“We have to bury them,” Victor said to James.
“Them?” James looked over his shoulder at Simon. His mouth fell open.
“Get out of here, Alexandria,” Victor said. “It’s over.”
I peered around Peter’s shoulder. “James?”
“I killed him,” James said to me. A tear rolled down his cheek.
“It was an accident,” I whispered. My throat was too raw to speak. I had no idea what was going through James’s head. He saved me. But it was my fault his father was dead.
James crouched next to his father. He grabbed his father’s hand and started sobbing.
Peter pulled me away. We jogged down the narrow trail back to the cemetery gate. I risked a glance over my shoulder. James was still on the ground, head in his hands. Victor was loading William’s body into the back seat of the Rolls.
“How did you find me?”
“I drove all over Hazel Cove. The last place I checked was Hawthorne Prep and when I drove past the cemetery, I remembered your nightmare.”
“Thank you,” I said.
Peter pulled open the wrought iron gates. “Ethan’s coffin was empty?”
“Yes.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Journal of Alexandria Longfellow
3:27 A.M., Sunday, November 14th
1st Journal Entry
I am no longer Alexandria Ramsey.
That’s the only thing I’m certain of anymore.
Peter is asleep next to me. We’re at my house in the Hallows. I refused to stay anywhere else. I couldn’t leave Emma undefended and Peter, of course, wouldn’t leave my side.
I’m on pins and needles. I keep expecting Victor to bust through the door with guns blazing. But he won’t. At least not yet. It’s too soon. Victor will be mourning William tonight. And possibly even Simon.
Will Victor be the new leader of the Gamma fraternity now that William is dead? I wish I knew the answer. I have a feeling I haven’t seen the last of my stepfather. Something deep inside tells me Victor’s vendetta against me won’t go away that easily. I’m sure his hatred of me has only grown. But I won’t be caught defenseless again. I’ll be ready. For Gamma. For Victor. For anyone.
What about James? I’m worried about his sanity. The multitude of emotions that overcame him tonight might’ve been too much for him to bear. Fear when he realized I was responsible for Simon’s agonizing pain. Defeat when his father struck him. Horror when he realized he killed William. How would James get over tonight? What was going through his mind right at this moment? There was no way he was sleeping. I couldn’t reach out to him. Not yet. His father was dead because of me. Does he hate me? Does he blame me for William’s death? He’s alone now. Or maybe he’s not—will he accept Victor as his uncle?
Emma was asleep when we returned home. I checked her pulse and breathing, just to make sure she was okay. I have so much to tell her. If she’ll listen to me and believe me. What’s going to happen to us now? We can’t stay in this house.
I called Grandma Claudia a few hours ago. I gave her the shorthand version of what happened tonight. Peter and I are expected at her house tomorrow afternoon. I need her now. I realize that. She was right all along. There are things only she can tell me. Only she can teach me. That’s why I’m finally writing in this journal.
I should write about tonight. I am not completely sure how I hurt Simon. I felt the energy radiating out of me. My fingers and toes went numb, like my body could barely contain the power. Then I focused my attention on Simon. That’s all I did. Anger fueled it. I just don’t know how. Or how to manage it.
Hopefully, Grandma Claudia can teach me, because I’m worried about the extent of my powers. I have eleven months until my eighteenth birthday. Can I control them?
A witch.
Even writing the word sounds ridiculous. But I saw the evidence myself. Felt the power within me. It was unsettling. Especially when I think about the pain I caused Simon. The mural in the Gamma farmhouse of the Archangel Michael casting evil into Hell troubles me, too. I am not evil. I will not become evil. I was not an abomination. Yet the idea of my being and God seems conflicting.
Grandma Claudia said there were other witch hunters. Not very many, but they were out there. Do they know about me? Would I put the ones I love in danger again? Was Victor right when he said I’d hurt the people closest to me?
Peter’s breathing heavily in his sleep. I hope he’s not having a nightmare. I worry about him the most. Was he in danger by being with me? I loved him more than anyone, anything. I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
I am getting sleepy. My neck is raw and blue and purple bruises have already appeared. I’ll be thankful if I can get a few hours of rest after tonight’s ordeal.
Goodnight.
P.S.—I’m not sure if I’m using this journal properly. I’ll show this entry to Grandma Claudia tomorrow and maybe she can give me pointers on what I’m supposed to include in my entries. I’m excited to read her journal and my ancestors’ journals. Grandma Claudia was right—I bet I won’t feel so alone after I read them.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“You’re going to be so far away.”
