Wicked Betrayal Read online

  “Planning my death must’ve been time consuming.”

  The fact that James could joke about what happened last fall showed how much progress he’d made.

  William Van Curen was the leader of Gamma Omicron Delta, the witch hunting fraternity that hunted me last fall. James was unaware of his father’s murderous hobby until the night Gamma captured me.

  William strangled me in front of my father’s fake tombstone in the Hazel Cove Cemetery. James shoved his father off me just in time, but Mr. Van Curen smashed his head against the tombstone and died. James went through a difficult time coping with what happened, but he was coming to terms with it.

  James grabbed two cans of soda from the refrigerator. “How are you doing?”

  “Eh.”

  “Don’t want to talk about it?”

  “There isn’t much to say. I can’t change the fact that I caught Peter and Olivia kissing.”

  James pulled out a bar stool from the center island. He popped open a can of soda and handed it to me. “If I wasn’t on the pier with you, I wouldn’t have believed it. I mean, Olivia, sure, but not Peter.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “No.”

  James scratched his head. “He hasn’t called or anything?”

  “Nope.”

  “Wow.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “I didn’t know Olivia liked Peter,” James said.

  “I don’t think she does. This is about you.”

  James choked on a mouthful of soda. “Me?”

  “That’s what we were arguing about in the parking lot today. Olivia wanted you. She’s trying to get back at me.”

  “What do me and you have to do with Olivia and Peter kissing?”

  I swallowed. The acidic cola burned my throat. “Olivia is in love with you. She’s been in love with you since your first day at Hawthorne. You know that.”

  “So what? I don’t like her. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. I even took her to that ridiculous Winter Ball. But I couldn’t stand to be around her. She’s such a miserable person.”

  “Oh, she’s miserable all right.”

  “But what does that have to do with you and Peter?”

  “Olivia thinks you and I have a thing. And it’s my fault you won’t date her. She’s getting back at me by going after Peter. It all makes perfect sense in Olivia’s revenged-filled head.”

  “Huh.” James stared at the floor.

  I pushed the box of cookies toward him. “Don’t stress. Obviously, this is Olivia and Peter’s fault.”

  James lowered his eyes. “Do you think we have a ‘thing’?”

  “I -”

  My cell phone vibrated against the granite countertop.

  Sadie. I declined her call.

  “Saved by the bell,” James said.

  I bit my lip.

  James hopped from his stool. “Want to get started?”

  I followed him downstairs. The Van Curen basement was modern and cheery; unlike all the other basements I’d recently been into (and there were a lot). Taupe carpet lined the stairs and floor. Creamy beige walls and recessed lighting made the area look more like a den than a basement.

  The room spanned the length of the house. James walked through a seating area to the far back corner. An enormous gold trimmed painting hung on the wall.

  “Is that?” I asked.

  “I know, it’s horrible.”

  “Wow.”

  “I’d get rid of it, but it’s the perfect size to hide it.”

  The painting was a courthouse scene of the Salem Witch Trials. Dozens of puritans were crammed into the small room debating the fates of innocent victims. James removed the painting and unveiled a half door.

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Crawlspace. That’s where my dad hid his Gamma stuff.”

  I sighed. The crawlspace was big enough to sit in, but it was dark and old. And claustrophobic.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’ve just had my fill of scary places.”

  “Aw, come on. You’re tougher than that. I’ll go first.” James crawled into the darkness. “It’s kind of like that tunnel in the Haunted House. Remember that?”

  I sighed again. Perfect. I twisted my damp hair into a knot and followed James inside.

  “Hold on,” James said. “I have a battery lantern.” A soft yellow glow lit the small space. “Watch out for those beams. Here, give me your hand.”

  I grabbed James’ extended hand. It slid under my elbow and then down to my waist. He lifted me over the planks of wood to the plywood flooring.

  The space was tiny, but we could both comfortably fit. I shifted to sit down. He did the same and we ended up face to face.

