Chapter 6

CIRRUS

Wynter Nefari is one slippery toad. Not only did she manage to disappear on me three times, I got lost trying to find the motel.

It's late afternoon when I finally arrive, and I'm bummed to see her SUV isn't around. I was hoping to catch her before she wandered off into Spells Hollow.

I know she's a big bad witch, but hasn't she seen any horror flicks? You should never go to a cursed town alone.

There is power in numbers. Ugh, she's a silly little lamb that hopefully won't be chosen for slaughter.

Parking, I shut my truck off and groan. My ass has become one with the leather and when I try to remove myself from the seat there is some pain.

Just like a Bandaid. Have to rip my thighs off.

"Motherfluffernator," I shout. Someone snickers from outside. Adjusting my shorts, I climb out and stretch.

An older woman in shorts and a tank-top continues to laugh at my discomfort.

"I'm glad my pain brings a smile to your face, Duchess," I grumble, and she snorts, rolling her heavily eye shadowed eyes.

"Honey, you couldn't handle me thirty years ago, so I know for a fact you couldn't handle me now."

Leaving me with my mouth wide open, she sashays inside.

Well that wasn't awkward or anything.

Grabbing my duffle bag from the passenger seat, I shut the door and walk inside to the check-in desk.

There is a guy my age that smells magical. One look at me and he scowls.

"We don't like your kind here," he grunts, and I sigh.

"Listen, cupcake, I am exhausted, and I'm not here for trouble. My girl has gone off to get herself killed, and I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

He grumbles something and then hands me a piece of paper to fill out.

"It's double the price for Fae scum like yourself."

Agreeing, I hand him my card and fill out the basic information.

We don't talk, and soon he's throwing a key to room Eight at my face.

"Righto, chief, thanks," I mumble, then leave the front office and walk to my room.

I can smell her. She's all sunshine and rainbows with a hint of thunder. Delicious.

Entering the room, I don't bother taking in the decor. Walking right for the shower, I strip as I go and practically dive head first into the cold water.

It's refreshing, and now that I'm here I take a minute to just rest and think about Gru and what he did for me the other day.

I know this isn't the end. My mother is notorious for twisting lies, and she will be searching for me again soon…

Gru said I needed to get married, and I have someone in mind, but now I need to track her down, hope she's not a pile of ash and she's willing to talk to me.

WYNTER

Bouncing along the weathered road, I feel my French toast making a reappearance. I understand this place is well hidden for good reason, but they really need to pave this street.

I've been driving for over an hour and I should be getting closer. I'm hoping so. The sky is getting darker the deeper into the woods I drive.

Checking my phone for the photo I took of the random map Liv drew me, I notice that the road ends at a gate.

I still don't see one, so I crank up the radio and sing along as I continue driving. Soon enough it's there barely holding on.

I park the car and choose to keep going on foot. I can see a large building up ahead and no one seems to be around.

I don't know why I was summoned here. As I walk along the road and into the town square I'm frozen.

Literally.

Chills run down my spine as I glance up at the gallows. Perfectly preserved bodies hang from the ropes and I no longer try to keep my food down.

Angling my head to the side, I throw up.

I knew something horrific happened here, but that was centuries ago. So why do these bodies look fresh?

If not for the clothing that is.

A blur from the corner of my eye has me turning my head. A young man is hovering there, holding his camera as if he died in the middle of taking a photo.

This isn't the first ghost I've seen, and I doubt it'll be my last.

He stares at me, and I know I need to look away before he realizes… Too late.

"You can see me? Oh this is awesome! I have been floating around here for years waiting for someone to help me."

Sighing, I reach into my bag for some wet wipes and gum while he continues to babble.

"I came here with a group of friends. We loved ghost hunting and anything occult related. It was supposed to be a good weekend. We set up camp in the High Priestess's house, but the next morning…"

"Let me guess you woke up dead, and your friends weren't anywhere to be found?"

"Yeah, I can't believe they would just ditch me like that." He sniffles, and I can admit he's tugging on my cold black heart a little.

"What's your name and do you remember the date you came here?"

"Arnold Abernathy and yeah it was spring break. April 10th, 2009."

Dammit! I was hoping he wasn't one of those repressed spirits.

"Well, Arnie, can I call you Arnie? It's now 2024, and I hate to tell you that you have been gone for a long time. If I had to guess, I would say that when you reappeared as a spirit it had already been five or ten years. Time is different in the spirit realm."

