Witch’s Mark Read online

  “I’m okay,” I lied. “I just want to get some sleep.”

  I walked toward the staircase, but she put her hand on my shoulder.

  “Anna, you can talk to me. You know that,” she said. “Please don’t shut me out of whatever’s going on. I’ve never seen you so upset. Did you walk all the way home by yourself?”

  I sighed and closed my eyes as a headache pounded against my skull. I wasn't sure I was ready for this conversation, but maybe now was the best time. Like ripping off a Band-Aid. Just find out everything in one fell swoop.

  “It turns out Slade is a member of the Disciples of Light,” I said. “Ring any bells?”

  Gran’s eyes went wide with terror. She brought a hand to her heart. “It can’t be true,” she said. “We were so careful to make sure we were never followed. To make sure there was no record of you anywhere.”

  “He claims he found this town by accident, just like he told you. Except that he doesn’t live in New Jersey or work for some builder,” I said. “He’s been going around the country for the past ten years looking for me.”

  She shook her head. “Oh my God, Anna. How did you find out? Did he tell you? Is he trying to convince you to go back there with him? Because you can’t. Trust me, those people are not who they say they are.”

  “He didn’t tell me the truth at first,” I said. “I accidentally saw the mark on his skin. He finally explained what he’d been sent here to do, but he said that he cared for me too much to follow through with it.”

  “You can’t trust him,” Gran said. “We need to get you out of this town immediately. I have some family in California. If we fly you out tonight with a glamour and a fake ID, we might still have time to—”

  “I’m not running away from this,” I said. “And I don’t think he’s going to tell them that I’m here. At least, I hope he won’t betray me that way.”

  “No one in that place is to be trusted. We have to assume he’s telling them where you are right now,” she said. “We have to be prepared, Anna.”

  A chill went through me.

  “So, that means you know who my father is, right? That he’s the leader of this group they call the Disciples?”

  Her eyes filled with sadness. “Yes, I know who your father is. I’ve never met him myself, but I know what kind of person he is.”

  “Slade says that my father is going to hurt his little sisters if he doesn’t come back with me this time. Do you think that’s true? That he could hurt children?”

  Gran turned around and walked to the small loveseat in the living room. She sat down and let her head fall into her hands.

  “Yes, I think that’s probably true,” she said. “The things your mother told me about him chilled my blood. I wanted to take an army into that compound to put an end to him and save you and your mother after she called me and told me the truth about her life there, but she refused to let me. She said that we’d be putting the lives of other children in danger. I wish she’d let me do that back then, instead of insisting everything would be okay.”

  I sat down across from her in a worn leather chair.

  “Do you know how Mom died?” I asked. “Slade said he was there that night. He was sitting on top of the wall in the shadows. He watched his mother bring me over the wall and hand me to you, but he said he didn’t know for sure what happened to my mother.”

  Gran sucked in a breath. “I remember seeing a child hiding up there,” she said. “A small boy with dark features. I couldn’t see him well enough to really tell the details of his face, but I remember worrying about him, living in a place like that. It was his mother, then, that brought you out to me?”

  I explained to her everything Slade had told me about his mother and how Elisha had found out the truth about her helping us escape. How Elisha had made it Slade’s responsibility to get me back in order to pay for his mother’s sins.

  “This is just terrible,” Gran said. “That poor boy is just a victim in all of this.”

  My mouth went dry at the sympathy in her voice. I wanted to stay angry at him. To hate him for lying to me.

  “That poor boy is now a man, and he was about to manipulate me into taking a trip with him that would have ended in a life of slavery to Elisha,” I said. “Or worse.”

  “And what would you have done if your own family had been threatened the way his was?” she asked. “Would you have agreed to find some stranger and bring them back if my life was on the line? If there was some chance of saving your mother? What if they threatened little Georgia?”

  Her words were like a punch to my gut.

  “I don’t even know if he was telling me the truth,” I said. “For all I know, he doesn’t even have any sisters. It could all be some elaborate lie to get me to come with him.”

  “It could be,” she said. “But the things he’s saying are definitely in line with the type of life your mother described there at the compound. Elisha, your father, rules with a very heavy hand. He’s willing to hurt anyone who stands in his way, even if those people are infants. He doesn’t care for anyone but himself.”

  I closed my eyes and leaned my head back on the chair.

  I thought I was mixed up about how I was feeling earlier, but now I felt even worse than before. I didn’t know what was real, what was a lie, and how to sort it all out.

  “Why didn’t mom show up that night?” I asked. “Why wasn't she the one who brought me to you?”

  Gran shook her head. “I don’t know, Anna, and not knowing has been an ache in my heart all these years. All I know is that she was planning to come over that wall with you in her arms, and she never showed up. The woman who brought you to me told me that Maura was not coming, and that I should leave and get you to safety. I argued with her, saying that I refused to leave my daughter there alone, but she told me that my Maura had been killed by Elisha and that if I didn’t leave right then, he would kill us all.”

  A small spark of hope ignited in my chest, and I sat up straighter.

