Something Witchy This Way Comes: A Jolie Wilkins Novel

  Once I was dressed, I strolled into the living room and peered through the windows, where I watched the people of Lurkerville hurrying off to their day jobs. I had to imagine all their jobs centered around this compound. Some were going to the hospital, others were probably in charge of security. There had to be some sort of school, and the list went on. It was like a bustling minitown all encapsulated behind a very high, very barbed wire fence.

  A knock on the door pulled me from my reverie. I figured it had to be Luce. I went to answer it, and was surprised to find Bryn standing there. She was dressed in her fighting attire and was holding a pile of clothes. She thrust the clothes into my hands without so much as a smile, but did offer me a raised brow when she registered the fact that I was wearing my outfit from the previous day.

  “I’m sure you’ll be happy to get out of those,” she said in a bitchy way then, dispelling whatever sympathy I’d assumed she had for me, looked me up and down. But somehow her less than gracious attitude didn’t seem real. It seemed artificial, trumped up, like she was trying too hard.

  A few seconds later I was again struck by the feeling that I knew her and, more eerily, that I knew her very well. But I was also convinced that the feelings weren’t genuine. It was nothing more than a trick of Luce’s magic, an attempt to win me over to their side. The more I thought about it, the more it angered me, and the more resolute I was to ignore it.

  “Thanks for the clothes,” I muttered, offering her an identical copy of the frown she’d just given me. Immediately, the frown vanished from her face, replaced with surprise. Why? I had no clue.

  “Your breakfast is on the counter,” she said hurriedly, and wrapped her arms around herself as if suddenly uncomfortable. “Luce said to let you know that he’ll be coming for you in twenty minutes.”

  “My breakfast is on the counter?” I repeated suspiciously, deliberately ignoring the part about Luce. Glancing back at the kitchen counter, I spotted a tray with juice, coffee, and a covered plate. Anger began spiraling inside of me as I thought about someone entering my private accommodations without my knowledge. “Did you guys just come in while I was sleeping?” I asked in an irritated voice. Granted, I understood I was a prisoner, but a little privacy would have been nice. “I thought I was a ‘revered guest’ or some such crap.”

  Bryn seemed surprised by my anger, but smiled at the “revered guest” part. She shook her head. “You’re right—you aren’t much of a guest. Apparently, you’re smarter than you look.”

  “I look like you,” I threw back at her. She swallowed hard but didn’t respond.

  She shrugged, trying to maintain an air of ennui. But I couldn’t help noticing that she still hadn’t reacted to my comment about how we looked alike, which meant she was just as aware of it as I was.

  Yeah, but who cares, Jolie? That adversarial voice piped up within me. Looking like someone doesn’t mean anything.

  Come on, we look a lot alike!

  Okay, so for the sake of argument, let’s say you do. So what? What’s the point of it? What are you trying to say?

  I’m not saying anything.

  Okay then. Shut it!

  “Do you always argue with yourself?” she asked, and I felt my chin nearly hit the floor.

  “You just … overheard me?”

  The look she gave me told me she wasn’t joking. She just nodded. “I’m a sensitive and you’re … pretty loud.”

  “What the heck does that mean?”

  She frowned. “That I can hear idiotic arguments that go on in people’s heads.”

  I tried not to think about anything at all, but I was suddenly overflowing with questions. Did all of the Lurkers have this talent or was she the only one? And if she had overheard my self-debate, what other information was she privy to? Had she been listening to me from the get-go? God! What had I been thinking about all this time? I started to think of Rand but immediately stopped myself.

  “Did you get any of that?” I asked.

  She laughed, then shook her head. “No, this time you did a good job of hiding it.”

  “So going back to what you said before you started eavesdropping on me,” I began, completely not okay with the fact that she could hear my innermost thoughts. It was a sign that I would need to be even more careful. I had to keep the proverbial lid on my mind, because I didn’t know who else possessed such a gift. Maybe Luce? If that were the case, I basically had as much privacy as a goldfish in a bowl.

