Christmas Brew (Witches of New Orleans #2)

8. The Beginning

CHAPTER 8

The Beginning

B essie is up and moving around relatively normally within the hour. The fact that I could perform a healing spell that worked surprises me. Until now, being a witch felt more like a fever dream than reality. Healing someone on the brink of death with my words brings everything into perspective.

Together, Bessie, Drake, and I have added strength to the protections of the house while Zeke does his own version. I don’t know what protections an imp can provide, but anything helps. The sun is low in the sky as the four of us work our way into the kitchen, each too tired to cook.

“How are you feeling, Ms. Bessie?” I ask, sitting at the large table.

“I’m tired but alive, thanks to you.”

“How long do you think we have until she gets here?” Drake asks.

Zeke nods toward Bessie. “Whatever happened to Bessie means someone or something is already here. No matter how much preparation or protections we put in place, the truth is…she’s already here.”

“Wow. Thanks for that pep talk, Zeke.” Bessie’s words make me laugh. “It’s late, and I, for one, have had a shitty day.” She stands, shoving her chair underneath the table.

“You’re not going to bed, are you?” I ask the older witch.

“Yep. I’m tired.”

“What if Marnie shows up?” Drake asks.

Bessie stops in the doorway. “Wake me up.” With those words, she leaves us in the kitchen.

Zeke stretches tiny arms above his head. “Bessie’s right. It’s been a long day. Good night.” He disappears in front of our eyes.

“Did they seriously just go to bed?” Drake asks. “A demigod is coming after your crystal, and they’re tired ?”

“They’re right. We’ve done everything we can. Sitting in the kitchen, waiting for Marnie to come isn’t going to help anything.”

He scoffs. “I don’t think I could sleep if I tried.”

I stand, moving to his side. “I’m tired and could use some sleep. Will you lie down with me? I don’t want to be alone.” I hold my hands in surrender style.

Drake stares at me longer than needed before answering, making me self-conscious. “Yeah,” he whispers, motioning toward the stairs before following me to the third floor. There’s no doubting that I’m attracted to Drake. Hell, you’d have to be an idiot not to be attracted to him. He’s gorgeous on every level. But tonight, I need the companionship. Nothing more.

“I’m going to change into some sweats. I’ll be back,” he says before disappearing down the hallway toward the room he’s been staying in.

I rush into the bathroom, brush my hair, and find a pair of yoga pants to sleep in. Drake returns at the same time I leave the bathroom. Tonight feels ten times more awkward than last night.

“You might want to leave shoes next to the bed in case we have to get out in a hurry.” Drake drops a pair of running shoes on his side of the bed.

“That’s a good point.” I copy his movement, placing my shoes on the other side. I crawl under the covers while Drake lays on top.

“Rose, are you scared?”

“No, I’m terrified.”

Drake reaches over, wrapping his fingers through mine. “Me, too.”

“How’d you do that today?”

“Which that?” he scoffs.

“You threw Bessie across the room in the gym.”

He rakes a hand through his messy hair. “Oh, that. Seems like that happened a lifetime ago. Honestly, I’m not sure. I just wanted to stop her from hurting you. A surge of energy hit me, and I directed it at her. Maybe it was because...well, seeing her hurt you…it did something to me.”

I squeeze his fingers tighter. “Thank you.” Turning on my side, I rest my head on his shoulder. “Thank you for being here with me.”

“You’re welcome,” he whispers into my hair, sending chills down my spine. “Get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere.” On command, my eyes close, and the beating of Drake’s heart is the only sound I hear.

“Rose,” a whisper wakes me. “Rose?”

“I’m awake,” I lie.

“Something’s wrong,” Drake’s words waken me fully.

“What is it?” I sit up, feeling the energy at the same time. “I feel it. Something’s here,” I whisper.

“Yeah. It feels like something is poking my brain.”

The two of us jump out of bed. I slip on my shoes and move into the hallway. “I feel it, too,” Bessie says, as she and Zeke appear out of nowhere.

“Marnie?” Drake asks, joining us in the hall.

“No doubt,” Zeke answers. “It looks like it’s showtime, kids.”

“Where’s the crystal?” Bessie asks.

I pull it from underneath my shirt. Like it has several times before, the crystal begins to glow, casting a bright blue hue throughout the hallway. “She’s here,” I whisper.

“You stay up here,” Bessie orders. “Drake, stay with her.”

“Won’t we be stronger together?” I ask.

“Yes, but it’s the crystal she wants. Zeke and I will keep her from getting to you.”

“That makes no sense. You said it yourself. I’m the only one strong enough to stop her.” I stare at the imp and elderly witch.

Bessie glances between me and Drake. “Together, you are stronger. Zeke and I will do what we can.” She turns, heading toward the stairs.

“I’m not sure what I did to piss you off, but this is a suicide mission,” Zeke says, following his frenemy to the staircase.

“There’s no one I’d rather fight with,” Bessie tells her tiny friend.

“Well, shit.” Zeke rakes a hand through his messy hair. “Does this mean we’re friends now?”

“No,” she answers as the two of them disappear into the darkness.

“Drake?”

“She’s right,” he answers my unasked question. “We don’t know what we’re up against.”

“We’re up against a crazy demigod who will not stop until both of them are dead!”

“This is going to sound harsh, but they’re not my priority.” He pulls me back into the bedroom. “Margaret’s closet has a hidden entrance into the attic. She had me build it last year.” He moves into the closet, moving a few boxes out of the way to reveal a concealed opening. “I reinforced it with steel, and she added extra protection.”

