From the Ashes (Witches of The Demon Isle Book 8) (18 page)

CHAPTER 13

Michael explained to Emily what happened with Courtney and William. They were wide-awake and stunned. Heartbroken for both this stranger locked in the basement, and William.

“It’s beginning to feel like it’s never going to get better.” Michael slumped back against the headboard.

Emily stared blankly, like she often did now. Sucking in her emotions. Burying them deep. Hiding them from him. Her stare narrowed, an uneasy breath pushing through her lips. Michael waited, thinking she was going to say something. Hoping like crazy she was about to say something.

But as she opened her mouth only a gasp came out. A tremendous crash downstairs… Michael jumped out of bed to check it out.

Melinda was at her door, her eyes swollen from crying. He motioned for her to wait. She did. He flew down the stairs and stopped when Lizzy motioned from the hallway leading to William’s study. It was Charlie. He wasn’t handling the news well. Not that any of them were. But he’d let Lizzy handle his brother tonight. He crept back up the stairs and stopped in front of Melinda’s door.

“Charlie?” she guessed with a sniffle.

He nodded. “Are you okay?” She was nowhere near okay and he kicked himself for asking such a stupid question.

“I don’t know how to feel about anything anymore, Michael. I kind of want to stop feeling.”

He grasped her shoulder in a sympathetic gesture.

“I’m going to bed.” She closed the door before losing it again.

Michael slipped back into his room only to see Emily with her back turned, pretending to sleep. The moment of potential sharing, lost. Disappointed and too tired to push he climbed into bed, wondering what she’d wanted to tell him.

What a mess their lives had become.

#

Melinda downed a glass of wine, shakily, and wiped her eyes.

William had not come to her in a dream. He had not spoken to her, for real. It had all been part of her crazy brain trying to process everything that had happened, and she’d made him come to her rescue like he always did in real life.

He had not left the Isle.

And yet even as her brain thought these things it argued against it. Not believing for a moment that even at his wildest, William was capable of such things. He had warned her though, never to think of him as a man. But a monster.

Even her chaotic nightmare reminded her of his dangerous capabilities, when he’d sucked her dry. Perhaps that nightmare had been at least partially prophetic after all. William’s reminder, topped with him draining her dry, a metaphor to reality. Or a harbinger of the terrible truth to come.

She refused to accept it might be him killing these tourists. However, it was impossible to ignore the evidence piling up against him. And to her dismay, part of her wished she’d been the one he’d turned. Why this stranger? This reporter who happened to get in the way, at the worst possible time. Rather than someone who actually loved him.

Would it be so bad to live as William did?

She didn’t think so, as long as it was with the vampire she loved.

But to outlive her brothers, her friends… Melinda understood why William would never consider it. He didn’t even want to date humans. Now, by pure mistake, he turned someone. Taken away a human life. Stolen the reporter’s choices away from her.

If William was aware of what he’d done he’d never forgive himself. Might even take his own life as punishment.

He can’t knowingly have done it.

No, there’s no way that would happen.

Unless he’s only against turning Howards because of who we are, and our duties to be baby making machines and pop out new witches…

Don’t be such an idiot!

These arguments with herself were getting tiresome.

She was moping around over a choice she wasn’t even ready to make. Bitter she was still human when a woman locked in her basement had that choice stolen from her.

Melinda let the empty wine glass fall to the floor and plunked down to her back, staring up at the ceiling. Willing herself to sleep. And dream. Of anything helpful. Of anything to prove William’s guilt or innocence, or some way to save him.

Her mind wandered. And calmed. But sleep did not come.

If only William was a man… a regular, breathing human being.

She’d dreamed of him that way. With a living, human heart.

That was not a possibility, and soon, he might not have a heart living or dead, if it really was him responsible for these deaths.

This day. This week. This month… these last four years… left her hollow, and helpless. She wanted the opposite, strength and confidence. But no matter what she tried, or what happened, the powerless side kept dragging her back in. Leaving her vulnerable and in need of someone else’s help.

Her entire insides quaked with the need for comfort. And shockingly, not William’s, but Riley’s. He had a way of sensing her every need and fixing them. The manner in which he wrapped her up in his arms and spoke to her. Always guessed what she needed, and when. Like he could read her every unspoken word with a single glance at her body movements. She sat up, put her feet over the side of the bed and planted them on the floor.

Enough.

Enough.

Don’t do this anymore.

She got up and ran into her bathroom, staring at the tear-streaked, shaken version of herself haunting the mirror.

“You don’t need anyone to fix this for you. Or fix you. You can do this on your own.” She attempted determination and perhaps if she said it enough, she’d start to believe it.

“You don’t need Riley. Or William. Or any man to tell you how to feel. Or what to do.”

No, she didn’t need any man to do this.

But she did need a woman.

And she needed to do this right now. She would never take charge of her life if she didn’t make the choice to do it, and stick to it. And there was only one woman she knew who could put her brothers in their place and let her learn, freely. Without them holding her back because they were afraid for her safety. Or hurting her feelings.

She threw on a pair of shorts, a sweatshirt, and flip-flops, and snuck down the stairs and out the front door. Something her brothers would have a fit over if they caught her, considering the vampire on the loose, and she being perfect vampire bait.

She still refused to believe it was William.

And if it was, he would never hurt
her,
no matter what else he might have done. She held to this belief entering downtown where the streets were quiet except for a few late night tourists closing down pubs and staggering to their hotels.

