The blood witch, p.1
The Blood Witch, page 1
Also by J Clair
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The Blood Witch
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WITCHFALL
Book 3 – The Blood Witch
By
J Clair
Copyright © 2023 by J Clair
All rights reserved. This story or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, objects and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are coincidental and should not be taken seriously.
Table of Contents:
Prologue
Chapter 52 – Long Overdue
Chapter 53 – Shots Fired
Chapter 54 – Visions of a Possible Future
Chapter 55 – The Third Trial
Chapter 56 – This is Leandra
Chapter 57 – Versus
Chapter 58 – I Am Kieran
Chapter 59 – Rainbows
Chapter 60 – What Does She Dream About?
Chapter 61 – An Unexpected Meeting
Chapter 62 – The Oldest Among Them
Chapter 63 – A Little Heist
Chapter 64 – What’s After?
Chapter 65 – The Fourth Trial
Chapter 66 – Separating Wheat from the Chaff
Chapter 67 – This is Kieran
Chapter 68 – Harvested
Chapter 69 – This is Annalise
Chapter 70 – An Attempt to End it All
Chapter 71 – To Fight an Ostara
Chapter 72 – Plan B
Chapter 73 – At Least We Tried
Chapter 74 – Nothing Will Be the Same
Chapter 75 – Burned at the Stake
Chapter 76 – Blood
Chapter 77 – To Live in the Grey
PROLOGUE
Trisha Chase rocked the baby, pressing its face firmly against her bosom as she stared out into space. She bent her torso back and forth like a contortionist, whispering soothing words into the air. The child hiccupped and wept softly, but to her relief, it didn’t cry. Trisha wasn’t sure if she could handle another emotionally charged atmosphere.
She paced the kitchen like a fat jogger, rounding the island in the center with slow, bouncing strides as if she was hopping. The timer to the stove beeped, but she ignored it. Let the cake layers burn. Let it all burn. The metal, the house, this life—it could all melt.
The front door slammed open, hard enough to bounce off the wall behind it. It nearly swung back to its starting position. Grant Chase stormed into the house like a Gestapo, furious that the abode he had searched feverishly contained filth within its walls.
As if on cue, the baby wailed into Trisha’s shirt. Trisha whispered into the baby’s ear as she glared at her husband. She noticed that his white dress shirt was soaking wet, even though it hadn’t been raining outside.
“Back so soon?” Trisha asked, nuzzling her chin against the baby’s head.
Grant huffed and huffed as he glared at the carpet, then he turned to face her, his jaw clenched and his face dripping with sweat. “I had to run,” he said, breathing shallow. “I wish I could have run forever, but that’s not the way life works, is it? We promised not to run anymore.”
“We promised each other a lot of things,” Trisha said softly. “And we can count on one hand what’s been kept.”
“One promise remains,” Grant said, wiping his brow. “I love you, woman.”
Trisha couldn’t look at him. Of course, he loved her—though it didn’t mean a damn thing when it came time for him to sacrifice. She rarely asked for much, opting instead to play the dutiful, faithful wife. In her mind, she believed that her obedience was currency, and one day, she may be able to use her savings to make a long-desired purchase. She didn’t believe this anymore.
“Can’t you say anything?” Grant asked, his eyes wavering like little glasses of water. “I’m telling you that I love you.”
“It’s not enough,” Trisha whispered into the baby’s ear.
“I couldn’t hear you.”
“I SAID IT’S NOT ENOUGH!” she snapped, and the baby screamed. Its’ cries stuttered and got caught in its throat with each new bellow.
“We can make this work,” he said, reaching out to her cautiously.
“I told you how this can work,” she said.
Grant shook his head and folded his lips. When he was finished giving the thought a good thrashing, he said, “there has to be another way.”
“Your way,” Trisha said.
“It’s not like that,” Grant said. “Let’s sit down and talk about it.”
“I’m not budging on this one, Grant,” Trisha said, her voice quivering. She tried not to shout, especially since the baby had calmed down. “If w e’re going to raise her, she’ll reside in both worlds. It’s the right thing to do.”
“To have one step in Heaven and one step in Hell,” Grant seethed.
“This is reality now,” Trisha said. “Whether you like it or not. The hunts are underway, and it’s only a matter of time before the Visceral come knocking at our door.”
“Is that what this is about? You’re worried the witches will come for us? Trisha, I’m handling it. I’m getting new identification cards set up for us, and we’ll be able to give a ‘demonstration.’” Grant said the last word in air quotes. “It’s like getting a car inspection passed. It’s all a matter of who you know. Remember that old jalopy I told you about when I was a kid? You think I would have been able to drive that thing around if I went to a legit auto place? No, ma’am. I’ve got connections.”
“It’s risky.”
“Would you rather go on the run? Into that god-forsaken wasteland? You hear the howls at night. There’s monsters out there.”
“We don’t have to do any of that,” Trisha said. “You keep mentioning all the options except one.”
“Trisha...” Grant warned.
“What’s so wrong?” she asked. “Your wife’s a witch now, and—”
“DON’T YOU SAY THAT!” he barked, pointing a finger at her. The baby stirred and began sobbing. “YOU ARE NOT A WITCH!”
“That’s what I am!” Trisha cried. “The magic is in me! It flows through my veins! It has my mind, but you still have my heart. Why can’t I have both?”
“I can’t take back what you’ve done,” Grant said, taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes. “But I swear, Trisha, she will be a child of God or none at all.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that if you’re adamant about this course of action, then we cannot have this baby stay here. Blood or not, God comes first. I can speak to a buddy of mine. He can smuggle the child through some back channels, ensure that she has a good family to—”
“I don’t believe my ears!” Trisha scoffed. “You would rather place her in harm’s way than let her learn magic!”
