My room. My bed.
I sat up with a start, and instantly reeled from the throbbing pains in my neck and head, and especially my leg. How long was I passed out? How did I get here?
“Don’t move. You’ve been badly hurt,” a tender voice whispered in the darkness.
“Nicholas?” I croaked, my voice sounding like it had come from someone else. His tall figure stood over me, and my heart pounded in my ears.
“Yes, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.” He spoke with a low, steady voice. Through the shadows he waved his arm, instantly lighting the many candles spread throughout the room.
I took several deep breaths, and felt the burn in my throat. In the soft glow of the candlelight, his beautiful face was a mask of grave concern and restrained fury.
“Are you real, or am I dead?” I whispered.
“I’m real,” he said softly, and gently grasped my hand. It felt so small and cold in his large, warm palm. “And you’re very much alive, thank God. How could I have been so stupid?” He cursed himself under his breath.
“How did I...you…get here?” I whispered.
“Sshhh…don’t try to talk right now. Your neck has been hurt. I need to fix you.”
But as he spoke, my mind was starting to work again. Now that I knew I wasn’t dead…or dreaming…
“You shimmered us here,” I said, my ears not quite believing what my mouth was saying.
“Yes,” was his soft reply. His eyes locked on mine for several long moments, and then he said, “I know that your neck, head and leg are injured. Do you hurt anywhere else?”
“Justin…he attacked me…he tried to kill me!” I shouted in a strangled whisper.
“Yes. I managed to get him off you, and he ran away. I stayed to make sure you were okay.” His voice choked with suppressed rage.
I jerked up again, ignoring the pain searing through my head. “Lily and Sophie!” I croaked. “They’re at the dance where Justin is! He knows what I am…he’ll know about them! You have to get them!” My voice shook with panic.
I didn’t know if they could hear me now, but I had to try. “SOPHIE! LILY! Can you hear me?”
“Where are you?” came the faint sound of Sophie’s voice. She sounded like she was in a tunnel underwater, and I wondered exactly how much damage my head had sustained.
“I’m home in my room. You and Lily need…”
Before I could even finish my thought, they both appeared at the foot of my bed. Sophie did a quick squirm and brushed over her arms several times. No doubt trying to remove the tickling ants.
“Oh my God Callie, are you all right? What happened?” They rushed to my side, eyeing Nicholas with wary curiosity.
“It was Justin—he attacked me when we went for a walk. My amulet fell off and he…,” I broke off as a sob rose in the back of my throat, and my eyes filled with angry tears of betrayal.
“Oh my God,” Sophie gasped, raising her hand to her mouth. She and Lily stared at Nicholas again.
“It’s okay…Nicholas is my friend. He knows everything.”
Lily shook her head. “Justin is a Hunter?” she whispered in stunned disbelief.
I nodded. “Nicholas...he saved me. But Justin got away—”
“You’re hurt!” Sophie cried, noticing my injuries. “I’ll get my mother. Lily, shimmer us there. This is still considered life or death.” She gripped Lily’s arm frantically.
“No need for that,” Nicholas said. “I can heal her. And I know you’re all frightened right now, but as far as Calista’s father knows, you three are still at the dance. He might be pretty upset if he finds us all in here with her looking the way she does.”
I was relieved he had the level-headedness to think about my father, as odd as that was, considering I’d just been almost killed by a Hunter.
“You’re a Healer?” Sophie asked, skeptically. “You’re too young to—”
Her voice broke off as Nicholas lightly ran his hands over my injured leg. “The ankle is broken and the shin is fractured. This will be extremely painful for just a moment. I need you to be strong. Do not scream. It’ll pass quickly.” He looked at Lily and Sophie and they both jumped to my sides, each holding one of my hands.
With a grim face, Nicholas delicately wrapped his fingers around my leg. Instantly, hot fire of excruciating pain shot up through my body, and I muffled my anguished cry in Lily’s lap. But the fire disappeared almost as soon as I felt it. Cautiously, I wiggled my foot. The pain was completely gone.
