We land in the middle of the city, a cart rushes by us with tentacles slipping out of the cloth covering the back. Bile rises in my throat before I stand up and look around for James. I catch sight of him laying on the edge of the road, his long legs sprawled out in front of him. My eyes grow wide as I rush over to him. Hooking his arm around my neck, I push all of my adrenaline into my legs and stand up. Kicking open the door to a nearby seemingly abandoned building, I drag him inside and lay his body on the stone paved ground.
"James? James can you here me?" I ask, shaking him gently. Panic rises in me like the storm tides as I place my hands on either side of his face.
"Come on James, wake up. I need you."
Relief washes over me as he coughs a few times before inhaling several deep breaths. Helping him sit up, I look him in the eyes.
"Are you okay?" I ask softly.
He nods slowly, reaching his fingers out and placing them on my cheek. "Are you okay Jackie?"
I exhale and nod. "I'll be fine. My sister made her choice, let's find a way out of this nightmare of a place."
He looks around. "Where are we exactly?"
I shake my head. "You used a spell to teleport us, but we ended up in the middle of the road. You were unconscious, so I dragged you in here. How are your legs so impossibly long?"
He chuckles before locking eyes with mine. "I should've been clearer about where I was trying to send us, but I was only worried about saving you."
My cheeks heat up before I look away.
"Can you stand?" I ask.
He grabs my face and forces me to look at him. The sun filters through the holes in the wooden panels of the ceiling, lighting up his forest green eyes. My eyes flit from his eyes to his impossibly soft lips, before travelling back up to his forest greens. He tilts his head to one side slightly and leans closer.
"Jacklyn.." he breathes, his face inches away from mine.
My lips part slightly. "Yes?"
"Ahem!" I jump back at the sound of someone's voice. Turning around, I find a tall woman standing there, with eyes that are thickly lined with kohl. A sharp pain shoots through my head as I remember where I've seen her before. The witch who was serving my mother. My gaze travels down to her hands. My stomach twists itself into a tight knot, she has no fingers.
...
"Miss Vice?" she hisses.
I stand up and brush my dark pants off. "What are you doing here?"
Goosebumps race over the surface of my skin as she looks me dead in the eye. I feel james tense behind me as he moves to stand as well.
"Your mother sent me in here to get you."
I scoff. "Why would mother send you? Besides isn't this what she wanted? Why else would Vivian tell me and my sister to come in here? There is no other explanation that makes sense."
The witch exhales and folds her arms. "Your mother did not order Vivian to send you in here, she sent your sister. Your mother knows what you are, she would never place you in that much danger."
I shake my head. "So because I'm the child of a man who once lead the Finger-Less Coven, I'm in danger?"
She nods curtly.
My eyebrows crease. "Why? Because of the old hag we met?"
Anger spreads like wildfire over her features. I'm sure her hands would've balled into fists.....if she had fingers. She exhales.
"If you are referring to the ancient leader of the Finger-Less Coven, then no. There are many more dangers out here, our coven's leader would have protected you if you just accepted your birth right."
I fold my arms. "How do you know I declined her offer?"
She raises a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't, you would be out training with her."
Her expression morphs into pure disgust as she rakes her eyes over my body. I squirm uncomfortably under her scrutinizing gaze befor meeting it.
"How you can turn down such an honored position I will never understand, every member of this coven dreams of having the position of her successor," she quips.
I hold up a hand. "I have no interest in having anything to do with the Finger-Less Coven. Now since my mother sent you here to get me, why don't you kindly escort us back?"
She tilts her head to the side as James steps forward. "Wait, you said Jacklyn was in danger here, why?"
The raccoon eyed witch licks her lips as she gazes at James before speaking.
"If Miss Vice does not fill the position of successor, then our leader will have no choice but to change the line of successsion and pick a new family line to pass the leadership to. Several witches in this city would purposefully kill Vice so that their families could continue the line. She resembles her father, if anyone found out who she was-"
James's hands ball into fists. "We're leaving, right now. They can take the damn positon."
He turns to me. "Jacklyn, let's go."
I nod and take his outstretched hand. Raccoon eyes glares at me before throwing two small vials at me and James. After catching mine, I look up. "What is this?"
She sighs. "I told you, you can't get back the same way you left. But your mother developed a certain spell to get you out."
James steps in front of me. "We don't know if this is safe, I don't think we should drink it until we know for sure that it's not poison of some sort. What if this wi-"
Before he can finsih protesting, I pop off the lid and gulp down the burning lime green liquid.