Chapter 3

Elly

They couldn’t get back to the church fast enough. Every sharp turn and detour Jonah took made Elly’s body scream with pain. The car was hadn’t come to a full stop before she was out the door and moving toward her room. At the back of the church in a room used for storage, she had just enough room a small bed and a chest of drawers for what few clothes she had. She closed the door behind her. Staring at it for a moment wishing it didn’t lock from the outside.

She reached under her pillow and pulled out her family’s grimoire. She had been trying to piece together a plan for years. Everything she needed to know was in that book. Just like everything else in her life, the answers were just out of reach. The book was spelled to only react to Elly’s magic. Magic she could not use. She flipped through the pages hoping for something, anything. The pages remained blank aside from the drawing of herbs and their description of their uses. The only magic anyone could use regardless of how much power they possess. She was too depleted from the day for anything useful to show up. Stupid Darren draining extra power from her.

She fell back onto her bed and curled up. She was just so tired. How was she supposed to think when she was always so tired. there was a tugging inside her urging her to get up and go outside. Elly knew she should listen. whatever that feeling was had yet to steer her wrong. How could she follow it when she couldn’t even lift her head. Tucking the book back under her pillow the first sob hit her. Then the next. Before she knew it she had her face buried in her pillow sobbing. It didn’t make her body stop hurting but it distracted her from the aching inside.

Her door swung open with a bang and Elly stopped breathing mid sob. by the sound of the footsteps she knew it was Rebekah. She hated when Elly cried. It set her off. She swallowed hard and tried to use the collar of her shirt to dry her face.

“Get up.” Snapped Rebekah. Elly took a deep breath trying to will her body to move. She pressed her face into her pillow in a final attempt to hide her tears. It took everything she had left but she managed to stand. Elly made sure to look Rebekah in the eyes. She knew how much she hated it. She complained constantly about Elly’s lifeless eyes and Elly took every opportunity she could to make Rebekah uncomfortable for what she did to her.

Rebekah grabbed Elly’s face. The sting she expected never came. The bone-crushing pressure that wrapped around Elly’s entire body was pulled away. She was able to relax her shoulders and stand up straight. The pressure on her hips and knees lessened as her body moved back into alignment. Elly couldn’t help but gasp at the immediate relief she felt. Without saying a word Rebekah turned and left the room.

Elly rushed to pull open her bottom drawer. She pulled the broken bottom up and reached inside. She pulled out a shard of broken mirror and held it up in front of her. The wrinkles were gone. For all she knew the was her true face staring back at her. All except for the eyes.

Taking a deep breath Elly put the mirror back and closed the drawer. It would be getting dark soon and she had little time to waste. She grabbed her book from under her pillow and headed out of the door. On the way out she passed Jonah and Darren carrying boxes.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Darren shouted. Elly kept her head down and tried to ignore him. when she got close enough he slammed his shoulder into her and sent her book flying. She gritted her teeth as pain radiated through her. The force of the hit pushed the air out of her and sent her tumbling to the ground. After Elly was able to catch her breath she scrambled across the floor to collect her book. “Don’t ignore me.” Darren stepped on the book and leaned close to her face.

“Leave her be. We’ve got work to do.” Jonah snapped at his son. He stood over her for another minute staring down at the blank pages of Elly’s grimoire. It never stopped amazing her that her parents were brilliant enough to spell the grimoire. It only reacted to Elly’s power which caused problems for her not being able to make it work. That also meant the Hughes believed it was a blank book. Rebekah was quick to snatch it away from her as soon as she was able to get it open. She believed the ritual that would give them their power back would be written in it. To her great disappointment, she flipped through page after page of the empty book. It was the only reason they allowed her to keep it.

Her heart thudded inside her chest as she grabbed her book and took off. that grimoire was her only connection to her family. When she looked through it she felt like she was communicating with them. Elly ran out of the church and straight into the woods. She wove through the trees avoiding the wards Jonah put everywhere. It was their way of tracking where she went. When she came to the creek she collapsed on a rock. It was the only place she had any peace.

Her shaking hands couldn’t hold onto the book. Whether from not eating all day or from her encounter with Darren she was shaking so hard the book slipped from her hands leaving her with a nasty paper cut. She held her finger to her mouth trying to soothe the burn. Darren’s earlier words echoed in her head. ‘We’ve got a whole week to spend some quality time together.’ Thinking of them again made her sick. Darren was constantly pushing her boundaries. Just the sound of him breathing made bile rise in her throat.

She knelt down to pick up the book. As she lifted it from the muddy ground she froze. It landed right on top of an enormous paw print. Elly looked around for more prints. It was the first time she saw anything like it. The print was easily larger than her head.

“There you are.” As Elly turned around Darren slapped the book out of her hands. She nearly jumped out of her skin at his sudden appearance.

“Ah come on.” She reached down to get the book again. Darren moved close to her. Elly looked up to see his crotch directly in her face, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

“You’ve been hiding from me.” She narrowed her eyes at him. Why was it not possible for him to give her two seconds to herself. He’d been circling her like a vulture her entire life.

“Not everything is about you.” She mumbled. Darren stomped his foot on top of the book. Elly shot up, her hands balled into fists. “My parents wanted to talk to us but I think we have time to play first.” Eyes wide, Elly tried to dart away but Darren was too fast. His hand wrapped around her throat and he slammed her back against a tree. He pressed his body against her pinning her in place.

“Get off me, Darren!” She said through gritted teeth.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” He leaned in capturing her soft bottom lip between his teeth. The coppery taste of blood filled her mouth as he bit down breaking the skin. Elly screamed. She lashed out with her hand hitting him in the throat just hard enough to make him stagger back. With enough space between them, she rammed her knee into the bulge of his pants. Elly scrambled in the mud trying to get her book. Not fast enough. The air was forced out of her lungs as Darren’s foot connected with her ribs sending her crashing to the ground. In a flash, he was on top of her. A sharp sting spread across her face. He slapped her. Her ears rang and the world spun as he sat on top of her straddling her.

“You’ve been fighting me out whole lives. When are you going to accept you’re mine? We’re like mates.” He leaned down into her face trying to get to her mouth. Elly turned her head to the side and swung at his face.

“Witches don’t have mates, genius. Even if we did I’d rather die than be yours.” He snatched her wrists forcing them painfully over her head. He dipped down into her face trying to force her to look at him.

“I’ve got all the time in the world to change your mind.” He grabbed her by the chin. Elly let him turn her head toward him. As their eyes met she threw her head forward as hard as she could. Her forehead slammed into the bridge of his nose sending him tumbling backward. She got her book and got to her feet. Through the groaning and profanity, Darren got to his feet.

“You’re going to pay for that you stupid bitch.” A bone-chilling smile spread across his face. Through the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Elly didn’t the snapping of twigs until it was too late.

“Howdy neighbors!” A small scream escaped as a couple stepped out from the bushes.