Читать книгу The Witch's Initiation - Elle James - Страница 9

Deme dumped her backpack on the narrow bed tucked against the wall in the tiny dorm room, the echo of her sister’s cry reverberating through her. Having met with Detective Cal Black hadn’t set her mind at ease, not when her lips still burned from his kiss. If anything, her meeting with the cop had left her more shaken than she cared to admit. Her overwhelming attraction to him couldn’t be natural. Not after their breakup over a year ago. Something wasn’t right.

Her aversion to the man had a basis. Every time she was near Cal, she couldn’t think straight, couldn’t focus, couldn’t even claim every thought coming from her head was her own. He infiltrated her mind, body and life in a way that left her off balance, her world in a perpetual tilt. She’d kept her relationship with Cal separate from her sisters, and her special “talents” secret from Cal. How would he react if he’d known about her propensity for magic? Would he think her a freak or crazy?

Torn between the rampant lust raging through her body and her sacred duty to protect her family, Deme avoided his questions, dodging his desire to know more about her personal life. When he’d pushed to know more, she dumped his ass and moved as far away from Chicago as possible to avoid him and his overpowering magnetism. Once bitten by the lust bug, twice hesitant to make a repeat performance.

From the start of their relationship, he’d been clear…He was dedicated to his job protecting the good citizens of Chicago. Nothing and no one would get in the way of his work. He took his responsibilities seriously. He demanded as much passion in his work. And he demanded full disclosure from the people he let into his world. Namely her.

Cal Black was exactly the kind of man Deme didn’t need in her life, even if he was there to help her find Aurai.

She crossed to the one small, dingy window and set the ceramic pot containing her beloved angelica root in the meager sun, distorted by the aging glass. The plant drooped, the colors appearing dull in the dreary environment. Deme empathized with how the plant felt. She, too, needed the light to flourish and chase away the emptiness. She touched the fragile stems and they seemed to brighten and reach upward. A ghost of a smile curved Deme’s lips.

“The girls are usually pretty good about obeying curfew. I’m sure you’ll have no troubles keeping tabs on them.” Dr. Diane Masterson entered the room behind her and gave the space an appraising glance. “It’s not much, but I hope you’ll be comfortable.”

“Thank you.” Deme faced the college president. “I’m sure I will.”

“I’m so glad you chose our school to complete your degree. We needed an older student as a resident assistant. If nothing else, the girls will have a mentor, someone to look up to. You should have no troubles catching up with the coursework.” She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. “Miss Jones, tell me again why it was you decided on Colyer-Fenton College and to start three weeks into the semester.”

“I was out of the country visiting a sick relative. I chose Colyer-Fenton because the campus suits me. Quaint and quiet.”

“Oh, yes, yes, of course. And that’s what we are, quaint and quiet.” Dr. Masterson glanced back over her shoulder as if to search the hallway for anyone who could refute her lie.

Deme found it odd that the college president personally escorted her to her room instead of one of the administrative employees in charge of housing.

“If you need anything, just ask one of the girls. They can show you where things are. I’d better go. I have a meeting with my staff in five minutes.” The older woman backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

A meeting, ha! The Chicago police detective in charge of finding Aurai had interviews with the staff scheduled throughout the afternoon. Her Harley-riding sister, Brigid, had met the officer in charge of the case and he’d informed her of the steps they were taking to find their sister, including a thorough interrogation of each campus employee and a number of the over six thousand students.

As far as Deme was concerned, it wasn’t enough.

She stared around the stark confines of the room deemed the resident assistant’s quarters for the Gamma Omega sorority dorm. She’d had to pull some major strings to land in this one. But this is where she needed to be in order to discover the whereabouts of her youngest sister.

Deme unlocked the window and pushed it upward. A cool blast of fall air blew in, stirring the stale air. She had the best view of all the rooms in the dorm. Maybe it was a perk for being R.A. Located on the shortest side of the building, the room overlooked a fenced courtyard garden. The majority of the dorm rooms stretched out and away from the courtyard.