“There will be no magic in this house.”
“And what about me?” Trisha asked.
“You heard what I said. No more magic. None. You will burn the books, and you’ll begin a rigorous schedule of fasting and prayer. Maybe God will have mercy upon you and cleanse that toxicity in your soul.”
“I’m done,” Trisha chuckled under her breath. “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Do what?” Grant frowned. “What are you going to do? Cripple me with your magic? Force me to my knees? No matter what you do, I won’t betray my Lord. Whatever you think is going to—”
“I’m leaving you,” Trisha said, cutting Grant off. His lip quivered, and his countenance fell as if it was made of wet clay. “Tonight.”
“Hey,” Grant softened up, taking a step towards her. She immediately took one backwards. “hey, let’s not do anything rash now. We can talk about this.”
“All we’ve done is talk,” Trisha said with a lump in her throat. “It’s time for action.”
“You’re right, you’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry. Please, let’s talk this out.”
“There’s nothing left to say. You’re set in your decision. So am I. This child will have both worlds, or neither.”
“You would take her too?” Grant asked in shock.
“It’s better than being carted around underground tunnels and running from the law, no matter what her family’s intentions are. At least with me, we can have a life.”
“As a witch.”
“Better than dead,” Trisha spat.
“Hey,” Grant said, holding his palms in surrender. “Listen, while I was out, I was doing a lot of thinking, especially about things you said, and I was ready to talk this out, but we’ve been at it so much lately that we just fell right back into the arguing.” He tapped his forehead. “I need to calm down...did you know that I thought of a name?”
Trisha’s fingers curled on the baby’s back as her eyes darted towards the front door. A miniscule part of her hoped that they could come to a conclusion, but she had hoped for weeks now, and they had made no headway.
“What?” she asked out of desperation. If only to relieve the tension in the air. “What is it, then?”
“Madeline,” he declared proudly. “It’s a great name, isn’t it?” Trisha’s face hardened, and Grant studied the look she gave him. “What is it?” he asked.
“Madeline,” Trisha said. “Why Madeline?”
Grant shrugged his shoulders. “It has a nice sound to it.”
“You forgot, haven’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“You forgot that we talked about this. During the war.”
Grant blinked rapidly as he frowned at her. “What are you talking about, Trish?”
“We saw a lot of children during the war, remember? Too many to count. But we couldn’t get close to them because we weren’t sure who was a human or a witch, and I talked to you so much about wanting a family one day that you would start creating these imaginary scenarios in which we caught a child. I was in a haze at that point in the war, but you were still trying to keep me optimistic. You started droning on about how we could convince the child that we were no threat, and eventually they would see us as their mother and father. It wasn’t inconceivable, with how many children who lost their parents in the war. Any of this ring a bell?”
“No,” he admitted. “I’m trying to remember, but I can’t.”
“That means you can’t recall the names you came up with either, can you?”
“No,” he said innocently.
“If it was a boy,” Trisha said, stepping towards him slowly, “then he would be named Paul, after Paul of Damascus. The murderer of the Jews who saw the Lord on the road to Damascus and was converted into a champion of Christianity. You said it was a perfect name, because if the boy was a witch, he would see the proverbial light, and be a warrior for Christ. I bet you can remember the girl’s name now.”
“Madeline,” Grant said sheepishly.
“Yes,” Trisha said, taking a step towards the door. “After Mary of Magdalene. Your mother’s name was Mary, so you didn’t want to name the girl that, but Madeline? A form of that name? Sure. It’s perfect, because Mary of Magdalene was the woman with the seven demons cast out of her, and then she devoted her life to Christ, and to God.” Trisha looked down at the baby in her arms, sleeping soundly against her chest. “Seven demons,” she said. “That’s what you must think of her. She’s just a baby...but because of my interest in magic, you already think she’s tainted. The paranoia will consume you. What have I whispered into her ears? What incantations have I sung? Which of us would she prefer over the other as she grows?” Trisha reached out and placed a hand on the doorknob.
“Stop,” Grant said in a commanding voice. “Where are you going?”
“It’s not that you won’t change,” Trisha said softly into the crown of the baby’s head. “I’m sure you would love to...it’s that you can’t, and I suppose that was to be expected. After we lost Helena...we were both never the same.”
“You’re not going anywhere with that child,” Grant said sternly.
“You can’t stop me,” Trisha whispered. “A flick of my wrist, and you will know what arthritis feels like.”
“Spoken like a true witch. Threats and all. Did that feel good? Getting that off your chest?”
Trisha turned the doorknob and opened the door slightly.
“DON’T YOU DARE!” he roared at her. In one swift movement, he untucked his shirt, reached behind him, and procured a small pistol.
Without hesitation, he pointed the barrel towards Trisha’s head.
“Grant, what the hell...” Trisha said.
“Shut up,” he said, keeping the gun steady. “Give me the child.”
“Where did you get that?” Trisha cried.
“I told you that I have connections. While you were in a daze during the war, I kept us alive. You can’t do that without making deals and granting favors, and after all I’ve done to keep us going, this is how you treat me. An outright betrayal. Deception. Debasing yourself in that abominable magic. You’re not my wife. You’re a demon, casting an illusion of her, or I’m under a spell, and the Visceral will be here in no time. I got this for my protection, and I am not afraid to use it. She’s my blood, so you give me my granddaughter before I have to do something you regret.”
