A Wicked Good Witches Paranormal Romance Books 1-7 (Wicked Good Witches Seasons) (6 page)

Damn it, Melinda! Get over the stupid dreams already!
Just ahead, she saw Emily.
Thank God. Good old predictable Emily…

Emily was stepping into the Wicked Muddy Café. They stepped in after her, hopping into the line, already filling up with caffeine-deprived early risers.

“Emily,” called out Melinda.

Emily’s lanky, dark auburn ponytail nearly took out three customers as she swung around to see who was calling her name.

“Melinda! William! What a nice surprise,” she greeted, moving back a few customers to stand with them. She gave Melinda a quick hug and allowed William to kiss her cheek, which turned rosy as she readjusted her glasses. 

“It is always lovely to see your beautiful smile,” William told her.

“Isn’t he just the sweetest,” she replied. Her Georgian drawl seemed overly accentuated. “What brings you two out this morning? I can’t recall the last time I saw you both out this early.”

“We decided it was too nice a morning to have coffee at home,” Melinda lied, trying to catch a glimpse of Emily’s ring. It was hidden from view by the coffee mug and large purse Emily carried with her.

Emily eyed Melinda suspiciously. Since when did she ever want to go for coffee in a public place? She shrugged it off, happy to see her friends.

They arrived at the counter to order.

“Ah. Ms. Bookstore Manager. The usual?” the gruff looking woman behind the counter assumed.

“Predictable me,” Emily giggled, shrugging.

“Comin’ right up!” She glanced sideways shouting, “One wicked muddy, regular, crème horne, cut in half, don’t need a fork.” She grinned at Emily as she took her money. “You have a nice day now, Hun, ya hear?”

“Oh, you too, Grace,” Emily said with complete sincerity. “See you in the morning.” She grabbed her order, allowing William and Melinda to step up to the counter. 

“I’ll have a wicked muddy coffee as well, please,” Melinda ordered politely. “But not regular, just crème, no sugar. And no crème horne. That much sugar and I’ll be trying to climb walls,” she tried to joke. “Not that I do that sort of thing,” she hastily rambled. “I mean, who could actually climb a wall?”
Just shut it! Why do I try to converse with people
…

The woman named Grace threw her an odd look and slapped down a paper cup filled with coffee so darkly colored that Melinda thought she’d need a cup twice the size to add enough cream to her liking.

“Cream’s over there.” Grace nodded toward the end of the counter.

“Oh, I just add it myself?” Melinda questioned, confused, since it had been added to Emily’s coffee for her. 

“We find that people who don’t take it regular prefer to fix it themselves,” explained Grace. She walked away to grab another stack of paper cups.

“Okay then,” Melinda mumbled, heading to add her cream. When Grace returned, she asked William what he’d like to order.

“Nothing for me, thank you. Just the coffee for Ms. Howard if you please.”

Not even gruff Grace could ignore William Wakefield’s charms whether he intended it or not. She blushed as she took William’s money and handed him back his change.

“Please keep the change, dear lady. Good day to you.”

“You don’t be a stranger now,” Grace called out as he and Melinda departed the store.

“See Melinda, you’re making friends with the locals already,” he whispered.

“Yeah, um, I’m pretty sure she meant you, William. Not me.”

He shrugged as they stepped outside, where Emily waited for them.

“Can we walk you to work this morning?” William asked her, holding out his arm. She took hold and giggled again.

A twinge of jealousy pinched at Melinda. William never offered his arm to her. He used to now and then when they’d patrol together at night. It was the only time she ever left the house, sometimes for weeks on end. He’d stopped though. She had trouble recalling just when.

Emily chirped a greeting to a passerby before asking, “What is Michael up to today?” Always her first question. Michael was such an idiot, thought Melinda. Emily was a catch. 

“Exploring a cave with Charlie,” informed William. 

“With Charlie. That’s great! Are they getting along better today? If I have to listen to Michael go on and on about Charlie this and Charlie that…” she stopped, biting her tongue.

“Don’t worry, Emily. We feel the same way,” Melinda retorted.

“To be honest,” began William, “they are researching a case for the sheriff. A man’s skeleton was discovered in a cave yesterday.”

“Oh. Well, that’s too bad, but maybe the time together will be good for them.”

“We can only hope,” Melinda agreed wholeheartedly.

“It’s just so nice to see you both,” Emily said with a happy sigh. “It’s the perfect start to my morning. Well, including this.” She grinned as if she’d just been caught doing something naughty, while holding up her crème horne bag. “Just can’t seem to get my gumption without my morning sugar fix.”

