passing thick trees with tons of crows in the branches.
Once at the huge building, Nick shut off the truck. “Here we are,” he said.
We climbed out, and I helped him grab our bags.
The front doors opened, and an old woman floated down the stairs on a broom. She stopped with her face right in front of mine.
“You are untrained,” she said.
I nodded.
“You’re also extremely ignorant,” she said.
Scowling, I didn’t know how to answer
She turned. “Wolf, take her inside, third door on the left.”
Then, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Okay,” Nick said, drawing out the word.
We walked inside, and the front door closed behind us.
“I didn’t know we were coming to a haunted house,” Nick said out of the side of his mouth.
I snickered.
The hallways were lined with pictures of women. I stopped at one and tears filled my eyes.
“Mom,” I whispered.
Nick set the bags down to hug me.
We finished our walk and entered a room with three women seated at the front.
“Sit,” the middle one said and pointed at a loveseat against the wall. We sat, and I leaned against Nick, my heart beating fast.
“You are Sarah, daughter of Marina. The last witch,” the youngest looking one said.
My mouth dropped.
“Did you say the last witch?” Nick asked.
All three nodded.
“Vampires had been hunting your kind for generations. You are the last,” the oldest one, the one who’d met us out front, said.
“You’re witches, though, aren’t you?” I asked.
They smiled.
“We’re aspects of the goddess,” the middle one said. “Sent to protect magic in this world.”
Now it made sense. The youngest looking was the maiden. The middle was the mother and the oldest was the crone.
“You’ll be teaching me magic?” I asked.
They shook their heads.
“Your teachers are spirits.”
“You, your wolf, and other Guardians will be attending here. You two are the first to arrive.”
“More Guardians?” Nick asked. “Why more if she is the last witch?”
The three looked at each other and then back to us.
“You don’t know? You already have three Guardians that magic assigned you since you didn’t have an official choosing. Magic is an uncertain and chaotic thing at times,” the maiden said.
“What?” Nick and I asked at the same time.
“We contacted them today because we were worried you hadn’t realized it,” the crone said.
Whoa. Three Guardians? Who were the other two?
“Your classes will start tomorrow. You are in room 202, Nicholas is in room 203. Go unpack,” the mother said. “You will find your uniforms in the dressers, but you don’t have to start wearing them until tomorrow.”
We gathered our things and followed the hallway to a set of stairs.
“Why do I feel like I know my way around here when I shouldn’t?” I asked in a whisper.
“I was wondering the same thing,” Nick whispered back.
We climbed the stairs and found the rooms they had mentioned.
There were at least ten other rooms, too.
“Any ideas who the other two are?” he asked, pushing open the door to my room and checking it before letting me in.
I shook my head. “No clue.”
She’d said I should have known. Did that mean it was another from the pack?
After setting my stuff down, we crossed the hallway to his room.
“I’m glad we’re close,” I mumbled.
He put his things down and hugged me.
“The last witch,” I whispered. It was hard to believe.
His window overlooked the driveway, and at the sound of a car, I looked out.
My jaw dropped, and I ran out of the room and down the stairs, stumbling in my rush.
The front doors opened, and I panted as I looked at the two other Guardians.
Gary and Tom.
Chapter Eight
Tom hugged me, and I returned it. Part of me had felt awful for leaving without saying bye to him. Not nearly as bad as I felt for abandoning Cherry, though.
“You thought you could run from me,” he said and smiled down at me.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say bye. It was a sudden change,” I said.
“You two?” Nick asked from the doorway.
Gary pulled me from Tom and hugged me. “Yes, us two,” he said.
“I thought werewolves were the only ones who became Guardians,” Nick said.
“Normally,” the maiden said, “but there are times when Dhampirs and others are united with a witch. It makes sense that the last witch would have a few Guardians of different races.”
“The last?” Gary asked and scowled at me.
I nodded, and his grip on my side tightened.
“Tom you are in room 205. Gary, you are in room 204,” she said. “Dinner is in one hour.”
Nick’s eyes focused on Gary’s hand on my