Witch (The Devil's Roses 4)

They didn’t look like black witches. They looked like a group of nice ladies, except that their eyes were filled with black. No whites and no colors, just black.

They wore regular clothes and had their hair done nicely.

Sam squeezed her hand.

She turned and focused on the women.

"I need a spell."

The dark haired woman stepped forward, "You have no business here."

Ophelia felt her skin shiver. The threat lingered in the air.

"I need something, surely you have a need."

The dark haired witch cocked her head and smirked at Sam. Ophelia felt her inner rage starting to rise up.

"He is not a part of any bargain. What else can I give you?"

"Blood."

Ophelia frowned, "What?"

Sam shook his head, "No not her but you can have mine."

The dark haired woman glanced back at the other twelve women. She sucked her teeth and nodded, "Deal."

"I'll tell you the secret to the spell after we get the blood. You need to absorb the broken ends of the match. The other person he was in love with needs to be present. She has to offer you his blood and him hers. They need to offer you the blood bond. It must be done in a dark room or outdoors, where no guard is present. The shadows must be able to reach in and touch your soul."

The chubby one grinned, "Risky move for a pure little girl like you. Your full magic hasn’t even come in yet."

Ophelia felt Sam's grip tighten again. His fingers were cutting the circulation off.

The dark haired woman pulled a vial from her handbag and a knife from her huge hair. She said something over the vial. It swirled red, as if blood were already inside. Then suddenly it was clear again.

Sam put his free hand out for them. She gripped it like a snake striking. She rubbed it over her chubby sweaty face. Sam looked ready to gag but he held himself straight. She pulled his hand down to her level. She licked his palm making him flinch. She dragged the knife across his hand and then closed it tight into a fist. The blood dripped out quickly in the vial she held below.

Her smile grew wicked and crazed as the blood filled.

"You fucking idiots."

The blonde hissed and stepped back.

Ophelia looked to see Oliver walking down the road. She swooned seeing him in a white dress shirt open slightly at the top revealing a lot more tattoo and faded jeans. He wore his same weird loafers but somehow they made the outfit look classy. She looked up from his chest, and tattoos that teased her from beneath his white shirt, to see an angry face.

"Give him back his blood."

His English accent wasn’t helping Ophelia focus.

Oliver looked at Sam's hand over hers and growled, "Give him back the fucking blood witch."

His gaze could have ripped Sam apart, "You never give your blood to anyone freely you idiot. She could control you."

The dark haired witch smirked, "Dark brother what say we share them. You can have the girl and we take the Siren. No one needs to know."

Oliver took a step toward her. The confused look on her face spoke volumes. She was doing magic on Oliver but it wasn’t working.

He snatched the blood vial from her hands. She quickly licked at the spilled blood. It was disgusting to see."

Sam looked calm but Ophelia knew he would be freaking out if he could feel anything. She was freaking out. Oliver angry was hot and scary. She couldn’t take the situation seriously. Between Sam and Oliver she was a mess. She noticed the other witches were the same though. They seemed to be affected as she was.

They were more than taken with Sam. They were desperate to have him and his blood.

Oliver shot daggers at Sam, "The castle."

He never even got the sentence out and the three of them were standing in the front foyer of Giselle's.

Ophelia looked at them, "We never got the secret."

Oliver seethed, "Are you trying to get yourselves killed. I told you to find them. Not to give them your blood."

Sam shrugged, "They wouldn’t give us the spell otherwise."

Oliver raised an eyebrow, "That would be why I said wait till I could take you."

"What is going on? Why is he not chained up?"

Oliver burst out laughing at Aimee's confused face, "You don’t really believe those stupid chains would hold me do you. I came here to help and that’s what I'm trying to do. If you can stay alive long enough for me to be of some help." Oliver stormed off into the mansion.

Aimee watched him walk past, "He let us think that would hold him? Where have you two been?"

Sam looked at Hanna walking up to them, "Trying to fix my little problem."

Ophelia felt defeated, "We never found out the end of the spell Sam. I can't do it."

Sam looked at her, "We scry."

He continued to hold her hand and dragged her down the hallway. If she didn’t know any better he was feeling something. He seemed annoyed or defeated.

He dragged her to her room and started lighting candles. She dug out the purple bag where she kept the scrying plate. The bag that kept it had to be purple for protection. She thought maybe white, but Annabelle laughed at her and handed her the purple bag.

