Wicked Betrayal

  I had to learn how to do that.

  I dropped my hand from Nora. She fell to the ground in a heap. I ran in between James and the Vega twins. Both men looked right through me as if I didn’t exist.

  It was time to pull out my big guns. I no longer had to conjure angry images. Not that I needed to, I was irritated enough at how quickly the situation had gone sour. Our nice afternoon trip to the magic store had turned into a fight for our lives. Typical.

  Waves of energy funneled through my limbs. My eyelids fluttered like a hummingbird’s wings. The tips of my fingers went numb. My racing heartbeat pounded in my ears. I projected everything I had outwards. Right at the twins.

  Ponytail reacted first. His hands shot to his head like he heard a horrible sound. All the objects floating in the air crashed to the floor. Blood leaked from his nostrils. Crew Cut turned to his brother, but then it hit him.

  Crew Cut fell to his knees.

  Ponytail pulled a hand from his head and pointed his palm at me. Nothing happened. No object levitated. No fireball. Nothing. He staggered back. Blood flowed from his ears and nostrils.

  I had them both.

  Ponytail gripped his head.

  I shook from the effort. I didn’t want to kill them. Only hurt them enough to give us a head start. I looked away from the twins and the screaming stopped. My arms weighed a thousand pounds and my ears were ringing.

  James wrapped his arm around my waist. “Don’t pass out on me.”

  Nora climbed to her feet. She was like a cockroach - she wouldn’t stay down.

  I swiped my limp hand at the cash register. The heavy machine levitated off the counter and bulldozed into her chest. The blow knocked her to the ground.

  The Vega twins were stirring.

  James ran to the window and tore the drapes to the ground. “Quick!”

  A fire escape. I placed one foot on the ledge. “Shoot!”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Watch out!” I pointed at the counter. The bowl held four drops of my blood and there was no way I was leaving it for Nora. I levitated the bowl into the air and launched it out the window. A few seconds later, the ceramic shattered against the pavement.

  “Good idea,” James said. “Now go!”

  I hopped out of the window and descended the fire escape. James was right behind me.

  “Hurry, James! Hurry!”

  Ponytail lowered himself onto the ladder.

  I reached the bottom. It was at least eight feet down to the alley below. I dangled in the air; my grip on the iron bar slipping.

  I hoped this worked. I let go. I pointed my hands at myself and the levitation caught my body. As soon as my feet hit the ground, I moved out of the way. “Jump, James!”

  James didn’t hesitate. He released his grip. My levitation lowered him gently to the street.

  We ran out of the alley as Ponytail reached the bottom of the ladder. We turned onto Hudson Street. The Franklin Street subway stop was two blocks away. Maybe we could catch a train before the twins saw us? We crossed the busy intersection and descended the stairs to the subway. We didn’t have a Metro card or time to buy one, but that wasn’t going to stop us. We jumped the turnstile.

  A crowd of people waited for the train. Thankfully, just like New Yorkers, no one even bothered to look at us. James and I inched down the platform to an equipment closet. I twisted the knob, but it was locked. I placed my hand over the lock and it shattered to pieces.

  The equipment closet was a five by five room with no lights. It smelled liked ammonia and urine and every other horrible odor you could think of. I was certain there was a rat’s nest in the corner. We cracked the door so a small amount of light streamed inside.

  “We’re sitting ducks. This is the worst hiding place ever.”

  James grabbed my hand.

  The door sprang open. The light didn’t filter inside the closet, because Crew Cut filled the doorframe. He raised his palm at us to shoot a fireball. I didn’t have time to think. Only react.

  I flicked my wrist.

  Crew Cut flew backward like he’d been blown out of a cannon. He sailed fifteen feet in the air up and over the platform. In that exact moment, the subway train arrived. Crew Cut’s body smashed into the front of the Downtown Number One train with a sickening thud.

