The Witching Hour: 11 Enchanting Novels Featuring Witches, Wizards, Vampires, Shifters, Ghosts, Fae, and More!, page 125
Not that any of that helped me now. Pain continued churning and my stomach lurched, but nothing came. I couldn’t find release from any of it. Had I picked up an illness from a time long gone and brought it back with me?
No one had seemed sick, but what if they’d had an immunity to whatever this was?
Pain squeezed my head and neck. The horrible taste in my mouth grew worse. I tossed and turned, clinging to the blankets. If only I could throw up and get rid of the pain.
Conversation sounded from another part of the house. Maybe someone could help me. Frida knew all about runes. I couldn’t tell if that was her voice or not, though. The sounds pierced my head like nails.
I pulled the pillow over my head to block the noises. The toxin in my stomach expanded, filling it all the more, but as much as I wished to release it, it refused. I pressed the pillow over my ears, begging for relief. The noise made my ears hurt, throb with pain.
The voices came closer, making both my head and stomach hurt more. My throat continued to burn, but compared to the rest of my agony, it was barely noticeable.
Someone pulled the pillow away from my face. The light attacked my eyes like tiny razors. I screamed, unable to bear it.
“Hush,” Roska’s voice soothed me. “We’re going to figure out what’s going on.”
“I’m dying,” I moaned. Again, my stomach lurched, but I was given no relief. It seemed that whatever was crawling around in my throat was preventing that. At least I could speak. That was something.
“You’re not,” Killian whispered. He took my hand and squeezed.
“Tell us everything,” Roska said. “When did this come on? What are your symptoms?”
Pressure built in my head, squeezing my brain to half its normal size. I wanted to cry out, but could no longer find my voice, not even to scream.
My throat closed up, preventing air flow. I grasped my neck and flailed around.
“Get your mother!” Killian exclaimed.
A bunch of voices sounded over each other. I couldn’t tell what any of them said. Not that it mattered. If I didn’t get in any air, I wouldn’t be able to understand any of it for long.
I struggled to breathe, but whatever had its hold on me refused to let go. Fighting proved useless. My limbs were growing weak and it was harder to get air with each passing moment.
Finally, I had no fight remaining. My body went limp and all the conversation around me faded into the distance until I was no longer aware of any of the pain.
I drifted to a pleasant state that lacked all of my current misery. Everything was quiet and I seemed to be floating around blind. At least I had some reprieve from the agony.
A force pulled me back to my body. I fought it. Why would I want back in there?
With a sudden thrust, my mouth shot open and air flowed back into my lungs. I gasped for air and opened my eyes. My siblings, including Nils, were all in the room. Killian remained at my side, rubbing his hands over my hair and whispering into my ear. Johan and Selena-Marie were also there.
All the conversation confused me.
Frida pulled an ugly doll from a dresser and held it up. She turned to Killian and me, holding the hideous thing. Her mouth moved, but I couldn’t understand a word she said. Killian said something, but I couldn’t make it out, either.
I studied the doll. It reminded me of something, but with my head spinning as it was, I didn't know what. It was small with ratty black hair and the face was one fitting of a horror movie. I half-expected it to come to life and run after me.
Killian spoke in my ear. It took a moment to register his words. “Have you seen that before?”
I shook my head.
Everyone spoke at once, but one thing I did understand.
Hex doll.
It had been planted in the room with the purpose of harming someone.
Everything made sense. Claudia hadn’t been able to defeat me personally, so she had returned and hidden that, knowing I would return to the room.
Selena-Marie started shrieking. It was a horrible noise, threatening to make my headache worse than it already was—if that was possible. She and Frida clung to the doll, speaking in ancient Icelandic.
Killian scooted next to me and pulled me against his chest. “It’s almost over. They’ll be able to break the hex.”
I just shook.
My head throbbed as I watched them. They grew louder until finally, the doll fell to the ground. The limbs appeared limp, like a dead body.
At the moment it hit the ground, my stomach lurched. The fire in my throat disappeared. The pains everywhere else eased, slowly releasing their hold on me. My stomach continued to heave.
I jumped up, pulling myself from Killian’s hold before I spewed the remains of colonial food all over the bed coverings. I made it to the bathroom just in time. The contents of my stomach all poured out into the toilet.
Once I was finally done, I leaned against the wall and gasped for air. I felt as limp and weak as the doll.
“Are you okay in there?” came Killian’s voice from the doorway.
I flushed the toilet. “Don’t come in here. Please. I don’t want you seeing any of this.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“I’ll let you know in a minute. Can I have some privacy?”
“Just don’t disappear again.” He closed the door.
A sigh of relief escaped and I leaned against the wall again. A heater next to me warmed me. My limbs felt like ice. I warmed myself before crawling over to the sink to clean myself up. I avoided the mirror, not sure it mattered anymore.
Obviously, Claudia knew I was alive and still staying here. Maybe I would be better off going somewhere else. Or would she just find me there, too? Was it a lost cause?
The doll was a clear message that she wasn’t going to give up. Not until I was dead.
