Blood Magic (Blood Magic Series Book 1) Read online

“When?” I asked, turning my back to hide the tears threatening to overflow. None of this was fair!

  “I will speak to her father tomorrow,” he answered.

  “No, you will not!” I exclaimed, whirling around in shock.

  “Anna, please—”

  “No! She gave us two days, and we are not wasting them!”

  “It is too dangerous! She’s probably in the village right now screaming about almost being eaten by the witch’s familiar!” he exclaimed.

  “I want two days or I will tell everyone in town that I am a witch, myself! I need for you to be mine for just a little longer, before I have to share you with her.” I said, crossing my arms stubbornly over my chest.

  “You would actually condemn yourself to death just to get your way?” he asked in disbelief.

  “No, not my way, just you, always you,” I replied softly.

  “Anna, six of those accused of tormenting the girls with witchcraft have already been hanged, and the others are in jail awaiting trial. That is what will happen to you if you do this!”

  “I don’t care!”

  He just stood there for a moment staring into my eyes. And I knew he was trying to determine if I was serious or not. Something in my gaze must have convinced him I was, because he finally said, “Ah, Anna, what shall I do with you my beautiful little lunatic?” he asked fondly.

  “Anything you wish,” I told him.

  “The possibilities boggle my mind,” he replied with a gleam in his eyes.

  “So you’ll give me two days?” I asked hopefully.

  “Yes … for right now. And when I can … I’ll give you forever, Anna,” he whispered as his lips met and fused with mine.

  I do not think I have ever felt so many different emotions from one kiss: love so strong that it was almost overwhelming, desire that coiled in my belly and spread throughout my entire body, hope that the promises in his kiss would be fulfilled, a desperate wish that this kiss could last forever, and a gut-wrenching fear that there would never be another. And most of all, a deep, burning hatred for the one who threatened to take it all away!

  Chapter Nine

  Chaos

  Study hall is good for only three things: catching up with friends, daydreaming, or studying, and I certainly wasn’t going to do that last thing—so that left the first two. Eric, Matt, and Mason weren’t in this study hall, but Cassie was. Unfortunately, she was actually doing her homework, so the only viable option left to me was daydreaming.

  And the only thing I could think about was the dream I’d had last night. I seemed to be experiencing everything from Annabelle’s point of view—maybe because we’re both girls, I don’t know. But it always feels so real; that it’s a wonder I can even distinguish between dreams and reality anymore.

  I was becoming more and more obsessed with their story all the time. I was actually tempted to take a nap right now, but after what happened the last time, I knew better. No one, other than my friends, had called me Allie since that day. It was always “ho” or “whore,” and I was not in a rush to give them any more ammunition to use against me.

  I went back and forth on whether or not to tell Mason about his starring role in my dreams. Some of the voices in my head were for it, but most of them were still adamantly against it. I was a walking nuthouse!

  I sat, drumming my fingers on the desk, and glancing at Cassie every few seconds. Finally, I dug out my iPhone and texted her. R U done yet???

  She cast an annoyed glance in my direction and texted back. No!!! Remind me again why I’m taking Calculus???

  Because u r insane, I texted her back.

  U got any magic tricks to help me solve these equations? J

  I wish!!! Maybe I should ask Mason more about my “powers”

  R U seeing him after school?

  Yeah, I hope so!

  R U gonna tell him about the naked dreams?

  Yeah, sure, then I’ll ask him to strip down so I can see if they’re identical in other ways. LOL

  U R such a perv, Allie!!!

  UR the 1 who’s fixated on the naked parts, little miss nympho!!!

  She turned in her seat to glare at me and got back to her equations, which was exactly the reaction I had expected. Cassie could be very prissy and ladylike when it suited her. And according to Mason, I was naturally mischievous, so I really could not be blamed for what I was about to do. I closed my eyes and imagined an anatomically correct stick figure drawing of a guy, with Eric’s head, appearing on her paper. She gasped and turned to look at me, and I opened my eyes and smiled at her.

