A Witch in Blood: A YA Urban Fantasy Novel Read online

  I eyed her and, after a moment’s hesitation, slipped out into the hallway. Staying in this room wasn’t going to get me anywhere. The guy from before, Warren, stood outside the door, blocking my way and any hope of running. He wore black jeans and a gray t-shirt. Now that I wasn’t completely scared out of my mind, I got a better look at him. With his green eyes and tousled golden brown hair, he looked more like he should be carrying around a surfboard than a sword.

  His eyes met mine, and I tried not to flinch. The expression in them was singular, sinister anger. What did he have to be angry about? Hello, I was the one they’d abducted. Anger twisted in my chest, crowding out the fear. I pushed it down. Now was not the time to look defiant. If I looked weak, they might let their guard down. Still, I couldn’t force myself to cower in front of him. The woman followed me out.

  “Warren,” she gestured for him to step aside. He did so smoothly as she stepped forward to lead the way. I followed, ever present of the guy stalking behind me as I eyed for a path to freedom. I hadn’t been faster than him before. I promised myself that next time, I would be. I just had to wait for my opening.

  The hallway we were in was long and thin, made of old wood and stone and lit with sconces every few feet. I swallowed. My throat was raw from screaming, but thankfully it didn’t waver as I spoke.

  “Where am I?”

  “The Demon Guard.”

  I stopped. Was that some kind of joke? Apparently, she didn’t think I need further explanation. Warren grunted behind me and I began to walk again.

  “Do you know why you were being hunted?” The woman asked, unaware of my pause. A lance of ice shot through my stomach.

  “What?”

  She didn’t respond. Instead, she turned down the first hallway we’d come to and opened a door. Inside was a table and two chairs, one already occupied by a gray-haired woman.

  She smiled at me as we entered and gestured to the seat across from her.

  “Why don’t you take a seat.”

  I didn’t particularly feel like sitting, but I forced myself to walk around the table. Slowly, I lowered myself into the chair. Get them to relax and then get the hell out. My escorts settled themselves beside the door. Warren’s eyes never left my face.

  My heart thrummed. The gray-haired woman leaned forward, clasping her hands under her chin as she propped her elbows on the table and stared at me. Her whole pose screamed relaxed interest, but it didn’t fool me. A tight, nervous energy wound around her.

  “What’s your name?” She asked.

  I licked my lips. “What’s yours?”

  Her lips twisted up into a small smile.

  “My name is Natalia.” She said. “I am the head of the Coven.” She gestured to the other two, “and you’ve already met Juliana and Warren.”

  She waited expectantly. Coven? Demon guard? Hunted? What sort of psycho cult had I stumbled into and why had they brought me here? I pushed my shoulders back.

  “Cora.”

  Natalia smiled. Her eyes searched me.

  “What do you know of your parents?”

  “Why?” I immediately wanted to kick myself. So much for playing along. But it was a reflex. No way was I giving without getting. Not that there was a lot to give. I’d gotten a look at my file once. It didn’t say much, just that I’d been abandoned at the hospital where I was born. No record of who my mother and father were. Behind her, Warren crossed his arms, looking, if possible, more irritated. Natalia leaned in.

  “I’m sure this all seems very confusing to you.” She sat up, pressing her thumb against the side of her temple as if deciding what to say. I fought to keep my face blank, like it was every day that I got attacked and then watched a man get stabbed with a glowing sword. If this lady was their leader, she didn’t seem nearly as stern or stabby as the other two. Maybe I could reason with her.

  “Listen, I just want to go home. Okay?” I said, making my eyes as wide and innocent as possible. Besides making sure I didn’t get framed for that guy’s murder, I had to make sure Addison was okay.

  Natalia dropped her hand from her temple. She looked surprised. Warren grunted in his corner.

  “I’m sorry, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Her voice was apologetic.

  “Why?” My heart felt like it had turned to stone and fallen into my stomach. If they wouldn’t let me go, what did they have planned for me?

