Page 26 of Cursed Touch
“The short, short version…” Serena stated. “Everything you saw or have seen is not part of your imagination. You are most definitely not crazy, and neither are we. If I had to guess, somewhere in your family line, there was a witch, maybe two since most humans are oblivious to the world we live in.”
Her lips parted before she smacked them together a few times. “Excuse me, did you say witch?” She raised the wine to her lips and gulped. Somehow, she had entered the twilight zone, and while she was there with the sexy-as-sin Dr. Tingles, she worried about Georgia and her family missing her.
Serena sighed with annoyance. “You know, for someone who’s seen weird shit, you really are unbelieving. Brandy? Can I get some help to speed this along?”
Brandy chuckled as she passed the baby to her husband. “Vanessa, we were all in your shoes about a year ago. No, wait… Everyone in here but Ryan, Serena, and Claudia were in your shoes. I was the first, and let me tell you, it was some crazy, fucked-up shit. Falling into Wonderland kind of shit. Before I scare you…”
“Great,” Vanessa muttered and took another sip, letting the wine warm her insides.
“Carter, she’s not going to believe anything if you let her keep drinking,” Serena stated.
Vanessa twisted, protecting the wine from his grubby fingers. “My wine!”
He chuckled and raised his hands in defense. “Brandy?”
One second Vanessa was holding the wine glass, but the next her fingers were pressed against her chest. “What the?” She turned and her brows pinched as Brandy swirled the delicious red liquid in the glass before smelling it.
“Mmm… What kind is this?” she asked Carter. “Never mind.” In Brandy’s free hand, the bottle and an empty glass appeared.
“Where did that—”
“Magic,” Brandy said as she poured herself a glass and sipped. “Mmm… tasty!”
“Brandy,” Junior warned from the side, his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk playing at his lips.
Brandy sighed and set everything down on the side table. “We’re all witches. We each have different powers, and we all have soul mates. Serena is the high priestess of the local coven. Out of everyone here, I have the most powers,” she said, and a ball of fire formed in her hand.
Katia clapped excitedly from Max’s lap, and her mother hushed her.
The flame became a frozen ball of ice before it disappeared, and a gust of wind blew Vanessa’s hair away from her face. “I can call forth all the elements and use them. Let’s say mums that are dead? I can bring them back to life.”
Vanessa’s eyes rounded. “You? You’re the one who did that?”
Brandy nodded. “I did, back when I was first learning about everything and Peter and Ryan were pretty much holding me hostage so this asshole of a demon wouldn’t get me. I was out for a walk, and the flowers drew my attention. It was the first time I’d ever made something regain life.”
There were so many things Vanessa wanted to address from Brandy’s statement. “You can bring things back from the dead?” she blurted.
Brandy chuckled. “No one can do that.”
“We don’t touch that kind of magic,” Serena stated firmly.
“I’d come back from the store with plants to replace the mums and thought I was hallucinating,” she muttered.
Brandy’s face fell. “I’m so sorry, Vanessa. I didn’t know at the time how my magic could affect others.”
“The red eyes you saw were most likely a tubar. Tubars are lower-level demons and more of a nuisance, but they can be very dangerous,” Ryan said as he rubbed his daughter’s cheek absentmindedly. “It’s actually how Brandy and I officially met. One was after her, but she didn’t know how to protect herself.”
“What about the glowing yellow eyes?” Vanessa asked and a silent moment passed among the group. “What?”
“Not all supernatural beings are bad, as not all are good,” Claudia stated. “Glowing yellow eyes are a trait of werewolves…”
“Werewolves?” Vanessa asked carefully.
“There are two types. Both typically keep to themselves, but the ones to worry about are not a part of a pack,” Claudia stated before her eyes flashed a golden hue in Vanessa’s direction.
Vanessa gasped, and Max pulled Claudia into him.
“We know plenty of werewolves who are as much a part of this family as the seven of us are, thanks to our blood relation,” Brandy declared, and Vanessa understood the underlining warning.