"I've been dead for fifteen years? No, that can't be right."

"Yeah, sorry, bud, but hey once I figure out why I was brought here and how to break my curse, I'll help you. But umm."

I look around, and the chills running through me are becoming more intense. There are spirits everywhere, floating between the buildings. Some too gruesome to even mention.

One of the things I hate about being a medium.

When I saw my first ghost I was four. My mom was driving down the road, and I started to scream that they needed help. There was a young couple in a bad wreck.

Come to find out no one was there, and the accident happened twenty years ago. They call it a death echo, and sadly I tend to be the one spirits come to.

"Can you help me in the meantime? I had a vision that I needed to come here, but I'm not sure where to start."

Arnie looks off at a huge mansion. "You haven't been the first witch to come here since the blood moon. There have been a few others. Start at the High Priestess's garden and hopefully you will know what to do next."

"Thanks." Leaving Arnie to his misery, I side swept past a woman with her face burned off and meandered around the other spirits flitting about.

As I get closer to the garden I feel a powerful pull, guiding my every step.

"Wow," I gasp. For a place so desolate this is almost preserved. Greenery surrounds me from the overgrowth, but it's beautiful in a chaotic way.

There is a small gazebo in the corner and that's where I head. Plopping down on the weathered bench, I stare out at all the plants growing and the statues. But what's confusing is the dead Earth behind the garden.

How is this so healthy, but beyond it is destroyed?

"Magic, darling. This place is protected."

Closing my eyes, I let the High Priestess, Melisande speak to me. "I wanted more for Spells Hollow. I had a vision, but…"

A vision so strong hitting me has me gripping the weathered wood for dear life.

He follows me when he thinks I do not see him. I know he is plotting something. He wants the power that me and my loves hold between us. His jealousy becomes him and has turned him into someone I fear may hurt us.

I will do everything in my power to make that untrue.

What once was anonymous gifts and what he believed to be worship has turned.

He covets things he will never possess and I watch as he's becoming uncontrollable. He uses his magic recklessly without consequence.

As the years pass his power has become something sinister. I don't want it or him here.

This land was meant to be a haven for my family and coven.

Morfran does not see. He doesn't have the same vision as us.

He does not belong.

Spells Hollow is meant to be a sanctuary. I have tried to uphold my duty. I have allowed him to stay here with us. He's not pleased that I still deny him entry to the coven. He hasn't said anything, but I can tell.

He's planning something.

I should have listened to myself. Donahue swore that I was overreacting. That my concerns were just fear, but now it's too late.

My children. My beautiful babies are all dead and I know who did it.

Their lifeless bodies have been drained of magic. Dark, sinister workings of an evil man.

Morfran.

It's time that I must end him. My lovers wish for us to go to war, but the future of the coven rests upon me.

The so-called sorcerer of Spells Hollow will meet his demise.

Tomorrow a blood moon is predicted and that is when this shall happen. I have tried my best to protect those that remain here.

A lot have fled to New Amsterdam and I wish them luck. I never wanted this.

Morfran has set a course that not even I can alter.

By murdering innocent children, he's made it clear that we won't be the only ones to suffer.

"Wynter!" someone shouting pulls me from the most devastating, heartbreaking vision I have had to date. Melisande was not only a leader, she sacrificed herself to try and save her lovers and coven.

I knew something horrible happened here. I can feel the torment and pain all around me. The souls who are trapped here. Starvation, fire, suicide. So many deaths that were caused by one man.

Morfran. He not only cursed my family, but destroyed this town. I don't know how I'm going to help heal this place or even why I was told to come here, but I know I'll try.

If not to break my family's curse, then to help these spirits finally move on and have peace.

"Cirrus, what the hell are you doing here?" Finally opening my eyes, I immediately recognize the person holding me. "Are you stalking me?"

The man from the bar with the powerful magic and bright blue hair looks down at me. We shared one kiss. Why the hell is he here in Spells Hollow of all places.

"Not completely. Did you forget my little chickadee that I was there when your bloodmoon vision hit. That I saw everything you did?"

He releases me and offers me his hand to help me back onto my feet. The sun's setting now and the noises from the woods are becoming louder. I'm unsteady and feel as if all of my magic is being drained.

"I need to get out of here. I don't know why you're here, Cirrus and trust me we will be finishing this conversation, but for now just help me get back to the motel."

"Anything for you my little mate."