Deme inhaled the scent of the pines growing close to her window and the sweet fragrance of roses. Ivy clung to the brick walls just below her window, the leafy green vines filling Deme with a sense of calm. The roses in the garden below were in the full bloom of late summer, early fall. Before long, frost would claim the plants and lay them dormant for the chilly winter months.

They would find Aurai before then. She was their sister, the fifth point of the pentagram. They were a unit. Together they were as one. Deme’s fingers wrapped around the ornate silver pentagram hanging by a delicate silver chain at her throat. They couldn’t fail.

Water dripped from the faucet in the single sink against the wall. Deme moved across the room and twisted the handle to make it quit, but no amount of tightening the handle stopped the slow, steady dripping. She’d have to get maintenance to fix it or she’d be up all night counting each drop.

A light knock at the door echoed against the plain white walls. Before Deme could call out for the person to come in, the familiar willowy, sandy blonde with bright sea-green eyes slipped through the door.

Deme hurriedly closed the gap between them and hugged her sister tightly against her chest. “Oh, Gina. I can’t believe this is happening.”

Aegina Chattox squeezed her around her middle and then pushed her far enough away to look her in the eye. “Me, either. I’m just glad you and I got in without anyone knowing who we really are.”

“Did you have any troubles selling yourself as the aquarium cleaner?”

“None whatsoever. And the aquariums are in atrocious condition in the central library. I should have several days’ work on my hands and lots of opportunities to snoop around.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t take long to find Aurai.”

Gina hugged her again. “I’m glad you’re home.”

Deme nodded. “Me, too.”

Without so much as a knock, the door burst open and another one of her sisters entered. Selene, wearing a flowing white skirt, with her long, rich, chocolate-brown hair tied up in a bright colored scarf, entered, stepping into Deme’s arms. Tears trembled on her thick lashes, blurring her deep brown eyes. “Where could she be?”

Deme fought the lump in her throat. “I don’t know, but between the four of us, we will find her.” She patted her second-youngest sister on her back and set her away. “What do you know so far?”

“We met with Brigid off campus and she filled us in.”

Gina drifted toward the window and peered down into the garden. “Supposedly, she disappeared during a sorority hazing ceremony. None of the girls know what happened. Or at least they’re not talking.” She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “How could someone vanish in a crowd of people and no one see it?” She turned back, a frown marring her smooth, tanned forehead. “They know something.”

Footsteps in the hallway made the three women fall silent. When the steps continued on, Deme relaxed but she spoke in quiet tones. “No one knows we’re related. Brigid was the only one of us to openly meet with the detectives in charge of the investigation and the school officials as Aurai’s sister. She can continue to be our contact with the external investigation. I met with the undercover detective. He’ll pretend to be my boyfriend so that we can pass information.”

Both Gina’s and Selene’s brows rose. “Boyfriend?”

“His idea, definitely not mine.”

“I’m impressed already,” Selene said.

Deme glared at her sisters. “Don’t get any ideas.”

Gina touched her sister’s arm. “You can’t let that last guy you dated affect every relationship, Deme. What was his name, anyway? You never did tell any of us.”

“Yeah, why all the secrecy?” Selene added.

Deme shrugged. “No reason. Besides, it didn’t last.”

Gina slid a glance sideways at Selene. “Still evading the question.”

“No kidding.” Selene addressed Deme. “Well, you shouldn’t let him taint your feelings for the other men in the world. There are some nice ones out there to choose from.”

Deme closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath, guilt pressuring her. She really should fess up to her sisters. She’d never kept secrets from them, with the exception of her relationship with Cal.

For the first time in the year she’d been away from him, she could actually think of him without choking up. Leaving him had been about the hardest thing she’d ever done. She couldn’t begin to contemplate how she’d feel after leaving him a second time. As best she could, she would remain aloof…an overwhelming challenge in the presence of the man’s alpha-male sex appeal and bad-boy biker persona. “The undercover detective’s name is Cal.”

“Nice, strong name. What does he look like?” Gina’s eyebrows disappeared into her sandy-blond bangs.

“Does it matter?”

“Of course!” both sisters agreed as one.

