Of Time & Spells (Ward Witches Book 3)

All Piper wanted was to help the shifter tribe of dragons Tristan belonged to reclaim their magic from the Vodun witches, that is until she learned those same witches were responsible for the death of her parents.

Fueled by a desire for revenge and a determination to free the dragon magic before it’s too late, Piper and the others find themselves going up against the biggest evil they’ve ever known.

However, all isn’t as it seems...

A battle against evil. A house of tricks. A race against time. Find out how Piper and Tristan’s story ends in the epic conclusion to Jennifer Snyder’s Ward Witches series.

A haunting rhythm woke me. It rippled through the heavy silence of my bedroom, saturating the air in an unbelievable amount of power. Dark magic coated the back of my throat and built on the tip of my tongue. The breath in my chest stilled as I pulled my blankets to my chin, listening.  Chanting. Someone was definitely chanting.

The voices were female. While I couldn’t make out their words, they sounded as though they were singing a creepy lullaby. I knew better though. Their monotone words weren’t meant to lull anyone to sleep. Instead, they were meant to draw power to something. The question was: to what? 

Alarm trickled through my veins. Of two things I was certain. One, the Vodun witches had found us. And two, they were crafting a powerful spell originating in dark magic just outside.

I pulled in a deep breath before flipping the blankets off and slipping out of bed. Moonlight filtered through the sheer curtains covering the window, allowing me enough light to see by as I made my way toward the door. The knob was cool in my shaky hand when I gripped it. As much as I wanted to remain hidden beneath the warm blankets of my bed, I knew I couldn’t. I had to see what was happening. The door whooshed open wider than I’d anticipated the second I opened it. Magic had been building inside the walls of the house. It pressed against everything, including me, as I cut down the hallway. I’d never felt anything like it before.

Jasper. Getting to my brother seemed important. He would know what was happening, what the Vodun witches were doing. If he didn’t, then Anna would.

I glanced down the hall toward the other bedrooms. No lights were on. A soft glow at the opposite end of the hall caught my attention. Someone was in the living room. My muscles loosened at the thought of not being the only one woken by whatever was happening outside. I didn’t want to be alone. 

Liam stood at the large window in the living room. His back was to me as he stared into the night.

“It’s the Vodun, isn’t it? Are they out there?” The words stuck in my throat on their way out.

Liam flinched at the sound of my voice, but he didn’t move to face me. “It is.” 

I wrapped my arms around my middle, his words having shaken me more than I cared to admit. “Do you know what they’re saying? I can taste the dark magic they’re working, but can’t make out any words.”

“Do me a favor, love.” He shifted to face me revealing an excited smirk. Shivers slipped along my spine. 

“What?”

“Go wake your brother.”

The excitement festering in his deep-set eyes intensified at the mention of my brother. I wasn’t sure what I found to be creepier: the sounds of the witches chanting or the look on Liam’s face. He was obviously ready for a fight. 

“Okay.” I headed back the way I’d came. There were still no lights on as I padded down the dark hallway to my brother’s room. The magic was thicker here. It congregated in the air making it hard to breathe. My heart pounded. What if the witches were doing something to my brother? 

I bolted to his room at the end of the hall and knocked. When I didn’t get a response, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Moonlight lit his room, filtering in through the shades that covered a large bay window opposite the door. I could see my brother’s figure lying in bed, one arm tucked beneath his head, and the other wrapped around Anna.

Maybe Tristan had been right to bet they’d be married by the end of the year. 

I tip-toed to my brother’s side of the bed and lightly shook him. “Jasper, wake up,”

He didn’t stir and neither did Anna. A charge slithered through the air as the witches chanting grew louder. Goose bumps prickled across my skin. Whatever spell they were working was building to its peak. 

“Jasper, wake up,” I repeated, feeling officially freaked out. 

The hairs on the back of my neck lifted as the Vodun witches’ magic caressed my skin. The air was so thick with it, my lungs struggled to breathe. 

I shoved Jasper. “Get up!” 

He stirred but didn’t wake. I shoved him again, this time harder. “Jasper. Wake up.” 

My mind dipped into a well of what-ifs when he didn’t wake, and I worried the witches chanting was somehow immobilizing him. I gripped his shoulders and shook until he jolted awake. Jasper’s arm beneath the pillow swung out clasping a dagger in his fist. I jumped back, barely avoiding the edge of the blade as he swung it.

My hands lifted in surrender. “Whoa! Chill out. It’s me.”

“Piper? What the hell are you doing in here?” He pulled the comforter with him as he moved into a sitting position and glared at me. “And what is that noise?”

“Chanting.” I licked my lips, tasting the dark magic rolling through the air. My mouth was dry and my heartbeat pulsated in my fingertips, but at least whatever spell the evil witches were working on hadn’t affected him. “It’s why I woke you. The witches found us, Jasper. They’re here.”

“Shit.” He breathed.

