The Witchling Apprentice

  Cassie found that odd; Owen never mentioned Jack, but she let it go. She was just going with Jack for answers. Now it looked like Owen owed her answers, too.

  “No. My other best friend, Whitney,” Cassie added.

  Jack almost stepped on the brakes in shock. His mouth hung open, and he swerved into the other lane briefly.

  “You mean a female skinwalker?”

  “Yeah. She turns into a cat,” Cassie replied. It was strange; it was as if he had never heard of that before.

  “You’re serious?” Jack kept driving, but he was completely distracted by the conversation.

  “Yes. I’ve seen her half shifted, and then fully shifted on the last full moon.” Cassie watched Jack try to understand. He seemed completely shaken by her words. Was a female skinwalker that odd?

  Jack kept silent, and Cassie didn’t know if she could interrupt him. He was completely lost in his thoughts. It seemed he had driven the route they were taking many times, and he was on autopilot. Soon enough they were driving out of town. They didn’t go far before he turned onto a country road, and then a dirt path that didn’t even look like a road. Jack parked the car and got out. Cassie wasn’t sure what to do. They were in the middle of the woods, and there was nowhere to go.

  “Sorry about that,” Jack said to her outside the car. He spoke words she couldn’t hear, and the image of the woods around her faded. They were parked at an old farmhouse, complete with a big red barn.

  Jack started to walk toward the old yellow house before turning back to her.

  “I promise we don’t bite,” he teased.

  Cassie stepped out of the car and followed him into the house.

  “My dad is gone right now, but my friends are here. When I felt you enter the library, I kind of left them,” he explained.

  “But I just went to the library,” Cassie observed.

  Jack laughed. “You know my little travel trick? I can do it with one object, so I took my car over there in case you didn’t want to see me, that way I could just head home.”

  “Hey, Jack, back so soon?” a sandy-blond-haired guy asked as they walked in the house.

  “She must have turned you down again?” another guy added before they both saw Cassie.

  The second guy quickly stood and wiped his hands on his pants.

  “Sorry about that. We didn’t think you’d actually come back with him.” The chocolate-haired guy held out his hand for her. “Jared Colley,” he introduced himself.

  Cassie recognized him right away as the one who had been in the library before with Jack. His hand was warm as he shook hers. His brown eyes, which matched his hair, sparkled when she touched him. She had grown used to seeing too much in people over the years, so one of her reactions to meeting someone new was to channel her energy to tell if someone was a witch, born from a witch, or completely normal. Jared’s energy was similar to skinwalker. He had to be a night human.

  “Are you guys like another coven?” Cassie asked. She had never seen Jared or the other guy before.

  Blondie chuckled. “Something like that.”

  Cassie had no clue what that meant, but she didn’t want to stay around and explore her options. Something about the blond guy seemed off. Blondie had the same feeling as Jared, and Cassie knew he wasn’t human, but he didn’t come with the gentle, peaceful vibe of his dark-haired friend.

  “So can we get this all done?” Cassie asked. She wasn’t even sure they could help her.

  “You want to break the oath of joining the coven via the bond between a skinwalker and witch, correct?” Jack asked, clarifying exactly what she was there for.

  “Absolutely, that or getting a ticket out of here is my only option,” Cassie replied.

  Jack nodded. “My father said the coven wasn’t to be trusted, but I never thought anyone else could see it. I’m glad he got out, and I know exactly how to get you out, too.”

  “Do we need to wait until he comes home to have help?” Cassie asked. She was eager to get away from the blond guy. His stares were now getting unnerving.

  “Nope. We can do it right in the kitchen,” Jack answered, and his friends nodded.

  Jack led the way from the well-furnished living room where the two guys had been sitting and playing video games, down the hallway lined with doors. Jack pulled the only open one shut as they neared it.

  “You really don’t need to see how a bunch of bachelors live,” he commented.

  Cassie glanced behind her to the guys following. Luckily, Jared was closer than the blond one. Blondie’s eyes took in every aspect of Cassie and made her want to hide or take a bath, or maybe both.

  They walked into the much larger kitchen, and Cassie had to guess that there was more than one room that went into making up the space. One side of the room looked like a normal kitchen with a stove, oven, fridge, and sink, but the other side of the room was more of an open area than anything else in the house. Large tables lined the wall and herbs were scattered all over.

  “This is where I do my work,” Jack explained, tapping one of the tables.

  Cassie looked back at her cousin. At first glance, she assumed he was close to her age, but now as she looked closer she would guess he was older, just she didn’t know how much older.

  “I think you should have just about everything to make your potion,” Jack told her.

  Cassie looked at him for more of an explanation. ‘Make your potion’ sounded like she was a one-trick pony. She knew how to make many, and if that was what it took, then she wouldn’t have come to him.

  Blondie laughed at her confused expression. Cassie could feel anger at the stranger boiling inside of her. It wasn’t like she got upset easily, but he was just throwing everything off.

  Jack motioned to him, and his smile faded immediately.

  “You need to make the same potion you did to pass your witchling exam,” Jack explained.

  “Oh,” Cassie replied, not really sure what to make of what he was telling her.