“He’s your typical eye candy with dark hair and dark eyes.” And muscular legs and arms that could wrap around her and carry her to places she’d never been. That flash of heat she’d experienced in the cafeteria returned in force. “Not my type,” she lied.

Selene’s brows drew together. “Since you’re not interested, perhaps I could provide his cover.”

Deme held up a hand. “We’ve already established our so-called relationship in public. Otherwise I’d let you.”

“Point made.” Gina grinned. “In the meantime, loosen up, sis.”

“I’m not here to find a man. I’m here to find Aurai.”

Selene wrapped her arm around Deme and hugged her tight. “That dude you dated really did a number on you, didn’t he?”

“Let me at him,” Gina said. “Any man who makes my oldest sister a basket case for a year deserves to be infested with the fleas of a thousand camels.” She pulled a pen and notebook from her hobo bag and jotted down a note to herself. “I’ll come up with a potion that’ll give him webbed feet.”

Deme’s lips twitched. “Although I like the image, you can’t do that. Cursing someone is delving into dark powers.”

Gina’s lips twisted. “I’d only do it once. And it would be well worth the risk if it makes the man as miserable as he made you.”

Deme turned away. The image of Cal with webbed feet almost brought a smile to her face. Not that her sister could conjure webbed feet. Their powers didn’t work like that. But wait until her sisters saw Cal Black. They’d never give her a moment’s rest with their sisterly teasing. Even the thought of the tall, dark cop made Deme’s body burn. “We all have our covers established. We need to maintain our anonymity in order to gain the trust of the other girls. We want answers, and the sooner the better.”

“All I know is that it’s been two days. Two days too long.” Selene winced and pressed fingers to the bridge of her nose.

Deme laid a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

She breathed in and out for a moment before answering. “There’s a dark aura surrounding this campus. I sensed it as soon as I came through the gates. It feels like someone trying to push into my mind.”

“Do you think you should let that someone in? Maybe he or she can tell you what happened.”

“I tried, but so far there’s like this wall blocking them.”

“Them? As in more than one?” Deme asked.

Selene’s fingers moved from the bridge of her nose to her temples, where she massaged the skin, her eyes squeezed shut. “I think so.”

Still staring out the window, Gina asked, “Think it would help if we get together tonight to cast a circle and call them forth?”

Deme had sensed the darkness, too, but Selene had a better connection with the metaphysical world than any of them. She’d even had conversations with the dead. On more than one occasion, her ability to sense trouble had saved their butts. When Selene perceived a disturbance in the spiritual balance, invariably she was right. It was her gift, as knowledge and connection to the earth was Deme’s and Selene’s was water. Brigid connected with fire, and Aurai, sweet Aurai’s gift was her ability to influence and communicate with the wind and air currents.

“Let’s wait and see what happens and what we can learn from the students and staff on campus,” Deme said.

“Brigid said the Gamma Omegas’ sorority initiation ceremony was conducted in a garden.” Gina turned back to the others. “Do you suppose it was this one?”

Selene walked toward the window, her face paling as she neared the opening. When she reached the windowsill, she wavered, her body swaying. She clutched the raised window and pulled it down, pressing her forehead against the glass. “Something happened here. I can’t tell exactly what, but it wasn’t good.”

Deme’s lips tightened. “Then that’s where we start our search. Gina, see if you can find any history on the college in the library. Past students, old newspaper articles, anything. Selene, you’ll be a member of the faculty. Check out the other professors and staff for anything concerning Aurai’s disappearance, the garden and the sorority. I’ll work on the girls in the sorority.”

“We need to maintain our distance in front of others.” Gina looped an arm around Selene and led her away from the window. “Hanging out together will blow our cover. If there is a kidnapper lurking on campus, we can’t let him know we’re sisters. When we meet again, it needs to be away from campus.”

Deme nodded. “Agreed. I’ll get close to Aurai’s roommate. I think she’s in this building.” Deme flipped through the roster Dr. Masterson had given her of students living in the dormitory. “There she is—Rachel Taylor. Brigid said she was one of the girls initiated into the sorority that night.”

Selene gripped her arm, her clutch pinching Deme’s skin. “You aren’t going to try to pledge the sorority, are you?”

