Holly Willow 01-Eye of Horlune
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1 - There Goes My Rental Deposit
CHAPTER 2 - You Two Have a Lot of Explaining to Do
CHAPTER 3 - A Room for Our Sleepover
CHAPTER 5 - Apprehend with Extreme Force
CHAPTER 6 - The Secret of Frank’s Apartments
CHAPTER 7 - Crazy Magicians and Weirdos
CHAPTER 8 - And Don’t Look for Me
CHAPTER 9 - Combat Training, Five Times a Week
CHAPTER 10 - I’m Never Letting You Pick the Names Again
CHAPTER 11 - Why Did You Come Back?
CHAPTER 12 - Wallace McGregor
CHAPTER 13 - Talking to Yourself Is Never a Good Sign
CHAPTER 14 - I Have to Protect You
CHAPTER 15 - They Took Her
CHAPTER 16 - You’re Embarrassing Me, Meggy
CHAPTER 18 - Michael Sven Svenson
CHAPTER 19 - Leonardo Viteri
CHAPTER 20 - My Biggest Fan And #1 Guy
CHAPTER 21 - Breakups and Elves
CHAPTER 22 - I Hate Gate Crashers
CHAPTER 23 - Click Here To See More
CHAPTER 24 - Listen To My Voice
CHAPTER 25 - Dude, Stalker Much?
CHAPTER 26 - Is it Over?
CHAPTER 27 - As Long as We’re Together
“Eye of Horlune”
SUPERNATURAL WITCH MYSTERY
Raven Snow
© 2015
Disclaimer
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner & are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Images licensed through Dollar Photo Club.
Digital Edition v1.00 (2016.02.18)
ravensnow@passionateauthors.com
CHAPTER 1 - There Goes My Rental Deposit
Holly Willow had to do a somersault as she dove in through the window of her low brownstone apartment.
As she sprang to her feet, she raised her hand to touch the spot on her side where the bullet had grazed her. She wasn’t going to need any stitches tonight; as long as she had a cup of tea, she would be healed in a few minutes.
The security guards that worked for the Applied Sciences Division of Valor Incorporated had only managed to give her a flesh wound, and she had finally located the data that Megan needed to decrypt—not a bad night after all.
This was it. They were finally going to get the location for the next part of their plan. Valor Incorporated had tried their best to hide their actions by using nondescript companies, but Megan had once again proven better than their cyber security. Once Holly had given her remote access on location, Megan had then downloaded the files that she needed.
Valor Incorporated was looking for an artifact: The Eye of Horlune. The eye was that of a dead Celestial that Valor Incorporated was planning to use to accomplish their goals. They had also been acquiring other resources, but Holly and Megan still had no idea what their real plan was.
“Yeah, yeah. Go brew your potion of tea leaves, missy,” Megan said with a hint of whimsy in her voice. “If you had just listened to me you’d be eating this pizza from Luigi’s right now,”
Megan Holliday walked into the room and closed the window. She was carrying a large pizza box with a laptop computer stacked on top.
“Whatever, Meg.” Holly laughed as she walked over to her alchemy station.
“I told you, fifteen seconds.”
“I had them beat in ten,” Holly boasted. “One of them snuck up on me, that’s all.” Holly looked down at the floor. “I saw a document with my aunt’s name on it. I had to get it, Meg. I can’t pass up any chance to know— any chance at all.”
“But you can’t risk your life. I can’t lose you.” Megan choked on the words as she opened the pizza box.
Holly understood Megan’s feelings. Holly herself had lost both parents in a plane crash and, at the age of four, had been carried off to live with her aunt, Paulina Winterheart.
Paulina had trained her to control her aura and her magical strength.
She had also become the other half of their loving family duo. Just one month after Holly’s high school graduation, a Valor Incorporated Witch Hunter Squad broke into their house and abducted her aunt.
She needed to find her aunt, no matter the cost.
Megan attacked her second slice of pizza while simultaneously combing through the information that Holly had collected. Her decryption program would take some time to get the next location of Valor Incorporated’s next hit. Holly knew that she and Megan had to be there first.
Holly turned around with a small wooden cup of freshly brewed tea in her right hand. She was ready to recuperate and relax, but the night wasn't through with her yet.
The exact window through which she had entered the room gave passage to one more visitor. This time, however, it was closed. Amidst a hail of shattered glass and cold autumn wind, a black-cloaked figure burst into the room.
“What the—” Megan began as the person swiftly rose to his feet.
The young man who stood before them had to be in his early twenties, around Megan’s age. His short, black hair bore the glint of splinters of glass, but the faded jeans and black jacket that he wore were unscathed just like the rest of him.
“The Eye of Horlune,” he commanded in a low, stern voice. “You will give it to us.”
Holly let a second of surprise wash over her, and then she sprang into action. A pulsating blue aura ignited around her as she sprang at the intruder. She would end this fight before it even began, grab Megan, and get out of here. If this was a Valor Incorporated goon, then there were sure to be more on the way.
“Big mistake, dude,” Holly said as she brought her right fist down to hit him.