  “I wasn’t eavesdropping,” she said, almost sounding annoyed. “I couldn’t keep your voice out of my head. You sounded like two old women bitching at each other, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything else.”

  I frowned again, a bit offended by her comparison of my innermost thoughts to two old hens. “Anyway, what were you talking about when you replied I’m not a ‘revered guest’?” I planned to stash all this information for later, when I could figure out what to do with it.

  She cleared her throat. “Just that you are not as much of a guest as Luce would like you to believe and, unlike him, I don’t think you’re stupid enough to believe it.”

  Strangely enough, what she said somehow endeared her to me because I felt like she wouldn’t sugarcoat anything. She wasn’t afraid to tell me how it was, warts, moles, blemishes, and all. “So now we get to the crux of the whole matter,” I said with a smile. I liked being able to speak openly with her, without Luce’s dog and pony show. “What are your plans for me?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  I raised a brow and just studied her.

  “I know you’re here to reanimate our dead Daywalkers. Luce means business, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll do it.”

  “And what then?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t question him. I just obey.”

  Somehow I didn’t imagine that was true, not based on how she’d barked at him last night. Nope, something wasn’t adding up, but I could tell she was eager to be on her way, so I knew better than to annoy her.

  She offered me a hurried glare that signaled that our conversation was over. “And as to breaking and entering,” she started in a highfalutin way, returning to our earlier conversation, “we are Elementals and therefore possess magic.” She said it like she was addressing a child. “So, no, I didn’t break into your room, I just prepared your breakfast the Elemental way.” Then she smiled smugly, like she was impressed with herself.

  I said nothing, so she must have figured it was her cue to exit. She turned on her toes and strode away, leaving me to wonder how the hell I was ever going to get out of this place. Not finding an immediate answer, I closed the door and headed to the kitchen area. I uncovered my plate, which contained two pieces of wheat toast, scrambled eggs, and a slice of ham. It looked good except for the ham, which resembled rawhide.

  So the Lurkers had magicked my breakfast. I had to wonder what else they’d magicked into it—maybe a truth serum or something equally unappealing. I pushed the plate away and decided I wasn’t hungry, even though my stomach growled in protest. Putting the cover back on the plate, I walked into the living room again, throwing myself onto the couch.

  I needed information and I needed it now. Knowing Luce could show up any second, I closed my eyes and tried to open my connection to Rand. I needed him to experience everything just as it was, to see what I was seeing. Hopefully, if I kept the bond open long enough, he’d be able to figure out how the Lurker camp was set up, and he would get to see Luce and Bryn. I wasn’t going to allow myself to bemoan how I’d already missed out on importing a wealth of information to Rand. There was no use in crying over spilt milk. But now it was imperative for me to make sure our connection was ready before anything else happened.

  I noticed an all-encompassing feeling of determination rise up inside me. It was Rand, feeling my intentions. He was ready and willing. I could tell he’d been waiting for me to contact him, that he was resolved to put whatever information I sent him to good use. I
smiled as I felt warmth and safety bubble up within me.

  I didn’t have time to communicate with him, however, because there was another knock on the door. I jumped up immediately, and could feel Rand’s concerns about my early morning visitor. I pulled the door open and found Luce before me. Rand’s anger and concern raged through me—my brain had apparently introduced Luce as the Lurker elder who had whisked me away to Lurkerville. I tried to swallow Rand’s furious feelings so I could focus on Luce. Of all things, I didn’t want him to be alerted to our private conversation.

  Apparently, completely oblivious—thank God—Luce smiled broadly. I’ll say this for him: He was good at playing the part of generous host. “Are you ready to begin your day?” he asked.

  I just nodded, finding it extremely difficult to play along, to pretend like I wasn’t boiling inside over the fact that these … these beings expected me to bring back their dead so they could build a stronger army against my own people! I allowed the feelings to penetrate my very core, just so I could relay them to Rand. Hopefully he was seeing and experiencing everything firsthand, as I was. As soon as that thought passed through my head, I could feel Rand receiving it, and I knew he was right here with me. “Yes, I’m ready,” I said, and started forward, begrudgingly taking his arm when he offered it to me. I could feel the heat of rage brewing within me, and I wasn’t sure if it was Rand’s reaction or my own.

