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

“Not yet, no. He’s trying to find someone else—some other way. I’m sure he doesn’t want to pull you into it,” Dominic says.

“This whole thing is insane,” I say, shaking my head.

“Yeah, I know,” he says, taking a curve at a speed that borders dangerous for us as well.

“You might want to slow down a little bit,” I warn.

Dominic shakes his head. “We don’t have time. They’re on the other side of town. Besides, I’d see an accident for us in the works before it ever came to pass.”

I suck in a breath, trying to ease the panic rising in my throat. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. If Cat’s already dead…can I even help? Just because they think I’m a necromancer, it doesn’t mean I really am. Am I prepared to try and possibly risk bringing Cat back as a revenant?

If only I had known more earlier, or if I had been raised here with my dad instead of going to Mistwood Point with my mom. I could have been practicing or testing so much earlier. I could have been prepared for this.

Clearing my throat, I sit up a bit straighter.

“If it fails, and she comes back wrong...what do we have to do?” I say, needing to know the worst-case scenario.

“Then we have to kill her again,” Dominic says, shooting me a sideways glance.

My mouth drops open and I nod. “Super.”

“You won’t have to be the one to do it, so don’t worry about that part. Just focus on making this work.”

“How am I gonna know what to do?” I whisper, fighting back the urge to cry in sheer panic.

Dominic sighs, cutting the tension in the car. “I don’t know, Autumn. I’m telepathic and telekinetic, remember? I'm hoping… I don’t know what I'm hoping. I guess I just hope instinct kicks in or something.”

“What in the hell were they doing all the way out here?” I say, narrowing my eyes as the trees get even more dense. “They live near me—”

“Us,” Dominic says, “They live by us.”

“Oh, right…”

“I don’t know. There could be a hundred reasons. There are trails out here, places to hike. Colton likes to practice working on his ability away from town.”

I turn to look at Dominic, confused. “Why would he have to practice so far out?”

“He’s an elemental witch, like Cat. But rather than fire, he can manipulate the element of earth. Bending it and moving it. There’s only so much you can do on your own property, I guess,” he says.

“Oh, I didn’t know,” I whisper, realizing just how little I’ve paid attention to the supernatural abilities of those around me. I’ve been so wrapped up in myself and my own little world.

We hit a straightaway and Dominic floors it. Trees, scenery, and mailboxes fly by and I squeeze my eyelids shut.

Please make it in one piece… I mentally repeat in a mantra, despite what Dominic said about seeing into the future.

“Shit, there they are,” Dominic mutters. “Showtime, Autumn.”

My eyes pop open and up ahead Cat’s vehicle is turned on its side, halfway in the ditch. Beside it, Colton waves his arms in a wide, sweeping motion.

Time slows down as Dom’s car comes to a screeching halt beside Colton. Vehicle parts and personal items are strewn across the road and without even having to check for Cat—the presence of death lingers in the air. It vibrates through the trees with an intensity all its own.

Dominic kicks his car door open and I do the same.

“What's she doing here?” Colt says, jabbing a finger my direction.

“You know damn well why,” Dominic says, pushing past him. “Where is she?”

Colton points a trembling finger toward the ditch.

Rushing past them both, I slide down the leaf-infested ditch to Cat’s body. Within seconds, both men are practically on top of me.

“Back up and let me have some space,” I command, kneeling down and taking my place beside Cat. Everyone does as they’re asked, except for Colton who stays right by Cat’s side and refuses to let go of her left hand.

There is so much blood; it’s everywhere. Her shirt, her face, her hair, her jeans—the ground. It’s all over the leaves and grass in a large circumference around her body. Beside us, a yellow-orange ball of light hovers, as if needing to witness what comes next.

“Don’t let me go,” Cat’s voice echoes over the wind.

Suddenly, I realize this orb is different—it’s not a ghost, not like Abigail. It’s a disembodied soul looking for a place of its own.

Cat’s soul is no longer inside her body.

Shuddering away my own rising panic, I close my eyes, and place my palms along Cat’s abdomen.

I breathe and focus on the energy rolling off the scene in waves. At first, nothing happens.

I adjust the way I’m kneeling so I can hover over her.

For some reason, I intuitively know if I can get the right placement, through my hands, I can sense her. I should be able to tell if I can do anything to bring her back.

Tuning out the surroundings and the terror of those around me, a strange sensation washes over me. It’s like being submerged in water or floating away from everything tying me to the earth.

“Do something,” Dominic urges. “This isn’t time for a reiki session, for crying out loud.”

I flash him a glare and he backs up with his hands raised.

Beside me, tears begin to stream down Colt’s dark cheeks.

I close my eyes, summoning my will so it can force her spirit back into her body. The act feels like orchestrating atoms, as if one-by-one, I could pull her back into her body. But as they begin to reconvene, they must be missing something, because rather than congealing, they continue onward as they disperse again.

“It’s not working,” Dominic warns.

“I see that,” I spit, eyeing Cat’s orange orb of light as it races back and forth between me and Colton.

“What do we do?” Colt asks, kneeling down by