He gave her a cocky smile before flipping backwards effortlessly to avoid her attack. Holly’s punch landed on the floor where the intruder had been a split second ago. The carpet around her burst into flame, scorching the threads black and leaving behind an unusual sweet cinnamon smell.
Before Holly could react, the situation got doubly worse as the front door was blasted off of its hinges. On top of the door, which was now lying on the floor, crouched a blonde girl. She was poised to attack, a jet-black bo staff inscribed with sigils in one hand.
“Don’t worry Holly, I’ve got Blondie!” Megan shouted as she began to float a few inches off of the floor.
Holly’s books, once neatly packed into her bookcase, now came flying off of the shelf and hovered behind Megan. Megan swung her hand around in an arc over her head, sending the books flying off at high speed to hit the new intruder.
The blonde confidently spun the bo staff around to face the attacking books. She then sprang into the air, swiftly taking each book down in a matter of seconds, before they had flown even remotely close to her.
As the books fell harmlessly to the floor, the blonde girl landed on top of Megan and pinned her to the ground.
“Megan!” Holly screamed as she waved an arm at the guy running towards her. A bright blue burst of energy shot out from her open palm and struck him squarely in the chest, sending him flying across the room.
Holly then ran over to Megan. Anger and fear welled up
in her eyes, taking the form of a pulsating blue glow in her irises. She wasn’t going to lose anyone else; not tonight—not ever.
Megan lay on the floor motionless, her eyes closed. Holly waved her hand again as she closed the distance between them. The blonde girl swung her bo staff around to meet the blast of energy that had left Holly’s hands.
The energy dissipated as the bo swung through it, leaving behind the same strong smell of cinnamon, but no visible damage to the staff.
“You’ll pay for this, bi—” Holly started. Before she could finish her sentence, someone grabbed her tank top and spun her around.
“Shh.” The young man smiled at her. Holly noticed her own glowing blue eyes reflected in his stormy grey ones.
A sharp pain washed through Holly’s head. Her eyelids felt as if they had been weighed down, and she began to lose consciousness.
“Sleep,” his voice commanded as her vision fell into blackness.
CHAPTER 2 - You Two Have a Lot of Explaining to Do
Holly drifted back into consciousness with the sound of Megan’s laughter washing over her. Her head throbbed slightly as her eyes slowly focused on the figures in front of her.
“Meg!” Holly screamed.
Holly lay in the bed in her apartment. Standing before her were Megan and the two people who had broken in and attacked them.
“Megan, what are you—” Holly winced from the throbbing in her head.
“It’s ok, Holly,” Megan whispered caringly as she plopped down on the bed beside Holly. “We’re not in any danger.”
“For now,” the blonde girl said. She was leaning on her staff and staring through the broken window.
“You could’ve fooled me,” Holly groaned as she glared at the guy that had knocked her out.
He had disrupted her aura and knocked her out with a spell. While she hadn’t been damaged physically, her magical energy had gone wonky and overloaded her brain.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you.” The young guy stepped forwards and gave a small, joking bow. “I’m Duncan Haven. This is Gwen Haven, my sister.” He gestured towards the blonde girl, who was still looking out the window.
“Get to the part about why you attacked us!” Holly shouted. She was losing her temper and she could feel her magic flowing back to her. She clenched her fists over the sheets on the bed.
“Holly,” Megan whispered urgently. “They know about the Eye.”
“So if Valor sent them then why are we still alive?”
“Because we’re not from Valor,” Duncan replied as he tried to calm her down.
“Then who are you?” Holly asked as she relaxed slightly. She was still scowling at him, but Megan had intertwined her fingers with Holly’s and the touch of Megan’s cold skin was keeping Holly level-headed.
Gwen walked over to the foot of the bed and locked eyes with Holly.
“If what Megan says is true, then we are people that hate Valor just as much as you do.” She clasped her hand around the bo staff and looked back towards her brother.
“Are they here?” Duncan asked with a somber look on his face.
“Yes,” Gwen replied as she straightened the loose t-shirt that she was wearing. “Twelve of them. We can’t take them all in this tiny apartment.”
“Hey, it’s not that small,” Holly said as she jumped out of the bed.
“Who’s coming?”
Megan clicked away at the keys on her laptop. “Let me bring up the street cameras.” She spun the laptop around to face Holly less than three seconds later. “They look like Valor security goons.”
“We need to leave now!” Gwen urged.
Holly reached under the bed and pulled out two large travel bags, throwing one on the bed beside Megan and then swinging the other one over her back.
“You two have a lot of explaining to do.” Holly looked at Gwen and then locked eyes with Duncan. “But let’s move.”
CHAPTER 3 - A Room for Our Sleepover
Holly glanced down at her brightly lit phone screen, which illuminated the darkness in the back of the minivan where she and Gwen were sitting. It was almost an hour past midnight; she should have been lying in bed right now, relaxing after her night out. Instead, she was looking through the window of Duncan’s minivan, trying to see if anyone was following them.
“We lost them,” Gwen muttered from beside her.
