Transfixed (Witches of Jackson Square Book 1)

  Transfixed

  Witches of Jackson Square

  A. Lonergan

  Copyright © 2018 by A. Lonergan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  To my friends that make each day magical.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Epilogue

  Looking forward to book 2?

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by A. Lonergan

  Chapter One

  I peered over my shoulder but kept running. Fire exploded next to me and chunks of sheet rock went flying around me.

  What the hell?

  I didn't slow down even though I was shocked senseless. What was going on? I ducked my head out of instinct and flew down a narrow hallway to my right. My feet slid on the tile but I didn't care. I pushed myself harder trying to get away from the lunatic behind me. Clearly, I was a lunatic too, fireballs?! I must have lost my mind when she had started chasing me. There was no way this was real.

  All a dream. Dream. Dream. WAKE UP!

  Another fire ball blasted above me. I snickered. This lady had awful aim but then again, I wasn't brave enough to look back and see what she was shooting at me with.

  I was about to round another corner when an arm flew out of one of the doors. I let out a very unlady like shriek as I was jerked into the hotel room. I kicked my legs out and my arms, flailing around wildly trying to fight off the woman in front of me. She shook her head and put a finger over her lips. She appeared to be much nicer than the one after me.

  “Stupid girl, hush your mouth!” She made a shushing noise before wiggling her fingers at the door.

  Did someone slip something in my drink last night?

  The night before was foggy, and I had woken up alone in our hotel room. I had stumbled down the hallway to the free breakfast in the lobby only to not make it there when some wild woman started screaming my name, telling me to stop.

  I was yanked out of my thoughts when the woman in front of me gripped my arm and pulled me to the window.

  I looked at her confused.

  “Do you really think she’s just going to be okay with not getting through that door? Like she isn’t going to try another tactic to get to you?” The woman in front of me rolled her eyes.

  I shrugged my shoulders at her, I still didn't trust myself to even think something that wasn't entirely crazy. This was all so crazy, but I had no choice but to follow her. I didn't think she wanted to kill me… yet. It was the better alternative to the woman in the hall, that was for sure. I gulped and followed her.

  The woman at the window turned around as she pushed the large panes of glass open. “By the way, I’m Ayre.”

  I just nodded my head, I wasn't sure if I wanted her to know my name or not. When I got to the window, I stopped. The Mississippi River was high against a small balcony lining the hotel. This wasn't possible. It couldn't be. No company would be stupid enough to build this close to the Mississippi. Not to mention, the hotel I had checked into hadn’t been this close to the river. Ayre hopped out to the balcony and held her hand out to help me down. I took it and jumped next to her. I could smell the dirt from the river, and if I leaned over just a tad, I would have been able to touch the murky water. Not that I would, that water was disgusting.

  I let my hand trail along the iron railing that separated me from the river.

  “What’s your name and where is your magi?” Ayre didn't stop walking and wasn't worried about all the windows on the other side of us. It was just a long balcony that resembled a sidewalk connected to the hotel. She seemed comfortable enough with it like this wasn't her first time walking it.

  “I’m not sure what you mean,” I said, uncertain by what a magi was.

  Ayre turned around and gave me a strange look before she pushed open two windows at the end of the walkway. She shook her head before she disappeared inside. I followed her blindly… Like my day could get any worse. Might as well try to make the best of it.

  I spun around in a small circle, absolutely stunned. We had ended up in a small shop. By the smells and sounds around me, I knew it was dead center of the French Quarter.

  But it couldn’t be. The French Quarter wasn't directly off of the Mississippi. I turned to look back through the windows, but they were gone. My eyes searched the walls frantically for the windows we had come through.

  Nothing.

  I closed my eyes and tried to breathe. There was no way. A soft touch on my shoulder had me jumping through my skin. Ayre gave me a sympathetic look. “Are you all right?”

  “We came through windows, right?” I asked, incredulously.

  She nodded.

  “B-but there are no windows in here.” I stammered.

  Ayre gave me a smirk before looking down at her hands. Her fingers did a little wiggle, and red sparks danced on the tips. “I’m going to take a gander that you’re new to magic.”

  I swallowed hard, it felt like I had rocks in my throat. “You’re right. This is all extremely new, besides what I know from fairytales, of course.” My voice sounded squeaky and unsure.

  “Forget everything you think you know. But I do have a question.” She gave me a concerned look.

  “Yes?” I tried to look at anything but her.

  “If you’re so new to magic, then why do your eyes look like that?”

  “Like what?” I didn't want to know. I didn't need to know. I was too afraid.

  “Like mine. Like any other magic wielder in this city.” She pointed to her eyes with her delicate fingers.

