Every Witch Way But Dead Read online

  “Angelica!” Jon yelled as he held me up in the water. My eyes rolled back and I fought to reach him. Something restrained me. A voice, a soft moaning, pleaded with me.

  Don’t…go—I beg of you. The voice appealed to my emotional side. The energy felt feminine, soft and yielding, opposed to demanding and masculine.

  She appeared yet again. Her hands seemed to reach beyond the veil and pull me back. My body writhed from the ache that emanated from my neck.

  A circle of black candles flashed before me and warmth spread through my entire body. The soreness subsided and feelings of arousal permeated my being. I ached, needing a release. The sensation encompassed me. In the back of my mind, words resonated to a song or a chant of some kind.

  I reached for my husband, running my hand down the length of his torso.

  I kneeled, slithered up the breadth of him and wrapped my arms around him. I felt his desire gradually awaken. “Mmm,” I moaned. He lifted me out of the tub. My entire focus was on satisfying my lust. My lips hungrily met his. I purred in his ear, “Take me to bed.”

  I stood on the ceramic floor while Jon forced some cool water between my lips.

  “Are you all right? You sounded like you were choking.”

  “Thanks, honey. I’m fine now, really. I must have dozed and had a bad dream or something. I think I swallowed some bath water, that’s what I was choking on. Come on, I’m cold, take me to bed,” I said as I stood pressing my wet body against his, shivering. Gently, he carried me to our bed.

  “You’re on fire, Angie—here, get under the covers,” he whispered, laying me down. “Are you sure you’re all right, sweetheart?”

  “I must have been thinking of what we talked about before—the affair—and I probably dozed off and had a bad dream. Come on, get under the covers and keep me warm.”

  He obliged, sliding between the sheets. My hands skimmed over to his growing arousal. I wrapped my legs around him and slipped him into me.

  He moaned. I thrust my hips against him and closed my eyes. All I saw were black candles lit in a circle. “I want you so badly,” I whispered into my husband’s ear, nibbling playfully as we twisted among the sheets. Oddly, I felt I was in two places simultaneously. One familiar, the other foreign.

  Jon suddenly stopped and looked me right in the eyes. “What’s gotten into you?”

  “You!” I smiled, rolling on top, slowly writhing back and forth. My hair tumbled down and tickled his flesh, brushing his torso.

  “I do love you.” He sighed. “After all these years, you must know that.”

  I looked into his eyes and nodded. “I love you, too.” My body shook from the journey into the ethers. My skin tingled with every caress, each sensation a delight. Repeatedly I climaxed, wanting more and never quite satiated. Jon rolled me onto my back, attempting to keep up with my desire.

  “Don’t stop—I want more,” I moaned longingly, my libido taking on a life of its own. Logic escaped me, and my only thought focused on the explosive orgasm that took over my body.

  “Baby, I can’t hold on any longer.”

  “No—not yet,” I pleaded. My nails bit into his flesh.

  A phantom flash of a silver blade struck down as we both reached our pleasure points. My breath stuck in my throat, my body arched upward toward my husband.

  We were breathless, tangled among the linens.

  Chapter Two

  Malachite is one of the few stones that can be used to clear and activate all the charkas. Because of the high copper content of the stone, it has a strong, pulsing electromagnetic field. It cleanses the aura by absorbing negative energy, thus balancing the wearer and protecting her from any negativity. Malachite helps find a balanced path with the ego and the Higher Will, removing blockages and inspiring us with ideas to help bring those goals to life. ~ Marisa Arrucci’s Gem Power workshop.

  Minutes later I heard the phone jingle from my nightstand. I checked the caller ID and, as I thought, saw my Haitian friend’s number displayed.

  “What happened? Are you okay? I went to go lie down and couldn’t stop thinking about you. Usually that means somethin’s up. Am I right?” Ouida’s heavily accented voice sounded strained.

  “Yeah, you could say that. Strange visions again,” I answered.

  “Are you over it now? You want to talk about it, sister? I feel you’re in for some trouble. The spirits are restless,” she said.

  “I’m fine—really. Tired, but fine. And confused, I’ll talk to you about it tomorrow. Okay?”

