Watch of the Wicked (Devil's Witch Book 3)

Stella

I didn’t really want to come to this. Crystal really is nuts. Who would she cry over such a pathetic excuse of a man? Darren used her completely. Maybe she’s crying for what he did to her. Wouldn’t surprise me if she’s just now realizing it.

His portrait is set over his coffin. One of the men who came with the funeral party removes it from the casket and hands it off to Crystal. The priest starts talking again as he’s lowered into the ground.

I think it’s a little late to try saving his soul, but who am I to stop him from blessing the fang-face now that he’s where he belongs. In hell. It’s a pretty satisfying feeling.

Really, I hope we can leave soon because these metal chairs are freezing cold. Colin is at home babysitting the demon spawns with Tommy of all people. If they were left watching over the two of my children I’d probably have a heart attack. I can’t say I mind now since the children are vampires. They’re stronger than regular human or coven babies. They also know how to get what they want.

I swear they cry on purpose just so Val gives in easier and feeds them her own blood.

They must be hungry now too cause she’s scratching her neck. A habit I’ve noticed she does when the babies want blood. She did tell me she was bitten there too, but I rather forget the story.

I adjust my white gloves glaring at the sobbing couple beside me. I swear they’re paid actors. There’s barely anyone here. “Figures it’d rain. Justice maybe in its own right,” I mumble under my breath.

“Give me a break,” I huff to Valerie after watching Jackson give a practiced speech about how Darren once was an innocent little vampire boy.

Valerie’s mascara is kind of smudged thanks to the rain and her eyeliner is smeared too. “It’s almost over,” she whispers.

I’m not really sure if it’s the rain that’s messed up her makeup though. It was blowing around earlier. Valerie usually doesn’t wear her hair up in a bun, but today she is. It’s very neat and I don’t see a hair out of place despite the humidity in the air. We both wear black pencil skirts and matching nylons and heels. She’s wearing a black blouse with a dark grey jacket in contrast to my navy blue long-sleeved sweater.

Crystal moves away from the grave only because Jackson walked up to her and offered her his umbrella.

Valerie’s familiar isn’t buried next to his family. It was too crowded in this area of the cemetery. They had him and the other convicted vampires buried closer down by the road on the outer area of the cemetery. They did say a few words for him, but not many. Darren was who the funeral was for anyway. Out of the two sadistic brothers, he had last dirt on his name.

Well, looks like Darren’s officially in his grave now. Guess we can finally leave.

“Ready to go?” I ask Valerie.

“I want to go to his grave I think.”

“Valerie,” I say lightly, “Do you really think that’s a good idea? There are people here watching us. You don’t want any more rumors spreading around about you and him. Leave the past in the past.”

***

Stella hands me her black umbrella while using her magic to keep from getting drenched in the rain. She pulls on her tan trench coat and sunglasses.

“Just give me five minutes. Go on ahead with Jackson and Crystal,” I tell her.

“Alright.”

I turn around and follow the row of graves down toward the parking lot. Instead of taking the main path out toward the cemetery exit, I turn left and continue down the row of graves. Stella actually parked almost right behind their graves. There’s probably just ten feet from Nick’s grave and the crumbling wall of the cemetery. Stella’s sedan sits just on the other side.

I can feel her watching me. When I glance up into her car window, I see her her deepening frown. I clutch the umbrella handle tighter feeling nervous even though she’s my best friend. I know she just wants me to get over myself, but I can’t.

“What happened to you?” I whisper.

I roll my eyes feeling my numb stare crack as I read his name on the newly engraved slate rock. A steady stream of tears flows down my face as I cry through ugly sobs like the big baby I pretended to not be while sitting through Darren’s funeral. Technically, it was Nicholas’s too, but most of Darren’s mom side was here. None of them had ever met Nick I think. So he was barely mentioned.

Yansmen isn’t even from out state, but right now they still have him buried beside Nick and Heinrich funnily is buried between him and Nick. A couple other convicted vampires are buried on the other side of Nick too.

“I hope the devil will at least leave you alone now. I’m still watching the children. I wish things could have been different, but I think we’re both finally free in our own ways. Don’t you think?” I whisper.

Thunder rumbles overhead. I thought it couldn’t start raining any harder, but it does as the wind picks up. My umbrella flips inside out and almost flies away.

I hear a car door slam.

“Val! Hurry up before you get zapped by lightning! You’re going to get sick!” Stella calls while fixing my umbrella with her craft.

I bite my lip while giving Nick’s grave one last glance. Stella’s already back in the car. She beeps the horn and I scowl while trudging through the muddy cemetery. I somehow manage to climb the shortest route to her car, over the wall. It’s only about two feet high.

When I make it into the car, Stella blasts the heat and peels out of the parking space. She sucks her lips in as if to keep herself from saying something.

Then she pulls out onto the main road. I stare out my window with the umbrella tucked between my legs.

“I really hate him, Val. I really do. I look at you and I can feel it all. I can feel your misery, but you have got to move on. Children are dead because of him! When are you gonna pick up your phone? When are you gonna finally tell Will you’ll help open the portal?” she asks in a scared voice.