“You’re just now telling me about it?”

He shrugs. “I never thought it would be necessary. Hell, I thought it was a waste of money when she had me build it.”

Without asking, he moves behind me, wrapping his arms around my thighs and lifting me into the air. “Push on the right side of the board three times, then slide it over.” I follow instructions, and the door slides to the side, leaving just enough room to crawl through. “Pull yourself up.”

I resist the urge to laugh at Drake thinking I have any athletic ability. Whether by magic or skills, I manage to climb through the opening, pulling my knees into the hole and using them to push the rest of the way up. Turning around, I reach for Drake. He ignores my hand, choosing to jump and pull himself up on his own. Carefully, he places the covering back on the hole and bolts it in place. We sit in silence, listening for any sounds that will give a clue to what is happening.

“Is this part of the main attic?” I whisper.

“No. It’s separate. No one knows it’s here except the two of us. It’s safer that way.”

“I wonder what’s going on? I still feel the energy, but it’s weaker than before.”

“Maybe they’re drawing her away from the house,” he answers.

A soft meow echoes through the room. “Oh, no. Hecate. She’s outside.”

“She’ll be okay. We’re not opening this attic for anyone.”

“Hecate isn’t anyone . She’s my friend and has been with the house for years. I can’t let her stay outside.”

“Rose, this isn’t a tornado warning. There is a demigod with your death as her goal. Hecate can transform into a tiger if she needs to. She’ll be fine.”

The meowing echoes again, this time, she sounds more pissed than distressed. “Drake?”

“I’m sorry, Rose. I can’t let you open that door.”

“Are we just going to stay up here for the rest of our lives?” My words come out bitchier than intended.

“Yes,” he answers simply, pissing me off.

“You’re annoying,” I retort.

“Not nearly as annoying as Marnie would be.” Drake slides down the wall, sitting cross-legged. “What do you think’s going on out there?”

“I don’t know, but I feel useless in here. What’s the point of having this power if I can’t use it?”

“Considering neither of us is particularly skilled at controlling anything, it’s probably best we stay here.”

I slide down the wall next to him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. I don’t know how much time passes before Hecate loses interest and her meowing disappears. The energy from earlier is gone as we sit in silence, afraid of the monster searching for me.

“Rose,” a raspy voice echoes through my mind. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

I sit up in an instant. “Did you hear that?”

Drake copies my movement. “Hear what?”

“Someone spoke to me…in my head.”

“Was it Marnie?”

I turn, looking at Drake. “It didn’t sound like her.”

The wall we leaned on moments earlier shakes, vibrating through the small space. “Get behind me, Rose,” Drake orders.

“Nothing personal, Drake, but whatever wants through that wall isn’t here to say hello. If we stand any kind of chance, it’s going to take both of us.”

“Dammit.” He sighs. The wall shakes once more, moving the entire room with it.

I move to his side. “We’re stronger together.” Closing my fingers around the crystal amulet, I envision the power of my ancestors filling me and the room surrounding us.

The room shakes once more, followed by a small explosion. “This is it,” Drake whispers. He holds his hands in the direction of the new hole, and I do the same. Neither of us waits to see who’s on the other side. A blast of energy emanating from both of us hits whatever it is squarely in the chest.

The room stills as we both are breathing harder than we should be. “Wait here,” Drake orders, moving toward the hole. In true Rose form, I don’t listen and follow close behind. On the other side is a man who looks vaguely familiar.

What once was dark blonde hair is burned and glued to his skull. His eyes are sunken in, and a once handsome face is now deformed and bruised. “Abraham,” Drake says aloud. “What the hell is he doing here?”

“Abraham? Margaret’s ex-husband, who wanted the house?”

“The same one.”

“He looks so…so different.”

“Well, he was alive the last time you saw him.” Drake’s words make me sick as the reality of what we did hits me in the gut.

“We killed him. We actually killed him.”

Drake looks around the now-exposed attic. “Abraham wasn’t strong. Hell, he was barely able to do anything. There’s no way he would’ve been able to get past the wards on his own.” He wraps an arm around my waist. “We can’t stay here. He was just a sacrifice. She’s testing us.”

I don’t question him. He’s right. The Abraham I met on my front porch in October didn’t have enough strength to fight a witch with zero abilities. The two of us make our way back into the room and to the trap door that leads inside my bedroom. Drake reaches down, releasing the hold on the door.

“Wait,” I whisper. “What if Marnie’s down there?”

“Then we fight.”

“That's the smartest thing you've said in a while.” I push the cotton sleeves of my shirt past my elbows, though I’m not sure why. "Let's do this."

Drake pulls the door open to a silent house. The energy that flows through is nearly overwhelming. The two of us share a knowing look. Something or someone is in the house. Someone powerful.

He loops his long fingers through mine, and the two of us jump from our hiding spot.

My room looks exactly as it did before—everything in its place, the house eerily silent. Following him into the hallway, I pull Drake to a stop. The crystal presses hot against my chest. Almost instinctively, my fingers curl around the amulet, drawing strength from its power.

Envisioning white light, a powerful spell spills from my lips. “By the power of light pure and bright, I call forth protection in this night. White light surrounds and shields us whole, guarding my body, mind, and soul. No harm shall pass, no darkness near, only peace and light dwell here. With this power, we are safe and sound. In this circle of light, we are bound.” Following my command, light encases Drake and me safely inside.

“How did you know how to do that?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” I answer truthfully. “The words just came to me.”

Drake stares at me before wrapping his long fingers through mine. “Be prepared for anything.”