Long trapped in endless night
manifest yourself before me
show yourself within the light
Awaken from your woeful plight
Appear now for me to see
Bend you will to my might
At first the words were awkward and stiff. The continued rhythmic hum of Paige’s own voice slowly transformed them into something more intrinsic. Power tickled the fringes of her consciousness, and intensified when the other witches joined her in the chanting. Her entire body filled with the mystical force surrounding her. When she felt she could hold no more, she released the power, funneling it into the symbol on the ground in front of her.
The runes and designs glowed with bluish-green light. Mist rose from the blazing symbol in long flowing tendrils. They swirled together to create one large column that sparkled with tiny shards of white brilliance. The sparkles then came together, forming a humanoid shape. The spiritual body hovered just above the bones of Bly Walker.
Paige ran Miranda’s dagger across her palm, opening a large, gaping cut. She winced in pain, but quickly held her hand over the summoning circle. Blood welled along the gash, and dripped onto the glowing symbols.
The radiant form began to take on more details with each drop of blood. It continued to change, until an attractive Native American woman in her mid-thirties floated in its place. She remained bluish-green in color, and her eyes glowed solid white. She looked down at the assembled witches and their guardians, but focused on Levi.
“Jalen? Have you returned to me?” Her voice was distant and ethereal. She beckoned to Levi. “Come to me, my love.”
Levi took a shaky step toward the floating spirit.
Paige shuffled in front of him, blocking his path. Anger welled deep within and laced her words with strength. “Attend me spirit!”
Bly’s eyes narrowed, and she hissed.
“This one belongs to me!” Paige clenched her fist over the summoning circle, squeezing more blood from the wound. “Attend me!”
Bly writhed in contempt, but eventually settled under the influence of Paige’s blood. “What do you wish of me?”
“I want you to undo what you’ve done,” Paige answered, in her most stern voice. “I want you to face the Headless Man.”
Terror distorted Bly’s features. “I did not bring that foul being to life. You seek another.”
Oh, hell. That wasn’t good news. Everything Levi had said pointed to this woman being the one they were looking for. Paige glanced questioningly over her shoulder at the others. To her chagrin, they all swayed in a trance-like state, unresponsive to her query. Even Levi listed to one side, completely stupefied. Shit. The book didn’t say anything about that happening!
“Well, who the hell am I looking for?” Paige blurted, turning her attention back to the ghost.
Bly shifted anxiously. Her glowing eyes tracked the surrounding woods. “You’ve brought it here!”
Paige could feel the spirit’s fear through the connection they had made. The strong emotion made her shiver. “Answer my question. Who summoned the Headless Man?”
Bly began to weep, though no tears fell. “I just wanted her to go away. I didn’t mean for everyone to die.”
“What are you talking about?” Paige asked. She knew many of Levi’s relatives had perished at the hands of that wicked wraith, but she wasn’t sure Bly knew that. The woman been dead when most of them met their fate after all. “Who died?”
“Mrs. Hanover and her servants,” she cried. “The adultress too. Even Jalen couldn’t escape.”
Paige frowned in frustration. “Tell me what happened, Bly.”
Her gaze continued to scan the woods as she spoke, “I went to the Hanover estate, to end the affair once and for all. Jalen had said he’d ended it, but I knew better. That whore, Agnes, kept calling him away.” Bly spit on the ground, or at least made the motions of doing so. Nothing actually came out of her mouth. “I knew that’s who he was going to see when he left for days at a time. I should have killed her myself—”
“Okay, let’s stay on target here,” Paige interrupted. “What happened at the Hanover place?”
“I went to see Mr. Hanover, and told him everything.”
More than a chill raced down Paige’s spine when Bly mentioned Mr. Hanover. It felt like the temperature had dropped by about twenty degrees. It had already been nippy out, but now it was downright freezing. She looked around, but found nothing creeping up on them. “Go on.”
“He told me to leave, and to say nothing of our conversation. I thought my plea for justice would go unanswered, but a month or so after, Jalen and I were invited up to the manor for dinner. That’s when everything went wrong...”
A breeze kicked up, making Paige’s teeth chatter. She rubbed her arms furiously. “Get on with it, woman!”
“Mr. Hanover trapped us in the sitting room. He renounced his gifts to Jalen, and cut Mrs. Hanover’s throat to enact the curse. How he knew about the ancient hex, I don’t know, but he did it. That night he became the Headless Man.”
“That’s messed up,” Paige replied. All this time, it’s been old man Hanover.
“He didn’t stop with his wife,” Bly continued, uncaring of Paige’s sudden enlightenment. “After he turned into that abomination, he slaughtered the servants and his daughter. If it hadn’t been for Jalen, I would have died along with them. But we escaped, and ran from the creature for years, but it finally caught up with my Jalen.”