“That was the worst of it,” Nicholas said. “That was a pretty nasty break, but it’s better now. Now let me feel your neck.”
Sophie moved over to my other side next to Lily. Both gaped at Nicholas with undisguised astonishment.
He gently sat down beside me, and with the tenderness of a father holding his newborn baby for the first time, caressed my neck with the tips of his fingers. My breath quickened, and I knew he could feel my increasingly rapid heartbeat pulsate beneath his fingertips. They lingered for several moments, gently pressing several spots on my neck like soft kisses.
I gulped as his hands wandered up from my neck to the sides of my head. He ran his fingers underneath my hair and lightly massaged my scalp. His eyes never wavered from their intense focus on my face, and I was unable to tear myself away from his seductive gaze.
“How do you feel now?” he whispered after a few seconds of caressing my skull.
Like I died and went to heaven.
I sat up, and tentatively shook my head to see if the aching throb had subsided. It had. Both my head and my neck felt perfect, and any physical trace of the earlier attack was gone.
“I feel good,” I said, still staring at his face…entranced at the way his already magnificent beauty was intensified by the sultry glow of the soft candle light. “Thank you.” My voice sounded strong, steady.
“You’re very welcome,” he said, still leaning over me—still staring in my eyes as though we shared an unspoken bond.
His voice dropped. “I’m only sorry I didn’t get there sooner. I’m so sorry, Calista,” he said, shaking his head. “I knew there was something I didn’t like about that guy; I didn’t trust him. But I thought I was just being jealous. I only saw the attack right after it happened. But still…” His voice faded away and he looked at me with a pained expression.
“Ahem.”
I suddenly remembered Nicholas and I were not alone. We turned to face Sophie and Lily who were staring at us, fascinated.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?” Sophie asked, her mouth agape.
“This is Nicholas; he lives a few houses over. We met at the beach the day after I moved here, and apparently he’s a witch,” I said, eyeing him pointedly at the end of my introduction.
“A warlock,” he grinned at me, and held out his hand to greet them both. Lily looked as if she had never seen magic performed before, and Sophie looked as if she had never seen a male before. Both of them seemed as stunned by his miraculous presence as I was.
“What is he, some kind of magical Superman?” Sophie thought.
“He’s a Healer and can shimmer? And he saved you from a Hunter?” Lily thought.
“…And he’s the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever seen?! Did you create him using some spell we should know about?” Sophie thought.
I ignored them, and sat up straighter. My body felt fine, but my mind still reeled from the night’s events. There’d definitely be a time to gush on the miracle that was Nicholas, but now was not it.
“What’re we going to do about Justin?” I moaned. “He knows who we are. If he’s a Hunter, he’ll be after us, and I don’t know how to stop him. Ana told me our powers don’t work on them.” I tried not to sound as panicked as I felt.
Then something occurred to me. I turned to face Nicholas, who was still sitting by my side. He’d taken hold of my hand once more.
“How did you fight him?” I asked him.
He looked at me, slig
htly bemused. “The old-fashioned way. I’m physically stronger than he is, and I’m trained in hand-to-hand combat. Once I got him off you it really wasn’t much of a fight, and if I hadn’t stopped in order to attend to you, I would’ve finished killing him. But he ran—”
“You were going to kill him?” I gasped. The way he said it was just so...casual.
“You do realize he was trying to kill you, don’t you?” he asked, somewhat reproachfully.
“Well, yes…yes, I know that. I guess now that I’m healed and here, safe…the whole event feels so surreal. Like it happened in a dream or to someone else and I just watched it. Like it wasn’t really real…” I shook my head, trying to clear away the memory of Justin’s twisted face as he tried to choke the life from me.
“Well, it was real, and Justin really is a Hunter. He knows who you are—who all of you are—and your lives are in danger unless he’s stopped.” Nicholas looked at me guardedly. “You need to know that he must be killed. The longer he is allowed to live, the worse things become for everyone.”
