Page 1 of Dewitched

Chapter one

Walking through the doubledoors of Blackhaven Manor, Owen Zhas came to an abrupt stop with his mouth gaping open. He had been to the castle only a few months previously, and it had looked exactly what he expected a hotel to look like. Now…he didn’t know what the hell he was looking at.

He gripped the handle of his rolling suitcase and glanced over his shoulder toward the open doors. Birds chirped from nearby trees, serenading the small town of Echo Falls, Colorado, while the morning sun bathed the stone portico in golden light.

Rather than spilling into the lobby, though, the sunlight stopped abruptly at the threshold. In fact, no natural light penetrated the gloom at all. The cavernous space was instead illuminated by thousands of black tapered candles floating about twenty feet off the ground.

And he meant “ground.”

The marbled tiles he remembered had been replaced by thick, blue-black grass that grew directly up from the floor and licked at his ankles. Gnarled, leafless trees stretched toward the highceilings, their twisted limbs creating a spooky canopy over the worn dirt paths that led to different points of the room.

Hundreds of carved pumpkins surrounded the black trunks and smiled creepily from the corners of the lobby. A smokeless campfire had been erected where the sitting area had once been, and the squash sofas had been swapped with cut logs and bales of hay.

It was a scene straight out of a Halloween movie, made even eerier by the thin layer of fog that slithered through the room.

While wondrous, and frankly, astonishing, the extraordinary display could also prove to be a problem. These days, he exerted a lot of effort to avoid all types of magic at any cost.

Goddess, what had he been thinking by coming back here?

His last trip to Blackhaven Manor had ended in unmitigated disaster, and honestly, the pity of the staff had been the only reason he had avoided arrest. Not that he had hexed a trio of people on purpose, but he wouldn’t have blamed security for locking him away after the chaos he’d caused.

Even more embarrassing was that one of his victims happened to be none other than his favorite drama star, Storm Black. Apart from a few members of the hotel staff, no one else knew about it, but Owen would never forget it. He had been fortunate that everyone had been understanding and sympathetic, but the incident had really driven home just how out of control his life had become.

At eighteen, he had been looking forward to embracing his new freedom and starting university as a graphic design major. After what had happened during the summer, however, plans had changed, and he had abruptly decided to take a gap year. Not because he wanted to travel the world, but because he had to figure out how to live on campus and attend his classes without causing mayhem wherever he went.

Being anaccipere, a syphon, he hadn’t been born with magic of his own. Instead, he stole it from others. Not intentionally, of course. He just had no idea how to control his abilities. A simple handshake was all it took to trigger the transfer, and while it had always been a problem, things had drastically amped up since his last birthday.

Now, all he had to do was accidentally brush against a magic user to syphon from them, and he seemed to be absorbing a lot more energy these days. Which in and of itself didn’t present a huge issue since he never took enough to hurt anyone. Hell, most of the time, they didn’t even notice.

The problem came afterwards because the magic he took had to go somewhere, and that was when the really bad stuff happened. Like him accidentally cursing unsuspecting Otherlings with selective amnesia.

Although apprehensive about stepping foot inside Blackhaven Manor again, he hadn’t been able to pass up the opportunity. Partly because the Haunted Halloween Spooktacular would surely be one of the most spectacular parties of the year. Mostly, however, he had come because when Skye Maddock issued a personal invitation, one did not refuse.

The cream-colored envelope had arrived the first week of October, and to say he had been confused would be an understatement. At first, he had considered that it might be a mistake. Naturally, he knew of Skye Maddock, but how did the dragon shifter know him?

The obvious answer was that she had heard about his past crimes. He had a feeling little went on at her hotel that the female didn’t know about. In that case, though, it still didn’t explain why she would want him to return.

So, he’d stuck the invitation into his nightstand drawer and forgotten about it until a week later, when he had received a personal phone call from the female herself. He’d spent most ofthe short conversation trying desperately not to hyperventilate or pass out, but he’d gotten the gist. Apparently, she had indeed heard about what had happened during his last visit, but rather than being angry, she wanted to apologize.

To him.

For his mistake.

It hadn’t made a damn bit of sense, and he’d been even more bewildered when she had offered to make up for the “inconvenience.” When he had attempted to explain that it had been entirely his fault, she had interrupted, requesting he attend the event as her personal guest, all expenses paid.

How the hell did he say no to that? No one could.

And that was how he had ended up in a haunted forest that had once looked like a typical hotel lobby. Only time would tell if the decision would be a horrible error in judgment on his part or not.

Hitching his backup higher on his shoulder, he wheeled his suitcase behind him as he approached the check-in counter and gave his name. A part of him worried it had all been a joke, and that the receptionist wouldn’t be able to find him in the system.

Thankfully, seconds later, the female smiled and passed a brass key with a leather tag across the counter. “Welcome to Blackhaven Manor, Mr. Zhas. You’re in Cabin 7, down by the lake. Do you need someone to show you to your room?”

Owen sighed in relief. Knowing that he could retreat to the relative privacy of a cabin if things became too much made him feel a lot better about this adventure. “No, thank you. I’m sure I can find my way.”

“Excellent. You can leave your luggage here, and someone will deliver it shortly.” Her long nails clacked against the keyboard as she typed, and a moment later, a drawer opened in the center of the desk. Removing a slim piece of plastic, she passed it througha reader, then handed it to him. “You can use this anywhere in the hotel to make purchases, but it won’t work at vendor stalls.”

“I understand. Thank you.” It looked like a gold credit card with a black stripe on one side, andVIPprinted in block letters on the other.

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