Burkheart Witch Saga Book 2 (2 page)

M
ooney entered
the bar after his shift ended at 1:00 a.m. He walked across the main room as all manner of people and things stared at him. He was fully aware of the clientele that frequented The After Dark Saloon.

A group of werewolves sat in a booth in the corner. The full moon had passed, so they looked like regular guys drinking a pitcher of draught beer. Six vampires sat at different spots at the bar, drinking Bloody Marys. This was the only place in town that made them with real blood.

Mooney walked up to a stool far away from the vampires and hoisted himself up. It took quite a bit of effort, and he noted that it was quite a ways down.

"Hey Mooney!" Susie, the bartender, called from where she was washing glasses at the other end of the bar. "The usual?"

"Yeah, the usual. How you been?" he asked as she set his beer down on the bar.

"Good. These guys have been keeping me busy with Bloody Marys all night." She indicated the vamps sitting at the bar. Susie hated vampires and hated making Bloody Marys even more. She was a novice witch who'd gotten this job in order to be exposed to the magical community. Mooney thought she might be feeling a little overexposed.

"I got something that I need your help with," he said in a whisper. She leaned in close, supporting the feel of secrecy.

"With what?"

"Somebody ordered a hit on a mortal. I need to find out who is picking up the contract."

"Who ordered the hit?" she asked.

"Carolyn."

"Whoa. This is me not wanting to get involved with that," she said, putting up her hands and taking a step back.

"I really need your help with this, Susie," he asked pleadingly, but with a flirty smirk.

She leaned back in to talk with him more privately.

"That bitch is bad news, and very powerful. We all know the kind of shit she can do. I don't feel like getting turned into a frog today."

"Just a name of anybody that might have taken up the contract."

"Orlando," she sighed, resigned to Mooney's charms. "He'll do just about anything for the right amount of cash."

"Where can I find him?"

"He's sitting right next to you," she whispered.

Mooney turned his head and looked at the vampire sitting at the closest stool. He definitely did not look like the vamps in those books or the ones on TV. This guy looked like he had spent the better part of a year buried in an underground crypt. He was pale, even for a vampire, and he was as skinny as a rail. Mooney wondered where a scrub like this guy had gotten the money to throw back six drinks at twelve dollars a pop. The After Dark Saloon was not known for its low prices.

Mooney hated vamps and wolves, too. They smelled bad, they were generally nasty, and they didn't like witches much, either. Just as he finally worked up the gumption to approach Orlando, Carolyn opened the door to the bar and strode confidently in. She walked straight up to Orlando and sat down between him and Mooney.

"So, this is what you do with my money? Drink it all away?" She snapped at Orlando's back.

"Hello Carolyn," he replied calmly.

"Why haven't you done the job that I paid you for?"

"I can't find her. If I don't know where she is, how can I k…, uh, deliver the package?"

"Well, sitting on your dead ass in a dive bar doesn't help, does it?" Carolyn looked around, daring Susie or anyone else to contradict her.

"Un-dead ass, actually,” Orlando corrected. There was an audible gasp throughout the bar. Everyone in there was afraid of Carolyn. She had a reputation for not putting up with anyone's shit. Not even vampires and werewolves. She was obviously not happy with Orlando's flippant attitude.

She got very close to him and said in a low, angry whisper that Mooney almost couldn't hear, "Get the fuck up and go find that little bitch now. From this moment on, you will spend every waking moment searching for her. As soon as you crawl out of that shithole graveyard you call home, you will start searching. No more spending money that you haven't earned, you stupid bloodsucker."

Orlando turned on his stool to face her. He had an air of defiance that immediately made the whole bar hold their breath in anticipation.

"Why don't you calm down,
witch
. I said I would find her, and I'll find her. You just have to wai…"

That was all that Orlando was able to get out before Carolyn sunk the wooden stake deep into his chest. As the cloud of dust settled, she looked smugly around the bar to see if anyone was planning to comment on, or challenge, her actions. The other five vamps just sat at their stools nursing their drinks. The wolves in the corner went back to their beers. Susie was cleaning the bar, and Mooney was studying the bottom of his glass as though it contained the secret to eternal happiness.

