ChapterOne
ALIENOR
I am 99% certain I’m being stalked by the Boogie Man.
In fact, I don’t even need to open my eyes to know he’s infiltrated my room.
Part of me wants to stay in bed all morning and lose myself in my dreams because then I can avoid the awaiting nightmare. The other part just wants to open my eyes and prove myself wrong.
But I can’t because the signs are unmistakable.
The tension in the air is similar to the anticipation before a lightning strike. My nostrils fill with the scent of ozone, a sign of powerful magic.
More sunlight than usual shines through my eyelids, adding to my suspicions. From the warmth on my face, he’s shredded the curtains.
Again.
And then there’s the tingle. static electricity runs across every inch of my skin, indicating that something activated my enchanted locket.
Dread rolls through my belly like thunder, and I suck in a deep breath.
Shit.
I have no idea why the Boogie Man has made me his target. No amount of procrastination can delay the inevitable. I’ve got to see for myself how much he’s destroyed.
My coven thinks I have a severe form of sleeping disorder because these attacks have happened since I turned eighteen and came into my magic. But there’s no way a five-foot-nothing woman who bites her nails could tear apart a room with non-existent claws.
I crack open an eye. Light burns my retinas, making me wince, then I glance around the room and groan at the damage.
Walls as shredded as the newspaper that lines a litter tray. Claw marks so deep that they expose the bricks beneath the plaster. He’s reduced the curtains to ribbons and broken every piece of furniture.
The only thing he’s left untouched is the bed. I wrap my fingers around the golden locket and whisper a prayer to the goddess, Rheda. Without Grandma Styx and the rest of the family offering their magical support, I would have gone insane.
A knock sounds on the door. I sit up, swing my legs out of bed, tiptoe through the debris, and rush out of my room and down the hallway to the front door. Grandma Styx stands outside, dressed in a low-cut gown with a lace neckline that shows way too much cleavage.
Something is peculiar about Grandma. There’s a spark in her eyes that wasn’t there the last time the Boogie Man struck.
Grandma is a hundred and twenty years old, but she acts younger than a woman in her fifties. That’s the great thing about being a witch. Once our magic is unbound, we age half as slowly as humans.
“Alienor,” she says with a blissful sigh. “Your locket activated, again.”
No one but Grandma uses all four syllables of my full name. Ali-en-nor. It’s always Ali, occasionally Nor, but Grandma thinks Alienor is more elegant.
“Are you alright?” I ask.
She beams at me with a dazzling smile that makes her look a decade younger. “Never better. Now, invite me in, so I can fix the damage.”
Stepping aside, I rub the back of my neck. “Come in.”
The family placed a protective barrier over my cottage to keep out magical beings. It was their way of putting my mind at ease and proving that no one was coming inside.
It worked for a while until the Boogie Man found a way to evade their spells. Now, I’ve got to convince them to strengthen that enchantment because my magic is only good for lighting candles or charging up the motor of my vibrating rose.
What? Don’t judge me.
I can’t exactly bring men home with a clawed phantom visiting me at night.
Grandma bustles down the hallway and extracts her wand.