Nail in Her Coffin (Devil's Witch Book 1)

I’m starting to suspect Will’s parents put him up to staying here with us. He stopped over at the house this morning and hasn’t left since. Just like Stella, he looks pretty hungover too and has been laying on the couch for the past hour, immobile. So, I’ve been taking care of the two of them.

I left a bucket by Will’s head and already had to clean it out three times.

“When are your parents getting back tomorrow?” I ask him while getting Stella a mug of hot tea. She sits on a chair across from him with her feet resting on the coffee table.

“Don’t know...” he groans.

After I give Stella her tea, I turn the tv on for both of them and walk back into the kitchen. I’m not sure if I should make them anything to eat, they may just vomit it back out...

“Someone’s here!” I hear Will say loudly, he sits up with a serious expression facing the front door.

He might have felt a disturbance against the ward, only his family members would be able to. Wards are part of the user’s magic after all. Usually, when something hits a ward that belongs to a witch, the witch will be able to know it by a ringing noise only they can hear.

Well, I’m guessing they put an offering in the mailbox. Otherwise, they would have been fried by their own magic and we would not be hearing them knocking on the door right now.

Before I can get to the door, Will bolts up from the couch running ahead of me. He opens the door and I walk up next to him.

“Mr. McCaster’s boy. I would like ya permission to search this here property,” a tall pale blonde man says. He wears an expensive-looking grey suit, square glasses rest on the bridge of his pointed nose.

“What for?” Will asks him rather rudely. I wince as the stranger’s glare moves to me.

“My son o' course. He’s run off 'gain an' we have good reason t'ah believe he done come here. His instincts have proved quite...a hindrance. He won’t be in any good shape,” the man states while looking back at Will.

“Mr. Silvet, Jackson is a werewolf. He probably is with a pack right now. I’ve caught him on our property a couple times last week. Packs are welcome to come and go, but you have not reported your son to the coven yet. I thought you would have already told them; my family cannot keep being burdened by your family’s issues,” Will retorts.

Mr. Silvet grabs Will by the collar and I holler in protest as he slams Will against the wall of the house. He’s a vampire and far stronger than Will or I. Using magic on him would just make him more violent and angry.

“You ain't gon'uh threaten my family,” Mr. Silvet hisses through pointed teeth.

“Stop it!” I yell.

Mr. Silvet listens, dropping a furious looking William on the ground. Will scrambles to get up and steps in front of me seeing I’ve drawn the attention of the vampire.

I hear the back door of the house open and slam shut. Stella yells something from behind the house, but she is too far away for us to hear her.

Mr. Silvet dusts off his suit jacket regaining his composure. The three of us stand in uncomfortable silence until Stella returns with a man who looks no older than I. His hair is midnight black, matching the fur all over his chest. His blue jeans are stained a dark crimson, but no wounds are visible on him. His big green eyes are filled with water and his body trembles seeing Mr. Silvet. Hee looks to be hiding behind Stella which isn’t really working since he’s over a foot taller than her.

Werewolves are more common than vampires. Vamps are more reclusive in our town. Seeing two at the same time would be overwhelming for any witch though and our case is no different. We are physically much weaker than both, and if scared enough, our magic will be useless.

“Jackson?” Mr. Silvet says in a soft voice as if seeing his son for the first time.

Maybe he hasn’t seen him since his son was bitten. Will really hasn’t told me much about their family. All vicious vampire vibes gone, Mr. Silvet retracts his teeth and smiles warmly.

Slowly, Jackson walks around Stella meeting his father with a stiff bear hug.

“D-dad, I have to turn myself into the coven. I c-can’t keep hiding,” Jackson tells his father in a waver while pulling away.

His father’s eyes land on us again and I gulp remembering his little outburst earlier at Will.

“It’s been nearly a month since my son been returned to me,” Mr. Silvet says with reverence.

“Your son is a hybrid. He didn’t willingly turn, so he will not be punished. They already found the were who bit him. So they have no lawful reason to hurt your son,” I tell the tall vampire reassuringly while eyeing Jackson with pity.

Why is he so nervous? He should feel safer now that he won’t be in any trouble.

I glance at Will to confirm what I say, but instead, he just turns his angry look on me. Why is he mad at me now?

“I want you off my property now,” Will tells the vampire, sounding a lot like his dad did when Darren was here.

“Is that so? Your kind shouldn’t be so hostile t'uh hybrids, William. One day, it might be ya self beggin' for ya life,” Mr. Silvet hisses with warning.

Then, with a hand on the shoulder of his son, he vanishes into thin air along with Jackson.

It really creeps me out how vampires can do that.

