Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 338(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Finally, everything just…stops. Suddenly, I’m standing out in the sunshine on a pretty spring day in Salem.
People walk past on Essex Street, not even giving me a second glance, as if I hadn’t been screaming a protection and banishing spell into the wind moments ago.
Everything is just…normal.
But when I turn to walk back inside, my shop is gone, and I’m standing in front of a house on an uneven, cobblestone street.
A noise behind me has me turning in surprise, and I see that all of modern Essex Street is gone. There are buildings, small ones I know from history lessons are a church, a brothel, and several homes.
And there’s so much water. Four hundred years ago, the waterfront almost came up to Essex Street.
Horses and people on foot hurry past, paying me no mind. It’s as though I’m invisible to them.
A mob of people hover in a circle, and I walk over to see what they’re looking at.
“Just confess.” A man in his twenties—maybe thirties—stands over an older man lying on the ground, a door on top of him and a pile of boulders on the slab of wood.
He’s being pressed to death.
“Giles Corey, you must either confess or plead not guilty.”
“I will not,” Giles says and then groans when they roll another boulder onto the door.
For the love of all the gods, I’m witnessing the torture and execution of Giles Corey.
“Confess, witch!” the crowd chants. Some cry in pity. Others cheer.
It’s complete pandemonium.
And when I look to my right, I see Jonas standing back in the crowd, watching Giles, his face set in hard lines.
His gaze moves to me, and he sees me.
Does he recognize me?
“Jonas!”
His eyes narrow, and he turns to walk away, quickly making his way through the crowd.
When I try to hurry after him, I’m swallowed by the pandemonium of the bloodthirsty crowd, demanding my death.
No, not mine.
Giles from 1692.
“Giles?” Someone taps my shoulder, and I whip around, ready to fight.
“What?”
“Hey.” Xander steps back, his hands raised in surrender. “Are you okay?”
I spin around and see that everything is as it should be. No public execution. Modern buildings.
But my heart continues pounding in my chest, and my mouth is dry when I turn back to Xander, who’s studying me with narrowed, black eyes.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Let’s go inside, shall we?”
“Right.” I nod and lead the way back to my shop. After pushing my way inside, Xander walks in behind me and locks the door.
“Tell me what happened.”
I sigh and lick my lips, then shove my hand through my hair. “I think I was hallucinating.”
I describe everything I saw.
“Jonas was there?” he asks.
“Yes, and he saw me. No one else noticed me, like I was a ghost, but he saw me. And when I called out his name, he ran.”
“Fascinating,” Xander mutters as he paces my shop.
“Something wanted to scare me today.”
He turns to me. “And from the look of you, it succeeded.”
“Hell, yeah, it did. It was fucking terrifying.” I pace in agitation. “Fuck, I need to call Breena and make sure she’s safe.”
I reach for my phone and tap the screen to call her.
“Hello?”
The sound of her sweet voice almost sends me to my knees.
“Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. I’m just working at the loom. Why wouldn’t I be okay? Are you okay?”
I blow out a breath, and my knees want to give out in relief. “I’m not okay, but I will be. I’ll tell you about it when I get home. I’m headed that way in just a few minutes.”
“So early?”
“I’ll close for the day. I’ll see you soon. And, Breena, I want you to stay put and keep Merlin with you until I get there.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Just stay put.”
I hang up and turn to Xander, who smiles at me.
“What?”
“You two are figuring it out.”
“We’re trying, but it’s a little hard with a curse and a murderer hanging over our heads, Xander.”
He nods and blows out a breath. “Yeah, I can see that. I don’t think you were truly in danger today. I suspect it was just a scare tactic.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t either. I think the six of us should get together and talk with Jonas. And we need to refresh the wards and cast some protection spells.”
“It’s too soon.”
Xander and I just look at each other for several seconds, both of us grim with worry.
“I know,” he agrees at last. “I thought we’d have the full year.”
“We don’t. I know we don’t.”
A door in the apartment above slams shut, surprising me.
“I don’t have spirits here. What the fuck?”
He turns and seems to watch something in the corner of the room.
“You need to go,” he says, his voice deep with authority as he claps his hands loudly three times. “You’re not welcome here.”
He watches for a moment and then nods.
“It’s gone.”
“What was it?”
“Energy. There’s a lot of energy around town right now, and I don’t like it. I felt it as soon as I got off the boat this morning.”