Witch's Awakening (20 page)

Jake was enthralled by the sight of Brenna and the power of the Connellys. He'd known New Mourne was a magical town; he'd just never seen that magic quite so alive. The sight was dizzying, he thought. It could enchant a man…

Fighting a wave of dizziness, Jake heard Dr. Burns groan. Marcus murmured his wife's name. Jake struggled to move, but like the men beside him, he was plastered to the wall. He felt like he was on the tilt-a-whirl at the county fair and gravity was chaining him.

Darkness fell like a curtain. Someone screamed. In a flash of light, Jake saw Brenna on her knees beside one of the older woman.
Doris
, he thought.

Calling on his tiger for strength, Jake broke free of whatever held him. He raced to Brenna's side. Her hands were covered with blood as she applied pressure to Doris's neck.

“Get help,” she screamed at Jake. “She's dying.”

He grabbed the radio off his hip and called for an ambulance.

Eva Grace knelt on Doris's other side. She put her hand on top of Brenna's and closed her eyes. Jake could see her lips moving. Brenna began to murmur in rhythm with her cousin. The pool of blood under the older witch stopped growing. Delia dropped down beside Brenna and took over the pressure on Doris's neck. Brenna sagged back, her shirt wet with perspiration.

Jake pulled her to her feet. “Are you okay?”

Brenna shook her head. “She can't die. She just can't.”

A siren sounded in the distance and Maggie ran outside. The rest of the coven joined hands, voices rising in a chant that Jake couldn't understand. Ancient words. Healing magic.

A wave of power rippled through the room. Frances fell to her knees, clutching her chest.

Beside her a woman dressed in white rose up from the wooden floor. She was blond and pale. Her features were beautiful, yet terrifying. Exactly as Brenna had described her to him.

The Woman in White.

She pointed at Sarah.

Sarah raised the wand. “Leave us be. You've taken enough from our family. No more.”

“I will have my tribute,” the ghost roared. “I will have what is mine.”

Before Jake could grab her, Brenna wrenched away from him and took Sarah's hand. A streak of fire pushed out of the wand.

The ghost flitted back. “Damn you, Sarah Connelly, I will have what is mine!”

Sarah pulled the wand back against her chest. With one hand still joined with Brenna's she again swept the wand forward. Small balls of magic pelted the ghost.

The Woman shrieked in pain, an awful sound that pierced Jake's skull. He winced and saw Brenna stagger.

But she didn't fall. She held tight to Sarah. When the wand flashed again, there was a loud pop. The ghost was gone.

Brenna and Sarah fell against each other, gasping. The wand's light disappeared.

Paramedics burst through the doors before Jake could reach Brenna's side. He made sure they were taking care of Doris and directed them to take a look at Frances, as well.

As he turned, looking for Brenna, he saw Fiona behind the counter. She was backed up in the corner, holding a pair of ritual knives in front of her, like weapons. He strode toward her. “What is it? Are you all right?”

Brenna pushed past him and reached out to her sister. “Give me the knives, Fiona. You're okay.”

“No, I'm not.” Fiona surrendered the knives without protest, but her teeth were chattering as she stared at Brenna. “Aunt Celia just appeared to me. She said there is a traitor among us.”

Brenna's terror was palpable. Like Fiona, she began to shudder. “No,” she whispered. “It can't be.”

The only thing Jake could think to do was wrap both of them in his arms.

Chapter Eighteen

The ambulance took Doris to three-year-old Mourne County Hospital. The medical facility's land and building had been donated by the developer of The Enclave. A coalition of new and old residents had joined together to raise funds for equipment and other necessities. The hospital was a private enterprise, but there was an agreement with the county about providing necessary care for all citizens.

Though she had mixed feelings about The Enclave, tonight Brenna welcomed the hospital built because of the residents who lived in the “exclusive gated community nestled in the serenity of the mountains.” She wasn't sure Doris would have survived the trip to hospitals in nearby communities or a medical helicopter flight to the trauma center in Chattanooga.