Great, now we’re really screwed. Paige had no idea where, or even if, the old man had been buried. “Do you know where the family was put to rest?”
“The house caught fire when the killing started,” Bly answered. “There are no graves.”
Paige’s heart sank. All this for nothing. I should have known better.
Magic had betrayed her once again. Unless she got Levi back to the reservation, he would be lost to her. Not the best option, he’d be trapped there, like his grandfather, but at least he would be alive. And as for magic, maybe it was time to put childish things away.
Bly screamed.
Paige snapped out of her self-pity, and stared up at the ghost in shock.
A black cloud had risen behind Bly. She spun to face the menace, screaming again. The clawed hand of The Headless Man darted out of the dark smoke and pierced Bly’s chest. His black talons dug deeply into her essence. The cloud rolled away from the rest of the wraith’s pale body. He reached out with his other blackened hand and took hold of Bly’s neck.
“Stop!” Paige yelled.
Ignoring her command, the Headless Man ripped Bly’s soul apart. Bluish mist fell like blood from her torn body, only to be devoured by the gaping hole where the wraith’s head used to be.
“No!” Paige looked to the others in desperation.
Everyone shook, as if having seizures. Their jaws clenched in pain, while blood trickled down their noses. They would soon suffer Bly’s fate, trapped within the summoning spell. They were all going to die. Levi was going to die.
The Headless Man couldn’t be fought on this plane of existence. Paige would have to go to the other side and find a weakness. She yanked the necklace of protection from her neck and threw it to the ground. The heirloom might stop her from crossing over, so it had to go. She focused on the rings of power they’d used to summon Bly. She channeled all her fear and anger into that finite space between worlds. Pressure crushed against her as she strained to find an opening.
Doubt followed the constricting force around her. She couldn’t do this. Hell, it’s not even real. In reality, she was probably drooling in a cell next to Joseph Conner at the asylum—the whole scenario a figment of her imagination.
“You have to believe, child,” a familiar voice whispered.
Grandmother? Paige blinked, as tears welled in her eyes.
“I’m here,” her grandmother answered. “But you have to believe.”
I can’t!
A sliver of blinding light slid across the summoning circle.
“Yes, you can.”
Paige gawked at the light in awe, tears running down her cheeks. If I’m insane, I can’t fight it any longer.
She let herself be drawn into the brilliance. A choking sound came from Levi, but she didn’t look back. She couldn’t be distracted now. She had to push through to the other side.
The world elongated, and then disappeared...
“Grandmother?” Paige reached out into the darkness. There was moisture in the air, and the faint stink of mold touched her nostrils. “Grandmother!”
The only response was distant, maniacal laugher.
Paige clamped her mouth shut. She’d seen enough scary movies to know giving her position away was a bad idea, though she’d probably already done so. She shuffled forward, unable to see. The damp void continued, no matter what direction she moved in. If this is the after-life, it sucks.
Closer now, a disturbing slurping sound could be heard along with the laughter.
Enough of this creepy shit, I need to see. Immediately, the darkness began to recede. Turquoise light glowed from Paige’s body. Her radiance revealed the darkness to be roiling clouds of smoke. She drove the wall of fog farther and farther away, until a form came into view. Pale and sickly, the man hunched over, giggling wickedly. He sucked on the pieces of another glowing body, but its light was almost extinguished. Bly.
Bonds of blood snaked around each fading wrist and ankle. The restraints trailed off behind Paige, and into the real world that only now became visible. She gasped at seeing her new-found friends and Levi, tethered with the same cords of blood. Every one of them convulsed behind a sheet of what could have been warped glass.
No! She rushed over to Levi, and tried to cradle his face between her hands. Her fingers passed right through his distorted visage. She watched helplessly, as he fell to his knees. What can I do?
Her hand scraped against one of the bloody ropes, as she followed Levi to the ground. The gruesome restraint swayed back and forth, and sizzled where she’d touched it.
Her eyes widened with surprise. She reached out and grabbed hold of the dripping cable. She found it tangible and viscous in texture. The cord smoked under her touch, burning away like kindling. She wasted no time in revelling, and scooped up as many of the cords as she could reach. They turned to ash in her crushing embrace, and severed the connection between Levi, the spell, and The Headless Man.
Her lover fell backward, gasping for breath, but free of torture.
“Whore!” the pale man bellowed. “I’ll shred you!”
Paige continued to grab more of the bloody cables, heedless of the approaching madman. She didn’t know how many others she’d freed before Mr. Hanover reached her. She kept burning the bonds, until a cold hand tightened around her throat, and yanked her to her feet.
