Paige rubbed her eyes. I’ve never read so much in my life.
While the thought wasn’t entirely true, it certainly felt like it. She, Miranda, Alix, Hannah, and Cassie had been digging through book after book in search of a way to put an end to The Headless Man. Most of their efforts had been fruitless. Details about the wicked wraith proved hard to come by. The knowledge Paige gained about witchcraft during their search however, staggered the mind. She’d learned more about her kind in the past five hours than she had in the previous five years.
Finding out that women made up the majority of naturally-born spellcasters cleared up a lot. Apparently, men rarely received the gift. Magic drove most of them insane. That explained why poor Joseph ended up in a sanitarium. She also learned that the power behind witchcraft stemmed from nature. So many cultures attributed the practice to demonic blasphemy. She felt no small relief from that little tidbit. She’d always felt a certain amount of guilt and fear when using her gift, knowing most people would condemn her. That probably wouldn’t change, but at least now she knew her power wasn’t evil.
Their search for information concerning spirits had turned up a few things. Ghosts involved with curses had special circumstances that couldn’t be resolved with just any kind of banishment spell. They were like demons in that regard—the fact that demons existed at all chilled Paige to the bone—each malevolent spirit had its own rules of disposal. When banishing such a creature, a practitioner of magic had to consider names and places, as well as other oddities the summoner might have added during the original ritual. Salt over the shoulder, or even a bath in it, wouldn’t drive the things off. I was an idiot for even trying that one.
Unfortunately, the more time they spent researching, the more unachieveable their goal seemed to become.
“Check this out,” Alix said, almost jumping out of her chair with excitement. She’d grabbed a skinny, ancient pamphlet that looked more like a collection of individual documents than an actual book. She held one of the yellowed pieces of parchment triumphantly in the air. “I got something!”
The others looked up from their studies, expectantly.
Paige got to her feet. “What did you find?”
“According to this journal entry by an officer named Emmett Jones, back in 1778, he actually saw one,” Alix answered, still looking at the document. “‘A headless apparition appeared in camp, and tore apart several of my men, and then disappeared into the night,’ he says. Another officer followed up to say that he visited the Native American tribes nearby. He inquired about the incident, thinking it was a raid of some kind. Turns out it was a curse put on a group of military men that had wiped out one of the neighboring tribes. The inquiring officer dismissed the account, calling it ‘hedonistic nonsense’ and had officer Jones reprimanded for dereliction of duty.” She stopped to look through several other documents.
“Tell me there’s more,” Hannah demanded, as Alix searched.
The purple-haired woman nodded. “Yeah, give me a sec. Geez.” She continued her rummaging until coming to a pile of smaller, notebook-sized papers. “Okay, a few months later another two men died under similar circumstances. They’d been in the same unit as the others who’d been murdered. Again, officials brushed it under the carpet. But, a few years after the second report, a historian went out to interview the tribes. He focused on religious and mystical occurrences.” She beamed, waving the rest of the pages in the air. “These are his detailed accounts of how the tribes summoned the nasty beast and how they rid themselves of it.”
It took all of Paige’s willpower not to dive across the table and wrestle the documents from Alix’s grasp. She did rush around and lean over her shoulder though. “What’s it say?”
Alix chuckled. “Looks like we need to find out who summoned it, and set up a little meeting between them and the ghost.”
“How are we supposed to do that?” Cassie asked, putting voice to Paige’s own thoughts. “From what Paige said, the woman responsible is dead.”
“I guess we’ll have to wing it,” Alix said.
“Wing it?” Cassie laughed. “How?”
“I’ll have to summon her spirit, and hope that’s enough,” Paige said, coming to the only solution she could think of.
“Do you know where she’s buried?” Miranda asked.
Paige shook her head. “I don’t even know her name.”
Cassie fell back into the chair, throwing her hands up. “We’re screwed.”
“There are other ways to summon spirits,” Miranda said. “We need to be patient and persistent.”
Paige had her doubts. Especially since William said the Headless Man had killed the woman. That thing didn’t just rip your body apart, it devoured your soul. There might not be anything left for them to summon.
Despair gripped her once again. She went back to her seat and plopped down, sullenly.