  Luce escorted me out of my temporary housing and down A Street until we hit the main street, which didn’t even have a name, probably because it didn’t need one. The camp was set up was like a toothbrush. The main street was the handle and A, B, C, and D Streets were like the bristles, running parallel to one another.

  We walked past another three rows of homes on B, C, and D Streets, all identical to mine, but while I remembered that the hospital was to the right of the dirt path, now we took a left, walking through a dense curtain of pine trees into an open pasture. Assembled in the pasture were about a hundred or so Lurkers, all dressed in what I presumed was combat-training gear. The women wore tightly fitted pants and sports bras, like what Bryn had been wearing, and the men were clad only in shorts.

  Even though the majority of the men were extremely young, twenty or younger, they all looked like soldiers. There was something dangerous and lethal in their eyes. They were like trained automatons. What scared me the most, what I hadn’t been quite so aware of on my tour of the compound, was that there were so many of them! Maybe it was because I’d seen so many dying Daywalkers the day before, but I’d formed the opinion that the Lurkers weren’t really such a threat after all. Where did it leave them if all of their strongest men died by age twenty-one? Well, I’d been wrong. Dead wrong. And as I took in the scene around me and the pure power emanating from these soldiers, I had to swallow hard.

  “Is this your only training camp?” I whispered to Luce, my tone revealing my awe.

  He chuckled and shook his head. “This is but one of many.”

  I swallowed hard. “And are you and Nairn the rulers of everyone or just this camp?”

  He glanced over at me and smiled warmly. “We are the rulers of all.”

  I felt my heart rate increase with fear as I further considered my enemies. They were lean machines and their bodies were incredible—sculpted with sinewy muscle. We made our way through the crowd and I watched everyone turn and bow to Luce. As their eyes studied me, I sensed that some were malicious and others were simply curious. I could only imagine what Luce had told them.

  When we reached the mouth of the crowd, Luce took my arm and pushed me to the side. We both watched Bryn emerge from behind the tallest man in the group. She was wearing the same outfit she’d had on before—black yoga pants with a dagger strapped to her thigh and a black sports bra. Two knives were strapped to each of her upper arms. I was beginning to think they were an integral part of her.

  She stood in front of the group, and I could tell from the way the soldiers looked at her that she had their respect. But she paid no attention to them. Instead, she took a deep breath and eyed a young man standing to my left. She nodded to him, and he smiled a great big beautiful smile, running out to join her. There was something inside me that broke. I suddenly felt saddened by the probability that this man, or boy really, was a Daywalker and might, therefore, never live to see his twenty-first birthday.

  Are you insane? I asked myself. He’s your enemy!

  And then I remembered that Bryn could overhear my conversations with myself, so I silenced my rebuttal and even bit my tongue in the hopes that I wouldn’t start talking to myself again. Returning my focus to what was happening around me, I tried to send out my mental feelers to Rand to see if he was experiencing this too. Based on an affirmation that suddenly overwhelmed me, I figured he was.

  “Billy is going to be my sparring partner today,” Bryn called out. “Watch and learn.”

  She faced Billy with a smile, leaning forward slightly as she braced herself, her feet shoulder-width apart. She motioned at him to come for her with a little wave of two fingers. And then he rushed her so quickly, I couldn’t even see him move. When he materialized behind her, he pulled her up against his body, clearly impressed with himself that he’d caught her.

  “Elementals, if you are ever caught unawares by your enemies—and in this case Billy will play the part of my enemy—what power would you use to emancipate yourself?” Bryn asked of the crowd.

  “Dissolving,” someone called out. I had to assume it meant they could simply disappear right in front of their enemies. Not a bad defensive measure to have …

  Bryn nodded. “What else?”

  “Metamorphosis,” someone else called out.

  Bryn nodded again. “Into what?”

