Heart of the Witch (17 page)

A moan left her throat, and she thrashed her head from side to side.
No, no, no
. She raked her hand downward, pushing at an invisible force. The sensation left as abruptly as it had come.

You'll come to me. In time, you'll see that you need me.

No, I don't need you.

Not now, but you will.

Ravyn's eyes flew open. Her breath came in heavy pants, and where moments ago she'd been engulfed in warmth, now she was freezing, her teeth chattering violently in the frigid air of the room.

A dream. Only a dream. But it had seemed so real. She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to shake off the lethargic feeling of being somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. She looked over to Sorina's side of the bed, hoping she hadn't woken her sister. But the bed was empty.

A flutter of panic tickled her heart. Where was she?

"Sorina?" Ravyn called out.

No answer.

She tried to pull the covers off but couldn't. Her arms were weak. It was as if her mind was awake but her body was still in a deep slumber. She couldn't keep her eyes open.

"Sorina," she whispered just before she fell asleep once more. The faint scent of musk surrounded her as she slipped back into oblivion.

She was different from her sister. They were both beautiful, but this girl's beauty was softer. Like a sunlit meadow of delicate flowers. Ravyn's beauty was that of a wild creature like a panther: untamed, feral.

Jay couldn't believe how easy it had been, how easily he'd taken her. But the voice had instructed him, and here she was. All his.

He hated losing the cabin, didn't like bringing his victims to his home, but it was probably safer this way. Finding alternate locations was a bit too risky. The only way they would discover evidence here is if the authorities searched his basement. And if things got to that point, he was screwed anyway.

The girl's eyes fluttered. The sedative was wearing off, so he would need to give her Valium. The voice had told him she couldn't hurt him as long as he kept narcotics in her system. That's where he'd made the mistake with Ravyn: he'd let the drugs wear off. He wanted this one awake but under the influence.

The voice—not his mother's this time, for this voice was masculine, mesmerizing—was guiding him. He didn't recognize the speaker, but he knew he could trust the voice. It had told him everything he needed to know. But this would be the true test. This would prove everything.

The woman in his bed opened her eyes and looked up at him, and Jay's heart pounded, partly from fear and partly with excitement. He studied those blue irises for any change that would warn him of pending danger… but he saw nothing except confusion.

Her brow creased, and her words came out in a hoarse whisper. "Who are you?"

Jay smiled. "Who do you think I am?"

The girl swallowed, closed her eyes. Tears squeezed from between her lids, "Please don't kill me," she said.

"If you know who I am, you know that's a futile request." He injected the Valium into her vein as he spoke. "Are you afraid?"

She nodded. "Please, I know you don't want do to this. You're in pain, or you wouldn't want to hurt others. Someone's been very cruel to you."

Jay gave a harsh laugh. Counseling from a soon-to-be victim? This was a first. "What the hell do you know? You would be wise to worry about yourself, not me."

"I
am
worried. Oh, God. They'll be devastated. Ravyn… Mother… Justin." The girl's words slurred. "We're getting married."

"There's going to be a very long postponement," he whispered, leaning so close that he could see the pores in her smooth cheeks.

"Where are we? I was at Ravyn's, I heard Arthur outside…" Her eyes flew up to meet his. "Is he here? Have you done something to my cat?"

He hadn't seen a cat. The voice had told him Sorina would be outside Ravyn's home, and she had been. Had the voice also placed her cat there to lure her?

The
how
didn't matter. Not really. Sorina was here. And she was his.

The voice was giving him power, control. He knew the voice was on his side. There was no end to what he could do. He could even make his ultimate fantasy a reality… But not now, not with this one. That fantasy would take some planning. And it required a particular someone to share it with.

Jay stepped back and while Sorina watched, pressed the trigger on a blowtorch and held the blade to the flame.

Fresh tears filled Sorina's eyes, spilling over and soaking her hair as she lay on her back. She
was
afraid. Beautifully afraid. Eyes blazing with terror, yet muddled from the Valium, she whispered, "Please."

Jay's groin tingled.
Yes
.

He hesitated when he saw something else in her eyes. Sympathy? She felt
sorry
for him? What the hell was wrong with her? Didn't she know what was going to happen? Didn't she realize what he was capable of? He was sure she did, and yet she still felt sorry for him.

He shook off the twinge of remorse that wriggled like a worm inside his gut. He held the knife in front of her face and leaned toward her, and he celebrated the moment her sympathy turned into despair.

On Monday morning, Nick's cell phone rang just after Dorothy doused the witch with a bucket of water. He paused the movie and picked up.

"I told you I'd keep you in the loop," Sheriff Whitehall said. "It's not in the papers yet, but it will be soon."