  We froze.

  I have no idea what my facial expression was, but it must’ve given him the green light. He inched closer.

  My heartbeat sputtered to a stop.

  James leaned in. I didn’t move. His lips gently brushed against mine. I closed my eyes, drew in a deep breath and pulled away before I kissed him back.

  “I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “I can’t do this.”

  James exhaled. “I’m sorry, too.”

  “It’s too soon. It’s not fair to you.”

  “I shouldn’t have -”

  I moved toward the door. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “Please don’t go. Can we pretend that didn’t happen? I don’t want it to be weird between us.”

  I nodded.

  James threw me a half smile. “Sure?”

  “No awkwardness.” I twisted Peter’s emerald ring around my finger.

  “Good.”

  “I’m sorry,” I blurted out.

  James shook his head. “Let’s forget it.”

  I bit my lip. “I don’t want to forget it. I want you to know that I’m sorry. For everything. I…it’s just with Peter….”

  “You love him.” James crawled over to my side of the hole and put his arm around me. I placed my head under his chin and we sat together in silence for several minutes. I listened to his heartbeat and tried not to think of Peter.

  The floorboards creaked above us and broke our moment of solitude.

  “Aunt Liz is home from work.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hey, do you want to hear something sick?” James asked.

  “Not really, but go ahead.”

  “I dug through the files and discovered why my dad and Victor bought houses in this neighborhood. There’s a reason why it’s called the Hallows.”

  I glanced at James.

  “Salem wasn’t the only town with witch hunts.”

  I sat up. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard about colonial witch hunts in Hazel Cove. Grandma Claudia had mentioned it the night she told me I was a witch.

  “They covered it up because it was so ruthless. That’s why the rest of the world doesn’t know about the Hazel Cove Hunts. They were more humane in Salem,” James said.

  “How is that possible?”

  “They didn’t conduct trials in Hazel Cove. The hunters rounded up women suspected of witchcraft and marched them to the woods on the west side of town. They hung the women from the trees. Eventually, the forest became known as the -”

  “The Hallows.”

  “Years later, the town bulldozed the woods and built an upscale neighborhood.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I honestly don’t understand how my family could do these things.”

  “They were involved in the hunts?”

  James nodded. “Van Curens were active during the Salem Witch Trials and the Hazel Cove Hunts. Apparently, I come from one of the most prestigious lines of hunters in the history of witch hunting. Lucky me.” James pulled a legal box in between us. “On a brighter note, I thumbed through my grandpa’s journal and found a few Liam references.”

  For over thirty years, James’ grandfather, Jonah Van Cu
ren, was the head of Gamma. Once I learned that information about Ethan was probably in Jonah’s journal, I went on a wild goose chase to find it.

  Eventually, James and I broke into his grandfather’s crypt and found the missing journal buried with him. Jonah’s obsessive need to record his life led me to my father. I gave the journal to James a few weeks ago. The old man’s diary turned out to be quite useful after all.

  “You read it down here?” Darkness surrounded us. This was the last place I’d want to read about witches and witch hunters.

  “I didn’t want Aunt Liz to see me reading it.”

  “Good call. What does it say?”

  “Not too much,” James said. “Except that Liam wasn’t off the map for the last hundred years like Vanessa told you.”

  “Vanessa telling lies. Imagine that.”

  “According to Jonah’s journal, Gamma kept tabs on Liam. They didn’t always know where he was, but they recorded entries about him.”

  “That makes sense. Gamma hunts witches and Liam is the world’s most famous, right?”

  James flipped through the pages. He’d tabbed the journal with paperclips. “The entries were logs of Liam’s location. Latitude and longitude called in from Gamma members across the world.”

  “Where was he?”

  “Everywhere. Beijing, Lima, Buenos Aires, London, Halifax. It goes on and on.”

  “Halifax, Nova Scotia? That’s not a vacation spot.”