“It’s only for a few weeks,” I said. “And I’ll be driving back to Hazel Cove to go to school every day.”
It was Sunday morning, only one day after the horrible night at the cemetery. Peter and I were driving to Salem. I was temporarily going to stay with my Grandma Claudia for a few weeks. Until things settled down.
Peter and I sat Emma down this morning, before she could start her morning drinking, to tell her about everything that happened. All of it. About me. Ethan. Victor. Gamma. The whole deal.
Emma didn’t say much. She waited for us to finish and then went upstairs. She packed her bags and announced she was going to a hotel in Boston. She said she needed to get away. She needed to think. Peter was furious. He stormed out after her, but it was no use. She was gone.
I wasn’t surprised by her decision. Disappointed, but hardly shocked. Emma’s number one priority had always been Emma. We needed to work on our relationship, especially with what happened at the country club and the whole Ethan revelation, but I suppose we will eventually work things out. I hope.
So when Grandma Claudia called this morning, I told her the news. Emma abandoned me. She suggested I stay with her for a while and I accepted. I couldn’t stay at the house in the Hallows any longer. Especially not alone. Peter wanted me to stay with him, of course, but I didn’t want to burden the LaViollettes. My stay in Salem was only temporary. I’d be back in Hazel Cove, hopefully with Emma, in no time.
A box fell forward and I shoved it back with my elbow. The back seat of Emma’s car was full of clothes and other personal belongings. Emma took one of Victor’s cars when she left, so I took her car. It only seemed fair. I was car-less because the Mercedes was still parked behind the abandoned house next to the Gamma farmhouse. I wasn’t ready to retrieve it yet. The idea of seeing the farmhouse made me nauseous. Maybe I’d pick it up in a few days. In the daytime with Peter.
“Do you think that’s the end?” Peter asked.
“I doubt it. Not after eight hundred years. But Gamma will have to pick a new leader now that William is dead.”
“Victor?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Grandma Claudia doesn’t seem to think Victor is much of a threat on his own.”
“He seemed pretty riled up last night.”
“That’s what I told her. She thinks Victor’s a follower, not a leader. She said he can’t act on his own.”
“Did your grandmother know about Gamma?”
“She said she’d heard about Gamma and Jonah and William Van Curen. But, obviously, she didn’t know Victor was involved or that he was William’s younger brother. Or that Gamma was in Hazel Cove.” I turned up the heat. “How are you doing with what happened?”
/>
“What do you mean?”
“Killing Simon. That’s not something you can forget, you know? You haven’t said anything about it.”
Peter shrugged. “I didn’t want to kill him. He had a knife and it was either him or me. And I didn’t feel like dying in the cemetery.”
“I think Simon was the balcony intruder. William probably sent him, but they didn’t expect me to have company or for me to be awake. I also think it was Gamma who ran me off the road.” I looked out the passenger window. I didn’t want to alarm Peter, but he had a right to know. “There are others, you know. Not just Gamma.”
“Other witch hunters?”
“Grandma Claudia didn’t go into detail, but she said they were out there and we had to keep ‘an eye on things.’ I have this awful feeling there’s a bull’s-eye right in the middle of my forehead.”
Peter turned off the interstate. “Did she say anything about Ethan?”
“No. She was shocked when I told her the coffin was empty.”
Peter was silent. I knew what he was thinking, because I’d been thinking about it every second since last night, but I was too afraid to say it out loud.
I waited. And waited. Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Tell me what you’re thinking. Please?”
Blue eyes glanced at me and then at the road. “Nothing, Lex.”
“Please?”
He hesitated. “What do you think happened to Ethan?”
“I’ve thought of all these crazy scenarios about what could’ve happened to his body. But I honestly don’t know what to think. Gamma could’ve put him anywhere.” I pinched between my eyes. “No sense in speculating. I guess we’ll never really know.”
Unless….
Victor had mentioned that they couldn’t find Jonah Van Curen’s journal. If Jonah kept a journal, maybe there was something in it about Ethan. It was a crazy thought and I immediately shoved it out of my mind.
“What about Lover Boy?” Peter asked.
“Who, James? What about him? I’m sure he’s pretty traumatized after last night.”
“I can’t believe he saved you,” Peter said. “I mean, I’m grateful. I couldn’t get away from Victor or Simon. I owe him my life for saving yours, but he was a statue for most of the night. He was so freaked out by what was happening. I never thought he’d take a stand, let alone save you.”
