Chapter 63

* Char *

“You betrayed the code. The only way for you to come back from this is to come clean and save yourself.”

“But I didn’t know; I had no idea what these people were into. They said it was a love spell. I needed the money. I don’t even….” Her cowering was sickening.

“Spare me the rhetoric. You know what can happen if you don’t do the right thing here and you’re running out of time. The spell is broken. He’s no longer under your control, and I’ve fixed it so it can never happen again. I don’t have to tell you what will happen if I send it back to you. Or how things may turn out the next time you cast since I’m locked onto you now.”

I saw the fear in her eyes and pressed on. She’s the worst kind of seer, the kind who preys on others for monetary gain. Like the medicine men, our craft is only supposed to be meant for good for the help and welfare of our fellow man. But over the centuries, the lines have been blurred, and the worst of us have lost our way.

This one got tangled up in something very dark, very dark, and very dangerous. It may have started out as nothing more than a love spell in her mind, but she knew, she saw, and she said nothing, did nothing, just carried on.

It’s never good when light gets attracted to darkness because, somehow, darkness always wins. Especially when you’re a sapling trying to be a tree, had this one stuck to tarot cards and readings, she would’ve been just fine, but instead, she crossed the line, mixing her natural gift with something way beyond her capabilities.

I know because I’ve spent the last week unraveling her work, and though it had been very effective, the way in which she’d done it with her minor capabilities on that score had been destructive. Hers was not the one handprint on Ryder and Elena’s demise, but the other one, the mother who had encouraged her underage daughter to fixate on someone else’s mate, will be dealt with in another way.

Her, I have an intense dislike for, as she was the mother, the life force of the subject, the one who carried her for ten months under her heart, and yet she’d done this thing that she herself should’ve known was not meant to be done.

This one, this Enya Pieck, had no doubt been in it for financial gain and the closeness this association would bring her to the rich and famous. How they found her out of all the reputable seers in the country is a mystery. But I can only surmise that she was the only one willing to do the unthinkable. Therefore she gets no sympathy from me.

No doubt they had paid her and paid her well. She didn’t seem convinced by my threats, even with the fear, so I took my phone from my pocket and showed her the recording I had there. “Is this your client?” On the screen, Janie Andrews could be seen screaming into the camera about naming names, times, and places and admitting that, yes, she had cast a spell on Ryder Sumner.

Some of what she disclosed was quite disturbing; some of it, most of it, in fact, bordering on illegal. If she did, in fact, name names, which I’m sure my cohorts will see that she does, then a lot of wealthy, very influential people will find themselves exposed.

“You’ll be next. Who will ever trust you again? Only the dark ones, but what then? What becomes of your soul? Are you not worried?” There, the fetid smell of sweat and fear was pungent in the air. She knew, and I knew, that I was stronger than she was, that I could overpower her with the flick of a finger. And that I didn’t need her to be in the middle of casting to attack.

“I could stop your heart from a thousand miles away, and trust me, I will. If you don’t do as I say, you’ll not survive the night.” She sat in silence as she pondered my words, and then the nod I was waiting for came. “What do you want me to do?”

“It’s just like I said. You will tell the world the truth, that’s all. Just tell them what you did for Janie Andrews and who all were involved.”

“You mean the church and Mary and Scott? You want me to name those guys? You might as well just kill me then because they sure as hell will.”

“There’s death, and then there’s death.” She knew my meaning well enough as she swallowed hard and looked away from the scorn in my eyes.

“You’d better pray that we find all those young girls they sold away. Or something worse than me will be here next.” Yes, indeed, Colton Lyon may not have the gift of sight, but what he has is just as powerful, and when he chooses, he can be as villainous as the dark.

Sometimes I wish I’d have taken him in when I was supposed to. Maybe then he would’ve gotten the guidance the organization had in place for him. But he was so young, so gifted, and so free in spirit that I couldn’t bring myself to do it. And my dear friend Elena, his mother. It would’ve broken her heart to be separated from her son after losing her family like that.

And now there’s his daughter. Sweet little Catalina with the heart of gold and a mind that defies reason. Come to think of it; I’m not sure which of the two is worse. The father or the daughter. Which one would let her live, or who would offer up a less vicious way of dying?

“It’s time. Let’s go.”

“What? Right now?” I quirked my brow at her.

“Why? Do you have something better to do?” I called out for Jason, who was waiting outside. Another one with the gift, his, a little bit different from mine but just as powerful, just as fierce.

He didn’t spare her a look as he walked in. Tall, unnaturally handsome, and way too stoic for someone his age. “Are we ready?”

“Yes, they’re waiting. Everything must happen in order, don’t forget.”

