9781618851307WitchsBrewShayNC Read Online Free Page B

damn
wriggling brush was going to defeat her. She drew a sharp, steadying breath.
“Courage, my girl, you have to have courage.”
    Just because she had no idea who her father was didn’t
mean she didn’t come from good, hardy, English stock and in the future, she was
going to ignore the little oddities plaguing her life, pretend she didn’t see
things no sane person should be seeing.
    She paused to straighten a wrinkle off the comforter. She
might not be normal, but she was tough. Brave. She could do it.
    But
how would she do it?
    Then the answer presented itself. It was easy. Whenever
something strange happened, she’d hum. She’d tune it out by humming a ditty or
two. Maybe she was hormonal or bi-polar or something equally boring, but she
wasn’t about to let these silly hallucinations bother her any more.
    “I’d
appreciate it if you’d keep the snoring down to a muted level tonight.”
    Saylym squeaked and jumped at the sound of the deep,
masculine voice. She whirled, her gaze making a quick search of the bedroom.
“What? Wh - who said that?”
    There
was no one in the room but her. No one she saw, anyway.
    “I
did. Here!” A sharp whistle pierced
the air.
    Saylym turned toward the bed and widened her eyes. “Oh-my-God!”
    Smack in the center of the massive pinewood headboard, a
single red eyeball glared back at her. A set of thick lips lay below a flat
ugly nose.
    “Eewww.”
    A
snort escaped the thick lips.
    Saylym fell back a step and slapped a hand over eyes. “I
don’t see you. I don’t hear you. No-No- No! You’re not there. Hummmmm.”
    “Yes, I am. Uncover your eyes, witch. Stop that awful
humming and pay attention.”
    Parting her fingers, Saylym peeped at the eyeball through
them. “Go away. You’re not real. Stay out of my imagination. Hummmmm.”
    “I’m real, sister. Now, listen up. It’s hard for a bed to
get a decent night of sleep with those disgusting sounds you make . Keep it down.”
    “I
do not snore.” Saylym dropped her hand from her eyes and glared at the
bed.
    “Well,
that’s true,” the bed replied, sounding appalled. “You roar. You start
making that noise tonight, and I’m rolling your ass out of bed. Got it?”
    She nodded, grabbed her purse off the over-stuffed chair
in the corner, and backed out of the room. Whirling, Saylym ran to the front
door as if the hounds of hell were nipping at her heels. She slammed the door
behind her and leaned back against it, sucking in deep, calming breaths of
fresh air.
    Maybe she’d find a motel room for the night, anything, but
that demon bed. “The bed did not accuse me of snoring,” she chanted between
ragged breaths, “because I don’t snore. The bed did not call me a witch,
because I’m not a witch.” Her hand trembled as she pressed it against her
thundering heart. “Breathe in. Breathe out. You’re losing your bloody mind!”
In. Out. Breathe. Hummmmm.
    She had to calm down. And she had to get far away from
this insane house, before she went completely bonkers. Maybe she’d call her mum
tonight and inquire about insanity running in the family. Saylym bit her lip to
keep from crying. Her hands shook so badly, she could barely push the key in
and lock the door.
    “No one steals in Sanctuary, dearie. The locks are just
window dressing. Besides, there’s no way a lock can stop a witch from entering
your home. It takes magic or symbolic witch marks carved into the roof timbers
to prevent that from happening.”
    The words reached her from the hag next door.
    “Right.” Saylym drew a sharp breath. Magic or symbolic
witch marks? “Jeez, give me a break.” She withdrew the key from the lock,
plastered a cheerful smile on her face and turned to wave at her eccentric
neighbor. She wasn’t the only one losing her mind here. A month of living
beside Eldora Waters and her insanity must be rubbing off. “You never know,”
Saylym replied, puffing a lock of tangled hair back from her face. “Stranger
things have