Wolf Spell 1 (5 page)

I squeezed my eyes shut as the small plane banked to the right.
Oh dear Lord, we are gonna fall out of the sky!

“Ara, open your eyes and look at the lights before we get too high.”

I peeked one eye open, straining to see outside the tiny window. The lights of Elko grew smaller and smaller. We banked again, turning to fly over my hometown. My eyes closed tight, and my face was in an unattractive squished contortion. I sucked in a deep breath and held it to calm myself down. I tried to focus on anything other than the fact that we were still climbing thousands of feet in the air.

I squinted at both guys, not wanting to open my eyes wide yet. Crap eating grins spread out over their faces at their apparent fascinations with my fear of flying.

A bump in the so far smooth climb made me jump, and I realized the only way I would get through an entire flight was to talk. With my cell phone gone—not that I could use it to text thirty thousand feet in the air—I couldn’t talk to Ailaina, so my next option was Victor and Jarak. It should prove to be an exciting trip.

I tried to loosen the grip I had on the armrest, but each jump in turbulence the plane went through, made me tense back up. “So why Spain? I mean why not Florida or Hawaii, somewhere tropical?” I asked through gritted teeth.

Victor leaned forward. “Because of what your mom is, there aren’t many vampires willing to turn her. They said it was too dangerous. In Spain, I was able to convince Trevor, an old vampire to do it. He has more restraint than most vampires in the world.”

“You’re serious about blood sucking beings who hunt at night, aren’t you?” I shuddered.

Victor’s eyes clouded over. “I’m afraid so. They are real. Just like you and many of us, hold magic.”

“This is crazy.”

“Let me show you.” Victor held his hands out before I could protest. A blue haze of energy formed and hovered above his palms. It reminded me of the glowing I observed with my hands earlier. He drew his arm back and hurled the mist-like-energy at the other chair, turning it to ice before I could blink.

I jumped from the unexpected action. My eyes widened. “Holy cow!” I reached over and touched the chair. It was hard and cold, undeniably ice.

Both men smiled at me in a knowing satisfaction. Okay, so magic might be real. I used to play pretend with Ailaina when we were kids all the time. Our storybooks would become spell books, and we’d cook up potions in our play kitchens and teapots. Maybe innocence has more of a connection than I ever thought.

I gulped, still staring at the chair. It was so weird to look at.

“Does that help you?” Victor settled back into his seat.

That was crazy. I pressed my lips together and swallowed. “Yeah.”

He chortled. “Good.”

I averted my eyes from the ice and caught Jarak staring at me. “So why are you here? I mean, do you kidnap people too?”

Jarak raised one brow. “Kidnap people?”

“Well it’s a perfectly good question since Victor kidnapped me.”

He laughed. “He kidnapped you?”

I didn’t laugh. In fact, I found nothing about this funny.

His face became ashen. “You’re serious.” He gawked at Victor. “She’s serious isn’t she?”

Clearing his throat, Victor rubbed his chin. “Yes.”

Jarak stood up and paced, throwing his arms in the air. “Why did you do that? How am I supposed to do my job if you pull that kind of stuff? You said you had it taken care of.”

“There was no other way. She admitted it herself. She wouldn’t have come with me willingly.”

I gulped and studied my hands that shook from my nerves.

“You should’ve had me do it. I’m the one who’s supposed to protect her. I could’ve gotten her.” The more Jarak paced, the more his voice rose. “You hired me to make sure she is safe. How am I supposed to do that if she feels threatened because you kidnapped her?”

“She’s here, that’s all that matters.”

“As long as you get what you need, you don’t care how you get it. Am I right?” Jarak stopped pacing and ran his hands through his hair. He stared at Victor, waiting for his answer. “All you warlocks are the same… greedy and uncaring.”

Victor rubbed the back of his neck. “I told you, I need her, and she needs her mom. It’s that simple.”

“What do you mean, you need me?”
Why am I so important?

Victor waved his hand. “Nothing…I just meant that I need you to be there for your mom.”

Jarak exhaled a deep breath and settled back down in his seat. “I’m sorry Esmerelda.”

I scowled at him. “My name is Arabeth. I think you guys kidnapped the wrong girl. My mom is dead, and I’m not Esmerelda. Please, just let me go back home.”

Victor leaned forward again. “Ara, your real name is Esmerelda. I know it must sound weird to hear, coming from someone that you don’t know, but it’s true. Your mom is alive and waiting to see you.”

I wanted to cry. “Please stop. I can’t take anymore.” I peeked over at Jarak. He was bent over with his head tipped down, but his eyes still looked up at me. Maybe he might be my chance to escape. I pleaded with my eyes.

He turned and glared at Victor. “We need to talk.” Hope flared inside of me with his words.

Victor nodded and then opened his hands, palms facing me with his fingers splayed open. At that same moment, my eyelids grew heavy, and I strained to keep them open. The room moved, making me dizzy. It was so severe that I couldn’t keep them open. My body slumped as I fell into a deep asleep.

Airport Hostage

– Jarak –

I closed the sliding door to the jet’s kitchenette as I entered behind Victor. Not that Esmeralda would wake from a sleeping spell too easily, but it was best not to push the boundaries.