“We’ll figure something out,” Miranda reiterated. “Don’t despair. This is part of being a witch. We have great power at our disposal, but we don’t have all the answers. We just have to keep moving forward.”
Her words helped, but couldn’t completely banish the feelings of hopelessness. If they had no soul to summon, the Headless Man could exist indefinitely, or at least until it completed its goal. Neither option appealed to her.
Alix leaned over and set the old book of notes down in front Paige. “Look ’em over. Maybe you’ll find something else that’s helpful. You know more about this spirit stuff than any of us.”
Therein lay a great deal of the problem. She didn’t know much about the mechanics of her power, only that she possessed it.
The handle of the front door jostled just before the door swung open. Paige almost leaped out of her skin, but relaxed at seeing Rhea and Levi returning from their search. Levi looked rather pale and fatigued.
“What happened?” Paige asked, as she got up and went over to him. “Are you all right?”
His face brightened with a smile. “Yes, just had a rougher go of it than I thought.”
Paige frowned, looking from him to Rhea. “What does that mean?”
“It’s okay. Really,” Levi reassured. “We talked with the elders and grandfather.” He gestured to one of the empty chairs. “Mind if I sit?”
“Of course not,” Paige replied, and ushered him over to the chair. Her concern deepened, despite his assurances. He looked sick as a dog.
Rhea slipped past them, and took a seat at the table with the others. “Did you all find anything?”
“I did,” Alix proclaimed, jabbing a thumb at her chest.
Hannah laughed, and Cassie rolled her eyes, but they didn’t dispute her.
The banter that followed fell into the background as Paige focused on Levi. “What did your grandfather say?”
He eased back into the chair. “Not much, but enough for me to believe that he told me the truth. Or his version of it at least.”
She looked at him, perplexed. “You thought he lied to you?”
“Not until I talked with Little Hawk’s wives.”
Paige scrunched up her nose. “Wives?”
“Long story,” he replied. “I didn’t get much information. I hoped you had better luck.”
She went with the shift in topic for now, but she planned on a revisit into his doings with Rhea later. “I had so-so luck. We think we found what needs to happen, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to do it.”
Now it was his turn to look confused. “Why?”
“Because, according to your grandfather, the person we need for this thing to work is dead, and possibly more than dead. We need the woman who cursed your family.” With every word she became more depressed. Cassie’s right, we’re screwed.
Levi raised his dark brows. “More than dead?”
“You know what that thing did to us. If The Headless Man killed the woman who cursed your great-grandfather, then he most likely destroyed her soul as well.” She couldn’t bring herself to say the woman’s soul had been ‘eaten.’ That was just too disturbing.
“Ah, I see,” he said, rubbing his chin in thought. “What if she was dead, but her soul survived?”
“Then I might be able to do something, but I really don’t think she made it.”
“Agnes Hanover isn’t the one we need,” he said, still in contemplation.
Paige blinked in surprise. “Was that her name, the one who cursed your family?”
“She is the ‘white woman’ my grandfather was talking about, but she’s not the one who summoned the Headless Man.”
She studied Levi’s handsome features. “You discovered something then?”
He nodded. “I didn’t think it was that important, until just now.”
“What is it?”
“Ms. Hanover didn’t curse us,”—his dark eyes caught her’s—“I think my great-grandmother did.”
What the hell! She sat down next to Levi. And I thought my family was messed up. “Are you sure? That’s a tough pill to swallow.”
“I’m pretty sure,” he said. “There are some details I’d like to go over with you, in private...” His gaze drifted to the table.
She glanced over her shoulder and found that the girls weren’t gabbing anymore. Most of them had their noses buried in books, but Miranda studied Paige and Levi with a questioning eye. Paige rose and walked over to the table. “If you guys don’t mind, I think we’d like to get some rest.”
“Of course,” Miranda said. “My offer still stands for you both to stay in one of the guest cottages. The grounds are warded against intruders. Natural and supernatural. You’ll be safe here.”
“Thank you. You’ve all been so wonderful.”
“You are more than welcome,” Miranda replied. “We help our own. It’s what we do.”
“I’ll show her to one of the cabins,” Hannah said, as she stood. “You’ll want to take these and look them over, like Alix suggested.” She grabbed the pile of old documents off the table and handed them over.
“Rest well,” Miranda said. “We’ll meet in the morning and decide our next course of action.”
