Witch Road to Take by April M. Reign Page A

strange to know that I was born with a mass under
my skin that was a key to the underworld—a key that my father
needed. It was even crazier to think that the key in my hand could
open the portal from Hell to Earth, if Father was able to get all
seven keys together in one place.
    Worse yet, I had half brothers and sisters
around the world, but I guess I should have expected that. After
all, Lucifer’s lack of fidelity to one woman has never been a
disputed fact.
    I sighed. I wasn’t sure who I was anymore.
My carefree life had been changed and that in itself had made me
question who and what I am.
    After the final seven-hour countdown
yesterday, the light in my hand permanently turned off and Gavin’s
cloaking shield came back in full force. We were no longer
concerned with a trotter or a hellhound showing up through a portal
and dragging me back to Hell.
    We were all relieved to know that we had
made it through that ordeal. However, the conversation between
Gavin and Damien disturbed me throughout the night. After Damien
laid me back in bed and made sure I’d be okay, he disappeared with
no other thoughts or words.
    Gavin had released a lot of information
about our family—information that we should have and needed to
discuss. The fact that he had disappeared and left me to ponder
that new information on my own angered me, which is the reason I
had tossed and turned all night.
    I glanced at the clock every minute on the
minute. When it felt like hours had passed, the clock had said
differently. As the night dragged, I only had my thoughts and
memories to keep me company. The words floated in my head
repeatedly, back and forth. Descendants of the God, Veles, lord
of the underworld and mastery at magic. Mother was a
visionary witch who could see the keys even when the key wasn’t
turned on. Anytime I came within a 100 feet of another key, mine
would turn on and send a signal to my father. If Father got a hold
of me during this time, he’d put a tracking device on me and I’d be
stripped of my privacy and freedom. Once he had all the keys
together, he’d have access to all three worlds, Hell, Heaven and
Earth. Every six years on the sixth day of the sixth month, a new
visionary witch is born.
    Those thoughts ran around rampant in my
mind, causing major sleep deprivation. I was paying for it right
now. Still staring down at the inside of my palm, I ran my other
hand across it, pressing down hard to see if I could feel it, maybe
even remove it. I huffed, “Useless to think about removing it, I
can’t even feel it.”
    Today was going to be my first day working
for Mr. Sable. I had reservations, but after enduring twenty-four
hours of dodging Father’s minions, fighting hypothermia and
listening to Gavin confide in Damien, I was ready for something a
little more subdued.
    In the kitchen, Jonas had a rat attached to
his fangs while he sucked its blood through his teeth like a straw.
I was disgusted and irritated, but mostly just downright tired.
“Really, Jonas? Your food tank is in your room, can’t you eat in
there?”
    Jonas pulled the rat from his mouth and
tossed him in the wastebasket. “That’s right, one of the perks of
being a vampire is perfect aim,” he grinned. “Someone’s in a shitty
mood.”
    “Screw you,” I said. My mood was definitely
sour and just being around my roommates irritated me.
    “We bring you home safely last night and
this is how you thank us?” Jonas reached in his pocket and pulled
out another squirming rat with a long tail and beady red eyes.
    “Don’t you dare, fangs.” I pointed to that
critter in his hand. “And, if I recall, you were fighting
hypothermia yourself. By the way, vampires don’t have body
temperature, so explain to me how an already dead, cold, sort of
human can struggle with hypothermia?”
    I turned to Gavin, who was blending fruits
and vegetables in a blender to drink for breakfast. “Can you
explain that one to me, magic man?”
    “Don’t drag me