  She immediately grabbed her phone and began to press buttons. I hope you know that I have to turn this in next period, Allie!!! How am I supposed to explain the stick figure pornography to Mrs. Baker?????

  Tell her u r a sex addict. I replied, trying very hard not to laugh out loud.

  Allison, this is so not funny!!!!!

  Then why am I laughing? Is that drool I see on your paper, you dirty girl?

  Sometimes I think you and Mattie share a brain, Allie, and it’s really not working 4 either 1 of U!!!

  That really wasn’t nice, Cass! I might have to consider adding to my little drawing, I texted, biting my lip to stifle my laughter. What good were friends if you couldn’t torture them once in a while?

  U R really gonna make me go there, arent’cha? If you don’t ERASE IT NOW, Mason hears about your naked midnight fantasies!

  U wouldn’t!!!

  I so would!!!

  Fine! I was going to reply that that dream had actually happened in class, not at night, but that was really beside the point. So I closed my eyes and imagined the image disappearing from the page.

  Good girl, she replied, casting a smile in my direction. I stuck my tongue out at her, and her smile grew bigger. She returned to her equations, and I resumed thinking about my screwed-up life.

  It was actually kind of scary not knowing what I was capable of doing, but I had the strange feeling that it’d be even scarier if I did. Growing bored with watching Cassie do her homework, I glanced around to see what other people were doing. Some other kids were also working, but the vast majority was just goofing off like me. Some read books, listened to their iPods, played hand-held gaming systems, cruised the net on their iPads, and doodled on notebook paper. But the vast majority had their phones out texting.

  I heard a giggle from the back of the room, and Miss Jenkins looked up and glared at two girls in the back row. She never cared what anyone did as long as we were quiet. But her mahogany eyes did not return to her crossword puzzle until there was complete silence. When she finally looked back down, her red hair fell like a curtain, and she went right back to pretending we were invisible. What more could you ask for in a teacher?

  But my attention was not diverted so easily. Chloe Fine and Erin Lyons looked like they could easily explode from their suppressed mirth, which probably meant misery for someone else. They put the itch in bitch and no one was safe from their reign of tyranny.

  They both had long blond hair and sapphire blue eyes that appeared to freeze over when their icy gazes were turned in your direction. They cheered for the mighty cocks and thought they were God’s gift, and they weren’t shy about sharing that gift with all the boys on the football team. And like a couple of hyenas, they loved to prey on the weak and the defenseless.

  Tripping people in the hallways and the lunchroom was a favorite pastime of theirs, and the walls of the girl’s bathroom were practically covered with graffiti that described in humiliating detail why so and so was a skank, bitch, or ho. I couldn’t count how many girls they had slapped and called horrible names. Last year, Chloe had pushed a freshman girl into her locker so hard that she had had a concussion. And the year before that, Erin had photo-shopped a picture of Jillian Daniels, who was trying to lose weight, and made her look three times bigger than she actually was. She had also put a pig’s snout, ears, and tail on the poor girl, and added a trough to the picture. She had passed flyers
of that photo out to the entire school.

  The bottom line was that they just weren’t nice people, and I was extremely curious as to what they were up to this time. Why was I so curious? Because their latest target was Cassie. Up until a few months ago Eric had been Erin’s boyfriend, and she couldn’t stand the fact that he was with Cassie now.

  They had been writing about her on the bathroom walls, sending hateful texts, and there was a ton of crap about her on both of their facebook pages. Not to mention the fact that Erin was constantly coming on to Eric in a pathetic attempt to win him back. Cassie’s only response had been a text saying: He’s mine, so get over it!

  They hadn’t gotten over it, if anything it had made them worse. And I was pretty sure that whatever they were up to involved her. I had to see what it was. So I cleared my mind and focused on both of them. I thought about Erin in her black stiletto heels, short black skirt, and clingy red top. I pictured Chloe’s short pink shorts, white tank top, and wedge shoes. I closed my eyes and tried to visualize what they were seeing, hear what they were thinking, and feel what they were feeling. Chloe’s phone was a bedazzled pink and Erin’s was red with orange flames. I imagined holding the phones in my hand, and then I opened my eyes to look at the screens.

