The Witch Is Back (22 page)

Everything you see around you is a farce
, she continued.
It was never meant to be this way. The vampire broke the rules, Jolie
.

Images swarmed through my head like a hive of agitated bees. Images of Rand, of me in his arms, us kissing, dancing …

I shook my head, trying to clear the ridiculous visions because I knew they weren’t real. How could they be? I’d never done any of these things! They were mere hallucinations—the work of a powerful witch—she was trying to implant memories into my subconscious that weren’t real, memories that were fabricated by her.

“Stop!” I finally screamed, when I found my tongue again. But the sound came out as a weak whisper.

“Do not resist me,” she said, softly placing her hand on my shoulder. As soon as she did, I felt myself surrender to her, suddenly weak. The images in my head slowed down, allowing me to focus on only one.

The vision appeared as any other, only the images were much more delineated and sharp. It took me a second to adjust, but once I did, I recognized my store. It was dark outside, the streetlamps already glowing yellow against the otherwise black night. I heard a sound to my right and glanced over to see myself as I busily readied the store for the next morning. So I was the
omniscient eavesdropper in this vision? I didn’t have time to further ponder it because the door opened. And that was when I saw him.

Rand.

I felt something catch in my throat and didn’t want to even acknowledge it. But something like happiness filled me as soon as I saw him. Yet the feeling made no sense since Rand was my enemy.

I shook the feeling off and forced myself to concentrate on the vision. I watched myself greet him as if this were the first time we’d ever met. I wasn’t afraid of him, which of course made no sense. This wasn’t the way our meeting occurred at all. I mean, for one thing Christa had been there and it had been midday …

This is how it truly happened, Jolie
, Mathilda’s voice announced in my head.
You were destined to meet Rand first, not Sinjin
.

I wasn’t able to argue with her. It was as if she were controlling my mind, showing me what she chose to. And there was nothing I could do to fight it. Instead, I watched myself unwittingly take Rand to the reading room. We sat down and I started to pull out the tarot cards, but he stopped me and asked me to read him instead. As soon as I touched his hands, that surge of energy coursed through me. I watched myself pull back in shock.

“I know all of this seems impossible,” Mathilda said, her voice gentle. “But what you are seeing is real, and everything you know now is not as it was designed to be, Jolie.”

I watched the vision fall apart before me and then I was back in my reading room, sitting on the cold floor. “That doesn’t make any sense,” I said, shaking my head.

Mathilda nodded. “Rand is the one who trained you to become a witch, child, who introduced you to this life,” she continued. “He is not your enemy.”

I shook my head. “So you’re saying Sinjin is my enemy?”

She stepped back as I righted myself, leaning against the wall for fear I might topple over again. After a long moment of silence, I glanced over at her.

“Yes,” she finished.

I shook my head, refusing to accept any of it. “I know what you’re trying to do and it won’t work. I will never, for one minute, believe any of this shit. Sinjin is not my enemy.”

“He has brainwashed you to believe his lies,” she argued.

“He hasn’t brainwashed me into anything. He warned me about Rand. He told me how powerful and dangerous he is, so don’t think I’m going to fall for your tricks.”

She seemed surprised at that information and was quiet for a second or two. I, on the other hand, was another story—
how dare she come here and try to convince me to believe her lies! And, furthermore, how dare Rand send her here!
I needed to nip this right in the bud, if only to ensure I wouldn’t receive any more visits from Sinjin’s enemies.

“Sinjin and I are together and I trust him,” I said. “So I suggest you and Rand don’t ever come near me again or you’ll have Sinjin to deal with.”

She nodded as if she understood.

“Please tell Rand exactly what I’ve said to you,” I finished.

“I will,” she said softly. Before she left, she turned to face me again. She simply smiled and reached out, grabbing my hand. I flinched, and immediately tried to pull away, but her grip was too strong.

“See me not as I am and remember nothing,” she said, and I struggled even harder. She released my hand and I suddenly felt myself falling backward.

It was like I blacked out or something. I shook my
head and found myself on the floor of my reading room, looking around in bewilderment as if I’d just awoken from a cold faint.

