The Banshee's Revenge - By Victoria Richards Page 0,2

her feelings toward the one she sought.

The pond obliged by showing a cave cut deep into a rocky cliff overlooking the sea. This she expected to see, but what was unexpected, what heated her blood in anger was the sight of the huge boulder she'd had placed in front of the cave lying on the beach below, waves crashing all around it. Her enchantment had been broken.

"Damn him," she whispered. "What have you been up to, you old fool?"

She ran a hand through the image, distorting its features so no one else could view it, and contemplated what to do next. This explained so much.

Merlin was free.

Chapter 1

The wizard lay on the ground, panting in agony.

Pain seared through his organs like a hot knife slicing through butter. Every part of him ached as his body was slowly boiled alive. The words to a defensive spell were on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't get them out.

Death was on the way.

The half banshee, Jacqueline Huston, stood above him, her green eyes swirling with concentration. But what drew his attention, what filled him with both fear and fascination was how the green orbs were outlined by a deep, dark crimson.

"How are you feeling, Foster?" Jacqueline grinned. "Getting a little warm for you?"

The wizard was unable to respond, the pain too great.

"Remember in the old days when ignorant peasants would burn witches at the stake? Well, you are getting a taste of what that feels like. Only I'm being way more creative than our forefathers. I'm burning you from the inside out. It's a slower process, but the end result is the same."

Foster wanted to scream as the burning inside his skin created smoke that seeped out of his pores, but she'd crushed his vocal chords. The fight he'd been so sure would go his way had ended in disaster when Jacqueline seized him by the throat and squeezed just enough to cause damage, but not kill him.

"Don't you know smoking is bad for your health?" Jacqueline laughed at her own bad joke and gestured to the smoke his body gave off. "That shit will kill you."

Oh god. The pain.

He could feel himself dying and welcomed it. Anything to stop the pain.

"Before you die," Jacqueline said, leaning over him. "I want you to understand why I’m roasting you, Foster."

Her eyes grew a deeper green and the red outline became brighter.

"It's because you and the Brotherhood of Merlyn tried to kill me and the one I love. It's because hundreds of years ago, your ancestors allowed a young girl to be raped by one of your kind and did nothing about it. You're all a bunch of cowards hiding behind magic." Jacqueline placed a hand on top of his forehead. "Someone has to stop you."

She pressed on Foster's forehead and his brain began to boil. He embraced death with a sigh of relief. Now the pain could end.

But it didn't end.

Foster's soul drifted above his body, and he stared down at himself, horrified by the pitiful shell he'd left behind. He was a mess. Unrecognizable almost. The wizard's pride reared up and the outrage he felt bubbled into words, no longer hindered by the damaged vocal chords.

"You bitch," he said to Jacqueline who still bent over his body. "Gwydion is going to enjoy ripping you apart."

"Gwydion ran from me the last time the two of us met up." Jacqueline turned her head slowly in his direction. "I'm much stronger than him now, thanks to the power of Death."

Foster backed away, but his gaze searched the secluded wooded area by the river. Where was the light he'd always heard about? Where was he supposed to go? What happened next? Surely he wouldn't have to stay on the same dimension as the evil bitch that'd just killed him. He was a wizard. A powerful being that deserved respect even in the afterlife! He'd always been told that he would ascend to a higher level of consciousness.

"Foster, normally this is the part where I or some other poor Reaper would have the task of helping your worthless soul cross over to the other side where you will either be reborn or be given some other task that suits your nature." Jacqueline stood and gave him another smile. "But you see, the other Reapers are afraid of me, and don't dare try to pick up the souls I don't want. I think it goes without saying that I won't be helping you. Well, let me correct