  “You get a good night’s rest. I got a feelin’ this isn’t going to be over for a while, peu une. I want to hear all about it tomorrow.”

  “You feel it, too?” I asked, watching Jon go through his nightly ritual of putting his cell phone in its charger and downing a handful of vitamins. My throat tightened while he swallowed them without any water.

  “I feel somethin’. Keep yourself protected.”

  “We have to talk tomorrow. Good night, Oui.” With that, I hung up the phone.

  Jon asked, “Do you want anything? Something a little stronger than water? Some wine maybe? You stay here and relax. I’ll get it.”

  “I’d love a cup of my Cozy Nights tea.” I settled into my down pillows and turned on our bedroom television. Seinfeld was on. Good, I could use a laugh.

  What started out as a premonition had ended in a most unusual way and I still couldn’t figure it out. I shivered, thinking about this latest foray into the unknown. The images still haunted me.

  “Are you okay?” Jon asked.

  “I’m fine. Really. Why?”

  “You were just—insatiable.”

  “You’re not complaining, are you?” I laughed, a little confused myself.

  “No way. I’ll go get your tea.” He smiled, turning to head out the door.

  “Come over here and kiss me first.” I sighed.

  * * *

  The following night, my circle sisters and I decided to meet at my home. I needed opinions.

  “We should consult the loa,” Ouida said.

  “Loa?” Kara asked.

  Takara was her given name and she was the newest member of our circle. She was an Asian beauty with penetrating, jet black eyes and raven hair. Kara had a black belt in Aikido and taught at the dojo down the road from Sacred Treasures. She attended our healing circles and recently became interested in our other circle. The magickal circle.

  “The loa are the intermediaries between the spirit’s world and us. They’re like the saints of the Catholic religion. I could do another ritual at home, Angie, if you like,” Ouida offered. Her tea-colored skin was splashed with freckles and she had the warmest smile I’d ever seen. “We should try to get to the bottom of these visions. From what you’ve said, sister, they are nothin’ like the prior premonitions.”

  “No—not at all. These are something out of a—a Wes Craven movie.” I shuddered at the thought of them.

  “Oh, shit! That bad? I’ll use the I Ching and see what I get,” Kara added.

  I smiled. One by one, my spiritual sisters offered to help with their very special gifts. My circle friends. Marisa, Ouida, Ivy, Kara, Heena and I were as tight as any family. Closer, in fact, than many, and together we observed the turning of the wheel of the year. Yes, my friends and I lit bonfires and danced under the radiant moon.

  We were hip witches of the North Shore and we celebrated the seasons, among many other things. With the exception of Ivy. She was a Hampton gal.

  Living in the northeast, we counted our blessings. Having the four seasons to honor and enjoy were but one blessing. Smooth sand and a stone altar provided by nature made the surroundings perfect for our full moon rituals and Sabbat celebrations.

  “The Runes for me,” Ivy chimed in. She settled into an oversized wicker chair on my back deck which overlooked Long Island Sound. Ivy’s salt and pepper braids hung past her shoulders and her clear blue eyes saw more than she’d ever confess. At fifty-five years young, she was our wise
woman, the crone of our little group. One could easily imagine her wandering the misty moors of the Emerald Isle.

  “I don’t know what I can offer.” Heena sighed, stretching like a streamlined feline. She reminded me of a Siamese cat. Her gorgeous blue-green, almond-shaped eyes offset her caramel-color skin. “I’ve been so very busy lately.” She tried to muffle a yawn.

  I felt quite pleased to have everyone together. “I’m just so glad you’re free, Heena. I know with your schedule and Ouida’s, it’s not always easy.”

  “No, it’s not. We added another physician to our practice. We’re now officially known as North Shore Pediatrics.”

  “That’s great, congratulations,” Marisa said.

  “Oh! I didn’t tell you—I’m on days in the ER. I’m still the charge nurse, but two days a week now,” Ouida announced.

  “Finally, that’s good news, Oui. So, no further visions, Angie?” Ivy asked while pouring a glass of stress release tea. A combination of valerian, chamomile, lemon balm and grapefruit mint added to its soporific effect.

  “Just what I’d told you about last night. It was so eerie.” I’d left out the sexual aspect of the experience from the night before.

