Witch (The Devil's Roses 4)

“You smell like him.”

Sam bit his bottom lip to stop the sarcastic shitty comments from flying from his mouth. She was vulnerable and afraid. He needed to remember that.

She opened her grey eyes and smiled, “I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, “I get it. We’ve been through a lot, Ari and the messing around on your memories and Ben and Aleks. I’m just grateful that we have each other."

“I guess. I just wish it was all easier you know?”

“Aimee you need to be honest with him. His life is short. He needs to be able to move on. It’s hard to hear it right now but it will get better with time.”

A hurt look crossed her face, “I’m just so scared to make the wrong choice. One side of me wants Shane, just like the other side of me wanted Aleks.”

He sighed, “Okay this is going to sound brutal and harsh but you need it. You broke Aleks's heart and then he died. You can't say you wish you'd made another choice. The choice you made is over. There is no getting that time back. Aims you have enough on your plate. Worrying about the life of a human is a big one to add to that. You’ve got like three humans to worry about.”

“Four."

He raised an eyebrow, "Four?"

"Blake isn’t evil. I know him. He isn’t doing this on purpose.”

He didn’t want to touch that one with a mile long pole. She had a hard time being wrong.

He nodded and smiled.

“Want to go kill shit?”

He laughed, “What?” He wondered if she'd listened to anything he'd said.

Her demon smile crossed her lips, “I know someone who deserves a visit from us.”

He felt his stomach rumble, “I’m hungry. Can we eat first?” He shivered remembering what she did the last time she was angry. She had pulled the soul so violently that blood had shot from the person and splattered everywhere. Lucas had loved it but Sam had nearly thrown up. Lucas had been calling him Nancy ever since.

“You go ahead and eat. I’m saving my appetite for later.”

He scrunched up his nose, “You have that look. The one where people bleed everywhere.”

She laughed bitterly, “They taste better scared. I so get what Dorian’s deal is with it. He likes them afraid before he does it too.”

“Dealers are disgusting. I’m a lover not a fighter.” He stood and lifted her up to her feet.

“Yeah whatever. Every time we go anywhere we learn another new talent of yours.” Her eyes turned serious again, “Thanks for letting me miss him.”

Sam shrugged, “You let me love Hanna and obsess about her and even talked me out of trying to kill Marcus.”

She pointed at him, “That would have been a mistake. You would have died.”

“Aleks would be alive instead of me. It would have been better that way.”

Her words were a whisper in the night air, “Never say that Sam. He wouldn’t want it that way. He was better than us all.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ophelia

“You new?”

Ophelia looked up from the picture she couldn’t take her eyes off, to see the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life. She was exotic.

The girl frowned, “You speak English?”

Ophelia laughed, “Sorry. Been a long day. Yeah I guess I’m new.”

The girl smiled, making her face so stunning Ophelia almost had to look away, “Oh cool. I’m Giselle.” She sighed and slumped into the chair beside her at the huge table.

“I’m Ophelia.”

“What flavor are you?” She twirled her hair and raised her perfectly manicured eyebrows.

Ophelia looked deeply into her dark eyes, “Is that a trick question?” She nearly felt lost.

Giselle looked at her and smiled dreamily, “No. You make me feel funny. I meant what kind of monster are you?”

"Monster? You mean like the wolf and the ghost?"

Giselle smiled just as bright white fangs dropped out of the plump lips.

“AHHHH OH MY GOD!” Ophelia jumped up and backed away from the table, "Oh my god. Oh my god. What are you?"

Giselle put her hand up to her lips covering them, as if she was ashamed, “Oh thnap thorry. Thtupid fangth. They’re like a dude’th thingy. They jutht pop up randomly.”

Ophelia grimaced, “What? What? Oh my god? What thingy? You mean… oh my god.”

She was backed against the counter completely, but still trying to back away.

Giselle laughed, “I’m not like gay or anything. I mean not yet. Dorian thaid I might get bored, eventually. I gueth he had thith like phathe. Anyway. Uhm yeah. Thorry. The blood rushed there and then they came. Give it a minute and they’ll go away again. You just thmell so good.”

Ophelia shook her head, completely confused, “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

She pointed to her face, “The fangth make my ethh thound funny. I can't thay all the wordth. Like thally and thue and thorry and thupid. It’th the fangth.”