  “Do you have any idea what that guy was?” Warren asked. His voice was hard. My eyes snapped to him as he stalked forward.

  “Warren.” Juliana shot him a warning look, but that didn’t stop him. He leaned over the table, eyes dark as they met mine.

  “He was Shadowed. He would’ve drained your blood. Maybe even summoned a demon to harvest your soul. You should thank us for saving you.”

  I opened my mouth and closed it as a cold chill washed over me. What do you even say to that? He’s crazy. They all were. There had to be some sort of rational explanation.

  “Shadowed? And why would he be after me?” I asked, cocking my head. Let them explain that one.

  Natalia sighed. She touched Warren on his arm.

  “If you cannot control yourself, you will leave.” It didn’t seem like much of a reprimand to me, but he pulled back, his face falling into a stony mask as he returned to his spot on the wall.

  “Most shadowed use humans for their spells because they’re readily available, easy to snatch from a parking lot or crowded bar.”

  She said it so nonchalantly, like she wasn’t talking about people’s lives.

  “But their preference is for witches. Our stronger energy allows them to draw on more significant power. It’s likely that he felt your energy and followed it. He just wasn’t aware that we were already on to him.”

  “Witches.” I repeated. My heart bounded in my chest. They thought I was a witch? More to the point, they thought they were witches? The laughter bubbled out of my throat without warning. “Like magic and potions and toads?”

  Juliana bristled.

  “I would keep the toad comments to a minimum, but, in essence, yes,” Natalia said. I clamped my mouth shut. These people were obviously insane. And yet, my mind flashed back to the way my ice cream cone had burned my attacker. If I told anyone that, they would think I was crazy. I chewed the inside of my cheek. It still tasted bloody. I did not want to find out where crazy foster kids ended up. I needed to get the hell out of this place. Wherever the hell it was.

  “What’s Demon Guard?” I asked.

  “They are the protectors of our world. They guard against entities of darkness.”

  “So you’re like the police?”

  Natalia nodded. Behind her, Juliana’s lips turned up slightly.

  “We are much more effective than your mortal police.” The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Oh good. Wouldn’t want to be picked up by an incompetent magical police force.

  “If you killed that guy, why can’t I go home?” Back to the crazy Youngs and my SAT books, back to where the world made sense. Besides the occasional sneaking out, I was practically a model foster child. Addison could attest that the guy in the park attacked us first. I swallowed. As long as she got home okay.

  Natalia shook her head.

  “Your safest with your coven,” Right, because they thought I was a witch. “Returning to your home will only put you and the mortals around you in danger.”

  The memory of Addison cringing against me sprang to mind. I pushed it away. That guy was a run-of-the-mill freak. These people were delusional.

  “Except, I don’t have any magic.” I crossed my arms and then, remembering that I was supposed to not be defiant, uncrossed them and leaned forward. “I mean, wouldn’t I have known by now? Wouldn’t there have been a sign or something?”

  Natalia clicked her tongue. “So sure of yourself, just like your mother. If I had any doubt you were a Delatorre,” she shook her head and eyed me. “Still, there’s only one way to be sure.”

 
It felt like my heart stopped beating.

  She knew my mother?

  Get it together! Of course, she didn’t know my mother. Even if she did, I certainly didn’t care. I crossed my arms again as Natalia turned to Juliana, who handed her a thin knife. Hell no.

  I scrambled to my feet. Before I even took a step, Warren and Juliana were at my sides.

  “We’re not going to hurt you.” Natalia said. She didn’t seem disturbed by my weak escape attempt.

  “The knife says different.”

  She didn’t respond, pulling from her person a soft pouch. She dumped the contents, arranging what looked like small rocks carved with spiky symbols into a circular pattern.

  “What are those?”

  “Runes.” She looked at Warren, who grasped my wrist and pulled it towards her.

  “Now, we just need your blood for the test.”

  I struggled as Natalia grabbed my hand. “Let go of me!”

