Chasing the Witch (Boston Witches) (16 page)

“I know, Will. I just wish I could undo all the bad that has happened to her,” Jilly said as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. “Sabine sent those things after her when her parents refused to give her up. Do we know what they are yet, by the way?”

“That’s what I’ve been doing in here since we got back. I think they are shadow wraiths, the damned spirits of evil witches and warlocks who have been called up to do the bidding of the one who calls them.”

Jilly shivered involuntarily. “They sound pleasant. How do we get rid of them?”

“That’s the tricky part. I don’t know that yet. We’ll figure it out, though. I’ll ask Kat when we get back. She knows a lot about that kind of stuff.”

Jilly sighed in frustration. “I wish we could just get this taken care of now. I hate the thought of those things out there waiting for Hannah.” She stopped talking and leaned back on the couch closing her eyes. There was kind of a popping noise and she was gone. William jumped up from the couch and ran through the house looking for her.

When Jilly opened her eyes again, she was standing outside of a hotel room. “
Well, isn’t this new and different,
” she said sarcastically, as she knocked on the door, not really sure who would be on the other side.

The door flew open and Caroline stood on the inside. “Jill? What, how?”

“I don’t know, Car. Just let me in, I need to sit down.” Caroline stepped aside to let Jilly into the room. Nikolai and Katya were seated at the table and they both looked startled when Jilly walked in.

“I guess this is the new development Will told me about,” Nikolai said, dryly.

“Apparently,” was all Jilly said as she sat down with them.

“How are you here, Jill?” Caroline asked.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened. I was thinking that I wanted to see Kat to ask her about something, and I closed my eyes. Then there was a weird pulling feeling on my body and when I opened my eyes, I was here. Can someone give me a phone? I really should call Will. He’s probably freaking out.” Nikolai nodded and handed her his phone. Jilly punched in the numbers, and William picked up on the second ring.

“Nik?” William asked frantically.

“No, it’s me.”

“Jill?” The concern in his voice was evident.

“Yeah, I’m in Boston. Apparently I can teleport when I’m awake now.” She heard his chuckle on the other end.

“Apparently you can. I was so worried. You just disappeared. I looked everywhere in the house for you.”

“I’m sorry; this is all new to me. I’ll warn you next time,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll hopefully be back soon. I want to be there for Hannah.” She hung up after they said their goodbyes.

“Kat, what can you tell me about shadow wraiths?” Jilly asked.

Katya shuddered involuntarily. “They’re nasty. They never stop hunting you once they’ve been set on your trail.”

“How do you stop them?” Jilly asked, not liking what she had heard so far.

“As far as I know, you don’t. They either catch you or are called off. Why do you ask?”

“Sabine sent them after Hannah.”

Katya narrowed her eyes. “She really is soulless. What kind of person would do that to a child? Let me do some more research about them. I should know more by the time you guys get home.”

Jilly nodded and sat back in her chair. “Now I just need to figure out how to teleport back. Anyone have any ideas?”

“How did you do it just now?” Caroline asked

“I closed my eyes and thought about wanting to see Kat to ask about the shadow wraiths and it just happened. It’s never happened while I was awake before, though; so I’m not exactly sure how reliable it is.”

“Try it again. Close your eyes and think of Will. See what happens,” Caroline suggested.

Jilly leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She focused her mind on William and wanting to be back with him. Nothing happened. She opened one eye and looked at Katya who was staring intently at her.

“Try again,” Katya said, motioning with her hands. Jilly tried for fifteen minutes without any progress.

“This is so irritating; I wish I knew how to harness this power or whatever you want to call it.”

Nik’s phone rang. He looked at the number and handed it to Jilly. “It’s for you,” he said.

“Hello?” Jilly said

“Jill, you should come back. Hannah needs you. She had a nightmare or something. I don’t know, but she’s upset and she’s asking for you,” William said

“Will, I’m trying! It’s not as easy as you think. I don’t exactly have an owner’s manual for this. I’m really trying here,” Jilly replied, tartly.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to rush you; or maybe I am. I don’t know. Here, talk to Hannah.” Jilly heard muffled voices and then Hannah’s frightened voice came on the line.

“Jilly?”

“Hannah, are you okay?” Jilly asked, feeling very maternal toward Hannah.

“Where are you? You said you’d be next door, but you weren’t there when I looked.”

“It’s kind of a long story. I’m actually in Boston right now, but I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

“How are you in Boston? I just saw you less than an hour ago,” Hannah said incredulously.

“Like I said, it’s a long story, but I’ll tell you all about it, soon. I need to hang up now; can you pass the phone back to William, please?” Jilly asked.

“Ok, yeah, I’ll see you later then.”

“Jill?” William said.

“Can you keep her calm until I get back? I’m going to try again now; hopefully I’ll see you in a minute.”

“Ok, see you soon then. Be careful, please.”

