Gail closed her bedroom door and leaned against it. Despite her best attempts, the guilt flooded her. The witches had all but declared war on the werewolves. Worse yet, it seemed they were winning. Gail had no doubts that the coven controlling all werewolves in the area, or possibly the country, wasn’t a good thing. But what could she do about it? She took down the box from the closet with the idea to toss the charm in there, but when she saw the pictures, she hesitated. Gail plopped down on the bed next to the box. She picked up one photograph.
It was of her and her parents on one of their many hikes through the forest. Her mother loved being among the trees. She said it made her feel connected to the world. Gail looked about eight or nine in the picture, making it one of the last pictures her parents had taken before their murder. They died not too far from that location.
Pain ripped through Gail’s head, waking her up from her sleep. She held her head, waiting for it to pass. Something jumped on her bed, making her scream and jerk back against the headboard. It was only when Joel barked several times, did her sleep fogged mind realize it was him. “Owe,” she said, rubbing the back of her head where she'd hit the headboard. “What’s wrong?” Gail reached for the charm and wrapped it around her wrist. ‘They’re here. The witches. They’re right outside.’ That explained the sudden headache that woke her up. “Already?” She threw back the covers, rubbing her still aching temple. In the living room, Gail peeked out the window. “Crap,” she breathed, seeing a large group of, most likely, witches on her small front lawn. ‘I don’t think they’ve gotten past your spells.’
Gail’s mind raced as she drove. Her hands shook and her ability to not think about what had just happened was slipping. She needed to find a place to stop, and soon. Gail was also aware of Joel watching her as she drove. Thankfully, he didn’t ask the dumb question ‘are you okay?’ yet.She shook her head, focusing back on the road. They needed to stop, but where? Gail saw the interstate and had an idea where to go. Turning on to the interstate, she drove for almost twenty minutes before getting off again to pull into the parking lot of a hotel. “Ready to take a breather?” Gail asked as she leaned over and opened the glove compartment. Inside, she took out a white envelope. Aunt Rose had always insisted Gail carry it in the car, just in case one day she had to make a quick getaway. She opened the envelope and took out some money and a fake ID with the name Melony Staton on
As Joel neared the door, he smelled it. Witch. It was a witch at the door. His muscles tensed, preparing to take the witch on his own. Gail hadn’t yet recovered from using her magic back at her house. She wouldn’t be able to help, and he didn’t want her to push herself farther than she already had.When Gail reached his side he said, without looking away from the door, ‘It’s a witch.’“A witch?” she whispered. “Are you sure?”He bobbed his head in reply.“Damn, how did they find us already?”The witch knocked again.“Okay, right. Well, they must know we’re here so…”
“You need to focus,” Aunt Rose told Gail, and not for the first time that morning. Gail blew out a breath, giving up on trying the simple spell her aunt told her to work on. She was focused. So focused, Gail had a headache coming on. “I’m trying.” Her aunt gave her a closed lip smile. “Yes, but you’re easily distracted and don’t bother denying it. Magic needs singular focus, Gail. You can’t let anything else occupy your thoughts or else it won’t work.” Again, Gail sighed and nodded. Her aunt had also told her that several times already. “Yeah, yeah.” “Let’s try again. Your magic takes its power from the moon. Focus on the glass ball in your hands. Your intent is to fill it with the light of the moon. That is all you must think about. Keep your eyes on the ball, look
Exhaustion pulled at Gail, forcing her shoulders forward. She stared at the mess that was her aunt’s backyard. Her latest attempt to control her magic led to every animal in the surrounding area to come to her. It looked like a zoo gone wild. Deers were peeling bark off her aunt’s crabapple trees. Birds filled said trees, chirping or squawking down at the deers. There were squirrels and raccoons everywhere, getting into everything within reach, which turned out to be quite a lot. A family of possums were making themselves comfortable under the picnic table.The only one mildly amused was Joel. He laid out on the porch, watching the cha0s. He was the only reason the boars did not overrun her aunt’s vegetable garden. Aunt Rose’s flower bed wasn’t so lucky. They destroyed it, eating the tulip bulbs.“This is a disaster,” h
Joel growled, ‘Open the door. I’ll deal with them.’ “No, there is no need,” Gail told him, watching the witches approach. ‘But-’ “My aunt has protections in place,” she told him. “And hers are much better than mine. They’ll never get through them before she comes back. We’ll be okay.” ‘Okay,’ he huffed, but not an inch of him relaxed. “Any minute now they’re going to realize their mistake.” She held her breath as she watched them get closer… and closer. Her stomach tightened. “Odd.” ‘What? What’s wrong.’ “Oh, nothing. It’s just… I must have miscalculated where my aunt placed her spells.”
Gail breathed in the pine scented air, her body relaxed at the smell. Memories of her parents taking her on hikes filled her. A warm, bittersweet sensation filled her. God, she missed them so much.Gail gave her head a little shake and focused on Joel in front of her. He had yet to explain what his idea was, only that he wanted her to go with him into the woods. That alone almost sent her aunt into a conniption, but even dear ole Aunt Rose was out of ideas, too. She had no other choice but to let Joel try his ideas, even though he wouldn’t explain what they were. Before leaving, Gail’s aunt insisted she take a silver-coated dagger for safety.Unable to push her curiosity aside, Gail asked, “So what is the plan?”‘You’ll see,’ he replied and said no more until they reached a
As Gail and Joel neared her aunt’s house, the curse returned and forced Joel back into his husky form. Gail sighed and picked up the blanket. “Sorry.”‘This time it was longer than last time. That was only maybe fifteen minutes max, this time had to be closer to thirty.’“Oh great, so perhaps in ten years you’ll get to spend a day as a human.” Gail couldn’t hide her bitterness at how ineffective her attempt had been.‘Hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day.’She blew out a breath, folding the blanket haphazardly. “You’re right, but it still sucks. Let’s find Aunt Rose.”‘You go ahead. I’d bet she’d be more willing to he