Frog Hollow (Witches of Sanctuary Book 1) (11 page)

“So I should be scared of you?”

He closes the distance between us, his arm guiding my hip against his own. His free hand takes my wrist to his mouth, but he doesn’t bite. Instead, he replicates the kiss I gave him. Delicate and sweet. “Yes, Wilhelmina. You should be scared of me, but not for your life.”

I swallow loudly, and he doesn’t laugh. He holds my stare; this time he’s serious. My heart gives a loud thud in my chest.

“Let’s get this over with.” I try to look away, but he holds me steady.

“Okay. Outdoors really isn’t my thing, but for you, I’ll make an exception.” He gives me a suggestive wink, and I shove him away.

“I meant the spell.”

“Oh, have a sense of humor.” His smile is wicked, yet perfect. “We both know you meant the spell.”

He brings my wrist back to his lips, his breath brushing across my skin before his gaze locks on mine. The knife gleams in his other hand as a spark of something worse than evil lights his eyes.

He waits for me to say something. I stare at the knife and then back to his cold stare.

“What’s your decision?” He bites his lips, spinning the handle of the knife in his palm. “Make it final. I won’t ask again.”

Chapter 10

BENDING THE RULES

“Cut me.”

Julien takes a step back. The black depth in his eyes vanishes. My Julien is back. The deliberation is evident on his face, and my confidence in him grows. “I’ve never—” He begins to stutter, but he stops himself short, returning to his thoughts.

“You’ve never cut anyone before,” I finish for him.

“I’ve never hurt anyone. I’m not my father.” Then, without looking at me, he kisses my hand. “I also promised I would never purposely hurt you.”

Truth rings in his words, so I add a little of my own. “I’m not worried about the actual cut, Julien, because that I can heal.” I look at his face again, making sure all trace of his alter ego is gone. “I’m concerned with the aftermath. Will Mr. Hyde resurface if you cut me?”

“That,” he says with a matter of fact tone, “isn’t a concern at all.”

I take in a long, even breath, calming my nerves. I want to trust him. I can think of a thousand reasons why I shouldn’t. All of them rattle off in my mind in Reid’s demanding voice, but none of them seems convincing enough. Above all, I secretly want to find out what happened to my mother. I know involving myself will only make matters worse, and it means putting my own life in danger, but all that doesn’t matter. I left my life behind to come here for her. Right now, that means I have to do whatever it takes to find out who took her from me, even if it means letting a monster cut me.

I look confidently at him. “Then what are we waiting for?”

“I’m waiting for you to change your mind,” he says, finally gazing up at me. “Or your knight in shining armor to run to your rescue.”

I lock my eyes with his. “I’m not a damsel in distress, Julien. I don’t require saving.”

He smiles at me, but the doubt is still there. “Are you sure about this?” I can see the hope in his eyes that I might say no.

I’m tired of debating it. I’ve made my decision, and now I am more focused on the reason we are doing this in the first place. “Just let me grab some dirt first,” I say, trying to hide the anxiousness in my voice. I pick up a hand full of dirt off a nearby grave and then cautiously offer Julien my other hand. He runs his fingers across my palm, outlining each crease as he breathes in.

“Remember, you have to turn it over three times before you release it.”

“I got it. Just make it quick.”

He looks at the knife and my hand again, hesitating. “I have to let
him
do it.”

I take a deep breath, then exhale, but it does nothing for my nerves. “I trust you.”

He laughs, and I flinch at the sinister undertone. “You should never trust the Haunted,
chérie
.”

I close my eyes. I don’t want to see that Julien again. I prepare for the worst and flinch when he nicks my palm. He releases me immediately. When I open my eyes, Julien is ten feet away, his hands in his hair. Struggling.

“Finish it,” he says, turning away.

I stare down at my blood-smeared hand, unable to convince myself I am even capable of performing magic. I open the hand that holds the dirt and let three drops of my blood trickle down into the center. I flip my wrist once, twice, and on the third time I feel the power surge inside me. I suddenly remember who I am and all the things I can do. I bring my closed fist up to my mouth, open my fingers, and blow out an array of crystal dust that floats through the air around us like a looming fog.

