The Banshee's Embrace

Copyright 2012 Victoria Richards (victoria-richards.com). All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons either living or dead, as well as any events or locations is entirely coincidental.

In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, any means of reproduction, either electronic or physical, of any part of this book, without written permission is unlawful piracy and deemed a theft of the author's intellectual property. You may use the material from this book for review purposes only. Any other use requires written permission from the author or publisher.

Table of Contents

The Banshee Awakens

Wizard Truths

The Box of Souls

Command Me

Soul Reaper

             
The rain howled down, causing Jacqueline's skirt to stick to her as if it were a second skin. She didn't notice, nor did the pounding rain cause her any discomfort. Her attention was focused on the body next to her, her mind trying to make sense of everything that she'd seen.

             
Eric is dead
.

             
The thought tore at her heart. Someone had just killed her husband. Even though she knew that, even though her mind knew she needed to run, to get
the hell
out of danger, Jacqueline could do nothing but stare down at the man who had somehow managed to save her from death.

             
But how? How had he done it? The deep ache in her chest where she'd been hit was proof something happened, but had she imagined the sparks she'd seen flying from his fingertips, the sparks that had sailed through the wet night and at the mysterious man who'd attempted to assault her. No. It wasn't possible. Her mind was playing tricks. It had to have been a gun, some sort of new technology. Eric was a cop. He would have had access to those things. It had only looked like…

             
Magic.

             
The murderer had taken off into the night, not bothering to see if his victim was alive or dead. Her mind replayed the events of the past few minutes. Jacqueline had been certain that death was going to claim her, but as she'd lain on the soaked ground, Eric's worried face appeared above her. The wind had picked up, carrying with it an odd, almost melodious howl.

             
"No, Jackie!" Eric's voice was stern, though blood dripped down the side of his face. "Don't listen to the song. It's not your time to become one of them."

             
"Eric, baby…" She could feel the strength slipping from her body. It felt like something dark tugged at her spirit, something that wanted very badly for her to let go of life.

             
What a weird thought…

             
"No!" With a deep breath, Eric had raised his head to the night sky and begun chanting strange words. His hands glowed with a soft, comforting white light, and as he placed them on her chest, just above her heart, heat slid into her skin. The tugging feeling evaporated.

             
"Eric?" As she sat up, he fell onto his side, eyes wide and empty.

             
Her emotions were numb with dread, and though her mind had already darted and delved its way into a million questions, she willed herself to be still just a moment longer. Just a little while more. If she sat very, very still, everything would go back to normal. She'd wake up from the horror, from the truth.

             
Eric is dead
.

             
She reached forward and touched the body of the man she'd been married to for five years. He was already cold. The rain lashed against him, and suddenly Jacqueline threw herself against his chest, ready to shield him from the harsh drops. Desperately, she breathed in his scent.

             
Her skin tingled. Anxiety danced in her stomach, and the oddest sensation of power rippled through her abdomen. The spot on her chest where the man had hit her, that Eric had healed, ached. Her heart raced and dizziness washed over Jacqueline, mixing with the sensation of rain on her skin. She could literally feel this new energy rising through her body until it reached the esophagus.

             
Jacqueline lifted her face to the sky. If she could have seen herself, she would have been shocked to see that her eyes were a deep, luminescent green. Her mouth opened and a long wail flew free from within her. Only it wasn't really a wail.

             
It had melody.

             
It lifted up through the air, skimming the rain and dancing across the night sky, carrying along the sound of her lament.

***

             
Three miles away, Toby Williams rubbed at his counter top with a damp towel. He'd just flipped off the neon sign for Merlyn's Bar when the sound came to him. At first, it was faint, a soft song that sounded vaguely familiar. He moved to the window and stared out, curious.

             
The bar was located at the end of an old dirt road that ran parallel to the river. It was the last stop for river rafters and tubers before they journeyed into the
Galesburg
Falls
, a more dangerous stretch of water. Trees lined the lonely road on both sides, bending down low and creating a tunnel like effect at night. Tonight as Toby listened to the strange song he became aware of how listless and still the air was, almost as if it too had paused to listen to the mysterious melody.