  “Oh, Angie, not to change the subject,” Marisa said, “but Ronnie Graile had called wanting to set up an appointment for a Reiki treatment and some shopping with you. She sounded a bit frazzled. I guess the new CD’s almost finished and she’s stressing about its success.” Ronnie was our mutual friend and a member of the band Arthur’s Graile.

  Marisa took a broccoli floret and dipped it into dill sauce. “She didn’t sound like her normal bubbly self. She did say she and Marc are moving, but she didn’t say when or why. Only that they’ll be your new neighbors, Heena. They’re moving to your gated community.”

  It had been one of life’s fortuitous synchronicities when Marc Arthur met Veronica Graile—two people who could literally say they made beautiful music together.

  “Don’t forget we’ve got their concert coming up soon,” I reminded my friend.

  “Oh, they must have bought that Tudor home a few doors down from me.” Heena reached for some chips. “Yes, she mentioned it was a Tudor. It’s perfect for them. It looks like a castle.”

  We sat outside under the stars, sipping an assortment of beverages, from stress relief tea to May wine. A ruckus erupted in the form of my youngest son while I poured myself another glass of the fruity elixir.

  “What are you doing, Jake?” my fifteen year-old daughter, Amber, asked. She came outside to sit with us, wearing a look of malcontent. Occasionally glancing at her younger brother while grabbing a handful of pretzels, she listened in on our gabfest.

  “I’m scoping out the firefly situation.” Jake tried catching the lightning bugs in a glass jar with Marisa’s son, Will.

  I watched my only daughter mope and sigh with the desperation that often accompanied teenagers.

  “What’s wrong, Pookie?” I asked, using her nickname. She turned a delicate shade of ruby.

  “Amber has a boyfriend,” Jake teased.

  My usually levelheaded daughter shot an angry look at her brother. “Shut up, you toad.”

  “Ouch!” Jake threw his empty pickle jar in the air and shook his hand.

  “Hey, you two. Knock it off,” I scolded.

  Jake looked at his sister with widened eyes, then he picked up the jar and continued his quest for fireflies. Something wasn’t right, but for tonight I didn’t want to think about anything that required too many brain cells.

  Still, I was in mommy mode. “What’s this about a guy?” I asked.

  Amber slowly released a sigh. “It’s nothing, Mom. Just a friend of Michele’s brother.”

  “Michele’s brother is twenty-four, isn’t he?” I asked, feigning a calmness that disguised pure panic.

  “Yes, and don’t worry, he’s like ten years older than me.” She moaned, “But he’s mad cute.”

  “Don’t get any ideas, Pookie,” I said in that tone a woman acquires at the birth of her first-born and which, like a fine wine, improves with time.

  “How old were you when Dad came along?”

  May Day! May Day! Direct hit! She knew right where to strike, reminding me of what I’d done as a teenager. How do they do that?

  “Okay, point made.” I sighed. “I was a year older than you, and your father was not ten years older than me.”

  “Whatever,” she moaned.

  Marisa playfully threw a chip at Amber. “Ah-hem. Well now—we’re all in agreement to devote our energies to abundance and protection this full moon? An abundance of all good things. Health, wealth and love?” Marisa asked, refocusing our attention and diffusing the rising tension between Amber and me. I did not want my daughter to follow in my footsteps, unable to enjoy her youth. I wanted so much more for her.

  “You want to join us, Amber?” I asked hopefully. I periodically tried to include my fledgling, but she rebuffed me every time. She kept glaring at her brother. Her aura flared in spots around her power center, her third chakra. My wine glass was in her line of sight while she watched Jake catch and release night creatures.

  “No thanks, Mom. Maybe next time.” As predicted, she turned me down, again.

  I sipped my wine. It had lost its chill, making the sweet woodruff’s flavor stand out. “Ivy, can you throw a few cubes in here? Wow, it got warm fast.” I lifted my wine glass and Ivy dropped in a large cube. “I guess summer’s here early. The nights are so balmy.”

  “One day, Amber, you and my daughter, Andrea, are going to join us in a ritual. I know you two will absolutely love it,” Marisa teased. Her citrine eyes sparkled in the firelight.

