Witch {Book One} [UNEDITED]

XIX: Needles Safety Pins and Human Hearts

"BANDIT GAVEL LEE!" My eyes shot open at the sound of my name. Bright light flooded my vision, making every person in the room a blob of blurry colors. I thrust my palm to my temples and blinked several times. The blobs began to solidify and soon became people. Alice. Lucy. Sammy. Flynn. Simon. Thomason and Glitch. Gabriel. Jemma. Helena. Sammy was holding my hand. She seemed to be the one yelling my name.

I inhaled sharply, letting my hand fall to my side.

"What . . .?" I didn't even bother finishing my own question.

"Story time!" Gabriel clapped his hands together. A collection of groans arose from the room but they didn't seem to stop Gabriel. "Once upon a time you did the exact opposite of what you were supposed to do and now you're gonna die the end."

I stared blankly at the archangel who, in return, simply shrugged.

"What? The death threat told her to turn on the TV and Samantha dearest specifically told her not to turn the damned TV on and what did she do?!" He thrust a hand through his hair angrily. "Look, I may be an ex-protector of humans, but I emphasize on the word 'ex.' I'm not you're bloody bodyguard, Bandit. She said no TV. You watched the TV. Now you're gonna die." I tried to process the words but my head was throbbing too much for me to process anything at the moment.

I looked to Sammy for an explanation. She said nothing and looked away. When I looked away, Glitch was right in front of me, his face mere inches from mine. I jumped back, startled, and shot a glare at Thomason.

"When's your birthday?" Glitch asked, inching closer to me. I looked back at him, even more confused than before.

"Why the hell do you want to know when my birthday is?" I demanded, moving closer to Sammy to stay away from him.

"Because I want'a throw you a surprise party," he said sarcastically. "It's a life or death situation. When is your birthd--"

"In just over four weeks." I tried to be as vague as possible so he couldn't stalker-ishly hunt me down on the day.

Every one in the room exchanged a glance I couldn't read.

And then, if by some dark magic, my phone buzzed at an abnormally and unusually loud volume. I scrambled to my feet and snatched it off my nightstand before Glitch or Gabriel could take it. The room fell silent once more as I read the message from the blocked number.

"Bandit . . .?" Alice asked softly. I tore my eyes from the screen.

"What the hell is this?!" I demanded. "Which one of you sorry sonsofbitches sent me this?!" I reread the message over and over again, feeling panic rising in my chest. Sammy carefully took my phone from my shaking hands. I didn't stop her.

"Trial one," she read, "Then there's a picture of . . . holy shhh . . . That looks painful . . ." I registered that she had taken my phone and stole it back. I enlarged the picture and stumbled back at the sight. It was a photo of a girl wearing nothing but a flimsy white shift with her dark black hair in a thick braid over her shoulder. I knew in an instant Sammy wasn't talking about the human heart the girl was holding in her frail hands when she said that the image looked painful; she was talking about the large red-liquid filled needles hanging from her ears and her mouth pinned shut with safety pins. I closed the picture just as another message popped up: Two days to eat a human heart with your lips pinned closed and Dragon Blood in yours ears.

I dropped my phone and stumbled back. "Who th' hell sent this?!" I started breathing heavily, unable to keep myself calm. My tongue drifted to my lips, the tip of it touching the backs of my piercings. My hands then flew to my ears. Dragon Blood was a potion Wiccans and witches often used in spells and for rituals. It was incredibly toxic unless used in small--very small--dosages. Judging by the picture, I would not be intoxicating myself with very small dosages. Maybe 200 milliliters per needle if I was lucky.