Carolyn simply glared around the bar one more time and then walked out the door as if she had just come in to use the restroom.

"Fucking useless vampires," she mumbled on her way out.

Everyone in the bar had gone completely silent. Susie looked at Mooney as if to say,
I told you so
.

Mooney gulped the last of his beer and hopped off the stool. He placed a ten-dollar bill on the bar and nodded a goodbye to Susie. Some of the activity had resumed in the bar, and in a few minutes, it would be as if nothing had happened. Susie was getting the dustpan from behind the bar as Mooney walked out the front door and headed home.

K
ayla sat alone
in the house, unable to get comfortable. She was about a foot too tall for any of the furniture, and the bed she had slept in every night for the last two months was about a foot too short. She was going completely stir crazy. The coven was great. In the time that she had been a guest at their home, they had become her family. Joy and Doc were like the parents she never had, and Daisy and Violet were just like long lost sisters. Jess had become her best friend, and Gus and Mooney were great brother figures, but it just wasn't enough. She needed to get out for a while. She looked totally different, and she knew no one would recognize her, so one little trip outside wouldn't hurt. She needed to get some new clothes and other things, anyway. She realized she was trying to convince herself, and it was working. She left a note for the group, telling them she was going out shopping and would be back soon. When her cab arrived, she raced out the front door and off to enjoy a little alone time.

When she arrived at the mall, she felt free. It was like coming to the end of a long crusade or pilgrimage. She walked in, and the scents from the food court overwhelmed her senses. She went to the nearest burger restaurant and ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a large Coke. After getting her order, she sat down in one of the booths and people-watched while enjoying her meal. She felt like a pig after she scarfed down the delicious greasy food, but she figured she could walk it off shopping.

She hit several department stores and bought new jeans, underwear, shirts, and a good pair of sneakers. As she wandered around, holding her bulging shopping bags, she noticed a bookstore nestled in between the sunglasses store and a beauty supply shop. She walked in, hoping to stock up on a few titles that would help to pass the hours.

She selected three books, each over eight hundred pages, and a little metal bookmark that had hearts and skulls on it.
This should keep me busy
, she thought while she paid the cashier and collected her bag. She walked out of the bookstore and thought that she might have some ice cream and then head home.

Home
, she thought, and snickered. She had never once called Carolyn's house "home," but staying with these seven little people, that is exactly what it felt like to her. Home. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes; she quickly collected herself. She wondered when she had become such a crier.

She called the cab back from the payphone in the food court and sat down at a community table to wait. Groups of teenagers walked by using headphones, smartphones, PDAs, Kindles, and every other electronic device imaginable, not paying any attention to the world around them. Adults wandered aimlessly, looking lost and confused. A young couple passed her by, holding hands, completely oblivious to anyone but each other. They reminded Kayla of David and herself. She would call him tonight, tell him how much she missed him and let him know everything was okay, she decided, smiling at the thought of hearing his voice.

Out of nowhere, a gruff-looking young man sat at the table next to her. He looked to be about twenty-five years old, wearing dark jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. It appeared that he had not bothered to shave or brush his hair for the better part of a week. He had a patch on his sweatshirt that read Ray. Kayla smiled politely as he took his seat a foot away from her. She went back to eating the scoop of white chocolate ice cream she'd bought. As she started to take the last bite, the young man leaned over to her and took a deep whiff of the air. He just looked at her for a second, and then sat back with a chuckle. She got a creepy feeling from this guy and moved to get up from the table when he reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Where ya going in such a hurry, Red?"

Kayla's blood ran cold. She had only been called that one time before. In the desert.

"Let go of me."

"So, you're the one that put down Lou, huh? Don't look so surprised, I can smell him on you." He sniffed at the air and then latched his strong hand on her thigh, reopening the wound Lou had given her. Even though it had been a few weeks, the cut had still not healed completely.

"He didn't bite you, though. Just a scratch, but sometimes that's enough." He leaned in close as she tried to squirm out of his painful grip on her leg and sniffed her hair, nuzzling her cheek with his rough beard. She felt dirty after such an intimate gesture.