“Are you well, dear?”

I glanced up at the face of the woman who had come into my store, looking for a reading. She offered her hand, as if such a frail creature could even hope to pull me to my feet.

“I … I think so,” I said. “What … what happened?”

“You do not remember?”

I shook my head and felt slightly nauseous.

“You tripped, dear,” the old woman said as she smiled down at me again. I stood up and leaned against the wall for support.

“Are you feeling okay now?” she asked again.

I nodded, not wanting to worry her. She held my hand and led me out of the reading room and back to the front room, where Christa looked up from buffing her nails.

“Your friend had a nasty fall, dear,” the old woman said to Christa.

“Jules?” she asked and came around the counter. “Are you okay?”

I just nodded and allowed the old woman to lead me to the couch, where I sat down, still feeling woozy but more scared. It just wasn’t like me to black out. God, what if I’d had a mini stroke or an aneurysm or something?

“What happened?” Christa asked as she took a seat beside me and held my hand. “Do we need to take you to the hospital?”

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m fine, really. I think I just passed out.”

I glanced up to thank the old woman but she was already gone. I looked to my left and right, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Where did she go?” I asked, baffled, a headache already starting between my temples.

Christa looked around herself and then shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “She must have left, I guess.” Then she faced me again. “Jules, are you sure you’re okay?”

But I couldn’t answer because I honestly didn’t know.

The rest of the day went pretty much slower than a snail’s pace and I couldn’t wait to tidy up for the night so I could spend the evening with my vampire. Although, I had to admit that I needed to find a happy medium where sleep was concerned, because I was exhausted. Staying up all night and all day was too much for me to function properly.

Even though I felt like a sleep-deprived zombie, I couldn’t hide the excitement coursing through me as I pulled up to Sinjin’s house. I parked the Jetta in his driveway and glanced at my reflection in the rearview mirror, taking in my pink lips and shadowed eyes. Yes, I’d taken a few courses in the art of wearing makeup from Christa; we’d even paid a visit to the M•A•C counter in Macy’s, where I spent way too much money. But there was now a part of me that wanted to look feminine and sexy. I shook my head, allowing the large blond waves to bounce around my face. Yes, I’d even gone so far as to curl my hair. Where the old Jolie Wilkins had retreated to was anyone’s guess.

I unbuckled my seat belt, catching sight of my short, brown corduroy skirt, under which I’d worn tights with knee-high brown leather boots. And on the top? A skintight, camel stretch turtleneck that made my natural C-cup boobs look like D’s. Or maybe that was just the Wonderbra.

I stepped out of the car and marveled over how much I’d changed. Two months ago, I wouldn’t have been
caught dead wearing this. Not that my outfit was too revealing or anything—it was just fashionable. And fashion and I had never been friendly. Well, I guess I could say we were now.

I opened the rear door and pulled out my overnight bag, a smile gliding across my lips at the thought that I had packed an overnight bag for Sinjin’s. It just made things between us seem so … official—like we were definitely an item, boyfriend and girlfriend. Yep, I was going to spend the night with my boyfriend and we were going to make love all evening. I was so giddy, I felt like I might throw up all over my brand-new boots.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and, after beeping the car locked, I made my way to Sinjin’s front door. Taking a deep breath, I glanced down at myself to make sure nothing was out of place. Then I ran my fingers through my hair once more, giving it an extra fluff before ringing the doorbell.

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal my incredibly handsome vampire.

“Poppet,” he said with that mischievous grin that characterized him so well. He was dressed all in black, as usual, his long-sleeved T-shirt doing nothing to hide the swells of his biceps or the mountains of his pecs. God, he was just so beautiful.

I stepped inside his house, dropped my overnight bag, threw my hands around his neck, and rose on my tiptoes so I could kiss him. He seemed taken aback at first, but then chuckled and draped his arms around my waist, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I groaned against him and met his tongue, thrust for thrust. I could feel him stirring beneath his pants and wondered if we might not even make it to the bedroom. But that thought was cut short when I heard the sound of someone behind me clearing her throat.