             
But as Toby watched, one by one the trees rustled as a gust wind blew through them. He pushed open the bar door and stood outside. One sniff of the air told him that rain was coming which was odd for July. Normally, this part of the state didn't see rain again until October.

             
The lilting melody grew louder, carried by the force of the wind, until the melancholy song itself seemed to wrap around him, causing his cynical heart to beat a little faster. His eyes narrowed and he pulled gently at the blonde beard he'd been growing for the last few months. What was making that sound?

             
There was movement to his left. Something or someone was hiding in the bushes.

             
"Reveal," he said, waving his hand in the air as if parting a curtain.

             
The bushes opened obligingly, displaying a small man trembling behind the brush.

             
"Who are you?" Toby called out.

             
The man jumped up, clapped his hands together, and without a word, disappeared into thin air.

             
"Shit," Toby muttered. "Another wizard. What the hell is going on now?"

             
Toby Williams stepped back inside Merlyn's Bar. Though he didn't need to, he locked the door behind him. With a soft sigh, he resumed his activity of cleaning the counter, but dread and curiosity brewed in his stomach.

             
The other wizards would be paying him a call soon.

****

One Year Later….

             
Jacqueline was drunk. She knew it and didn't give a damn. So what if she was being loud and obnoxious? So what if she wasn't making sense? She was Jacqueline Huston and she could do whatever the hell she pleased!

             
At least when she was drinking.

             
"And another thing," she said to her friend Angela who was equally drunk. "I think that stupid Bella should have picked the wolf. I mean, come on! Why would you pick a dead guy for a boyfriend?"

             
"He is pretty damn sexy," Angela lisped. "So sexy! Guys that sexy should be illegal."

             
"Edward is a whiner," Jacqueline insisted. "Whine, whine, whine all the time."

             
She tapped her empty red plastic cup on the bar for emphasis.

             
"Speaking of wine." Jacqueline leaned over the bar and shouted down at the bartender. "Hey, Toby! I need some more wine down here. Bring me the good stuff! You know, the kind out of a box."

             
Both women cracked up, laughing hysterically.

             
Jacqueline noticed Toby moved slowly towards them. He was cool and collected, something she envied about him. In the year that she'd been frequenting Merlyn's Bar, she'd yet to see him let a situation get out of hand. Any attempt at a bar fight was nipped in the bud before the first punch was thrown. He exuded power, and Jacqueline had to admit it was a very sexy trait.

             
Not that she thought of him that way, of course. She'd only been widowed a year. Still, sometimes when she was drinking, odd little thoughts would come to her, sparking her imagination.

             
"You yelled?" Toby leaned back against the wall of the bar, his arms crossed as he gave them both the once over.

             
"Yes. Could we please have another glass of your best Chardonnay?" Angela asked. She smiled at the bartender, tossed her long red hair, and attempted a flirtatious wink that somehow made her look like she was having a brain seizure.

             
Jacqueline couldn't help laughing.

             
"I think you two have had enough. Who is driving home?" Toby asked.

             
"I'm cabbing it." Angela grinned. "I'm not stupid enough to drink and drive. Again."

             
"Okay. One more glass for you." Toby turned to Jacqueline, and she couldn’t help but notice how his blue eyes sparkled just a little bit. "What about you?"

             
"I'm walking. It's not like I live that far."

             
"Hmmm…I think you mean staggering. I doubt you can do a regular walk at this point."

             
"Aw…c'mon, Toby. Be a sport. Just one more glass of wine?" Jacqueline gave him her best smile. "Please?"

             
"Does that tactic usually work for you?" Toby asked.

             
"What tactic?" She batted her eyes and tried to look innocent as she played with a piece of her blonde hair. Since it was cut in a pixie bob, it didn't come off as cool as Angela's hair tosses did.

             
"The one where you attempt to look like a simpering virgin?"

             
"Oh shit. I wasn't going for virgin. Just cheap slut."

             
Toby grinned, making Jacqueline happy. Getting Toby Williams to smile or laugh was no easy feat. She'd tried enough times to know!

             
"Alright. A small glass. Sip it slow," Toby warned. He produced a wine bottle from the fridge behind the bar and expertly poured them each a drink. "You are both cut off after this one though. It's almost closing time."

             
"Yes sir!" Angela saluted.