"Let go of me, now," she said again through gritted teeth, trying to sound more forceful.

"I expected you to look a little tougher." He was still right next to her ear. "I told Lou not to play with his food. But he liked his games."

"He was nothing but a rabid dog that deserved to be put down." Kayla spat the words at him.

"That's my brother you're talking about, bitch. You gunned him down in the desert like a wild coyote. Now, I'm gonna kill you for it." He squeezed her leg tighter, sending a shooting pain all the way up to her hip. She fought the urge to cry out.

"Now, get up slowly and take a walk with me. Don't forget your bags; we don't want to arouse any suspicion."

Kayla slowly rose from her seat and collected her bags. She picked up the bag containing her new books last. Ray grabbed her by the upper arm, and she allowed him to lead her to the automatic doors that opened to the parking lot.

As the doors opened to the outside, Kayla swung the bag containing the three huge hardcovers at the wolf's head. She felt the reverberation as the corner of one book connected with his temple. When his grip loosened, she twisted free and ran out into the parking lot. The cab pulled up while she got to the other side of the crosswalk. Fumbling with the door, she tried to get in, but Ray caught up to her and grabbed the back of her shirt. She had already tossed her bags into the back seat, so she grabbed the doorframe of the cab to stop herself from being pulled completely out.

"What the fuck is going on?" the cabbie asked, obviously scared and horrified by the scene unfolding before him.

Kayla kicked with her now throbbing right leg and connected with the wolf's groin. He let out a howl that surely caught the attention of everyone at the mall, and maybe even a few blocks away. He was transforming right in front of her. Kayla took the opportunity to get herself fully into the cab. She fumbled with her bags and pulled out the metal bookmark she'd purchased.

The wolf had recovered from the throbbing pain in his scrotum and laughed as he popped his head into the cab. He looked at the stunned cabbie and growled a deep guttural snarl. The cab driver just looked on the scene, petrified. Kayla scrambled further into the cab as Ray turned his attention back to her. He snarled again and snapped his elongated teeth at her.

She flung her right hand at his throat and felt the pointed end of the metal bookmark sink into his flesh. A rush of hot blood covered her hand while he stumbled backward from the cab, howling again, but this time even louder than before. She bolted forward as soon as he was out of the way and shut the cab door.

"Drive!" she instructed the cabbie who stared back at her, looking confused and frightened.

"Drive, now!" she repeated with more forcefulness, snapping the cab driver out of his trance. He hit the gas with all of his force and the tires squealed and let out clouds of smoke as he peeled away from the scene. Kayla looked back and saw Ray get up from the ground and pull the bookmark out of his neck. People had gathered around him to see if he was all right. One woman took his arm to try to help him get inside, and he pushed her to the ground with no effort at all. The last thing Kayla saw was Ray sprinting away from the scene as a police car pulled up to assess the situation.
Great
, she thought as the cab continued toward the cottage,
now what am I going to do?

W
hen Kayla arrived back
at the cottage, Doc and Gus were outside. They were apparently about to go out on a search and rescue mission.

Kayla stepped out of the cab and fell to the ground.

"Shit!" Gus exclaimed. "What the hell happened?"

"A wolf," she said weakly.

"Did the driver see it?" Doc asked her.

She nodded her head.

"Holy shit!" Gus said again and walked over to the driver's window. The driver was still scared to death, and apparently, the thought of just speeding away had not occurred to him. Gus looked in at the driver and said a few words. Then he took a handful of dust from his pocket and threw it in the cabbie's face. Kayla was surprised when the cabbie got out of the car and retrieved her bags from the back. He placed them on the ground next to her.

"Have a great day, miss," he said to her cheerfully, not acknowledging that she was on the ground and her arm was covered in blood. He got back into his cab and drove away as if nothing had happened.

"What did you do to him?" she asked Gus.

"Memory dust. I got it from a fairy. Works every time."

"Let's get you back in the house, and you can tell us all about your adventure," Doc said with more than a little irritation in his voice.

