Chapter 34

Unlimited betrayal.



I was too frozen by shock to move. I stared at her for several moments going over and over what she said.
She kept staring back at me with a smile; my startled reaction didn't seem to surprise her. My energy rush was immediate, lighting up my adrenaline, thrumming through the air. I had enough strength to hit back, to fight. Tron might not have taught me a lot, but I had enough skill to defend myself. Except I wanted to know the real truth.
"Tron? He used to be your teacher?" I asked.
Elvira didn’t respond straight away.
"Yes, when I was really, really young and I didn't understand myself. When I turned thirteen he left, claiming that his job was done, and I didn’t need him anymore," she explained, annoyed. "I came to London knowing that you lived here. It took me months to finally get closer to people who you knew. Of course, by that time, I had my little team behind me. Witches who had lost direction in life, witches who were hungry for power. These women felt betrayed by their men and associations. It was such a shame. Your friend Kate; she was so strong, so devoted to you."
A sudden shot of anger and fear stabbed me in the gut. Kate was dying because of me? Because the witch wanted to get to me?
"Kate is dying! What the hell did you do to her?" I shouted with fury, imagining what I could do to hurt this woman.
"Your friend Katie didn't want to help me. I approached her and offered to teach her, but she refused. In the end you’re either with me or against me. I really believed her blood was pure enough, that I could use her body in the ritual but then—"
"Bitch!" I roared, losing the last bit of control that held me away from her. A surge of powerful energy flew from me, but the lance of raw fire never reached her. I was lifted above the floor, feeling as if invisible hands were clenching my throat, burning my skin. Elvira held her magic wand. She snarled, creating a mass of blackness all around me. I couldn’t breathe, wheezing and panting for oxygen.
"The ritual didn't go as I planned. The powerful werewolf that I tried to bring back rebelled. Marcus fought with me, and although your friend was strong and powerful, her soul had drifted away when he cut the connection. A few nights later I had another opportunity, but I didn’t have the vessel." She paused, smiling to herself. "Can you imagine how lucky I was that night? Your own father showed up, tracking me down on the outskirts of town, interfering with my magic. I was so lucky, knowing that if I had him in my collection you would come more eagerly. I also thought that with an older paranormal the ritual would work."
She stopped talking and waved her magic, so the invisible hands loosened their grip on my throat. I inhaled loudly. Dad had probably been trying to arrest her, but I didn’t understand why he was on his own? Where was Stewart? My fear and anger had begun to settle down, but hatred rebounded again.
"Julia Taylor, half-breed. Who would have thought you would be the one? I had real trouble with you. I thought you would make it easy for me, but no… you wanted to help your little friend, running around the city and asking questions. It was hard to keep an eye on you. You came so close. That vampire in the club…he knew too much." Emily continued talking. Fear danced over the nape of my neck. I’d suspected that Shaun’s death wasn't accidental.
"The bouncer who worked for me killed him; he was going to ruin my plans and I wanted to stay anonymous for the time being. I had to have people everywhere," she said with a shrug.
I couldn’t reach for my source; my powers were gone. Emily waved her wand and the pressure below my eyelids eased a little. I had no control over my body, as I hung in mid-air fighting with her energy.
"And I needed more time to make sure that you, my dear, Julia, were ready for all that I planned for you."
"Ready for what?" I choked, wanting to know why she needed me so much. "You can do whatever you want with me, but just save Kate and my father. They don’t deserve to die."
She got up, moving her long skinny legs forward. I felt my magic crackling, vibrating on the surface, soaking the heavy air.
"Many paranormals believe that you’re very special, much more important than royals. You can give me what I want, what I’ve desired all my life. You’re the one who holds the power of immorality."
Emily had lost her mind. She was delusional. I was no one until Tron came and helped me with basic principles, teaching me a few useful spells. Maybe she had heard rumours from Craig when he was still alive.
"I'm mortal like everyone else. I can’t turn you into a vampire," I said, amused by her ridiculous statement. Sweat gathered on my forehead as I struggled to stay focused.
She didn’t like my response and narrowed her pale eyes. "Vampires are like dust; they have to feed to survive. It’s not that kind of immorality I want and need. Tron told me about another witch who had embraced it. He was the one who seeded the idea in my head."
“You’re pathetic. No one can live forever," I said, laughing. She couldn’t possibly think these rituals would help her to stay young for centuries. I had never heard anything more absurd. "I met your sister at her home in Wales…"
The witch roared, pressing her long skinny fingers to her skull. Her face stretched, revealing more scars, turning bright red.
"That life is behind me. I don’t have a sister. I studied dark magic, experimented and killed others to become the person I am today. Tron was going to be next but—"
For a split second I wondered if the woman in front of me was really Emily Bishop or Elvira. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t want to use her real name. Dark magic changed people. Twisted their minds and shifted the boundaries of what was right and wrong. She wasn't herself anymore, something or someone must have possessed her soul. She wasn't making any sense. Only vampires were immortal.
When I glanced back at her, she was calm again.
"I underestimated you, Julia. You were determined to help your friend. I needed to stay motivated and focused. Nathaniel gave me strength. I didn't trust him at first, you see, because of you. Wizards and other witches told me that you two used to be together."
My throat was so dry that I was struggling to swallow. Nathaniel had been helping her, but maybe she used her magic and he didn’t know what was going on. Even now, at the mercy of the witch, I was fighting with myself, trying to rationalise his betrayal. I had to stop treating him like he didn’t know about her.
