Wolf Spell 1 (8 page)

A twisted knot formed in my stomach. Nobody told me how I would find my mom, then again, I never asked. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew a few bumps and bruises from the crash would be assumable, but I never asked how she was doing. Alive should be enough, but I suddenly became fearful of what I would see.

Ree pushed open the door. I could hear the rub from the bottom of the door brushing across the carpet. I was sure I forgot how to breathe. Shuffling one foot in front of the other, I entered the well-lit room, expecting to find it dark and gloomy, but that was not the case. The curtains were open, letting in the natural sunlight.

Taking a slow even breath, I moved my gaze from the window to the bed, where my mom lay still—too still. My heart picked up its pace, quickening to a full thumping in my chest. I dashed to the bed.

I gasped. It was her, but I wasn’t prepared to see her like this. She looked dead as if someone stole her from her casket yesterday. The sight made me ill. Her bloated face was black and purple with bruises all over, making her look disfigured. I saw her at the funeral home, but she didn’t look this bad. I couldn’t imagine what happened to her since then. Maybe this was some sick joke. I swallowed, trying to keep the vomit down.

I shook my head in denial. A warm hand settled around my shoulder. “We used a doppelganger at the funeral home. They didn’t actually bury anyone of importance.”

I turned to face Jarak, who entered the room behind me. “A doppelganger?”

“A doppelganger is a person’s magic double. They are easy to create, so, in this case, Victor created your mom’s with a spell. It was more of an illusion, like a witch’s hologram.”

Well that answered my underlying question of how they fooled everyone and shipped her off to Spain. It also answered why she looked so different at the funeral home.

“She doesn’t look good. Are you guys sure you can save her?” I was now hesitant about letting any hope inside me at all.

Jarak smiled, flashing his white teeth. “Oh no, not me.” He waved his hands like a ref at a baseball game. “I can’t do anything.”

I let out an aggravated sigh and let my shoulders fall. “Then why are we here?”

“Because we can with your help.”

I spun around at the sound of Ree’s voice. I forgot she was still in the room. “You can help her?”

She nodded. “Yes, with Trevor’s help too.”

“Okay, what did I miss? Who exactly is Trevor? And how can I help?”

She stepped closer to me, but the closer she got the more I became dizzy. It made my stomach queasy. “He’ll be here soon.” Her voice made my stomach roll.

She smirked and moved away fast. All the dizziness and sickness left with her. I stared at her pale face. “What was that?” I asked, rubbing my forehead with my fingers.

“You’re just as surprised as I am.”

“Well whatever it was, don’t do it again, it made me sick.” I wrapped my arms around my stomach. She gave me a half-smile.

 “Back to my question… how can you save her?”

Ree bit her lip before speaking. “Because she is a witch it will take two of us. Her blood is strong, and we’re guessing it might fight against our venom. Once her body sustains the venom, then her turning process will begin. It takes about eight hours for the change to be completed, but that’s where you’ll come in.”

A stirring on the bed averted my attention to my mom, and I forgot all about what Ree said. Her left eye was open, but only slightly. She tried to raise her hand toward me but failed, and it dropped back to the bed.

I grabbed it and held it close to my chest. “I’m here Mom.”

A glistening tear fell from her swollen and bruised eye. “Ara—I’m sorry.” She whispered in between short, raspy waves of breath. “I didn’t tell you.”

I shook my head. Even though I wished she’d have told me everything before now, I still couldn’t be mad at her. “No, don’t you be sorry.”

“I have to tell you… you’re in danger.” Her short breaths became even heavier as my own quickened.

“I don’t understand any of this.” I tried to swallow without sounding as if I gulped down a lump.

“Nicholas, he wants your powers. He’ll stop at nothing. I know this because…” She trailed off, breathless.

She inhaled, causing a loud wheeze to pass through her lips. “There have been many stories about the half breed who can defeat him. They were about you…” With the last word she trailed off again.

I looked at Jarak. He backed up and shifted his weight.

“You knew this, didn’t you?”

He held his hands up. “I told Victor you should’ve been told.”

I did a quick scan of each of their faces. “Does everybody know but me?”

Ree took my hand. “Come on, let’s go downstairs and talk. Your mom needs her rest.”

I hesitated before agreeing. Leaning over, I kissed my mom on her forehead and promised to be back soon. I didn’t want to leave her yet, but I needed answers and knew she needed rest.

Jarak followed close behind me downstairs, never straying too far. It was a small comfort, in an odd way. A tall man with long dark hair waited in the sitting area by the back sliding glass doors. He talked to Victor as if they were best friends, with his hands folded behind his back. I had no clue what they were saying because it was all in Spanish.

Once I was in full view, he looked at me with his copper eyes. He and Ree both had the same caramel eye coloring, making me wonder if they were family. His features were prominent with a strong jaw and sharp nose. He was also surprisingly tall. He had to be at least six foot with a slender build. He strode toward me with his shoulders squared. Taking my hand, he led me to the couch. “La más bella Esmerelda, sit conmigo.”

I had no clue what he said, but walked with him anyway.

He sat next to me on the couch, still holding my hand. Glancing around the room, I saw Jarak scowling. I tried averting my attention to Victor and Ree, who settled in the chairs next to the couch, but I could still feel Jarak’s stare burning in my mind.

Ree crossed her legs over in lady-like fashion, lacing her fingers together in her lap. She glanced over at me then at the man who held my hand. “This is Trevor; he only speaks in Spanish, so you will need one of us to translate. He refuses to speak anything other than his native language. Although, we are pretty sure he could if necessary after four hundred years.”

Trevor grinned but said nothing.

Ree continued, “He has waited a long time to meet you. He is one of the oldest vampires left.”