After Kayla had washed up and slipped into a pair of shorts so she could bandage her bleeding thigh, she walked out to the living room, where seven sets of eyes were boring into her, waiting for an explanation.

"I'll start," Gus said. "What the fuck were you thinking?" Violet put her hand on his arm, trying to get him to calm down.

"What he means is why did you go out in the first place? We could have gotten you anything you needed," Joy said with a smile that indicated concern and genuine curiosity.

Kayla sat down on the couch and told the coven the entire tale of why she had left and what had happened at the mall. They all sat in silence, listening intently. When she finished, Doc had a few questions of his own.

"Are you sure that the wolf in the desert didn't bite you?"

"Yes, he only scratched me. Am I going to turn into a wolf?" she asked fearfully.

"No dear. You may have some extra abilities for a few full moons, but it takes an actual bite to turn you completely," Joy said reassuringly.

"Well, that's good to know, at least," Kayla sighed with relief.

"Although it may be a little different for you, I'm concerned that it's taking so long to heal."

Doc impatiently jumped in to get answers to the rest of his questions before Joy continued.

"Did he tell you that Carolyn sent him?"

"No, but I have to assume she did after what Mooney heard in the bar," she replied.

"Why does she want you dead, Kayla?"

She went back to her room and retrieved the printed documents that she had found in Carolyn's altar room and handed them to Doc.

"Well, I guess a million dollars is as good a motive as any."

"I guess,” Kayla said with a sense of defeat.

Doc walked up to Kayla and, to the best of his ability, stared her directly in the eyes.

"Kayla, you cannot leave this house again. No matter what happens, no matter what you need, you have to stay inside this house at all times. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said as she bowed her head and fell into the sofa like a child being scolded for not following directions. Doc seemed to feel bad for chastising her, and he put his finger under her chin to lift her tear streaked face.

"Don't cry, honey. This is all for your own good."

"I know, Doc. It just seems like I'm trapped in some fucked up fairy tale. Now, I managed to get myself locked in a tower," she chuckled in spite of her despair.

"It won't be forever, I promise. Just until we find a way to defeat Carolyn."

"How is that going?" she asked the room of little witches.

"We are making some progress, but haven't found anything quite strong enough to bind her powers," Daisy reported.

"Is that what we're trying to do, bind her powers? She won't stop even if she has no powers. She'll still try to kill me. She won't ever give up. If that crazy bitch is anything, she's persistent. I've seen what she'll do for the last piece of cake; I can only imagine what she'll do for a million dollars."

Daisy snorted and then charged ahead into a violent sneezing fit. Everyone waited for her to stop so they could continue.

"Sorry, guys. Damn allergies. I'm afraid one day I'm going to sneeze my brains out," she apologized as she wiped her nose.

"I think you just gave me an idea, Daisy!" Jess suddenly exclaimed. "Kayla, is there anything that she is afraid of? Like
really
afraid of?"

"Getting old. She buys every anti-aging cream and potion that she can find. She always makes comments about how her skin used to be nicer than mine, and how we could be sisters. Blah, blah, blah." Kayla made a talking gesture with her hand and rolled her eyes.

"Why don't we try to use that against her?" Jess looked at the blank faces of the group and decided they needed a visual aid. He grabbed the old spell book off the coffee table and began flipping pages. He found what he was looking for and laid the book out on the table. Everyone huddled in to look at the spell.

"Like instant karma?" Kayla asked.

"Every time she thinks of doing something bad to you, something bad will happen to her. We should be able to tailor the spell to fit her fear,” Jess explained with a little gleam in his eye.

"That could work." Doc was turning the possibilities over in his head. "We do it tonight."

K
ayla sat
down at the table, removed from the coven.

"What are you doing way over there?" Joy smiled at her.

"Just watching.” Kayla smiled back.

"Oh, no. This one involves you, too,” Gus said as he took her hand and led her to the chair Violet had set in the middle of the room.

Mooney was awake and busy sprinkling herbs into a large bowl. He seemed to be in some kind of meditative trance. He shot a look to Gus, and Gus nodded back. He walked behind Kayla, and she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She jumped and grabbed her sore scalp, turning to Gus.