  For a moment I was too shocked to register what I was seeing. It had actually worked! It was like I was standing right behind them—even though I was actually still at my desk—and I could read every word.

  U R soooo much prettier than that skanky ho!

  I know, right? I can’t understand what Eric sees in her!!!

  U will get him back! He’ll get tired of slumming it with her and come back to you, where he belongs!

  He’s so hot! And he’s the best I’ve ever had!!!

  Then why did U sleep with Corey and Devon while U 2 were going out?

  I can’t help it! I get bored with just one guy! If I get him back I’ll never cheat on him again!

  Or at least make sure he doesn’t find out about it!

  Yeah, totes!!!

  U think he’ll like the pics? J

  I know she won’t! LOL

  That’s when I noticed the photos they were talking about. It was like one of those public service announcement posters you would see in a clinic. The ones that talk about STD’s, but this one was a picture of Cassie, with pictures of little crabs crawling all over it, and a caption that read, “You don’t wanna go fishing down there boys.” There was also another photo-shopped picture that made it look like Cassie was doing something disgusting with a farm animal.

  I was so furious that I could have screamed. If anyone had crabs it would be the two of them, since they slept around so much! And as far as farm animals went, well, I wouldn’t put anything past them. I would have liked to throw both of their phones against the wall and smash them, but I would settle for the pictures being deleted. They both deserved a little taste of what they dished out.

  But how was I going to accomplish that? They didn’t know that I’d even seen the pictures, and I was pretty sure the pics were about to be posted online. When I saw Erin’s finger hovering above the upload button, I mentally screamed no, and she paused with a glassy look in her eyes. Had she somehow heard me? How? No! I could worry about that later. I began to repeat one word in my head, delete. And then she actually did it! I felt like laughing, but I was also a little scared.

  I could probably make her announce to the entire class that she was the one with crabs if I wanted to, and even though it was probably true, I just wasn’t that mean. She deserved it, sure, but—

  My rambling thoughts were cut short when she stood up and walked to Miss Jenkins’ desk in the front of the room. Oh, no! Surely she wasn’t going to do that! Was she? I only had to wonder for a moment before she opened her mouth and said …

  “Miss Jenkins, may I be excused?”

  “Yes, just as soon as the bell rings,” she replied irritably.

  “No, I need to go now,” she said, almost robotically.

  “What is so important that it cannot wait fifteen minutes?”

  “I need to call my mother to take me to the doctor,” she answered in that same mechanical voice.

  “Are you sick? You seem fine to me.”

  She was quiet for a moment before blurting out, “I have crabs!”

  And then I felt a sickening jolt that left me nauseous and dizzy, and I was no longer watching from the back of the room; I was back at my desk. And I looked around the room at the mixed reactions: several people were laughing (including Cassie), some people’s mouths were hanging open in shock, and most of the football players squirmed in their seats and wore worried looks on their faces.

  Chloe had stayed seated during Erin’s confession, with a glassy look in her eyes as well. I was guessing she had remained seated because most of my attention had been focused on Erin.

  Several people in the room started to chant: Erin’s got crabs; Erin’s got crabs; Erin’s got crabs. She whirled around in horror, not used to being on the receiving end of the abuse, and stumbled backwards as if she had been struck. Then she ran straight to the door and wrenched it open, before disappearing down the hall.

  Poor Miss Jenkins spent the next ten minutes trying to regain control of her class, and Erin never came back. I knew I should feel bad about what had happened, but I really didn’t care. It was a victory for every person who had ever been victimized by her, and she had had it coming for a very long time.

  When the bell rang and we went to our lockers, Cassie kept giving me suspicious looks.

  “What?” I finally asked.

  “Just wondering what happened in there. Any ideas?” she asked slyly.

  “Nope. Not even an inkling,” I replied straight-faced.

