/0/20243/coverbig.jpg?v=d23520081b348b847ba44442f814630a)
When a group of disgruntled teens cast a spell to get revenge on their bullies, they are shocked to discover Damien is more than just talk. He literally has the girl who humiliated him on a leash, Mr popular is reduced to a drooling love-slave, and even the schools most prolific bully has been tamed. Everything is great... until it's not. As the spell runs its course, it becomes apparent that someone in the group isn't so innocent. The only way to end the spell is to forgive, but is Damien willing to give up his hold over the beautiful Belle?
Jess leaned her head against the window. She found the gentle, irregular patter of rain hitting the windowpane oddly comforting, as the sound sparked ghost-like fragments of memories long forgotten. Shadows of past feelings, always sweeter in retrospect.
Every so often, a gust of wind would increase the pace and force of the raindrop as well as chilling her back. Damien's parents had kept the original Victorian windows and though they were beautiful, they were not the most efficient at keeping out drafts.
They overcompensated for the loss of heat by turning the central heating up to full.
Dry heat from the radiator below blasted Jess's legs, warming her lower half. The contrasting body temperatures in her upper and lower body confused her nervous system, giving her the macabre sensation of being half dead, half alive.
She snapped to attention, looking up as Damien approached wearing a maniacal grin, his engraved blade glinting in the light of the moon.
"Geez, you don't have to look so happy about it," Jess teased him, rolling her eyes. "Just get it over and done with."
Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned her head away and offered her upturned palm.
The cut was more painful than she'd expected.
She sucked in a sharp breath as the pain flashed up her arm, determined not to cry out as Kiaan had just been teased for doing.
"What now?" she asked, watching Damien swirl his pewter goblet. It was decorated with skulls, dragons, and symbols, and like most of the items in his room, looked like he'd bought it from some cheap eBay goth shop.
'This whole thing is ridiculous,' she thought, watching him paint a pentacle onto the wooden floor with a Harris 'no loss 3/4' paintbrush.
She looked over at Sammy. Seeing the desperation in his sallow face-pale skin and sad eyes-she reminded herself why they were here. All of them were desperate in one way or another.
Sensing the weight of her gaze, he looked up and offered her a weak smile. He was a sweet kid.
'Maybe if I'd stuck up for him, he wouldn't be here right now,' Jess thought, feeling guilt about her complacency. In her defence, she'd been busy far too with her own antagonists to worry about anyone else's.
"Right." Damien interrupted her thoughts. "We all need to say the name of our victim and throw one of their possessions into the centre."
"It feels weird calling them victims since we are the real victims," Sammy commented. He was correct, of course. None of their so-called victims were innocent.
"That's going to change. After this, they will be our victims. I promise you. This spell will work," Damien assured them, exuding confidence.
Jess didn't believe it, not really, but it was worth a try. At this point, anything was worth a try. At least now she would have an alliance; a support network of fellow sufferers. The worst thing about being singled out and bullied was how alone it made you feel.
"Alright," Caine said, standing up and wiping down his trousers. "I'll go first if that's okay?"
The rest of them exchanged glances and nodded. Caine was the new kid. Being as good looking as he was, he probably would have been welcomed into the 'popular' crowd had Ricky Jameson not made him enemy number one. Why Ricky had gone after Caine so viciously was anyone's guess. Maybe he was simply jealous of the 'pretty boy,' as he liked to call him.
"My victim is Ricky Jameson," Caine said, throwing a battered-looking Adidas wallet into the centre of the pentagram.
"You stole his wallet?" Jess asked, suppressing a giggle. "Very brave of you."
Caine smiled at her as he sat, indicating for her to go next. She felt her cheeks flushing and hoped nobody would notice.
The blush in her cheeks deepened as she stood, feeling all eyes on her. It was like being centre stage-a feeling she'd never appreciated much.
"Erm, my victim is Catriona Sykes." Jess bent to throw a brush into the centre. It still had puffs of Cat's blonde hair attached, which could only be a positive if what she understood about magic was accurate.
"Brush complete with hair." Damien smiled his approval. "Nicely done."
He stood, did a theatrical spin, and threw a sock into the mix. "My victim is Annabelle Ross."
Kiaan frowned, looking down at the dirty off-pink sock. "Where did you get one of her socks?"
"I followed her to the gym lifted it from her bag." Damien shrugged, as though stalking a girl and riffling through her dirty underwear was a perfectly acceptable thing to do.
Kiaan flashed a perturbed look in Damien's direction before shaking his head. "Okay then, my turn."
He stood, holding a hairbrush sprouting the odd strand of sandy brown hair. Catching Jess's eye, he told her he'd had the same idea.
"They're going to launch an investigation into the hairbrush thief," Sammy announced, holding up a detangling paddle hairbrush.
"Great minds really do think alike." Jess smiled. The three of them giggled before a sour look from Damien prompted them to return to the matter at hand.
"My victim is Grace Holloway," Kiaan uttered, placing the brush gently beside the other items.
