Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The coven gathered in the ritual room located in my Grandma's secret basement. We all stood around the table in the center in our hooded robes, with the cowls over our heads. In addition to the regular coven members, my mom and Krista were also in attendance, sitting next to each other in the corner.

The candles lit and circle cast, Grandma was preparing to speak the blood spell.

Vance stood to my left, in between Babs and me. He seemed slightly anxious, which I chalked up to nerves. He'd been reintroduced to several people who were technically strangers to him and was now about to receive their memories.

That should be reason enough for someone to feel out of sorts, I told myself. I needed to quit fretting over his every thought and expression unless I wanted to drive both me, and him, crazy.

Thoughts drifting, I absently became aware of Grandma reciting the spell, and I noticed a crystal bowl in her hands. Her words were in a foreign tongue—Irish perhaps—and she spoke low, slow, and rhythmic.

"Scaoileadh mo chuid cuimhní cinn; dóibh pas a fháil dó. Scaoileadh mo chuid cuimhní cinn; dóibh pas a fháil dó. Scaoileadh mo chuid cuimhní cinn; dóibh pas a fháil dó."

Placing the dish in front of her, she picked up her athame, lifting it so the flat side of the tip rested against her temple. "Release my memories," she whispered. Removing the knife, she pricked her index finger. A drop of blood welled up and she squeezed it into the bowl before she slid it to the right, in front of my dad.

Vance fidgeted restlessly beside me, and I wondered again why he seemed so nervous, but I was soon caught back up in the ritual, watching as my dad followed the same procedure before he passed the crystal on to Babs.

She did the same, poking herself with her knife until a large drop of blood fell off her fingertip into the glass bowl.

Suddenly Vance's hand shot out, grabbing Babs by the wrist, yanking her hand under his hood.

Babs released a sharp-pitched scream of pain. "Ahhhhhhhhh!"

A sizable squirt of blood sprayed from under Vance's cloak, pumping out into the room, and suddenly it seemed like everything moved in slow motion.

My dad reached out for Babs, just as I jerked hard against Vance's robe, tearing it away and exposing him. Heart sinking, I couldn't believe the sight in front of me.

Two of Babs's fingers were missing, bitten off down past the second knuckles. Vance quickly placed his mouth over the damaged area, drinking the blood spraying from the wound, his face contorting like a mask of evil straight out of one of my nightmares. Eyes glowing bright red, his brow slightly furrowed, and two small bumps resembling horns appeared near his hairline.

"He's a demon!" Grandma shouted, sending a burst of power toward him, attempting to knock him away from Babs, who was still screaming.

Vance didn't even flinch when the shock hit, absorbing it with ease, while my dad desperately tried to pull Babs from his strong grip.

Reacting swiftly, I did the first thing that popped into my head, jumping onto Vance's back, and hitting him violently.

"Stop it, Vance!" I yelled, pounding on him as I tried to bring him back to reality.

Chaos ensued as the others in the room scrambled, trying to get around the table to help, each of them firing an onslaught of magic at him. He didn't even seem to notice their attack—not one bit of their magic deterring him in the least.