  James shrugged. “Maybe he likes to ski.”

  “Liam fills his endless days by traveling the world?”

  “I guess,” James said. “What else is there to do?”

  I rubbed my temples. “Another mystery.”

  “But that’s not the big news.” James held up a dusty pamphlet. “This is what I’m excited about.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A hunter’s teaching tool.”

  “I’m afraid to ask what it teaches.”

  “Liam’s origins,” James said. “Gamma used this pamphlet as an informational source.”

  “Wow.”

  “It’s only a few pages, but it tells the story - as Gamma believes it - of Liam’s origins.”

  I launched myself across the space and hugged James. “I can’t believe you found this!”

  James laughed. “Here you go. It reads like a text book, but it’s a bona fide witch hunter’s guide to Liam.”

  The thin grey pamphlet was worn with age. I held it in both hands, eagerly anticipating the words written within. Not only would this give me insight into Liam, but it was also a glimpse into my family history.

  CHAPTER 4

  Gamma Omicron Delta’s

  Informative Pamphlet on Liam Ross

  (To be Distributed to New Members After Initiation)

  Liam Alexander Ross was believed to be conceived in what is now modern-day England to Marek and Lara Ross sometime around 35 A.D. We do not have information regarding Marek and Lara, only that they were both witches. Marek was half blooded and Lara was a pure blood.

  (Note: The current line of Ross Witches migrated north from England to East Lothian, Scotland sometime after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. For a more in depth look at the Ross Witches, excluding Liam Ross, please see the file on the North Berwick Witch Trials of 1590.)

  At the age of seven, Liam’s father, Marek, was killed in battle in 42 A.D when the Romans invaded Britain under the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Lara raised Liam in Terry, a small village near Salisbury.

  Lara cultivated her son’s powers during his adolescent years. People from surrounding villages traveled to Terry to seek the “healing powers” of Liam Ross. As time passed, Liam’s wealth and notoriety grew.

  It is unknown whether Lara dabbled in the dark arts. However, Liam’s curious nature drew him to the darkness early in life. We believe Marek’s death haunted Liam throughout his life. As a result, Liam became obsessed with death. He dedicated all of his time to the discovery of an unanswerable question - how to cheat death. Lara grew unhappy with her son’s obsession with death and the dark arts and begged him to walk away from magic.

  Liam refused. He became intoxicated by the vastness of his power as a pure blooded witch who performed dark magic. The obsession with cheating death grew. Soon, dead animals were found in the woods near their home.

  Corpses of woodland creatures near the Ross cottage numbered in the dozens. The state of the dead animals was peculiar; particularly, the eyes. Or lack thereof. The flesh surrounding the eyes was burned, leaving only empty sockets. One undercover member of Gamma reported that a rabbit’s soul had been dragged out of the body through its eyes.

  The villagers feared Liam was the Devil himself. Of course, he wasn’t. However, the amount of power that Liam exercised was remarkable.

  With Marek dead and Liam unreachable, Lara turned her attention to the local blacksmith. If the couple attempted to keep their love affair discreet, they failed miserably. Whispers of the two erupted throughout the village. Liam, still not over the death of his father, went rabid when he learned of his mother’s lover.

  Details of the blacksmith’s death were not clear. The magistrate found the blacksmith in the woods behind the Ross cottage. His body was positioned spread eagle on a patch of burnt grass with his eyes burned out. Lara confronted Liam about the murder and forced him to move out.

  Once out of his mother’s house, Liam disappeared. There was no record of his life for three years. Only speculation. Gamma believes Liam sought other witches who practiced dark magic; however, this cannot be confirmed.

  Three years later, Liam returned to Terry. He had obtained what he was searching for. Liam possessed the unknowable secret. The spell that would allow him to cheat death.

  We can only speculate about Liam’s return to Terry. Liam may have come home to reconcile with his mother, only to be shunned by her. Perhaps, he wanted to take the only pure blooded witch he knew of. Whatever the case, upon Liam’s return to Terry on Samhain (October 31st), Liam lured his mother to the ancient burial site of Stonehenge.