That’s what Victor said on the plane, his friend was a vampire. I had a hard time processing that it was real. His hand that covered mine was warm, not cold. I thought vampires were supposed to be icy and dead, well, the undead anyway. They made movies about them sleeping in coffins and hunting blood at night, they aren’t supposed to be sitting next to me, holding my hand.

I must have taken too long to respond because Victor piped in. “Esmerelda, there is so much you don’t know, but it’s a huge honor for him to be able to meet you. He’s heard about the Chosen One, long before you were born.”

Meet me?The Chosen One?
I was in the presence of magical and blood sucking beings, but they say it’s an honor to meet
me
? Why? Was I their next meal ticket or something? I looked at Jarak, his body still tense, which didn’t help me at all. His eyes were fixated on Trevor. I couldn’t help but feel he was mad at me for something.

“I don’t understand any of this, I’m not even sure any of it is real.” My eyes never left Jarak, but I talked to everyone. I swallowed, trying to push down the rejection I felt because he wouldn’t look me in the eye. He continued to glower at Trevor. I wish I knew what happened to make him so upset. I got the feeling he was not like the rest of them, except I was not sure what else he could be. He said he was a Guardian, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. We’ve already covered Witches and Vampires, all I needed to meet now was a cowardly lion to make my journey complete.

I took back my hand from Trevor’s and folded it with my other one, resting them in my lap. Nobody talked—it was too quiet. I could feel the eerie tension building in the room.

“Oh it’s real. Everything you grew up knowing as myths or legends, real, all of it.” Ree talked with her hands flaying all over.

“Okay, so what did my mom mean? She said something about Nicholas wanting my powers?” I glanced at every face wondering who would be willing to divulge the truth.

“My Sweet,” Victor spoke up. “You are in danger.”

 “How?”

“Nicholas has been recruiting his army for hundreds of years. His plan to rule over all other worldly beings and mere mortals started when he couldn’t sate his addiction to power, and he turned them into crossbreeds. We have fought against him since the beginning, but we’ve been able to do very little.”

Gulp.
Victor was so convincing that I played with the idea of what he said being true, but what did that have to do with me?

“Turn them—how?” I never thought my heart could beat as fast as it was.

Victor thrummed his fingers on the arm of the chair and gave a wicked grin. “He has slaves of vampires that have magic, or better known as crossbreeds. The only thing is… he couldn’t create magical vampire blood until now.”

“Crossbreeds?—Wait, what do you mean until now?” I lied to myself; my heart could indeed beat faster.

“That’s what he needs you for.”

“Me.” I gasped, pointing to myself in confirmation. I looked at Jarak. He stared at me with sad eyes.

“You hold an incredible power. You are the one a powerful Seer prophesied about when the war first started.” Ree continued, “With your magic, you are capable of helping or destroying the world. Everyone—magical, mythical and even the humans need your help.”

“What makes you think it’s me,” I shrieked.

Victor guffawed a little. I hardly thought this was a moment to laugh, but thought better than to make him mad by pointing it out. “After you were conceived, but before you were born, each of the five great witches bestowed a gift on you. You already had something unique, something no one else ever had, your father—" He stopped with his jaw firmly set, obviously not going to speak any more on what he said.

“Okay.” I stood up, shaking off the world that settled itself on my shoulders. “No more lies, no more secrets, just tell me the truth with no interruptions.” I dared a peek over at Jarak who still stood there, as quiet as ever.

“Fine, I can do simple.” Ree stood up also. “Magic comes in many forms, but the most basic forms come in the five elements. Air, Earth, Water, Fire and Spirit. More advanced magic like conjuring and telepathy is rare but is obtainable to certain witches or warlocks. You don’t need to have the elements to use that kind of magic, but every witch has the power to control at least one element.

“The five witches worked their whole life preparing to give you their powers. You were born as a half–breed. Your father is a Guardian, and your mom is a witch. That alone is special because it was unheard of before you.”

I shook my head. “No, my father is not a Guardian. He works at the police station.” This was not happening. Now she wanted to tell me my dad wasn’t who I thought he was. It was just too much.

Her face softened a little, and she smiled. “I’m talking about your real father, his name is Torres.”

I couldn’t breathe, and the room spun. I always dreamed of other people who acted as if they were my parents, but I never thought they could be real. I had dreams of soft laughter, a woman with hair as red as mine, and a man with gentle eyes. I sat back down and bent over, my head between my legs. Could they be my real parents? Were my mom and dad not my real parents? The thought of my dad not being my dad upset me more than the thought of my mom. He was always a little nicer, sneaking me ice cream at midnight and watching movies with me, or teaching me to drive while sitting on his lap in the old Ford. I swallowed and told myself that I could process this information later.

I glanced up, but I was sure all the color drained from my face.

Jarak mumbled a curse under his breath, but I’d heard him. He held my eyes for a moment then darted out of the room without another word.

“What’s with him?” I asked, completely annoyed.

Victor gave a sly grin as he also watched him walk away. Glancing at Ree, he rolled his hand out. “Please continue.”

I didn’t have time to go after him. Heck, I wasn’t sure he’d want me to do that. I turned my attention to Ree, pushing Jarak and his attitude away for the time being.

Ree looked back at me. “Your parents sent Bry to find you because when you were born, Meadow stole you away.” I sat there as she told me how Meadow was supposed to take me to Victor, and how Bry was supposed to bring me
home
. I didn’t know what to believe. It was as if everything in my life unraveled all around me.

I sank back into the couch. Trevor patted my hand in comfort, but it didn’t help. “Mi Dulce, sera bien.”

“Why don’t you just say it in English? I have enough to worry about,” I spat at him as I stood up and stormed out of the room. I was frustrated and angry. Too many things had fallen on me in the past two days… in the last week for that matter.