Mark of the Witch (Boston Witches) (7 page)

Finally they arrived at their destination, and Jilly breathed a sigh of relief. She had enjoyed herself, but she had to keep reminding herself that it wasn’t her he was kissing.

William emerged from the carriage first, and Jilly looked out the window at the enormous house they had come to. It looked like a castle, but probably wasn’t. There were millions of candles and torches lighting the night, and it looked like a fairy village. Jilly sighed and put a hand to her heart, it was so beautiful.

“Sabine?” William called, and held a hand out to her. “Come, love, let’s go and dance until we can’t stand up anymore.” The love in his eyes was evident as he helped her out of the carriage.

As soon as Jilly’s foot hit the ground, her body was shoved backward into nothingness. “He will always be mine,” a voice called out through the darkness.

Jilly woke up at seven the next morning, feeling strangely energized. She had tossed and turned all night after her dream, and was surprised she wasn’t more tired. She quickly jumped out of bed, changed into her running clothes, and ran downstairs to put on her shoes. Caroline apparently had the same idea; Jilly found her sitting on the small bench next to the door, lacing up her shoes. They finished putting on their shoes and stretching in silence before heading out to the back porch.

“How far do you want to run today?” Jilly asked as they both rubbed their arms, adjusting to the cool autumn air.

“I think maybe six; three there, three back.”

Jilly nodded her consent as they headed down the stairs and took off into the forest.

They made it about a mile from the house before Jilly started to feel like something was wrong. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing at attention. She motioned for Caroline to stop, and looked around into the trees to see what was out there.

“You may as well come out,” she called. “I know you’re in there.” Both girls scanned the trees for any trace of movement.

Finally, off to their left, a figure emerged from the thick brush. It was a man neither of them recognized. He was short and wiry, with bright red hair and freckles. Jilly thought he was almost too adorable to be afraid of.
Almost
being the operative word. He came to a stop about six feet in front of them and held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

“I don’t mean you any harm,” he said, reiterating the gesture. “I’m only here to set up a meeting between you and Sabine,” he said as he nodded his head in Jilly’s direction.

“And what if I don’t agree to this meeting? Will you mean us harm then?” she asked as she slowly rubbed her palms together. She felt the familiar reassuring tingle in her fingers.

“Sabine doesn’t want you hurt. She just wants to talk, but if I have to hurt you I will.” He walked a step or two closer. The look on his face was anything but friendly.

“I’d stay where you are if I were you,” Jilly said forcefully. “You really don’t know me.” She rubbed her palms faster. Her palms and fingers were glowing by now.

The man looked at her and shrugged before charging toward her. Jilly put up her hands and grabbed his arm; he went down fast. She kept a hold of his arm until she felt the warmth in her hands start to fade, and yelled for Caroline to make a run for it.

“No, I’m not going to just leave you here with him,” Caroline yelled.

“Does it look like I’m helpless?” she shot back. Caroline looked at her with narrowed eyes and Jilly said, “I’ll be right behind you, just go!”

Caroline nodded and took off running as Jilly started to rub her palms again. She shocked the man once more to make sure he stayed down for a while and took off after her sister.

She caught up to Caroline a little ways off from the house. They both ran at full speed the rest of the way back and up into the house. Caroline slammed the door and threw the deadbolt.

“Right,” Jilly said sarcastically, “do you really think something like a locked door is going to stop them if they really want to get in?”

“I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do,” Caroline said in a nervous voice.

“I need to call Emily; I’m going to need help strengthening the protective wards on the house.”

Caroline nodded numbly and collapsed into a chair.

First, Jilly shot off a quick text to William telling him what happened in the woods, and then she dialed Emily’s number.

Adam answered the phone on the first ring, sounding completely disoriented. “Jilly? Is everything ok?” he asked.

“No, it’s not. I need Emily to come over if she can, and soon. I need help with the wards on the house.”