Ophelia started to laugh, “I know what the words are I just don’t know what you mean. I’m-err-not-a-err monster.”

Giselle walked toward her and focused her dark eyes intently and spoke in a creepy voice slowly, “Look into my eyeth and hear my voith. You will remember nothing that I thay. You didn’t thee my fangth.”

“Giselle, dear what are you doing?” Lydia walked in to the kitchen holding the album she had promised to show Ophelia.

Giselle sighed and put her hands over her eyes, “She’th a normal girl. She thaw my fangth.”

“She’s a witch honey. You’re fine.”

Giselle glared at Ophelia, “Not a monthter?”

She shrugged and took a step toward the table again, "It still hasn’t been proven."

“This is Giselle. Obviously she is a vampire. Not nearly as scary as one would expect.” Lydia rolled her eyes at the frowning beauty.

Giselle hissed at her, making Ophelia jump slightly. She laughed and walked over to the chair again. Her fangs vanished after a few seconds. She sighed as she sat in the chair at the end of the table.

Lydia opened the huge dusty old album, filled with grainy black and white photos.

“This is the only set of pictures ever taken of your mother. You see, you are identical to her in every way.”

She couldn’t believe what she saw. It was as if she stared at herself in an old white gown. It was the woman in the snow globe.

"Where is this picture taken?" She touched the picture. It seemed older than Lydia.

"She got away once. The picture was taken at a Rose residence in Italy."

‘Mother’

Ophelia looked back to see the six balls of light. She frowned and looked at Lydia, who frowned at the balls.

“How is it that they follow you?”

“I don’t know. Who are they?”

Lydia raised an eyebrow at her, “You don’t speak to them?”

She shook her head, feeling the blood drain from her face, “They only arrived after the Ouija board incident. Very frightening actually. They just started yelling at me and I’m pretty sure at one point they froze Jake. I think they’re evil.”

Lydia laughed, “They look exactly like you firstly and secondly no evil may enter my home. Just like your home was, I presume.”

Giselle, who had been tapping her toes annoyingly, sighed again, “Lydia I need to ask you something.”

Lydia looked impatiently at her, “This is really important Giselle. She has weeks before she must face her father.”

Ophelia’s head spun. “What? You know where my parents are? Do you know where my sister is? No one will tell me anything about her.”

Lydia shook her head, “Not the humans, but I know where your real parents are dear.”

Giselle made an exasperated noise and walked from the room annoyed, "Fine whatevs."

“Sweetie I will chat with you in a minute. I need to sort this out before she has an aneurism.”

Giselle waved a hand in the air and rounded the corner out of sight.

Lydia rolled her eyes, “Look dear your parents are different like the rest of us. We sort of need you to get up to speed immediately. This is your mother. The blue balls of light are your sisters and your father is a very bad man.”

Ophelia shook her head, “Who are the people who raised me?” Her chest was tight. She couldn’t draw a full breath.

“No clue. Not important people to our cause.”

O felt the white-hot rage fill her instantly, “THEY’RE IMPORTANT TO ME DAMMIT! I NEED TO FIND MY SISTER!” White lightning shot from her fingertips across the kitchen. The lightning hit the cupboards above the sink and blew bits of wood everywhere. Ophelia ducked at the sound of the explosion.

Her fingers burned where the fire had come from them. She lifted a trembling hand up to her face, “Wha- what was that?”

“Bloody hell.” Lydia whispered, looking around at the wood particles floating in the air.

Annabelle poked her head through the massive hole in the wall where the cabinets and counter had been, “I be telling you. I be saying it. She be trouble. My guards can’t even keeps her magic in check. She aint even had her birthday yet. You bes asking for trouble.”

Ophelia watched as Lydia frowned at the ghostly maid, “Annabelle you have to help us. You swore an oath.”

Annabelle crossed her arms, “I aint helping and I aint teaching no demon witch how to kills nobody. Oath or no oath I's already dead. What's the Witch gonna do to me now? I's already in hell. You aint looked outside lately has you? No. Miss Lydia you gots bigger fish to fry. The guards is weakened from miss thang here and we be surrounded by a thousand of them fanged devils.”

Ophelia trembled, “How did-why-what am I? Did she say demon witch? Oh my god it's the Ouija board isn’t it. Someone has possessed me.” She looked at her fingers again, still in shock.