Witch's Awakening (34 page)

“There is one thing,” he said and hesitated. “A scripture keeps going through my mind. I feel a strong need to share it.”

“Of course,” Sarah said.

“It comes from the book of Esther, the story of a brave young queen who saved her people by telling her husband, the Persian king, that there was a plot to kill the Jews. Many scholars believe the Book of Esther shouldn't even be in the bible, but for Jewish people, she played a significant role with her willingness to put herself in harm's way to save them all.”

He looked at the women around the room and smiled. “I think she might have felt right at home in this gathering of strong women. The verse that keeps coming to me is from chapter eight, verse six: ‘For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?'”

The room was quiet as the words sank in. Jake glanced at Brenna. Her expression was thoughtful.

Fred walked to the door and turned for a last goodbye. “I wish I could stop whatever is about to happen. I believe my prayers and those of the faithful in my church will help, but I think only the Connellys have the power to stop this. I truly hope you can.”

Thunder rumbled over the house and Jake's radio squawked, the first call he'd had in days.

Gladys's voice tumbled out, calm and steady, but with a thread of urgency. “Robbery at the County Line Market. All units. Report to County Line Market. Suspect is armed.”

Brian pulled out his cell phone and moved toward the door.

Jake glanced at Brenna. “Looks like the crime draught has broken. Let's hope it's just a regular, run-of-the-mill incident.”

“No such luck.” Brian looked troubled. “I just spoke to Dispatch to get the details. Several people on cell phones are calling from the market and the suspect is being identified as Commissioner Harry Chambers. They say he has a gun on the owner and a couple of other people. The story is that he's drunk and pulled the gun when they wouldn't sell him beer.”

Fred muttered. “That must be a mistake. Harry doesn't even drink.”

“Multiple accounts say he does tonight,” Brian stated. “Jake, we'd better get up there.”

Jake didn't want to leave Brenna. “Are you going to be okay here?”

“Of course.”

“But—”

“Go do your job,” she murmured. “Take care of yourself, shifter.”

He wanted with all of his heart to stay here, to be sure that what he suspected wasn't true. He wanted Brenna to follow her mother's advice.

“Jake,” Brian said again, “are you coming?”

He gave Brenna one last warning look before he left.

Chapter Thirty-One

Watching Jake leave, Brenna felt her heart breaking. She didn't want to believe this could be last time she saw him or her family, but wasn't her path clear? The message in the verse Fred had shared spoke directly to her need to be the sacrifice for her family. Who'd ever think a sign for a witch could come from a fundamentalist preacher and the Bible?

As Jake's cruiser turned out of the driveway and the pleasant noise of family drifted through the evening air, Brenna recalled that verse. “For how can I endure to see the evil that shall come unto my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

According to Fred, Esther willingly put herself in danger to protect those she loved.

Willow's words drifted through her mind. “The help you will need will be found in an unlikely place.”

There was no more unlikely place for a witch to seek help than the Holy Bible. Brenna knew there was hope for the future, but only if she was able to change the present.

She went to her car for her cloak, and then around the house and into the woods. A hot wind was rising. Although thunder boomed and lightning danced off the hills and mountains, no rain fell. The heat was almost as intense as during the day. Like air from a blacksmith's bellows, Brenna thought.

The Summer Solstice moon peaked in and out of the clouds that streamed in the darkened sky. Clouds heading west, she noted, opposite the normal flow. Her father and Dr. McGuire had commented on the strangeness of this weather.

But this was no real storm. And it was waiting for Brenna.

She plunged forward, thinking about the coven. She believed her Aunt Celia had brought Fiona a message and there was a traitor in their midst. The traitor had planted the evil flower, caused Aunt Doris's injury, and allowed the demon in last night to belch fire from the ground. Brenna didn't blame the traitor for her actions. The demon or the Woman in White or perhaps both entities were influencing the choices being made.

The thought of choices made her think of Jake again. Her choice was going to hurt him, and that filled her with regret, but she was certain the incident he was going to at the market was just the beginning. The demon was loose in the county again, wreaking havoc.

