Bewitched, Bothered, and Bitten (10 page)

I hope, Kerry, that you never need the spells and prophecy in this book. However, if you do, please use them wisely. Don’t be fooled into believing that some of the spells aren’t verging on dark magic.

In some ways, the coven elders are correct about this text. Should it fall into the wrong hands, it would be extremely dangerous.

I love you, my sweet girl.

~Mom~

“Dear Goddess,” I whispered. My emotions were in turmoil and impossible to separate or recognize.

I ran my hands over the binding. The book seemed to vibrate beneath my palms, urging me to explore what lay between the covers. Moving slowly, I lifted my hands. Goose bumps broke out on my arms and energy seemed to be gathering around me, centering on the text that sat on the table.

I jumped to my feet, knocking over my chair, as the front cover flew open and the pages turned on their own, moving so quickly they were only a blur. When they began to slow, I backed away and watched in shock, until one last page flipped and the book lay flat and still. The power that had gathered around me began to fade.

Wary, I took a hesitant step forward. Nothing happened. There was no surge of power or movement from the Book of Shadows.

I bent and righted my chair, yelping when Finn barreled around the corner, a fierce snarl on his face. When he saw that I was alone, his expression cleared, but his body remained tense.

“What happened?” Unable to speak, I merely pointed at the book on the table. “The book?” he asked.

I nodded.

He approached the table and looked down at the pages. Frowning slightly, he lifted his gaze to me. “I’m not sure, but I think it’s a prophecy.”

I moved to stand next to him and, careful not to touch the tome, I read what was written on the page.

One will live

Two will die

Three will return the Fourth to life

Together the Five will right the past,

Create the future and hold it fast

All hold keys to power untold

And will find their Fate as evil grows bold

Five may live

Five may die

Five may love

Five may fall

Should this come to pass

Then ten will save Creation

Or lose that which they have found at last

“Oh shit,” I breathed.

“Do you know what it is?” Finn asked.

“Yes. You were right, it is a prophecy.” My voice cracked, so I cleared my throat. “It’s something that no one has seen in centuries and most witches in the coven consider it pure myth.”

“What does it mean?”

“It means, that unless we figure out how to stop the Faction, we’re fucked,” I answered.

H
alf an hour
later, Belinda, Lachlan, and Calder arrived. I immediately grabbed Belinda’s hand and practically dragged her to the study.

“Well, hello to you too, Kerry.” She looked around the library and out into the solarium, smiling. “I always loved this room. I used to come here as a teenager and sit and read for hours.”

“No time for reminiscing. We have a major problem.” I knew I sounded melodramatic, but I was still on edge after what had happened with the Book of Shadows.

Belinda sighed. “I should say so, since you and I have to go into hiding just to avoid being kidnapped or killed.”

Gesturing to the book, which was still open on the table, I explained, “No, really, we have a
huge
problem. This whole situation, the Faction, it’s been prophesied. There’s more at stake than just the vampire council, wolf pack, and our coven. This could change the entire course of supernatural history, and not in a good way.”

Frowning, she went over to the table and began reading. When she finished, her face paled. “It’s the prophecy of the Five,” she whispered.

According to legend, the prophecy of the Five was the supernatural version of the Apocalypse. We could all live or die. Our fate was in our own hands.

“I know.”

“But who are the Five? You and I and three others? Or five people we don’t know?” she asked.

My body tensed. I hated the idea that I was about to suggest because it meant my friends were in danger. “I think that my friends and I are the Five.”

“But ancient lore…”

I nodded. “I know what the books say, but I think they’re wrong. I don’t think the Five are only witches.”

Belinda stood and walked into the solarium. I followed, knowing she would have something to say.

“Tell me why you think that your friends are involved,” she murmured.

Before I began, I took a deep breath. “First of all, there are five of us.” When Belinda sighed, I hurried on because I knew she thought my idea was ridiculous. “Two will die….Donna technically died before Conner turned her. She almost didn’t make it. I think she’s the first. One will live. I think that each of the numbers means two different things. It’s not just how many will live or die, but each number represents a person. Donna is One. Ivie is Two.” I paused, my voice dropping. “I think I’m Three.”

“Do you have any other reason to believe that you and your friends are the Five? That’s a very flimsy foundation for your theory.” She sounded skeptical and I couldn’t blame her.

“Think about it, Belinda. Twenty years ago, hell, even ten, what would happen to a human who learned of the supernatural community? They were eliminated, either through memory wiping or death. No one could know. Yet, for some reason, the Council makes an exception for Ivie, Ricki, and Shannon? That’s not a coincidence. That’s destiny. They were meant to be involved and, whether the Council, coven, or pack is willing to admit it or not, the fate of our species lies in their hands as much as ours.”

The High Priestess didn’t speak for a long time. She stared out the glass wall of the solarium, deep in thought. Finally, she asked, “Who is Four?”

The book intimated that the fourth would die before being brought back, the second of the two deaths. As much as I hated to even consider it, I said, “I think it’s Ricki. She and, uh, Calder, they….” I swallowed hard because I hated the idea of something bad happening to someone I cared so deeply about. “He marked her.”

“I see.”

Belinda began to walk around the sunroom, studying the herbs and other plants I had growing there. I tried not to fidget, but her silence was making me nervous, so I had to stop myself from shifting from foot to foot several times.

