Witch {Book One} [UNEDITED]

XXIII: Safe House

"So. The famous Bandit was crucified." I stood up straight at the sound of Glitch's voice. He materialized in front of me.

"I hate it when you do that!" I exclaimed, speaking of his namesake talent.

"Sorry." He shrugged. "What's a glitch supposed to do? Anyways . . . It's been some time. Want me to un-crucify you?" I nodded, eager to get the damn nails out of my hands. He gripped one of the nails and yanked it free, stumbling back from the effort. He dropped the bloody nail and quickly ripped the other one out. Once the pain settled in, I swallowed back a scream and peeled myself from the wall.

"Good thing I ain't renting anymore," I muttered, examining the holes on my hands. They were both fairly large with dried blood crusting the edges. They reminded me of bullet wounds.

Glitch grinned at my commentary and it took all of my remaining effort to not kick him where the sun doesn't shine. Instead, I demanded that he help me bandage and clean my wounds. He did so without a single protest.

I led him to my bathroom and pulled my lighter and cigarettes from the top drawer. I lit one and stuck it between my lips before holding the box out to him. He shrugged and took one himself, not lighting it before putting it in his mouth. I watched in silence as he wrapped the bandages tightly around my palms, wincing only slightly as he pulled them tight and tied them off.

Once they were on, I pulled my cigarette from my lips and breathed out the smoke.

"Where's Tommy?" I asked, crossing my arms. He perked up slightly before slumping back down.

"Thomason? He's . . . He's busy with some . . . very important stuff . . ." Glitch raked a hand through his messy dark hair. "Cleaning Common and shit like that." I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. I could tell that Glitch was lying--only partly, though. Thomason probably was cleaning Common--everyone probably was--but there was more to it than just that.

I stuck my cigarette back in my mouth and pushed past Glitch and strode out of the bathroom.

When I got to Common the others were already there, talking in hushed voices. Besides the half empty pizza boxes stacked on the washing machines and the bottles of alcohol littered on the floor, Common was completely clean. There was no blood--only a faint pinkish color stained on the once white linoleum--and the lotus flowers were completely gone; the only ones left were the ones tattooed on all of us. The others saw me and stopped talking. Sammy, Helena, Flynn, and Simon were absent. So were Glitch and Thomason. And Jemma, but that was because I had unintentionally exorcised her.

I walked over to Lucy and sat on the plastic chair next to her, taking my cigarette and sticking it into the table to snuff it out. A bubble in the painted plywood formed under it.

Lucy looked at my hands and, saying nothing, passed me a bottle of whiskey and a box two thirds of the way empty of pizza. I took a long drink of the whiskey before eating the remainder of the pizza. I didn't quite remember how long I had been crucified, but I was starving.

"Okay, you're scarin' me," I said, taking another swig of whiskey. "Why are y'all suddenly so quiet and why the hell are y'all staring at me like I've been possessed?"

There was even more silence.

Finally, Alice spoke: "We . . . We have a few problems . . ." I raised an eyebrow, unamused but still intrigued enough to listen. Alice took a deep breath and made eye contact with everyone (except for me) before continuing. "Samantha . . . she told us about your death threat before leaving with the other Horsemen for Baton Rouge not that long ago. They said they'd be back soon--within the next few days. But Bandit . . . You ain't the only one gettin' death threats . . . Thomason . . . Hell, the poor kid . . . He's in the hospital right'n now. The Hell Hounds almost got 'im. Glitch saved 'is life, but barely." My eyes widened and I nearly choked on the alcohol in my throat. I set the bottle down, trying to process what she had just said. I was doing exactly what Ada wanted. Why would she send the Hell Hounds out already? And why to Thomason?!