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Chapter 48: Epilogue
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2022-04-19 14:01:33Related chapters
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 1: Prologue
1718: Puritan Island, Royal Province of Massachusetts Bay"The villagers are coming. We must hurry, dear sister."Celeste Galloway, with a heavy heart, tore her gaze away from her one-day-old babe nursing at her breast to peer into the hearth's flames. Using strength from within, she pulled magick from her core and channeled the elements. Heat wrapped around her, teased the hair off her nape. Her sluggish, foggy mind parted and the vision became clear.The villagers were, indeed, afoot. However, they weren't yet at the forest edge or near her little stone cottage in the clearing. She had time to prepare, but not much.Gently, she swaddled the baby she'd named Hope, and rose to set her on the straw pallet by the fire. Her body ached from rigorous birthing, but she relished the pain. From agony came love, even though it had been love's betrayal that had set them on this course.With a kiss to her daughter's sleepy brow, Celeste chanted a protection spell and faced her sister, Mara.
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 2
Kaida Galloway stood at the edge of a cliff as a salty wind whipped her long blonde hair around her head. Barefoot, she dug her toes into dew-dampened grass as waves crashed into rock thirty stories below. The roar all but muted the cry of gulls circling the Atlantic in the distance. Sunlight streamed through the cloud cover and glittered off the gray-blue water. A short wave of vertigo hit her, but she didn't step back. Nothing could hurt her here, even though scenarios of plunging over the edge filled her head. She didn't have a clue how she knew no harm would come to her. It was just an awareness. An assurance, much like expecting the sun to set or the electric bill to come.Like in her other dreams, she wore whatever she fell asleep in the night before. Today's outfit sported a yellow shorts and tank combo with purple butterflies. And, exactly like in previous dreams, she waited. For him.She didn't know his name and she'd never met him while awake, which only served to remind
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 3
"Miss Galloway, this is the front desk with your requested wake-up call." The male voice on the other end sounded too darn chipper. Guess he'd had his caffeine shot already, the lucky jerk.Wake-up call? Right. She had booked a ticket on the ferry to take her to Six Fates Island this morning. "Thank you.""You're very welcome, miss. Have a great day.""You, too." She hung up and flung the covers off, then froze.She was wet. Soaking wet. With shaking hands, she ran her fingers through the stringy strands of her hair, and her heart pounded discovering it, too, was damp.Fumbling, she flew off the bed and glanced down at herself. Drenched pajamas. A quick glance at the sheets showed they were dry. The ceiling wasn't leaking, as the drywall was in place and there were no water marks. Besides, she wasn't on the top floor of this hotel. Nothing was wet but...her.Saltwater mingled with rain and freshly cut grass. The scents swirled around her and the dream flooded back. Flashes. Proje
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 4
Brady Meath shoved away from the desk in his small office in the public library and stood in front of the window facing Puritan Street. Pedestrians walked past and cars drove by. Cherry blossoms were in full bloom and buds beginning to open on the magnolia trees. The grass was finally turning a nice shade of green after a long winter. But the calming, familiar sights didn't appease his restless mind or abate the itch under his skin.As the town historian and head of the historical society, he had a busy week ahead. Budget plans had gone through for the Minister Bridge reconstruction, which meant he was required to go over the blueprints to ensure the architects had stayed true to original designs. Six Fates Courthouse was undergoing remodeling, so he'd have to pop by often to ensure the construction crew followed his instructions, down to every cornice piece and crown molding strip. And Galloway Lighthouse was in need of repairs. That meant sucking it up and visiting Fiona and Ceara t
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 5
Brady walked the block to Meath Hotel and strode through the expansive lobby. Rounding reception, he made his way down the employee hall to his brother's office. The space was twice the size of Brady's, but significantly less cluttered. Business degrees and pictures of family dotted the dark green wallpaper and crystal decorated the shelves in the form of bowls, a clock, and shamrocks. Somehow, only Tristan could make such a thing manly.Riley was relaxed in a chair, wearing his typical work attire of gray slacks and a polo, and Tristan stood behind his desk, glancing at a file. He closed the folder and sat, smoothing his blue tie. A black suit coat was tossed over the arm of the brown leather sofa and he had his white dress shirt rolled to the elbows. Both brothers made Brady feel underdressed in jeans and a navy tee, but he'd be visiting work sites today.Tristan picked up the desk phone. "Send in a carafe of coffee, please." Brady grunted. "Got any whiskey?""It's ten in the