“Again, thank you.” Paige followed Hannah outside with Levi close behind. The three of them walked further down the path, which was lighted with little lanterns every ten feet or so.
Paige found it a beautiful place, even at night. Lightning bugs buzzed throughout the forest, illuminating the vast foliage surrounding them. Despite being the first part of November, the weather was still warm and pleasant. The giant trees must have sheltered the area from the cold. She wondered what this place was like in the summer, but suspected it would be as temperate as it is now.
“I’m glad you decided to stay,” Hannah said over her shoulder. “It’s much safer for you.”
“I hope so,” Levi said, with a touch of scepticism in his voice.
Paige elbowed him in the side. “Regardless, we appreciate the accommodations.”
Hannah chuckled. “I hope you stay after all this is said and done. We could truly benefit from each other.”
“I just hope we survive,” Paige said, somewhat taken aback by the woman’s confidence of their yet-to-be-obtained success. “I’ll think about the other stuff later.”
“Fair enough, but I still hope you decide to stay.”
Paige had no reply for the woman’s persistence. If she made it out of this alive, she would give Hannah’s words some serious thought. Until then, the Headless Man had to be the priority.
They came to a cottage like Rhea’s; an earthen roof, a nice stone patio, and even a hot tub tucked under a redwood pergola.
Hannah walked them to the front door. “One of us will come and get you in the morning.” She glanced at them both with a knowing smile. “But not too early.”
Paige’s cheeks burned. Thank god it’s dark.
“I’ll be off now, have a good evening.” The dark-haired beauty waved and went on her way.
“What a strange place you’ve brought me to,” Levi said, watching Hannah go.
“You’re the one with the curse,” Paige retorted. “I’m just the sucker who got pulled into this mess.”
He sighed. “That you are. My apologies.”
“It’s okay. I might forgive you.” She took his hand, anticipating the tingle from his touch, but something scraped against her palm instead. “What’s this?” She turned his hand over.
A thick, jagged line of dried blood spanned the width of his palm. Torn skin stuck out around the edges like hardened barbs. He tried to pull his hand back, but she held it in place.
“What did you do?”
“It’s part of what I wanted to talk to you about,” he answered.
Irritated at the injury, Paige dragged him inside the cottage. “Fool man.”
The lights were already on. They walked into a living room and kitchen similar to those at Rhea’s place, though furnished more victorian than rustic. Paige scanned the kitchen in hopes of finding a first-aid kit, again, like there had been at Rhea’s.
Bingo. A little red box with a white cross on it hung next to the pantry. She marched Levi over to the sink, retrieved the kit, and went to work on his hand. Though not a nurse by any stretch of the imagination, she could tend a wound like this. The cut had depth and most likely hurt like hell. She instructed him to open and close his hand, relieved to find the tendons unaffected.
“That’ll be the last time I let you go off alone with a strange woman.” She bit her lip. The words had just come out. She had no right to say them, but out they’d come.
An awkward silence followed.
How many times do I have to make an idiot out of myself before I learn to keep my big mouth shut.
“You’ve got nothing to worry about, you know,” Levi said, breaking the tension with his low voice. “She’s not my type.”
“Really?” Paige commented with a shrug. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye, so instead, focused on the bandages she wrapped around his hand. “What is your type?”
“If you look in a mirror, you’ll get a good idea.”
Her cheeks flushed for the second time this evening. “You mean that?”
His free hand slipped under her chin and raised her head so that their eyes met. “Yes, I mean it.”
Paige found it difficult to not fall head-over-heels for him when he said things like that. Adding the dark, caring eyes, chiseled features, and broad shoulders only made it harder. Tears blurred her vision as she smiled up at him. “You’re such a charmer.”
He moved closer, which didn’t seem possible, given they already held hands and gazed into each other’s eyes. His presence became all-encompassing, shielding her against her insecurity and fear. He leaned down and kissed her.
The strange tingle from his touch, which had become more and more familiar, rushed through her every nerve like a bolt of lightning. His lips were soft but hungry. He cupped her face with his hands as the kiss deepened.
She knew, in the back of her mind, that they should be working out a solution to break the curse. The relief from the stress, pain and fear proved far too great to ignore, or even resist. She pressed against him, returning his ardent need for contact.
