Witch's Awakening (31 page)

The Woman began to laugh. Then her image wavered, shimmered and changed. Instead of the ghost she sought, Brenna found herself facing the old fae Willow.

She cackled at Brenna's startled cry.

Willow glided forward. “Did you really think it would be this easy to give yourself up?”

The faerie looked younger tonight. Her sequined dress sparkled in the moonlight and had a soft, magical glow.

Regaining her composure, Brenna asked, “Is there a way I'm supposed to do this? Why are you here and trying to trick me?”

“Gave you a good scare, didn't I?” Willow seemed pleased with herself.

Brenna knew the fae often used glamour illusions to mask their true nature, but she had never witnessed it before. A descendant of the House of Eiluned, the ancient Willow would be a master of illusions by now. No doubt her talent helped her marry and bury sixteen husbands and present herself as a younger version of herself to each succeeding generation in the community.

Brenna pulled her cloak around herself. “What are you hoping to gain by doing this to me?”

“I'm hoping this might help you come to your senses.”

“I just want this madness to stop.”

“Stupid girl,” Willow repeated with disdain. “You won't end it just by calling to the evil spirits.”

“That's what others of our family have done.”

“But they were willing, and you are not. The evil wants your surrender.”

Muttering an oath, Brenna turned back to the night and called, “I surrender. Take me.”

Once more Willow laughed. “You come here from your lover's bed, glowing from his touch and expect them to believe you are willing to die? It doesn't work that way.”

“But I will. I'll do what I must for my family.”

“Then go with your strengths,” Willow said. “What you have at your fingertips is an unlimited resource if used properly.”

“I'm not feeling especially strong.”

“Don't be modest. Even as you were offering yourself to the Woman in White, you were fighting. You couldn't give in easily. You want her to show herself and face you.”

Brenna knew that was true.

“That's your strength, and it's why you're wanted so badly by the truly evil.”

“Are you talking about the Woman or the demon that always comes with her? Aren't both evil?”

“All I'm sure of is that they both want something from this place, and only the Connellys can stop them.” Willow placed her hands on her hips. An unexpected smile came to her lips. “Look for help in an unlikely place. Your enemies, perhaps.”

“Enemies?” Brenna frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Give it some thought, stupid girl.”

“Don't the fae ever give a straightforward answer?” Brenna felt her anger rise. “What do you want me to do?”

Willow laughed, put a finger on her nose and disappeared just as a tiger leaped forward.

With a ferocious roar and flash of white fur, Jake filled the space Willow emptied. His fangs gleamed in the moonlight. One paw swung through the air, claws extended and caught in the edge of Brenna's cloak.

Brenna gasped and moved back as the garment was ripped from her. Naked, she cowered against a tree trunk before remembering this was Jake.

“Stop,” she ordered the tiger. “It's me. It's Brenna, Jake. You don't want to hurt me.”

The animal reared back, another roar tearing from deep inside. Then he fell, white fur retreating, muscles, bones and sinew twisting and turning as he morphed from tiger to human. When his change was complete, Jake was crouched, panting, looking up at Brenna with pain in his silver gray eyes that stung her heart.

Knowing his worst fear of hurting someone he cared about had almost just come true, Brenna reached out. “Jake, are you okay? What are you doing here?”

His movements slow, he straightened. “You were gone,” he said. “I knew you were in danger and I had to get here as fast as I could. I knew you were going to offer yourself. I had to stop you, but instead I—”

Hands going to his head, he turned away. Though thoroughly human now, he roared again. An agonizing cry.

The sound cut through Brenna. She had to make him see what was obvious to her. “You didn't hurt me, Jake. You stopped yourself. It was just a mistake. You would never hurt me.”

He looked over his shoulder at her, and then in a shift of his body that was like lightning, he was a tiger again. He ran away without looking back, a pale blur in the dark woods.

Brenna wondered if he was running from her or from himself. She hadn't wanted them to end this way. She hoped he would sleep and wake up with the memory of their lovemaking before he realized she was gone. Jake was good and decent, incapable of hurting her, but now he might never believe that.

