lightning witch 02 - lightning legacy (21 page)

Delaney,

This is a token of my love for you. Please enjoy this gift. See you soon.

Love,

Mitch

I grew cold and dropped the note. I couldn't make myself open the cooler. I began shaking. Fear. He would find me. He would take me and do things to me. Force me to … I felt Reid’s arm snake around my waist. He pulled me to his chest.

"Shh, love, you aren't helpless. You have us, and you have a lot of power."

He reached for the note and picked it up. He scanned it and handed it to Monique. She did the same until everyone had read it.

“There’s no going back for any of us,” Monique intoned, looking at the box.

“Shit just got real. But I have no fucks to give.” Troy’s gaze was locked on the cooler.

Garrett's words were laced with disappointment. "As much as I want to help I think I'm better off here. You know, human and all." He was right. "But I would if I could," he added. His eyes met mine; I couldn’t hold his gaze for long. I never wanted to bring this to any of them. I glanced back at him, trying my best not to seem so crestfallen over this whole debacle.

I gave him a shy smile. I nearly fell in love with him in that moment for his genuine willingness to help.

Then, like a wave crashing into me, I was wracked with guilt. All of these people were putting their lives on the line, and I had no right to ask them to. What if they met the same fate as Sierra and Mil? I would break if something happened to any of them. I felt Reid's breath on my ear, and that seemed to calm my thoughts slightly.

"We want to be here. We want to do this. Calm down, love." His words acted as a soothing balm to my wild emotions. I took in a deep breath and held it. After a few moments, I let it out. I needed to just do this. Rip the damn Band-Aid off.

I reached for the lid.

“Wait!” Troy nearly screamed.

I jumped and almost peed my pants.

“Good lord, Troy! What?” I asked, covering my heart with my right hand. The man had nearly given me a heart attack.

"What are the chances it’s steak? You know, like one of those Omaha steaks of the month club things?"

We all just blinked at him.
Steak of the month club? Really?

I tried to speak, but words failed me. I just shook my head at him. Then, reluctantly, I reached for the box and tentatively lifted the lid. I dropped it to the table, and we all leaned in to peer into the cooler.

We all stood staring at the object that lay within. My hand flew to my mouth to stifle a scream.

“Oh, hell naw!” Troy yelled, running for the tree line.

I heard his muffled heaves and wretches off in the distance.

“Who?” Monique questioned, never taking her eyes off the gruesome sight.

Tucked neatly in the cooler were two human hands. One hand was male, and the other looked to be female. They were interlaced as though they were holding on for dear life. The female had had an engagement ring and wedding band still snugly in place. Both hands looked to have been ripped off. Wait, no, not ripped. Bitten off.

"It's Mark and I'm assuming that's his wife," I intoned, unable to take my eyes from the contents of the box. I had to blink rapidly to clear the buildup of unshed tears. More people who had been hurt because of me. Reid was talking to me, trying to pull my attention from the hands. His words fell away before I could hear them. Then it hit me. This wasn't my fault. This was Mitch. This was all his doing. I narrowed my eyes and for first time in the past six months, I knew what I needed to do. I felt strong, I felt unstoppable.

Mitch had sent this to frighten me. He wanted to put a nail in my coffin. The reality was that he sent me the fuel I needed to do everything in my power to kill him. Fuck him being my maker. I would do what I had to. I heard a sharp crack of lightning not too far in the distance and knew that my power was building. Mitch had no idea just what was coming for him. He was going to have one hell of a storm on his hands, because I was so very done being weak.

I was so much like the power I could control. It was time to become the lightning.

“MIST AGAIN?” I
asked as I ran my hand through the dense fog. I watched as it swirled and danced around my fingers. I was again in a field surrounded by birch trees, but strangely it smelled of juniper berries. I inhaled the scent. I knew where I was. But I had no idea if he would be here. The man who had plagued my dreams since I was a child. The same man who had all but abandoned me for the past few months.

"I like it. It's mysterious."

He would say that. He had jokes, and I had fog. His voice seemed to bounce off the trees, shaking them slightly. I whirled around, still unable to see him. But I felt him.

"Was that a joke? Did you get a sense of humor while you were away?" I knew my hackles were up, I couldn't help it.

“Maybe.”

I rolled my eyes. Why couldn’t he be direct?

After a few moments, he appeared. Well, maybe solidified is a better word. The mist seemed to coalesce into his shape and he slowly stepped from it.

“That’s a neat trick.”

“Shall I show you how to do it?”

My eyebrows raised in excitement. Could he really do that? Then I narrowed my gaze at him. “You won’t. So, why offer?”

His laugh filled the field and sent lightning to spark over my whole body. I shivered at the sensation. God, but his laughter made me want to bathe in it. It was almost as though he set every nerve ending on fire. Like he pulled my lightning from me and made it dance on the surface of my skin.

“Who are you?” It was a whisper. I didn’t think he would answer, but when he did, I was in shock.

“I’m a god of old. But if I told you I was a father to you, you wouldn’t believe me.”

Much like his laughter had, his words caused my lightning to stir. I shuddered.

Um, I had a father. Not too sure what he was getting at.

“I don’t understand.”

“Oh, lightning bug, I am the father of your power. You are just as much mine as your human parents. Part of me lives in you.”

My heartbeat picked up. His words sounded so true that I wanted to believe them. How though? Wait, he was a god?

“So, you’re a god and I’m what? Like your daughter?”

He waved the question away, clearly done with the interrogation. He walked over to me. He was a large man. Not as big as Reid, but just as tall. He reached out and, with light fingers, lifted my hand and turned it up so the palm was facing him. He gave me a knowing smirk as he glanced at the bite mark. Heat flushed my cheeks. Men, god or not, were all the same. I would be willing to bet that he was mentally giving Reid a high five. Then I felt him. He was pulling lightning from me. Pulling the power from my core. I nearly staggered back in shock.

