19. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen:

~Valerie Contempt~

M y magic peeled back, sinking back from the depths from once it came, as the rain stopped. The clouds broke apart in clumps, allowing the afternoon sunlight to break through. I scanned across the college, my thicket having woven itself around every building. Each brick tower was wrapped with obsidian vines and ruby thorns, the bodies of all Amber's zombies impaled upon them. My stomach lurched out of sheer shock. There are so many! I didn't know if she robbed a graveyard or if she truly murdered this many people over the course of the semester. It all felt so sudden to me, but she'd clearly been planning this for some time. My heart sank into my feet. As the orange sun glowed behind me, all the wet puddles glistened. There was blood everywhere.

"Valerie?"

I flinched. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid. He could swear all he wanted to be in my corner, to love me for me, but… what happened when I put that to the test? My heart rattled in my chest as I twisted to face Lochlainn…and my body crumbled as he rushed over Amber's corpse to scoop me up into his arms. "Little witch, are you alright?"

"Lochlainn, what…you didn't…"

"I was stalling for time when I saw you working your magic. Normally I wouldn't waste time with the nonsense she was spewing, but…I hoped it was you." He kissed my cheeks. Thick clumps of mushroom and moss fell away from my skin. Tiny petals of baby's breath fluttered around us and for a moment it was just us. He pressed his forehead to mine and held me tight. "You did good, little witch."

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. My dagger-like fingers shrank slowly back to their regular size, and the wicked magic seeped away. And, for the first time in the last two weeks, I felt…at peace. There was no lingering buzz, no urges threatening to ruin the moment, no desire pumping through my veins. Just…peace. I exhaled heavily. So that's what it was. That surge of magic and force that came over me like a protection, it all led to one conclusion.

I was pregnant.

My fingers wove their way into his hair, fisting it tight. He sighed dreamily. I brushed my lips along his cheekbones. I got what I wanted.

"Lochlainn, what did you mean by ‘little show' earlier?" I furrowed my brow.

"When I ran into her on my way to threaten Dean Bandur, she looked ill. I realized she was also hexed over and over again, and when I tried to help, she fled. She screamed through the campus, claiming you did it." He shook his head, "It didn't work on me."

But that wasn't only for him… I grimaced as reality sank in. That show was for everyone, as the victims of Amber's zombies began to exit the buildings. That fucking asshole. I slipped from his hands and slunk away from him.

"Valerie, where are you going?" He called out, lunging after me but I put my hands up. Hands that were ruby from the middle knuckle to the fingernail. The mark of my magic was like an ink, staining my bloodied fingers. If that weren't damning evidence enough, the blood caked to my cheeks and gristle in my teeth would surely earn me a pyre.

"Home…" I exhaled heavily. "I can't stay here."

"Valerie, you can't give up—"

"I'm not!" I barked, watching his face twisting up in confusion. "I'm just going to do things my way. I'm tired of playing by their rules. Just…just meet me at Contempt Manor at sunrise. Please?"

"Valerie, please," his face was twisted in pain as I lept over shattered glass and rotting zombie corpses.

"Lochlainn, I'm pregnant!" I confessed. The trees bristled to my back, their branches opening up to welcome be home. His eyes widened in shock as I smiled at him. "Just meet me tonight…I'm gonna need a large bear at my side to make my point to my grandmother."

His face lit up, that beautiful, charming smile back where it belonged on his lips. "I'll be there."

I flung myself into the trees before the mob formed and came for my head. I could already hear the screaming of my name. However, this time, it made me smile. Sure, I'm the big bad witch! I'm the villainess. And damn proud of it.

"If I'm lying, you have my permission to hunt me down, Professor!" I bellowed over my shoulder as I flounced deep into the woods, barefoot and covered in the blood of my enemy.

It took me several hours to make it home on foot. Sure, I could have used the woods to launch me there faster, but I enjoyed the solitude. It let me be with my thoughts. Breeding season is over. I'd have to congratulate Lochlainn on his powerful fluids—which made me snicker for a good thirty minutes. I thought maybe I'd have some wayward feelings about it. But, as I walked with my hands on my stomach, I couldn't summon anything but excitement. I got what I wanted.

Lochlainn, I got to keep him. Next stop, my apothecary. First, however, I needed to speak to my grandmother.