  “It only requires a few drops.” She held my hand over the middle of the circle and sliced open my pointer finger.

  I struggled against them, but Warren’s hand on my wrist kept me from moving away as she squeezed out a few drops of blood onto the table.

  “There.”

  My blood hit the table, pooling in a small puddle. Natalia whispered words under her breath. Warren let go of my wrist, but I didn’t move. A wave of nausea rolled over me as, ever so slowly, my blood began to move.

  This can’t be real. I shook my head as my blood slid over the table, smearing a trail of red behind it until it came to one of the stones and stopped.

  Warren tensed behind me.

  “The blood has spoken.” Natalia said, looking up at me. “You are without a doubt a Delatorre.”

  “How —” I had no words. I pulled my arm back. Magic wasn’t real. Blood didn’t move on its own. There had to be a reasonable explanation.

  “Each rune has a meaning. I asked a question. Your blood answered.”

  “This is insane.” My words came out breathier than I wanted. She shook his head.

  “There are so many things in this world you’ve yet to learn,” Natalia said. “But we can help you. We can keep you safe, teach you how to use your talents.”

  My mind was spinning. This couldn’t be real, and yet what other explanation was there. Blood didn’t move on its own. Ice cream cones didn’t burn people’s faces,

  Natalia leaned forward over the table. “I understand this is a lot to take in, but there’s someone you should really meet.”

  She looked up at Warren.

  “Take her to Delilah. I’ll send a message ahead, explaining…” She gave me one more glance over. “The circumstances.”

  The noise Warren made sounded nothing like an agreement to me. Still, I felt a movement behind me. Immediately, a bright purple circle of light appeared. It grew the same way as when I first saw it in the park. My nausea intensified. I squinted as the light brought a throbbing pain back to my head. In seconds, it was taller than me.

  My mind struggled to come up with a rational explanation, but there was nothing. This was magic. Real freaking magic. Despite my nausea, a tiny thrill went through me. My goal had always been to make sure that at the end of the day, I could take care of myself. If I had magic…

  “Come on.” Warren said. His voice startled me. I’d been so mesmerized by the growing portal in front of me. He grabbed my arm.

  “Wait —,” I dug in my heels. Who knew how long it had been since I snuck Addison out of the Youngs’ home. I needed to make sure she was safe. Turning back, I caught Natalia’s eye. “The little girl that was with me. I need to know she’s okay.”

  Natalia glanced at Juliana, who nodded and left. “We’ll check.”

  “Happy?” Warren asked. Without waiting for me to respond, he jerked me forward.

  My heart leapt into my throat as we stepped into the darkness and the world disappeared around me.

  3

  THE MOMENT WE were through, Warren dropped his grip on me. The sudden loss of his support sent me stumbling forward. I landed on my hands and knees. Lush grass pushed up between my fingers and sunlight burned the top of my head, as I fought the black dots trying to crowd out my vision. My head felt like someone had gone at it with an axe.

  “If that’s how you react, you’re not going to last long here.” Warren said. I looked up, nearly blinding myself with sunlight, to give him my dirtiest look. Not that I saw his reaction. From my angle, his face was all shadows.

  “Well, sorry.” I said. “I didn’t happen to grow up with magical parents in a magical world.”

  He let out an angry grunt, and without a word, stepped over me and started walking.

  I stood, making my movements as fluid as possible to not upset my now raging headache.

  We had landed on a grassy lawn next to a cobblestone path, that led to a large mansion. Behind it, a forest that seemed to go on for miles. Over the top peeked a range of mountains.

  “Where are we?” I asked, staring at the peaks. The realization that I was more than a city bus ride away from home sent a shot of panic through me. There were no mountains anywhere near where I was from.

  He either didn’t hear me or was ignoring me. My bet was on the latter. I took off after him, ignoring the pounding in my head. He walked fast. I had to book it in order to catch up behind him. Even once I had closed the distance, my shorter legs had trouble keeping up with his strides. He had a good foot on me. I jogged behind, wincing with every footfall.