Jilly handed the phone back to Nikolai and closed her eyes again, wishing that she were back with Hannah and William. She felt the pulling, her body being shoved from every angle and when she opened her eyes, she was back on the couch in the den with William and Hannah.

“Well, that was way weird,” Jilly said as she stood up. William’s phone rang; it was Nikolai wanting to make sure Jilly was there with him.

“Yeah, she’s here.” He was silent for a moment, listening to whatever Nik was saying. “Okay, man, we’ll see you tomorrow afternoon or evening. Take care of everything on your end.”

Jilly led Hannah back to her room and sat on the bed with her. “What did you dream about?” she asked quietly.

“I’m not really sure. It was really foggy, but there was a man with dark hair and he kept calling my name. He chased me through a forest and I finally made it to a big house with stairs that led up from the forest into the house. I pounded on the door and when it opened, a lady that looked kind of like you, but with dark hair, let me in the house.”

Jilly’s eyes widened in surprise. “Do you dream like this a lot?”

“All the time,” Hannah said. “It started a year ago. Right before Sabine came for me the first time. Everything I dream usually happens. I dreamt of you before you came for me. Walter said it’s my gift. I can see the future, but I don’t think it’s much of a gift. It’s more of a curse if you ask me. My parents would still be alive if I didn’t have this so called ‘gift’.”

“I know. It’s not always easy, honey, but once you learn more about what you can do, it gets a lot better. It’s really scary at first because you don’t really know what you’re doing or what’s happening, but once you learn more about it, it’s amazing. Who’s Walter?”

“Didn’t you meet him? He said he talked to you guys. He owns the bookshop; he’s nice, although he seems somewhat gruff at first. He’s been helping me a lot. He lets me stay in his shop at night. But when the shadows come, I run. I don’t want him to get hurt because of me.”

Jilly thought for a moment. “You said that you didn’t call us tonight. If you didn’t, was it Walter?”

“I don’t know. Maybe,” Hannah said as she thought about it.

“It sounded just like you, so maybe it wasn’t him,” Jilly said after a bit. “I guess it’s a mystery, but I’m glad that we found you when we did. I don’t want to think about what could have happened. You should get some sleep. We’ll be leaving in the morning for Boston.” Jilly leaned down and kissed Hannah’s cheek as she tucked her into bed. She went out and found William in the hall waiting for her.

“Everything all right in there?”

“Yeah, I think we may have discovered what her ability is. I think she’s psychic. She has dreams where she sees the future and she says they always come true. I’m sure she was dreaming about Patrick chasing her through the forest behind my house and Caroline letting her inside. I’m not sure if it’s literal or if it’s just what’s possibly going to happen. We assumed that Sabine was working for Patrick anyway, so maybe her dream could mean Patrick’s trying to find Hannah and Caroline is going to help her. What do you think?” Jilly asked him as they walked into their room and sat on the bed.

“I don’t know what to make of it, really. I guess we’ll find out in Boston. Did Kat know anything about the shadow spirits?”

Jilly frowned. “It wasn’t good news. She doesn’t think they can be stopped unless they’ve been called off, and I doubt Sabine is going to help with that.” She got up and paced around the room.

“Patrick is behind this, I know he is. Sabine is just a pawn in whatever game he’s playing. I’m not sure what he’s after, but it’s not good,” William said. Jilly continued her nervous pacing until William grabbed her hand as she walked past. “Come sit, you’re like a caged lion with your pacing. It’s making me antsy. So, we should talk about your little jaunt over to Boston.” He paused, waiting for her to speak.

“Um, I don’t really know what to say. Apparently I can teleport now. Why have I never been able to do it before now?”

“I’m guessing when you’re sleeping you astral project. Your mind leaves your body. I don’t know why you’ve never done it before; maybe something triggered it this time.”

Jilly shrugged. “Whatever. I’m too tired to figure it out right now. What time are we leaving tomorrow?”

“After breakfast. I told the pilot to be ready by nine.”

Jilly stifled a yawn. “Okay, then I need to get to sleep. I’m dead on my feet. I’m going to change into my pajamas and I suggest you do the same.” She got up, grabbed her pajamas out of her bag and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change. William watched her go and got up to do likewise. Ten minutes later, they were in bed, Jilly was already asleep, but William was wide-awake, worrying about Patrick.

Jilly slept fitfully, dreaming of being chased through the fog by someone she could not see. She called for William to help, but he was too far away to hear her. Jilly woke up in a cold sweat, the covers twisted around her legs. William wasn’t beside her; she untangled herself and went to look for him. She found him in the atrium off the kitchen, sitting with a blanket wrapped around him. “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked him as she sat down next to him on the ground.

“No, I have too much on my mind for sleep,” he said with a sigh.

“Anything I can help with?”

“No, I’m just worried about everything. With Patrick out, it’s only a matter of time before he finds Mary. He’s too strong now. I don’t know if I can fight him.” William scrubbed his palms over his face.

“It seems daunting for sure, but we’ll get through it,” Jilly said with confidence.