I didn’t want to discuss James with Peter. I felt like I owed James and I wasn’t sure Peter would understand. “Do you think we were wrong for not notifying the police?”
“We did the right thing,” Peter said. “It’s all so farfetched that if we did tell the cops, they’d probably think we were lying or crazy. The only part I regret is that Megan and Bradley’s families won’t get the closure they deserve.”
We turned into Grandma Claudia’s gravel driveway. Peter pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Stay there, I’m coming around.” He jogged around the front of the car and opened the door.
“Such a gentleman,” I said, taking Peter’s hand.
He slammed the door shut. “Not really. I just wanted to do this.” Peter gently pushed me against the car and kissed me.
“Grandma Claudia won’t let me do this in her house,” Peter whispered in my ear. His mouth traced down the side of my neck and back up to my lips. His body pressed against mine.
I was the one that had to break away. As much as I wanted to kiss Peter in my grandmother’s driveway, we had to go inside. I pulled Peter toward the front door and pushed the doorbell. “She was probably watching us through the curtains.”
No response.
“Maybe she’s out?” Peter suggested.
“No, I saw her car in the driveway.” I rang the doorbell again. When the door didn’t open, I reached under the flowerpot and grabbed the spare key. I twisted it in the lock and pushed open the door. “Hello? Grandma Claudia?”
Scooby zipped out the front door. He ran past us and relieved himself on the nearest tree.
“Stay here, Lex,” Peter said. “I’m going to make sure everything’s okay.”
Scooby ran back up the porch and placed his front paws on my legs. He wanted me to pick him up. I ignored the Chihuahua and leaned into the entryway. “Peter?”
He didn’t answer.
My throat constricted. I had the sudden sensation that I was being hanged again. Before I could scream his name, Peter returned. He shut the front door behind him. His eyes were a dull blue gray.
“What’s wrong? Is she in there?”
Peter placed his hands on my shoulders. I tried to push past him, but he held me back. I struggled against him, but he was too strong. He wouldn’t let me inside.
“Lex, I’m sorry.”
“Why? Why are you sorry? What’s wrong?”
“Grandma Claudia is dead.”
It took a full minute for his words to seep into my brain. I couldn’t comprehend their meaning. Then it hit me. My knees buckled. Peter grabbed me before I fell to the porch.
“We have to call the cops,” Peter said. “She was murdered.”
END OF BOOK ONE
Acknowledgments
There are a handful of people that were essential during this book launching process. My husband, My brother, Chano, for his creative suggestions. He, too, shares a love for things that go bump in the night. My dad, Ruben, for always setting the bar high and expecting nothing but the best. I’m certain that I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without his encouragement.
Thank you to Brandi Doane McCann, who created the artwork for the book’s cover. She did an amazing job! Check out her website: http://www.ebook-coverdesigns.com
A big thanks to Jane Haertel at Crazy Diamond Editing Services. She’s such a joy to work with and no one has a better eye for all of those pesky grammar issues!
Finally, I want to thank my mom, Lisa. Without her help, I wouldn’t have been able to finish the book. She’s been my most enthusiastic supporter since day one. She’s read the book countless times, helped with research and was involved in just about every aspect of creating New England Witch Chronicles.
For more information on the New England Witch Chronicles series and other novels by Chelsea Luna, please visit the following websites:
For more information, please visit: http://www.chelsealunaauthor.com
http://www.facebook.com/ChelseaLuna.Author
Follow me on Twitter: @Chelsea_Luna_
NOVELS BY CHELSEA LUNA
New England Witch Chronicles Series (Young Adult)
New England Witch Chronicles (Book 1)
Conjured (Book 2)
Wicked Betrayal (Book 3)
All Hallows Eve (Book 4)
Zombie Apocalypse Trilogy (Young Adult)
Love & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1)
Death & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 2)
Revenge & the Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3) - Coming Spring 2015
Angels & Sinners Novella Series (Young Adult)
Torment of Shadows (Novella 1)
Mortal Sin (Novella 2) - Coming 2015
Monster Club Series (Middle Grade)
Monster Club: Case of the Ivy Hollow Werewolf
About the Author
Chelsea Luna is the author of two bestselling young adult series, New England Witch Chronicles and Love & the Zombie Apocalypse. Chelsea received a Juris Doctorate from New York Law School in 2007, and a B.A. in Sociology, with a concentration in Criminal Justice, from the University of Tennessee in 2004. Chelsea lives in middle Tennessee.
Chelsea Luna, New England Witch Chronicles
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