  “Wait, so you never actually saw her die?” I asked.

  Gran studied me, and then she shook her head. “Listen, Anna, I know what you’re thinking. Believe me, I’ve had the same thoughts over the years, myself,” she said. “But if your mother was still alive, she would have contacted me again. There’s no way she would have continued living there without finding a way after all these years. Besides, if Slade has lived there his entire life, he would know your mother was still alive.”

  “We don’t really know what he’s telling me, though, or if any of it is real,” I said. “He also said that he didn’t know exactly what happened to my mother. You didn’t see her die. The only thing we know for sure is that Slade’s mother, Lisa, said that Mom had died. That’s not proof, if you ask me. She could have been hiding something at the time.”

  “Oh, Anna, I don’t like where this is going,” she said. “I would love nothing more than for Maura to still be alive, but the chances of that being true are almost impossible. And the only way for us to ever find out is to go back to that horrible place. From what your mother told me, Elisha is extremely powerful. Much more powerful than any of us.”

  “Not if we go in a group,” I said. “According to Slade, people who bear the mark are unable to attack Elisha, but no one else here in Willow Harbor has that mark. Just Slade and me. But not you. Not Nik or Eva. None of my cousins or aunts. If we attacked the compound now, they’d never see it coming.”

  Gran wrung her hands together. “If we do that, we’ll be risking everyone’s lives, Anna. And for what? A tiny sliver of a chance that your mother didn’t die that night?”

  “Isn’t a tiny sliver of a chance enough?” I asked. “I would give anything to have Mom back in my life.”

  “But are you willing to give your own life, or the life of your friends, to find out that she died nearly twenty years ago?” she asked.

  I sat back, the hope draining from my chest. If only there were some way to know for sure before we we
nt in there. But how?

  I tried to come up with a good solution, but my brain just kept turning in circles. I had a headache the size of Mount Rushmore, and I was exhausted after crying and walking for so many hours.

  “I think I’m going to have to get some sleep,” I said. “And I’ve got the worst headache. Could you make me some of your specialty tea before I head up? Maybe after a good night’s sleep, we’ll be able to see this more clearly.”

  “Oh, honey, why didn't you tell me you didn’t feel well?” Gran asked. She got up and headed toward the kitchen. “I could have made you something while we talked. It will just take a few minutes.”

  She stepped through the back door and picked some fresh peppermint leaves before coming back inside and starting the kettle. She took an ancient mortar and pestle down from the cupboard and began smashing the leaves together into a paste.

  As she worked, she whispered softly over the paste, infusing it with her loving magic. I closed my eyes and listened to the combined sounds of the grinding and the whispers, allowing myself to be taken back to when I was a child suffering from nightmares.

  Gran had always been there for me, no matter how late at night or how many times I cried. She would always make me some tea and sit with me until I had fallen asleep. Many mornings, I woke to find her sleeping in the rocking chair beside my bed, having never once left my side.

  I didn’t know what in the world I’d do without her.

  Could I really put her life at risk by asking her to invade the Disciples’ compound and fight against Elisha?

  Was there any hope that Mom was still in there? Being held captive somewhere in a dark room after all these years?

  A tear slipped down my cheek as I realized just how crazy I sounded in my head. It had been seventeen years since I’d escaped from that compound. Hoping she was still alive was foolish.

  Surely Elisha would have tortured her and forced her to give up my location ages ago.

  My brain was too tired to work through it all tonight or to come up with any solution that would save everyone involved.

  When Gran was done making the tea, she walked me upstairs and tucked me into bed just like she had done in the old days. She kissed my forehead and placed the tea on my bedside table.

  “You’re going to be okay,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed and taking my hand. “You are a strong woman, and I know this has to be confusing and painful right now, but we are going to figure this out together. I promise you. No matter what else happens, you will always have your family, Anna. We will all stand by your side and make sure you are safe.”

  “And what about Slade’s sisters?” I asked. “Who do they have to stand by their side?”

  She squeezed my hand. “You have always had the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known, despite everything you’ve been through in your life,” she said. “If you wake up tomorrow and still feel that you want to do something to help them, we’ll figure it out together.”

  Her words comforted me and eased some of the ache in my heart.

  For months, I’d been dreaming of moving out. Of maybe even leaving this town and finding a better life somewhere else.

  But right now, I understood for the first time just how special a life I had right here. How much I never wanted to leave it behind.

  “Thank you, Gran. I love you so much,” I said.

  “I love you, too,” she said.

  She kissed my forehead again and left the room, quietly shutting the door behind her. I knew she would be back to check on me throughout the night, just like she always had when I’d been afraid or upset as a child.

  I sipped my tea, grateful when the pounding in my head subsided and my eyes began to droop.

  This night had not turned out anything like I’d hoped, but at least the truth was out there now. Gran had kept the secret of the Disciples of Light away from me all these years to protect me, but at least now I knew the truth about my father.

  And tomorrow, I hoped the light of day would show me the right path. Either back to him to end this once and for all, or as far away from him as I could go.