“Wow.” Julien’s voice sings behind me. “You really are one of the Innocent.”

I spin around. His battle is over. His Mr. Hyde is gone. He simply stands in amazement, no hint of supernatural ability about him, especially not a monster. I feel relieved.

I look back over my shoulder at the dust that is now disappearing in the distance. “What now?”

“First,” he says, slowly approaching me, “you need to heal yourself.”

I see the concern on his face and glance down at my hand. Blood leaks down my wrist to my elbow. I clench my fist, focusing on the lingering pain from the puncture site. I know I will never be able to completely remove the scar. Only someone as well practiced as Sera can do that, but I stop the bleeding. When I open my hand, a faint pink mark of fresh skin stares up at me underneath the drying blood.

I hold the evidence of my work up to Julien. “And second?”

He shrugs, coming over to inspect my hand for himself. “Now, we hunt down some ghosts.”

I automatically hum the
Ghostbusters
theme song.

He tugs me playfully back toward the entrance of the graveyard. I like this Julien much better.

I follow him, gracefully swerving through the graves, peeking around headstones, unsure of what I might find lurking on the other side. Darkness fades around us, and I begin to wonder if we’ll find anything at all. I am about to voice my pessimism when a sound rattles in the distance.

Julien turns too. He signals for me to listen again. I strain my hearing this time, trying to block out the typical sounds of nature crowding around us. I focus hard and wait. It’s laughter. I definitely hear someone laughing.

A slow smile creeps across Julien’s lips, and he motions me forward. I follow him back through the graves as the sound grows louder. I distinguish a child’s voice. Julien rounds one of the large stone mausoleums, pulling me to his side. I stare into the darkness, unaware of what has caught his attention. He points to the distant horizon, and sure enough, standing just below one of the low-hanging branches of a magnolia tree, is a little girl. Her figure is faint, but it’s easy to make out a tattered blue dress.

I freeze in shock. I’ve seen many oddities in my life, most of which were my creation, but this seems too unbelievable, even for me. “Walk slow,” Julien says over my shoulder, “and follow me.”

Julien takes one step, and the girl turns to us, still smiling gleefully. It isn’t until Julien waves at her that it falters. We continue to slowly approach her, and her brow furrows. Julien waves again, and without a blink, she vanishes through the trees.

We sigh simultaneously, but when I turn around, another figure catches my eye. This figure is much larger than the little girl and a lot rougher around the edges. I tug on Julien’s sleeve, pointing at the man walking toward us. Julien speaks a greeting, but the figure doesn’t turn. In fact, it doesn’t even acknowledge our presence as it passes. It isn’t until the man drops to his knees at a nearby grave that I notice the uniform, a heavily worn gray material with a confederate flag sewn into the arm.

“He’s a soldier.” I watch as the man runs his bloody hands across the gravestone in front of him.

“He has no idea we’re even here.” Julien waves his arms as the soldier begins to weep.

“Why the difference?” I turn back to where the little girl disappeared in the trees. “She was frightened of us. She knew we could see her.”

Leaves rustle to my right, and I spin around to catch a glimpse of two sets of shining eyes through the dark trees. Julien grins. “We’re being watched.”

I squeeze Julien’s arm. “Stay here.”

I pick three small stones from the ground as I smile reassuringly toward the trees. I sit down, crossing my legs in front of me, and with one flick of my wrist, I begin juggling the three stones. They dance through the air without the assistance of my hands.

The eyes watch me, never blinking.

I let the stones fall into my palm and then hold them out toward the trees. “Do you want to try?”

Silence. The eyes still watch me, though.

“Okay, then.” I stand as if I’m preparing to leave. A child sprints out of the trees. It isn’t the same girl. This one is even younger. She can’t be older than five. She wears a similar dress, except it’s pink, which matches the marks that cover her body from head to toe.

“I want to try!”

I open my mouth to answer, but the older girl in the blue dress appears by her side and pulls her backward. “Stop it, Lizzy,” the girl says. “We don’t talk to strangers.”

The small girl, Lizzy, lets out a disappointed sigh.

