Spell Bound Page 3

  The way she said "witch" was much kinder than the guards. She was a regular human too, but maybe not as bad as the others. I wasn't sure yet. This all could be some sort of act to get me into a false sense of security, and I wasn't going to fall for it.

  Daisy walked off, no bothered by my silence. "So, B-778, what's your real name? I'm not going to call you by your file number." She guided me down the hall of identical doors.

  "Harper," I said.

  "Lovely," She mused. She stopped at the door that led to my cell. "You're a lucky kid, you know that? You got a private room and everything. Whatever you did, they must think you're dangerous." She chuckled.

  I didn't laugh. How could anyone find this funny? My only saving grace was that she didn't know what I had done. Or at least, what I had been accused of. Or if I did do it, I had no recollection. I blinked and shoved the thoughts away. If I started that now, I'd have another panic attack for sure.

  The cell door groaned as she opened it. "There you go, dear, home sweet home."

  The cell was small, probably ten feet wide by fifteen feet long. My closet at home was bigger than this. There was a narrow bed, metal toilet and sink, and a chair that was bolted to the cement floor. The light came from a single bulb recessed in the ceiling. There were no windows, not that I was expecting any.

  "I'll give you some time to get used to your surroundings. Dinner will be brought to you, but only for the first night. Tomorrow you can hang out with the rest of them," Daisy said. "The women's ward is small, most of the criminals here are warlocks. If I were you, I'd find some friends real quick."

  I nodded.

  Daisy shut the door without another word, leaving me alone in the tiny white cell.

  I stood with my arms tight against my body, letting my eyes roam over every surface. This was my new reality? A Valentine Witch cursed to live the rest of her days in a tiny cell, like some sort of dangerous animal.

  I was never the sort of person who used my family name to get me anywhere, but it would have been nice to have a trump card right now.

  I sunk down onto the thin mattress and curled my legs up to my chest. I was freezing cold. It was so bad my hands were shaking, and my teeth were chattering. What else could I do now? I turned towards the wall and forced myself to sleep.

  ***

  I slept through dinner, finding it cold on the floor the next morning.

  At six AM roll call began. I was shaken from my bed by the sound of horns blasting through the intercom system. The doors unlocked and swung open mechanically.

  "Rise and shine, ladies!" Daisy's voice rang out and echoed down the hall.

  I struggled out of bed, retied my ponytail, and peeked out from my cell.

  The women's ward was small, with only five other doors that I could see. One by one, five other witches emerged. They also had single rooms, meaning I had been grouped with the most dangerous witches in the place.

  The thought made my mouth go dry. I didn't belong here, right?

  Daisy approached my door with a grin. "There's sleeping beauty," She laughed. The guard spun on her heel and introduced me to the others, with the same sick tone as a teacher presenting a transfer student. "Everyone say hello to Harper. She'll be with us for a while, won't you?"

  I forced a tight-lipped smile.

  Five scowling faces stared back at me.

  One woman with cropped hair and a jagged scar across her cheek spoke on behalf of the group, leaning in close to me so Daisy wouldn't hear her. "Good morning, pretty girl. Want advice? Don't get in my way."

  I gulped, nodding quickly. "Sure," I squeaked. Oh my gods, here I was worried about spending my life in this cell when I should have been concerned about getting shanked by my fellow prisoners on the first day. I was never going to make it in here. They were going to eat me alive.

  I followed the five women out of the ward, downstairs, and to the main prison area. My footsteps echoed in unison with the others.

  I kept my eyes fixed on the floor. The identical halls of white walls made me feel claustrophobic. I felt as if I were in a concrete maze.

  Daisy stopped at a wide metal door and punched in a security code. The door opened with a metallic clang, revealing the common area. The eerie silence was broken by a wave of noise rushing out of the cafeteria.

  "Good luck, kid," Daisy said as she shut the door behind me.

  The sound of the door slamming sent chills through my body. I stood alone by the now locked door. Great. I looked around.