"And my victim is Michael Strawbridge," Sammy added quietly, placing the last brush into the pile.
"Is that it?" Sammy asked, looking to Damien for answers.
"Stand in a circle, holding hands," Damien demanded. Jess wished she were standing closer to Caine but reluctantly took Kiaan and Damien's clammy hands when they reached out to her.
"Say these words three times," Damien ordered.
"Shadows lurking in the night,
I summon you,
come to us tonight.
Give us the revenge we seek,
Twist the strong and make them weak.
I call on you to make this spell magick,
so mote it be."
After the third iteration, Jess looked about the room and noticed the others doing the same.
Brows raised, Kiaan asked, "Is something supposed to happen?"
"Not now," Damien assured him. "But it will. Trust me."
"What are you going to do with this stuff now?" Jess asked, poking the pile of hairbrushes with her toe as Damien paced the room.
"Open a hair salon?" Caine suggested, causing the others to giggle. He had a humorous and kind-natured personality on top of being good looking. Why someone like Caine had fallen victim to bullying was a total mystery to Jess. The rest of the group were socially awkward oddballs, Sammy the most notably. Sammy hid quietly behind his waterfall of long hair, trying desperately to elude the attention of the bullies. It was safe to say this evasion tactic didn't work.
Damien-on the other hand-wasn't shy as such, just odd. His goth aesthetic earned him both positive and negative attention, and he was quite popular within his own clique.
Kiaan, one of the few Indian boys in her school, was bullied in the form of jealously disguised as racism. His family owned a chain of shops and a popular restaurant. They had a huge house and posh cars, a fact that didn't sit well with Grace, whose Mum had been fired from working in one of their shops. Grace was a monster. Even the political correctness fanatics couldn't quell her rampant fascism, as much as they tried to defend the poor lad.
"I guess I'll burn them?" Damien shrugged. "Bonfire?"
"Oh! Do you have any marshmallows?" Caine asked.
"I do actually," Damien replied, raising his eyebrows.
Moonlight filtered through tree branches, casting sprawling shadows that melted into the light from the bonfire. The smoky scent of burning wood mingled with the caramelising sugar from the toasted marshmallows, making Jess's stomach rumble.
As she turned her stick, trying to get an even coat of burn on all sides, she heard Sammy let out a sharp cry.
"Argh," he yelled, jumping back from the fire and pawing at his long, dangly hair.
"Be careful," Damien scolded-a redundant warning if she'd ever heard one.
The pleasant smoky aroma was replaced with the bitter odour of burnt hair. Sammy looked at his singed hair with sadness.
"Come to mine after," Caine offered, inspecting the boy's damaged hair. "I'll even it up for you with my Mum's hairdressing scissors."
"Erm, th-thank you," Sammy stammered, blushing deeply.
'Does he also have a thing for the new boy?' Jess wondered.
"Did you take the money out of the wallet?" Damien cried, ignoring his own warning and leaning over the fire so far he almost set his hair on fire. "There's a twenty in there!"
"I'm not a thief." Caine shrugged.
"Isn't it illegal to burn an image of the queen?" Kiaan asked face stretched in worry.
"That's the bit you have a problem with?" Sammy asked.
"We are using blood and stolen items to raise a demon that will torment our enemies, but burning the queen's face is where you draw the line?" Damien snickered.
Kiaan shrugged and shifted awkwardly from foot to foot as the others teased him.
"Shit, my parents are home," Damien cried, stamping out the fire as a car pulled up. The others joined in, helping him extinguish the flames before following him into the house.
His parents stood by the front door, removing coats and shoes as they placed bags of shopping haphazardly, spilling boxes of cereal and punnets of oranges onto the floor.
"What's that smell," Mrs Cross asked, sniffing at the air like a bloodhound. "You've been burning that bloody incense again, haven't you?"
"Yes," Damien replied flatly, probably grateful to have an excuse offered up.
"Oh," Mr Cross said, eyes widening as he took in the group behind his son. They looked nothing like his usual group of friends.
"Study group," Damien explained to his confused but happy looking father.
"Great," Mr Cross said, smiling that 'parent' smile. They all had one.
"See you tomorrow, guys," Damien said with a wicked grin, showing the others out. "Tomorrow, everything will be different."
When a group of disgruntled teens cast a spell to get revenge on their bullies, they are shocked to discover Damien is more than just talk. He literally has the girl who humiliated him on a leash, Mr popular is reduced to a drooling love-slave, and even the schools most prolific bully has been tamed. Everything is great... until it's not. As the spell runs its course, it becomes apparent that someone in the group isn't so innocent. The only way to end the spell is to forgive, but is Damien willing to give his hold over the beautiful Belle?
