Burkheart Witch Saga Book 2 (4 page)

The team of monsters marching toward the house numbered about twenty. There were vampires dressed in jeans and heavy boots marching in the front of the troupe. Their pale skin gleamed as the moonlight took over for the retiring sun. Their teeth were all protracted, ready for battle. Each one wore a different expression of bloodlust and hate. The lead vampire's fingers curled like talons, and Mooney could see that she had long nails, filed to sharp points.

The rest of the gang consisted of werewolves that still appeared to be in some type of human form, but they had begun to change with the full moon's debut. Most of them were men, but there were a few women among their ranks. Each one of them was shirtless, ready for the impending change. One by one, they dropped to the ground and began the transformation from human to werewolf. They were too far away for the witches to hear the crunching and grinding as their bones shifted and disconnected to form lupine bodies, but they could see the writhing and gyrations that were all too familiar to anyone in the supernatural community.

As the infantry came within yards of the entrance to the property, the first vampire charged forward, but was thrown backward as she ran head on into the magical force field that Daisy had installed. She flew back through the air, colliding with some of the other vamps, who took on the appearance of bowling pins as they bounced off one another and landed on the ground. A wolf from the other side of the group charged at the force field, hurling his furry muscular body at the unseen blockade. He suffered the same fate as the previous attacker, thrown backward with a loud yelp of pain and a thud as he hit the ground. The other wolves were smart enough to move out of the way, avoiding a painful collision.

The group of monsters snarled and gnashed their teeth in frustration. The wolves began to howl and yip, and the vampires yelled for them to shut up. Some of the vamps and wolves began to tangle with each other in clouds of fur and teeth. A voice echoed through the ranks, and all were still in reply. The scuffles that had broken out stopped immediately, and all attention was focused on someone coming forward from the back of the group. The wolves and vampires parted as if imaginary velvet ropes had been placed at the boundaries of an unseen red carpet.

Carolyn sauntered from the tail of the army toward the front, standing at the boundary of the invisible force field.

"Send her out to me, witches!" she commanded, looking directly into the bedroom window at the dumbfounded dwarves.

"If you send her out, we will leave you all unharmed," she offered in negotiation, a smug grin on her face. She stood as the leader of this motley crew of demon misfits, dressed in a melodramatic black robe with a skintight jumpsuit and black, knee-high boots. Her long, dark hair trailed behind her in the slight breeze. She looked every bit the vain, evil witch that she was.

"You should get started on the unbinding. Now!" Daisy said over her shoulder as she continued to look out the window at the growing threat.

"Have it your way," Carolyn yelled and raised her hands to begin trying to break down the magic that kept her and her henchmen out of the house. She started chanting something unintelligible, and Daisy could see flecks of electricity seemingly floating in the air as the force field began to break down. Behind Daisy, the other witches had begun the unbinding spell with the help of Richard and, unbeknownst to them, Kayla herself.

K
ayla had never felt so frustrated
in her entire life. She had found out that she was also a witch, that her father had really loved and wanted her all of these years, and that she was responsible for Jess's death.

She had lain on this bed like a granite statue while her father cried. She had never wanted anything as badly as she had wanted to hug her dad and tell him she understood why he left her. She wanted to let him know she forgave him. She had wanted to hold Mooney and tell him how sorry she was that the love of his life had died trying to save her. Inside, she had cried every day, but outwardly, she was dead to the world.

As the coven started chanting the unbinding spell, she had listened to the words they were saying and silently chanted along with them, hoping she might give the spell a power boost.

"Unbind, undo, unleash," they chanted while the incense and candles burned.

Unbind, undo, unleash
. Kayla said in unison from inside her trapped body.

Suddenly something stirred deep in the pit of her stomach. There was a surge of what felt like electricity coursing through her limbs. Something was happening! It was exhilarating and powerful. She could feel her catatonic body twitching and shaking. That was when the pain hit her like a ton of bricks.

"
S
hit
!" Carolyn yelled to no one in particular. She dropped her arms and turned to the group of monsters standing behind her.