And if it’s not William… did you even think about that before screaming out of the house in the middle of the damn night?

Melinda came to an instant stop.

Something crashed down the dark alley she was passing by.

Oh why do I ever leave the house?

Did she run?

Dummy! Can’t outrun a vampire…

But if it’s William…

And if it’s not…

How stupid can you be?

Didn’t even bring a stake!

You couldn’t have this epiphany of needing to find your power in the middle of the freakin’ day? Your brothers will lock you up in the basement if you’re not careful.

“If this vampire doesn’t kill me first,” she squeaked.

Somehow, she had rushed right out and gotten herself neck deep into another pile of trouble. Melinda was determined not to lose it. She raised her palm, aiming to attack anything that flew out of the dark alley. She’d never get a spell off fast enough if it was a vampire.

Footsteps shuffled across the ground.

Faster and faster.

A bit noisy for a vampire.

She gasped and fell backwards.

Strong hands reached out to grab her.

“Oh, Melinda. I’m sorry!”

She got upright and put her hand to her chest, pleading with her heart to beat normally.

“Lucas Deane. You scared the crap out of me!”

“I’m sorry. I…” he glimpsed back into the alley.

She noticed his actions and recalled this was the same alley she’d nearly been run over by him previously. And he was acting just as strange. He led them away from the alley, underneath the hazy light of a lantern hanging overhead on the sidewalk.

“You okay, Melinda?”

She nodded. “Heart might take a few hours to beat normally again.”

“I am really sorry about that. But, um, why are you out in the middle of night, alone? Isn’t that a bad idea?” He looked her up and down, silently reminding her she was an easy target for the vampire.

“Maybe the vampire prefers your type,” Melinda argued hotly. She was getting enough flak from her brothers, she didn’t need it from Lucas too. She caved almost instantly. “Okay, fine. Worst idea I’ve had in about, oh, the last fifteen minutes of my life.”

He tugged at his lip, holding back an unexpected, but sympathetic, laugh.

“I see I’m not the only one questioning their every move,” she quipped.

“Definitely not alone there, especially if you add sanity to that equation. And it’s probably not safe for anyone to be out at night. Me included.”

“Why are you?” she asked boldly. She pointed her head toward the alley. “You’re back again.”

“You noticed,” he sighed.

She’d had about enough for one day and put her hands on her hips, trying to pull a Lizzy look, ordering him to spill. Truth is, they didn’t need more crazy. Maybe this was a problem she could fix.

“I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tough.”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

She cleared her throat. Great. It really was more crazy to deal with…

“We’re on The Demon Isle,” she reminded. “The land of crazy.”

“But this is… I don’t know what this is.”

“What
what
is?” she prodded, unrelenting.

“Why do you care?” he got suddenly defensive.

“Lucas, you’re not going to close down and run away from this one.”

“I don’t run away from things.”

“You might not have flown off on a motorcycle to who knows where, but you wanted to leave too. You planned on leaving. I have a feeling you’d leave right now if you could. But something is keeping you here. So spill.”

He groaned. These women he was surrounded by were going to drive him mad.

“You’re not wrong,” he admitted. “I don’t like it here and I’d prefer to leave. And I really don’t understand what’s happening to me.” He leaned his back against the shadowed building. She joined him. “It started right after the whole Feyk thing ended.”

“What did?”

“Seeing ghosts,” he muttered, with a fleeting side-glance. Melinda didn’t flinch, just looked inquisitive. “At least I think they’re ghosts. I keep seeing things that are not real. And after, find out they are real. Or
were
real.” Confusion wrapped around Lucas tightly.

“Okay. So you’re seeing ghosts. What are these ghosts doing?”

“When I was on the ferry, coming home after looking for my brother, I was out on the deck and swore I saw this guy jump over the side of the ferry. Except Lizzy saw none of it. I thought I’d fallen asleep or something. Dreamed it. And then she told me about this story she’d heard about a guy who’d done that same thing, and I swear, it was exactly what I saw.”

“Huh?” Melinda got curious. “That wasn’t the only time though, was it?” She looked across him to the alley he’d just fallen out of.

“No. That day I ran into you, I saw that same man. The one who jumped overboard and killed himself on the ferry. I thought I was nuts but my legs automatically followed him into that alley. About half way in everything changed, like I’d stepped back to a different time.”

“Wait, so you saw the same guy go down that alley?” Melinda confirmed. “What was he doing this time?”

A pinkish blush blotted Lucas’ cheeks. “Um… he was
meeting
with a young woman. I think he was a few years younger than when he died, at least he looked it.”

“So what happened?”

“Do I really have to say?” He eyed her in a knowing fashion.

“Oh.
That
kind of meeting… so they got it on and you stayed and watched?”

“Not because I wanted to,” he countered. “I was kind of stuck. I tried to walk back out the way I came in, but it wouldn’t release me. I couldn’t get back into my time.”

“Almost like with my visions,” Melinda murmured. “Don’t let you go until it shows you everything you need to see. Accept I see future events.”

Lucas’ entire being despised where she was going with this. What she was hinting at.

“I wish I knew why it was happening. I mean, what’s the point of watching someone getting it on in an alley? What could I possibly decipher from that? Mostly, I was hoping by coming back tonight I could force it to happen again. See if it was some strange fluke or if it really meant something. To try to understand why I’m seeing this same dead guy.”