“I won’t. Let’s go witch.” He knew what calling her that would do to her, but it was what she deserved.

We’re not all witches; we don’t all rely on spells and the dark forces; some of us were born with the gift, and some enforced that gift with other things that were not meant to be, like this one. A love spell is a dangerous and deceitful thing to do to an unsuspecting recipient. Especially when that recipient was part of a twin soul, and that twin was left to suffer.

***

* Elena *

I was on set all day, and when it was finally time to break, I was dead on my feet. I noticed all the missed calls, but that was nothing new. I’ll get to them tomorrow. Right now, I’m for a quick shower and my bed after my nightly call with Ryder, of course.

This has been fun and more exciting than I expected. At my age, I was finally having the teenage romance I had dreamed of. It wasn’t all bad the first time around, but I would be lying if I said this wasn’t much better.

Instead of angst and worry over every little thing that could go wrong in our relationship, it felt as if those worries had been swept away, and now I was free to enjoy being in love. After all, the worst had already happened.

What’s more, this was a new and improved Ryder. I had my reservations, of course, especially when I was away from him these last few days and was able to think. I wondered at my stupidity in forgiving him so easily after all the heartache.

But when I take into consideration all that had transpired, the things I didn’t know about and always questioned, and now knowing everything that had been said and done to bring about our breakup and that whole situation, I can’t in all good conscience hold him completely responsible.

I hadn’t known that my family’s distrust and dislike of him had had such a profound effect on him. And that he feared losing me as well. That was something we’d have to work on this go around, but apart from that, there was nothing standing in the way of our second chance.

A drug-free Ryder reminds me so much of the boy I’d first met, and though I will never forget the things he’d told me that had been done to him, my only wish is to help him heal.

Our sharing has built a bond between us that had been lacking before, and for this reason, I know and believe that nothing will ever come between us again. I can feel it.

I’m more certain now that I was ready to tell my friends and family about us getting back together; all I was waiting for was the mess of his divorce to be handled, which he promised me would be soon.

I’ve thought about the fans, both his and mine, and wondered for a bit how they would handle it. I even thought about her fans and wondered the same thing. I can’t so easily forget that I had received death threats instigated by her, no doubt, and that was when Ryder and I hadn’t even laid eyes on each other in years. I can’t imagine how unhinged they would become when the news broke.

Sometimes I wish we could move, just run away somewhere together, that we could leave this all behind for a less stressful life. A life somewhere where no one knows us and no one cares about our fame. A little picturesque town with fall colors and spring blossoms.

But then I imagine the sadness he would feel since there would be no children, no one to share our joy with, and my little daydream becomes tainted. So work it will be. Work and a relationship we can both rely on for support.

Because of the way I look forward to hearing his voice every night, I know that I would never want to miss it again. I try hard not to focus on what had been taken from me, from us. I try to think only of the future and not look back too much because when I do, the anger and resentment I feel are astounding.

I have visions of hurting the ones who hurt me, including Rachel. Just thinking about that girl gives me heartburn. I could never figure out how or why she’d done this to me, why she’d played a part in something that was so destructive in my life, all while holding my hand under the guise of being there for me. Her betrayal is almost as bad as his was.

I haven’t told Sydney any of this yet; she’s on tour and doesn’t need the stress. She’s going to be pissed, not just about Rachel, who she never liked nor trusted, but about my getting back together with Ryder. It was her reaction I feared most, even more than my own mother’s.

Mom will come around because she loves me. Not that Sydney doesn’t, but a sister-friend love is different. She got to see me at my worst. Things I hadn’t shared with my mom; she knew and was there for it all. Of everyone, she would be our fiercest detractor, and it wasn’t unwarranted, so I can’t fault her for that.

Just because I’ve accepted Ryder and given him a second chance, I don’t expect that everyone else would; I just hope I don’t lose a friend over it. Rachel, on the other hand, well, I haven’t been able to bring myself to talk to her yet. Not after that bogus story about me going away for a while which I’d barely gotten through.

I can’t put it off much longer now that I am back to work, and everyone knows. She’d get suspicious if I’m not calling her just to check-in. And then there’s her mother. I don’t have it in me to make the poor woman suffer just because her daughter is a snake, but I know Rachel wouldn’t be able to afford her care on her own. Maybe I can still keep taking care of her after I kick her daughter out of my life, but there’s no way I can have her around me, not after the horrible things she’s done.

I was beyond heartbroken when it came to light that she was the one who had organized that whole fiasco of a trip all those years ago. She knew back then how I felt about the Hudson sisters but had encouraged me to stay cordial to them, at least, even after their mother tried to brainwash me into hiring her as my manager.