  The main cafeteria area reminded me of a high school cafeteria, except the people who were sitting at the long tables could probably kill me without hesitation. This was a medium-security area; witches and warlocks couldn't do magic without our wands or athames, so the guards only had to worry about standard prison violence. Which was precisely what scared me. I was nothing without magic.

  Serious crime was relatively rare in our world, at least that was what I assumed growing up. News of crimes in magical society was few and far between the atrocities that happened between mundane people.

  I estimated about one hundred or so inmates in the cafeteria. The majority were men. The five women I was being housed with kept to themselves. There were other pockets of women too, presumably the ones who weren't deemed dangerous enough to be held alone.

  The food area was against the far wall. I kept my eyes down as I made my way over, keeping close to the wall. Every table and stool was bolted to the ground.

  The smell of food was far from appetizing. If I weren't so hungry, I probably would have avoided it altogether. A cafeteria lady stood waiting there with a ladle in hand. Her curly hair was forced into a hairnet, and her eyeshadow was the brightest blue I had ever seen. She was probably my mother's age or a bit older.

  "Good morning." I squeaked.

  The lady raised an eyebrow at me and passed me a tray. Breakfast was a bowl of watery oatmeal and an apple. "Here ya go, kid." The staff here seemed to know as well as I did that this was no place for me. I could see it in their eyes, a mix of pity and disgust.

  My knuckles went white as I gripped the tray. "Thanks," I mumbled. I turned around and tried to find a place to sit.

  No one was looking at me, they were all lost in their own conversations. Some groups looked on edge, speaking in whispers, and others were laughing and chatting openly. It reminded me of a schoolyard full of cliques.

  I shuffled to an empty spot near the wall and forced down the lukewarm food. Maybe everyone would just ignore me for the rest of my life, and I could die in peace. The thought of dying in jail made my stomach turn. I forced down the food slowly, feeling it rise back up every time I swallowed.

  Guards were stationed at random intervals around the room. The cafeteria had doors open, leading out to other areas for the prisoners to use. The ceiling above us was open with a catwalk for more guards to keep an eye on us from above. There wasn't a wand or athame in sight, only guns.

  I felt someone looking at me. When I glanced up, my eyes met a man in a suit. He was talking to a guard and glancing at me. He was too far for me to make out what he was saying.

  I couldn't tear my eyes away. He was so handsome for a guy that looked at least fifteen years older than me. He had a definite DILF vibe. I blushed at my own thoughts and went back to my apple, which had a sizable bruise on one side from being slammed down on the metal food tray.

  The nagging feeling at the back of my mind wouldn't go. He was still looking at me, I could feel it. Unable to handle the heat prickling on my skin, I shoved my tray away and got the hell out of there.

  The open doors led to a sitting area with a few old TVs and ragged books stacked haphazardly on bowing shelves. The smell of musty paper hung in the air, but I was alone. This time the quiet was peaceful instead of ominous.

  I wandered over to the barred window, peeking outside to the prison yard. A few guys were out there working out in the open gym area. A few people wandered around aimlessly, reminding me of pacing animals at the
zoo.

  "Are you allowed in this area, witch?" Someone asked.

  I turned quickly, pressing my back against the bars. "What? Sorry!" My words failed me when I saw who was speaking to me. That guy in the suit, he looked even better when without the harsh fluorescent lights on his skin.

  "You must be the new girl, B-778?" He asked, taking another step forward.

  I was terrified and turned on at the same time. My parents had forbidden me from dating. Knowing I'd probably end up in an arranged marriage to some prestigious warlock, I never bothered rebelling against their rules.

  I nodded like an idiot. "Yes."

  The man chuckled. "The Warden told me that you were a special case, but I would have never guessed you were this special," He mused. "You're too young and innocent to be a murderer, right?"

  "You believe that I didn't do it?" I gasped.

  "I didn't say that. Believe me, spend some time in this place, and you'll learn that looks are deceiving." He said.

  "Who are you?" I blurted before I could stop myself.

  "Associate Warden. Rowan. Or, sir, to you." He said. "I saw you looking my way and then bolt. When someone does that, it usually means they're guilty as fuck."