  Screams erupted from both sides of the platform. Ponytail dashed to his brother. The train’s emergency brakes squealed as the conductor slowed the train. But it was too late. No one could survive that impact.

  “Keep your head down and don’t make eye contact.” James led me out onto the platform. After such darkness, the bright overhead lights burned my corneas. We walked through the hordes of people huddled near the front of the train. A lady screamed for help. Others pointed to the tracks. All eyes were glued to the giant man. His bloodied body now in the arms of his identical twin brother.

  James and I pushed through the turnstile and raced up the stairs. Once we reached the street, we slowed down. We didn’t want to attract the attention of the swarms of police cars speeding toward the Franklin Street Subway stop.

  James hailed a cab.

  I killed him. My stomach churned. I tried to hold it in, but I couldn’t. The cab squealed to a stop at the curb right as I vomited licorice and sour cream and onion chips all over the sidewalk.

  “No. No. No. She’s not getting into my cab.” The taxi driver started to pull away.

  James banged the trunk with his fist. “Wait! We’ll triple the fare.”

  I wiped my mouth. “I won’t get sick in your cab. I promise.”

  The taxi driver looked repulsed, but he motioned for us to get in. James and I slid into the backseat.

  My forehead was damp. There was a very strong possibility that I was going to hurl again, but I fought it back. My body trembled from all the magic I’d used in the last hour.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I killed him,” I whispered. “I’ve never killed anyone before. All I could think about was getting him away from us. He was going to shoot a fireball. I didn’t know the train was coming. I swear.”

  “It’s all right. Calm down.”

  I closed my eyes. It all happened too fast. “Who were they?”

  “The Vega twins. Witch hunting brothers from Mexico. Grandpa Jonah mentioned them in his journal.”

  “But they had magic.”

  “I don’t know how that’s possible.”

  “I can’t believe I killed him.” I covered my face. I had to keep it together before I lost it.

  “Don’t puke in my cab!” The driver yelled.

  “I’m not!”

  “She’s fine. Keep driving to Penn Station,” James said.

  “I shouldn’t have cornered us in that closet. It was such a stupid move. We should’ve made a run for it in the streets. I can’t believe I did that.”

  “They were going to kill us,” James said quietly. “It was self defense.”

  “No, they weren’t going to kill us. They wouldn’t even look at me. They wanted to kill you. Why on Earth would they be after you?”

  James rested his forehead against the driver’s seat. “I knew this was going to happen.”

  “Knew what was going to happen?”

  He exhaled.

  “James?” What’s going on?”

  “I think there might be a bounty on my head.”

  CHAPTER 13

  “This is such a bad idea.”

  I took the corner too fast, but my little silver Mercedes glided effortlessly around the bend. “Agreed. But we have to figure out what’s going on. Are you sure he’s home?”

  “Positive.” James shook his head. “This is the worst idea you’ve ever had. And you’ve had a lot of really bad ideas.”

  “It can’t be as bad as this afternoon.”

  James and I made it safely out of Manhattan and back to Hazel Cove without Ponytail following us. Well, we don’t think he followed us. I was freaking out. The fact that 1) James thought the
re was a bounty on his head and 2) witch hunters arrived so quickly after Nora called them made me ridiculously nervous. More anxious than when people were out to kill me.

  We needed answers. I could think of only one person who could possibly give them to us. Not willingly, of course, (that would be too easy), but I was certain he had answers.

  The two-story white farmhouse with red shutters came into view. For once, I didn’t hide the car behind a neighboring house. I parked in the gravel driveway behind my stepfather’s Rolls Royce.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  I glanced at the Gamma farmhouse. “I don’t want to do this, but I think it’s our best shot at getting answers.”

  I followed James up the porch steps. The farmhouse always gave me the creeps and not without reason. Last fall, I followed my stepfather to a secret meeting in the basement and was captured by the witch hunting fraternity. Then, a few months ago, Peter and I broke into the house and searched for Jonah’s missing journal. Actually, this marked the first time I was legally entering the farmhouse.