Finally, she stated, “We need to get them all here and then to safe houses. Though I doubt the Faction is aware of the prophecy, we can’t trust anyone not to share what they learned. If this is coming to pass, then you’re right. The peril isn’t just to the Dallas underground, it’s to supernaturals around the world.” She seemed distracted as she ran a hand over her hair, smoothing invisible stray hairs back into her bun.

“I’ll make the calls.”

Belinda nodded her assent, but she seemed lost in her own thoughts as I turned to leave the room.

“Kerry.”

I stopped and looked back at her. Her face was pale and composed, but something in her eyes seemed wild.

“Promise me that you will do everything in your power to get the coven to agree to the truce between the Council and the pack.”

Confused, I answered, “Of course I will.”

“I need to hear the words.”

The sliver of worry in my gut expanded. “I promise I will do everything in my power to see the supernatural community united.”

Her shoulders slumped, as though my declaration relieved her.

“What’s going on, Belinda?”

She didn’t answer, merely turned her back on me, an effective dismissal.

Unsettled, I left the room, my pace much slower than before. I had a feeling her demand was a precursor to something much, much worse. I would make a point to pull Lachlan to the side today and talk to him. A whisper of premonition fueled my paranoia. I sensed that he would need to keep an even closer watch than he thought on the High Priestess.

*     *     *

Two hours later,
my house was filling up with vampires, werewolves, and humans. It was like some sort of twisted, paranormal menagerie. All we needed were a couple of ghosts, goblins, and some zombies.

Though the males were impatient, Belinda and I only wanted to explain things once, so we were waiting for Ricki and Shannon to show up. When Calder heard that Ricki was on her way, I thought he was going to crawl out of his skin. He hadn’t stopped moving since.

Lex and Conner were watching him closely as he paced in the living room by the front window, looking out every thirty seconds or so. I had a feeling they wouldn’t hesitate to intervene if Ricki was overwhelmed by Calder’s intensity.

Calder stopped prowling, his gaze fixed on something outside the window. I heard a car door slam and assumed that Shannon and Ricki were here. A few minutes later, the front door opened, and a blast of cold air followed my friends into the house.

I took their coats and, as I was hanging them up, I noticed the expression of longing on Calder’s face when he looked at Ricki. When he saw me looking at him, his face closed down and he shrugged before turning away.

A few moments later, after she hugged me, I saw a similar look on Ricki’s face when she looked in the wolf’s direction.

Despite the seriousness of our current situation, I wanted to smile. Whether she liked it or not, Ricki had finally found a man who would stick with her for the rest of her life.

Since there were too many people to fit in my library and solarium, we gathered in the living room. Conner sat on the couch with Donna on his lap. Lex and Ivie sat side by side next to them. Lachlan, Calder, and Finn stood near the fireplace, talking quietly. The other two members of the vampire Council, Gabriel and Johanna were seated in my cozy armchairs by the fire looking a bit uncomfortable. I’m sure that they were unused to being surrounded by witches, werewolves, and humans.

Shannon and Ricki were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace. Ricki worked very hard to avoid looking at Calder and Shannon was eyeing Gabriel and Johanna curiously.

“Are you ready?” Belinda asked from behind me.

Glancing over my shoulder, I shrugged. “No, but I don’t have a choice.”

The corners of her mouth lifted in a semblance of a smile and she handed me the Book of Shadows. “Let’s get this done. Lachlan and Calder appear as though they’re ready to make their escape.”

Together, we moved to the center of the room, commanding everyone’s attention. I was glad when Belinda took the lead and spoke first.

“Thank you all for coming. As you know, there has been unrest among the vampires in this area and a rebellion against Council rule. It now appears that the mutiny has reached beyond the vampire population. Last night, members of the Faction also made an attempt on one of my coven. I believe it is only a matter of time before they turn their attentions to the MacIntire pack.” She paused, letting her words sink in. “It’s time that we stop playing politics and dancing around an alliance. There are too many lives in peril to waste more time. We need to work together in order to protect all of those we lead.”

I saw a small smile of approval on Conner’s face and Lex tilted his head in acknowledgment at her words. The tension that had wound within me began to relax slightly. I glanced at Gabriel and Johanna, since I didn’t know them as well as I did the other vampires on the Council.

Gabriel seemed unaffected, his face composed and calm, but Johanna appeared to be on the verge of, for lack of a better term, losing her shit. Her hazel eyes glowed brightly with what I assumed was anger. She leaped to her feet, moving so quickly that her long brown hair seemed to float around her head.

Staring at Conner and Lex, she asked, “You will allow a witch to tell you what to do? She knows nothing and she is weak. You have allowed your love for humans,” she sneered the word as though it were unclean, “to affect your judgment. Vampires are the strongest. We should be telling them what should be done, not listening to the sniveling of mere witches.”

I knew that Belinda wouldn’t speak up for herself. She was too diplomatic and I had never, in the years I had known her, seen her lose her temper. Me, however, well, I was fucking done.

I stepped forward, keeping my posture relaxed as I called on the magic around me as I had last night. I didn’t want to use it, but Johanna seemed on the edge of doing something stupid, so I wasn’t going to take any chances. “That is enough,” I murmured, fighting to keep my voice calm.

I almost flinched at the snarl on her face when she whirled toward me. “Do not speak to me,
witch
.” She turned her back on me and continued with her tirade. “You’re living with a human, Lex. She’s food, not a pet.”