“They were not supposed to know we found who turned him. Now they will tell the coven we did not alert them and we will be thrown from our property. Then they will buy it before the coven can,” William tells me as if I’m supposed to already know all of that.

So all this time Mr. Silvet thought the werewolf who bit his son was still on the loose? No wonder why they didn’t want to tell the coven about Jackson being a hybrid. The coven would have killed him without a second thought if he had no evidence to provide for how he was turned.

Jackson could have really suffered on his own out here, forced to be alone because the McCasters didn’t want to deal with his family. No wonder their families have issues with each other.

“So, what if they do? My mom can move the portal if she really wanted to. It would take a long time and a lot of witches, but it could be done. Anyhow, what do you have against those people?” Stella points out accusingly, narrowing her eyes at Will.

“They are vampires, that is reason enough to despise their existence. You know the legends, they are kin to demons. I think ten years ago, they were the ones who opened the portal. How else would the demons have gotten through? Wouldn’t surprise me if they want to open it again,” Will conspires darkly and I roll my eyes.

“Demons can’t just enter the other realm, Hegley Hallow, to reach our domain. They have to be summoned there. Any human or witch that would have summoned them would have been thrown into hell. Anyone in Wixton could have summoned the demons for all we know, you really shouldn’t be so mean to them. I know he lashed out at you, but he seemed to really care about his son,” I reply carefully.

“I’ll remember that next time he tries to choke me,” Will laughs bitterly.

“Tell us about the other realm. You know, the inbetween,” Stella asks me suddenly.

“Honestly, I don’t remember much about it anymore. It’s like as each day passes, I forget more about it like a forgotten dream. Even when I was revived, I mostly just remembered my family’s faces and being happy,” I mumble while trying desperately to remember more.

“Don’t worry, Val. We’re going to find who did this to you.” Stella reassures me. I give her a weak smile.

***

Stella later told me Jackson said he was in high school and that the authorities were searching for him too. Her mother called her about the situation after Mr. Silvet took him to the coven, which was the very same day he was reunited with his son. I was relieved to learn they let him off the hook. They also agreed to have him watched at school to make sure the humans and other supernaturals were not harmed by him.

I really don’t see why the coven labels hybrids as power-hungry in modern day times, from what I learned meeting Jackson, he seemed like a pretty normal person. He was even scared of what he had become, he was hiding from everyone-he wasn’t even in a pack. At least, that’s what he told Stella when she found him out in the backyard.

I’m surprised she wasn’t afraid of him as much as I was, especially with all the crap her mother tells her about other supernaturals.

After Mr. Silvet left with his son, we all were still a little shaken though. Strong supernaturals usually have that effect on people. He must be a powerful vamp, Stella told me he had a huge aura too. I’ve never seen a hybrid until today, Stella told me most of Jackson’s aura was red, except a few smudges in it were brown. Which means he’s probably a weak werewolf. I’m sure being part were and part vamp will give him some leverage in a fight if he ever gets in one. Things just aren’t the way they used to be, people are more civil. I don’t think we need to have such strict rules against hybrids and it really bothers me that Will thinks the opposite.

The moment he saw Jackson, I could feel his magic wavering. He wanted to attack him, even Stella felt his magic getting out of hand. It rippled through the air, but we all kept quiet and somehow Will managed to keep his magic in check. Later, he even admitted Jackson would be better off dead.

The bite mark on Crystal’s neck flashes across my mind and I wonder what Will would say if Crystal ended up being a hybrid too. I shudder, remembering Darren’s creepy presence that night we ran into each other out in the woods. Even though his father attacked Will, there’s just something more unsettling about Darren that I can’t put my finger on.

I hope Crystal doesn’t turn vampire. So long as she doesn’t, she won’t be labeled a hybrid. When Stella saw her anyway, thankfully, Crystal’s aura was still blue.

“Who are you texting?” Stella asks me from across my room.

Will left to go back to his apartment in town about an hour ago.

“Mrs. McCaster, Will told her about the Silvets already. She wanted to make sure I was okay,” I say while scooting off the edge of my bed.

“That’s sweet,” she hums while pulling out her own phone.

All day I’ve been debating whether to bring up last night, she probably won’t remember when we left the bar. It’s worth a try though.

“You had a lot to drink last night, do you even remember when we left?” I ask her with a small smile and she purses her lips. I look out my window seeing a white truck zoom down the driveway, seeing it’s only the mailman I look back at her.

“Nope. Thanks for driving us home though,” she says while scrolling through her phone.

Hearing mail slipping through the front door downstairs, we both get up and head downstairs. Stella and I pick up the scattered letters, then we set the mail on a table in the hallway.