I squealed in shock as I pulled away from Sinjin and spun on my heel to face the intruder—Bella Sawyer! Son of a …

“Isabella,” Sinjin said and smiled at her as if it didn’t matter to him that she had just walked in on us in a passionate embrace. Based on her expression, she wanted to kill me right then and there. Hmmm … She was definitely jealous.

God, why can’t I get away from this blasted woman?
I asked myself.
And the bigger question—what is she doing in Sinjin’s house?

Actually, the bigger question is what’s the history between them?
That other voice reared up.

Do you think they used to date?

Oh my God, what if they’re dating now? What if this is like that movie
Dangerous Liaisons?

Well, Jolie Wilkins, you’re definitely not killing yourself!

Despite the irritation snaking through me, mainly at Sinjin for having this awful woman in his house when he hadn’t, at the very least, warned me, I remembered my manners and smiled. “Hi, Bella, it’s nice to see you again.” I mean, the American way was innocent until proven guilty, right?

Her feeble attempt at a smile came out as more of a sneer. “Hello again.”

Not knowing what else to say or do, I faced Sinjin. “So, you never did tell me how, uh, how you two know each other?”

Sinjin closed the front door, drawing my attention to the fact that it had been open the entire time without me realizing it. As he walked back toward us, I noticed he was wearing black pajama pants and no socks or shoes. I gulped hard as images of the two of them in bed came crashing down on me. I pushed the images away, though, trying to force myself to be fair to Sinjin. Just because
this hideous woman was in his house and he was in his jammies didn’t mean he’d just screwed the hell out of her … Right? I mean, she was fully dressed, for crying out loud. Granted, her skintight, dark purple dress only went to her mid-thigh and was cut so low, I could see her navel, but still. I didn’t even want to focus on her incredibly high, pointed stilettos; added to her already long legs, they made her look like she was descended from a gazelle.

“Isabella Sawyer and I go back many years, do we not, love?” he asked as he offered Bella his devil’s grin. I felt myself swallow down a lump of resentment. I wasn’t sure if the resentment was reserved for their long history or that he referred to her by the same name that he called me … 
love
. Maybe it was both.

Bella sort of “hmmphed” at him and then nodded, her lips tight. “I suppose you could say that.”

I tried to keep my temper under check, not wanting to paint this whole situation in a bad light, but little by little my patience was wearing thin. I mean, really … Why was Bella dressed so slutty and standing in Sinjin’s house? With him in his pajamas! “I wasn’t aware that Bella was visiting.”

Sinjin took my hand and the cold of his skin surprised me for a moment or two, until his temperature warmed up to mine. “I invited Ms. Sawyer over this evening, poppet, to train you.”

“Train me?” I asked, having momentarily forgotten that Sinjin had said Bella would have to train me in order for us to locate that supreme witch person.

“Yes, we have much work to accomplish if we are to locate the prophetess,” he responded. Ah, that was it—the prophetess. “Isabella needs to teach you everything she knows—how to cast spells and do charms,” he continued.

“Tonight?” I asked, aghast at the very thought. I’d
been hoping for a quiet, romantic evening alone with my boyfriend and now Bella had been thrust into the mix? Really?

Sinjin pulled me closer to him, laughing into my neck as he did so. I watched Bella’s hands fist at her sides and had never felt more uncomfortable in my life. Was Sinjin so unaware that this woman obviously had it bad for him? Or was he just playing with her heartstrings? I had to hope for the former because I couldn’t imagine my caring vampire would sink so low as to toy with a woman’s feelings. Either way, he definitely wasn’t making it easy for her to like me.

“Shall we get started, then?” Sinjin asked with a large grin as he clapped his hands together and started down the hall. I noticed her raised-eyebrow expression as she apparently sized me up and found me lacking. She was quick to follow behind him as I took up the rear.

And just like that, my hopes for an awesome evening were crushed.

Sinjin led us into his living room, where I noticed he’d moved all of the furniture to the perimeter of the room. I was just waiting for him to bust out a pool filled with mud and tell us to go at it.