Something Witchy (Mystics & Mayhem) (44 page)

BOOK: Something Witchy (Mystics & Mayhem)

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“I’m sorry,” I whispered as my eyes fastened on a picture of Jack the way I had once known him, smiling into the camera with all the charm that had made him so irresistible to most girls. “I’m so sorry, Jack.”

And I was. I was sorry I’d been forced to send the body of one of my oldest friends to the lost plane with a demon inside it. I was sorry I couldn’t tell anyone what had happened to him. But most of all, I was just sorry he was gone. I was sorry I would never get to see him smile at me again, or listen to his vulgar jokes, or tease him about his string of girlfriends. I was sorry I had lost him. So very sorry.

With tears in my eyes, I turned and ran the other direction, away from the memories of my friend, away from my locker, and toward the door and the man waiting for me outside whose comfort I needed so badly.

I had just cleared the front steps when I felt a chill sweep through me that had nothing to do with the icy winter wind blowing across the lawn. My head snapped up, and I found myself searching the trees that bordered the property, looking for something I couldn’t even name.

And then I saw him. Leaned against a tree directly across from me, his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest, was Jack. I stopped right where I was, everything inside me from my blood to my heart freezing up like I’d been encased in ice.

He’s not real, he’s not real,
I chanted to myself, staring at the apparition in front of me.
He’s on the lost plane now. He’s not really there.

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe, and counted to ten. And, sure enough, when I opened them again, he was gone. Though I searched the trees around where I had seen him, there was no sign of him. And yet, he had seemed so real, so solid.

“You need to get a grip,” I muttered under my breath. “Just let it go.”

But, as I threaded my way between the parked cars and packs of students in the parking lot, not even the sight of Nathan smiling at me from the hood of his Aston Martin was enough to make that image go away. All I could think about was that empty, photo-plastered locker…

And Jack leaning against a tree, looking smug and very,
very
much alive.

If you’re looking for more great characters and great books, our other authors at Parasite have some doozies. Each of our authors some favorites from our character-based selection. Here are AJ’s recommendations:

Sci-Fi – Outer Bounds: Fortune’s Rising by Sara King

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Table of Contents

More Great Character Novels from Parasite Publications:

Disclaimer:

The Poem that Started it All:

Dedication:

Chapter One Parental Patrol

Chapter Two Every Girl Needs a Stalker

Chapter Three Crash Course in Creepy

Chapter Four The Truth Does Not Set You Free; It Gets You Blackmailed

Chapter Five Demons, Vampires, and Witches! Yeah, Right!

Chapter Six Abducted by the Undead