“Frankly, Emily, it’s sort of a relief to know you have a weakness. You’re too perfect!” claimed Melinda. 

“Me? Perfect? Hardly,” she snickered.

Melinda wished she could have an ounce of the likeability Emily possessed. She always found it so easy to be around people as if they’d been friends her entire life.

“Here we are,” announced Emily, scrounging through her oversized purse for the key. A carved wooden sign hung out over the edge of the building. It read,
Harboring the Book…
aptly named after the harbors that surrounded the town, and for being a haven for new and used books.

Twice, while searching for the key, Emily’s glasses fell off and into her bag, and once she had located the key, she dropped it. William’s astute movements caught it just before it slipped into a deep crevice in the pavement.

“Thank you, William. You move so fast. That must come in super handy.” She entered the store, leaving the door open so they could follow.

Emily Morgan knew all the secrets of the Howard family. About them being witches, about Michael’s ability to see how someone died, about William being a vampire, and about Melinda’s prophetic dreams. She even, at times, assisted with research on difficult cases.

Emily had moved, with her parents, to The Demon Isle from Savannah, Georgia, at the start of her senior year of high school. She and Michael became fast friends, especially after her mother’s death just months after their move. This was followed by the Howard’s parent’s deaths, just a few months later.

After graduation, Emily left the island to attend college, but a year in, her father’s health had taken a toll for the worse and she returned home. The bookstore owner hired her as part-time help, and just a year and a half later decided to retire, leaving Emily to manage the store.

“Ah, the smell of books.” She let out a satisfied sighed, set down her belongings and turned to Melinda and William. “So what brings you out today? I’m guessing this isn’t just a social call. Do you need help with research for the case your brothers are working on?”

“Well… actually… we
are
here to see you, Emily,” Melinda admitted. “I wonder, would you mind if we took a look at your ring?”

“This ring?” Emily held out her hand. “Whatever for?”

William dashed over and grasped onto her hand, splaying her fingers, looking closely at the ring, searching for any clue as to its true purpose.

“I am afraid I have never seen a ring like this before.” William frowned, disheartened. “I had hoped upon closer inspection I would recognize it at once.”

“Well, what’s so important about my little ‘ole ring?”

Sudden comprehension stretched across Emily’s face. She pulled her hand away from William and stepped back, her eyes darting to Melinda.

“You had a dream about me, didn’t you?” Her tanned skin paled, taking on a sudden sickly appearance.

Melinda gulped. She would not be able to hide what she had seen from Emily. William handled the difficult part of explaining.

“Emily, it is true. Melinda has had a dream regarding you.”

“Everyone in your dreams always dies.”

“Please don’t panic, Emily! We think we already have a good lead on how to save you!” Melinda blurted out artlessly, her own panic mounting.

“
Save me...
This does not sound good at all.”

“Emily,” spoke William, gazing into her eyes assuredly. “We will not allow anything to happen to you.”

She didn’t speak, but rather nodded that she understood. She at least seemed less panicked. William took her warm hand, gently, into his cold hand, and inspected the ring again. “What can you tell me about this ring?” His voice was soothing and controlled so as not to cause additional concern.

“Nothing really. My dad gave it to me when I was a little girl. Told me never to take it off.”

“Did he ever tell you why you should never take it off?” inquired Melinda.

“I never asked. I just thought he didn’t want me to lose it, seeing as I do have a habit of losing things…”

“Emily, have you ever suffered from seizures of any kind?” Melinda questioned next. 

“Seizures. Well, no. I can’t say that I’ve ever had a seizure. Why? Is that what happens to me? Do I have some kind of seizure?” They could hear the doom returning to her voice.

“I’m sorry, Emily. I really don’t know. The dreams, they are not always clear. But I am confident that it has something to do with your ring.”

“Here, then.” Emily started to slide it off her finger.

“Do not remove it!” said William emphatically. His tone calmed. “I fear it may not be safe for you to remove the ring, Emily.”

“Oh, okay,” she muttered in a daze.

“Now that I have properly inspected the ring, I have a good picture in my mind. It is all I require for research.”

“Which William is an expert at,” reminded Melinda.

“You know,” started Emily, scrunching her nose, as if trying to remember something. “Now that you mention seizures, I do remember my mom having one once. Oddly enough, it was just a few weeks later that my dad gave me this ring.”

“Your mother?” William repeated.