  The others nodded, giving their individual opinions about how much Amber would enjoy it. The magick, the self-empowerment, the sisterhood. My daughter shrugged and headed back inside.

  Ivy stood, taking the pie cutter in hand. “Nice try, Momma,” she teased, slicing her mouth-watering fruit torte. We munched on the various snacks that adorned my glass tabletop. Marisa brought bags of pita chips and whole-wheat honey pretzels from The Healthy Harvest. I cut up fresh vegetables and served them with a scrumptious homemade dip.

  Candles cast their resplendence on the table, and around the railing of my deck, tiki torches blazed. The water languidly splashed along the beach as nighttime fishing boats cruised by, along with Captain Jack’s party boat.

  With my eldest twin boys home for a change, I sighed deeply, relaxed inside, knowing all my children were home. With my two sons grown, these times of us being under the same roof were too few and far between for my liking.

  Soon everyone made their exits, hugging and laughing like schoolgirls. Marisa was the last to leave. She lived the closest, right down the road. Will ran off ahead of her, giving us a minute to talk.

  “Did I tell you I’m seeing a new client at the shop? Her name’s Sally. I think you were out to lunch when she came in the other day,” Marisa said. “There’s something familiar about her. She could pass for your younger sister, if you had one. I think her boyfriend’s using her as a punching bag, though. It looked like she was covering up a bruise on her cheek. Right under her left eye. I was about to ask her about it, but she left. She said she was in a hurry. Sweet girl,” she added as she stifled a yawn. “Clogged root, heart and throat chakras, but we’re working on that. I only did a twenty minute session on her for the first time.”

  “If anyone can help her, you can. So, what’s your take on these visions?” I asked, somewhat apprehensively.

  “I think it’s safe to say we’re in for something big,” Marisa answered. “I promise I’ll try to do your reading tonight, but I’m a bit pooped.”

  “I’ll tell you one thing—they’re freakin’ me out!” I pulled my crocheted poncho tighter around my shoulders.

  “Don’t stress over them, we can’t do anything about it now. See you in the morning, baby cakes.” Marisa waved and disappeared down the road.

  * * *

&nb
sp; Sleep arrived and whisked me away on moonbeams and fairy dust. Another presence prowled in the cloudless night, born of nightmares, tall and muscular with wisps of curls caressing his shadowed face. He called to me. Not by name, but he knew me. Knew my essence. He entered my dreamtime.

  Power emanated from every pore of his towering physique. His eyes were a blue not of this world. A vampire’s eyes. Cold and calculating. Ready to suck the life force out of anyone who stood in his way. Black candles surrounded him.

  For some unknown reason, I went to him. I sensed the feelings of familiarity were mutual. Abruptly I was transported to another scenario, a time and place beyond this one. A desert landscape loomed before me.

  The air lacked humidity. My mouth was parched. I looked down at my skin, which now appeared a few shades darker than normal. Bedecked with rich, gold jewelry, my hands were slender, and I wore robes of the finest silk. Pools of water lay beyond me. I gazed down at my reflection. Black eyes stared back and waves of ebony hair swirled around my bare shoulders.

  Emotions bombarded my psyche, sadness engulfed me and tears flowed down my cheeks.

  Separation.

  Despair.

  And love. I felt him close to me, the man with whom I was destined to be. But at the same time, he eluded me. Thoughts of betrayal assaulted my mind. I tried to think of his name, but the scene faded to black. I tossed and turned in the heat of the night.

  I stood in front of the faceless figure once more, with nothing but a shawl wrapped around me. He tugged at the wrap and allowed it to drop to the ground. His finger lightly traced the line of my jaw and down my neck and lingered by my breast, teasing. I knew this was the same man from the desert. A soft moan escaped my lips.

  That’s when the arousal began.

  Right before the knife slashed my throat and a river of blood spurted out of the gaping wound.

  Chapter Three

  Rhodonite ~ This calm, warming stone is said to bring tranquility and insight to our Cosmic Purpose. It gives assurance, encourages generosity of spirit and helps to balance relationships. It aids in understanding new concepts at a heart level. It helps us to open up and share our inner talents with an open heart. ~ From Angelica Kane’s class on Gem Power.