"This isn't working! Those tiny little witches put a power boost on the shield." Carolyn's fury poured out of her in waves, causing the wolves to hunker down and whimper in fear. They looked more like whipped pets than ferocious, mythological beasts of the full moon.

Carolyn turned to one of the vampires standing in front of the group looking like he was waiting to be hit.

"Get him from the van."

The vampire obeyed without question, scurrying away toward the van to obtain the prize Carolyn was referring to. She turned back to the house and addressed the coven one more time.

"This is your last chance! Send her out, and no one gets hurt,” Carolyn turned to look for the vampire that she had sent on the errand. There was a scuffle in the back of the crowd, and she tapped her foot impatiently. The dark-haired vampire in skintight jeans brought the blindfolded human to Carolyn's side.

David struggled against his abductor, who was unnaturally strong. The man's grip felt like a vice clamping down on David's upper arm as he led him through a crowd of things that snarled and growled.

"Excellent." He heard Carolyn's voice, further confusing him as to what was going on.

Carolyn reached up and pulled the gag from his mouth.

"What the fuck is going on, you crazy bitch?" he yelled in the direction he thought Carolyn's voice had come from.

"Watch your mouth!" A powerful hand smacked David on the back of the head. It felt like he had been hit by a frying pan, and stars flashed through his closed eyes.

"Uh, manners," Carolyn said. She reached up and removed his blindfold, but left his hands tied in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?" David whimpered, looking around at the monsters surrounding him. His blood ran cold when he saw the pale men and women with the long, white fangs and the wolf-things with hairy bodies and nightmarishly sharp claws staring at him like he was the best item on the menu.

The freakishly strong hand that he now saw belonged to a man about six foot two, wearing tight black jeans and an even tighter black muscle shirt, grabbed him by the back of the neck and pushed him forward toward the cottage in front of them. The man had arms like tree trunks and a neck that was barely thinner than the circumference of his head. His white skin and long fangs gleamed in the full moonlight.

David felt as though he might lose control of his bladder, and tears tried to make their way from the corners of his eyes, but he fought and won the battle for control. He listened and waited for the right time to try and make an escape.

"
S
end her out
, or he dies! You have two minutes!" Carolyn shouted as the vampire held David on display for the coven to see.

"Hey, isn't that Kayla's fiancé?" Daisy asked the rest of the group. When no one answered, she turned to see if they had heard her. She was unable to choke back the gasp that stuck in her throat when she caught sight of Kayla's body lying on the bed. The rest of the coven had stopped chanting and stared at what was happening.

The short, dark hair that had just moments before been draped around Kayla's head, adorned with herbs and flowers, had now spread to her face, covering the majority of her upper body. Her brow line now protruded from its normal position, and her nose and mouth had begun to form a long snout with large, white teeth. Her whole body shook and vibrated.

"Oh, my God," Richard said, flustered by this latest development. "What's happening to her?" he yelled, helplessly.

Outside, every one of the wolves began to howl in a snarling cacophony. Daisy covered her ears to block out the blood curdling yelps. She shouted over the clamor.

"Carolyn has Kayla's fiancé, and she's going to kill him."

"We can't let that happen," Doc shouted back.

"I have an idea," Mooney stated, and motioned the group to come in close to hear it.

"Are you crazy?" Gus barked at him, after hearing his plan.

"Maybe a little," Mooney replied with no humor in his voice.

Joy pursed her lips and looked at Richard and the rest of the coven.

"I think we should do it. Hopefully, David will understand. Does everyone agree?" She surveyed the group again as each one nodded in agreement.

"Richard?" Joy looked at him questioningly. He nodded.

On the bed, Kayla continued her transformation. Joy hoped that the unbinding had worked. All of their lives depended on it.

W
hile Carolyn waited
for the deadline to expire, she continued working on breaking down the force field, to no avail.

Movement in the doorway of the little house caught her eye. One of the dwarves stepped out onto the porch and waved her hand.

"Ha! One of the mini witches wants to surrender! I knew it!" Carolyn laughed raucously and looked around at the vampires and wolves. They all began to chuckle in response to her dark, commanding look. She put her hand up to silence their sycophantic laughter. The crowd fell silent immediately.