Melinda could practically see William’s mind racing through his vast stores of knowledge, hoping some bit of information would lead him in the right direction to solve this puzzle.

“Was your mother prone to seizures? Did she have them often?” Melinda prodded.

“I only remember the one time.”

A little ding sounded at the front of the shop.

“Oh dear, a customer.” Emily rushed off in a blaze. Melinda was impressed at how easily Emily seemed to put aside her fears and help the woman locate the book she was looking for, with a smile, as always. 

While Emily was away, Melinda noted a familiar look spreading across William’s face. He was listening to something no human could hear.

“What?”

“Be right…” before she heard
back
, he sped away so quickly, no human eye could have seen him. A minute later, William returned to her side, as if he had never left.

“There is something in this bookstore,” he informed her. “Something not human. Something dead I do believe. We may need Michael’s assistance after all.”

“You mean, like a ghost?” Melinda clarified.

“I believe, yes.”

“Can Michael even read a ghost? There’s no body for him to touch.”

“I am unsure as he has never tried.”

“Okay. So do we focus on the ring, or the ghost?”

“Both,” answered William. “Perhaps this spirit has some interest in the ring? It might be the reason you did not see what was attacking Emily. I also think it necessary to have a chat with her father.”

“Okay,” agreed Melinda. “Should I try to reach Charlie and Michael?”

“Not yet. We will investigate first.”

William walked next to Melinda, at human speed, back to the front of the bookstore.

“Find anything?” asked Emily, alone again after her customer’s departure. 

“Not really. Look, Emily,” said Melinda. “We’ve got some things to look into. Why don’t you just go about your day, try not to freak out, and call me on my cell if you think of
anything
that might help us figure out what’s so special about your ring.”

“And do not take it off,” reminded William, kindly.

“Yes, sir,” she saluted, attempting bravery. “I’ll just stay here,” she called after them as they left the store. In a small voice she whimpered, “and try not to think about the fact that you just told me I’m gonna die.”

CHAPTER SIX

The jeep bounced as Michael drove he and Charlie out of town, edging their way toward the outskirts of The Demon Isle. He made a turn toward the ocean, passing by the harbor where a ferry was just arriving full up with early arriving tourists.

Michael tossed a dazzling smile to a few bikini-clad twenty-something’s leaning over the ferry’s railing, waving to anyone watching from the shore, excited to spend a day on the Isle. “
Jesus…
” he groaned, watching them bounce around on the deck.
One thing I might miss just a little when I leave. There’s other beaches…
he reminded himself.

Michael glanced at Charlie and shook his head. He hadn’t even noticed the half-naked women waving at him, his gaze straight ahead and focused. Michael sped up, jetting down the road before the cars could start pulling off the ferry, jamming up the traffic.

They continued on, after a couple more miles, passing by the entrance to White Pines National Park, which included Fort Ridgley, a fort that had been mainly used as a commerce port during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

After another mile of winding roads, they came to a fork. One direction led to a lighthouse, the other, toward Bloodsucker Bay. About five miles down the road Michael slowed to nearly a stop, taking a sharp turn down what appeared to be an old, infrequently used dirt pathway. It was dotted with mud-filled potholes, which splattered the sides of the jeep as they drove across. 

After another thirty minutes of bouncing across the poorly maintained road, Michael pulled the jeep off to the side and parked. Just ahead sprawled the rocky beach of Bloodsucker Bay. 

The bay consisted of both fresh water, which leaked in from a nearby lake, and saltwater , which leaked in from the ocean during high tide. The lake was infamous for its bloodsucking leeches; leeches which had adapted to living in both fresh and saltwater .

“You sure this cave will be easy to find?” Charlie asked Michael as they readied their diving gear.

“Got a crystal ready to go. Should be easy.” Michael took it out of his pocket. He plunged it into the water and after a second, it twisted in the palm of his hand and lit up. “That’s the way we head.”

“Nicely done,” Charlie said, impressed. “You’re good at being a witch, you know.”

“If this is your way of trying to suck up, don’t bother, Charlie. I’ve made up my mind. I’m leaving at the end of summer. I, uh, already enrolled in classes.”

Classes… shit…
he hadn’t realized his brother had done that.

“Just because you’re given some
gift
,” Michael continued after a minute, “doesn’t mean you should be stuck with it the rest of your damn life.”

“I get that, Michael. Of all people,
I
really do.”

“I didn’t mean it to come out like that,” his brother apologized sincerely. 