Soulless black eyes, like those of the possessed, glared at her from sunken sockets. Maroon ichor poured from his mouth as he spoke, “You’re mine.”
Burn in hell! She smashed a fist into the wraith’s face, tearing off a strip of pallid flesh.
He roared in rage, and slapped her with the force of a sledgehammer. The blow tore her from his grasp, leaving the chill of his touch on her throbbing cheek. She scrambled to her feet to find him already upon her. Another blow crashed into the side of her head, sending her reeling once more.
She tried to fight back, clawing, kicking and punching, but he was too strong. Her assault only served to enrage him further.
“I will revel in drinking your soul,” he promised through clenched teeth. His icy hands found purchase on her neck a second time.
She flailed at his arms, as his chilling grip squeezed tighter and tighter. Her resistance became weak and less coordinated; the end inevitable.
The Headless Man opened his mouth wide, revealing a nasty set of jagged teeth. The rot of his breath filled her nostrils with the most putrid rankness she’d ever smelled. He bit down on her shoulder, sinking his wretched teeth deep.
Paige screamed. She renewed her struggles but still could not break free of his terrible strength. Ever so slowly, her essence siphoned away through gnashing teeth; her resolve weakening even further.
I’m dying! She knew it, and could do nothing to stop it.
“Yes,” The Headless Man mumbled, around his slurping.
She had failed. She had found no weaknesses on this side of reality, only death. Maybe she had bought enough time for the others to escape. Surely they would know to head for the reservation. It was the closest sanctuary they could possibly reach in time.
Run Levi, run.
The old man began to laugh, coughing as her essence clogged his windpipe.
Choke on it, you twisted fuck!
He ignored her taunt, stifling the cough. “Levi Walker will not escape. None of them will. I shall let you watch, as I kill them.” His crushing grip eased.
Paige fell to the ground in a heap. Beaten. Her once brilliant glow faded to almost nothing.
The Headless Man turned his attentions to the living, no longer concerned with her. “What’s this?”
Movement from the other side disrupted the calm tableau from earlier. It appeared that Paige had freed not only Levi, but all the witches as well. They’d gathered and now chanted around the summoning circle, their soft voices gaining strength with every verse.
Don’t they know they should be running?
Mr. Hanover began to vibrate. With each jerky motion his body flipped back and forth from the headless wraith to the frail old man. Another form, shrouded in smoke, suddenly appeared on the other side. The constant juddering allowed him to slip into the real world, and also remain here in the spirit one.
Paige pushed herself up to a sitting position. Stop, you son of a bitch!
He continued forward, paying her no heed. His clawed hands reached out for one of the blurred forms standing around the circle.
Paige staggered to her feet, and charged. She slammed into the back of The Headless Man, grabbing hold of his long, scraggly hair. She clawed and punched with everything she had to buy her friends and lover more time.
“Get off me, whore!” He reached back and grabbed a handful of her luminescent hair. He yanked so hard, she was pulled up onto his shoulders, but she didn’t let go.
Die, you murderous bastard! She fought on, though she knew it couldn’t last.
Finally, he wrenched her free and slammed her to the ground. He stomped on her chest. His foot came down again and again, until she stopped fighting.
The physical pain was nothing compared to the crushing knowledge that she’d failed.
He leaned down and took her face in a vice-like grip. “You will be the last to die, except for your pretty boy, Levi. He will exist here, with me, for eternity.”
His words made her weep. Levi would suffer a fate worse than death, as would she. Her soul would be devoured, never to move on; Levi’s trapped forever in agony. All was lost.
“Heed me, foul spirit!” Levi’s voice echoed through the barrier between worlds.
The Headless Man released Paige, clamping his hands over his ears as he screamed in pain.
“I smite thee, from this world and the next,” Levi roared. “Thy curse be done!”
Paige knew the words. They were to be spoken once the wraith faced its summoner. But Mr. Hanover had essentially summoned himself, and his remains no longer existed. They had no catalyst to bring about his undoing. What was the point of reciting the spell?
The distorted image of Levi brought his hands together. The sound of shattering glass rippled through the warped barrier, blowing The Headless Man off his feet. The wraith thrashed wildly on the ground, screeching and tearing itself apart. Each wound set free a shaft of light. Within the glittering beams, souls poured from the apparition’s body.
Tears came to Paige’s eyes when she saw the little girl and her family from the hotel skitter off into the ether. She began to weep openly when Levi’s sister floated free of the torn monster. Nova was faint, all of them were, but that didn’t matter, part of their spirit had survived to go on.