She placed it on the table where the chairs were by the fireplace. Sam closed the curtains and flashed in front of her with a glass of water. She poured the water and knelt before the plate. She let her mind clear. Oliver attempted at climbing into her thoughts but she pushed him away. When her mind was blank the bottom fell away from the scrying plate. She watched the water start to churn. The waves grew and started lapping over the edges of the plate, spoiling onto the wooden table. A mist covered the plate, as if hiding the answers from her. She blew the mist aside to reveal a crystal clear picture.

Three women sat in a small clearing. They looked up to a full moon. One woman pulled a small blade from a sheet she had wrapped with tools in it. She dragged the knife across each of the other people's hands and poured them into a goblet. She poured red wine into the goblet and cut her own hand. She squeezed her hand over the goblet. She dragged the bloody hands against each other and squeezed. Blood droplets fell onto a red pillow.

They each took a turn with drinking from the glass. The flames of the candle rose with every sip of the goblet of blood and wine. The woman with the knife placed the knife on the red pillow and wrapped it up again. She lifted the package up and walked away from the two women sitting in the clearing.

The picture turned dark and fuzzy for a moment. Then it showed the woman holding the wrapped sheet with the pillow and the knife. She was in a dark cloak with her head down. She walked with purpose while trying to remain hidden. She looked around as she walked to a window of a house on the side of a street. Inside of the window a young man and woman were kissing and holding a baby.

She watched them for a moment and then took the sheet to the front door of the house. She knocked at the door and placed the sheet on the ground. She ran and hid in the shadows. The man came to the door and opened it. He looked around and picked up the sheet. She unwrapped it to find the knife and the pillow. Suddenly he looked lost. He looked back at the door and closed it. He walked away from the house carrying the pillow and the knife. He left his wife and his baby. Ophelia knew that was what was happening. The water went choppy again.

"We have to sacrifice a happy love to save you."

"What?"

"The secret is that we have to take the things we use for the spell and leave them for an innocent couple to find and ruin their love."

She looked back at Sam who nodded and flumped into the chair next to her, "Christ. That’s bleak. Whose lives do we chose?"

She shook her head, "No clue."

She watched him, "You know you will love me though right?"

He looked at her, "I'd rather love you, even if you don’t feel the same, than be this. I feel nothing beyond a bit of confusion or frustration at times." He ran a hand through his hair making it spiky. She smiled at him. She could think of far worse fates than Sam being madly in love with her forever.

"When is the full moon?"

He blinked at her, "Tonight."

She laughed, "Of course it is."

"What do we need?"

She shrugged, "Knife, goblet, sheet, red pillow, me, you, and Hanna."

He nodded, "I'll get everything. Meet you back here?"

She shook her head, "The big rock garden."

He was gone before he could answer. She felt empty. She wasn’t sure why.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Sam

"I need you."

Hanna looked up at him, she almost smiled for a second but then stopped herself. She rose from the chair fluidly.

"For what?"

He felt his gaze grow serious, "How much do you love me? Like for real love?"

She nodded, "More than anything."

"Would you sacrifice our love to fix me? It's part of the solution."

She paused before she nodded, "I would."

He put his hand out for her to take. She took it and they were in the rock garden outside instantly.

She looked confused. He squeezed her hand.

"Hey." He walked pulling her along to where Ophelia sat with a blanket.

She looked miserable, "Hey." She looked at their hands together. Sam dropped Hanna's hand and sat down.

Hanna sat down on the blanket. She looked at them both, "What's the plan?"

Ophelia swallowed hard, "I am going to take the bond from you both, you have to give it to me willingly."

Hanna frowned, "What will you do with it?"

Ophelia squirmed, "Repair it."

"Then?"

"Then I keep it. Sam will be matched to me. Only one sided but at least he will have all his emotions back."

Hanna looked down, "Will he ever get over you?"

Ophelia shrugged, "I don’t know."

Hanna looked up at Sam and nodded back a tear, "Lets do it."

Sam knew all of it was far more than she deserved to suffer. She hadn’t done anything that wrong. The image of the man groping her bothered him still but it didn’t seem like the big deal he's made it. Her words burned inside of him but it too wasn’t the do all end all of the world. He wished he could take it all back.