Blackheath Resurrection (The Blackheath Witches Book 2) Read online

  Joel’s fists clenched. “We didn’t know, either.”

  “But it wouldn’t have mattered anyway,” Kaden told them. “I couldn’t . . . Jefferson Fallows is my father. I do what he says.”

  Jefferson. Joel stiffened at the name.

  Of course Jefferson wasn’t actually Kaden’s father. Not biologically, anyway. He was the leader of the Fallows coven, and he’d turned Kaden from a human into a witch using the same barbaric Erridox ritual that was almost used on Isla.

  Kaden stood motionless; only his raven-black hair was stirring in the gale. “Jefferson wanted a girl for the coven,” he explained, his voice showing signs of a tremor. “He wanted Isla, and it was my job to get her. No matter what the cost.”

  Joel stood rigid, not daring to move. “Yeah, we already know that,” he said hoarsely.

  Kaden went on, showing no signs that he’d heard Joel speak. “I didn’t care at first. I was glad, actually—I wanted her to be in the coven. I wanted her to be mine.” His hand moved sinuously across Isla’s arm as he brought her even closer. “When Jefferson changed me, I was ready. I’d been primed my whole life. My mother”—he looked down to the icy ground—“our mother . . . she’d had me for that very reason.”

  “She wanted a way into a powerful coven,” Joel filled in numbly.

  Evan grimaced. “Yeah. Because we weren’t powerful enough for her.”

  Kaden almost laughed. “You won’t get any sympathy from me,” he said darkly. “At least she had you out of love. I was just . . . a means to an end for her.”

  Now it was Joel who looked down to the ground. “At least she stayed with you.”

  Kaden really did laugh now, and the sound carried hauntingly on the wind.

  “Sometimes, yeah,” he agreed. “She came and went. But I wasn’t hers. I was Jefferson’s pet.” Kaden glanced over at Isla and gave her a sad smile. “Or I used to be, anyway. Until I failed to deliver the girl. And when I didn’t kill the Chosen One when I had the chance”—he nodded towards Evan now—“he figured I was weak.” His top lip curled and his voice quavered. “It turns out I’m more like my mother than Jefferson thought. So I left.”

  Joel held his breath for a second. “You left the Fallows coven?”

  “I ran away.”

  “And Evangeline?” Evan pressed, asking the question that they’d all been wondering. “What happened to our mother?”

  Kaden gritted his teeth. “She ruined my life, she made a fool out of me. She can rot in hell for all I care.”

  Joel’s mouth went dry. “Is she dead?”

  “No. But she will be when Jefferson catches up with her. She’s pretty good at disappearing when the going gets tough,” Kaden said, his face turning sour. “She screwed me over and then she left. But you’ve been singing that tune all your lives, right?”

  Isla pushed out her lower lip sympathetically and nuzzled into Kaden’s shoulder. Joel noticed Maggie flinch.

  “What happened to you that night?” Maggie spoke up now, the wind toying with her hair. “At the Haunted House? You just disappeared.”

  “Yeah,” Kaden muttered. “Turns out, Mother’s got some powers I didn’t know about. She astral-projected me. One minute I was at the Carnival, the next minute I was back at the Fallows manor.”

  “That’s impossible,” Evan murmured. “She’s human. She doesn’t have powers.”

  Kaden smirked ruefully at him. “Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, that was the last time I saw her.” He cocked an eyebrow. “Can’t really blame her for taking off, though. Jefferson’s out for blood.”

  “Then why’d he let you stick around all these months?” Joel challenged.

  “Because he enjoyed making me suffer,” Kaden said simply. His eyes darkened. “I used to have everything—power, status, promise . . .” He glanced fleetingly up at the night sky. “Now he’s made sure I have nothing.”

  “Oh, so we’re supposed to feel sorry for your sob story now?” Evan shot back bitterly.

  “No.” Kaden’s voice was cool, indifferent. “But I’m here, with Isla, and I’m not going anywhere. So whatever conflict we have with each other, I want to end it.”

  “Why should we trust you?” Joel questioned. “How can we be sure that this isn’t a trick? That Jefferson hasn’t sent you after us?”

  “I told you, he’s out for Evangeline. Not me, or you guys, he just wants her. Believe me, don’t believe me, I don’t really give a damn. I have no problem with you, I’m just here for Isla.”