By this time Adam was fully awake, and he sat up in bed, nudged Emily awake, and passed her the phone. “Jilly?” she said sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

Jilly filled her in on the events of the morning and told her to come over as soon as she could and hung up the phone.

Caroline was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at the floor. Jilly walked over and sat next to her.

“Look, I’m sorry that you were with me today; I know that must have been scary for you,” she said as she put an arm around her sister.

“Scary? Yeah, I think that’s a bit of an understatement. A crazy man comes after us in the isolated patch of forest behind our house and you call it scary,” she said a little too loudly. “Is this a normal occurrence for you?”

“No, this is very out of the ordinary for me. I guess you chose the wrong time to come home,” Jilly replied with a weak laugh.

“I’m going upstairs to take a sleeping pill and pretend this never happened,” Caroline said as she got up and left the room.

There was a knock at the back door and Jilly jumped a little at the sound. She walked over and saw William’s face looking in the window as she opened the door. He rushed in and hugged her close to him, cradling her head against his shoulder.

“Are you ok? Is Caroline ok? You didn’t say either way in the text and I’ve been frantic all the way over here.” He crushed his mouth against hers, relishing the warm feel of her against him.

She pulled away slightly and looked up at him. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes looked worried. “I’m fine, she’s fine. She’s upstairs pretending like this never happened.”

“I guess that’s probably just as well for her; she’s most likely in shock.”

“Emily’s coming over soon to help me strengthen the wards on the house. Oh, and I need to call the shop and tell them I’m going to be off for a few weeks until we figure this out.”

Jilly grabbed her phone and made the call. Tanya sounded worried when she told her she was taking off, but she quickly told her she was just taking a vacation since Caroline was in town. She hated to lie to her, but it was better that she didn’t know any specifics.

“Can I make you some coffee?” she asked as she walked over to the coffee maker and went about preparing the machine.

William nodded and came over and leaned against the counter behind her. “So tell me what happened. Don’t leave anything out.”

She launched into the story and when she finished he rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a minute before speaking. “That will have been Liam then; I wondered which side he would land on in all of this. He’s always been a bit of a rogue.”

“Oh, I think it’s safe to say he’s chosen,” Jilly said caustically. She brought the pot and two mugs over to the table, and asked William to grab the cream from the fridge.

Once they were seated with their coffee in front of them, William reached across the table and grabbed Jilly’s hand. Although she was expecting it, she still was shocked by the jolt she felt when he touched her skin. After a few seconds, it dulled down to a nice tingling sensation in her fingers.

“I was so worried, Jilly. I’ve not cared for someone like this in many years.”

Jilly’s face was a mask as she thought about how to respond. “Is it really me you care for, or is it Liza? Do you see me, or is it Liza’s face you see when you look in my eyes?”

William sat quietly for a second, lips pressed into a hard line, obviously irritated that she would even ask that.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it. Yes, I loved Liza, but believe me, you are nothing like her. You may look like her, but that’s about where the similarities end.” He was angry, and it made Jilly a little nervous. She tried to pull her hand away, but he held on firmly.

“I had another dream last night. You never told me you loved her,” Jilly said quietly.

William dropped her hand and stepped back. “What do you mean?”

“How you felt was written all over your face, William. It was awkward for me to be in Sabine’s body while you were kissing her.”

William dropped his eyes. “I’m sorry, Jilly. I’m not a saint, and I was very young. I thought for a while that I did love her, but I was wrong,” he said quietly.

Jilly didn’t know what to say, so they just looked at each other, both feeling uncomfortable.

Emily’s voice coming in the door broke the tension in the room. They both went out to meet Emily in the living room. Although her words were bright, Jilly could see the worry in her friend’s eyes. She shot her a look that said “everything’s fine now” and walked over and hugged her. William went out back to take a look around while the girls set about their work.

*

Two hours later they were finished and exhausted. William made them lunch while they sat at the table, trying to regain some of the energy they had just expended.