"See, bug, it is of me and mine to control."

It was so raw. He was stripping the power from me in such a way that felt like an invasion. I wanted to scream at him to stop. It felt like he was ripping my soul out of my body. I opened my mouth to beg him to stop, but in the next moment it was back, and he simply stood there stroking a finger over the red scar on my wrist. I was panting, trying to take gulps of air, and there was Captain freaking America standing tall and so smug. I tried not to roll my eyes at him, really I did.

"Okay, if you’re a god and you have this paternal connection to me …" I met his eyes, wanting him to feel my next words, "Then why?" I felt no need to go any further with my questioning. He knew the why I was referring to. Why leave me? Why have me experience so damned much pain and loss? Why not stop Mitch from breaking me?

"Oh, lightning bug, sometimes the most beautiful of flowers and the strongest of trees are that way because they had to fight to grow." His tone was final, and I knew I would get no more, much less an apology from him. So damned cryptic. Why couldn’t he be straightforward? I bet he got off on this crap. He probably sat in his man cave laughing at the rest of us.

“How can I kill Mitch?” It was a simple question, but I honestly didn’t think he would answer.

“Delaney, what are you?”

“I don’t understand.” I quirked an eyebrow at him and he narrowed his dark eyes.

“When you think of what you are, what you have become. What are you?”

The truth? I had no idea.

Before my change I would have said witch, but now I really didn’t know. He must have seen the discomfort of his question on my face because he walked over and placed a hand under my chin, pulling my gaze to his.

“You need to figure out what you are. When you do, you’ll be able to kill Mitch.”

Had he been any other man standing this close to me, it would feel awkward, but his touch brought only comfort. Had he been a blanket I would have covered myself with him. And that kind of pissed me off. What was I? I wasn’t a witch, not anymore. I wasn’t a werewolf. I didn’t have a painful transition and I retained all of my power.

Could I be something new?

“Bug, the Coven must be taken care of. They are polluting our people.”

“How?”

He smiled. He released his hold on my chin and backed away. I knew he wouldn’t answer. Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying.

“Remember, Delaney, you never did follow the rules. Why would now be any different?”

I had no idea what he meant, but I guess I would have to figure it out.

“Oh, one more thing. You have a letter to read, don’t you?”

His voice got to me after his body dissipated into the mist. Damn, the letter from Mil! I’d forgotten, again. I walked the few steps to where he had disappeared. There was a small gold coin laying in the spot he had just been. I picked it up. There was a spoked wheel on one side and a lightning bolt on the other.

“Cryptic god!” I yelled to nothing. Just before I woke up though, I swore I felt his warm laughter surround me.

I didn’t wake up in a rush. It was as though I was eased into wakefulness. I lay there trying to understand everything I’d learned. Most of it had been this read-between-the-lines bullshit. I flexed my hand and felt the cool metal of the coin resting in it. I shoved the small gold disk under my pillow. I needed to make a mental checklist of stuff I needed to do.

One: Figure out what I was.

Two: Kill Mitch.

Three: Take down the Coven.

Four: Get a brownie.

Five: Live happily ever after.

The last two might have been stretching it. I was forgetting something though, or at least I thought I was. Who was I kidding? If, and that was a huge if, I could kill Mitch, how the freaking holy hot sauce would I bring down the Coven? I groaned and rolled to my side. Reid’s caramel gaze met mine.

“Bad dream?” His voice was rough. He must have just awoken as well.

“Something like that. What time is it?”

“Nearly nine. We should probably get up. We don’t have a lot of time before Mitch will come and I have a small idea of how to deal with him.”

I raised an eyebrow at him hoping he would continue, but he just smiled and kissed me.

It was a light kiss that I quickly deepened into something more. He pulled back. I whined in protest. Damn him.

“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me so we can forget about everything.” His tone was chiding. He was right, well partly. I wanted to distract myself.

The damn letter! He must have been leaning in for another kiss when I jumped out of the bed. He face planted right where I was sitting. I ran around the room looking for clothes.

Shit, wait, where is my purse? I don’t need clothes!

“You know, if you didn’t want to kiss me you could have told me.”

His tone was joking, but I had to find that purse.

Where the hell had I put the damn thing?

I knew I looked like a crazy person but I had to ... the bathroom!

I ran to the small room and there was my small purse hanging on a hook just on the other side of the door. I unzipped it and reached in, feeling the letter immediately. My stupid hands were shaking. Two times now the person in my dreams had reminded me. It was time to figure out what the damn thing said. Maybe it would clue me in to just what I was. I slowly walked over to the bed and placed the letter on it. Never taking my eyes off it, I tossed on a shirt and shorts.

“Is that the letter Mil wrote you?” Reid asked.

I nodded, then sat on the bed and picked the letter up. The wax seal had been broken from the last attempt at reading it. I fingered my name. My heart was stabbed with loss at seeing Mil’s handwriting. I could do this.

The parchment was thick. It was the kind that Mil loved.
When you write a letter, the paper you use tells a lot about you
, Mil always said. I pulled the letter out and unfolded it.

Delaney,

I owe you more than a mere letter, but you need to know I did not tell you everything. I thought that I would have more time. It would seem as though my time is up. First, know how much I love you and keeping this prophecy from you was something I felt, at the time, was in your best interest. Here is the prophecy in its entirety: It was said that a Witch of new would have the power of the storm. She would willingly lay down her life to the spirit of the wolf and become that of old. She would be the final sacrifice. She will bring the corrupt down and cement her place at the head of her people. When she is mated she will start the line of old over again. She is the beginning of the old and the ending of the new.