  This guy thought he had me all figured out from a single glance, or was that a line he used on anyone who caught his eye. "I'm here, aren't I?" I snapped. "Everyone thinks I'm guilty anyway."

  Rowan chuckled. "And I suppose you're going to tell me you're not?"

  "I'm done trying to prove anything to anyone," I said. Being alone in the dim lighting with him was making my blood race. No. So what if he was handsome? He was just another guard out to get me.

  Rowan tipped his head. The grey hair at his temples shimmered in the light. He was an average (painfully sexy) human, but he carried himself as if he was a powerful warlock. His confidence went straight into cocky territory.

  "What do you want?" I asked, sounding braver than I felt. I hadn't realized how close he was to me now. I could touch him if I wanted to, though I bet I'd be shot on sight if I dared make a move.

  "Just checking in on the newest prisoner," He shrugged, sweeping his dark hair back with his hand.

  "Why?" I asked, holding my breath. "I'm no one to you."

  "Don't worry about it, witch," He said. Rowan just smiled at me and walked away, leaving me with zero answers and more questions than I could count.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  The next morning, Daisy woke me before role call. "Hey, Harper. Get up." She slammed her fist on the metal door.

  I groaned. My entire body was still from sleeping on the thin mattress that offered no comfort from the concrete bed slab. "What?"

  "Get up," Daisy shouted.

  It took only a moment for me to remember where I was. I had been dreaming of home. Dreaming of my own comfortable bed, my mom's cooking, the cats purring around my feet. The pain flooded into my chest.

  "Let's go, Harper. You have visitors."

  That snapped me out of it. "Visitors?" I sprung to my feet.

  Daisy opened the door and slapped a pair of handcuffs around my wrists. "Let's go." She said. "I have to drop you off and be back for role call. Who the hell visits at five in the morning, anyway?" She grumbled under her breath.

  The guard took me down the hall, stopping at an elevator. We went down to the basement and through another set of locked doors, where she handed me off to another waiting guard. "B-778," She said and was gone.

  This guard, an older guy who was probably a week short of retirement, looked at me with disgust, an expression that had lost all meaning to me by now. He took me to a room. "Your visitors are on the other side of the glass. Use the hole to talk to them. You got ten minutes."

  "Ten minutes?" I repeated as he shoved me through the doorway. "Wait!" The door was already locked.

  I looked up at the plexiglass barrier between my visitors and me. "Mom! Dad!" I cried, running to the glass and pressing my hands against it. Tears spilled from my eyes. "I thought I'd never see you again!" I remembered that they wouldn't be able to hear me and fumbled to speak into the small circular opening at the center of the glass.

  Neither of them rushed forward to meet me. My mother sat on a chair, and my father stood beside her. They looked as if they hadn't slept in days. My mother's hair was grey at the roots. My father had lost a considerable amount of weight.

  Seeing them like this broke my heart. "Mom. Dad."

  My mother's lips trembled. "Oh, Harper. Why? Why did you do this?" She burst into tears.

  "Why?" My skin went cold. They thought I was guilty too? The MCS had tricked them into thinking I had murdered half of the coven. "No! I didn't do it. I swear, mom." I looked from her to my father. "You know me. I wouldn't hurt anyone."

  "We found the college application papers. All the stuff you had hidden away," My father said. "If you didn't want to be a Valentine, you could have just said so." His words cut into my heart.

  "I didn't do it. You have to believe me! This entire thing is unfair. The trial, everything, it was all rigged!" I shouted, slamming my fists against the glass.

  My mother looked at me with terror in her eyes. I couldn't stand it.

  My father shook his head. "How could I have been so blind to the evil in my own home?"

  "I'm innocent, I swear! You know those jerks at MCS! You said so yourself!"

  My father's face went red with anger. "Don't you dare talk like that, when you are the monster who killed half of the coven. Our name will never be repaired. Our family will be cast from the history books in shame."