Nova drifted over, following the glowing essence that slowly came back to Paige. She laid a hand on Paige’s cheek. “Thank you,” her voice little more than a whisper.
“It wasn’t me,” Paige admitted. “You’re thanking the wrong person.”
“You’re a fool, you know that?” Nova shook her head and laughed. “You saved us all, and you saved my brother. For that, I’ll be forever grateful.”
“He misses you,” was all she could think to say.
Nova smiled. “I’ll miss him too, but he has you now.” She turned to follow the other spirits.
“Wait...” Paige didn’t know how to tell her that she didn’t want her to leave. It was a selfish desire, she knew, but no less real.
Nova glanced back, still smiling. “Go, foolish girl. Be happy. Make my brother happy.” Her laughter echoed through the silence, even after she’d disappeared.
She couldn’t bring herself to move, exhausted and beaten. Her gaze settled on the broken husk of The Headless Man. Sorrow mixed with relief. She pondered how many had died and yet were now able to move on, and that Nova was gone, but so was The Headless Man. Questions also filled her mind: How had her grandmother been able to speak to her? How did Levi break the curse? What was she going to do now?
The thoughts drained more of her will to remain conscious. Her eyelids closed of their own accord, too heavy to keep open. She couldn’t say how long she lay there, but it wasn’t nearly long enough for her liking.
“Paige, my dear child,” her grandmother whispered from the void. A gentle hand stroked her hair.
She opened her eyes, groggily. “Grandma?”
“I’m here, darling. I’m so proud of you.”
“I miss you,” Paige replied, tears welling in her glowing eyes. “Why are you still here? Why haven’t you moved on?”
The young version of her grandmother smiled. “I’m waiting for your brother, dear.”
Dread took hold of Paige’s heart. “Have you seen him... his spirit?”
“No, but I will stay until I do.”
“Thank God,” she cried. There was hope that he still lived.
“It’s time for you to go back now,” her grandmother said, as she stood.
“But we haven’t—”
“I love you, child. We will see each other again, I’m sure.”
A warm hand wrapped around Paige’s wrist.
“I’ve got her, pull!”
She fought the hand that dragged her away, but proved too weak to stop it. Her grandmother faded, and then disappeared. The spirit world slipped away and the real one came to light. Everyone stood over her, concern evident in their furrowed brows and frowns.
Levi’s strong arms wrapped around her. “Paige, my heart, are you okay?”
“I hurt all over,” she groaned, “but I’ll live.”
“Woot!” Alix yelled, causing everyone to jump. “I knew it!”
“For the love of...” Cassie shoved Alix, but not too hard. “You about gave me a heart attack.”
Alix laughed. “So much for ‘I’ll never be scared again’. You’re just as big a chicken as the rest of us.”
Miranda leaned down to examine Paige, ignoring the banter. Her hands were gentle as they probed for injuries. “You did well.”
“You mean at getting my ass handed to me?”
“That’s just part of being a witch,” the matriarch replied.
“We could see you. Your spirit,” Levi interjected, tears welling in his eyes. “We saw you saving us.”
“You’re the one who saved—”
He put a quieting finger on her lips. “You broke us free of the Headless Man’s grasp. You bought us time to do what needed to be done. He would have killed us all, had it not been for you.”
She would have rebutted if not for her own tears, and Levi’s soft lips pressed against hers.
“Yeash, get a room,” Alix snarked.
“You’re one to talk!” Troy accused, grabbing hold of the purple-haired woman. She tried to pull away, but the powerful redhead wrestled her into a kiss of their own.
“Alright everyone, let’s get this place cleaned up and get out of here,” Miranda barked, getting to her feet. She glanced down at Paige and Levi. “Except you two. Get her to the van, I’ll have Troy look her over on the way back.”
Levi carried her to the van, and gently stroked her hair, as the others went to work. The energy from his touch soothed the ache in her muscles and bones. She would have been fine to stay in his arms all night. Actually, that’s what she planned to do once they got back to the grove. Only one question nagged at her through his comforting touch.
“How were you able to end the curse?” she asked, looking up at him. “It wasn’t your great-grandmother that cursed your family...”
“We could hear everything Bly was telling you, even though we were entranced. She’d said something that got me thinking. She’d mentioned that the gifts Mr. Hanover had given my great-grandfather had been revoked. Meaning that this land wasn’t really Jalen’s. It is according to the county clerk’s office, but not in the way that the curse was concerned.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a broken crystal stem. It was from one of the goblets they’d used that first night at his apartment. “That meant that these were no longer Jalen’s as well, or so I’d hoped.”
“The shattering glass I heard,” she said, in understanding.
He nodded.
“You’re a genius.”
He laughed. “And you’re my hero.”