I watched as he tossed his dagger on the nightstand and rubbed his face with both hands. Hope blossomed through my chest because I knew the gesture meant he was gathering himself to form a plan. Formulating plans at the drop of a hat was what Jasper was best at. It came with running Sight Unseen for years.

“What should we do?” 

“What’s going on?” Anna mumbled as she rolled over to face Jasper and me. Her hair was a mess, and her voice was groggy with sleep. “Piper?”

“Yeah. Sorry to wake you but—”

“The Vodun found us.” Jasper wasted no time filling her in. “Hear the chanting? Do you recognize what they’re saying?”

Anna moved into a sitting position. Her teeth sank into her bottom lip as she focused on the haunting voices outside. “No.”

I wasn’t surprised. They didn’t seem to be speaking English. 

“Piper, go wake the others,” Jasper insisted. “Let me get dressed and think for a second.”

“Okay.” I hurried from the room, down the hall, and toward Tristan’s room.

I didn’t hesitate outside his door. Instead, I barged in, eager to fill him in on what was happening. A blast of cool air kissed my skin as I opened his door and thick magic pressed against me. My skin tingled at the heightened sound of the witches’ chorus. 

“Tristan, wake—” my throat clamped shut as I was suddenly suffocated by raw, undiluted fear.

Darkness swirled through the air, rippling and rolling in on itself like a puff of smoke. Was it the witches’ magic or a piece of whatever spell they were executing? I stared at it, unblinking. It shifted, expanding as it lowered to hover above Tristan as he lay in his bed. Inches separated it from his mouth. My feet rooted in place as my mind froze. All I could do was trail my eyes over the entity hovering above him. What was it, and where was it coming from? There was no end to it.  It appeared to be floating through Tristan’s cracked open window to hover above him. Was it waiting for something?

This was obviously what the chanting was for, but what was it? Better yet, what would it do once it touched Tristan?

Without thinking my actions through, I lunged forward and scooped up a towel that had been tossed on the floor. It was damp and smelled of Tristan’s body wash. I gripped it in both hands and wound it up. Adrenaline pumped through me, steady and strong, as I continued to stare at the creepy smoke waiting to suffocate Tristan. Releasing the breath I’d been holding, I snapped the towel at it to ward it away. Hissing filled the room. It startled not only me, but Tristan as well. He bolted out of bed and jumped to his feet, ready to fight.

The instant he took stock of what was happening, he positioned himself in a fighting stance beside me. “What’s going on? What is that thing?”

Another loud hiss vibrated through the room. The desire to cover my ears burned through me, but I fought against it, knowing I needed my hands if I planned to defend myself.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure it has something to do with the Vodun witches standing outside,” I shouted over the crazy noise.

“Piper!” Jasper rushed into the room, and some of the tension in my body dissipated.

“I’m okay,” I informed him.

“Dark magic,” he whispered, and I knew he’d taken a second to taste the air. 

“What else were you expecting?” I wanted to smack him for saying something so stupid.

Anna burst into the room behind him. “Oh my God! Don’t touch it!” She held her hands out in front of her as though she could freeze us each in place. “Piper, put that towel down and step back. Slowly.”

I dropped the towel and took a tentative step backward. The alarm ringing through her voice amped up the panic I was already feeling. My eyes stayed glued to the rolling darkness as I retreated. It had coiled itself into a snake-like formation. I held my breath as I took another shaky step backward, scared it might strike me.

“I get that it’s dark magic, but what is it?” Tristan asked.

“The Snake of Possession.” Anna’s voice was low, as though she feared it might hear her.

While I didn’t know what the Snake of Possession was, I had a feeling it wasn’t anything good. The chanting outside grew louder, or maybe it was closer. I couldn’t tell. All I could focus on was the way the snake swayed from side to side as though it were a cobra being charmed by unheard music.

Jasper positioned in front of me. “It looks like it’s preparing to strike.”

“It is.” Meili had slipped into the room behind us all. Chi was right at her side. “Tristan needs to get out of its path.”

“Why me?” Tristan was quick to ask. “Isn’t it Piper who the witches want?”

“But this is your room,” I answered, understanding what Meili meant. “It was hovering above you because it wanted you.”

From my peripheral vision, I noticed Tristan take a step back. “Why, though? I’m not the one they’ve been after this entire time.”

“Later. We can talk about it later.” Anna insisted. “We all need to get out of this room right now. If this thing feels as though its target is no longer a viable option, it will most likely strike someone else so it can still fulfill its goal.”

No one argued with her logic. Instead, we all continued to make our way into the hall. As though the thing understood what was happening, it struck out the instant Tristan reached the threshold of the door, latching onto the person closest.

I watched in horror as its dark fangs stabbed into Chi’s shoulder. He cried out so loudly from the pain my eardrums vibrated. The snake released him an instant later and slithered toward the window, where it seeped out blending into the darkness of the night and disappearing.

Chi crumpled to the floor as the chanting outside stopped. The sudden silence caused my ears to buzz. My heart pounded hard and fast against my rib cage because I wasn’t sure what would happen next, but I knew it had everything to do with me.

It always did.

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