  I always knew he took the family and the coven above all else. Still, his refusal to even consider my innocence burned me. "So you came here for what? To upset me?" I snarled, unable to stop the hurt in my voice.

  "You are dead to us, Harper." My father said with his voice like steel. My mother sobbed and held her face in her hands.

  "No!" I slapped both hands against the barrier. "No! Don't do this to me. You have to believe I didn't do it! It was all a big mistake. I don't remember what happened that night, but I know it wasn't me!"

  The guard burst through the door. "Quiet down! That's enough!" He pulled me away from the glass and towards the hall. "I'm cutting your time short, witch."

  "No. No!" I screamed for my parents, who turned their backs to me without so much as a glance.

  ***

  After that, I went to the courtyard to clear my head. I didn't want to be alone because I didn't want to cry anymore.

  The courtyard was a large square with no grass. There was a basketball net, an outdoor gym, a track around the perimeter for laps, some benches, and tables with chess boards engraved in the top.

  I sat at an empty table, tracing my finger around the edge of the worn stone. Did any of these guys even play chess? It didn't seem like a criminal's hobby, but what did I know?

  A basketball came hurtling towards me. I screamed and barely dodged fast enough to avoid being hit in the head. The orange ball bounced off the table and hit a guard in the gut.

  The guard's sunglasses fell off as he staggered back. "Who the hell was that?" He shouted, grabbing the ball with one hand. He seethed, walking towards the basketball court with his other hand hovering at his belt.

  The three warlocks who had been playing basketball weren't intimidated. "Whoops, my bad," One of them laughed. "Total mistake, sir," He added sarcastically.

  The guard dropped the ball, pulled out his gun, and a shot rang out. Everyone went silent. The ball shriveled into a flat disc. "Whoops. My bad." The guard spat.

  I held my breath as the tension rose. The warlocks stared down the guard. The others on duty stood ready for anything. The inmates froze in their tracks, watching what happened, waiting for a fight, desperate for some action.

  The guard scoffed and holstered his weapon. "You magic users are all the same. Weak and pathetic the moment you can't cast your stupid spells."

  That was all it took to cut the tension. Everything happened at once.
Someone lunged at the officer, inmates started shouting, guards called for back up, warning shots rang out, and the courtyard fell into chaos.

  I did the only thing I knew to do. Hide. I cowered under the stone table, watching the fight between my hands. My panic spiked again. My heart hammered so hard that I swore it cracked my ribs. I was not cut out for this place. I was going to die in my first week. Of that much, I was certain.

  An alarm rang out, and guards poured in from every door. The fighting inmates were wrestled to the ground and subdued in a matter of minutes. Then, everyone was ushered inside.

  Just as I entered the common area, someone said my name. "Harper."

  I turned to see the Associate Warden. He wasn't in a suit. This time he was dressed much more casually in a polo and jeans. His defined biceps stretched against the cuff of the shirt.

  "Disappointing to see our newest inmate getting involved in fights." He said.

  "Fights?" I echoed. "What do you mean?"

  Rowan grabbed my arm. "Come with me."

  "Wait. No!" I squealed. No one even turned to look at me as the Associate Warden pulled me off in the direction of the offices. "I wasn't fighting, I swear to you!"

  A black arrow pointed down the hall indicating the administration offices. We stopped at the door, and he let me in.

  "What are you doing?" I gasped.

  "Sit," Rowan commanded, pointing at a green chair.

  I sat, too afraid to do anything else.

  "Stop whimpering, I'm not going to hurt you." He shook his head and sighed. "Seriously, how the hell will you make it in here if all you do is cry?"

  That remark was enough to snap me out of the panic. "Wait. What?"

  Rowan moved the laptop aside and sat on the corner of the desk, which I assumed was his. He looked me dead in the eye. "No one told me you were a Valentine."

  My mouth prickled with dread. "B-778," I said my file number. "That's what you called me. Why did you bother looking up my real name?"

  "Because I knew something was up with you. No one has walked through these doors as meek and fearful as you. Everyone here is paying for a serious crime. You can see the evil in their eyes. You're different."