"Did you just pull my hair out?" she yelled, stunned and a little pissed.

Gus just shrugged and dangled the little clump of dyed black hair before he took it to Mooney, who added it to the bowl.

She rubbed her head and glared at the two men. As Mooney dropped the last of her locks into the bowl, a puff of smoke erupted like a miniature volcano.

"Ready!" he shouted to the rest of the dwarves, who filed into the room with serious looks on their faces. They gathered around Kayla, forming a circle and joining hands.

Doc began reciting what Kayla assumed was a spell.

"Dea petimus benedictionibus vestris. Proin est nobis in tempore necessitatis,”
Doc chanted.

"Blessed be," the group responded in unison.

"Cum anima innocens mittit mala, tum adversus malos male operans."

"Blessed be."

"Aequalis ei malum, ita et tempus accurrere."

"So mote it be."

Daisy brought the bowl to Kayla and sat it in front of her chair. Kayla looked at her questioningly. Daisy silently indicated for her to be still and quiet.

As Kayla sat motionless, a small light began shining from inside the bowl. It steadily grew in volume and brightness until she was forced to cover her eyes. Even with her eyes shielded, she could tell that the light was continuing to consume everything in the room.

"What's happening?" she asked anyone who might answer her. No one did. The witches continued chanting something Kayla couldn't understand. As strange as it seemed, she could actually
feel
the light pushing on her, and it felt great and awful at the same time, like she was being crushed and cradled simultaneously. She tried catching her breath, but found that she was unable to breathe at all. Just as she was skirting a serious case of panic, the pressure on her lungs released. She took a long, deep, heaving breath and was surprised at how cold that air felt to her lungs.

She opened her eyes and looked around. She was no longer in the comfortable living room of the little people; she was apparently in the middle of a snow-covered forest. A blanket of white powder extended for miles in every direction. She could see a few trees covered in ice, their dormant branches straining under the weight of the pure white snow.

Shaking, she rose from the ground and took a tentative step forward. The snow was dense and thick, easily supporting her weight. She took a few more steps before calling out.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" She looked all around, trying to spot any signs of life. She got her wish after a few more steps.

The low growl came from closer behind than she would have liked. Kayla slowly pivoted in a half circle, and the wolves bared their teeth and growled even more loudly. Their yellow eyes locked on hers, and she frantically tried to plan a getaway. The lupine trio was no more than five feet away from her. She knew running from them was not a viable option, but they looked like they were getting anxious. Every time she took a small step back, the lead wolf took a step forward. The leader of the pack growled again and then snapped its powerful jaws in a loud snarl. Just as Kayla was about to risk running away, a figure dressed in a long, hooded robe stepped out from behind a tree and walked toward the wolves. He was tall and muscular. Kayla could see a hint of long blond hair peeking out from under the draped hood that hid his face. He seemed familiar to her, but she could not place where she might have seen him before.

To her amazement, the wolves immediately lay down in the snow. Even though they kept their watchful eyes on her, they seemed afraid of the hooded man. Kayla knew the feeling. She was about to bolt off in the opposite direction when the huntsman put his hand out to her. She could hear someone shouting off in the distance, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

The huntsman took the hand he had held out to Kayla and placed it on the coat of the lead wolf. He slowly stroked the grayish brown fur and whispered something to the wolf that Kayla could not hear.

She knew this had to be some kind of hallucination or dream, but she was frustrated at her inability to discern what anyone was saying, or to make heads or tails of whom this man was. She watched him carefully, wondering what fate that whisper might bring to her. She didn't have to wait long.

Without warning, the lead wolf lunged at her, knocking her to the ground. She felt the air leave her lungs and a rock on the ground connect with her temple. As the world swam out of focus, the cloaked figure crouched beside her. He pulled the hood away from his face and looked at her with sharp blue eyes the color of the clearest waters. She still had that feeling of familiarity that nagged at her failing consciousness. As the blackness moved in from the corners of her fading vision, she had a realization that sent her reeling into darkness. The huntsman scooped her up into his strong arms and lifted her body from the cold snow, and a final word passed her lips before she fainted completely away.

"Daddy?"