I’ve already told her the reasons I’ve chosen to sit out on this. I’m not the bad guy here. I was expecting her to unleash her disappointment, not make me feel guilty for disassociating myself from our coven.

“The dead die for a reason. It’s not to be messed with.”

“You’ve changed,” she says shortly.

“After everything that’s happened to me, I can’t really say I had a choice in the changes taking place.”

Stella shakes her head stubborn in disbelief. Her voice breaks, “But you’re so distant...and always hiding in your room when you’re not working. We used to hang out so much more and do our little lunch outgoings. Now we barely see each other. Why? Are you mad at me?”

“No,” I gulp hard. “It’s the babies and just dealing with how I’m going to care for them.”

“Then why are you ghosting me? Cause that’s what it’s starting to feel like.”

“Maybe I am a ghost.”

She slams on the break when the driver ahead of us comes to a sudden stop. We both jerk forward, but quickly recover.

“Y-you’re not a ghost. I think you’re haunted by him though.”

I know I’ll regret it, but I’ve just been too terrified to admit it before. Stella’s been telling me to quit holding things back. She deserves to know. Then I’ll tell Tom too when I’m ready.

“I loved him. There, I said it.”

“Okay, this is good, but I already guessed that much. You’re admitting you ‘loved’ him, mistakenly, in the past. Now this is a start. We’re getting somewhere,” Stella says slowly as if I’m the one who doesn’t understand. I watch her as she clutches the steering wheel tighter. “He manipulated you just like Darren did to Crystal. Probably runs in their family. I’m glad you’re taking the next step and realizing your mistake. Because let’s be honest. You never did love him. You thought you did.”

“No, I really...mean it. I chose to keep some hope he’d change. I wanted to believe we could both escape the devil. He told me he’d try,” I glance out the rainy window. “Then he died.”

“Please, don’t buy into that. The devil didn’t make him do anything. There is no devil, Valerie. Nick cursed you.”

“Stella, I’ve seen the devil. He’s real, trust me.”

She gives me a sideways glance. “Alright, but don’t make excuses. The high council still hasn’t confirmed if he was possessed or not. Remember, he admitted everything. He pleaded guilty on every account. Including placing those little vamp babies into your womb without your consent.”

“W-we weren’t even together that long. I would have known earlier on. The devil made him do it. He spat out some tiny snake thing in my mouth. Then within hours, a baby was already formed inside me. Th-that isn’t natural,” I stutter out.

“And how exactly did he get close enough to do that? Did he ever tell you this or are you just making an assumption some baby snake got in you? You were around him for months. He was a hybrid, he could have had you spellbound. Oh, that’s right, he practically did. He conjoined your magic.”

“Well, I was dating Will much of that time. Then we broke up and some feelings were reciprocated-”

“Reciprocated?”

“I told you what almost happened the night before he died. He’s dead now so...so it doesn’t matter.”

“Clearly it still does because you’re still rattled by it all, but don’t forget I am too.”

Stella turns off into town while messing with the news station on the radio. I feel like I’m putting another wall up between us. I don’t think she’s been turned a vamp either, but how would we know? Colin didn’t turn right away and I know for a fact Heinrich bit Stella on more than one occasion. He drank a lot of her blood and would have had plenty of time alone with her to feed her his own.

It’s nauseating to think about such a sinister thing he could have pulled off. We should just be glad he’s dead. Even if she does end up turning, since he’s in the ground he can’t control her like he did Colin.

The streets are pretty crowded since it’s a first Friday weekend. Most of the small businesses in town stay open later for the event. Normally, they have folk music out on the streets an hand out a lot of samples and such from the restaurants. Since it’s still raining a little, most of the activities have probably been postponed or just held inside.

Stella slows down at a stop sign. I catch Will striding out of the courthouse with one of his assistants hurrying behind him with an umbrella. He stops in his tracks recognizing Stella’s car. His face brightens and he waves as if I haven’t been ignoring him for a month straight. I wave back, but Stella moves my arm down while glaring at him. She floors it down the remaining blocks to her house.

Her voice drips with bitterness, “I saw Marcella a few days ago in town. We thought she died, but she must have gone into hiding during the riots like his sister did. They could have saved lives, but instead, they chose to save themselves.”

“I’m going to call Will tonight I think,” I mumble.

“Great!” she exclaims.

I fold my arms imagining how the conversation will go. I don’t want to get in another fight with him and going off of Stella’s reaction she probably thinks I’m giving in. I’m still not going to help. I’m not a witch anymore so I’d hope they would leave me alone. Stella should know the risk of bringing lives back after seeing what happened to me. What if kids get threatened by the devil?

She’d be really sorry then, but by then, it’d be too late. They need to stay where they are and that’s the grim truth. I have to try to convince Will of it too so he’ll quit wasting time up there and bugging me about it. I had no idea Marcella was alive, but it doesn’t make me feel any better about contacting him.