58: You're Fair Game Now, Witch

Gretchen doesn’t have a problem letting me off early since I’m nearly at the shop from open to close everyday. And she’s pleased with my progress of reading palms and my two happy clients. I don’t leave too early though and apparently barely any time to get ready before Avery shows up to whisk me away.

“I know, I know, I’m early. Don’t get mad, but I thought you were going to flake out on me and I came here to get you ready or stalk down to Mystic Moon and drag you out of work.” She chimes from out in the hallway. My repellant even keeps her from entering.

“Well, come on in.” Pretending to be normal and okay is easier said than done. But Avery skips inside and dresses me up as if I were a doll and I let her.

A pair of jeans and a nice blouse matched with a necklace and some wedges, I’m officially ready to go. Avery on the other hand is made up to the nines with a short dress and too high, high heels.

Avalos and Quinn are to meet us there since Avery took it upon herself to be babysitter. They, of course, are already there seated at a table close to the bar by time we arrive. We join them in awkward silence. Everyone is afraid to say something to trigger me.

Avalos raises his glass filled to the brim with beer, “I suggest we make a toast to the horrible future filled with asshole blood suckers. May they one day go to hell.”
Quinn and Avery quickly meet his glass and I follow not far behind. The click is loud, but apparently only to my ears as the surrounding bodies don’t pay us an ounce of attention.

“So what the hell is next? Are witches going to be coming out?” Quinn asks no one in particular, but I know it’s aimed at me.

Let’s hope not, I say to myself. I wouldn’t be surprised though if it did happen. Phillip had the help of a coven and it’s bound to get out that witches assisted him.
Our food takes some time to arrive due to the overcrowdedness of the restaurant. When it does arrive, I pick at it more than actually eating it. What little I do eat is tasteless. I’m nearly done when I hear the chipper voices of a group of young girls arriving behind us. Their voices are loud and clear.

“He was so hot.” “I’d date a vampire any day.” “That blonde one next to him, OMG. Bite me now.”

Avery and Quinn’s eyes go straight to me. The look of sympathy in their gazes makes me sick. They’re referring to Gabriel, at least the one was. “Hazel.” Avery’s low, sweet voice barely breaks through all the rambling thoughts in my head, all the rambling thoughts of everyone around us.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” I’m not even sure if it answers a question she asked that I may or may not have missed but I’m so used to saying it that it just comes out. But, this time I take an unnecessarily deep breath giving away the fact that I’m not fine. I become incredibly uncomfortable in my scarf. I break the silence that fills the table. The words just blurt out of my mouth. “You know what, I think I’m gonna head home.”

“Hazel.” Avery whines.

“Are you sure?” Avalos asks. Quinn adds, “do you want us to walk with you?”

“No. Enjoy your night. It’s just a little too much right now for me.” I stand up from my chair, look each of them in the eye, “may our toast one day come true.” I grab my still full wine glass and chug it.

At first they’re speechless after watching me drink a full glass of wine in less than a minute. It takes a couple seconds afterwards for they’re heads to nod vigorously agreeing with me. While others are oohing and ahhing over vampires, we’re part of the very few that know their true intentions. But it seems that some are already unknowingly on board. I back away from the table with a small smile to my lips and start the walk back to my apartment.

I’m nearly a block from the complex when a pair of footsteps match my pace from behind me. The streets suddenly seem empty as the footfalls echo behind me. My heart matches the thump, thump, thump of our feet. It all flashes back. Gabriel following me home from Young & Restless.

I whip around ready to face off against him only to face an empty sidewalk. My mind must be playing tricks on me again. I turn around heart pounding, all the blood rushing to the top of my head as I take a step forward only to come to a stop.

“Hello little witch.”

“Felix.” I try my hardest to keep my voice calm, but it cracks giving away my fear.

“It’s nice to see you again...unaccompanied.” He begins to circle me, his eyes roaming over my body. “I saw Phillip and Gabriel on TV and was surprised to not see you there with them. Their prized witch.”

“My business with Phillip is done.”

“And Gabriel?” Felix asks. I pause and in that pause Felix gets all he needs. “I see.” He says taking a step closer to me. His hand hovers just above my cheek, the heat from his skin is off putting. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Evangeline is, do you?” His fingers graze my face, the slight burn of a sunburn is left behind. “You can tell me.”

“I can’t help you. I don’t know.” I take a giant step back trying to escape the heat from his body that’s starting to smother me. “Go speak with the actual coven or Phillip or Gabriel. I’m not with them anymore.” As soon as the words leave my mouth I regret them.

“That’s too bad.” Felix says as his hand flicks out catching my bare arm, immediately searing it in his grasp.

My legs nearly cumple from underneath me as the pain runs through my entire body. I try to escape with everything I have. Kicking and screaming and clawing, but nothing helps. His hand burns through layer upon layer of skin. My mind frazzled in agony, I mutter a single word, barely audible. “Bind.”

Unlike the bind that Brooklynn used on Evangeline, my bind doesn’t bring Felix to his knees. It just freezes him in place with his hand still firm around my arm. I wiggle in his grasp, but his fingers are still tightly clutching onto me. I exhale praying for internal strength.

I grab his index finger and pry it back, burning my fingers in the process. I pry the next one and the next and the next one. I let my anger get the best of and I twist his pinkie so aggressively that I hear it snap.

His eyes light up with pain, but he’s unable to speak, to let out a howl of rage. As quickly as I can, I slide my arm out. Even after all my work, his fingers still aren’t far enough back and his fingertips graze my already severely burned arm. A whimper escapes my lips seconds before I let out an exhale of relief. Freedom.

There’s no time to celebrate my victory, because Felix is fighting with all his power against my spell. He jerks with a twinge of his elbow, a skid of his foot, a bend of his knee. It won’t hold for long.

I run down the street ignoring the pain that weakens my legs. The second I step into the complex, I hear him bellow, “You’re fair game now, Witch.”

I jog up the stairs, slam the door open and quickly close it. I stare dumbstruck at the flimsy piece of wood waiting for his pounding footsteps to come up the hall, his heavy fist to strike the door but nothing comes. Did he not follow me? I rush to the window and peer down into the street. My blood freezes as I spot him across the way on the sidewalk.

He runs the index finger on his good hand across his throat sending me a silent message. Great. I ditch the vampires to gain demons.

I retreat from the window and stumble into several pieces of furniture. An end table, the arm of a chair. I nearly collapse on the kitchen table as the adrenaline wears off and the pain seeps in. With shuffling, slow steps, I drag myself to bed. I just need to sleep it off.

I drop face down on the bed, legs hanging off the edge and pass out.