  Nineteen

  Slade

  I climbed the steps of the Willow Harbor Inn, my heart breaking as Anna walked away.

  Mrs. Finnygood rushed up to me, no doubt curious about the conversation she’d been watching us have outside, but I put my hand up to stop her. I didn’t have the desire or the energy to discuss this now, least of all with a town gossip.

  “I’m going to bed,” I said. “I’ll be checking out in the morning.”

  “Oh, my,” Mrs. Finnygood said, tossing a knowing look over her shoulder at the others watching us from the parlor.

  I didn’t even want to know what they’d been discussing before I walked in. I just wanted to climb into bed and forget this entire night had ever happened.

  I was too upset and tired to pack up and head home tonight, and if I was being honest with myself, I was still hoping that somehow, Anna would find a way to forgive me and show up in the morning with a peace offering of coffee and pastries.

  It was a foolish thought, judging by the sorrow and anger in her eyes when she left me tonight, but I wasn't ready to let her go. Not yet.

  I had never hated Elisha more in my life. He had somehow found a way to take everything good that had ever happened to me and turn it into pain and sadness.

  I locked the door of my room and turned on the shower, getting the water as scalding hot as it would go. I wanted to punish myself for the part I’d played in hurting someone so innocent.

  Anna didn’t believe me, but I truly cared for her. I wanted nothing more than to keep her safe, and yet, I’d still put her life in danger.

  If I didn’t come up with a good enough story to satisfy Elisha when I got back to the compound, he would force me to tell him where I’d found his daughter. I would do everything I could to hold out, but Elisha had ways of making people talk. None of which were pleasant, to say the least.

  I stepped into the hot water, letting it fall across my skin until it was angry and red, mirroring the emotions of my heart.

  If only there was some way to put an end to him. If only I was strong enough to fight back.

  But I’d seen so many others try and fail. And then I’d watched the people they loved be punished for their disobedience.

  Elisha sometimes made the entire group watch as he punished young family members of those who had betrayed him. He said it made them more loyal, and he was right. Anyone who had ever seen a child burned or whipped or tortured was powerless to fight back against Elisha without fear of watching their own loved ones suffer the same fate.

  I couldn’t do that to my sisters or to my father, no matter how much I cared for Anna.

  Which meant there was no way out.

  If only my father hadn’t told Elisha I had found her.

  Damn him. Why did he do that to me? I told him not to say anything until I had confirmation. Now Elisha would be expecting me to return with his daughter, and no matter what story I concocted, he would punish us all for my failures.

  And we were so close to the full moon. Elisha would be in a rage.

  I needed to come up with a stronger plan before I headed home tomorrow. There had to be something I could do.

  When I finally got out of the shower, my skin was tender and sore from the heat.

  I glanced at my phone and saw that I’d had a text from my dad, asking again to send him the name of the town.

  I sent a quick reply.

  There’s no need. It’s not her. I’m sorry. I’m coming home soon. Tell you everything later.

  I knew he wouldn’t like that response, but it was the only one I had for now.

  Exhausted, I sat down at the small table with a pad of paper and a pencil, writing down everything I knew about Elisha and the compound. Every weakness. Every entrance or exit. Every person in that compound who had lost a loved one and might be willing to stand by my side if it came to a fight
.

  After several hours of writing, though, I still didn’t have a good enough plan. No one would fight with me unless they had no other choice. Not that I even knew how we’d be able to fight with these marks on our bodies.

  As for escape, the only exits I knew about were now guarded or warded with alarms after Elisha had discovered them.

  And the only weakness Elisha seemed to have was that his strength was fading with age. He was more powerful during the full moon, as its light filled him with strength, but once the moon began to wane, his powers diminished again.

  I couldn’t think of anything that would help us defeat him. Not without help from outside the cult. No one bearing the mark could even touch him.

  Sometime just before dawn, I finally crawled into bed, tired and angry and scared. I tossed and turned for hours before I gave up, got dressed, and started packing up to leave.

  I was no closer to a solution, and the drive ahead of me was long.

  I hung around longer than I intended, glancing outside every few minutes, hoping to see Anna’s food truck pull up near the town square, but the hours came and went with no sign of her.

  Finally, unable to put it off any longer, I decided to head back toward the Dark Horse Diner to retrieve my car.

  But as I walked down the steps of the inn, I glanced over at the town’s library building.

  A town like this with so many supernatural beings surely had some interesting books on spells and magical marks. What if there was something inside that could help us remove the mark? Or fight him in some other way?

  What if I could discover a type of magic that would make him helpless for a short time? Vulnerable?

  I shook off these thoughts, feeling hopeless and alone. I couldn’t afford to waste time in a library, looking for a spell that probably didn’t even exist.

  Instead, I walked to pick up my car, packed my things, and checked out of the inn with a quick goodbye to the Finnygoods.

  My heart was breaking as I drove the same road that had brought me into Willow Harbor. A lucky accident, or so I’d thought at the time. But now, I wasn't so sure.