“Ok,” Jilly said in between bites, “where do we go from here? Do we wait for another attack, or should I agree to this meeting she wants?”

William hesitated for a moment before speaking, chewing on his lower lip while he was thinking. “I think we should let things cool off for a few days. Sabine is going to be angry when she finds out Liam let you escape. She’ll most likely wait a few days before she tries for you again. In the meantime, I think you should stay in the house; Caroline too.” He nodded in Emily’s direction and said, “You should probably stay away until this is done. I’m sure I can speak for Jilly when I say I don’t want to risk the life that you carry within you.”

Emily started to protest, but Jilly silenced her with a look and turned to her. “Em, he’s right; it’s too dangerous for you and the baby. Adam would never forgive me if I let something happen to you. I think you should go as soon as we finish lunch. William will follow you home to make sure you’re safe,” she said, looking at William for confirmation. He nodded in agreement, and the girls finished their lunch in heavy silence.

Jilly could feel the concern coming off Emily like it was salt being thrown on her wounds. She felt so guilty that she was putting her and the baby in danger. She knew that Emily would worry, but it was better for her to worry at home safely than to be here and possibly die.

When they finished clearing away the plates, Emily grabbed Jilly’s hand and drew her in for a hug, squeezing her tightly.

“Be careful, stay smart, listen to William, and take care of Caroline. Actually, she can stay with Adam and me if you want; we have tons of space.”

“I’ll ask her when she wakes up. That may work out great for all of us.”

Jilly walked them both to the door and said good-bye as she watched them get into their respective cars and pull out of the driveway. She let out a long sigh as she leaned against the door frame, watching the cars until they disappeared around the bend.

She felt so helpless being stuck in the house doing nothing. Then she got an idea, ran into the kitchen, and grabbed her grimoire. Seated in the big chair by the fireplace, she tucked her legs underneath her and began flipping through the pages. She was looking for something, but she didn’t know what it was yet. She kept thinking that something was just going to jump out at her or light up or something. She wished her mother were here to give her the guidance she needed so desperately right now. She felt so alone, cut off from everyone she loved by either death or circumstance.

After thirty minutes of fruitless searching, she gave up and closed the book with a sigh of frustration. She got up and wandered out into the living room. She walked around the room slowly, looking at all of the photographs and trinkets that made this house her home. She stopped in front of an old photo of her and Caroline and took it down off the shelf. The photo showed them at age ten, sitting on the back steps, beaming at the camera with chocolate ice cream smeared all over their faces.
If only we could go back to that time
, she thought to herself as she set the photo back on the shelf. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

William returned with a small overnight bag in his hand and a laptop. “Planning a trip?” Jilly asked him as she let him in.

“I’m staying here until we see this through. I don’t like being so far away if you should need me. I know you have a few guest rooms upstairs; I’ll stay in the one closest to your room if that’s amenable to you.”

“That should be fine. I would normally argue with you about this, but I just don’t have the energy for it.” She led him upstairs to the room next to hers. “Here, you can stay in here if you want. There are clean towels in the linen closet in the hall. You have a private bathroom in here, so you won’t have to worry about running into us in the night. I’m going to go and lie down for a while; I’m spent after all the spell work I did,” she said, stifling a yawn.

“You go ahead and sleep. I’ll keep watch for you,” William said as she closed the door to her room.

Jilly quickly peeled off her sweaty running clothes and contemplated a shower, but thought better of it and threw on an old t-shirt of her dad’s and some sweats and jumped into bed. She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

She dreamt of her mom. They were sitting on the porch talking, like they used to when she was young. Her mom was telling her to trust in herself, that the answers were within her. She also told her to keep watch over Caroline; her life would be taking her in a different direction than anyone had thought. Her mom said to love Caroline and help her on whatever journey she chose. It felt so comfortable and right to Jilly, sitting with her mom, even just hearing her mother’s soft voice.