The Witches of BlackBrook by Tish Thawer Read Free Book Online

center point. Drops of blood tendrilled across the surface, tinting the water red. The floor fell away and Trin was suddenly flying through the night sky in her astral form. Fires raged, witches hung, and ancient texts flashed through Trin’s mind. Transported across time and space, she saw herself, Kara, and Kenna together, then watched as they shifted from one life to another, their faces different but their souls the same. Bound by the same energy each and every time, drawn by the heart but forced to remain apart. Outstretched hands, male and female, reached for Trin, shouting silent cries through a horde of bloody corpses.
    Trin’s head snapped up. Though freed from her vision, the words ‘ forced to remain apart’ echoed through her mind. Clarity dawned and she sucked in a breath. She hadn’t been imagining things, something was here, and it was purposely trying to keep her from finding Kara.
    Trin gave thanks to the God and Goddess and cleansed the area, replacing her tools in their proper place then raced upstairs. She debated waking Kit so they could start on a spell to reveal and block whatever was doing this, but after a quick glance at the clock, decided to wait until morning.
    Tucked in, Trin gave a silent prayer. “Lord and Lady grant me peace this night, protect all I love from harm and fright. Let me wake to a brand new day, filled with joy in every way.”

    “Jason, what happened?” Caris demanded as she rifled through the closet for his favorite blanket.
    “I’m not sure. One minute I was staring at the jig and the next, I was falling through the damn hole. Something had ahold of me, Caris. A ghost or demon maybe, but it was definitely pulling me down until Trin cast her spell.”
    “Does she know?”
    “No. I didn’t want to push her and she didn’t feel obliged to share.”
    “We’re going to have to put more protection in place until we’re ready,” Caris warned.
    “I agree. We can’t keep this up much longer.”

Chapter Eight

    Trin woke from a peaceful sleep, ready to face the day and excited to start the spell that would break this wretched curse, if that’s what it was.
    “Time to rise and shine,” she prompted Kit.
    “Ugh...leave me be, woman,” Kit groaned in response from under the covers.
    “I need your help with a spell.”
    “Since when?”
    “Since something evil is trying to keep us from finding Kara.”
    Kit flipped the duvet away from her face with a quick snap. “What?”
    “Yeah. I did some scrying last night, and I know for a fact that something or someone is here and blocking us from finding our sister.”
    “You’re sure?”
    “Yes. I mean, I didn’t see a face or name, but the odd blood rituals and dead bodies I saw in my vision were a pretty clear indication.”
    Kit sighed. “Katrine...”
    Trin hated when she used her full name. “Don’t ‘Katrine’ me!” Trin exclaimed. “I know what you’re going to say. I’m letting my imagination run wild because I’m so desperate to find our sister, but I’m telling you...there’s something going on and we need to find out what it is.”
    Kit tossed the rest of the blankets off and stood to face Trin. “I promise you we will get to the bottom of this, but it’s going to have to wait. I’m due back at the gallery tonight and won’t return until Friday morning.”
    “What? Why? I thought the show was only supposed to be two days?”
    “It was, originally, but when Harold had to cancel and reschedule due to the weather, the gallery offered to extend the showing due to the inconvenience.”
    Trin felt like the petulant one now. She should be excited and proud of Kit, and she was, but the urgency of finding out what magical barrier was being cast upon their entire destiny seemed like a trump card in her book. “Fine. I’ll keep searching for answers while you’re gone, but won’t do any real magic until you return.”
    “Good. And don’t be mad at me. I love you, Trin, and I don’t want to