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 6
Crammed into the passenger seat of an ancient Volkswagen Beetle, Kaida prayed for her life as Mara drove them east through town. Apparently, in her supposed aunt's world, stop signs were merely a pretty bauble, traffic lights a suggestion, and pedestrians just part of an obstacle course. Oh, and there was no such thing as a speed limit. Considering the car had left the showroom sometime around Woodstock, Kaida was shocked the thing ran at all, never mind got above crawling.Her head smacked the roof a third time when Mara flew over a speed bump and the front tire landed in a pothole. "I'm, uh, not in any hurry or anything. Don't feel the need to rush on my account.""I ain't rushin', dear. Any slower, we'd be going backward." Mara laid on the horn as a dog walker nearly missed the front bumper by an angel's whisper. She stuck her face out the window, white hair billowing. "Head out of yer arse first, then cross the street."The man grinned, kept going, and waved over his shoulder, n
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 7
The kitchen was light and airy. And big. Wainscoting held prints of herbs. Distressed white cabinets covered two walls. The appliances were stainless steel. A large blue tile island matched the countertops and had a bowl of red apples in the center. The bay window over the sink showed a view of the garden. A stained-glass round table sat in a corner and seated six. Bottles in multiple colors and sizes lined the tops of the cabinets."Have a seat. I'll brew a pot." Ceara moved to the stove and started a kettle, then set out mugs. She fished through jars on a counter rack, selected something, and put leaves in metal steepers. "How was the ferry ride? Did you just get in today?""Yes, and the trip was nice. It was fascinating to watch the island approaching." Kaida took a chair next to Fiona. "The hotel's very lovely also."Ceara's head whipped around, red coiled strands flying. "You checked into the Meath Hotel?" Her affronted tone set Kaida back. "I'm sorry. Of course, you did. You'r
Last Updated : 2022-04-19Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 8
Brady's knee bounced incessantly from his perch in Tristan's office while he waited for Riley's call with Fiona to connect. All week, he'd had this niggling sensation something was coming. Between the frequent dreams of Kaida and the restlessness in his gut, he was ready to bust his seams. And to learn she was not only real, but here on the island was an oh-shit of epic proportions. "Hey, Fi. It's Riley."Brady exchanged a worried glance with Tristan across the desk."Great, you?" Riley nodded. "Listen, I'm with my brothers. Can I put you on speaker? Thanks." He pulled the phone from his ear and tapped the screen. "Okay, Fi. You've got all three of us.""Hey, boys. How goes it?" Fiona Galloway's sultry voice slithered into the enclosed room like a fog. For as long as Brady could recall, she had a way of getting a man to stand at attention just by moving her lips.Tristan leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "We had a guest check in today. She has an interesting last name. Anythi
Last Updated : 2022-04-19
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Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 48: Epilogue
One month later...Sandwiched between Brady and Riley on the couch in her sisters' living room, Kaida stared at the family grimoire on the coffee table, Celeste's box next to it. Sitting across from them on the other sofa was Tristan, Ceara, and Fiona, also quietly contemplating. Mara had claimed a chair, her mood uncharacteristically solemn.They'd had a lovely dinner and had decided to finish their wine by the fire to pow-wow. Yet no one had said much, if anything.This had been a big day for Kaida. She'd installed her first entry into the grimoire. Well, technically, it was Celeste's passage, but it was Kaida who'd added the parchment. Turned out, after all the trials, the box had contained only two things. A sapphire ring and a scroll containing part of a spell."Do you think I should say it aloud?" She looked to her sisters for guidance. Ceara shook her head. "I believe Fiona and I need to do our part first. Something tells me this is a power of three spell. It'll only work
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 47
Rising on his elbow, earning an oomph from Tristan under him, and pushing Riley over with a grunt, Brady lunged to his feet. Stumbling in his haste, he crawled the rest of the way and cupped her face. Her eyes were closed, lashes shadowing her cheeks. She was so still, so quiet, another sob ripped from his chest."Kaida?" Nothing. "Kaida, sweetheart. Please, God." A deep inhale expanded her chest, and her lids lifted. Her eyes darted everywhere at once before blessedly landing on him. "What happened?"He barked a laugh/moan combination, not believing what he was seeing.And for the thousandth time today, his lungs stalled. Relief flooded him in a harried whoosh. With shaking arms, he hauled her sideways onto his lap. Pressing her face into his shoulder, he held her so tight a spell couldn't wedge between them.He kissed the top of her head, rocking, rocking. "Don't you ever do that to me again." As it stood, he may not allow her to leave his sight until she was eighty. Or never.