  “Where did you take me?” I demanded. This was all too much, first witches and swords, and now I was at least hundreds of miles away from my home.

  Warren grunted something intelligible. Oh yeah, I forgot my tour guide was verbally challenged. Since he was no help, I concentrated on the building we were headed for. It was made of stonework at the bottom, but the top half had wooden framing surrounded by white stucco. It reminded me of a cottage you might see in a story book, except a thousand times bigger. It was shaped like a ‘U’ with two wings flanking the long center. The roof was divided into smaller sections and steeply pitched, with various chimneys stuck out from it. What it didn’t have was the information I was looking for, any sign or indication as to where we were exactly.

  When we reached the front door, Warren slowed. I tried not to show the way it felt like my head was going to explode as I changed my pace. The walls of the building were wide and lined with dark wood. He took us through the front hall and then up a couple of staircases, before stopping in front of a door.

  Without a word, he pressed his hand to it. I stared. What was he doing? Preparing himself? Before I could ask, the door popped open. Warren grabbed me by the arm, as though I might decide this was the moment to bail, and shoved me through.

  A woman in a dark green dress waited for us. My heart stopped. She looked at me with wide brown eyes as I took her in. Her face, her eyes, her brown wavy hair. They were as familiar to me as my own. I’d never let myself imagine what my mother might look like, but if I had really given it thought, the woman in front of me wasn’t far off what I’d come up with.

  I crossed my arms.

  “Natalia said she would be sending a message.” Warren told her. Interesting that he was suddenly able to speak with actual words now. The woman, Delilah, I assumed, tore her eyes away from me to Warren. She frowned just as a small ball of light, about the size of my fist, floated through the window.

  “That must be it.” Her voice had a soft lilt to it. She held out her hand. The ball of light floated towards her, hovering over her palm. She closed her long fingers around it and cocked her head, as though it were speaking to her. Warren took that as his cue to leave. I watched his retreating figure with a lump in my throat. I didn’t particularly enjoy his company, but at least I knew where I stood with him. He slammed the door as he left.

  I turned back to find Delilah smiling at me. The shock on her face was gone. I hoped it was the same for my own.

  “Wh
y don’t you take a seat.” She said, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of her desk. I settled myself in one and tried to clear my expression to one of practiced pleasantness. It was the same expression I used any time I was sent to a new foster home. Not that it always helped.

  She studied my face for a moment and my breath caught in my throat. I pressed my suddenly sweaty palms into my jeans.

  “You look just like her.” Her voice was almost a whisper. The knife in my gut twisted. You are an idiot. I shoved my disappointment away.

  Delilah shook her head. Refocused, she glided around to the other side of her desk. The gauzy ends of her bell-shaped sleeves brushed across the wood surface as she sat down.

  “Now, I’m sure you have questions.”

  It was more of an order than an invitation. I didn’t really care, though.

  “Where are we?” I asked. My eyes flickered to the window. Her office had a view of the back of the building, looking out at the mountains in the distance and a wide lake that stretched to the tree line. Between the lake and the school was a wild, mazelike garden.

  “This is Runic Academy of Witchery.” She said. “From my understanding of mortal geography, we’re somewhere in the Black Forest of Germany.”

  “I’m in Europe!” I didn’t even have a passport, let alone enough money to get a ticket home. Frantically, I patted my pockets, relaxing only when I felt the reassuring shape of my wallet. I’d lost my backpack in the park, but at least I had my ID and debit card.

  “Once you’re done with your training, country limits will be of little concern.” She said, her eyes studied me for a moment before she continued. “Our society moves somewhat insularly. We have locations all over the world, but we like to keep to ourselves.”

  I took a deep breath and ignored her assumption that I was staying. One thing at a time. Right now, I needed answers. Next, I would figure out a plan.

  “How is it that I never knew I had magic?” I asked. Delilah hesitated for a moment, curiosity flickering over her face. Then she shrugged.