  I got a little closer to Ayre and inspected her eyes. They were bright lavender, quite beautiful. I knew that my eyes looked nothing like hers, mine were as murky as the Mississippi River. I blinked my eyes hard.

  “Here,” Ayre pushed me toward a souvenir sunglasses rack that had a mirror at the top of it. I didn't let my eyes meet and instead gazed at the spotting of freckles on my nose. “It’s nothing to be afraid of, I think they suit you well.”

  Her words gave me the courage and boost I needed. Sure enough, my eyes were bright lavender too. My hands flew up to my face, and my fingertips brushed the undersides of my eyes gently. They were beautiful and scary. What was happening to me?

  “Come on, I’ll help you the best I know how.” She grabbed my hand and lead me through the back door. The door brought me through to a whole different world. There were jars with eyeballs and fingers in them. Test tubes full of teeth and all sorts of other nasty and odd things. It was everything a tourist would expect to see in The Quarter. In all my years living in Louisiana, I had always dreamed I would have stumbled upon a shop like this. Except I would have hoped it all was fake. I loved the flare of New Orleans
and would have believed it to be just that. Flare.

  For whatever reason, I knew everything in this small room was very real. A Chinese woman with floor length hair peered at me from behind a table in the corner of the room. There were tarot cards spread out around her and a crystal ball at the far corner of the small structure. Her eyes were a deeper purple than mine and Ayre’s. They were almost haunting. The little woman cleared the table then set 4 large boxes on it.

  Ayre put her hands on my shoulders and pushed me forward. My legs felt like noodles, and my brain was screaming at me to turn back but I couldn’t. I just couldn't move. There was no way this could be a dream, I was never creative enough to come up with something like this. I was from a small town about 70 miles from New Orleans, and I didn't have much family. Wasn't this how the movies went anyway?

  Ayre moved toward the counter and looked at the long boxed expectantly.

  I let out a laugh. “What are you waiting for Hagrid? Waiting for a wand to choose me?” She gave me a blank stare. “Uh, please don't tell me you haven't seen Harry Potter, and that joke was lost on you.”

  “Oohh, no I have never seen Harry Potter. We don't like to watch or read stuff like that. Though, a tad bit of it may be true, it gets under our skin more than anything.” She rolled her eyes. “Humans always get it wrong.”

  “Right, of course. Silly me.” I muttered under my breath. I approached the counter hesitantly. The Chinese woman looked into my eyes once more before she lifted the lids off of the boxes. Sitting in each of the white boxes were beautiful broaches and pendants of all different shapes and sizes. Shocked was an understatement. I had been expecting wands. “Can I touch them?” I felt like a child for asking.

  The woman nodded and sat down, her movements graceful. I let my fingertips trail over the sparkling gems. My fingers stopped on the one that looked to be made out of garnets, the red stones begging for me to pick them up. It was a small circle, no bigger than a quarter. The rocks on it were shaped like little flowers.

  When I picked it up, I gasped. Little spikes extended from the underside of it and grew. They almost looked like spider legs. Much to my surprise, they almost were. The short legs stopped growing, and it jumped from my fingers onto the top of my other hand. It walked until it was at my wrist. It dropped onto my skin there, and the legs began to grow until they wrapped all the way around my arm. I felt my mouth drop open. That wasn’t normal.

  The little legs started to sprout little legs until they all connected and looked like lace around my arm. The little broach almost resembled a watch now. I wiggled my arm around testing the flexibly of it. It moved like it was a second skin.

  “What is this?” I moved my arm again watching the thing curiously.

  “It's like a wand but more discreet. It will help you wield magic easier.” Ayre gave me a little smile and held her hand up. On her middle finger was a small ring. The center of it was knots of gems. I would have never guessed it. “Mine shrunk to fit me. I like little spells with my fingers, and this gem sensed that. They know where to go and how to adapt to you.”

  “So is this a magi?”

  She nodded then turned to leave through the door we had come through.

  “Wait!” Ayre turned back at the desperate squeak that had escaped me. “Don’t we need to pay her?”

  She let out a small laugh. It even sounded magical. “No, there is a magi for every witch in the city. I knew that if you were really one of us, a magi would do what it did. If you weren’t, well, it probably wouldn't have gone too well.”

  “What would have happened?” I asked, scared of the answer.

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “I don't even know your name, you’re lucky you got a magi.”

  I felt myself blush. “I’m sorry, I guess you have trusted me a bit, and I haven't given you much to go off of. I’m Freya.” I offered her a small smile.

  “Glad to finally know your name.” She continued through to leave the little shop, but something caught my eye and made me stop.