  “Uh huh, I’m not done with you yet, Allison Elizabeth Chamberlain; we’ll talk later,” she said with a wink, and then she was off to calculus. And sadly, I was off to P.E.

  I hated P.E. with a deep and abiding passion, but unfortunately it was a requirement. I just wasn’t a very coordinated person, but Eric—bless his heart—always picked me to be on his team, anyway. This was usually met with groans and eye rolls; apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought I sucked.

  Today’s torture was to be volleyball, outside, beneath the scorching sun. I glanced longingly toward the shade of a big oak tree and the bench underneath it. I always had an excuse to get out of whatever we were doing, and Mrs. Cranston always shot me down. Maybe if I acted extra, extra pitiful today, it would work.

  I clutched my stomach as if I were afraid my intestines would just tumble right out, and lay down on the ground. It wasn’t long before Mrs. Cranston’s Allison GPS led her straight to me. I glanced up to see her smiling, sadistically, down at me with her hands on her hips. And then she said, “What’s the matter with you today Allison?” as if she were amused.

  “That time of the month,” I lied. “I’ve got killer cramps, and there’s no way I can play volleyball today. I think … maybe … I should just lie down on that bench over there,” I said, and then I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut, curling myself into a tight little ball of misery.

  “That’s fine, honey. You go on over to the bench and lie down. Do you need someone to help you up?” she asked with concern.

  I hadn’t expected to feel guilty, but the look of concern in her eyes made me feel like a jerk. I hadn’t actually expected her to believe me this time. We did this little dance almost on a daily basis. The excuses varied, but the results were always the same. She would tell me to stop whining and get my butt in the game. Her crap detector was the strongest I had ever seen, but apparently today it was broken. After I finally recovered from the momentary guilt and shock, I decided to just enjoy the brief reprieve I had been given.

  “Eric,” I said on a groan. Might as well play it to the hilt, because there was no way I was going to risk arousing her suspicion now.

  She walked away and Eric came over and squatted down beside me, grinning. “So, it finally
worked, huh? What was your excuse today?”

  “Cramps,” I said with a cocky smile as I started to sit up.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, shoving me back down.

  “Hey, not so rough! I am very fragile right now.”

  He rolled his eyes and smiled before saying, “If we’re gonna do this, let’s do it up right.”

  And before I realized what he intended to do, he had swept me up in his arms as if I weighed nothing at all, and begun striding towards the bench. “Wow,” I said as I looked up into his beautiful face. His arms were so strong as they cradled me against his muscular body. “I might have to seriously consider stealing you away from, Cassie,” I told him, and his grin grew even bigger.

  He knew I wasn’t serious. And I’m really not even interested in him that way, but I do have eyes.

  “Will her majesty require any further assistance at the moment?” he asked, with humor in his deep, blue eyes.

  “No, that will be all. You are dismissed,” I replied in a very bad British accent.

  He shook his head at me and took off jogging towards the volleyball court. I lay down on the bench and smiled, reveling in my victory. Normally a hard bench would not have been that comfortable, but it felt very nice when compared to sweating in the hot sun and making a fool of myself.

  And before long I had nodded off to sleep, but it was definitely not peaceful.

  Flashes of lightning and booming thunder tore through my subconscious, assaulting my eyes and ears. The lightning was so bright that I had to close my eyes against its luminescence, and the thunder was so loud that my ears had started to bleed.

  I looked around trying to figure out where I was as rain plastered my hair and clothes to my body. The rain was so cold that my body was starting to go numb, and my teeth chattered violently. I tried to move and look for shelter, but my body was frozen in place. I began to panic as I tried desperately to move my arms and legs, and then I was falling backwards.

  I landed on something soft, and I realized it was my bed, but it was not in my room. I heard a loud shriek and my blood froze in my veins. I had heard that sound before; and then I saw her. The Hag from Hell was back! I immediately tried to jump off of the bed and run, but I couldn’t. There were invisible walls surrounding me. And with every flash of lightning that illuminated her, she drew closer, but she was not alone. Three large dogs with glowing eyes and razor-sharp teeth accompanied her.