Witch's Awakening (35 page)

All Jake had to do was kill Brenna. Killing was his legacy, wasn't it? He was his father's son and he had killed before. How hard could it be to kill her? She had magic, but he had pure strength. He weighed more than four hundred pounds. All he had to do was pounce and she was his.

Lifting his head, Jake roared. The air vibrated with his rage. He stalked toward Brenna, his head low. She stood firm, though he could smell her fear. It was a delicious odor that made him even hungrier for her blood. Soft and sweet Brenna. She would be his. He knew she could not stop him.

But even as his tiger prepared to spring, Jake fought. For the memory of his mother's love. For the person Brenna believed he could be. In atonement for all he had done wrong in the past. He fought the evil. He pushed it away.

The black spirit slid out of him, rising to become a grotesque monster covered with a thick, black liquid that oozed on its skin and rippled like a repugnant black marsh. The smell of sulfur filled the air along with the putrid odor of rotting flesh.

“Damn you!” the demon screamed at Jake.

Jake prepared for a fresh attack just as Connelly witches appeared from the darkness, chanting as they moved toward the altar where Brenna and Delia stood. They were all together. Even Doris was there, supported by Fiona and Eva Grace. As their circle closed, the Gaelic chanting became louder. Jake felt the power grow as the women united.

White magic washed over him. It was rich and sweet and filled his senses, blocking the demon's pull. Supported by magic, his human pushed through.

The demon shrieked and spun in the air above the circle of witches, and then leapt back into Maggie.

Her body sat up with a jerk and she looked at the tiger. “Come and get me,” she taunted him. “Kill me the way you want to.”

Blind rage seized Jake again.

As the monster had known she would, Brenna broke the circle and ran forward, putting herself between Maggie and the demon. “Jake, no. Don't.”

Jake roared and prepared to spring, ready to kill Maggie if that's what it took to defeat the demon.

Sarah called out. Brenna turned. The Connelly wand flew, end over end, across the clearing. For long, horrible seconds it hung in the air, and the monster reached out of Maggie. Long, black fingers inched toward the wand…reaching, stretching.

But the wand rose, caught in an air current, and fell into Brenna's hand. The carved wood glowed like fire as Brenna caught it.

The demon retreated toward the edge of the cliff. Brenna lifted the wand. “In the names of the gods and goddesses, I send you back to the darkness. Back to the hellfire from whence you came. Away from our world. Be gone.”

The demon laughed and streaked out of Maggie, straight toward Brenna. Fire shot out of the wand and into the demon. It writhed and moaned, but kept coming.

Jake rose on his hind feet beside Brenna and roared. The witches gathered in behind Jake and Brenna, their bodies touching, magic sizzling in the air. Advancing toward it, they pushed the demon nearer to the edge of the cliff.

“Be gone,” they chanted. “Be gone.”

A blaze of light unlike any Jake had ever seen spewed from the wand and touched the demon. A fire lit inside the creature. Screams of pure agony filled the very air they breathed. In an explosion of light and sound, the demon stumbled and fell over the cliff. Arms outstretched, the flames withered and screams faded while it tumbled into the valley below.

Jake stood at the edge with Brenna as only a tiny flicker remained in the air below them. Then that, too, was gone.

Rain came then. Not a driving storm, but a warm, sweet summer rain. The big drops washed through the air, cleansing it and bringing the fresh smell of pine trees, wildflowers and wet earth.

Jake turned his face to the sky, gratitude flooding his form. Brenna went to him without any fear of his tiger.

Under her gentle touch, he shifted. Then he caught her in his arms. For a moment, they simply held onto each other.

“Do you believe in yourself now?” Brenna asked him. “You beat him.”

“Because of you,” Jake said. “With you, I have all the strength I need.”

She smiled, and then turned to the coven. The witches were tending Maggie, who was dirty and dazed. She cried against Sarah's shoulder, begging forgiveness for her betrayal while Eva Grace held her hand. Everyone else appeared fine. They had weathered this attack without injuries.

Brenna reached out to her mother. “Thank you for following me.”

“I told you I knew you were up to something,” Delia replied as she grasped her daughter's hand. She motioned for Fiona and pulled both her daughters close.

Fiona stared over the cliff. “Do you think he's gone?”

Delia answered. “We can only hope.”

“And what about the Woman?”

Jake felt Brenna's shiver and slipped an arm around her. This battle was over, but had they won it all? He wasn't sure. The demon was tied to the Woman in some way, but vanquishing one didn't mean the other was gone, as well.

As if by magic, which Jake didn't doubt it was, the rain tapered off and the big Solstice moon glowed above them. Sarah stepped forward and lit the bonfire laid earlier. The coven joined hands again and chanted praise to the gods and goddesses for the good fortune of the harvest and the blessings of the night.

When the elder aunts and Maggie were gone, Brenna, Jake and the others made sure the fire was out.

“Let's get out of here,” Lauren suggested. “It's getting chilly.”

Reveling in the coolness, Jake pulled Brenna to his side again. “Lauren has the right idea,” he told Brenna before he kissed her. “Let's go home.”

Brenna smiled up at him and peace like he had never known before settled in Jake's bones. He was home, he realized as he walked through the woods with his new family. No matter what came next to New Mourne, this was where he belonged forever. With Brenna.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Brenna and the rest of the coven stood back as Eva Grace stroked the barn owl perched on a stump near the altar. Candles added light to the evening shadows. Brenna saw the owl look at Eva Grace with adoring eyes.

Fiona came up beside Brenna. “It's almost time for Garth to go.”

“Yes, she's been with him for a while.” Brenna put an arm around her sister. “Are you feeling better since everything has settled down?”

