The Windhaven Witches Omnibus Edition : Complete Paranormal Suspense Series, Books 1-4 by Carissa Andrews (graded readers txt) 📕

Wade’s shoulders relax a little bit. “All right. What about the rest of us?”

“There’s no reason for anyone else to put themselves in danger,” Diana says. “We all stay here, out of the way.”

“This is bullshit,” Dominic mutters under his breath.

Diana narrows her gaze on him, shaking her head. I swear I hear her mutter, kids.

“Dominic’s right, though. I don’t like the idea of standing back and letting Autumn head into that,” Wade says, shaking his head. “Even if she has Colton’s protection.”

Turning to him, I take his left hand in my right. “Wade, I can’t have you come with me. After what happened last time, I’d be so distracted, worrying about you and making sure you’re safe. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you. Please, the best thing you can do is stay here. It will help me focus on what I need to do.”

His silver eyes bore into mine, trying to will me into submission. “But…” he begins.

I raise a hand to the side of his face, running it along his cheek. “There are no buts. I have to go because I’m the only one who can inter my father. The catacombs are meant for my family. This is my job.”

“I can enter the catacombs, remember? Besides, I know the way, too,” Wade says, his jaw hardening.

“I know. And if this were any other situation, I would welcome your company. But when things are as hostile as we’ve seen—I won’t risk it,” I say, pressing my authority on the matter. “I need you to stay here and stay safe.”

Wade reaches up, dropping my hand from his face. His fingertips press against his lips as he turns away from me.

Turning to Colton, I say, “Are you absolutely sure you can do this?”

“Now that we’ve reached out to your dad’s remains, I can sense them. It’s almost as if they’re an extension of me,” he says, his eyes going slightly distant.

“That’s your god essence,” Diana offers. “Once they’ve become a part of you, it’s hard to let go.”

Colton glances her direction, nodding in understanding.

“Do you need anything else from me?” I ask.

Colton’s lips tug down as he shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so.”

“So, assuming you Puppet Master his bones, how do we know when it’s safe to head in?” Dominic asks, crossing his arms over his body. He’s clearly not happy about being on the bench for this, but he’s just as vulnerable as Wade and Blake.

Everyone turns their gaze to Colton. His shoulders tighten and he takes a deep breath to release them.

“Once the remains rise, I’ll be able to sense the movement. At least, that’s the way it was before. To know for sure if they’re doing as they’re told, I just need to tune in to him. Honestly, it’s just like doing a meditation. We wait until he’s outside the catacombs. Then, the three of us will follow,” Colton says.

“Hopefully, all of this goes unnoticed by the Lemure. The entrance isn’t all that far into the woods between the two properties. Once we get inside, my guess is my dad’s power will diminish,” I say, chewing on the side of my cheek.

“And what if it doesn’t?” Wade asks, lowering his eyebrows.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to start my end of the bargain early,” Cat says, snapping her fingers together and lighting a fire between them.

“Are you clear on what this Flames of Eternity thing is?” Dominic asks, tipping his head to the side.

Mrs. Gilbert smiles, rubbing a circle on her daughter’s upper back. “I can assure you, she does. It’s one of Caitlyn’s specialties.”

“Mom,” Cat says, rolling her eyes.

“What?” Mrs. Gilbert says, shrugging. “Don’t be so modest. You’ve worked hard on your gifts through the years.”

“Yeah, but I’ve only used it on the dog,” Cat says, scrunching her face. She looks up, her gaze flitting around each of us. “It’s a fire that’s only meant for the dead. Our dog died, so I got to practice.”

“But you executed it perfectly,” Mrs. Gilbert says, smiling softly.

Cat grins back, her cheeks filling with color.

“I think we should get started,” Diana says, eyeing the sky. “Sun’s setting and it’ll be dark soon. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have this over before that happens.”

“Agreed,” Blake says with a nod.

Taking a deep breath, Colton tips his head to the side, then walks over to the circle of salt still evident in the driveway. He raises his gaze to Cat and she nods, prancing up the stairs and heading back inside.

All of my emotions swirl, making it harder to breathe. It’s barely been a day since I found out about my dad’s death. And here we are, getting ready to raise his bones and turn his body into a revenant. There’s something so wrong in all of it.

Slowly, each of us makes our way back to the circle, taking up our previous locations outside of it. A couple of seconds later, Cat comes back with a new jar of salt in her hands.

“Ready?” she asks, making sure to capture Colton’s gaze before she begins.

He nods, kneeling down again and placing his hands on his knees. As he closes his eyes, Cat starts laying down a fresh circle of salt. When the tunnel of light erupts, locking him within it, Colton’s eyes flick open. The blazing white light consumes his irises, glowing brightly.

For the longest minutes of my life, he sits there like that, completely unmoving. Each of us seems to be holding our breath and ignoring the foreboding and uneasiness swirling around us. The tension continues to build until Colton’s body sways slightly from side to side.

Wade leans in and whispers in my ear. “I feel like we should all be holding hands and singing kumbaya or something.”

I chuckle softly, letting the lightheartedness of his statement release some of the pressure.

Then, with eyes still white in