His warm hands eased under her shirt and worked it over her head. She pulled at his until it came off, revealing his well-muscled chest and abdomen underneath.
He then deftly removed her bra, throwing it casually to the side. His strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her with ease. He carried her over to the sofa as they continued to kiss, his breath becoming more vigorous.
Her fingertips glided over his shoulders and arms, as his ravenous lips found her hardened nipples. She called out as he sucked and caressed her breasts.
He kissed his way down her belly, unbuttoning her pants. He easily pulled them free, along with her panties, in one fluid motion. His lips continued downward, kissing her lower stomach, until reaching the small patch of coarse hair between her legs.
She gasped when his tongue slowly slid into her, tickling both inside and out. Her hips took on a life of their own, gyrating in unison with his darting tongue. His hands gently glided over her stomach, all the while his pace quickening.
“Oh, God. Right there!” she cried, as the rushing wave of an orgasm crested its peak.
His fingers dug into her hips, holding her in place, while he tongued her furiously.
The towering climax finally crashed into her. Shockwaves of pleasure rippled through her entire body. Levi continued lashing her with his tongue, as she came.
“I want you inside me!” she panted, once the waves began to recede.
He stood, chin glistening, and began undoing his jeans.
She sat up and batted his hands away. “You won’t deny me my fun.”
He smiled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Paige could see and feel how hard he’d become. She teasingly rubbed him, as she undid his pants. He moaned and leaned into her massaging hand. Once unbuttoned, everything came off with the slightest tug.
It’s so thick. She stroked him, rubbing her thumb over the wet, reddened tip. She looked up with hooded eyes. “Someone’s excited.”
He couldn’t respond with anything more than shallow breaths and an arched back.
She smiled at his inability to comment, and then took him into her mouth. He groaned with pleasure as she bobbed back and forth, sucking and licking. Eventually, she could taste him, and knew he was close.
“Wait,” he pleaded, trying to pull away. “You’re going to make me come.”
She released him, hoping it wasn’t too late. She watched with pleasure as he struggled with his throbbing cock.
He closed his eyes and gripped his shaft. After a few tense moments of motionless battle, his breathing slowed and he loosened his hold. “You’re a bad girl.”
“Oh, you think so, huh?” She crawled amorously over to the sofa, turning her back to him. She laid halfway on the couch with her knees still on the soft carpet. She glanced over her shoulder, rotating her hips. “What about now?”
The desire in his eyes was unmistakable, as he watched her backside. “You’re a very bad girl.”
He knelt down behind her. His strong hands massaged her ass, as the broad head of his cock slid into her softness, filling every inch of her.
They both moaned with pleasure. She ground against his thrusts over and over. The towering wave returned, more powerful and intense than before. She clung to the cushions and screamed, as the climactic typhoon swept her away. Levi continued to hammer into her relentlessly, summoning another orgasm that drove her further out to sea. She floated, mindless of the real world, caught up in the ecstasy.
Slowly, the waters receded, bringing her back. She scrambled off the sofa and Levi, shuddering with aftershocks. “On your back,” she panted.
He did as she commanded. His thick shaft lolled on his washboard stomach, glistening with her pleasure. She crawled on top of him, and eased herself down, quivering as he entered her once more. Her fingers dug into his muscled chest. She began riding him as if he were a wild bull, bucking and gyrating in an unforgiving rhythm.
The wave began to build again. A monolithic wall of euphoria that promised to drive her beyond any plateau of bliss she’d ever experienced before.
“Oh God, Paige!” Levi thrust upward, driving deeper into her. He grabbed her hips, as his entire body went rigid. “I can’t hold it…”
She didn’t stop, couldn’t stop, her carnal dance—the tidal wave was upon her.
His cock pulsated, and he called out incoherently.
Rapture rippled through Pagie’s body as she came in time with her lover. Between his vice-like grip and the powerful orgasm, Paige became paralyzed with ecstasy. She remained frozen, unable to breath for what seemed like an eternity. Her head swam, and then she blacked out.
Paige woke, under the cover of a blanket. Levi lay next to her, drawing lazy circles on her shoulder with his finger.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I knocked your socks off.”
She laughed and elbowed him in the chest. “I’m serious.”