"Bring her out!" Carolyn yelled.

"We can't, she's too heavy for us to move," the female, bookish-looking witch yelled back, with obvious fear in her voice. "You have to come in and get her. Just you, alone."

"Now you are making demands?" Carolyn laughed, raising her eyebrow.

"We will lift the force field for you and the human only."

"Fine," Carolyn said begrudgingly.

"No, it's a trick," the large vampire holding David warned her.

"I'm not afraid of a bunch of pint-sized, wannabe witches," she snapped back at the vampire, who looked down sheepishly like a chastised employee.

"Let us in, then. We'll make an even trade," Carolyn commanded.

"Open." The small witch waved her hand and a portal opened directly in front of Carolyn. The female vampire that had been watching the whole scenario unfold charged in front of Carolyn and pushed her way into the magical doorway. As she stepped into the opening, a scream of agony and surprise caused the group to jump back, holding their ears to block out the painful screech.

The female vamp seemed suspended in midair as her body sizzled and smoked. Her screams continued as her appendages turned to black ash and fell to the ground. The smell of burning flesh assaulted Carolyn's senses and sent the wolves into another howling frenzy.

The vampire had been reduced to a pile of smoldering embers. The other vamps in the group took a step away from the opening.

"I told you, only you and the human," the witch in the doorway said with a smirk.

Carolyn lifted her hand and clenched her fist. David rose from the ground as if suspended by wires. He floated toward the portal, closing his eyes, waiting to be reduced to ash like the vampire before him. Carolyn moved his body through the portal, testing to see if he was going to die. When he passed through the hole involuntarily, nothing happened. Carolyn was satisfied that the goody two-shoes witches would keep their word. She followed his floating body through the opening, kicking up a cloud of vampire dust without a second thought, and it immediately sealed behind her.

She guided David up the walkway to the front door, following close behind, using his airborne body as a shield against attack.

The small witch at the doorway shrank back as Carolyn approached the door. She walked through, into the living area, and the small witch led her to the bedroom where Kayla lay unconscious. As she entered the room, she saw the coven standing around a body covered by a large white sheet. It seemed too big to be Kayla.

"Uncover her," she commanded them.

Mooney stepped up and grabbed the corner of the sheet. When he began to pull the linen down to reveal Kayla, Carolyn shuddered with anticipation. He ripped the sheet away, revealing the female werewolf that lay unconscious on the bed. Carolyn gasped in horror and took a step back. As she backed up, Richard stepped out from behind the closet door and jabbed the kitchen knife into Carolyn's back. When he pulled the blade out and the blood began to flow, David fell to the ground in a heap. Carolyn turned to face her attacker head on.

"You!" she exclaimed savagely as she saw her ex-husband at the end of the knife. "I'll kill you!"

"Too late, dear," Richard said with no emotion as he thrust the knife deep into her belly, releasing a new flow of blood. She raised her hands to grab at him, but weakness from the blood loss had taken over. She dropped to her knees and looked at all of them as though they had perpetrated the ultimate betrayal. Even knowing she had planned to kill them all, she still seemed to feel jilted. The coven of witches turned their heads as Carolyn faded away.

David looked around, confused. He pulled himself up to a sitting position with his hands still bound in front of him. Mooney came forward and cut the tape, freeing him.

"What the hell is going on?" David pleaded with Mooney for some kind of explanation.

"I'll explain it all to you, but we need your help first. Kayla needs your help."

"Is that her?" David pointed at the unconscious wolf on the bed.

"Yes, and I think we need you to kiss her."

"Fuck that!" David replied with disgust.

"If you don't kiss her, she will die. If you love Kayla, you will do this. That is still her laying on that bed. The woman that helped you through rehab. The one person that believed in you, when no one else did. If you turn your back on her now, you are killing her,” Mooney said, looking directly into David's eyes.

David nodded and rose to his feet. He walked over to the bed and looked down at the wolf wearing a crown of tea roses.

"On the lips?" he asked Mooney.