*** “However,” Caleb sneered, “I could punish you in a different way.” A lump popped up in Alice's throat. It wouldn’t shift, as much as she tried to swallow it away. “Pull your trousers down and bend over my lap,” he ordered ‘What?’ Alice froze... mind reeling. ‘Is he seriously going to spank me?’ *** Alice has no choice but to work for her enemy - the notorious delinquent Caleb Spencer, after finding out her brother owes him a lot of money. He is everything she can't stand, yet, his punishments turn her on more than she cares to admit. She had always seen him as high school kid posing as a gangster, but since meeting Dylan, his endeavours have gone from petty and delinquent to downright dangerous. Can she convince him to choose her over his destructive new friend before his sinister plots destroy them all?
In the previous life, Maggie Johnson was so cowardly, gullible and stupid that she was coaxed by her fiance and stepsister and then broke her legs and lost everything including her fortune, love and even life. However, she was so lucky that she was reborn in the year before everything happened. Since her life restarted, how could she repeat a previous tragedy? Therefore, in this life, she took the opportunity to improve herself and take revenge on the ones who had ever insulted her. Facing the people who had humiliated her previously, she became smart and experienced to break their frames and tricks that had caused her to hurt in the previous life. Finally, no one could stop her pace to amaze the world any more.
"You're my wife in name only, on paper only. My heart and love will never be yours." Edward made it clear to Daisy that she was nothing to him. They were both victims of family greed -- the marriage was arranged for them. Six years passed. She remained quiet, gaining a reputation in the army as a tough-as-nails colonel. When she walked into his life again, Edward fell in love with this woman, unlike any he had known. She surprised and delighted him. But will Daisy take him back? Can their son keep them together? Can the rift between them be healed? Pick this one up and find out!
Once upon a time, there were two kingdoms once at peace. The kingdom of Salem and the kingdom of Mombana... Until the day, the king of Mombana passed away and a new monarch took over, Prince Cone. Prince Cone, has always been hungry for more power and more and more. After his coronation, he attacked Salem. The attack was so unexpected, Salem never prepared for it. They were caught off guard. The king and Queen was killed, the prince was taken into slavery. The people of Salem that survived the war was enslaved, their land taken from them. Their women were made sex slaves. They lost everything, including their land. Evil befall the land of Salem in form of Prince Cone, and the prince of Salem in his slavery was filled with so much rage. The prince of Salem, Prince Lucien swore revenge. 🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳 Ten years later, thirty-years old Lucien and his people raided a coup and escaped slavery. They went into hiding and recuperated. They trained day and night under the leadership of the fearless and cold Lucien who was driven with everything in him to get back their land, and take Mombana land too. It took them five years before they ambushed and attacked Mombana. They killed Prince Cone and reclaimed everything. As they screamed out their victory, Lucien's eyes found and pinned the proud princess of Mombana. Princess Danika. The daughter of Prince Cone. As Lucien stared at her with the coldest eyes anyone can ever possess, he felt victory for the first time. He walked to the princess with the slave collar he'd won for ten years rattling in his hand as he walked. He reached close to her and with a swift movement, he collared her neck. Then, he tilted her chin up, staring into the bluest eyes and the most beautiful face ever created, he gave her a cold smile. "You are my acquisition. My slave. My sex slave. My property. I will pay you in spades, everything you and your father ever did to me and my people." He stated curtly. Pure hatred, coldness and victory was the only emotion on his face. .
After being kicked out of her home, Harlee learned she wasn't the biological daughter of her family. Rumors had it that her impoverished biological family favored sons and planned to profit from her return. Unexpectedly, her real father was a zillionaire, catapulting her into immense wealth and making her the most cherished member of the family. While they anticipated her disgrace, Harlee secretly held design patents worth billions. Celebrated for her brilliance, she was invited to mentor in a national astronomy group, drew interest from wealthy suitors, and caught the eye of a mysterious figure, ascending to legendary status.
Sandra Hill, the long-lost real heiress of the Hill family, was shunned by her own kin. Instead of embracing her, they bestowed their affection upon an impostor. They even arranged her to marry a vegetative man in place of her so-called “sister”. Sandra sneered, refusing to put up with this humiliation, cut off ties with the Hill family immediately and ran into the flash marriage with Wesley Cooper, her unconscious billionaire husband. With her incredible medical skills, she defied the odds and revived him. Little did she expect that her husband spoiled her with all his love... A medical genius, a computer prodigy, a national treasure in painting, and a racing legend... Her husband revealed her various identities, leaving the Hill family regretful. Her father came pleading, "It's Dad's fault. Please come back." Her mother wept, "Mom will protect you from now on. Please come back." Even her five brothers knelt before he, begging for forgiveness. Yet, Sandra's smile held a hint of mockery as she vowed, “Never!”
After three years of loveless marriage, Kira was slapped with divorce papers. She has shown him her unrequited love throughout her entire marriage with him, but he decided to turn blind eyes all because of his lover. Distraught and heartbroken, Kira choose to sign the divorce papers with bitter heart. But then and there, she promised herself that when she's back, he will come crawling to her, but she will make him pay for hurting her. Join Kira as she transform to a wealthy heiress and soared as the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar empire, a remarkable healer and make her ex-husband pay!