The hospital had a specialist board certified as a surgeon and a plastic surgeon. He had moved his practice from Atlanta. Everyone knew he made a good living with women from the city and The Enclave who liked the privacy they found in New Mourne for their facelifts and breast augmentations. The town was blessed because he and the associates in his practice were also willing to address traumas such as what had happened to Doris tonight.

After Fiona was calmed down at Siren's Call, Jake learned from his dispatcher that Doris was in surgery. He drove Brenna and Fiona to join the rest of the coven at the hospital. In a small waiting room, their despair was so heavy it felt alive. Brenna couldn't remember ever hearing of an injury when the coven was together working their magic with one goal in mind.

Sarah, looking frail, was huddled with Frances. Marcus sat on the elder aunt's other side, holding her hand. Doris's twin had been shaken up by her fall after the Woman in White appeared, but paramedics found no injuries. Besides, Brenna knew it would take a lot to keep Frances from her family while they waited for news of Doris.

Though she had tried to clean up a little before they left the shop, Brenna's clothing was soaked in Doris's blood. Crimson stained under her nails, and she had a smear of blood on one forearm. So much blood, she remembered, as she closed her eyes and murmured a blessing for Doris. She was terrified the older woman would die before help arrived. If Eva Grace had not been, there the outcome could have been much different.

Her cousin was also still bloody, but, as expected, she did a much better job cleaning herself up than Brenna had. The redhead was sitting with Diane and Estelle, their hands joined as they chanted in low voices.

Delia's jeans and peasant top were less bloody than her daughter's or her niece's, but the bleeding had slowed when she took over for Brenna with Doris.

Her mother had surprised Brenna tonight with her quick and calm action.
I don't know her well enough to expect anything from her.
The thought made Brenna frown. It wasn't her fault she didn't know Delia.

Right now, Delia was talking in a low, angry voice to Aiden. She kept glaring at Sarah while Aiden touched her arm, obviously trying to calm her. Fiona joined them and sat down, turning to her father for comfort. How did that come so naturally for her sister? Brenna never felt that easy around their mother and father.

“What are you thinking?” Jake leaned close to her.

She sighed and allowed herself to brace herself against his warmth. Despite the close confines of this room, she felt chilled, especially recalling what Fiona said.

“I'm wondering who the traitor is,” Brenna whispered.

“So you believe Fiona?”

“She would never lie, especially about something like that.” However, her sister begged Brenna and Jake not to say anything to anyone else, to allow her time to think about what happened. Brenna had promised with reluctance, but she knew this had to be confronted.

“Do you think she'll tell your mother and father?”

Brenna shrugged. “We'll see.”

Brian appeared in the doorway, looking about as haggard as Brenna felt. There had been little time for sleep since the weekend. Jake stepped out into the hallway to talk with his deputy.

When they came back inside, Brian told everyone, “Siren's Call is locked up and has a deputy stationed outside.”

“That makes me feel better,” Brenna said with sarcasm. “I'm sure the Woman in White will quake in her ghostly shoes.”

Brian's tired green eyes flashed in anger. “Hey, it's all we can do at this point. Your magical solutions haven't been working too well.”

Instantly contrite, Brenna said, “I'm sorry, Brian.”

“Whatever.” He crossed the room to his mother. Diane broke away from the others to wrap Brian in her arms.

“We're waiting to hear from the surgeon,” Eva Grace told him.

Jake stepped up and squeezed Brenna's shoulder. “It's no big deal,” he reassured her in a quiet voice. “Brian knows everyone is exhausted, and he's really worried about his grandmother. He knows you didn't mean anything.” His ability to sense her thoughts was both comforting and disconcerting for Brenna.

He signaled for everyone's attention. “Brian just told me that the deputies found the shard of glass that most likely injured Doris. It was from a glass candle holder, very thick and too sharp to just have been broken.”

Brian shook his head. “I can't explain it, but it looked to me as if it had been made into a weapon to do just what it did—stab someone.”

“There are just too many things we can't explain.” Brenna turned to Fiona, willing her sister to bring up Celia's warning. They needed to fit the pieces of the puzzle together.

Jake made another announcement. “I also got a fax about Sandy Murphy late this afternoon. The coroner said she died of a massive coronary.”