“The thing is, Michael, you’re not wrong. You’re not wrong to want a life outside The Isle. What happened to me, that wasn’t my choice, but I have to live with it regardless. Just remember that you’ll have to live with the choices you make. And your choices don’t affect just you… they affect me, and Melinda, and William, too.”

“You think I don’t know that? Why do you think it’s taken me this long? I wanted to leave with Emily, back when she went to college. But I stayed, Charlie. Mom and Dad were gone and Melinda was a wreck. But she’s getting better now and Mom and Dad aren’t coming back. They’re gone.” Michael took a frustrated breath. “Have you ever considered that maybe it’s just time to move on? Let someone else handle all this supernatural, protecting-the-isle bullshit…”

“Someone else? Like who?”

“I don’t know, Charlie. Just, not us. Hasn’t our family given enough? What law says it has to be a Howard sacrificing their lives to protect this island? And for what? To die trying to find a magical power source hidden on the Isle hundreds of years ago. Look, I get why
you
don’t want to leave this place. You fear being away from the Isle might trigger your curse. And you feel a responsibility to be here. That it’s your solemn fucking duty to be here. But I don’t, Charlie. And that’s the God’s honest truth. All this place does, is
take
from us.”

Charlie dropped his head, no idea how to respond. On so many levels, he agreed with his brother. But the obligation that plagued him to uphold his family’s heritage overshadowed everything else. Everything except, as Michael said, the fear that something would trigger his curse.

They finished readying their diving equipment in silence. Charlie’s thoughts strayed to the day his life had changed, the day he had lost control of his own future.

It was ten years ago now, he was only sixteen, and yet he remembered every detail as if it had just happened. They had been hiking on the Isle, deep in the woods. Michael, Charlie and their father, Jack.

He saw the pathway they had been hiking, clearly in his mind. They were walking downhill, hurrying to get back to their campsite as the sun had set and the moon was rising up over the tall pines and maple trees. It was big and bright, but still a day from full.

Charlie could not help but grin as he remembered them laughing. He could not recall the joke, but their father had told it, and it wasn’t even remotely funny, and yet they had laughed and laughed. They had been laughing so hard that the attack caught them completely by surprise.

A monstrous gray wolf jumped onto their path, blocking them, almost as if it had been awaiting their arrival.

Charlie remembered that before feeling fear, his first thought was,
Why is there a wolf on the Isle? There are no wolves here.
Yet here one was, lunging toward his
father’s throat. They’d had but a second to react. 

All Charlie could think to do was use his own body in defense and threw himself in front of his father. Even at sixteen, he was bulkier than his father was.

Michael attempted to use magic to stop the wolf, but he wasn’t fast enough and the spell missed the lunging beast, hitting a nearby tree and shattering the branches. The wolf sank its teeth into Charlie’s shoulder, forcing them both to the ground. His father blasted the wolf with a strong spell, tearing it off his son’s body. Amongst the torn flesh and profuse bleeding, a tooth jutted out of Charlie’s skin. A souvenir he had put onto a chain and now wore around his neck.

The wolf had run off into the woods, howling as it did so.

Michael and his father had used what magic they could to stop the bleeding, but it didn’t help for long. They rushed him out of the woods and to the hospital. After a long night of tests, stitches and shots for fighting rabies, Charlie was allowed to return home.

It wasn’t until a month later as the full moon approached, that they got confirmation that the wolf had really been something more than just a wolf.

Months of research followed. 

Their first thought was werewolf. However, no known cases of werewolves turning before the full moon had ever been documented, and it had looked like a regular wolf, just larger. Whereas a werewolf would have been much larger, and trim, yet muscular, and most likely have used its hind legs to stand, like a human. Not ran on all fours like the attacking gray wolf had done.

This noted though, it was obvious over the following months that Charlie took on traits known to belong to werewolves. Like an increased appetite, a higher body temperature and faster healing from wounds. Although, the wound inflicted by the wolf bite did not ever fully heal, and left a scar in its place.

As each full moon approached, Charlie would get agitated easily, and when his temper got the better of him his features would change, taking on a feral quality. His hair would darken and stiffen. His facial hair came in thick. His eyes would change from the bright blue the Howard’s were famous for, to sharp silver.

As time passed, his wolf nature began to emerge whenever his emotions were heightened. He didn’t have the complete strength of a fully transformed werewolf, but he was quite a bit stronger than a human should be.

