Bone Witch Read online

  Ralph walked right around it, his eyes on mine. Fuck. I took out my gun, feeling naked without at least a knife, but my right hand was a mess still. I wouldn’t have been able to hold anything with it. Ralph might have been working for Finn, but I wasn’t. Not any more. I could cause as big a scene as I wanted to. The ECU was already on my back. What more could they do?

  He was barely five feet away from me when I raised my gun. People screamed. They scattered away, some on all fours. Ralph stopped walking. I pulled the trigger.

  The bullet flew forward too fast for eyes to see, except it never reached Ralph’s forehead. Instead, it got caught up in yellow smoke, right in front of his face. A look down at the werewolf’s hands confirmed my suspicion. He was using a shield stone.

  “Goddamn it,” I hissed at myself and fired again. My bullet had broken the first spell, but he had two stones in his hands. When the second bullet fell to the ground in front of his feet, he started to run. I fired again. Another fucking spell. Finn had been generous with the guy, but that didn’t matter because he was right in front of me now, his finger around my wrist.

  My beads went for his eyes fast and gave me a second to try and free myself from him. I was so weak. My body cried in protest every time I moved. Ralph tightened his grip around my wrist. My gun to the ground. He then slapped my beads away from his face like they were annoying flies. They’d only served to get him angrier. He’d been a nice guy who didn’t say much around the office. I’d even liked him.

  Now, I was about to die from his hand.

  “Stop fighting,” he said, his voice thick.

  “Fuck you,” I spit, and when he dragged me forward, I couldn’t stop him. He was a big guy, very strong, and I was as weak as it got. My foot wouldn’t let me even try to break free, and I couldn’t move my right arm at all. The adrenaline rushing through my body didn’t do anything to chase the pain away. I was so terrified, I couldn’t even focus long enough to attack him with my beads. Useless.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. I shouldn’t have wasted all this time. I should have gotten my powers a long time ago. Like Dylan said, I was already regretting it, knowing that I was about to die.

  Ralph dragged me back where I’d come from. He was heading for Dirty Joe’s bar. There would be no humans in there, and Joe could be bribed into keeping his mouth shut easily, as well as any other Paranormal who happened to be in there. Death was closer than I’d realized, it seemed. Literally across the street and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

  I stopped struggling to break free. Might as well spare myself the pain before it was over. This was it, there was no way around this.

  Unless…

  My hair was all over my face. I hadn’t had the patience to braid it and put my stones in it. But I still had them in my pockets of my jacket.

  Ralph had his iron fingers around the wrist of my good hand. My other arm hurt even when I breathed. Was that going to stop me? No, sir.

  We were in the middle of the street when I attempted to raise my hand closer to my pocket. Half a second was all it took for me to want to give up. The tears in my eyes made the view blurry but I didn’t need to look. I nearly fell when we reached the sidewalk and as ridiculous as it was, bending down helped. It brought my pocket closer to my hand. I could already feel the stones’ energy. I had one of Finn’s bombs in there, together with my fire attack spell. I held my breath as I reached with my crippled fingers for whichever I could grab. If it wasn’t over soon, I was going to pass out from the pain.

  When I finally reached a stone and wrapped my fingers around it, hope bloomed in my heart. We were at the bar’s door, and Ralph kicked it open. I didn’t have time to see who was inside. I focused all of my being in getting that stone out of my pocket and throwing it at Ralph’s feet.

  Someone up there must have liked me because I managed to pull my hand out of my pocket. Letting go of the stone was easy. It hit the ceramic tiles with a loud noise, right in front of Ralph’s feet. The werewolf stopped to look. I didn’t hesitate. I sent all the energy I had into the stone.

  Fire. Beautiful, bright orange fire, all over Ralph’s legs.

  “Shit,” he hissed as he tried to step away, but that wasn’t how the spell worked. You couldn’t just step away from it once it was activated. His jeans were on fire and the ends of his jacket, too. I felt the heat on the hand he was holding, the hand he let go before I realized what was happening.