  With that, Kaden offered his hand to the brothers.

  Evan turned away.

  Joel drew in a deep breath. “Then let’s end it,” he said, taking Kaden’s awaiting hand.

  Their eyes met as their hands clasped, and Joel recognised something in Kaden. Something familiar. A connection between them that was inexplicable, unwanted, and yet present all the same.

  “What are you doing?” Evan snapped. He yanked Joel’s arm back and the connection broke.

  “He’s asking to end this, Evan,” Joel said quietly. “It’s what we’ve wanted.”

  “We can’t trust him!”

  “Come on, Evan,” Joel tried again. He focused on Kaden’s aura, which was clear white. Not malicious, or sinister. Just honest. “He came here for a truce.”

  Maggie was staring aghast at Joel now, too. “What about Isla?” she cried. “Who knows what he’s planning on doing to her?”

  Isla’s brow furrowed. “I trust Kaden. I know him, and you don’t, Mags. None of you do,” she added, looking meaningfully between the Tomlins boys.

  “Yeah, right, Isla,” Maggie said, folding her arms. “Sure you know him.” She made air quotes with her fingers around the last two words.

  “None of you know him,” Isla reiterated with a steely look. “So none of you have any right to judge him.”

  There was a beat of silence. Then Evan exhaled heavily and began trudging back towards the house.

  “Evan!” Joel called after him. “Where are you going? We have to resolve this.”

  “It’s already done, Joel,” Evan replied without turning around.

  Joel sighed.

  This is what we wanted, right? he thought as he watched his brother go.

  He turned to face Kaden and found himself reaching out his hand again.

  Kaden accepted it. “Thanks,” he said quietly.

  “No problem,” Joel mumbled.

  THE REMAINING FOUR made their way back to the house, Maggie beside Joel and Isla beside Kaden. Something strange had settled in the air, but whether it was division or unity, Joel could not yet tell.

  To Joel’s surprise, Alleged Third-or-Fourth Cousin Opal greeted them at the door.

  “Middle,” she said gruffly, resting her thick hand on Joel’s shoulder. “We got a problem.”

  Joel tensed. “What is it now?”

  He peered past her into the kitchen. Equally as surprising as seeing his alleged third-or-fourth cousin was seeing no one else. Just minutes ago, the kitchen had been teeming with his classmates; now it was completely empty, save for a mountain of discarded plastic cups.

  “It’s the other Middle,” said Opal with a grunt. “He’s got himself into trouble.”

  Beside him, Maggie cringed.

  “Ainsley?” Joel’s stomach lurched. “Where is he?”

  “He’s hard to miss,” said Opal with a rough smile. She jabbed her thick finger towards the corridor.

  Rubbing his brow, Joel paced swiftly through the deserted kitchen and along the equally deserted corridor with Maggie, Isla, and Kaden in tow. The thump of the sound system was almost drowned out by a cacophony of frantic shrieks as people pushed and shoved to get into the Party Room.

  “What’s going on?” Joel yelled above the din.

  Opal folded her arms as she looked on at the hysteria. Joel looked at Maggie; Maggie looked at the floor; and Isla and Kaden looked at each other.

  “Uh, Maggie?” Joel prompted. “Can you explain?”

>   “Ainsley did a spell,” she blurted out, covering her eyes with her hands. “He wanted attention.”

  Opal gave a rattling laugh, which almost immediately morphed into a guttural cough.

  Joel’s gaze travelled again to the Party Room, which was crammed to capacity and in a state of complete mayhem. A bunch of girls in the doorway were crying, fighting over what looked like a shred of material.

  Joel staggered backwards. “Is that Ainsley’s t-shirt?”

  Maggie peered out through her fingers. “It does appear to be some of his t-shirt, yes.”

  “Ainsley,” Joel groaned under his breath. Then he turned to Maggie and peeled her fingers away from her eyes. “What spell did he do?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, flustered. “Some spell your dad used to do at parties. He called it ‘Glamourous’ or something . . .”

  “A Glamour spell,” Joel said quickly, then groaned. “But he can’t do that. It’s a Two!”

  Maggie began wringing out her hands. “That’s what Ainsley said. But then I said, ‘What’s a Two?’ And he said, ‘Exactly!’”

