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“That’s right, Sarah—you’re the one! The only one!”
“The Natural Witch!”
“I knew she would come!”
“I knew she could do it!”
Suddenly the air around me was full of voices—the voices of all the Pruitt women—all the witches who had come before me. I heard them and I felt them. They were here to witness this event—it was something they had waited for, in some cases for centuries.
I squeezed even harder, feeling all the pain and fear and heartache of every one of my ancestors, going back eleven generations. This was for them as much as it was for me. For hundreds of years Milas James had tormented my family but no more—never again!
“Never again!” I said aloud and squeezed so hard the tendons stood out on the underside of my wrist and my fist ached.
There was a sudden high-pitched shrieking that drilled through my head like a siren and then I felt a wet pop—the same thing you feel when you squeeze a water balloon too tightly and it bursts.
The black writhing slug thing being held by the magic hand suddenly exploded, bursting into chunks and writhing tentacles the consistency of JELL-O. They slid from the glowing hand’s grasp and landed in the water with wet plops. As I watched, they were carried away by the stream, melting and dissolving as they went.
“She did it! I knew she could!” cheered my Grandma’s voice in my ear. And then I heard another familiar voice.
“Sarah, I’m so sorry.” It was my Mom and she sounded terribly sad. “So sorry, sweetheart. I should have believed in you. I shouldn’t have had you bound. I made your life so hard.”
I felt tears stinging my eyes.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I whispered. “I understand why you did it and I don’t blame you. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I felt something soft brush my cheek, like a feather-light kiss, and then I didn’t sense her spirit anymore.
“She can finally be at peace now,” whispered my Grandma’s voice. “We all can, thanks to you, my dear.”
“Are you leaving too?” I asked, looking around, though I knew I wouldn’t see her. “I miss you so much! I barely got to know you.”
“I’m planted firmly in the soil by my Heartmate, Morris,” she told me. “You’ll still hear me from time to time. But for now, I must go. You must see to your own Heartmate, my dear.”
And then her presence was gone too and I was alone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Iwas worried about Rath—worried that removing the spiky, slimy thing that had been Milas James had hurt him. But aside from being hoarse and having a scratchy throat, he seemed to have survived the experience of being possessed remarkably well. Physically, anyway. Emotionally, it was a whole different problem.
Not that he talked to me about it—he just withdrew. After coming back to himself, he made sure I was okay, his eyes lingering on my throat and my wrist where Milas James had used his body to grab and choke me. Then he had gone back to his own house without another word.
That had been three days ago.
At first, I figured Rath just needed some time to himself. I gave him space because—to be honest—I needed some time too. Sebastian and I were both kind of banged up.
I had been spending a lot of time on the couch cuddling my cat and thanking him for saving my life as I stroked his soft fur. He got a lot of tuna packed in oil and I had plenty of hot tea and more of my Grandma’s excellent vegetable soup. It was very soothing and healing.
At last I began to feel better. The black door was gone from my house and the upstairs hallway no longer ended in a corner. Milas James was gone for good—but the damage he had done lingered on. The damage to my relationship with my Heartmate, I mean.
After three days of not hearing from the big Orc, I was getting restless. Surely he must be feeling better by now? I hoped so, anyway.
“He’s probably mad at me,” I told Sebastian.
After all, it was my family curse that had gotten him possessed. It must have been a horrible experience and I wouldn’t be surprised or upset if he blamed me for it—well, not very upset, I amended to myself.
Previously, I had tried calling his cell phone and texting him, but he hadn’t answered and I didn’t persist because I didn’t want to push him. By the third day after the possession, though, I was fed up with waiting. If he wanted to break up with me, fine, but he needed to say so—in person. And since he wasn’t coming to me, I was going to go to him.
I spent most of the day making another one of my Grandma’s apple pies. I let it cool a little while I changed into a pretty blue dress that hugged my curves and complimented my eyes. Then I took the oversized pie and made my way across the lawn to Rath’s house.