What if I traveled to a different time? Could she find me then?
Killian’s voice drifted in from another room. My heart constricted. I didn’t want to be in another time. Not that there were any guarantees if I stayed here.
Our entire future was questionable. Selena-Marie surely wouldn’t want me living in her coven, and it was Killian’s lifelong home. He might not want to leave the protection of the woods of confusion.
Not caring any longer, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Aside from a yellowish tinge to my skin, I appeared exactly the same as I had for so long. The same face I’d been staring at for hundreds of years.
A knocked rapped on the door.
“Are you okay in there?” Killian asked.
“I’m almost done.”
“Do you feel better?” he asked.
“I think so.”
“Good. Frida’s making you something to eat.”
“I’ll be right out.” I stared into my own eyes, searching for answers. None came. It was obvious that the other coven wasn’t going to leave me alone until I was really dead or they would have to be taken down.
Could I do it?
Did I want to?
Was there any choice?
I didn’t want to harm anyone, but Claudia was pushing me into a corner. She was turning it into a me or her situation, and I couldn’t just surrender.
She wanted my power for her own, and there was only way for her to get it. To kill me.
Unless I had no power for her to take—if I gave up all my magical abilities.
Live out the rest of my existence as a human? Discard all my witchcraft. It didn’t sound so bad, actually.
I frowned at my reflection. “Do I fight Claudia or give up?”
The door opened and Killian barged in. “What did you just say?”
I turned to him. “I-I didn’t think you could hear me.”
“My walls are paper thin, Gessilyn. Why would you give up?”
“Look at all the trouble I’ve brought to you. Your coven.”
He gazed into my eyes. “Our coven.”
“Still, I brought all this in.”
Killian cupped my chin. “And I wouldn’t change a thing. My life has never been better than these last months.”
My knees went weak, but I steadied myself. “But I don’t want all this conflict. I should just give into Claudia, then she’ll leave everyone alone. You would all be better off.”
“Are you kidding?” he exclaimed.
“Not even close. In fact, do you know what my best idea is?”
He did his eye thing. “Tell me.”
I swallowed. “Giving up my powers.”
“Meaning?”
“Live out the rest of my life as a human.”
Killian’s mouth dropped. “You can can’t mean that.”
“More than you know.”
“But you’d grow old and die. Possibly before our eyes, given how many years you’ve been alive. What if they all catch up to you at once?”
“Exactly. I’ve had a long life, and I don’t want to continue bringing grief into your coven.”
His brows came together and anger flashed across his face. “Don’t speak such nonsense. You were given the powers you have for a reason. Stand up and put that two-bit little witch in her place. Show her what a real leader looks like. It’ll be easy for you.”
My mouth gaped. I could see the hope in his eyes. He believed every word—he believed in me.
Killian leaned closer and pressed his soft, warm lips on mine. My heart pounded so loudly, I feared he could hear it. He pulled me into his embrace and deepened the kiss.
I went weak in his arms. The strength of his embrace enveloped me, filling me with the hope I’d seen in his eyes.
He pulled back and let his gaze linger. “I’m going to fight alongside you, so drop your idea of giving up. We’ll beat her, and you’ll grow to love the power inside you as much as I do.”
25
Killian took my hand, and we went out into his living room.
Selena-Marie glared at me with such intensity, I feared she had the power to actually do me harm with just a glance. “You.”
I froze mid-step. Killian wrapped an arm around me.
“Mother?” Frida said.
The coven leader’s mouth formed a straight line. She walked toward me, stopping only a few feet away. “You need to leave, and take all your trouble with you.”
Johan rose from his recliner. “Darling wife, I urge you to reconsider.”
She spun around and glared at him.
“You dare defy me, Johan?”
“Gessilyn is my daughter. Your stepdaughter.”
“Our sister,” Eldon added.
Selena-Marie spun around. “She is no such thing. A bastard child of a whore.”
“Take that back,” I demanded.
“And what would that make me?” Johan asked.
“A typical weak-willed male who doesn’t think with the brain.” She turned to me and stepped even closer to me. “Johan was chosen for me long before he left on his travels to find himself. It’s unfortunate that you’ve found yourself in a predicament, but it’s none of our concern. I’ve put up with your presence long enough. Get out of my sight and never return to this coven, or I’ll kill you on the spot.”
“No, you won’t.” Johan came over to us. “You will do no such thing.”
Selena-Marie turned to him. “You’ve ruined everything. Make your choice, Johan. Life here with your family or out there with her.” She spat on the floor.
“Mother,” Eldon said. “Reconsider.”
“Who rules this coven?” Selena-Marie shouted. “Who?”
Johan clenched his fists. “You do.”
“Precisely.” She narrowed her eyes and glared at me. “You have exactly one hour to remove yourself from this place before you’re killed in the exact manner your whore of a mother was.”
My mouth dropped. “She’s no—”
“Silence! Remove yourself and never return.” She spun around and made eye contact with each of her children, her husband, and Killian. “And anyone who mentions her name again shall find themselves banished as well. It will be as though she never existed. Am I understood?”
