Becoming A Witch (Raya Book 1)

Chapter 20

     Shane felt his heart squeeze at the nonchalant way she just said it. So matter of factly. Like the sky is blue, ice is cold, I'm going to kill him.

     "No," was all he could get his mind to process. The only thing he was capable of saying. How could she think that she could go up against Demetri? Did she not learn anything from what he told her? Did she not learn anything from their last encounter? He was far too powerful for her to try and go up against him! For anyone to go up against him. Not even the council would have dared cross him. Or at least he didn't think they were so foolish.

     Raya shot a look at him. One that said watch me!

     Shane shook his head vigorously. "Raya," he said, now standing up. He began walking toward her. "You can't kill him. He is more powerful than you could ever imagine. Before you could do anything, he would have your heart ripped from your chest. Raya, he-" Shane was now standing in front of her his hands ached to reach across the inches that parted them. His arms burned to wrap her up in them. His body craved hers pressed against it. "Raya, he will not allow you to survive."

     Raya sighed with exacerbation. "Shane, I'm not going to rush into this," she pointed out. "Obviously, I need a plan first. I'm not completely suicidal."

     This time he did reach out for her, grasping her by her upper arms. He looked deep into those dark blue eyes. Even though they were at odds with each other, he still felt her pulling him in. He saw her eyes begin to lighten, but they hadn't yet begun to glow.

     "Raya," he began. However, Shane couldn't put into words what he needed most to say. Instead he pulled her in close. He wrapped her up in his arms and held onto her as if his very existence depended on it.

...

     Raya spent nearly a month figuring things out now that she'd figured that she'd have to go up against Demetri. She spent each second of free time she had honing her gift. All the while Raya became used to seeing the stray dog lounging on the front porch.

     Shane had called him a familiar, but she wasn't all that sure what that meant. She'd done some research on the internet to figure it out, but just like vampire lore, there were so many conflicting stories about witches. She wished there was another witch that she could speak to, and get accurate information; just like she did with Shane about vampires.

     She'd asked Mavis: who she found out was a healer, as many questions she could. But even though Mavis was able to heal people, that was pretty much the extent of her abilities. Mavis wasn't technically a witch, so she didn't have a familiar, therefore, she couldn't answer more than what Shane, and the internet had already told her.

     The clicking sound of the dog's nails on the thin slab of cement under her front window broke the daze Raya found herself in. Those seemed to happen more and more often recently. Raya stood and walked over to the window and peeked through to see why he was suddenly pacing. What she saw was the animal control truck parked on the curb in front of her house. She didn't notice anyone in the truck.

     The dog let out a low whine that set Raya's instincts on high alert.

     She knew that he was important, even if she didn't know why, or even how. That was one point that all agreed upon. A witches familiar is tied to her life force somehow. So, Raya opened the door and let the dog rush in. She shut the door quickly and slid the lock into place. She knew that pets were able to sense danger far before humans could, and chose to follow his example.

     Maybe she was just overreacting, but she needed to make sure. Raya went into her phone and clicked on Officer Randolf's phone number. She peeked out of the window again, to see the truck at the curb. Randolf knew the animal control guys personally, maybe he could figure out what was going on. Maybe they were there for something else entirely and she was just really paranoid.

     One could only hope.

     "Officer Randolf." Raya felt a surge of relief when he answered his phone, even if he sounded so professional on the other end.

     "Hey, its Raya, you said I could call you-if-" She began to second guess herself. Maybe she shouldn't have bothered him.

     "Raya," he exclaimed. "Of course. What may I help you with?"

     "Oh, I just," Raya paused. She took in a deep breath. "I feel so silly. It may be nothing."

     Officer Randolf urged her on, "Raya, whatever it is, please, just let me know."

     "The animal control truck is outside, but I didn't call them." Raya pressed on, "I was wondering if you could tell me if maybe someone else did? I'm not really sure why they would be in my front yard."

     "Of course, just hang on a minute." She thought that she heard a whimsical note in his words, and hoped that she was over reacting. Raya waited patiently as he checked it out. She could hear broken noises in the background as his radio went off now and again with other officers voices. "Raya, I just checked, and there shouldn't be anyone in the area." The whimsy was replaced with a more curt, business like tone. Raya felt her heart skip a beat with the sudden change. "It looks like everyone that has been dispatched is nowhere near your side of town. Do you recognize who it is in the truck?"

     "Well, that's the thing," Raya said, she could feel her pulse begin to pick up pace. "I don't see anyone. Just the truck."

     "Stay inside. I'm on my way." He didn't bother with pleasantries. He just disconnected from his side.

     Raya tucked her phone in the back pocket of her plaid Bermuda shorts and moved away from the window. She looked down at the dog and couldn't help herself when she said, "So what do you want anyway?"

     He huffed his answer and looked again at the window.

     Raya's breath became slower, deeper. She felt her blood thicken in her veins. She could almost hear it rushing inside of her ears. Bum bum, bum bum. She was shocked to realize her pulse was so steady. Her nerves fairly sizzled with anxiety. She looked over at the window, but didn't dare go near it. She was sure that if she did, there would be someone on the other side that she didn't want to see.

     A tapping began on the side door at the opposite end of the kitchen. She could see a shadow in the frosted four pane window on the upper part of the door. Raya didn't say a word. She didn't move. She didn't even breathe.

     The dog began a low growl deep in his throat. He lowered his body, as if he was readying himself to lunge across the house.

     Raya stood frozen as she waited for another tap. She was so focused on the shadow, that she didn't see the flash of reflected sunlight across the window. She didn't hear the closing of a door. She didn't notice the scrape of shoes on the cement pathway up to the door.

     The phone in her pocket buzzed as it alerted her of a new text message. Raya let out a yelp with the sudden interruption.

3:16 pm

I'm going around the house first. Stay inside.

     Raya breathed a sigh of relief. She reached down and touched the top of the dog's head. "It's gonna be fine. We have help here now." She was still afraid, so she used a low voice, almost a whisper when she was talking to the dog. 

     Raya watched the shadow at the side door move, and disappear. A moment later she saw another shadow pass by. Just a few heartbeats passed before there was a firm knock on the door.

     "Raya," the familiar sound of Officer Randolf's voice called. "It's Colton, may I come in?"

     Raya rushed to the door, she swung it open, and stepped aside. 

     Officer Randolf stepped into the house. Raya closed the door and again slid the deadbolt into place before turning her attention to the officer. The look on his face made her realize something was amiss.

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