I reached the rear gates of Contempt about an hour before sunrise. Hazy light filled the woods, highlighting the darker flora that surrounded me. Unlike the campus, full of fun oak trees and willows, the Contempt manor was a four-story manor with gothic black iron fencing. The grounds were surrounded in haunted, skinny stalks for trees as well as thick redwoods with faces made out of tree bark. Dangling purple and ruby vines twinkled like bells as I opened the gate. It groaned, an eerie sound that bounced off the stone path that led up to the house. An ash black manor with as many spiked and grand windows as they could install. Bones dangled from twine and dried grass in the crow tree that took up most of the back yard. A massive beast made of gnarled wood, thick branches, and obsidian leaves with ruby veins. Crows sat in it, cawing at me as I passed. Then, my mother's familiar, the three eyed crow with yellow pupils full of spinning circles, called out. A wereraven, three times the size of an average vulture, launched from the tree.

Benji created a cold gust that wrapped around me. He surged to the back porch and hopped on his massive talons till he faced me.

"Hi, Benji," I chuckled, plucking the chunk of zombie flesh I'd brought with me through the woods. I tossed it to him and he cawed for me happily. As he chomped down on the rotten meat, the other crows hushed behind me. My spine tingled and I stiffened. "Hi, Mom."

"Baby, what are you doing home so—Valerie?" my mother's voice caught as I turned to face her, my actions basically a flashing sign. My legs were streaked with inky magic that started trailing the inside of my thighs over three hours ago. My hands were still stained a vibrant ruby, but now there were thorny branches tattooed around my middle finger like a stylish ring. Plus, the itchy blood that I hadn't fully scratched off my face. My mother, an elegant five foot one, all curves and long onyx hair, wrapped in a red velvet dress, gasped. " Oh Valerie. "

"Mom, I-"

But she rushed forward, tears streaming down her pretty cheeks and arms open wide. "My baby's first murder! "

I was engulfed in her arms. Even Benji hopped down the steps to nuzzle his massive beak sweetly against the back of my calf. I rolled my eyes but hugged her back. My mother stroked my hair tenderly, squeezing me tighter for a moment then pulling back to look at me from an arm's length. "Oh, just look at you! You're glowing!"

"I'm sticky and gross," I snorted.

"A little, but it looks good on you!" She winked at me before motioning toward the house. "Come, come, let's get you washed up then. Mother will want to see you. Ooooh, poisoned thickets, impressive. You know, they just don't string people up in thorny branches like they used to!"

I let my mother dote on me, kissing my hair and marveling over my stains while I climbed the steps to my childhood room. She cranked on my shower for me and tossed a steamer in it before helping me peel the tatters of my clothing off.

"Now, tell me everything! Set the scene. I want it all!" She plopped herself onto the bathroom counter as I dunked myself under the rushing water. Scrubbing my hair was nearly orgasmic. Getting the gunk off my face and cleaning the stains off the insides of my legs was a fucking delight. And while I rinsed and scrubbed then rinsed some more, I regaled my mother with it all.

I told her about trying to rub it out in the woods. She laughed at me. I told her about being chased and running into Lochlainn. She rubbed her hands together like a villain as I told her about the murders and being put in The Grove. Then, she sat there, patient and understanding as my voice warbled a bit, explaining everything. From the high of Lochlainn's confessions, Kahrina's friendship, the feeling of my magic…to the lows of Amber, of the accusations, the dirty looks, being afraid to lose the things I wanted.

When I finished, explaining how I ran into the woods with Amber's blood in my teeth, she nodded. We existed in silence, me wrapped in a towel while trying to wring out the water from my hair, her on my counter still.

Then she spoke, "Well, all in all, not a terrible college experience. You really should have been there when I graduated." She let out a low whistle, shaking her head, "They still talk about it."

"Do they?" I retorted, arching a brow.

"Well, I mean, they never figured out it was me. They kept saying it was a necromancer, and never suspected I was the one behind all the deaths," my mother grimaced, "My only regret was not taking credit for scaring the entire campus into a lock down. I got out right before the cleansed the campus. So much screaming…"

"Mom!" I huffed.

"What! That was before your time, things were different!" She tossed her hands about. "Anyway, baby, looks like you came out on top."

"I still have to finish my degree," I muttered.

