“I can, too. But I have a feeling the shapeshifter isn’t going to let us perform that spell so easily.”
“We’re going to have to find a way to deal with him. But first, we need to find the ingredients on that list. That spell was written so long ago it could be hard to find some of those things.” Maggie packed up the spirit board as she talked, placing it back into her striped carry bag.
“You’re right. Let’s go.”
Brenna headed for the door and opened it for Maggie. Maggie led the way out of the cottage as Brenna locked the door behind them. Leaving the moderate safety of the cottage made Brenna’s senses spin into overdrive as they crossed over into the thick of the woods. Every sound made her jump. Her head constantly moved from tree to tree making sure the coast was clear. Beside her, Maggie also jumped at every sound.
They tried to navigate the tricky terrain as best they could, boxes and handbags in tow. The feeling she was being watched weighed heavily on Brenna’s mind as she sped through the trees, her fast feet dodging rocks and long branches.
Hardened soil greeted Brenna’s boots as she emerged out of the gloomy forest and onto the beaten path. She turned around and waited for Maggie to appear. A minute later there was still no sign of Maggie.
“Maggie!” Brenna shouted, receiving no reply. “Maggie, where are you?”
After placing the box and her handbag into the backseat of her car, she walked toward the forest and stepped past the first tree, looking around, but saw no sign of Maggie.
“Mags, I’m over here!” Brenna yelled into the forest. A shape formed in the distance and Brenna’s eyes shot forward as did her legs. When she reached Maggie she threw her arms around her neck and hugged her. “Where are your bags, Maggie?” she asked.
Maggie didn’t answer, but wrapped her stiff arms around Brenna and wouldn’t let go.
“Okay, Mags I’m glad to see you too but I need to breathe,” Brenna joked, but soon realized this was no laughing matter. Maggie squeezed her arms tighter, encasing Brenna.
“Maggie, let go!” Brenna tried to struggle away but Maggie was too strong.
“What’s wrong with you?” She managed to wriggle out of Maggie’s tight grip and took some deep breaths before being able to speak again.
“I don’t know what happened to you but let’s get out of here.” Brenna stared tensely at Maggie’s eyes. “Mags, there’s something wrong with your eyes…”
Brenna leaned forward and saw movement in Maggie’s pupils like they were television screens. A screaming woman being prodded with a sharpened stick writhed within, and to her horror, Brenna realized it was Maggie. Next to her were hundreds of other women all being tortured.
“Oh my God…” Brenna whispered, stumbling backward. “What did you do to her?” Her voice was tiny.
Maggie’s body just stared at her with its eyes playing out the horrid scene.
“What did you do to her?”
Her shouts sent birds flying out of trees and toward the sky. Maggie slowly opened her mouth revealing a dark hole that started to suck the air inside like a vacuum cleaner. Brenna had to hang onto a tree to stop from falling forward. The eyes of the entity were now blood red and fixed on the pouch around Brenna’s neck that was flailing towards the suction.
Brenna took the pouch in her hand and started to make her way toward her car by grabbing at tree branches to keep her balance. Shaking, she managed to open her car door and climbed inside, locking the doors after she sat behind the wheel. What had she done? If only she’d stayed close to Maggie. The entity had Maggie, and Brenna was not going to rest until she found her.
The engine roared as Brenna reversed down the dirt road and crashed the back of her car into the black gates knocking them off their hinges. To Brenna’s surprise, the whole fence disappeared leaving the forest unguarded. Brenna sped onto the highway and toward the Shady Oak Motel.
Jeff looked up, with raised eyebrows as Brenna burst into the brightly lit office. “What’s wrong?”
“Maggie! She’s been taken!” Brenna took in quick short breaths.
“What do you mean?” Jeff stood up and walked away from his desk toward Brenna who was leaning over, on the verge of a panic attack, sucking as much air into her lungs as she could. He placed a hand on her back and rubbed. “Who took Maggie?” his voice steady but a little higher than usual. Brenna looked him in the eyes.
“The black entity. He has her!” Brenna suddenly felt light-headed. Then she fell to the floor.
Chapter Seven
Darkwoods 1645
Jonathon and Rowena walked through a rose-scented garden. She admired the delicate flowers but couldn’t help but wonder why they were wasting time admiring flowers when her friends were suffering. They came to a large willow tree which gave shelter to a wooden park bench.
“Before we go any further, it’s probably time you met Ronan.”
“Why out here?”
“For one thing, away from prying eyes and ears. For the other…” Jonathon’s voice trailed off and he nodded at something behind Rowena. She turned her head and gasped. A huge white wolf appeared out of the shadows and loped toward them. Rowena gripped the bench seat.
“Jonathon, are you trying to tell me Ronan is a wolf?”
Jonathon chuckled.
“I’ve been called worse,” came a voice from behind the wolf. A man joined the wolf’s side. Tall with waist-long hair blacker than the night, he was a stark contrast to the whiteness of the wolf. His eyes were equally dark but glinted with a hint of sparkle. His image conjured up characters from stories her mother used to tell her of heroes, foes, and mythical creatures. Which one he was, she didn’t know as yet.
“Hello, Rowena.” He had a deep but gentle voice. Hero perhaps?
It took her a moment to find her voice. “Hello.”
Jonathon stepped forward and shook Ronan’s hand. The wolf eyed him as he did so. “Good to see you again, Ronan.”
“And to you, Jonathon. She looks just like Brenna.”
“You’ve seen her?” Jonathon raised his brow.
“Briefly. I couldn’t help myself,” Rowan said.
“Any word on the situation?”
“Dire I’m afraid.”
“Did you talk to Brenna yet?”
“No. I need to wait until she’s ready. Hawthorn has all of that worked out.”
“Hawthorn?” Rowena interrupted. “What does she have planned? And who is Brenna?”
Jonathon and Rowan exchanged glances. Jonathon nodded at him.
“She’s your descendent in the future.”
“The future? Does that mean I’m going to be a mother? What’s going on?”
Rowan stifled a cringe. “I didn’t want to spoil things for you. But yes. You will be a mother.”
Thoughts whirled. How many children? Boys, girls? Who would be the father? Best not to think about it. Not right now. Jonathon cleared his throat. “We’d better get down to business then. The first trial today is happening soon.”
“What? Where?” Rowena’s heart skipped a beat.
“The local courthouse,” Rowan said.