Fury burned through me. “You won’t listen to the wishes of your family?”
Killian pulled me close. “I’m going with you.”
Selena-Marie glared at him. “No loss to us, pitiful custodian. Pack what you can in an hour and be gone.”
“He’s five times the witch you’ll ever be,” I exclaimed.
She slapped me across the face. “No one is close to the witch I am. I’m the strongest of all the witches. This coven is ancient, and my bloodline is pure. Shut your mouth, insolent child.”
“Enough!” Johan shouted. The word echoed around the room.
Selena-Marie stared at him. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve had it up to here with you. A true leader takes care of her people. All you do is put them in their place. Every one of us. The confusion of the forest is there as much to keep us in line as it is to prevent others from coming in and displacing you.”
“You’re more foolish than I ever thought possible. I should have listened to my mother when you ran off. She told me to marry another—one who was loyal to our group. But no, I was in love with you. Stupid, stupid love. It blinds. I was foolish enough to look past your indiscretions, but look at how they’ve come to bite me. Never again! Obey me or suffer the consequences.”
Johan stepped closer to her. “Perhaps it’s time for some change around here.”
“Pardon me? I think not.”
“He’s right,” Eldon said.
Nils crossed his arms, but didn’t say anything.
“This is ridiculous,” Selena-Marie said. “I’m not entertaining this a moment longer. The clock is ticking. Anyone who sides with the outsider has less than an hour to pack up and get out of my sight.”
Frida came over. “Even me, Mother?”
“You’d choose her over me?”
“She’s my sister.”
“Half-sister, and only if you accept her disgrace of a mother as a part of your life. To choose them is to deny me.”
“You’d disown your eldest daughter?” Frida countered. “Heir to the coven?”
“In a heartbeat.”
“Fine.” Frida glared at her.
“I’m leaving, too.” Roska stood next to Frida.
“Count me in.” Eldon joined his sisters.
Selena-Marie scowled. “I don’t need any of you. There is plenty of time for me to birth a new heir.”
“With whom?” Johan went over and stood next to me.
The tiny witch’s mouth fell open, but she recovered quickly and turned to Nils and Keran. “What about you two?”
Nils snorted. “I’m not going anywhere.” He stared down his siblings. “You all are fools.”
“And you?” Selena-Marie stared at Keran.
He glanced back and forth between her and the siblings on my side.
“Well?” his mother demanded.
“Let me think, Mother!”
“There’s no time. Make a decision now. Not deciding is choosing them.” Her face scrunched up into a tight disfigurement.
“It’s up to you, son,” Johan said. “I’ll hold no harsh feelings either way.”
Keran stepped toward Johan. “I have my answer.”
Selena-Marie glared at everyone other than Nils. “My entire family has turned against me?”
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Johan said. Tears shone in his eyes.
“Weakling.” She stormed out the door and slammed it behind her.
“Look what you’ve done!” Nils glared at Johan. “Everything was perfect before she—” he glowered at me “—showed up.”
“Was it?” Eldon asked. “Really? I seem to recall someone who was thoroughly miserable because Mother wouldn’t allow a particular marriage.”
Nils shot him a glare. “I told you not to mention that again.”
“You didn’t have to give Pala up. I still believe if you’d have stood up to Mother, she’d have given in.”
“Right. Like she gave into you guys. Where are you going to live now, genius? And don’t forget—time’s ticking.” Nils spun around and left, slamming the door behind him.
Johan sighed. “We’d better get packing.”
“If Mother lets you back in the house,” Eldon said.
“I’ll worry about her,” Johan said. “You guys gather what you can.”
“Where are we going?” Keran asked. He glanced at me. “Do you have someplace we can stay?”
“Sorry. The same witches who hexed me also burned down my condo.”
Johan patted Keran’s back. “I know where to go.”
“Where, Father?” Eldon asked.
“Nora.”
“My mother?” I exclaimed.
He nodded.
Keran’s eyes widened. “Will she be more accepting of us than Mother is of Gessilyn?”
“Nora is the most kindhearted woman I’ve ever met. She’ll bring you in with arms wide open.”
Roska arched a brow at me. “Is it true?”
I nodded. “I’ve seen her nurse a staunch enemy back to health out of the goodness of heart. I’m sure she’ll welcome you eagerly.”
“But we must find her first.”
“I know where she is,” Johan said. “But we’ve wasted enough time talking. Gather what you can and meet us back here in a half an hour—just to be safe.”
“Wait,” I said and turned to Frida. “What about your safe room?”
She frowned. “What about it?”
“We can go there until we figure something else out. Unless your mother knows how to enter.”
“No one does. I’ve only taken you there.”
“Tell us more,” Eldon said.
“It’s a hidden room, but there isn’t room enough for all of us. I can return for my books and scrolls if need be, but going there now wouldn’t be in our best interest. We need to just leave.”
Johan nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
My father and siblings hurried out of the house.
Killian held me tighter and whispered in my ear. “I told you that you had something worth fighting for. Four of your siblings and your father agree with me. We’ve got your back.”
