Burkheart Witch Saga Book 2 (10 page)

The three of them sat there, surrounded by three puddles of what used to be wolves, and one dead man. Kayla and David kissed each other as though it were the first time, and Grace softly cooed, the white light fading away.

They rose from the floor, no worse for the wear, and started out of the blood-soaked bedroom. David raised Grace up to his face.

"Daddy's little miracle worker," he said, kissing her pudgy cheek.

The family walked down the stairs and out into the night, heading to the nearest neighbor, half a mile away.

Kayla smiled knowing that her family was complete, and that no one could tear them apart ever again.

G
race had grown
into an exceptionally beautiful little girl. During the celebration of her birth, Kayla's coven of friends had bestowed gifts upon Grace that could never be purchased at any store.

Joy, Daisy, and Violet had given Grace the gifts of beauty, patience, and love. Doc gave the gift of intelligence and common sense. Gus had given her the gift of strength of mind and heart. Mooney gave her the gift of music and fun. All of these presents had been given on top of the mountains of toys and every other bell and whistle a little girl could ever dream for.

Now that Grace was seven years old, she displayed each of these gifts with a subtle charm. Grace was not arrogant or self-absorbed. She was friendly and genuine with everyone she met. A brilliant little princess with poise and elegance who loved to make mud pies, play with puppies, and plant flowers in the garden. Kayla loved Grace more than anything else in the world.

There was one thing that Grace was not.
Magical
. She had not once displayed any interest or inkling toward magic after the day she was born.

Kayla would be lying if she said it was not a relief that Grace lacked magical powers. She wanted Grace to be a normal kid who worried about toys, make up, and eventually boys.

As the two Burkheart ladies packed for Grace's first camping trip, (Kayla had elected to keep her maiden name out of respect for her late father, and David had taken it as well) Kayla watched her daughter gathering toys and placing them into her little pink princess purse. Grace seemed to be agonizing over which items should accompany her on the trip to the woods. She had started with a Cinderella doll, a lip-gloss, and two hair barrettes. The doll was replaced by a Hello Kitty notepad and pen. Satisfied with her selections, Grace ran up to where Kayla stood.

"Ready, Mom."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I got everything I need to camp in the woods!" Grace exclaimed, proudly holding up her little purse.

"Well, good job, Munchkin. Why don't you go get Daddy and tell him that we are almost ready?"

"Mama, why do you call me that?"

"Because that is what my daddy used to call me. Does it bother you?"

Grace seemed to ponder the question for a few seconds.

"No, I like it," she stated matter-of-factly before turning to go find her father.

Kayla chuckled to herself while she watched her daughter's blond ponytail bounce up and down with her retreat.

Even though the last seven years had been blissfully uneventful, she found herself unable to relax fully without anticipating some tragedy.

Grace had given her the "Geez, Mom" look on multiple occasions when Kayla had been ridiculously overprotective.

David had spent many days holding her hand and trying his best to calm her fears. Most times, he succeeded. This camping trip was one of those times.

Grace had pulled every string she could think of to get them to go. Everything from stomping feet, to hugs and
pleases
. The two co-conspirators had eventually won her over.

Kayla had spent a week casting protection spells and crafting defense potions. All the stakes and silver spikes had been sharpened in case they encountered any unsavory characters.

There were definite drawbacks to knowing about all the things that went bump in the night.

Kayla was still overwhelmed at how much Grace had changed their lives. Her days of booze and pills were all but a distant memory. She was surrounded with warm memories of her father and the new, loving family she had gained from her ordeals with Carolyn and her half-brothers. She felt a sense of surreal disbelief at the fact that her little trio was going on a camping trip in the Washington woods, just as any normal family would.

"Let's go, babe!" David shouted from outside.

Continuing to put the last few items in the bag, she went over her mental checklist one last time. Everything seemed to be in order, but Kayla was positive that she was forgetting something. After agonizing for a few more minutes, she decided it couldn't be anything too important, and went to join her family.

She walked outside with her bag of goodies, and David could read the angst on her face.

"You okay, honey?" he asked tenderly.

"As good as I'm going to be." She smiled and got Grace buckled into her seat.

Locked and loaded into their 4x4, the family began their trek to Larch Mountain, about two hours outside of Olympia.

Kayla put on Grace's favorite music, some boy band that Kayla could not name but Grace knew everything about. She had to laugh as Grace sang along and bobbed her head from her booster seat.

When Grace noticed, she stopped and gave Kayla a huge grin.

"What?" she asked, relishing the attention.

"Nothing, silly goose," Kayla replied.

"Mommy wishes she could sing as well as you, Grace," David teased while giving Kayla a sly smile.

"That is absolutely correct," Kayla played along.

Grace looked at her parents, trying to decide if they were pulling her leg.

"It's okay, Mama. Practice makes perfect," she said earnestly.

David and Kayla burst out laughing, and again, Grace looked confused for a second. She decided it was all fun and joined in. After a few seconds, she resumed her private concert.