"What will be in the papers?"

"They found another vie."

Nick closed his eyes. He hadn't found the bastard in time, and now another girl was dead. He swallowed and looked back at the screen. Judy Garland's features were frozen in a look of horrified confusion. Much the way he felt right now. "Shit," was all he could manage.

"Yep, my thoughts exactly. A homeless guy found her down in Bricktown last night. Looks like she was killed sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning."

Bricktown was a restored warehouse district in downtown Oklahoma City that was now a tourist attraction. It boasted several shops and restaurants, a movie theater and a Triple-A baseball stadium. However, some of the nearby areas were derelict and dangerous. Nick wasn't surprised that location had been the chosen place to dump a body.

"Does the OCPD know who she is?"

"They didn't, so they faxed me a photo hoping I might. Which was the damndest thing of all. I recognized her. And that really threw me for a loop."

"Yes?" Nick prompted. Get on
with it, old man
.

"You know the Skyler woman?"

Nick doubled over in his recliner as if he'd taken a punch to the gut. "The—? Oh, God." Spots swam in his vision, and he squeezed his eyes closed. "Jesus," he choked out past the lump in his throat. A roar started in his ears as if they were pressed to the inside of the world's largest sea-shell. "Jesus," he said again, the word leaving him in a
whoosh
of air.

The roar was so loud, he almost didn't hear Whitehall's next words. When they finally penetrated his panicked brain, he gasped in a mixture of relief and revulsion.

"… her sister. Beautiful girl, too. They're heading over to get the mom so she can ID the body."

"Sister?" Nick repeated dumbly. As if a black curtain lifted, his vision cleared and he started to breathe again.

"Yeah. Sorina Skyler. I met her the night I went out on the call about her sis. Sorry sonofabitch. What do you make of him going after the sister? Can't be coincidence."

Sorina. Nick felt guilty at his relief that it wasn't Ravyn, and at the same time nauseated. Sorina was a good person. Kind, compassionate, beautiful. Innocent.

Motherfucker.

"Are you sure it's her?" Nick asked.

"Pretty sure. We'll know more after the mother takes a look. Sorry-ass thing to ask a momma to do, though, you know?"

"Yeah. I know. Listen, thanks for the info. I gotta go," Nick grunted.

"Sure. I'll give you a yell if anything else comes up."

Nick dialed Ravyn's shop, wondering if she knew about her sister yet. When she answered, he couldn't detect anything in her voice. He wanted to ask if Sorina was there, hoping Whitehall had made a mistake. But if Whitehall hadn't, asking about her dead sister would be too cruel.

"Are you there alone?" Nick asked instead.

A brief pause. "Yes. Sorina was supposed to be here, but she's not, and I haven't been able to reach her."

A sick feeling wound through Nick's chest. "Hang tight. I'm coming over."

"Why? What's going on?" There was a trace of apprehension in her voice.

Nick raced to his car as he spoke, the cell phone stuck to his ear. "I'll explain when I get there."

Heart laden with sadness, he drove to her shop. He dreaded giving Ravyn the news, but he'd rather it came from him than a stranger or the television. At least, he thought he'd rather it came from him.

She was still alone when he arrived. She stood with her hands clasped, rubbing the inside of her right palm with her left thumb, a nervous tic he'd seen more than once. She looked at him calmly, but a tiny twitching at the corner of her mouth betrayed her anxiety.

He took her hands in his, and she tensed but didn't pull away. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he said.

Something changed in her face. It was subtle but unmistakable. A white line formed around her lips. The amber flecks in her eyes seemed to melt away until there was nothing but the shimmer of emeralds.

"It's Sorina," Nick continued. "They found a woman's body, and they think it's her."

Ravyn stared at him for a moment, then spoke. That smoky voice was strained and cold. "Think?"

"They need someone to ID the body. Your mother should be on her way there now."

Ravyn turned away, nodding, as if she were in a trance. "Sorina spent the night with me Saturday night. When I woke, she was gone. I tried to reach her all day yesterday and again this morning. I called and stopped by her apartment, but she wasn't there. Her fiancé is out of town, so I couldn't ask him. I knew something was wrong." She shed no tears, just tightened her lips; the white around her mouth and the look in her eyes were her only reactions. Was she in shock? Did the truth need to be confirmed before she could grieve? It would hit her sooner or later, most likely sooner, and when it did, she'd be a wreck.

"I'll drive you to the station," Nick suggested. "I have some friends there, and maybe they can make this a little easier on you."

She opened her mouth, and he thought she was going to protest, but after a moment she looked at the ground and nodded.