  I drew in a deep breath. I was free. The shock cost me more than a few seconds. I looked at my good hand, just to make sure I wasn’t just imagining this. I wasn’t. Ralph was running for Joe’s bar, probably to look for water. The pain forgotten, I ran to the other side and right out the door.

  Police sirens rang in my ears, but I didn’t stop to take a look. My pulling the gun and shooting at Ralph had caused more panic than I’d realized, but that was okay. I still had a few minutes before the werewolf would come after me. I turned the corner and ran as fast as my body would let me. Grabbing a knife from my belt, I looked at the cars parked by the street. Luck smiled at me once again when I saw a young man climb out of a dark blue Benz. I hated to be this person, but what other choice did I have?

  The man slammed the door shut a second before I grabbed him by the hair and put my knife to his neck.

  “The keys,” I whispered in his ear, feeling like shit.

  “P-p-please,” the man whispered and opened the palm of his hand. The key to the car was in it.

  Goddamn it. Even as I grabbed it and pushed him back, I still couldn’t believe I was doing this. The police were just a street away. I didn’t have time to even say I was sorry. I just jumped into the car, ashamed to even look at the man who’d fallen on his ass on the sidewalk.

  It was a half-hour drive to Long Island and to my mother’s bones. My right arm was useless, so I couldn’t even hit the steering wheel to get some of the anger out. So I just screamed with everything I had as I hit the gas.

  Those few times I’d dared to imagine getting my powers, this situation was the last thing in my mind. I’d thought it would be a happy day and that I’d be prepared. That I wouldn’t be alone. I’d have friends with me, and we’d do a little ceremony beforehand. We’d drink and laugh, and it would be the middle of the night when my powers found me. I thought I’d had time to get used to the whole thing before having to use my magic.

  Now, I knew that Ralph was going to be after me as soon as he put the fire out and changed his clothes, if that long. He was going to find me with his nose only. Werewolves had a strong sense of smell even in human form. I doubted he’d turn in broad daylight to make it even easier for him to get to me faster, but I’d been wrong before. At this point, I was willing to believe that anything could happen.

  Trying to gain an ounce of confidence in myself, I tried to remember all the spells I’d had to learn. Spells I never thought I’d use. I never understood why my mother insisted I learned them, when on the other hand, we couldn’t even talk about magic at home. She never answered my questions while alive, and I doubted she’d answer them now.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted to myself when I couldn’t even remember a strong attack spell. I laughed at myself. This was so fucking useless, it was ridiculous. I didn’t even know how having magic really felt, and I thought I’d be able to conjure spells right away? Tears streamed from my eyes, some of anger, some of sadness, but most of pure desperation. I was being hunted, driving in a stolen car to my mother’s bones, which I’d never have buried so far away had I ever suspected I’d be in the position I was in. But Mother had loved that park. It was close to the house we’d lived in the longest, and she used to walk there every single day. Said the place calmed her down and brought her peace. I’d never had a place like that, except in her arms. God, how I missed her. How I wished she’d have done the ritual herself and been there with me when I came into my powers. Maybe that way, I’d have been less terrified to find out what the deal with me was. Why she never wanted me
to get to this point.

  But wishing on things didn’t make them come true.

  The tunnel seemed to stretch to eternity. I both hated that and loved it. I wanted to get there so badly, but at the same time, I wished I never would. I’d never felt such strong contradictory emotions inside me, and my heart was about to leap out of my chest.

  The strangest thing—Julian Walker’s face came to mind all of a sudden. Would it have been better if I’d stayed with him? He was a strong witch. I’d felt it, though he hadn’t used his magic against me for whatever reason.

  No, I decided. Instead of only protecting myself, I’d have had to protect him as well. And I wouldn’t have even known that Alexandra had gotten Dylan. Now, at least, I had one less enemy to fight, even if her death would send even more agents after me.