  “So, what’s happening in there?” Isla asked curiously. “Maybe I should go and have a look.”

  “Don’t,” Joel said quickly. “It’s a spell to charm people, but he must have lost control of the enchantment. Ainsley can’t handle a Two. Clearly.” He thumbed towards the chaos.

  Isla wrinkled her nose. “Ew.”

  Joel sighed, then glanced over at Opal. “What do we do? You’re a Tomlins, allegedly. What spell can make this stop?”

  She shrugged her heavy shoulders and withdrew a cigar from the breast pocket of her housecoat. “I don’t know nothing about stopping no Twos.” She lit the cigar and took a lengthy drag. “Good luck, though,” she added with a cough.

  Joel rolled his eyes. “Where’s Evan?” He scanned the crowd that was clogging the entrance to the Party Room but didn’t see his brother. “It figures that the one time the Chosen One decides to absolve himself of his responsibilities is the night when everything happens.”

  Behind him, he heard Kaden clear his throat. Up until that moment, Joel had almost forgotten that he was still with them.

  “You can use a basic blocking spell,” said Kaden simply. “That should break a Two.”

  Joel eyed him warily.

  Opal took another puff of her cigar. “Who’s this kid?”

  “Kaden,” Joel answered vaguely. “He’s a hybrid.”

  Opal shuddered. “Tough break.”

  Kaden grimaced.

  “Erridox?” Opal guessed, offering him what may have been an attempt at sympathy but in fact seemed more like morbid curiosity.

  Kaden ignored her probing. Cricking his neck, he fixed Joel with a steady stare. “Look, I might be a hybrid, but I’ve studied the craft and I’ve worked hard. It might not have come naturally to me like it does for born witches, but I’m still good. Better than good, even—and you know it.”

  Isla squeezed his arm encouragingly and smiled up at him.

  Joel glanced at the bedlam around them. Who knew what was going on in the room beyond?

  “If we work together we can probably break it,” Kaden went on, touching the air thoughtfully. “The spell doesn’t feel powerful. The vibrations are weak.”

  For the first time that evening, Isla slipped away from Kaden’s side. Suddenly, she began striding towards the Party Room.

  “No, Isla!” Maggie cried, grabbing her arm and tugging her back. “What are you doing?”

  “I have to get to Ainsley,” Isla cried, pushing Maggie away. “I have to see him!”

  “No.” Maggie held onto her arm and fixed her with an exasperated look. “What is it with you and witch boys?”

  “Um, hello?” Isla snapped, raising an eyebrow at Maggie. “Pot, meet Kettle.” She wriggled to free herself again. “Let go of me, Mags. I have to get to Ainsley!”

  “Oh, this is just great,” Kaden groused. “Now Isla’s enchanted, too.” He reached up and took a candle from the sconce on the wall, sheltering the flame with his cupped hand. “Start chanting,” he instructed Joel.

  “Okay,” Joel agreed readily, then paused. “What should I chant?”

  “Anything,” Kaden said impatiently. “You must know a basic blocking spell? You’re supposed to be a Tomlins.”

  Joel scratched his head. “Basic blocking spell . . . Basic blocking spell . . .”

  Kaden rolled his eyes.

  Across the corridor, Isla broke free of Maggie and began striding towards the Party Room.

  Kaden shot Joel an insistent look. “Anything.”

  Joel rubbed his hands together. “Okay, how about this? Cast in curse, Remove, break, reverse. Unravel, unbind . . .” He frowned. “Reset and rewind?”

  Kaden looked momentarily at Isla, who was now pushing her way through the crowd. “Alright, it’ll do,” he said to Joel. “Say it together.”

  Joel quickly checked over his shoulder to ensure that they were alone, then together he and Kaden raised their left hands and hovered them over the agitated flame. Joel felt warm currents moving across his skin, reacting to the candle. Reacting to Kaden.

  As one, they began chanting. “Cast in curse, Remove, break, reverse . . .”

  The flame began to dance, climbing higher towards their palms. A tremor rocked Joel, creeping into his bloodstream and rushing through his veins. He kept going, his voice moving fluidly in time with Kaden’s.

  “Unravel, unbind. Reset and rewind.”

  Beneath their hands, the candle flame fizzled out into a wisp of smoke, while the flames of the oil lamps on the wall trembled in their glass globes.