“I think we rendered ourselves unconscious with sex.”
“You blacked out too?”
“Oh, yeah. I woke up with you laying on top of me.” He rubbed his chest. “Had the weirdest dream too.”
Paige glanced over her shoulder at him. “One of our dreams?”
He shook his head. “No, I was laying in a glade, naked.”
Paige rolled her eyes. “Of course.”
“It wasn’t sexual. I mean it felt good, but not in that way. The sun was on me, and the grass felt like when we touch. It was so strange.”
“That is weird.” She didn’t know what else to say. “Are you feeling okay now?”
“Yeah, I feel great. Better than great even.”
She felt a bit different as well. She couldn’t put a finger on it, but it was definitely a feel good kind of thing. As long as she and Levi were together, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t accomplish.
The conversation she’d had with Hannah came to mind. What had she called it? Atingere? Maybe that had something to do with, or maybe they both just needed a good fuck. Whatever the case, he was good and she was good, and that’s all that mattered to her at the moment.
She snuggled up next to him. “As long as we’re like this, I don’t care how weird it gets.”
“I’m with you.”
She started to doze off in his arms.
“I saw a spirit when I went to Little Hawk’s,” he said, out of the blue.
Paige propped herself up on his chest in shock, her contentment shattered. “What the hell...what kind of spirit?”
“The medicine man’s dead sister,” he said, calmly. “She told me about what happened to my great-grandfather. That’s how I know it wasn’t the white woman, Agnes.”
Guilt and frustration washed over her. She should have been there with him. He was messing around with the spirit world for God’s sake, her specialty, supposedly. She’d never forgive herself if he’d been killed by some crazed ghost. “Is that where that cut on your hand came from?”
He nodded. “My blood was necessary.”
“Jesus, Levi. You have to be careful with this mystical shit,” she said, exasperated. “From what I read earlier tonight, a lot of things can be done with someone’s blood. Nasty things. The kind of stuff that can come back on you later when you least expect it. We don’t know these people well enough to be giving them our blood.”
“Rhea didn’t summoned the spirit, Little Hawk’s wives did it,” he said, hastily. “And I didn’t exactly give them my blood. It spilled out onto some kind of symbol, like the one you drew on my patio.”
Well, that was a relief. Not a huge one, but better than giving over samples of himself. “Regardless, it’s dangerous, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
He smiled. “Point taken.”
While glad he sounded sincere and not seriously injured, she hoped her warning stuck. She knew first-hand that messing around with magic could be trouble. As such, she might be the last person who should be reprimanding him for what he’d done, but her feelings for him trumped all forms of hypocrisy.
Despite the double standard, real danger existed and not just from the curse. Handing out DNA could have serious repercussions. Those wives of Little Hawk had her concerned. “Were Little Hawk’s wives witches?”
“I’m not sure,” he answered. “They definitely had some kind of power. I don’t know if they’re like you and the women of this… coven, or something different.”
A question for Rhea, apparently… that woman. Paige tried not to be pissed, but the fact that she’d exposed Levi to strangers wielding magic wasn’t helping. Not to mention the hot-factor thing. Ugh, let it go. You’re just going to make things worse.
She decided to have a ‘civil’ discussion with Rhea and the others about Little Hawk’s wives. And also ask if Levi was in any danger from them.
As if there wasn’t enough danger at the moment. She sighed. “I can’t wait until this Headless Man thing is over.”
“To be honest, part of me doesn’t want it to end.”
“What?” She looked at him, perplexed.
“Hannah’s not the only one hoping you stay, ya know,” he replied.
Yes, I know. I’m one of those people too. She felt bad enough about everything else, why not about leaving, too? “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Levi.”
“Stay.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, believe me. I just, don’t know yet.” Paige found Salem to be the one place where she didn’t feel different. Even here, among others like her, she felt awkward and ill at ease—like the new kid.
Levi sighed. “I suppose I’ll have to live with that, for now.”
“I’m sorry. There’s just so much going on right now, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“We will get through this, and everything else,” he assured, wrapping his arms around her. “Let’s get some sleep, we’ve got a big day tomorrow.”
She was thankful he let it go, and snuggled up next to him. “You’re still in trouble, Mister.”
He chuckled. “I know.”