“Good,” Holly said as an air of relief settled over her. “How about everyone clue me in on what’s going on now?”
“Later. We need to figure out where we’re going,” Duncan replied sternly.
Holly was angry. She hated being kept in the dark, especial y when it came to anything even remotely related to Valor Incorporated.
“There’s an apartment building about five miles out of town,” Megan chimed in. She was obviously trying to defuse the situation. “They’re witch friendly. The owner owes me a favor; I helped him set up his VPN and his surveillance.”
“Thank you, Megan,” Duncan praised her.
Holly knew he was implying that at least Megan had her priorities straight. She glowered at the reflection of his grey eyes in the rearview mirror. It wasn’t until Gwen’s hand touched her thigh that she jumped and turned away.
“You know,” Gwen began to speak with a warm smile on her face.
“That was pretty brave what you did when we attacked you.”
Holly looked at her puzzled. “What are you talking about?”
“Rushing to save your friend when I knocked her out. It was brave. A bit foolish, as well, but very brave.”
Holly stared blankly back at her. Gwen’s smile seemed to radiate warmth as she spoke. Holly could feel her anger drifting away as it was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of comfort.
“Yeah, well I didn’t know that you weren’t going to kill her,” Holly muttered, blushing slightly. “I just can’t lose anyone else.”
“You’ve lost someone close to you?” Gwen cocked her head to the side. “Who?”
Holly blushed and looked down at her hands, now clasped tightly in her lap. “My aunt. They kidnapped her. She’s the reason I’m doing this—why I’m fighting Valor.”
Holly could feel tears welling up behind her eyes as memories that she had sealed away came floating to the forefront of her mind: the sound of heavy raindrops, the loud barking of a dog, and the screams of a woman coming from downstairs.
“We have also seen our share of loss,” Gwen spoke clearly as she looked calmly at her brother. “We’ve lost our—”
“I think this is it,” Duncan said loudly from the driver’s seat, cutting his sister off before she could finish.
Holly glared at the back of Duncan’s head, and Gwen gently squeezed her shoulder. Holly opened her mouth to call Duncan out for the interruption, but thought better of it and looked through the window. Gwen gently squeezed Holly’s shoulder. Duncan pulled the black minivan off of the highway and into the virtual y deserted front parking lot of a dimly lit apartment building.
Holly smiled as she opened the passenger door. “Well then, kiddies, let’s get a room for our sleepover, shall we?”
CHAPTER 4 - We Never Meet Anyone Normal
“Yer let me know if you need anything,” Frank, the landlord, bellowed as he took a few steps down the hall and then became invisible.
Holly closed the door and let out an audible sigh as she walked into the apartment and looked around the room.
The apartment building had looked almost abandoned on the outside, and Megan had said that look was probably intentional. The rooms themselves were actually very nice, and from the walls to the furniture, everything was colored in dark, minimalistic tones. The owner catered to an eclectic range of clientele: magically awakened individuals such as witches, Amazons, naga, and djinn, who often used it as an off-grid pit stop whenever they were on the road.
Witches and other magical beings were slowly starting to become a matter of public knowledge, and many people had mixed opinions. Of course, magical
beings had been hiding in plain sight for centuries, but recently, after an entire private school had been outed as a secret witch academy, more and more magical beings were now having their identities revealed.
“Why can’t we ever meet anyone normal, Meg?” Holly said with a grimace. She glared at the door that separated their room from that of Gwen and Duncan and sat down on the sofa beside Megan, who was typing away on her laptop.
“Say what you want to say.” Megan spoke clearly, keeping her hands moving on the keyboard and her eyes glued to the monitor.
“Fine, I will,” Holly replied. “What if they’re bounty hunters Meg? What if all they want is to turn us in for a job? What if they were hired by Valor?”
Megan, final y tearing her eyes from her laptop, slipped a tablet out of her backpack and handed it to Holly. “Do you know how they located us?”
Megan asked. “They tracked us. There was a line of code in the data that we retrieved.”
“So I am right! They are bounty hunters.”
“Babe, there are only two types of people that can track me. People that I’m friends with and people that want to kill me. They had the chance to kill us.” Megan gestured to the tablet as she spoke.
Holly looked down at the device in her lap as the screen came on of its own accord. Glowing back at her were two files that had been tagged as classified at least three times: security intelligence files from Valor Incorporated, with both Duncan’s and Gwen’s names on them.
“She’s skilled with a bo staff, expert tracker, magically active, Olympic-level gymnast.” Holly summarized aloud as she skimmed the files.
“He’s a fighter. It says he knows Krav Maga and at least two other martial arts, magical y active, and he’s also possibly a wanted cyber hacker called Cronos. They sound a lot like bounty hunters, Meg.”
“Exactly,” Megan said defiantly. “But you said it yourself—we never meet anyone normal. There must be more to the story. They had us both knocked out but they didn’t try to kidnap us, they helped us escape the Valor goons that were coming for us, and these files list them as ‘to be apprehended with extreme force.’”
“Yeah but that only—”