“Not all the ghosts are back in their places,” Fiona noted with a frown. “I'm not sure why.”

The rest of the family stood beyond Fiona and Brenna. There had been a great deal of celebration and rejoicing during the past three days. Maggie was back to normal. Her daughter was in her husband's arms. Maggie held the hand of her niece, her older brother's four-year-old daughter.

The next generation, Brenna thought, as she watched both green-eyed girls study Eva Grace and the owl. They were young, but it was right that they were here along with everyone else.

Lauren stood not far away, looking voluptuous in a blue silk dress. Sarah and Marcus talked quietly with Delia, Rodric, Jake and Aiden were deep in conversation. The elder aunts, flanked by Estelle and Diane, were intent on Eva Grace, who was saying goodbye to her love.

“I'm still not sure I understand why Garth's spirit didn't just come to you,” Brenna murmured to Fiona as Eva Grace stroked the owl again.

Her sister sighed. “Even I don't fully understand the ways of the spirits. Garth was weak from being killed by the demon. The owl took him in. The strength and magical power of the bird were a boon to him, but he was also constrained by the owl's limitations. He couldn't just tell you what was happening. Speaking to Jake took a lot of strength.”

“But why wouldn't he go to Eva Grace instead of me?”

“You needed Garth more,” Fiona said. “The demon wanted you from the start.”

“And the demon knew that by making me think the Woman in White was hurting my family, I would end up sacrificing myself. In the end, he was sure I would give myself to him. Instead, I fought. We all fought.”

Fiona hugged Brenna. “You were brave to offer yourself. Twice you came here to the Woman.”

Brenna shivered. “She never answered me. She didn't kill Garth. She didn't come to the shop, either. The demon only wanted us to think it was her. He tricked us.”

“He said he wants to banish the Woman.” Fiona frowned. “I wonder why?”

“We'll only know when we find her true story.” There were still too many questions, Brenna thought. No matter that everyone felt strong and confident after banishing the demon, there was much they didn't understand.

And now when she had so very many reasons to want to live, she wanted more than ever to find the answers.

“I just wish I'd had more time to think about the spell I used to send the demon over the cliff,” Brenna fretted. “I wanted him destroyed, and I'm not sure I did that.”

The owl spread his wings. The beautiful brown and gold of his feathers glimmered in the light from the candles while the compassion of the man inside him seemed to reach out to Brenna from his snowy face.

Eva Grace smiled through her tears. “How can I ever love another when I've known love from you?”

A sparkling light descended nearby. For a moment the owl sat very still. Then his wings unfurled and a glow lifted from his body. Tears slid down Eva Grace's cheeks as the two glimmering spots of light merged into one. She blew a kiss and the radiant orb melted into the night. Garth's spirit was gone. Eva Grace gently touched the owl once more before it took flight.

Fiona and Brenna joined Eva Grace and watched the owl soar above the falls before disappearing.

“Are you all right?” Fiona asked their cousin.

“Fine.” Eva Grace wiped her eyes and gave her cousins quick hugs. “I'm really fine. I'm glad Garth is at peace.”

“Maybe we can all have some peace now,” Fiona said. “Let's form the circle and complete the ceremony.”

As her sister and cousin headed for the altar, Brenna felt the prickly sensation of being watched. She glanced to the trees beyond, but saw nothing.

Jake came up beside her and leaned in for a kiss. “Hello, my bewitching beauty.”

The touch of his lips and the sound of his voice drove Brenna's paranoid feelings away. She loved this shifter. She was his. No curse was going to end what they were beginning.

Brenna kissed Jake back with enthusiasm. “How have things been in town today?”

“Quiet and peaceful. Just the way this sheriff likes them.”

“I'm so glad,” Brenna said. “It's wonderful to have New Mourne back to normal.” When Jake grinned, she added, “Well, at least normal for us.”

They joined the others as Brenna tried to remain hopeful. Maybe the Woman in White would leave the Connellys alone and let her start her new life with Jake.

A cold, mocking laughter filled the clearing. The members of the coven looked at one another in apprehension. Maggie gathered the children to her. Sarah, the elder aunts, and the women surrounded them. Jake, Brenna and the others closed ranks as well, as if in battle formation.

Jake took Brenna's hand.

Though his presence was warm and comforting, she shivered as the laughter faded. It wasn't over.

The Woman in White was still coming for one of them.

Epilogue

She strolled among the trees as the witches gathered in their circle while their men and their children watched. In her full-skirted dress, she glided through the woods without disturbing the bushes or moving a leaf.

They were so ridiculous with their little candles and silly rituals.

“They never learn,” she said as the witches began to chant. “Every generation thinks they can subvert me and keep me from getting what is my due. They want to be happy and live in peace, but they must pay the price, just as I did.”

Her time for tribute would be soon.

She was pleased they had defeated the demon. Time and again, their triumph over him aided her. Each time they sent him away, they reminded her how it felt to dominate him. She had never known real power until she defeated him. She had drawn that triumph into her spirit. While her sins and losses meant she could never move on from this place, she was content to know that
he
suffered, fretted and plotted to rise again. And the Connellys would always fight him for her. When they did, it only increased her power over him.

The witches chanted, voices lifting in praise to the gods and goddesses. The Woman in White listened, knowing they would soon know the pain of sacrifice. She had decided long ago that they had to suffer, to give up what was most precious, just as she had.

That was the deal Sarah Connelly had made, a deal honored through the centuries. As long as she suffered and remained tethered to this place, the Connellys must suffer as well.

Forever.

Once more, she allowed her laughter to ring out like the bells of doom.

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