I blinked back the fresh tears. “But Justin is my friend…and whatever that was tonight…it wasn’t my friend. That wasn’t Justin.”
Lily leaned over me and gently wiped away my tears. “Sweetie, you’ve been through hell tonight. We don’t have to decide anything right now. Maybe you should just try and get some rest and we can figure this out…”
Rest? Was she crazy?
“Hey, how did you guys know what happened anyway? Did you hear me scream?” I asked Sophie and Lily. They nodded.
“We both heard you loud and clear, only we didn’t know where you were at the time. Sophie and I found each other right away, and then I made the decision to get us here as fast as possible when you called. I’m just relieved she made it here intact,” Lily said with a sigh. “I’ve never shimmered anyone else before. Speaking of being able to shimmer…” She turned to Nicholas with an inquisitive look.
“What about Brady and Roman?” I interrupted her. Now was not the time to worry about Nicholas.
Sophie and Lily exchanged guilty looks of surprise. Clearly, both had temporarily forgotten about their dates.
“Um, excuse me, I think I need to make a quick phone call,” Lily muttered as she pulled her tiny cell phone from her clutch.
“Yeah, me too. Be right back.” Sophie followed Lily out to the patio.
Now that we were alone, I turned my attention back to Nicholas.
“…Oh and by the way, that was the sexiest Healing I have ever seen. Felt like I was watching some pay-per-view for a minute, OUCH! Lily—that’s my foot…” Sophie’s words floated in from outside.
Nicholas’s emerald eyes sparkled with amusement, and I gave him a timid smile. I really hoped he wasn’t aware of our Trinity Talk. Sophie said only we could hear, but Nicholas was full of hidden talents, apparently.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked him.
He flashed a cocky grin and raised an eyebrow.
“My amulet!” I said, suddenly remembering. “I left it back on the grass. I need it in case—”
Nicholas gently placed a finger on my lips, silencing me. Before my eyes, his body wavered and faded away. A few seconds later he faded back again, on the exact same spot on the bed, only this time holding my tangerine necklace. He carefully clasped it around my neck and traced a finger down to where the stone rested above my heart.
“Are you supposed to do that…shimmer? What if someone sees you?” I asked him, keenly aware that his hand, which was resting on the stone, was also dangerously close to my breast.
“I’m not worried about anyone seeing me,” he said quietly.
“But what if…”
My question was interrupted as Sophie and Lily reappeared in the room.
“Well, Brady thinks I’m a big weirdo, but I think he bought it,” Sophie said and shrugged.
“Roman took a little more swaying,” Lily said, concerned. “I may have to work on him some more. I don’t really think he believed me. He certainly wasn’t very happy with me, that’s for sure.” She bit her lip.
Both of them averted their eyes when they saw the intimate scene on my bed. I forced myself away from Nicholas’s magnetic pull and walked across the room, realizing I was still wearing my beautiful gown. How I’d hoped for Nicholas to see me all dressed up for tonight, like a princess from a fairy tale.
Be careful what you wish for, huh?
“What’re we going to do now?” Sophie asked nervously.
“We’re going to speak with Ana,” I said, and grabbed a t-shirt and some sweat pants and sneakers from the closet. “But first, I’m changing out of this damn dress.”
Chapter 24. Death Sentence
We headed to the main house, Nicholas and I side by side, Sophie and Lily following close behind. He reached for my hand and held it protectively.
“Girl, you have some serious explaining to do,” Sophie’s thoughts chided from behind me.
I glanced sideways at Nicholas. “You and I need to talk,” I said.
He nodded, scanning the area for any signs of danger. “I know,” he said quietly. “Later, when we’re alone.”
Suddenly, only steps from the house, a horrifying high-pitched scream pierced the night. It was unlike any sound I’d ever heard before, and for the second time that night my heart stopped and my blood ran cold.
“What’s that?” Sophie squealed. She and Lily were instantly at our sides.