"
Baby, baby…. I love you
," she sang with all her heart.

David pulled onto a gravel road and found a place to park the 4x4. He switched off the engine and disengaged his seatbelt.

"All right, my beautiful girls, from here, we hike!" he said with a gleam in his eyes.

K
ayla and David
walked up the hill as Grace trailed a few steps behind. The hike to the summit was only about a mile or so, but Grace was getting bored and tired. David turned back to check her progress and noticed her dropping something out of her pocket.

"What are you doing, Munchkin?"

"Marking our path with jelly beans," Grace replied with an almost adult tone.

"Why are you doing that?"

"So we don't get lost," she said then popped a bean into her mouth.

"Good thinking." David smiled and continued on.

"Daddy, who was that man?"

"What man?" Kayla asked with more sharpness than she intended.

"The little man that was standing on the road."

"Little?"

"Like Uncle Mooney and Uncle Gus."

"I didn't see him."

"He smiled at me. He looked like a nice guy," Grace said as she trudged up the hill.

"You tell me if you see him again."

"Okay, Mom."

Kayla looked at David, and he could see the worry on her face. He took her hand to try to console her. They continued on, not wanting to waste any more daylight.

After setting up camp, David lit a small campfire, and they ate sandwiches and then roasted marshmallows. Grace was having a great time listening to campfire stories, eating gooey marshmallows, and finding bugs in the grass.

As night fell, they all decided to retire to the tent and try to get some sleep. Grace got a serious case of the giggles, and it took about an hour for them to go away. She finally drifted off to sleep, lying in between David and Kayla.

Kayla could not imagine a more perfect ending to a wonderful day as she and David drifted off as well.

W
hat seemed
like just minutes later, Kayla woke with a start. She felt around for Grace, unable to locate her. She sat up and called out.

"Grace?"

David sat up as well.

"What's wrong?"

"Where is Grace?" Kayla fell into a panic.

"Maybe she went out to pee."

Kayla jumped up and ran out of the tent.

"Grace?" She began to cry.

David searched frantically around the tent, to no avail. He grabbed the flashlights and slipped on his boots. He handed a flashlight to Kayla, gripping her shoulders.

"Kayla, you have to calm down. We'll find her."

Kayla tried her best to focus on what he was saying, but the blackness of her terror threatened to overtake her consciousness.

"We will find her," she forced herself to repeat his assurance.

The two parents began searching the area around the tent in a circular pattern, fanning out and calling her name. Kayla froze in her tracks when the howl of a wolf echoed through the forest.

G
race opened
her eyes and saw stars. She felt a little shiver of cold while she tried to figure out where she was.

"Mommy? Dad?" she whispered, but got no answer.

She looked around and saw the little man from earlier standing just a few feet away. He smiled at her again and put his finger to his lips to signal her to be quiet. She closed her eyes as tears began to flow.

"I want my mommy," Grace said, almost silently.

The little man gave her an understanding look and another warm smile that made her feel better. She tried to get up off the ground to find her parents, but her leg was jerked back when she attempted to take a step. Looking down, she saw a metal cuff around her ankle, attached to a chain. Grace sat back down on the ground and began to cry softly again.
Where was her mommy
?

Looking around, she was unable to see the little man anywhere. Grace sniffled deeply and dried the tears on her cheeks with the palms of her hands. She needed to be brave. She remembered Mommy and Daddy telling her that if she ever got lost or taken, she should try to be brave and find a grown-up to help her.

A howl echoed through the forest and weakened her resolve. Mom had told her about wolves, too. She knew that she had to stay far away from them, and that some people could be wolves, too.

Grace felt around on the ground for the end of the chain that bound her leg. As she moved her hands over the cold ground, she felt the little pink purse she had packed for the trip.

Opening it up, she saw the two little blue barrettes. Grace remembered watching a movie with her dad where a lady used a pin from her hair to open up a lock. Grace thought that maybe her barrette could do the same thing. She located the lock at the end of the chain and slipped the blue barrette into the little hole. Just like magic, the lock slipped and opened. Taking the chain off her foot, she stood up and started to run away. A thought came to her, and she walked back to where the chain lay.

Grace took the Hello Kitty notepad and pen out of her purse and wrote a note. She had been practicing writing in her second grade class, and they were just starting to learn cursive.

Mom and Dad I woke up here. I am scared. I got free and went to hide. Please find me. Look for my jellybeans. Love, Grace.

Leaving the note on the ground and saying a prayer that her parents would find it, Grace hurried off, dropping a jellybean every few feet.

F
rom behind the trees
, the creatures watched the little girl free herself from her chains. Miranda was going to be so angry with them. They knew what happened when she got angry. They whispered amongst themselves, trying to figure out what to do.

They had to get her back and deliver her to Miranda. There was no choice. Dozens of eyes followed the little girl's retreat while they planned the next step.