Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

J essica’s heart pounded as she stepped carefully over the boundaries of the diagram they had drawn. They had chosen the back parlor as the site for the ritual because it was as close as possible to the center of the house. All of the furniture had been cleared away, leaving only the diagram sketched on the floor, the candles burning at each intersection, and the herbs carefully arranged around the perimeter.

The flickering candles cast eerie shadows across the room, and the ancient symbols drawn in salt on the floor seemed to pulse with an otherworldly energy. She glanced at Leo, his body shimmering slightly in the darkness, and felt a surge of determination. She wasn’t going to lose him now.

“I’m not going anyway,” he said softly, echoing her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and centered herself. The scroll with the words of the incantation shook as her hands trembled but when she opened her eyes and began to read, the words rang out clear and strong. The air around them thickened, the shadows deepening as a chill breeze began to blow. The candles burned brighter, their flames taking on an unearthly green hue. She could feel her hair dancing in the air and the air crackled with power.

Leo’s body began to glow, and she forced herself to keep chanting even though she had a sick fear that the spell was going to rip him away from her. She felt a pull deep in her core, as if the ritual was drawing on something within her, but her voice never faltered. The candles flickered more intensely, their flames stretching towards the ceiling.

A gust of wind swept through the room, extinguishing several candles and her breath caught in her throat, but she kept going, her voice growing louder to combat the rising noise around them.

The symbols on the floor began to glow, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. She reached out, her fingers brushing against Leo’s and his hand closed firmly around hers. The room seemed to spin around them, reality blurring at the edges, but she focused on their connection, anchoring herself with his touch.

Another fierce gust of wind tore through the room, extinguishing several more candles and plunging parts of the space into darkness. She faltered for a moment, her heart skipping a beat as Tim’s shadowy figure materialized in the darkness.

His eyes gleamed with malice, his gaze locked on Leo. His lips twisted into a snarl as he advanced towards them. But Leo didn’t even look at him. All of his attention was focused on her.

“Keep reading, sweetheart,” he said calmly.

She forced the rest of the words to emerge from a suddenly dry mouth, her hand gripping Leo’s for all she was worth. The shadows in the room deepened, the remaining candle flames burning even more strongly.

“You think you can just get rid of me?” Tim sneered, his voice dripping with venom.

Still holding tightly to her hand, Leo turned towards his half-brother.

“Leave,” he ordered. “Your time here is done.”

“I’m not leaving until I get what’s mine!”

Tim advanced on them, his figure flickering in and out as if he was struggling to maintain his form, but his malevolent expression never faltered.

The wind swirled more violently now, sending the salt flying and scattering the candles. Despite the chaos erupting around them, she forced herself to focus on the ritual, chanting steadily. Tim was only a few feet away from Leo now, a triumphant smile on his face.

“Nice of you to arrange a body for me, brother dearest. I’ll be sure and put it to good use. Starting with the witch.”

Panic threatened to overwhelm her at the lust and cruelty on his face and her voice faltered for a second, but then Leo’s hand tightened around hers, lending her his strength. She could feel his love flowing through her, an unbreakable bond that Tim could never sever. Her voice grew stronger, and Tim’s advance halted. He was still smiling, his eyes gleaming with triumph.

“I’m not going anywhere, witch.”

“Yes you are,” she said firmly as she came to the final line of the spell.

A surge of power coursed through her veins as she channeled all of her strength into the bond between her and Leo. Streams of shimmering light erupted from her hands, forming a protective barrier around the two of them. The light intensified, creating a brilliant shield that pushed back against Tim’s darkness. Her entire body trembled with the effort of maintaining that light, but she refused to give in.

Tim swore as the light began to consume the darkness surrounding him.

“No,” he cried desperately. “You can’t do this to me. You owe me…”

She could see him struggling, but his efforts were in vain. The light was relentless, swallowing him up until nothing remained except a dark, swirling mist. Then the mist vanished and he was simply… gone.

Nothing remained of his malevolent energy and peace settled over Midnight Manor. The veil between worlds had closed, sealing their victory.

Her strength faltered and her legs gave way, sending her tumbling to the ground, but Leo was there to catch her in a very real, very solid embrace.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.”

“Did… did it work?”

He smiled down at her.

“I believe it did.”

“Are you sure?”

He took her hand and placed it over his chest. Beneath her fingers she felt the steady beat of his heart and the rise and fall of his breath.

“Very sure.”

“It actually worked.”

“Of course it did. I knew you could do it.”

She looked around at the chaos of the room. The candles were scattered, the herbs and salt mixed together in a dirty pile, but there was no sign of the ominous energy that Tim had brought with him. “And we banished Tim.”

“Yes,” he said grimly. “He’s gone and he can’t come back.”

“Thank goodness,” she said and burst into tears.

“Shush, my love. Everything is all right.”

He gathered her closer and rocked her gently.

“I was so afraid the ritual wasn’t going to work.”

“But it did and I’m here. And we’re together.”

Her tears slowed, and she raised her head to look at him.

“You really are here. Alive. And so very, very real.”

He was as handsome as ever, his brown eyes warm and his mouth curved in a gentle smile, but he was more solid than he had ever been before. She touched his face, relishing the scrape of his evening stubble beneath her fingers.

“And I’m all yours,” he promised. “Forever, if you’ll have me.”

“Of course I’ll have you.” She threw her arms around him, clinging to him desperately, so wonderfully warm and alive. “I love you.”

He kissed the top of her head, then tilted her face up to his.

“I love you too. Forever.”

He kissed her then, a sweet kiss, full of love and promise. She sighed happily as she let herself sink into the kiss, but then she felt his cock jerk against her leg and she laughed as she pulled back.

“That part of you is working too?”

“It most definitely is.”

“In that case,” she said, her hand stroking his chest. “I suggest we go upstairs and celebrate.”

He laughed and carried her away.

“I can see why you enjoy this, Flora.” Gladys sighed happily, moving away from the window as the two lovers left the room. “That was quite satisfying.”

“I do have a knack for it,” Flora said modestly. “Not that everyone listens to me.”

“Don’t you start that again,” she snapped. “That ship has sailed, wrecked, and sunk to the bottom of the sea.”

“So? They even managed to retrieve pieces of the Titanic.”

“No,” she repeated, and quickly changed the subject. “I am rather disappointed they managed to banish that nasty spirit without any help from us. I was looking forward to cleaning house.”

“That’s the power of love.”

She groaned and took Flora’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go celebrate.”

“You go on ahead. I have something I have to do.”

“You’re not starting in on another poor couple already, are you?”

Flora gave her a look of limpid innocence.

“Would I do that?”

“Yes.”

Her friend laughed. “Fair, but in this case, it’s more of an… investigation. Jessica said something that reminded me of someone I haven’t heard about in years. Which is rather odd when you think about it.”

“Considering you like to know everything about everybody, it is.”

“Exactly. So I thought I’d take a little look. I’ll come over to yours later—unless you have company.”

“I won’t,” she said firmly, but Flora was already gone.

She sighed and started back towards her house. This late at night, most of the houses were dark, but Jack o’lanterns still glowed on the occasional porch step and a few lights were still on. The wind sent leaves scurrying down the street and she shivered. Normally she enjoyed Fairhaven Falls at night, but tonight she just felt… alone. Damn Flora and her insistence on digging up the past.

I made the right decision , she told herself, but as clouds scudded across the moon and another flurry of leaves skittered down the empty street, it was harder than usual to believe.

Nonsense. She squared her shoulders and marched off down the street, never noticing the tall figure watching her from the shadows.