  The man who had answered shrugged. “Something intimidating, something powerful.”

  “Such as?” Bryn continued, eyeing him. “You will have a split second to make this decision in battle, Samuel, the answer must come to you instantly.”

  “A dragon,” he responded furtively.

  Bryn nodded with a smile. “Nicely played.” Then she faced the crowd again. “Any other suggestions?”

  “Influencing,” someone toward the back called out with a laugh. “Force our enemies to fall madly in love with us!”

  Everyone in the crowd started rumbling with laughter, but I couldn’t say I shared their amusement. Instead, realizing that the Elementals could disappear into thin air, metamorphose into horrible creatures such as dragons, and influence the emotions of their enemies. These were abilities that witches and warlocks didn’t have. We could take the shape of beasts, but only beasts that occurred naturally. Yes, one member of the fae, Dougal, had been able to transform himself into a dragon, but he had been the only one with such a gift. From what I could gather here, every Elemental had these abilities.

  I was suddenly worried. Very worried.

  But my concerns were silenced when Bryn’s gaze landed on Luce and then moved from him to me. She suddenly stopped whatever she was about to do. I could see anger coloring her otherwise tan complexion, and she said something to Billy under her breath before emancipating herself from him and walking over to us.

  “May I see you for a minute?” she asked Luce.

  He just nodded, came over and took my hand, then followed her. We marched down the small hill and took refuge behind a large pine tree. Then Bryn closed her eyes, held out her hands, and a burst of light appeared, creating a circle around her. I knew immediately that she was creating a sound buffer so that whatever was said in that circle wouldn’t be overheard. Luce maintained his hold on me, which meant he wanted me along for the ride. Once she noticed my presence, she slapped her arms across her chest and looked like she was about to explode with indignation.

  “Luce, I ask permission to speak my mind,” she said in a stilted tone.

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  Then she took a deep breath. “Without the enemy present.”

  Luce smiled. “Joli
e is not your enemy, Bryn.” I didn’t like the sound of my name on his tongue. It was too friendly, too close for comfort. And the truth of the matter was, I was Bryn’s enemy, just as I was Luce’s enemy.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know what lies you’re feeding her, but I’m not stupid enough to fall for it.” Then she glared at me. “We are enemies.”

  I frowned at her but bit my lip, feeling Rand’s anger surfacing within me. Good, he was bearing witness to everything. My day was looking up.

  “I request your company without her,” Bryn continued, staring at me like I’d just crawled out of a swamp.

  “Whatever you have to say to me can be said in front of her,” Luce finished. I couldn’t help my surprise, but had to admit I sided with Bryn. I couldn’t understand why Luce wanted to include me in everything. This was top secret stuff, or so it seemed. And then I had an ugly thought—maybe he didn’t care about what I witnessed, because he planned on killing me as soon as I was no longer deemed useful.

  That thought was as bad as if I’d just unleashed the floodgates for a tidal wave. I felt a rise of panic and anger from Rand. I immediately tried to calm him down, but based on my suddenly piqued stress level, I couldn’t say I was successful. Instead, I focused on Bryn, wanting to get as much information as I could.

  “It’s bad enough that she’s here in our camp, but for you to bring her to my training session?” she continued, acting like I wasn’t even there. “It’s unbelievable! We might as well just make her a list of all our abilities!”

  “She is not your enemy,” Luce repeated, his tone even.

  Bryn glared at him again and threw her hands on her hips. “You have taught us that they are our enemies since before I learned to walk.”

  Luce nodded. “Yes, because they are your enemies. She is not one of them. She is an Elemental, just as you are.”

  All of a sudden I was terrified. Why? Because Luce had basically just admitted I was one of them, and I hadn’t told Rand myself. I felt panic rise up in my gut and tears fill my eyes. Almost immediately, a wave of calm washed over me. I had the absolute feeling that I wasn’t one of them, and I let it crest over me. It was Rand, reassuring me that he didn’t believe a word of it. Not for a minute. I wanted to close my eyes and smile, because if he didn’t believe it, I didn’t have to either.