  Just a week ago, she would have eagerly agreed, but now knowing that her blood could bind her to someone else made her pause. Right now the only night human blood in her was Nate, and if she kept the potion away from him, it should keep her safe.

  Sensing her confusion Jack continued, “Each witchling is assigned a potion to make. If you can make it, then you have advanced enough to move on to your mentor’s care.”

  “That’s not exactly what we were told. I was told everyone was given the same potion to make, and then we got to choose a mentor.”

  Blondie laughed again. This time both Jared and Jack glared him into silence.

  “They’re still doing things that way,” Jared commented to the two guys with him.

  “They don’t like to tell you the part that you don’t actually get a choice in all of it,” Jack continued. “That’s why I knew we needed to find you. You haven’t grown up with all of them telling you their rules and making you into a sheep. You’re one of the few who can see you are strong enough to make your own choices. That’s why we need to help you get out of the binding. You’re different than them.”

  “And how do we do that?” Cassie asked.

  “By doing your spell, and then I’ll make a counter spell to it,” Jack explained. “If you do what they want, you do the spell and use it to bind to your mate. If I make the counterspell, then you are bonded to no one.”

  Cassie nodded. His logic seemed sound, but she was still unsure about using her own blood. Maybe she could do the spell without it.

  “What is the spell they made you do?” Jack asked, swiping the table to clean it.

  “A protection spell,” Cassie replied.

  Jared nodded. “That makes sense.”

  “Yeah. They’d need him protected,” Blondie added.

  Cassie looked at him. They seemed to know more than they were letting on. If they knew who her protection spell was for, then maybe they had answers the coven would never tell her. They were certainly the people she nee
ded to be around.

  “What do you need?” Jack asked, turning the conversation back to the task.

  Cassie looked over the glass bottles and everything that was sitting out already on the table. Most of the stuff was there. At least enough to get started.

  “This should be a good start. It takes about an hour to make, including brew times,” Cassie explained. Jack nodded as he reached for a metal tray.

  “Put everything you use here in the order you add it. I can make a counter-potion from that,” he explained. Cassie nodded. “Then we shall leave you alone to do what you do.”

  Jack turned to his two friends and waved at them to go back the way they came. Cassie nodded to her cousin and reached for the comfrey and horehound to begin.

  The guys left her alone, and it was time to focus on her spell. She needed to get out of the bonding—the sooner, the better. She had to hope her cousin was right.

  Cassie tried her best to concentrate on the spell she was working on. She had made it work over a dozen times before asking to test, but she still needed her full attention to make it happen now. She really needed for it to work on the first try since she wasn’t sure how many tries she would get before Nate showed up. While Cassie waited for the mixture to boil, she reached for her phone in Nate’s pack. She turned it on and then realized she had no reception, which made sense since she hadn’t even seen the place when they had arrived. Cassie tucked her phone back away and began to mix.

  Her mind wandered as she began the repetitive motion of crushing and mixing, crushing and mixing. Would Nate come for her? He had to do what the clan asked of him, but she was sure that there was much now that he was questioning. Maybe Jack was right—had they raised Cassie with the full knowledge and acceptance of the coven, things might be different. It wasn’t that way now. She questioned everything because she had never been a part of it. She had seen the other side of the coven, and now had seen even more. Not even a week ago all she wanted was to join the coven and fit in, but now she was also questioning that. What she really needed was Maria to come home.

  Cassie reached for the bottle of Castilleja mollis leaves and found it empty. Glancing over at the second bench she found there were none there, either.

  Cassie left the kitchen and made her way back to the living room. Instinct told her that she should be quiet. She slowed as she heard the guys talking.

  “But what happens once they find out?” Jared was asking as Cassie stopped just out of view.

  “Who cares if they find out? We’ll have her as one of ours, and there will be nothing they can do,” Blondie replied. Even his voice made Cassie cringe.

  “My father will deal with the skinwalkers. Once we have Cassie bonded to everyone in our clan, there will be nothing the skinwalkers or the coven can do,” Jack answered. “We will have her just like we planned.”

  Cassie’s heart picked up. They were supposed to be helping her keep from having to bind to anyone. What was he talking about?

  “Man. Stop teaming up on me,” Blondie complained. They must have been playing games again.

  “And you don’t think she’ll suspect anything?” Jared asked.

  “Suspect? They’ve kept her in the dark about everything. She won’t even know what we’re doing when we combine her blood with the clan’s. They should have raised her as a witch, and they would have been better off. They can’t blame us for this one,” Jack answered.

  “How could they be that stupid?” Blondie asked. The video game they were playing continued to make noise as the guys talked. “Ha! Take that.”

  “They think she’ll end the coven and the clan. Sure she will, by giving us her powers,” Jack replied. The game beeped more and Blondie groaned.

  Cassie leaned against the wall. This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen.

  “So that old seer is selling her out to keep their power?” Blondie laughed as the game music started back up.

  “Oh, yes. What the urge for power will do to anyone. Cassie was never going to destroy the skinwalkers and coven. She was going to be the new seer, and the old one knows that. Why do you think they are eager to bind and drain her powers?” Jack replied. “The seer told the priestess, and they’re in it together.”

