned at school and in church as the autumn or Harvest Festival. We thank the earth for the food it has produced and give thanks for all that we have. You see, it really doesn’t matter what religion you are, because the ideas are generally the same.’

‘Will Saffy be coming home this weekend then?’

‘Of course she will. I’m really hoping you girls can start working things out between you. I’m sure she’ll be very relieved to have Susannah back.’

I turned and shot a quick glance at Brittany who grimaced back. Some parents really had no idea!

‘So is there anything we can do to help you, Aunt Sarah?’ I asked, still feeling bad for feeding from her son.

‘Yes, there is plenty to do. I trust you have been reading your handbooks, learning about our rite for the celebration. You won’t be expected to perform anything, but you will both be formally introduced to the coven, so you’ll need full cloaks and suitable clothing. I have ordered the robes and dresses, and they should be here today. There is food to prepare for the feast and the entire house needs to be sparkling. On top of that I expect you both to carry on with your spell training, as we begin to prepare for you both to move on to the Level Six spells.’

During this speech we both paused and stared. The woman was on a mission, her hair a little tousled, her cheeks a little pinker than usual. It reminded me of how my mum would get just before Christmas. We needed to keep out of her way, and that’s pretty much what we did for the next five days.

By Saturday morning we had new, full length black dresses which were actually surprisingly awesome and I couldn’t help wondering what Daniel would think if he saw me. In fact I had a pretty good idea… Daniel would think I looked hot. The black satin hugged my lithe silhouette, the boned corset highlighting the slight rise of my pale cleavage, the skirt flaring out and dropping to the floor; giving me curves where I had none.

‘Didn’t you say we’d be getting cloaks?’ I asked my aunt, after avoiding an unappetising lunch of processed gloop.

‘Yes, you’ll get capes, but they’ll be given out during the ceremony. Think of it as your coming out ceremony if you like.’

Due to all the food preparations, decorations and coming and goings, Brittany and I were sent upstairs for the afternoon. The coven witches were arriving to help out and we were supposed to stay hidden until evening.

‘Jessie, come and listen to this. The infamous father has arrived and Sarah doesn’t want him here,’ Brittany said a couple of hours later, after she had been down to the kitchen to get a drink.

‘Brit, you know I can’t go down there.’

‘It’s fine. They’re being so loud we can hear from the next landing. You’d probably be able to hear them from here if we opened the door. Anyway, if anyone comes we can always dart into Noah’s room,’ she said, wiggling her eyebrows at me. ‘Hurry up.’

I sighed, but had to admit I was more than a little intrigued to spy on them.