Page 28 of The 13th Daughter (The Witches of New Salem #1)

"Stomach cramp," I muttered. "Can we just go home?"

"Sure, hon. We'll drop the Chance's anchor and come back for it tomorrow." He hauled Billy up and dragged him out of the cabin and up the stairs.

"Hon?" Kay's eyes were wide and smiling. Leave it to her to forget the whole dream issue and plow ahead into what she considered the more important topic-boys.

I rolled my eyes. "Kay."

"Okay," she laughed. "He'd be good for you, though, CJ. He's been in love with you forever."

"I know."

"You know?"

"He told me."

"And?" Kay demanded.

"And nothing. I have a boyfriend, Kay, that I love. Which I still can't believe. Sometimes I wonder if what I'm feeling isn't just some kind of infatuation. I've only known him for a short while, but..."

"But you love him," Kay finished. "Love is not something you can control, CJ. It can creep up on you, build out of friendship, or hit you the moment you meet someone. Don't question yourself so much. Trust your instincts. They'll never lead you in the wrong direction."

If only she knew what my instincts were saying about her.

"We're ready!" Jeff hollered from up top.

"Finally," I sighed. My stomach was killing me. Just being near Kay right now was causing me all sorts of pain.

Billy regained consciousness on the ride home. He glared at me the whole way. Kay was quiet. I was glad to drop them both off.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked when he pulled up in front of my house.

"Yeah." Maybe I could get Dad to tell me why he took the dream away. "Can I ask you something, Jeff?"

When he nodded I continued. "What's the difference between a binding spell and a blood oath?"

"The binding spell is the kinder of the two."

"Why?"

"A binding spell keeps a person from talking or doing something.

It can even bind your ability to use magic.

A blood oath is different. You take an oath to protect whatever secret you're keeping.

By invoking a blood bond, you swear on your life to never betray that oath.

A person who does and reveals the truth will die before the light of the next day. "

Dad would die? No way could I let that happen. I vowed never to ask him another question. I refused to lose someone else.

"Hey." Jeff took my hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I lied. "I'm just tired. I need sleep. It's after three in the morning."

"I hadn't noticed," he laughed and rubbed his eyes and then his expression turned serious. "Don't worry about Billy. He's just a little fanatical about following the rules."

"I'm not worried about Billy," I told him. "Kay will take care of him."

Jeff smirked. "Yeah, I doubt he'd do anything to risk her being mad at him again."

"Thanks for helping me tonight," I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Not a problem, hon," he winked. "You know I'd do anything for you."

In that moment, looking into his cornflower blue eyes, I wished I felt for him what I did Ethan.

I even resented Ethan a little for taking this away from me.

Jeff was my friend and he'd never lied to me.

I didn't have to worry about his intentions every second of the day or question my sanity around him.

He made me feel safe and protected whenever I was with him.

He was always the first person I thought of when I needed help.

Why couldn't I love him the same way I did Ethan?

Wait, the same way? Crap. This was not a conversation I wanted to have with myself right now. Maybe not ever. I couldn't let myself think those kinds of things. It wasn't fair to anyone.

"You look upset, CJ," he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Tired," I waved off the question. It would do more harm than good for him to know about how I was really feeling. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and hopped out of the Jeep before he could say anything and fled into the house. Mom and Dad were both home. Their light was out under their door as I passed and I was grateful they were asleep. I didn't feel up to answering any questions tonight.

Every time I closed my eyes, I was back there in the heat and the smoke.

I could still feel the fire crawl up my calves onto my thighs.

The stench of burning hair and fingernails surrounded me.

It nearly choked me and I was wide awake.

How could it be so real? Laura wasn't even related to me.

I could find it more believable if I'd seen it through Sara's eyes.

Then I could convince myself it was some kind of reincarnation. But this? I didn't understand this.

The only theory I could come up with had to do with the transference spell.

Maybe I hadn't just transferred the memory.

Maybe I had transferred myself to that moment in time?

But that didn't explain Kay's dream. She'd had the same dream since she was five.

Then again, it wasn't her dream to begin with. It was mine.

I sighed in frustration and tried to focus on what I could remember of the dream. It wasn't much. I'd heard mumblings. I knew one was the curse and Sara had cast something herself, but I couldn't hear past the screams.

Then there was the brand new problem I had. Jeff. I just outright refused to think about that particular little dilemma.

It was almost dawn when sleep finally claimed me, still no closer to the answers then before.