Page 39 of Warrior Witch
While I panicked internally, Kylen kneeled beside us. He gently removed Addie’s nails from my arm and rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb. “It’s okay. Harlow’s right here. We’re all here for you.”
She sniffled, wiping her nose with her other sleeve. “It was just so real.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised her. “Can you stand?”
I mouthed a ‘thank you’ to him, keeping hold of Addie’s other hand as we stood. Her legs wobbled, but we held her steady between us. “Wanna go inside?”
At her weak nod, we guided her towards the house. Best thing for her right now was getting away from this creepy jungle of a garden and finding her something to eat, followed by a nap. Curses could wait.
“Hold up a sec,” Bruin called out, pointing at a woman in the corner of the garden. “Addie, is that who you saw?”
The fuck? I didn’t see her when I jumped the fence. Actually, now that I thought about it, I hadn’t seen any women in town. Just the motel.
So who the hell was she?
The woman turned, looking up at the house and… That was my face. But unlike me, she wore a modest, floor-length dress, with a flowered apron and—wait. The apron was plain.
I squinted, realizing the flowers were behind her, and I was looking through her.
Addie tightened her grip on my hand. “That’s her.”
Ranto slowly circled the translucent woman, careful not to touch her, but captivated by the resemblance. “She really does look like Harlow.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not me. It’s…”
“Levina Torann.” Lindsay finished for me, reaching out and giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Harlow’s great-something-grandmother, and from what I’ve read, the first victim of the Torann family’s curse, after her brother.”
“A ghost?” Ranto asked, rejoining the group at my side. “Can she see us?”
Hendrix shook his head. “Not likely.”
Suddenly, the woman doubled over, wincing in pain as she waved her arm like she was pushing someone back.
“Get away!” she screamed, trying to back up and slipping on the grass. Sparks flew off her body wildly, her spine contorting with every bolt. “Run while you can! This happened to Donahue. It can’t be stopped!”
“No. No, no, no, it’s happening again!” Addie clung to me, her head buried in my chest with her ear pressed to my pounding heart.
I covered her other ear with my hand, unable to look away but still desperate to protect her from the screaming she was preparing for.
“It’s too late for me, but you must save yourselves,” Levina begged through her tears. “Find a way to break it. Don’t let the curse take you and the children! Now RUN!”
The lightning came faster, firing off her in every direction as she writhed in the grass. She tried to curl up from the pain, but she was no longer in control of her body. All she could do was scream until the lightning hit her too frequently to take a breath between strikes.
In one final movement, Levina whipped up to her knees, mouth open in a silent, breathless scream, as her entire body was enveloped in electricity. It lit up the garden in a bright light, forcing us to look away.
By the time the light dissipated, Levina was simply gone.
“So, that’s what death by curse looks like…” I muttered, thinking back to the family tree. Every death in over three centuries, leading straight down to me.
“Is it over?” Addie squeaked.
“Yeah, I think so. Let’s get inside,” I said, reluctantly loosening my grip on her.
“What the fuck was that shit?” Bruin growled, his eyes wide as Lindsay pushed past him, guiding Addie’s shaking form inside before the ghost could reappear.
“Seriously? Don’t you know anything?” Hendrix pushed off his spot against the wall, rolling his eyes.
“Sorry, looks like I skipped my ghost-busting classes in high school.”