  Third time’s a charm.

  James knocked. Heavy footsteps sounded from within. Victor opened the door with a brilliant smile for his nephew. The smile faded once he saw me.

  My stomach dropped at the sight of my stepfather, but I didn’t let him see my uneasiness. He looked ghastly. He’d gained at least twenty pounds and his hair, which was graying along the temples, was now graying all over. His skin was blotchy and he had the overall look of someone who was knocking on death’s door.

  Victor’s beady eyes flashed at James. “You didn’t say anything about bringing her.”

  “We need to talk.” James blew by Victor.

  “She can’t come in this house! Are you crazy? Why would you bring her here?” Victor’s face turned bright red. The familiar vein on his forehead pulsated with each heartbeat.

  I followed James inside to the sky blue living room. “We don’t have time for games, Victor. We need to talk.”

  “I’ll rot in Hell before I talk to you!”

  I raised my palm at him.

  He flinched.

  “Victor,” I said. “Please don’t make me hurt you. Sit down and answer a few questions. Then we’ll be out of your way.”

  Victor cowered at my palm like it was a loaded gun.

  I placed my hands behind my back and tried to look non-threatening. I also avoided eye contact with the disturbing portrait hanging behind the couch. It was an oil painting of an old man with a large nose and small eyes holding a Bible over his heart. I had to remember to ask James if it was a picture of his Grandpa Jonah. I didn’t get a good look at the old man when I was robbing his grave.

  James sat in the chair. I lowered myself onto the arm of his chair because the only other seat was next to Victor. And that wasn’t happening.

  “We really don’t mean any harm,” James said.

  Victor smirked. “Your father’s rolling around in his coffin right now! I can’t believe you have the nerve to bring her here. How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from her? She’s trouble. She’s going to get you killed!”

  I pointed to the wall-to-wall mural of the Archangel Michael casting witches into Hell. “Nice artwork. Did you pick it out? Oh wait, I know. Emma wouldn’t let you put it up in the house on Apple Orchard so you put it here. At your secret hideaway.”

  Victor snapped his head in my direction. “You’re damned.”

  “Shut up, Victor,” James said.

  “No, it’s okay,” I said to James. “I’m sure he’s been holding this in for months. Let it out, Victor. Tell me what you really think.”

  “I’ll tell you all right. You are evil to the core. You’re not a creature of God. You’re an abomination. Unnatural. Wicked.” Spit spewed from Victor’s mouth. “Do you know what Exodus 22:18 says?”

  “What?”

  “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

  “Anything else?” I kept a poker face. Every word hurt, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing it.

  Victor pointed at James. “Do you see him? He’s going to die because of you.”

  “Enough!” James stood up.

  Victor went silent.

  “We were attacked today in Manhattan.” James lowered himself to the edge of the chair. He clasped his hands in front of him. “Technically, I was attacked. By hunters.”

  “I told you, didn’t I? But you didn’t listen. Now we’re dead. Both of us. All because of this stupid crush you have on this irrelevant girl. And she doesn’t even want you. Is she still with Peter? Let that idiot have her!”

  James’ face hardened. He didn’t move a muscle, but I could tell Victor’s words stung.

  “Why are there hunters after James?” I asked.

  “Because of you,” Victor said.

  “It’s true then?” James asked.

  Victor sat back in his chair. “Yes. I wasn’t lying.”

  I folded my arms. “Can either of you explain to me what’s going on?”

  “It’s no big deal,” James said.

  “That’s funny, because it sounds like a very big deal,” I said.

  James wouldn’t give it to me straight. And now wasn’t the time for sugar coating. I turned to Victor. “What’s going on?”

  “There’s a bounty on James’ head. And mine, but I’m sure you don’t care about me.”

  “Who put a bounty on James?” Victor was right; I didn’t care about him.