“She was only twenty years old!” Eva Grace protested. “Young and healthy. She ran marathons.”

“I know,” Jake said. “I called the coroner and he said he wouldn't admit it in court, but if he had to guess, he'd say she was scared to death.”

“Is that even possible?” Brenna asked.

“I'm just telling you what the report said. I'm frustrated and wish like hell Garth was here. He was better at dealing with supernatural problems than I'll ever be.”

Eva Grace sagged back in her chair. “I don't think he would have a clue what to do about this.” She looked around the room. “The Woman in White has visited my shop twice. Killed one person and injured another. She's after me.”

Aunt Estelle took her niece's hand. “Remember, we think what killed Sandy was a demon.”

“But the Woman was in front of us tonight,” Eva Grace insisted. “She tried to kill Doris.”

Delia left Aiden's side and went to Eva Grace as well. “The Woman is breaking her pattern.”

Brenna nodded in agreement with her mother. “This is the second time she has appeared without taking a tribute. Nowhere in any of the history that we've found is there record of her manifesting to Connellys like this. Surely that means something.”

“Maybe she's taunting us,” Lauren said from the doorway. Brenna's beautiful cousin stood arm in arm with Maggie. Only then did Brenna realize these two members of the coven had been missing from the waiting room. She hadn't seen Maggie since the ambulance arrived at the shop for Doris.

Tears were streaming down Maggie's face. The tight bun of auburn hair she had sported earlier was loose and fell around her shoulders. She looked more like herself, but even more frightened than usual.

“What if the Woman comes after my baby?” She referred to her four-year-old daughter. “I'm not sure I understand what happened tonight. My husband wants me to go away and take her with me.”

Sarah stood. “That's nonsense, Maggie.”

“But he doesn't understand any of this.”

“Hogwash,” Frances told her with spirit. “Your husband's family has lived in Mourne County for at least a century. He knows very well what's going on. He understood what he was taking on when he married a Connelly witch. Good god, he has a touch of fae himself, from his great-grandfather's side.”

“That's right,” Aunt Diane said. “I talked with him myself about our family and our troubles when you two became engaged, Maggie. Since your mother doesn't have magic, I knew I needed to explain this to him.”

“But the curse seemed so far away then,” Maggie said, sobbing. “I didn't know until I had a baby of my own how awful it could be.”

“None of us knew until now how we would feel about it.” Lauren's face was pale against her auburn hair. “I never thought I could die until tonight.”

“But you didn't,” Sarah pointed out. “We fought off the Woman.”

“You fought off something,” Aiden put in. “Are we sure it was the Woman?”

“We saw her.” Brenna frowned at her father. “Didn't we all see her?”

“Yes,” Delia said. “But was it her or a clever disguise?”

Sarah insisted, “Whatever it was that confronted us tonight, what really matters is that we drove it away.”

Delia cocked one slender eyebrow at her mother. “For now.”

Brenna looked back for her sister. Fiona sat rigid in a chair, her face pale, her arms clasped around herself. “Don't you need to say something?”

Fiona shook her head. “Not now.”

“Yes, now,” Brenna urged her. “Tell everyone.”

“What's wrong?” Sarah demanded. “What's happened to Fiona?” The coven leader went to her youngest granddaughter, grasped her chin and studied the young woman's face. “Are you hurt?”

Fiona could never lie to Sarah. “Aunt Celia came to me.”

The blood drained from Sarah's face. “Celia? You're sure?”

“Very sure.” Fiona looked around the room in misery. “She said…” Her voice broke. “Aunt Celia gave me a warning.”

“About what?” Sarah pressed.

Brenna sat down beside her sister, hoping to give her strength. “Go on. Tell it all.”

“She said there's a traitor in the coven.”

Immediate protests flew around the room. Frances took a step forward in anger. Maggie sobbed even harder. Brenna couldn't look at her relatives. This was too awful.

Sarah stumbled and might have fallen if Jake hadn't caught her. He sat her down in a chair. Marcus knelt at her side. Sarah turned her face into her husband's shoulder and wept.