"Psssha, what apothecary owner needs a degree? I mean, I hardly think it's necessary at this point. You've got what really matters— reputation !" She smirked from ear to ear, hands spread out in front of her with her fingers wiggling.

I opened my mouth to counter only for my face to fall. Wait…what . I gulped, "What?"

"What? What did I say?" My mother narrowed her eyes on me suspiciously.

"Apothecary." I stood up straight, letting my slightly damp tendrils slap against my back.

"You still want it, right?" My mother blinked.

"Of course," I retorted, tightening the towel against my body.

"Well, good then," She shrugged.

"But Grandma won't allow it," I countered.

My mother snorted, pushing herself off the counter.

"Now, now, that's not the witch I raised." I eyed her as she winked at me. Then my mother flipped her hair off her shoulder and sauntered to the door. "I'll be out in the garden pruning branches off the crow tree to grow a new one in the woods. Don't go into the library looking to pick a fight with your grandmother. That would be terribly rude."

I smirked to myself as my mother left me there to dry off. The stains on my fingers seemed brighter as I stepped out of my bathroom to dress. By the time I had on a fresh Contempt classic black slip dress and my family crest necklace, I heard a certain bear roaring in the distance. I rushed to my back window, smiling as I saw a familiar, massive brown bear, barreling up the path. With a flick of my hand, the back gate groaned open, and I left to go greet my druid.

Then go pick a fight with my grandmother.

"There you are, I thought I caught a whiff… is that a bear?" My grandmother shrieked as I stepped into the library. Madam Contempt, my grandmother and current patriarch of our coven, stood petrified a few feet from me. She had one hand on the spine of the chair, and one on her cane. Her viper familiar shot up the length of her cane and loomed over her shoulders. "Valerie Contempt, why do you have a large brown bear and what is it doing in my house."

"Grandmother," I curtsied out of respect, but then shamelessly stomped forward into the room. Lochlainn stayed at my heels. My grandmother stood her ground, but her sharp, obsidian eyes watched my druid like a hawk. "I wish to speak to you."

"We can do so once you dismiss the bear."

"His name is Lochlainn, and he stays," I countered.

"You named the beast?" She snarled, her eyes snapping to me. "I taught you better than that."

"No, you didn't. You didn't teach me anything- my mother did. The only thing you taught me was to never come into a discussion without leverage. So, this…" I twisted to motion at the massive predator at my heels with a flippant hand, "is my leverage."

"You intend to feed me to a bear?" She sneered.

"He's a person!" I shrieked.

"Don't raise your voice at me." My grandmother stomped her cane, the room buffeted with a gust of cold, cryptic air.

I took a moment to regain my composure. Her casting a silencing charm on the room would do me no favors. If I rose too far up an octave, she would simply take my voice. Two summers back, I learned the hard way that my grandmother held grudges. All Contempt witches do, but she was the best at them. It took several weeks of wordless groveling to get it back.

Inhaling deeply through my nose, I calmed my boiling blood. Not good for the baby. My hand fell to the top of Lochlainn's head and scratched it. It's going to be alright. He nuzzled his face against my thigh. Warmth bloomed in my chest, a sweet, flutter of my heart. I have Lochlainn, and that's all I truly need.

"This is Lochlainn, he's a druid." I managed to say with a level of cool that surprised even me.

"Mmm," my grandmother inspected him with a scowl embedded on her face. She was a carbon copy of myself, my mother. Long, flowing tresses of salt and pepper hair, round cheeks, short and plump. She was a great beauty that aged carefully. There was still a sharpness to her, a steeliness in her gaze as she returned her attention to me. "You are with child."

"I am." I nodded.

"And you are not here to simply seek my approval?" She squinted suspiciously. "Hmm, no, I think you're here to bargain with me. Possibly blackmail me… are you not?'

My mouth flapped open and shut a few times before the words found their way out of my throat. "How?"

"How what, Valerie? I taught you to speak in full sentences."

My teeth clicked hard with how I gritted them. I finally ground out, "how did you know that's what I came here to do?"

"It is tradition," she sighed heavily, motioning to the chair opposite hers at the fireplace of the haunted library. "Your mother did this exact same thing to my mother, as I did with my grandmother. Contempt witches don't do well with obeying authority. It's in our nature. Come, sweet child, take a seat. Let us discuss what you want, and I'll see that it is reasonable. And… do make your lover change into his skin. His paws are tracking in mud."