“I am not a stranger,” I say quickly. “I’m a neighbor. I live here in Frog Hollow, just over that hill.”

The girl stops walking, but she still holds tight to her sister. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

“We saw them earlier, Tessie,” Lizzy says, trying to pull away from her sister. “She was crying, remember?”

The girl ignores her younger sister, keeping a watchful eye on me, but I notice she continues to glance at Julien to my left. “Have you seen him before?”

She nods, but Lizzy answers for her. “He cries too.”

I look to Julien, and he steps forward. “I always knew I wasn’t alone.”

“Why do you cry?” Lizzy asks, but Tessie only pulls her arm again, signaling for her to keep quiet.

“It’s okay.” Julien holds up his hands, assuring them both it’s safe. He passes by me with only a glance. He stops in front of the girls, and I can tell by Tessie’s stance that she is ready to run again. Julien kneels before them and looks Lizzy in the eyes.

“I cry because I miss my mother.” His face is tight and solemn. “I come here when I need her advice and to remind myself that the biggest part of me is still human.”

She ignores Tessie tugging on her arm. “How come you’ve never waved before?”

“I couldn’t see you before now.” He turns around and points in my direction. “You see, my girlfriend performed a trick earlier that lets us see you.”

Lizzy’s eyes widen, obviously remembering the dancing rocks. She leans around Julien to look at me and blushes. “She’s his girlfriend.”

I give Julien an exasperated scowl, but he winks at me before turning back to Lizzy. “She is looking for someone, and we were hoping you could tell us if you’ve seen her. Do you know anyone else like you?”

Lizzy glances toward the weeping soldier who is now crying out the name of his lost love. “No,” Tessie says, answering for her. “It’s only us, and him.”

I didn’t realize how much hope I was building up until it broke. Julien doesn’t dare let his disappointment show, because Lizzy is staring intently at him. “Will you always be able to see me?”

Julien sighs. “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but Wilhelmina’s magic will only last for so long.”

“Oh.” She frowns.

“But you can always join me when I visit. I may not be able to see you, but I’ll know you’re there. Okay?”

Lizzy smiles as Tessie reaches for her hand. “It’s time to go.”

Julien gives the little girl a friendly wave. “I’ll be back.”

“Bring your girlfriend too. I like her.”

The girls disappear through the trees with a round of giggles.

Julien frowns as he walks back toward me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up.”

“It’s fine.” He pulls me into a hug anyway. “There are other places we can look for her.”

His arms feel nice around me, holding me firm against him. “I thought the spell was permanent,” I say, remembering how he mentioned visiting Priscilla on various occasions.

“A permanent spell would require a lot more blood than I’d be willing to let you give.” He squeezes me tightly. “Which reminds me, we need to clean you up.”

I agree without hesitation. It has been a long day, and the past couple hours have been emotionally draining. We walk back to my house in relative silence. He pauses at the front door. I try desperately not to look at him. Then he touches my elbow, and I look up.

He grins. “May I?”

I frown at him. Something is different between us now that I’ve seen a hint of the other person he can be. It’s fear.

His grin widens. “Just me.” He holds up his hand in a salute. “Scout’s honor.”

I roll my eyes and throw him my keys. “You were never a scout. And they don’t salute.”

He shrugs because he knows he’s won.

Once inside, we go straight to the kitchen. I hop up on the counter next to the sink, leaning over to let him wash the blood from my hands. He examines the healing wounds again and sighs, running his fingers over the healing scar.

“I’m not proficient at my craft yet.” I turn my hand over. “Someone more skilled, like Sera, wouldn’t have left any evidence.”

He doesn’t say anything. The lines on his forehead become more pronounced. I don’t know what to say, so I nudge him. “Was it good for you?” I try to sound playful.

His head shoots up. “What?”

“Was it good for you?” I repeat, gesturing at the cut on my hand. “Did you enjoy it?”

“I hurt you.” He’s angry now. “I would never enjoy that.”

I smile bigger. “I meant did the other side of you enjoy it?”

His brow furrows at that.

“I’m curious. It looked as if you were having difficulty with him after you cut me. I’m still trying to figure out how this all works.”

“It was different,” he says stiffly. “Scary.”