  “We’re not going to drain her,” Jared replied, sounding concerned.

  “No. But she won’t be one of them much longer.”

  Blondie laughed, and Jack joined in. Cassie looked to the doorway she could see but knew it was no use. She was too far from home, and Jack being able to transport himself would stop anything she tried. She was trapped.

  Part of her wanted to quit. All she had ever desired in life was crashing down around her, and everyone seemed to want something from her. No one cared about what she wanted. That was no one except for Nate. She might not want to be bonded to him, but he was her only chance.

  Cassie silently made her way back to the kitchen. Using the knife she had been cutting the herbs with, she pierced her finger and rubbed a drop of blood on the necklace Nate had given her. Before they left her uncle’s house, he had told her how it worked, and she sure hoped that the magical connection was intact even if her cell phone wasn’t. Cassie wiped the blade clean and put her finger in her mouth as Jared appeared in the doorway.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, his deep brown eyes looking her over.

  “I’m fine,” Cassie replied with her finger still in her mouth.

  Jared came over to her and pulled her finger from her mouth to inspect it.

  “It was bleeding,” he commented. His warm hand held hers. The bleeding had stopped, and there was only a mark left where she had cut it.

  “What are you, part bloodhound?” Cassie replied, pulling her hand from his. She didn’t want her blood near any of them.

  “I’ve never heard a night human called that before, but I guess that would be an accurate description.” Jared smiled, causing a dimple to appear on his left cheek. If she had met him in a situation where he wasn’t conspiring to bind her to people she didn’t want to be with, she might have called him cute. Whitney would have agreed.

  “You’re a skinwalker?” Cassie asked.

  “No. I’m a night human, though, so I can smell blood better than a bloodhound,” he replied, flashing her a smile again. She could slightly see the danger behind his smile. “Do you need help?”

  “You do magic, also?” she replied, glancing at her half-done spell. Nate still hadn’t shown up. Cassie was beginning to wonder if the magic around the house was blocking her signal to him.

  “Not really, but I can mix and follow directions better than most, or at least better than the idiots out there.”

  Cassie nodded as she looked at the ingredients and got a good idea.

  “Your offer is great, but I can’t continue. I can’t find the Castilleja mollis in here,” Cassie said, pointing around the room.

  Jack walked in right on cue.

  “Castilleja mollis? Can you just use Castilleja levisecta instead? We have some that grows just about a mile away. Jared can go get it for you and bring it back in probably ten minutes,” he suggested.

  Cassie shook her head. “Nope, tried that when I first made the spell. I need mollis.”

  Jack shared a glance with Jared.

  “I’m afraid we don’t keep that one in stock. All our endangered plants are in very limited supply,” Jack explained, his hands ruffling his familiar dark hair. His posture looked exactly like Uncle John as he did it.

  “We grow it at the school,” Cassie replied. They had a year-round greenhouse where they grew practically every endangered plant they used in spells. It was easier than getting permission each time, and flying to whatever remote location the plant grew.

  “Then I guess we need to make a trip into town,” Jared replied. Jack gave him another look, and Jared shrugged.

  “Count me in,” Blondie added from behind Jack. “It’s been a few days since I’ve been in town.”

  Cassie looked at him. It wasn’
t what he said, but the way he said it. There was way too much going on inside that blond head of hair. The sooner Cassie could get away from him, the better. Every fiber in her body said to run as far away from him as she could. Blondie smiled at her as she shivered, like he enjoyed her discomfort. Jared moved in front of him and blocked her view.

  “Then let’s get going before it gets dark,” he suggested.

  Cassie hoped she was right, and the necklace would tell Nate to come to her. She hoped it worked as well as he described because this might be her only chance to get away from her cousin.

  CHAPTER 11

  Jack led the way around the school. It was closed for the day, and almost all of the lights were off. None of the few teachers left were witches or skinwalkers, so there was no help there. Cassie kept her pace slow as she looked around, like she was worried who was still there.

  “Don’t worry, the coven isn’t here. I’d have smelled them,” Jared told her as he took her elbow to pull her beside him. He threw his arm over her shoulder to comfort her.

  Cassie nodded like that was her only concern. The coven was just one of her problems.

  Jack went to the door that led to the greenhouse which was built on top of the school. He shook the handle and then looked back to his friends.

  “I’ll just take you in one at a time,” he told them.

  Cassie’s eyes grew big. One at a time meant she would be left with Blondie at some point.

  “Ryder,” Jack said, pulling Blondie near the door.

  In a flash, they appeared on the other side. Cassie considered bolting.

  “He won’t touch you this time,” Jared said into her ear. His warm voice tickled her neck. “I’m here, and he wouldn’t dare.”

  Cassie had no clue what that threat meant, but she didn’t have time to think. Jack returned and grabbed her arm before she could protest, whisking her to the other side of the door and inside the school. Jack flashed back to the outside.

  Blondie took his chance and stepped closer to Cassie. She took a step back, and he grinned.

  “I’ve always liked my witches with a little fear in them. They taste much better that way,” he said, his eyes flashing red.