  “Think of a plan, Winter,” I said to myself as the park grew closer and closer. I was almost there and I had no idea what I was going to do. My head was a mess. I couldn’t remember a single spell to conjure, and I didn’t even dare think about the words I’d have to chant for the ritual. If I didn’t remember those, too, I was as good as dead.

  To make myself feel better, I imagined a plan anyway. Once I had my powers, assuming there would be nothing wrong with them, I’d find a place to hide. I’d conjure a healing spell, the strongest one I could remember, and I’d get the hell out of the U.S. The ECU had people all over the place, but they wouldn’t have the same resources outside of the country. And I’d be a proper witch for once in my life. I’d be careful. I’d keep a low profile, change my appearance, live all by myself. It wouldn’t be much of a life, but at least I’d still be alive. That had to count for something. All I had to do was keep out of trouble.

  When I parked the stolen Mercedes across the park, shivers washed down my body. I couldn’t fill my lungs with enough air. Fear almost made me turn the ignition on again and get the hell out of there until I ran out of gas. Just drive and never stop.

  But I knew I couldn’t do that. Blocking those thoughts away, I stepped out of the car. The street was quiet, barely a few humans walking by. They didn’t seem to notice me. I could at least count on that.

  The pain in my foot was back, but I ignored it best I could as I walked up the low hill, over which stretched my mother’s favorite park. Almost empty, the space was huge, full of trees and benches for old people to sit on.

  I’d buried my mother’s bones right at the heart of it, near the biggest tree, three feet away from its trunk. There was no point in looking around me at this point. I was either going to get to it, or I was going to die. Panic was already a very good friend, just like fear. I didn’t need more of them.

  Two minutes later, I could see the tree. Tears in my eyes again, but I didn’t have it in me to be annoyed.

  When a Bone witch died, you had to cremate her within twenty-four hours. Because our bones were where all of our magic was stored, ordinary flames couldn’t turn them to ash, not until their power was passed on—from father to son, from mother to daughter. The ritual itself would break the bones and turn them to dust at its completion.

  All of my mother’s bones were perfectly intact—now right below my feet.

  Witches like me—covenless—didn’t go to visit graves because we couldn’t bury our dead in the coven’s graveyard where they’d be protected by spells created from tens of witches. Almost indestructible. That’s why I’d had to bury my mother’s bones in the dark when nobody could see me, and keep their location a secret. A lot of dark magic could be conjured with a Bone witch’s bones if you knew how. I’d hunted two witches for that very reason when I used to work for Finn. I didn’t want anyone using my mother for shit like that.

  My legs gave out, and I fell to my knees. With my good hand, I began to dig and cry. I didn’t even have a shovel with me, and this was probably going to take the whole day, but I didn’t mind. Right there was where I wanted to be, close to everything that was left of my mother. And if it came to it, this wasn’t a bad place to die in, either.

  I’d covered her bones in a white sheet, as was custom for Bone witches. I’d decided that for myself, even though my mother had never behaved like a witch. The only thing that gave her away were the beads that used to float around her hand, the beads which were now mine. She’d always acted like they weren’t even there, and I think she secretly hated them for being there. She was the first daughter of my grandparents, so she’d inherited them from her mother. As far as I knew, she never used them.

  None of it mattered as I dug and dug with one hand only, trying but failing to put a stop to my tears. The bones were so close now, I could almost feel them. Terrified, I began to think of the words of the ritual. Finally, some relief when I realized I remembered them. Probably because they were in plain English, while the language of spells was a mixture of Latin and another language whose origin no one seemed to know.

  All of a sudden, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I stopped digging. My gut was telling me to get up, run, run, run. I was being watched.

  A look behind me confirmed it. Ralph stood atop the low hill, looking down at the park. I couldn’t exactly see his face, but who else was that big and at a random park in a Long Island neighborhood.

  It was only a matter of time before he saw me.

  Shaking from head to toe, I took out my remaining stones from my pocket and placed them on the ground to the side of the hole I’d dug. The ritual was going to unleash my mother’s powers from her bones. That equaled a lot of energy. If I didn’t have to use them on Ralph, they were going to go off all by themselves, and I definitely didn’t want them on my person. I placed my finding spell away from the bombs. With one shaking hand, I continued to dig and dig and dig until I finally touched the fabric of the white sheet.