“I don’t think it’s possible.” Deme loosened Selene’s grip and patted her hand. “Don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can. But promise me you won’t join the sorority. It’s too dangerous.” How she just seemed to know things was a mystery to all the sisters, but they didn’t ignore her when she gave them warnings.

“I promise. Pledge week is over and they’ve done their initiation. New members have already been inducted. I’ll be on the periphery since I’m the R.A.” Deme glanced at Selene. “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”

She smiled, her dull, green eyes brightening. “With my sisters around me, I’ll be fine. Speaking of which, where’s Brigid now?”

“She’s working with the detective on the police investigation.” Gina closed the window and twisted the latch before she crossed to the others. “We’ll see her around campus as they conduct their interviews. However, everyone will know she’s Aurai’s sister. They won’t know who we are, if we’re careful.”

“Then come on, we need to part ways and get this investigation under way.” Deme held out her hands. Gina took one and Selene the other until their hands closed the ring.

Without her other two sisters, Deme sensed how incomplete the circle was. She closed her eyes and began, her sisters joining in.

“Feel the power

Free our hearts

Find our way

Be the one

With the strength of the earth

With the rising of the wind

With the calm of the water

With the intensity of fire

With the freedom of spirit

The goddess is within us

She is power

We are her

We are one

Blessed Be.”

As each word passed their lips, the air in the room grew thicker until breathing became more difficult. A funny odor filled the room, similar to the scent of decaying vegetation. A scratching sound penetrated Deme’s concentration. Selene’s hand squeezed hers in a death grip.

“Do you feel them?” Selene asked. “They’re screaming. Can you hear them?”

Deme opened her eyes and stared around the room. The lights seemed dimmer, and the sunlight that had a moment before shone through the window had disappeared behind a cloud. The scratching sound she’d heard was English ivy rubbing against the window. She didn’t remember it being that high before. Had she missed it?

The water dripping in the sink had become a thin, steady flow. Gina dropped Selene’s and Deme’s hands and reached for the handle on the sink. “What’s with this faucet?” She twisted the handle and nothing happened.

“I can hear them, but I can’t understand what they’re saying.” Selene clutched her head between her hands and swayed. “They’re so loud. I can’t shut them out.” Her hands dropped to her sides and her troubled gaze searched the room until she found the door. “I have to leave.”

Deme wrapped her arm around Selene’s waist. “Go. Get off campus.”

“I’ll go for now, but we need to meet tonight. I want to know who they are and why they’re fighting to get in my head.”

“This damned faucet isn’t working.” Gina slammed her hand against the handle.

“Leave it.” Deme herded her brown-haired sister toward the door. “Selene needs to get out of here.”

Gina jiggled the handle again. “Give me a second. I think I can get this thing—” The handle flew off and water gushed from where it had been, shooting in a four-foot radius around the room.

“Damn, what the hell’s wrong with this place?” Gina slipped on the floor and dropped to her knees, reaching beneath the sink for the shutoff valve.

“I have to go.” Selene staggered toward the door, her eyes squinting and her forehead lined with pain.

Deme opened the door and glanced out into the hallway. “You can go now. The hallway’s clear.” When Selene passed her, she gave her sister’s arm a squeeze. “Be careful.”

As she closed the door behind Selene, Deme turned to the scratching at the window. The vines now choked out the little bit of light. A chill that had nothing to do with being wet or cold shivered across Deme’s skin.

Gina turned the shutoff valve, and the geyser of water slowed to a trickle and finally stopped. She straightened, soaked to the skin, and shook some of the water from her arms. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know, but you’d better go before the Gamma Omega girls come looking for all the commotion.”

Deme checked the hallway and held the door for her sister. “See you tonight. Be safe.”

Once her sisters were gone, Deme closed the door and leaned her back against it, staring at the wreck of her room.

She wasn’t Selene, but she’d felt it, too. As they’d stood in the circle, the air in the room changed as if drawing on their power.

Standing in a puddle of water, the lights dim and the window blocked by ivy, Deme knew with certainty they were dealing with more than just a kidnapper. Aurai was in a lot more trouble than they’d originally thought.