“It’s the gargoyles,” Lily said, her eyes wide with fear. “They’re sounding the alarm. Run!”
She grabbed my hand and yanked me forward. Nicholas stood frozen—his eyes searching the foggy coastline.
“Come on!” I urged him frantically.
He turned to me, his face calm and collected. “Go to the house now. I’m going to find him. Go!”
Was he insane? “No, Nicholas, you have to come with us…”
“COME ON!” Sophie screamed and pulled my shirt. I moved along with them but turned to plead with Nicholas once more.
He was already gone.
*****
We burst inside the kitchen. Ana was already rushing to meet us, her long, purple dressing gown billowing behind her.
“Oh, thank heavens you’re here,” she said, clutching her chest. “I’ve been worried about you!” She hugged me tight. “I was on my way to your room when I heard the guards screaming.” She squeezed me again, and then hugged Sophie and Lily.
“Why were you coming to my room?” I asked, trying hard not to think about how terrified I was for Nicholas. Ana ushered us into the adjoining parlor and we sat down.
“I could tell you were home. And I knew something wasn’t right.” She looked at the three of us grimly. “Care to tell me what happened?”
I sighed. The last thing I wanted to do was relive the nightmare I’d just endured, but I knew I had to be the one to tell it. I began to speak, but Ana held up her hand, cutting me off. “Excuse me for just one moment, please. I shall be right back.” She got up and left the room.
I turned to Lily and Sophie and sighed. “She does that.”
Ana reappeared a few moments later. “I apologize…please continue,” she said. She listened attentively as I relayed the events of the evening, and just when I had gotten to the part where Nicholas had shimmered me to safety, Henri appeared with a large white pot and four small cups.
Ana was not at all surprised by the disruption, and I realized that was why she’d stepped out earlier—to instruct Henri to prepare us some tea.
I stopped talking about Nicholas’s dramatic rescue. “Ana, please tell me, what is the deal with you and the freakin’ tea? You must have it flowing through your veins by now!” I realized how snappy my words were only after they’d already left my mouth. I felt ashamed…she was only trying to be hospitable.
A smile tugged at the corners of Ana’s lips. “This particular brew is enchanted specifically to calm nerves and bring the spirit back to a place of peace
, strength, courage, and understanding. You’ve been through quite an ordeal tonight. You all have. Now, more than ever, you need your powers to function properly. For them to do so, your emotions need to be in balance. The tea helps with that.” She smiled and filled up the four teacups. Lily and Sophie sipped theirs politely, but I gulped mine down in three swigs.
“Better make mine a double,” I grimaced, holding my cup out for more.
*****
After we’d finished filling Ana in on what happened, including Nicholas running after Justin just now, I realized my head was swimming with questions. “Why didn’t the gargoyles scream when Justin was here earlier this evening?” I asked her.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Lily murmured. Both she and Sophie seemed to have calmed down somewhat.
Ana thought for a moment. “I’m not sure. The only reason I can think of is that at the time, he was of no threat to any of us. He hadn’t knowingly been exposed to a maiden witch, so his curse had not yet taken effect. He was just a normal human boy.” She frowned, her eyes sad.
“But why wasn’t I able to sense it? I have Empath with Justin. Nothing ever came up, not until he…” My voice broke as I choked up.
“Again, he was of no threat to you until you became exposed. When that happened, I assume the curse took control of him completely?”
I nodded.
“The saddest part is he probably wasn’t even aware this curse lived inside him. I doubt he has killed a witch before,” she said, answering my next question. “That certainly would have left a trace on him that the gargoyles would’ve picked up.”
“So, you don’t think he even knew what was happening?” My heart sank. “Nicholas is trying to find him right now, and when he does, he’ll probably kill him!”
“I’m sorry—I wish I could tell you more, but as I said before, there is much about the Hunters we don’t know. You are one of the few witches in our recorded history who has managed to survive an attack by one.” She quickly gulped down her tea and poured another cup. This was her fifth round.