“This needs to be finished,” she said into the wind. Brenna was going to call the Woman in White again. She was ready to give herself as she had been last night.

She chanted under her breath, gathering her magic around her and building its strength until she reached the clearing at the top of falls.

The familiar circle felt warm and inviting as Brenna stepped inside. She waved her hands across the rim of candles. They lit and the flames stood strong in spite of the wind.

She lifted her hands and began her spell.

“I light these candles in the presence of the gods and goddesses. In the name of the four mighty elements, please gather within this circle and let the power descend to this place. Gather now and hear my plea. As I will, so mote it be.”

The magic swirled around her in a twist of light and sound. Brenna glowed with its light and warmth. Last night, her offer of sacrifice had been dulled by defiance. Her mother warned her tonight not to taunt the Woman. Maybe Delia's words provided the last piece of advice Brenna needed from an unexpected source. Tonight she faced the Woman feeling like an equal.

She forced herself to remain calm, to speak with confidence. “I summon the Woman in White. Standing here in power and light, I offer myself as a sacrifice.”

The wind settled. A fine mist fell, cold against Brenna skin, seeping through her cloak. She waited and took deep breaths so her power remained steady and flowing. Something was coming. She could sense motion beyond the circle.

To her surprise, her cousin Maggie stepped out of the trees. It was Maggie, but different. Her hair was alive with electricity, moving like Medusa's. Her face was white, stark against the darkness around them. Her movements were jerky and robotic, as if she didn't have control over her own limbs.

As she came closer to the light, Brenna saw a black mass swoop in and out of Maggie's body, moving from her head to her toes and back again. A sick feeling started in Brenna's stomach.

“Maggie, what are you doing here?”

It wasn't Maggie's voice that roared at her through the mist. The voice was deep and hollow, echoing through the clearing like the rumble of doom. “I've made my own way, and because I've been strong enough to do this, my husband, my baby and I are safe from the Woman in White.”

Brenna began to tremble, fear momentarily overwhelming her. “Maggie, what have you done?”

“I let the demon inside me.” Maggie's laughter was maniacal. “He knocked on my door. You said demons don't knock on doors, but he did. He promised me I would be safe. He said as long as he could use me, the Woman in White couldn't touch me. He wants New Mourne. To take it, he knows he needs you. He couldn't get to you on his own. Even last night, when you tried to offer yourself, we couldn't reach you with that old fae in the way. But tonight he has me, and we're all alone.”

Brenna's heart pounded as answers fell into place. “You put the plant that attacked me in Aunt Frances's garden?”

Maggie's head moved up and down like a puppet's.

“And you hurt Aunt Doris?”

The thing that was inside Maggie laughed again.

“Did you kill Sandy?”

Tears replaced the laughter. Brenna could see her cousin's true features through the demon's twisting veil. “He came out of me in front of her,” she cried in her real voice. “Sandy was so frightened. She fell to floor. I don't know what happened after that.”

Other parts of the puzzle clicked into place in Brenna's mind. She thought she saw Lauren in town when the demonic troubles began and again before the plant attacked her, but it must have been Maggie. Then there was Maggie's odd appearance the night at the shop. From the beginning, Maggie had an overpowering fear about being taken from her husband and child. That made her weak and susceptible to the demon's offer.

“But why does he do this?” Brenna cried. “We saw the Woman in White kill Garth. We know she's waiting for one of us. Why does the demon torture the town, too?”

The answer was an unholy roar that shook the ground. “She thinks she won,” the demon shrieked, the words crawling along Brenna's skin. “She thinks she has all the power, but I can show her. I can
be
her.”

The blackness in Maggie morphed into the Woman in White. This time, Brenna wasn't fooled. She knew this was the demon, trying to trick her into believing he was the entity she had been seeking.

Brenna fell back, terrified but wanting to appear strong. Maggie dropped to the ground and began to crawl toward the path. “I'll get help,” she sobbed to Brenna. “I promise I'll get help.”

The wraith with the beautiful face wavered and then flashed back into Maggie's body. She straightened and moved forward with a jerk. Brenna could see her cousin was fighting the evil with all of her might.

