Page 20 of Touch Of Fate
“No. Stop.” We reach the doorway. Jerry is facing us. He has his hand on her breast, and his other hand up her skirt. The woman is pushing on his chest.
“Freeze,” Mara commands, holding her hand up. Jerry becomes immobilized, and I allow my invisible shield to fall.
“What the hell?” The woman stares at us and then glances at Jerry. She jerks back, escaping his hands, but he doesn’t move. “How? What?” Her wild gaze bounces between us.
“Hey,” Archer says, smiling softly. “What is your name?”
“Rose,” she says, trapped in Archer’s trance.
“Rose. That’s a beautiful name.” Archer moves closer to her and reaches out his hand. “We came to rescue you from the bad man. Will you come with me?”
“Of course. I don’t like him.” She places her hand in his. Mara looks at me, shocked.
“Archer can put humans in a trance and influence their decisions. He’s very good at it,” I whisper.
“Rose. I want you to walk outside to a car with me,” Archer continues.
“Okay.”
“Did you bring anything with you?” he asks.
“Just my purse. He was so nice and handsome. I shouldn’t have come,” she says, grabbing her purse.
“No, it wasn’t your fault.” Archer nods at me as he leads her out of the room.
“What is your plan, Mara?” I look at Jerry. His eyes are wide. His body is frozen, but his mind is aware. My bond has been hiding lots of power.
“I didn’t realize I could do that to people,” she mumbles, and I’m not surprised. “Fluid.” She snaps her fingers, and Jerry shakes himself.
“Who the hell? Wait.” He points at Mara. “I know you. From the bookstore. I knew you were a freak.” I snarl and move a knife to fly through the air. I stop it an inch from his nose. This time, he doesn’t need a spell to become motionless. “No. I don’t understand.” He stares at the tip of the blade.
“You touched me,” Mara hisses, stepping forward, and I follow. “I felt everything you did to those women.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he sputters.
“This isn’t the time to lie,” I drawl, glancing at the knife.
“Fine,” he swallows harshly. “What do you want?”
“I want you to admit it,” Mara says, stopping at the other end of the knife. “Those women did nothing wrong.”
“They asked for it,” he says. I curl my fingers, and the knife rotates. “Alright. Alright.” He licks his lips. “I did it.”
“The woman, Rose. Did you plan to kill her tonight?” Mara asks.
“Yes. After.” He winces, and I push the knife. It presses against the tip of his nose. “What are you going to do? What are you?”
“I’m a witch,” Mara answers. “I saw the fear and desperation on their faces. I want justice for them.”
“You can’t kill me,” he says, his panic stinking up the kitchen. “I’m an important man. You have no evidence. No one would believe you. I could pay you. Whatever you want?”
“Jerry, I don’t want anything from you. You inflicted pain. I felt it. I want to return the favor and give all their hurt back to you.” Mara squeezes my hand, and I feel her pulling at my magic. I open a connection, giving her permission to take what she needs. “Are you ready, Jerry?”
“Wait, wait.” He shakes his hands in the air, shuffling backwards.
“Take their memories. Take their anguish,” she says, her voice filled with power as she raises her hand. His arms drop to his sides.
His face contorts as Mara pushes the emotions from his memories into his head. I watch in wonder as they flow through the air like smoke from her palm and enter his skull. Jerry’s mouth falls open, yet no sound emerges. He’s in shock and filled with terror. His eyes roll back, and I'm amazed he's still standing. Mara is flipping the memories, somehow making them his nightmares, his pain, his fear, and he believes the murders are happening to him.