Lifting her voice to the demon and the Woman, she screamed. “Why? Why did you do this?”

In a gust of wind, she thought she heard laughter.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jake ran for miles. Ran until his tiger's muscles trembled and his human cried out for rest. In the end he came home, dreading yet hoping Brenna would be there waiting. He was both disappointed and relieved when she wasn't. Despite her protests, maybe now she knew what he truly was. He fell into bed and slept, glad that his tired body could shut down his troubled mind.

The ringing of his cell phone woke him.

The display told him it was Fred Williams. He groaned but answered, greeted by Fred's wife's voice. “You need to get out to our house. Brenna Connelly is here trying to bewitch my husband.”

She hung up without waiting for a reply. Jake redialed, but she didn't answer.

“Damn,” he muttered, still groggy from sleep. “What's Brenna doing?”

At the foot of his bed, Tasmin meowed. Her green eyes were unblinking and clear, so like Brenna's. And faintly condemning, Jake imagined. How was he going to look at Brenna?

He turned away, tempted to call in for another deputy to go to Fred's house, but he couldn't do it. Fred and Ginny would make even more trouble for Brenna and her family if he didn't handle it himself.

He took a quick shower, not bothering to shave, pulled on a fresh uniform and headed for the door

Fred and Ginny lived just outside The Enclave in a big house with elaborate landscaping and a white-columned, broad front porch. Brenna's car was in the drive. Fred was on the front porch in pajamas and a white robe, his face spotted with shaving soap. Ginny was pointing a gun at Brenna.

A gun
.

Blood running cold, Jake sounded his cruiser's siren one time to get everyone's attention. He was out of his cruiser almost before it stopped and advanced with caution toward the porch. Before seven o'clock in the morning, and Ginny was already in full Sunday dress with makeup and hair rigidly in place. Her face was red and her lips a thin line.

“Mrs. Williams, put the gun down and step out so I can see your hands.”

The blonde tossed her head. “Oh, for goodness' sake. It's my husband's pellet gun. It wouldn't do more than sting. I'm just trying to get this evil trollop off my doorstep.” She tossed the gun to the side.

Jake flinched at the metallic sound of the pistol hitting the heavy stone floor of the porch.

Fred reached out to placate his wife. “Calm down, Ginny. Brenna just wants to talk to me. If you'll be quiet, we can get through this and let her be on her way.”

Jake stepped up on the porch between the two women, turning to Brenna. He was relieved she didn't back away from him. “Want to tell me what this is about?”

“I came to Fred for help,” Brenna replied. “I thought he could provide some insight into our family's situation. Maybe his father dealt with the demon before.”

Ginny drew her shoulders back. “I knew it. You witches brought a demon into our community again, just like you did the winter your aunt died.”

“If you would stop screaming for a minute, maybe you'd understand that I came to your husband sincerely, looking to see if he could help us stop this madness,” Brenna shot back at her.

“He's not going to do anything with you witches,” Ginny spat out. “Not again.”

Again? Jake sent a startled look toward Fred.

“Ginny, stop this.” Fred reached for her again.

She slapped his hand away. “You're not helping this witch, Fred Williams. Not her or any other.” She whirled back to Brenna. “We've dealt with your kind before and we know what to do. I'd sooner sell my soul to the devil than deal with Connelly witches.”

“Ginny.” Though he only spoke her name, this time Fred put real command in his voice. “You need to stop. Brenna's out of the house and the sheriff's here. Go back inside.”

“You'll not be consorting with a witch, Fred Williams. You have a weakness for these people. It has hurt you before and it will hurt you again.”

“I heard you, Ginny,” Fred replied through gritted teeth. “Now go on in and let me handle this.”

Ginny disappeared into the house, slamming the heavy front door, her footsteps stomping away. Other doors banged inside.

Jake picked up the gun and frowned. He was sure the pellets would be more painful than Ginny thought. He handed it to Fred. “Maybe you should put this in a place where she can't get to it.”