  A cry escaped my lips. This was the closest I’d been to my mother in years. I grabbed the sheet and pulled, just as something pulled me back by the hair, too.

  I didn’t have to look to know that Ralph had found me. The smell of burnt fabric filled my nostrils as he threw me against the ground.

  “You little bitch,” he hissed, apparently mad that I’d set him on fire. He loomed over me, a bear of a man, his eyes red with anger. I reached for the stones I’d left right there for this purpose exactly. Three bombs of the best quality. Thank you, Finn.

  Ralph grabbed me by my foot and pulled. “There’s no hole you can hide in, pathetic little witch,” he said through gritted teeth. Ideally, I’d have been able to place the stone right in the pocket of his burned jacket, but the guy had grabbed me by my ankle, standing too far from me. So I just threw my stone right at his chest with all the energy I could muster after it.

  This time, the werewolf was expecting it. He let go of me and jumped back. I didn’t make it to hold my breath when the spell exploded. It sent me back a couple of feet, and my whole body fell on my right hand and broken elbow.

  So. Much. Pain.

  I was surprised I didn’t pass out. I was surprised I still had the energy to crawl back to the hole I’d dug. It was deeper than my arm could reach. By the time I touched the fabric again, I almost fell in because there was nothing I could hold on with. I pulled the fabric as hard as I could, breathing heavily. All I needed to do was touch my mother’s bones. A single bone would do the trick, just to connect my energy to hers.

  Tears washed down my cheeks as I began to chant under my breath, afraid to look up and see where Ralph was. He would be there soon anyway.

  I cried out when the tip of my index finger touched bone. Warmth spread up my good arm just as Ralph grabbed me by the hair again and pulled me up. He threw me against the ground and knocked the breath out of me.

  “I’m going to kill you with my bare hands,” he hissed before he sat on top of me and wrapped his fingers around my neck. I couldn’t reach the remaining bomb stones, though my life depended on it. Death grinned right at my face. I looked up at the grey sky above me, struggling to breathe.

  Like I said, th
is was not a bad place to die. I was right next to my mother’s bones. With any luck, I’d see her soon, though only a fool believed in the afterlife.

  Bone of mother, Bone of daughter;

  Heart of mother, heart of daughter;

  Power of mother, power of daughter;

  Are one.

  The words went through my head and my lips moved in response, though no voice came out of me. The sky called to me, Ralph’s face only a silhouette under it. Air left my body, and it took all life with it. Dark spots began to cloud my vision. For once, I refused to blink. Keeping my eyes stuck to the sky made sure that it was the last thing I was going to see before I was gone, and I refused to look at Ralph’s face.

  Any second now…

  My chest exploded.

  Is this how it feels to die?

  It must have, because every cell in my body sparked with flameless fire. My heart stopped beating for a long second, but then the beating came back. That wasn’t right, was it?

  Air went through my throat, and my lungs filled. The black dots in front of me began to fade.

  Maybe there is an afterlife, after all, I thought.

  “What the hell?” someone hissed.

  My eyes moved and found Ralph’s face. The hair around his ears was completely gone. Burned. By me. His brown eyes were wide, his mouth open as he looked down at me. The strangest thing, his hands were no longer around my neck. He no longer sat on my stomach, pinning me down.

  No, he stood up.

  “What the fuck have you done to me?” he shouted, slowly stepping away. Huh? “What the hell have you done to me, you bitch?” Ralph rubbed his eyes as if his intent was to pull them out of their sockets.

  I sat up. The world was still as I’d left it. The sky was as grey and the ground as cold underneath me.

  “Stop it!” Ralph shouted again, the veins in his forehead completely visible.

  “Ralph,” I whispered because I had no idea what the hell he wanted me to stop.

  “Stop spelling me,” he hissed. “Stop it or you’re dead!”