  Suddenly, the mansion was quiet. The music had stopped and no one was shouting. In the Party Room’s doorway, people stopped shoving and looked at one another strangely.

  Kaden thrust the extinguished candle into Joel’s hand and set off down the corridor after Isla, who now stood dazed in the entrance of the Party Room.

  Joel’s gaze landed on Maggie. He flipped his palms upwards and she smiled.

  Without missing a beat, Joel cupped his hands around his mouth. “Okay, everyone!” he yelled. “Party’s over. Get out!”

  As people spilled into the hallway in a stupor, Joel and Maggie ushered them towards the front door.

  “I’ve got to get in there,” Joel told Maggie quickly.

  “Go. I’ll take care of this,” she said as she gave Lexi an extra firm nudge out onto the porch.

  Joel pushed his way into the room to find a shirtless Ainsley cowering in a corner, his bare chest scratched and his blond curls wayward.

  He looked up, flushed and wide eyed, as the people in the room began to numbly disperse.

  “Whoa,” Ainsley managed, his hands pressed down hard to the floor.

  Joel crouched in front of him. “Are you okay?”

  A wicked twinkle appeared in Ainsley’s lavender eyes. “That was . . .” He paused to let out a shaky breath. “. . . awesome,” he finished, grinning.

  THE GRANDFATHER CLOCK chimed midnight. Joel let the trash bag slip from his hand and glanced to the front door.

  Where are you? he called silently.

  He hadn’t seen Evan since their confrontation with Kaden earlier that evening. The party was over, and between himself and a few stragglers, they’d almost finished cleaning up the aftermath. Actually, Joel noticed that the stragglers had over-corrected, clearing out some of the mess that had been there even before the party. Of course, he’d kept his mouth shut and let the tidying continue. If someone had to do it, it might as well be Blonde Lauren.

  Now the only people that remained seemed to have been cherry-picked by Maggie. Her chosen few were Isla, Blonde Lauren, and Hilary . . . and one other person selected by default.

  Kaden.

  Kaden’s mere presence in the mansion made Joel’s head spin. Kaden, who only hours earlier had been their sworn enemy, was now strolling from room to room with a wet rag, wiping up spills and commen
ting on the oil paintings.

  Kaden. His mother’s son.

  Joel swallowed. My brother.

  His gaze returned to the door, and he once more willed Evan to come home.

  Where was he? He shouldn’t be out there alone. It was pitch black outside, not to mention the tall rifts of snow and the sub-zero temperatures. Plus, he’d been drinking.

  Joel glanced over his shoulder to where Alleged Third-or-Fourth Cousin Opal lounged on the sofa in the former Party Room, huskily regaling Maggie with tales from her wild youth. Maggie engaged politely and occasionally held out a plastic cup to catch the ash from Opal’s cigar.

  “Opal,” Joel called as he ventured into the room. “Could you give us some privacy please?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure, kid.” She grinned and tapped the side of her nose with a sausage-like finger. “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  “Oh, really?” Joel raised an eyebrow. “Because that’s pretty much the only thing I ever say to you.”

  She gave a raspy chuckle and hauled herself to her feet. “You kids,” she muttered happily as she plodded out into the hallway towards the kitchen.

  Now, alone in the forsaken drawing room, Joel watched the moonlight as it streamed through the lead-framed windows and danced on Maggie’s sandy coloured hair.

  He stepped closer to her. “Evan hasn’t come home.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “Where do you think he went?”

  “I don’t know.” Joel bit his lower lip. “But I have to go look for him.”

  “Oh.” Maggie’s eyes clouded with concern. “Okay.” She paused. “Where will you go?”

  “Out,” he said vaguely, looking at the dark night beyond the window. “Somewhere. He wouldn’t have gone far. I know it.”

  Maggie nodded her head. “Be careful,” she said quietly.

  “I will. And I guess I should tell Kaden to leave, huh?” He found himself trying to gage her reaction.

  “Maybe,” she answered softly.

  Their eyes met. Joel wasn’t sure what she was trying to convey to him, or even what he was trying to convey to her. What he felt most was uncertainty. Part of him wanted Kaden to leave—to keep away from his family and Maggie. But then another part of him—the part that was a brother—wanted him to stay. Wanted to know more, to understand more.