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 46
As the blade sank into Kaida's stomach, her face froze in a terrifying expression of shock and pain that yanked the heart right out of Brady's chest. But when his uncle withdrew the dagger, the oxygen punched from Brady's lungs with such force, he couldn't so much as cry out. A crimson ribbon flung through the air and splattered onto the grass. And Brady's whole world, his existence, shattered into a thousand fragmented pieces."Nooooo!" He frantically crawled over to her, roaring her name until his throat was as ravaged as his soul.He had the briefest concept of his uncle lunging to his feet and sprinting toward the hedge wall before Kaida collapsed in Brady's arms. Carefully as he could manage, he laid her on the grass and quickly untied the rope from her wrists. Angry red burns marred her perfect skin. A swift assessment showed a deep, open gash on her jaw and another above her eyebrow, both actively bleeding. But it was the hole in her stomach gushing uncontrollably that had
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 45
Keeping the blade on Kaida, he moved to her side and stuck his finger in his mouth, scraping the crest ring off with his teeth. Gone was the short, neatly trimmed hair and slender body. In its place was a solidly built man with longish white strands that brushed his shoulders. He shoved the ring in his pocket. "What's it been, witch? Three-hundred years? Give or take."Breath whooshed from Kaida's lips. "It's you." The guy from the hotel room when she and Brady had astral-projected together. She'd assumed it had been a nightmare or the man had been another hunter after them. What the heck was going on? "You tried to strangle me."Satisfaction lit his bitter gaze. "Should've finished the job.""This isn't possible," Mara gasped, eyes bugging. "It's simply not possible."A quick scan of the other dazed expressions proved her sisters and the brothers were just as blown away as Kaida by Greg's transformation. Who the hell was this guy and how did he possess the power to shift? Far as s
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 44
Slumped against the cottage near the meadow, legs sprawled in the grass in front of her, Kaida pried her eyes open for the second time. The stone exterior dug into her spine and a smarting jab in her ribs made breathing a chore, but she was alive. Somehow.One moment she was heading toward a vendor to fetch a bottle of water, the next she was being dragged between storefronts into an alley. A pinching prick in her neck had followed, and her world had gone black. She'd awoken in her current predicament.Whatever Greg Meath had injected into her was dulling her power. A sedative, no doubt. After taking stock, and confused out of her gourd, she'd slipped back into unconsciousness in order to project to Brady. Which had zapped what little strength remained. It had also required her to remove her pentagram necklace, leaving her unprotected from attack.And that was the other thing. Not that she was complaining, but why wasn't she dead? Greg had ample opportunity to kill her, including wh
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 43
Ceara swiftly pulled a scroll off a cube shelf and unrolled it on the table to reveal a map of the island. She placed four white crystals on the corners and then dangled another blue crystal by a chain over the map.Kaida was missing, his mark was issuing a warning knell, and Ceara wanted to play with toys?"We have to go find her!" Impatience pounded his temples like a snare drum and he ground his teeth. Worry ate at his stomach lining. "She's in trouble.""That's what I'm doing. Give me a sec to do a locator spell." Ceara closed her eyes and chanted while Brady paced the checkered pattern off the linoleum. The crystal swung in a circle several times and stopped abruptly on the paper. "There. She's at our house. Somewhere on the western side of the property."Done. He pivoted for the doorway. Rigidity locked him in place.Kaida stood by the curtain, iridescent as a hologram. Rope banded her wrists. A gag was shoved in her mouth and tied around her head. Tears left trails on her d
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 42
Alongside Fiona and Ceara, Brady strode through the darkened forest on the way to the sisters' house, his mind constantly banging the chaos button. According to Riley, Kaida had finished the journals and hadn't acted like herself when he'd taken her home. Which was freaking Brady out to the point of no return.An hour ago, Ceara had done her spell juju and put the passages Kaida had read directly into their brains. The sisters now knew more than the gist of what he and his brothers had gone through. Reliving some of those memories through his uncle's eyes had clicked a lot of pieces in place. The man had never loved them. He'd viewed them as nothing more than another part of the grand puzzle, and he'd done everything in his power to manipulate the picture.Again, Brady couldn't slap the label of abuse on the situation. Yes, he'd been whipped a time or two, had been sent to his quarters without a meal as punishment, and had been belittled to prove a fanatical point. But in Uncle Greg'
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 41
Her pulse kicked rhythm. "The first four journals are from Minister Meath and were penned in quill ink. The succession goes on down your family tree. When a different member takes over the dagger, about every fifty years, the name gets entered at the beginning of the passage. There's dates to confirm, and I matched them to your line. Now, the newer ones use both sides of the paper and change to ballpoint, acclimating to modernization. The verbiage adapts for the times, too, as do descriptions. Yet there are a lot of similarities."He straightened and crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?""For starters, there's two Bible verses that are repeated throughout all the books. Coincidence? Probably. However, certain words like "heathen" and "sorcery" are frequented. Pretty outdated terms. So are specific insults. Could also be a coincidence.""But when you compare them with the handwriting, it adds up to more." He nodded, his gaze distant. "What's the connection?""I don't know. Ob
Fated Series: Bewitched Chapter 40
In the Meath library, Kaida closed the last journal and stared at it on the table. All week she'd been reading through the passages, and it had been harder than she'd anticipated. She'd attempted to look at them with a professional, objective eye, tried to distance herself from the human element and view them as research, but that was impossible.Her family's past and the Meaths were intertwined in ways that read like a darker, more horrid version of Grimm's Fairy Tales. From the first entry a week after Celeste Galloway's death to pivotal moments spanning three-hundred years, it was heart-breaking and gutting to receive first-hand accounts, especially considering the point-of-view. Righteous indignation. Bloodbaths. Hatred at its very core.If not for Brady erecting a pillar of strength, she probably wouldn't have been able to continue. He'd held her every night, soothed her tears, and never once showed the anger he had to have built inside over learning details about the entries.