I never suspected her association with them because I thought she was just there for me. But learning that it was all lies and that she was the one who had been able to convince Ryder that I had not only cheated on him but gotten rid of his child because of our close association has left me feeling raw and emotional.

I trusted her; I let her into my life and held nothing back. Maybe that’s part of my problem. I’ve always been too open, too kind in the face of other people’s bullshit. I don’t feel like being that way anymore. I don’t think I can ever let anyone get that close to me again. She made me believe I was crazy for five years. She’s not at all the person I thought she was.

***

There were more people outside waiting than usual, but I couldn’t neglect my fans, so as tired as I was, I put on a bright smile and shook off the fatigue as I got ready to face my adoring public. What I walked into in the cool New York evening was total chaos.

It wasn’t just the fans and the usual paparazzi crew that seemed to dog my every step, no, there were people with mics and camera crews from TV stations, and they all seemed to start yelling at the same time. I was caught completely off-guard by all this and must’ve looked like a complete idiot just standing there like a deer in headlights.

There were questions being shouted, questions I didn’t understand and didn’t have time to, as I was whisked away by one of Lyon’s men. Travis was his name, if I remember correctly. The man who never smiles.

Unlike my security, who knew to wait when I called a halt so I could interact with my fans, he didn’t budge. All I could do was wave at my fans as I recognized some faces from back home in L.A. What were those reporters doing here? Did something happen? And what was that they were screaming about?

Something about Janie, but I didn’t catch it all because I was being pulled along through the throng as if the hounds of hell were at my heels. “Wait, hold up.”

“There’s someone waiting for you.”

The way he said it, I knew; suddenly, all my tiredness was gone, and a big smile broke out across my face as I hurried my step to keep up. I slid into the backseat, and he was there. I didn’t even mind the two men in the front seats when he pulled me onto his lap, and his lips covered mine.

When we both came up for air, he didn’t release his hold on me but instead held me there with his hand cupping my head as it rested against his chest over the beating of his heart. “You’re tired.”

“Not anymore. Where are you taking me?” Not that I cared. I just wanted to be alone with him.

“Somewhere safe.” Safe? Wait, what?

***

* Janie *

What just happened? What’s happening? I pushed my way through the throng of vultures as my head began to spin, and I felt that at any moment, I was going to throw up. My head hurt so bad that even the faint evening light left the most excruciating pain in my eyes.

I squinted as I made my way along the wall with my hands, looking for Mary’s gate and the entrance to make my escape. They kept shouting questions at me, and in my confusion, I kept answering, even as I tried to force myself not to. “No, go away. Do you think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know that most of what I’ve done is illegal?”

“But what would you do if you were me? If you wanted someone who only wanted someone else? You’d do anything to get them, so don’t pretend that you’re all better than me.” This wasn’t me; why am I saying these things? I cried tears of frustration each time I opened my mouth, and words other than what I meant to say came spilling out.

There was one woman in particular who kept after me, asking me leading questions that, if answered, could destroy my whole life. I knew this, and yet I was fixated on her and kept answering her questions. In her eyes, I thought I saw peace, compassion, and understanding, and she seemed so familiar.

“So, it is true then that Ryder Sumner was never in love with you?”

“Yes, yes, it’s true, can you believe it? He’s still hung up on that bitch Elena when he could have had me. I tried everything, drugs, spells. You name it, we tried. Mary even tried to help, but she was doing it mostly for herself. She’s a bitch who likes to control everything, and her daughters are just like her.”

I looked directly into the camera this time to make sure my point came across. “The whole Hudson family are lying bitches. They use men for money; their mother sold them all at a very young age to get where she is now. If you only knew the lengths, she would go to for fortune and fame. She’s a liar and a thief. Don’t be fooled by them. Don’t be fooled. They’re no better than I am. They’re not better than me.”

I dropped to my knees just as I reached the gate, suddenly exhausted as I mumbled out words, too tired to speak above a whisper. Some part of me knew that this was all wrong, that the things I had said should never have been spoken out loud. But for some reason, I couldn’t hold back. There was so much more to say.

I tried struggling to my feet, but before I could make it, there were hands there lifting me up off the ground. “Ryder?” No, it was them; they came back. “Where did you guys go? Didn’t you see that I needed help?” They didn’t answer, just hustled me towards the SUV.

One of them whispered something in my ear that I didn’t quite catch, though it sounded like he said something about Mary. “Oh, don’t forget, Mary sells little girls and boys. You should ask her and Scott about that, oh, and Matt, the kiddie diddler. They’re all in on it.” I passed out from exhaustion before my ass hit the seat.