Fred dropped the pistol in the pocket of his terrycloth robe. “I'm sorry about that,” he said to Brenna. “Ginny has a tendency to overreact.”

“Forget her. You've got to help us, Fred,” Brenna said. “Willow Scanlan told me to look to our enemies for help.”

“Willow?” Fred shook his head. “We're not your enemies, Brenna.”

“I never really thought of you that way until last night,” she agreed. “One of my aunts said something about enemies, then Willow said the same. At any rate, I need your help. It's the curse, the same one that took my Aunt Celia. It's coming again.”

“I thought as much given our recent troubles,” Fred said. “In fact, I tried to help Celia before she was taken. She wouldn't listen.”

“So you don't know anything to help us?” Brenna's shoulders slumped.

“The only way to fight evil is with God.”

“Then help us fight,” Brenna said. “Gather with us and help.”

The horror on Fred's face was almost comical. Jake had a sudden vision of him and Ginny in the clearing, joining hands with the coven.

“I don't think I can do that,” Fred told Brenna.

“Can't you just accept our differences in beliefs and come help us?”

He shook his head. “There's only one way, Brenna.”

“Your way?” Brenna's tone was flat.

“I will pray to God that this evil leaves your family alone,” Fred replied. “But until you accept him, that's all I can do. I believe God will always come down on the side of right.”

Brenna turned and stalked down the steps onto the sidewalk toward her car.

Fred met Jake's eyes, his tone apologetic. “I'm sorry Ginny called you, but Brenna pushed her way into the house. Ginny felt threatened, although I knew that was nonsense. Brenna wasn't going to hurt either of us.” He put out his hand. “It's good to know you'll come when we call.”

Jake reluctantly shook the minister's hand. What he wanted to do was arrest Ginny, but Fred would round up the BOC and rain holy hell down on Jake's head. This wasn't the time, he thought as he went down the steps.

Besides, he still had to face Brenna. She stood beside her car, tapping her foot. He had blocked her in with his cruiser so she couldn't leave. That was good because he wanted to have a little chat. “Did you put a spell on me last night?”

She had the grace to blush. “Just a little one.”

“Why?”

“I just wanted to be sure you'd sleep.”

“While you offered yourself to the Woman in White?”

“I had to.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Not a damn thing,” she said angrily. “I'm trying to help my family.”

“You frightened me out of my mind. I woke up and somehow I knew exactly what you were doing. I had to stop you. I was afraid I was too late. I saw you in the clearing, looking agitated, talking to someone. I feared the worst. Rage took hold of me, and I—” Jake had to steady himself against her car at the memory. “You know the rest.”

She took a deep breath. “I know you believe you would have hurt me. But you wouldn't. I'm not sure what it will take for you to trust that you're not careless or mean like your father, but you're not.”

He had known she would say this. It wasn't easy for Brenna to acknowledge that she was wrong. Last night, when Willow disappeared, he had almost hurt Brenna. He didn't want to argue about this.

“Why were you with Willow anyway? I thought you were arguing.”

Brenna told him how the Woman and the demon had not responded to her and the faerie's explanation.

Jake was relieved. No matter what, he didn't believe Brenna would ever offer herself willingly to the spirits. So perhaps they would never take her.

“Willow said I needed to look for help from our enemies.”

“So you thought of Fred.”

He looked up at the minister's house. A movement caught his attention. Ginny was standing on the second-floor veranda. She was too far away for him to see her face, but her shoulders were rigid, her head flung back. It wasn't difficult to imagine she was still simmering with fury.

“Ginny could have shot you,” Jake told Brenna. “She might not have killed you, but it would have hurt. Apparently she really hates the Connellys.”

“I don't care about that.” Brenna jerked open her car door. “I can't stand this much longer. I have to do something, even if it's the dangerous spell my mother is suggesting.”

As he watched the play of emotions on her face, a vague memory came to Jake. Brenna leaning in, her breath caressing his face as she said, “I love you.”