“Now I have you where I want you,” the demon rumbled at Brenna. “You're the one I want, the strongest, most powerful Connelly witch of your generation. With your power, I can banish the Woman forever. This land and this town will be mine.”

The demon couldn't penetrate the circle, but he pushed Maggie's body as close as possible. Her eyes glowed as she screamed, “You are mine. You can't get away from me now.”

Brenna raised her arms and stood firm, focusing her whole being on summoning help. “I call on the gods and goddesses to come to me, to ride within me, to help me dispel the evil in this place.”

The air cracked with power as a light streaked down and passed through Brenna's hand into her body. When she pushed her hands out in front of her, a stream of radiance shot out and pushed Maggie to the ground.

“Brenna!” The sound of her mother calling her name shocked Brenna, and her magic wavered.

Delia stepped out of the trees. Brenna shouted a warning. “The demon has Maggie. Get away from here and get help.”

Maggie stood and roared again, this time at Brenna's mother.

“Please, Mother, get the others.”

“Please, Mommy,” the demon mocked and threw fire at Delia.

The other witch was prepared, however, and she deflected the black magic flame so that it went back toward Maggie. Brenna pushed out another wave of light at the same time, sending Maggie to the ground again.

Instead of fleeing, Delia set her feet and began chanting. Light and magic filled the clearing. The demon struggled to bring Maggie to her feet while the wind rose, moaning through the trees.

Brenna let Delia's voice penetrate her mind. She picked up the chant as well. She felt the same power she experienced at the shop with Sarah—a oneness, an unbreakable connection.

For a moment, Brenna felt hope. She thought they might defeat this evil.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Jake barreled through the night in his cruiser. The situation at the market was now under control and he was eager to check on Brenna. She didn't answer his phone and so he was headed back to the Connellys'. He had been hasty in saying she should leave his house today. At least until they found a way out of this curse, she should be with him.

As he rounded a curve in the road, a huge shape swept in front of him. He hit the brakes, fishtailing onto the shoulder. He jumped out of the car and turned round and round, trying to see what had he had almost hit.

A voice stopped him. A very familiar voice. “Garth?” Jake whispered into the night.

A low hiss sounded from above, and the owl swooped down and landed on the road.

“Jake,” a voice said. The voice was strained, as if the words were spoken with great effort, but Jake knew it was definitely the voice of the shifter he trusted above all others.

The owl spoke in Garth's voice again, clearly struggling to communicate. “Help Brenna. You know where she is.”

At the falls, Jake thought. Of course she would go again to offer herself. It was what she planned all along.

“Go,” the owl hissed.

There was only one way to get to her quickly. Jake threw himself forward, allowing his muscles to shift into tiger form in one seamless motion. By the time his big paws gripped the ground, he jumped into the forest, streaking toward Connelly land. He stretched himself out and raced with the stealth and ease of a jungle cat, knowing when a tiger doesn't want to be seen, he isn't.

He slowed as he approached Mulligan Falls. He heard the sounds of a battle and smelled the burnt ozone of magic. Peering through the foliage, he saw Brenna and Delia battling with Maggie. The quiet little wife and mother looked like a madwoman.

Without thought, Jake jumped at Maggie. She turned on him with inhuman speed, a huge sound coming from deep in her throat. She wasn't human, he realized. She wasn't even Maggie. He roared at her again, his teeth bared and his jaw wide. Maggie collapsed to the ground and the black spirit inside her whipped up, lingered in the air a moment, and then jumped into Jake.

“Kill Brenna,” the demon whispered to Jake's tiger. “Take her for me.”

Jake pulled back, resisting with all of his might. The part of him that Brenna said was not like his father fought the demon. The tiger prowled and growled, its eyes narrowed, its fangs dripping saliva. Infected by evil, he trembled with a need to kill, to tear tender flesh and rip the helpless human body into pieces. He burned with the desire to rip Brenna's throat, to taste her blood, warm and sweet in his throat. He would kill her, take her power and control the town. It would be his—New Mourne ruled by a demon. Jake could feel frustration, rage and a desire for vengeance. The demon wanted to prove his dominance.