Regardless of all the changes taking place, he never fully transformed. Each month as the full moon neared, he tried, if possible, to avoid things that would set off his temper. The wolf craved to escape. To be set free. But he kept it locked up, never allowing it to fully surface.

How?

No one had any explanation. Even after months of research that included William leaving The Demon Isle to search out myths and legends, they had no explanation. The best they could determine is that because Charlie wasn’t bitten on a full moon, or due to the powerful witch blood coursing through his veins, that somehow this affected the outcome. Over the years, Charlie had also theorized that the power source might be keeping the curse at bay. But again, there was no proof, only speculation.

Not being able to contain the wolf was Charlie’s number one fear. He reached up and brushed the scar with his hand, and watched Michael stepping into the frigid waters of Bloodsucker Bay.
He shouldn’t be forced into this life… but do any of us really have a choice? 

Charlie dropped his hand and silently joined Michael in the water. He was already swimming away from shore and diving underneath. About ten feet out his head popped out of the water and he took out his mouthpiece. 

“There’s a steep drop off just a few feet out,” he warned Charlie.

He nodded, taking a few cautious steps until he saw the drop off. He dove in alongside Michael.

“Test. Test,” Charlie spoke into his microphone.

“Hear you loud and clear,” Michael returned. Charlie let him lead the way.

Michael opened his hand where he still held the crystal. It was heavy and didn’t float in the partially salted water. It made a slight turn in his hand and lit up. He motioned for Charlie to follow and they set off. It took Michael about ten minutes to locate the entrance to the cave. He motioned for Charlie to look, but his brother’s attention was drawn to the depths below the cave’s entrance.

“I think there’s another diver.” Charlie pointed with his head. His voice broke up a little, but Michael heard enough to understand.

“I’ll take your word for it. You can see better than I can.”

Another gift the wolf bite had given Charlie.

They swam a little closer, curious as to who else would be diving in the area.

“Hey! I think they’re in trouble!” Charlie took off, his muscular arms and powerful thighs pumping downward toward the ocean floor.

Michael followed, apprehensive at first, but trusted his brother’s eyes at these depths, more so than his own.

As usual, Charlie’s instincts were correct, for as they swam closer it became clear that the diver was in serious trouble. It was a woman, and it was her unusually fierce white hair that Charlie’s eyes had been drawn to. As soon as the diver noticed the brothers, she began waving her arms frantically.

“Her leg is stuck in between two rocks,” Michael pointed out as they approached. The woman took out her mouthpiece, pointing at it.

“And I think she’s out of air,” Charlie exclaimed. “I’ll give her mine. I don’t need it anyway.” Charlie could easy use a spell to breathe under water. They just preferred to do things the normal way, to avoid raising suspicions from any unaware onlookers. But he wouldn’t risk a life for it.

Charlie took off his oxygen tank and handed it to the woman. She looked puzzled for the briefest of moments, until Charlie shoved the mouthpiece through her lips, ordering her to breathe. He kept the headpiece with the microphone and the goggles. A second later, a large air bubble surrounded his head, like a helmet.

Michael tried to free the woman’s foot, but to no avail. He wasn’t strong enough. “I can’t free her.”

Charlie dove and tried to free the woman’s leg. The rock fell slightly, discharging a stream of blood from the woman’s injured leg, but not releasing it.

The woman let out a short scream, nearly sucking in water as she almost dropped the mouthpiece. The scream rattled the brothers. They didn’t have much time. The blood would soon attract unwanted company, leeches, topped by the fact that the woman was in serious danger of dying if they could not free her.

Charlie decided he had only one choice: to let go of the control he tried to keep so carefully in check. 

He let the strength of the wolf course through his veins, which popped against his skin and sped up his heartbeat. In a blink, his blue eyes flashed to bright silver. The stubble on his chin darkened as if thickening, fast.

A low snarl forced its way out of his throat and into the air bubble surrounding his head. Muscles rippled through his shoulders, down the length of his arms and with one thrust, he heaved the rock off the woman’s leg, the rock suddenly weightless. It fell to the ground a few feet away with a slow crash.

Charlie grabbed the woman, pulling her out of harm’s way. 

He swam with her in tow, into the cave, as it was the closest spot they could safely check the woman’s injuries. A few seconds later, their heads popped out of the water. Michael surfaced alongside them.

Charlie needed no help pulling the woman out of the water. She wasn’t a tall woman, about five foot five, and her body was thin, but well-toned. His wolf strength yanked her body out and to the top of a rock, with ease. His grip was firm and strong, but his touch and movement of her, gentle.