  Liam sacrificed Lara in the center of Stonehenge, performing his first sacrifice to extend his life and cheat death.

  The details of the sacrifice ritual are unknown, but notes were collected regarding the more obvious aspects of the ritual. These observations are discussed below.

  Sacrifice Ritual Observations

  1) Location

  2) Sacrificial Object

  3) Time

  4) Other Factors

  1) Location: Liam has performed the ritual in various locations around the world. We believe the sacrifice must occur at a location that harbors supernatural energy.

  Stonehenge, located in the county of Wiltshire, England, is roughly five miles from Terry. Stonehenge, of course, is a prehistoric monument, composed of standing stones placed in a circular setting. Modern day archaeologists believe Stonehenge was constructed around 3000 B.C. According to Gamma’s records, this is an accurate estimation.

  Archaeologists speculate that Stonehenge served as a burial ground due to the amount of human bones found at the site. Gamma has concrete evidence linking Stonehenge with various supernatural occurrences. (See files on the Walaxia Witch Sisters, Miveola the Druid Priestess and the Harvey Khaki encounter of 1885 for examples of supernatural occurrences at Stonehenge.)

  2) Sacrifice: The sacrifice must be a pure blooded witch.

  The reason a pure blood must be sacrificed is unknown. Half blooded witches will not suffice for the ritual. Neither will humans. The raw power possessed by a pure blood (which is significantly greater than that of a half blooded witch) is essential to the ritual. Liam somehow harnesses the pure blood’s power, essentially coveting the essence into his own body.

  3) Time: There are two aspects to this factor.

  A) Time of Day: We have evidence to support that the ritual must occur at sunset. In 1535, on the heels of the great conquistador and witch hunter, Francisco Pizarro, Gamma tracked Liam to the Incan
capital of Cuzco, Peru. It was in this ancient city, where Gamma successfully interrupted one of Liam’s sacrifice rituals.

  Gamma suffered high causalities during the battle. Ultimately, Liam’s powers were too substantial and Gamma retreated. However, the fighting raged on until early morning, rendering the sacrifice moot.

  (Note: The pure blood sacrifice was terminated during the battle by Pizarro. For more information, please see the file on Pre-Colonial Witch Hunts of South America.)

  B) Time of Year: The ritual must occur on Samhain, the medieval harvest festival held on October 31st. Samhain became known as All Hallows Eve and subsequently Halloween. The festival marked the end of harvest and the start of the dark part of the year. Large feasts were held and celebrations ran well into the night. Bonfires were prevalent during the festivities and bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into the flames as a cleansing ritual.

  It is curious that the ritual must occur on Samhain and all pure blood witches are born on Samhain. We are not sure why or how that is biologically possible, but it is a known fact. It is probably due to the witches’ evil nature and the correlation to the pagan holiday.

  Liam sacrifices most pure bloods on their eighteenth birthday. How he tracks and locates the pure bloods is unknown. We can only assume that Liam’s anxiousness regarding his next sacrifice is the reason that most of the rituals occur on the pure blood’s eighteenth birthday - the day the witch receives the influx of power. It should be noted that Liam has sacrificed other pure bloods at various ages (after the age of eighteen). A prime example is his mother, Lara, who was sacrificed at the age of forty-seven.

  4) Other Factors: Unknown as of this publication.

  We do not have information regarding Liam’s mortality. We do not know how long or how many years Liam gains for each sacrifice. He is not immortal, yet he is very close to it.

  Although Liam, in a sense, does Gamma a service by hunting his own kind, Liam, himself, is a force to be reckoned with. He is more dangerous than any known witch in history.

  Gamma and countless other hunters have tried to hunt him, only to come up unsuccessful time and time again. Therefore, Gamma determined it was not in their best interest to pursue Liam.