“You have a lot to explain.” I demanded in a hushed voice.

“You can talk louder. She won’t wake up for a while. A sleep spell takes at least an hour to wear off.”

“I know that, but she’s different. Isn’t that why you need her? What is going on, Victor? You told me that you found her and hired me to protect her. I assumed that she knew she’s a witch. I mean, she’s
the
witch. Right?” My insides burned, and my pulse pounded in my ears. Clenching my jaw, I glared at him.

“Jarak, listen… I hired you to help keep her safe from Nicholas, not from me. I don’t want to hurt her. I need her.”

“I still don’t understand. Why do
you
need her?”

“We all know Nicholas wants her to help create his cross-breeds. He needs all five elements in one form to do that, something she has.” He paused, giving a half-shrug. “I, on the other hand, need her to help destroy Nicholas’s spell.”

“What do you get out of it?”

He gave a sly smile. “I have my reasons, but that’s my secret.”

“Will she be hurt?”

“Why do you care?” His voice boomed through the kitchen.

“As a Guardian I take my job seriously.” His secret put me on edge. Something didn’t feel right.

“As soon as I am rid of Nicholas’s spell, she can leave… if she survives.”

“She doesn’t even know she’s a witch! How does she not know this? She’s what—twenty now?”

Victor nodded. “Eighteen actually, and to answer your question, Meadow concealed her magic. That’s why she didn’t know. Now Meadow’s too weak to hold the concealment and Esmerelda’s magic is showing itself.

“Meadow went through so much these last eighteen years. Her husband, for all intents and purposes, is a marshal for the B.O.M.B., and they held each other in a Confidere Spell.” He opened the fridge, taking out a bottle of water and took a drink.

I grew impatient. “What is that? I’m a Guardian, not a Warlock.”

“I’ll put it
humanly
. They placed a spell over each other, making it impossible for the other to talk, or to go to anyone, about Esmerelda.”

His voice dropped. “I had Meadow take Esmerelda as an infant, and Adonia and Torres—her real parents—hired Bry to find her. So they both had their reasons.”

I hit the door, causing a dent. “She has no clue about that either does she? The part about Adonia and Torres…” Clenching my jaw, I ground my teeth. All this time, wasted, she had no clue who she was.

Keeping her safe was my job now. She’d been missing for years and presumed dead. Torres and Adonia went into hiding as they searched for their daughter. Now she was in my care, and I would do whatever I needed to protect her.

Victor shook his head. “Not yet.”

“Fine, but you’re not expecting her to trust you after this, right?” It was going to be a long trip, and I needed to find a way out of working for Victor and take Esmerelda home, where she truly belonged.

“I’m well aware of what could happen, and her safety must come first. It took us too long to find her in the first place. As it is, Meadow is almost dead because of her situation.”

I was so sick of his excuses. I watched Esmerelda at the hospital a couple days ago when she visited Meadow. I stayed back, far enough away that she never knew I was there. I had watched over her for about a month now—in secret, but I never knew she didn’t know her true heritage.

“Whatever man, but for the record, I think she should be told.” Anger boiled inside of me, and I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. I slid the door back open a crack.

Victor held his hand up with an exhausted sigh and placed it in front of me on the door, stopping me from leaving. “You can’t tell her, do you understand? I pay you to watch her, nothing else.”

Neither him nor his threats scared me. Victor leaned back out the door, making sure she was still asleep, and not listening to our conversation, then looked back over at me. “Meadow knew the moment Esmerelda was born. Everyone knew she was the one. She posed as a midwife for Nicholas while Adonia birthed, and took Esmerelda soon after she arrived in the world. She was supposed to bring her to me, but Bry caught her first. Thus, the Confidere spell. Bry refused to let her out of his sight, so they appeared married and raised her together. He was one of the marshals sent after Meadow to bring Esmerelda home.

“He was unable to complete his job and Meadow was powerless to get to me. I searched for her, but it took me this long to find out what happened.”

“Why do you
need
her?” I paced the small area. “Victor! I need answers.”

“Nicholas has become addicted to power. He thrives off it. Creating crossbreeds who serve him will give him power. With Adonia as her mother, Esmerelda is sure to have some of the greatest magic. Can you imagine?

“Today, I saw her bloom wilted flowers, and she said something about her hand. I’m thinking some kind of healing.”

I wasn’t getting anywhere with him, but I agreed with him on one thing. Adonia was like the queen of all witches, and with her as Esmerelda’s mother… I made a mental reminder never to piss her off. I’d been around magical beings for my whole life, but she was rare.

I stood there with my arms folded. I didn’t care what powers she had, she was still a person, not some weapon for them to use in a war. “Do you know where Torres or Adonia are?” I had gotten orders not to look for them years ago, and I abided by that commandment.
I suppose I’ll have to break that order soon.

He shrugged. “No. They have kept to themselves the last couple of years. I’m not sure anyone knows where they are.”

I scoffed, knowing that I could easily find out. “So when you defeat Nicholas, she will be free of you?”

He pressed his lips together before speaking. “I shouldn’t have a need for her after that.”

I shook my head. “Shouldn’t? You might employ me, but I will do what is in her best interest… After Nicholas is gone, she will be too.”