  A small shining ball sat on the shelf above the door. It was a deep red like the stones on my Magi. I tried to get a closer look, but it was too high. Ayre had already disappeared through the door, but I didn't mind. I could catch up. This, for some reason, seemed important. I peered at the shelves around the door looking for a way to get up to it.

  Ayre popped her head through the doorway and gave me an odd look before peering above her at the small sphere. She scoffed. “Those are apparently dragon eggs.”

  “Apparently?” I raised my eyebrows.

  “There's no such thing as dragons,” she muttered, right before she disappeared again. I didn't care what she said, I still couldn't shake the thought that it was important, whatever it was.

  “For you.” I jumped out of my skin again at the sound of the Chinese woman behind me. I couldn’t take much more of this.

  She was holding a step stool and a backpack. The backpack was made out of dark leather and had a small pocket on the front of it. She climbed up the step stool and brought the little ‘dragon egg’ down with her. She slipped it into the front pocket then gave me the backpack. Her eyes were practically glowing as she said, “Keep it safe.”

  A chill ran through my body, and I wondered about the egg before I shouldered the backpack and followed Ayre. She was waiting for me on the other side of the doorway with a bored expression on her face.

  She gave the pack a curious glance before rolling her eyes and leading the way out of the small tourist shop. The humidity was like a smack to the face as we walked out onto the street. Jazz was playing softly somewhere nearby, and I could faintly smell pee behind the smell of beignets. I crinkled my nose in disgust and tried to ignore it. New Orleans wasn't the cleanest city, but the sweet pastries made up for it.

  “So, how did we get here from the hotel?” I raised an eyebrow at Ayre.

  She ignored my question. “Why are you in New Orleans?” She flicked her long kinky hair over her shoulder and kept walking.

  “I just graduated. It was a celebration, we finally have some freedom. Well, at least I do.” I shrugged, not sure of why I was giving her so much information.

  Ayre stopped and let me catch up to her. “You probably need to let your fellow students know you won’t be meeting up with them later.”

  It was my turn to stop. “And why not?”

  “You don't belong in their world anymore, Freya.” She turned to me and frowned.

  I didn't know why her words didn't bother me. I had always figured I hadn’t belonged. I had never felt like part of the family with my foster group. I had never fit in, I had always been different.

  “Would you like to go back to the hotel to collect your things?” She asked with sympathy.

  I thought of the sheetrock exploding around me and knew I wouldn't be going back to get my few clothes and my phone charger. I shook my head at her. “No, there’s nothing left for me there.”

  Ayre looked surprised at my words. “Okay, so is there anything you do want to get?”

  I scratched my head and tried to remember where I had parked my car the night before. It was still a little hazy, and I had only had a few drinks. Granted, I had never had alcohol before. “My car but I can't seem to remember where I parked it last night. It’s a little foggy.”

  A concerned look passed over Ayre’s face. “Did you drink alcohol?”

  I nodded my head.

  “Alcohol affects us differently than humans. It doesn’t mix well with the magic in our blood and gives us odd reactions. We’ll worry about your car later.” She grabbed my hand and yanked me forward.

  I accepted her words and hoped the memories came back to me soon. I didn't like being out of control, I didn't like not knowing what was happening. It was all just too much.

  I was trying to sort through my erratic thoughts when Ayre stopped and pulled me into an alley.

  Odd.

  She looked around us before approaching a door at the end of the alley, it w
as dark and the stench of pee was strong, there was another smell that I couldn't detect, that was just as awful. I watched as Ayre pressed her Magi into the keyhole beneath the doorknob. The sizeable french door groaned before swinging open. Ayre grabbed my hand and pulled me through the opening before the door swung closed behind us. It hit the door frame so hard that dust exploded around us like confetti. I tried to dodge it, but there was no use. I cringed before I had the chance to look around me.

  My mouth dropped open at the sight before me. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. We were in a vast courtyard that had a massive garden surrounding it, then behind the garden was balconies and iron railings that lead to French doors and a second story, which was just as breathtaking. The stucco was starting to peel and crack, with vines sprouting out from them.

  Arye looked at me expectantly. “Eh, eh!” She gave me a goofy grin before continuing. “Welcome to the Master’s Compound. There are a few empty rooms, which is pretty common with all the students leaving for the summer.”

  “A few? This whole place looks empty!” My voice was a hushed whisper. I was still in awe.

  “Well, of course, witches have day jobs too!” She had a point. It was the middle of the day.

  I followed the woman up the iron steps to the second story and trailed behind her, as she pushed through the pale distressed doors. I took in my surroundings once more in adoration. It was truly magnificent.

  There was a considerable mahogany rice bed against the brick accent wall. The massive bed was turned down with a lilac duvet and matching throw pillows. Beside the bed was a matching step stool.