Page 20 of Black Willow Witch
‘Could be the case.’
Kage rose from the chaise longue. ‘What do you think she did with all her own stuff?’
‘She probably relocated most of it, if not all, to the spooky spare room. It’s the one place I’m highly unlikely to go, and even in death she’d want her things left untouched.’ Emberlyn shuddered just thinking about the room.
Kage twisted his mouth. ‘For her to have kept everything from your old bedroom all these years, she’d either known very early on that you’d one day be living here again, or she’d hoped you would.’
Emberlyn nodded. ‘It would appear so.’
Paisley shyly raised a hand. ‘Since you’re moving in here, can I have your apartment?’
Emberlyn felt her lips curve. ‘Sure.’
Her friend gave a little clap. ‘Yay! My journey to work just gotmuchshorter.’
It had, since Emberlyn lived above her place of business – which also happened to be where Paisley worked, along with a couple of others. Those ‘others’ were currently holding the fort. ‘I won’t be able to pack all of my stuff tonight, but I can packthe basics and go on a quick grocery shop so I have clothes and essentials to keep me going.’
‘Can I use the bathroom first?’ asked Paisley.
Emberlyn pointed at a door. ‘The en suite is right through there.’
Kage jabbed his thumb behind him. ‘Can I keep nosing around?’
‘Sure.’ Once the twins had walked off, Emberlyn sank onto the turret’s sofa. Which was right when she heard a feline chirp.
She looked up to see a black cat lounging atop the wardrobe. ‘Hey, Lucie.’ Emberlyn made cooing noises, trying to lure her down, but she didn’t move. ‘All right, be like that.’
Not all witches had a familiar. They didn’t always seek you out. Emberlyn could still remember the day Lucie had turned up at the manor. When her grandmother had welcomed the feline with a grin, Emberlyn had originally thought Millicent meant to use her in some sort of ritual sacrifice. On the contrary, she’d taken care of Lucie in a way she hadn’t others.
Though, much as she’d generally left Emberlyn to her own devices, there had been times when Millicent spent what she considered ‘quality time’ with her. Their activities had included things like graverobbing, jinxing land, planting forbidden herbs and temporarily turning the lake to blood just to fuck with people.
While many were wrong in branding her Millicent’s double, there were some traits she’d picked up from her grandmother. Emberlyn wasn’t concerned with what others thought of her; didn’t look to them for acceptance, approval or validation. And fulfilling their expectations was nowhere on her list of things to do. Plus, yes, she was equally vengeful and more than a little ruthless.
But she differed from her grandmother in one very distinct way: in connecting with her magick, Emberlyn embraced allparts of herself – the good, the bad, the ugly. Millicent had only ever embraced the latter two.
Hearing a howl ring out in the distance, Emberlyn looked out of the window, feeling her skin pebble. And, yet again, she found her thoughts sliding to Michael.
To what might have become of him.
Grabbing one of the fringed pillows beside her, Emberlyn hugged it to her. As descendants of the original werewolf, Chilgrave werewolves were quite different from those found in other parts of the world. Well built, with shaggy black hair and red eyes, they looked somewhere between a black shuck and a hellhound.
They also had three forms: the human, the wolf and the In-between.
In the latter form, they were a beast that was both man and wolf. They’d be ruled by their animal instincts, their humanity buried deep. Various things could cause the transformation, such as overwhelming emotions or full moons.
Generally, the transformation was only temporary. They’d be human again before the night was over. But certain things could hamper that – grief, pain, guilt, a need to escape, on and on it went. And so they’d turn Rabid.
Like Michael had.
He’d done as other Rabid had before and after him – he’d fled to Bloodhill. Many Rabid inhabited the seemingly endless forested area that bordered the town. They were savage and had zero control over their lust to kill.
Some occasionally came into town, particularly on full moons, so there was a curfew at such times. They’d otherwise attack, mindless in their thirst for blood and violence.
People didn’t kill them unless necessary. They aimed to capture them, where possible. Because the Rabid could ‘comeback’ from that state. But not always. It generally depended on how long they’d been that way.
Given that the Rabid were prone to turn on each other, Emberlyn didn’t even know if Michael was still alive. But he was gone either way, really – he’d been Rabid too long, his mental processes would be permanently affected.
People in her position typically declared their mating null and void – breaking the mating tie, as the saying went – after five years. Though she’d moved out of the home they’d shared twelve months ago, she’d waited the extra year before making it all official. She’d also dipped her toe in the dating pool. That hadn’t resulted in more than a brief fling or two. But it was something.