She went silent for several minutes looking around the spacious kitchen, lost in her own thoughts. I was so buggered. There was no one who could help me. I used a magic spell earlier to mask the sounds of my break-in, so even humans wouldn't hear my screams. But I had to keep trying—this crazy bitch was the only living creature who could help Dad.
Then things in the kitchen began moving around, and I swallowed. Her power swept everything off the breakfast table. Pots, pans, glasses, papers, all smashed on the floor. The witch waved her wand, pinning her pale eyes on me. She moved me down and my body slammed on the bar. The pain didn’t register at first, knocking me out for a second or two. The soft aroma of lavender reached my nostrils and I blinked, registering her standing close. She was so ugly and deformed with greasy blond hair and sullen cheeks.
"Right, let’s begin," she whispered with a sweet and most creepy smile. For some reason I wasn't scared anymore. I was furious with my own stupidity, trying to play brave. I should have gone to Dannika and she would’ve been in custody by now.
The wind started whistling, blowing through the kitchen, and all the windows began to open. I tried to move my neck to see what she was doing, but my body was locked in place, muscles tight and unmovable. Emily Bishop wasn't the white witch anymore; now she was Elvira, the head of the coven, and was preparing herself for the final ritual. I waited for pain or something to happen, but the energy was drifting away. Then we heard the noise of a shutting door.
My pulse picked up and hope spiked my blood. I was lying flat on this bare wooden table, useless and unable to do anything, but someone else was in the house. Maybe I wasn't going to die.
"It appears that we have company," she muttered. “That's okay; he can stay and watch."
Then she disappeared from the kitchen. As soon as she left me alone I tried to move, hoping to break the spell. The bitch had woven her magic so deep into my system that it was impossible to do anything except lie there and stare at the ceiling. I heard another voice coming from the living room and considered screaming, but I doubted that her new companion would come to my rescue.
I heard a laugh, a very familiar one that made my stomach heave. Then all my emotions accumulated into a sinking realisation of crushing pain as Nathaniel walked in. His eyes automatically went to mine and he froze on the spot. His lips parted, knuckles whitened. Shock mixed with disbelief flickered through his face for a split second, before his face became expressionless.
Pain laced my voice, making it shrill. Agonising grief contorted the muscles of my body when I realised that I was part of my worst nightmare. Nathaniel didn’t move at all, he looked like he was completely frozen on the spot. Then, he exhaled, and his eyes moved around the kitchen.
"Elvira, why is my ex-girlfriend here?"
He sounded like he didn’t care, and the tone of his voice flared the dull pain in my numb limbs. I locked my eyes imagining what I could do to him.
My energy responded to me, accumulating inside, mildly aware of the new movement of energies in the space around us. I wasn't prepared to give up yet, especially now when my ex-boyfriend was here.
I darted my eyes away back to the ceiling, but I felt his hazel eyes burning through my whole body.
"Remember the perfect vessel that I mentioned a few times? Well, Julia has always been the one. She’s an extraordinary creature and this ritual that I'm just about to perform is going to make me immortal," she explained with the sweetest voice. Nathaniel was in his best suit and it looked like he had just finished work. I dared him to say anything to me. I was ready to spit in his face.
I didn’t want to see his reaction to her answer. This wasn't the end. Dad and Kate, they still had a chance.
"Julia? She can’t be the one. She’s useless with magic. She can’t even cast a simple memory spell, Elvira. Look at her," Nathaniel stated coldly with a gesture that was supposed to prove that I wasn't worth her time. My heart burst, but I kept swallowing my tears. There was no way I was going to cry in front of those two.
"I don’t think you know her as well as you thought you did, darling. My old teacher believed that she’s gifted, and Tron was one of the strongest elves on earth."
Nathaniel started laughing, shaking his head.
"Elvira, I admire your determination and effort, but I think you made a mistake. She’s a half-breed."
I finally looked back at him then with so much hatred that I wished I could burn him. Nathaniel still kept calling her Elvira. I didn’t understand what his deal was. From the paperwork in his apartment he knew that her real name was Emily Bishop.
The witch circled around me waving her magic wand softly. My shirt was moving, exposing my stomach. Goosebumps appeared all over my skin. Elvira was standing over me, smiling.
“You've got to trust me on this, Nathaniel. She knew that Roger was recruiting witches in your factory. She followed him to our last meeting. She isn’t useless," Elvira observed, frowning.
Nathaniel stood silently on the other side of the table, his hands in his pockets. His eyes darkened. Elvira picked up something from the kitchen counter and my heart stopped.
Twisted images from the park flashed in front of me and my stomach revolted. Elvira had a long kitchen knife in her perfectly manicured hand. All of a sudden, I understood why she had exposed my stomach and the earth opened up beneath me. I didn’t want to end up like the others, in bits, butchered into little pieces.
Nathaniel paled, his throat moved, and he swallowed, watching his new girlfriend. He obviously still cared about me, but why? Why, when she was just about to slash me open?
“Let's begin," she whispered. I focused all my energy on getting the hell out of there. I knew that I was strong and could fight her, but so far this spell was unbreakable.
She lowered the knife and pressed it sharply to my stomach, and she began slicing my skin, not even preparing me for her movement. Pain exploded, and I screamed, covered with cold sweat. I was so screwed.