The Rose Witch - Chandelle LaVaun Page 0,31
no rain.
It was the air. It was…wet.
Beads of water pooled on my forehead and on the back of my neck, I felt some dripping down my spine and into my cleavage. I wiped my hands over my forearms and there was a layer of liquid coating my skin. I whined and swatted at it. Ew, ew, ew what IS this? If I didn’t know any better I’d think it was sweat. But I’d only literally just arrived.
Heat surrounded me from every angle. I felt like I was locked inside a sauna.
Where the bloody hell am I? It was still daylight for bloody sake. Well, kind of. The sun was setting on the horizon, a big glowing orange orb sinking into the ocean. The sky was a masterpiece of colors with the reds, pinks, and purples. The clouds rolling over somehow mimicked the rolling waves on the water.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I gasped and leapt back at the sound of a guy’s voice – and landed flat on my ass in the sand. I looked up and my eyes widened. Two young boys stood in front of me. They couldn’t have been more than twelve or thirteen. I knew without standing that they weren’t even as tall as me yet.
“Miss?” The one on the left smiled and I recognized his voice as the one that had just spoken. His emerald green eyes were as warm as the air choking me. His curly blond hair bounced in the salty breeze. “Are you okay?”
“Am I…okay?” No, I am certainly not bloody okay.
“Yeah, nice crash landing,” the other one said with a wild grin. His brown hair was trimmed into a short mohawk. His eyes were an unnerving shade of gray, like a thunderstorm. “Did you hurt yourself?”
“Who are you?”
The one with the mohawk frowned. “Are you British?”
“Where am I?”
“Are you okay?” the other one asked with a smile.
I scrubbed my face, then shoved my hands into my hair. White powdery sand fell over my eyes. I groaned. “Of course I’m not bloody okay! I landed here in a damned ball gown and why is your air choking me?”
“Ah, don’t have humidity in England?” The curly haired blond chuckled. He waved. “I’m Peabo.”
“I’m Atley.” He tapped on his chest and I spotted black band tattoos around his wrists, which was strange for a child. “You’re in St. Pete.”
“What?”
Atley frowned. “St. Petersburg?”
I frowned and looked around. “This is not Russia.”
“Russia?” Atley arched one eyebrow. “Huh, um no. This is Florida, near Tampa. In the United States—”
“I’m in America?” My eyes widened. I scrambled to my feet and looked around. But with the sun setting there wasn’t much else to see. “I’ve never been to America.”
Atley scowled and glanced over to Peabo, then over my shoulder, and finally back to me. “Did Tegan send you? Is she here?”
I froze. My pulse stopped. “Tegan?”
“Yeah, Tegan. The High Priestess? She’s the only one I know who can portal—”
“Are you with The Coven?” I spit out between clenched teeth.
Atley’s cheeks flushed pink like the sunset. “No, I’m not.”
“But we’re good friends with them. They used to live here.”
My stomach rolled and then tightened into knots. No, no, no, no. I didn’t trust The Coven. Not after Tegan handed me over to the incubus. I had to get out of here, away from these boys, before they called her and she portaled.
“Here, let’s call them and see what she’s up to,” Peabo said as he pulled an iPhone out of his pocket and started typing. “What’s your name?”
Get out, Chloe. Get away. NOW. GO.
I opened my mouth, then turned and ran. My feet sank in the sand, slowing me down. I grabbed the skirt of my dress and pushed harder, sprinting faster. Both boys were shouting for me. Their voices grew louder and louder as they chased after me, closing the distance. I cursed. I had to get off the sand so I’d have better footing. I couldn’t let them catch me. I looked to my right and saw cars driving by, which meant there had to be a road. I leapt toward it when that searing pain from the train grabbed ahold of me.
I screamed but then my body locked up. Every muscle spasmed. My breath cut off. A wild, electric tremor ripped through my body like I was having a seizure and then my knees hit the sand. My back arched. I gasped for air but none came. The pain was too much. I felt like I was being