  Victor smiled ironically. “Gamma.”

  “But you’re Gamma!”

  “The fraternity appointed a new leader after my brother’s death and an explanation regarding the events in the cemetery was requested. Decisions were made. I was put on probation and James was expelled from Gamma.”

  “Who’s the new leader?”

  “That’s Gamma business.”

  “So now they’re trying to kill him?”

  Victor scratched his graying hair. “Yes, James is on their hit list now. At first he was only expelled, but his constant proximity to you enraged Gamma officials. He was warned multiple times to stay away from you.”

  James stared at the floor.

  I nudged him. “Is that true?”

  “It’s no big deal, Alex.”

  “I even came to your house that day,” Victor said to me. “I pleaded with you to stay away from him. Now look at the mess you’ve gotten him into.”

  My heart sank to my toes. My fault. Again. It was never going to end.

  James nudged me back. “Don’t even think it. It doesn’t matter who’s after me. I’m with you. I’m going to protect you. And I don’t care how big the bounty is on my head.”

  Victor sighed dramatically. “What is it with you and these boys, Alexandria? Do you spell them or are they all that stupid?”

  “Why haven’t you weaseled your way out of your bounty, Victor?”

  “Gamma learned about my association with Liam. I tried to explain that I was only saving myself, but they don’t look kindly on members having relationships with witches. Especially Liam.”

  “The Vega twins came after me today,” James said. “What do you know about them?”

  Victor’s face went white. “Did they follow you?”

  “No,” James said. “What do you know about them?”

  Victor bolted to the window and checked the front lawn.

  “Tell me, Victor,” James said.

  “The Vega twins are brothers from Guadalajara, Mexico,” Victor said. “Half bloods, but they saw the light early in their miserable lives and pledged to rid the world of witches. They’re completely lethal. You’re as good as dead, James. That’s a guarantee.”

  “They’re not too lethal,” I said. “I killed one today.”

  Victor went silent.

  “The twin with the short hair.”

  “Donovan,” Victor said. “Is Gabriel still alive?”

  “The one with the ponytail?” James asked. “Yeah, he?
??s alive.”

  “Then he’ll be on you with a vengeance. You killed his brother. He’ll stop at nothing for revenge.”

  I bit my lip. “Why aren’t they after me, too?”

  “No one in their right mind will go after you now,” Victor said. “The word is out that you’re Liam’s sacrifice. You’re untouchable. No one wants to deal with the wrath of Liam. But you,” Victor shook his head at James. “Gabriel will be after you shortly. I promise you that. And others, too. Your bounty is much bigger than mine. Make a run for it now while you still have the chance.”

  “No way,” James said. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to lay low until I figure out my next move,” Victor said.

  “Liam won’t let you run, will he?” I asked.

  “A witch doesn’t control my life.”

  “Liar. If it wasn’t for Liam, you would’ve ran the moment you discovered there was a bounty on your head. You’re hoping Liam will protect you, aren’t you?”

  Victor didn’t deny it. “Run for it, James. Get as far away from Alex as you can.”

  My stomach twisted into knots. James was in deep trouble. There was no telling how many hunters were coming after him. And I’d bet my powers that Gabriel would be making a trip to Hazel Cove in the near future.

  “I’m not running. I’m not going anywhere,” James said to Victor. He twisted in his seat and raised his eyebrows at me. “I’ll repeat that for you, too. I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Fine,” I said. “Then move in with me.”

  James blinked. “What did you say?”

  “Move in with me. I put a spell on my house. No one with ill intentions can enter. You’ll be safe as long as you’re inside my home.”

  “That’s a good idea, James,” Victor said quietly. “I say run, but if you insist on staying in Hazel Cove, you’ll be safest there. I hate to admit it, but she can protect you.”

  James looked at me for a long time. “Move into your house.”

  I nodded.

  “What about Peter?”

  “He’ll understand.”

  James shook his head. “I doubt it.”