Rise (Camille Bishop Book 3) Read online

  Rise

  Copyright 2021 by Ravin Tija Maurice

  First Edition

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever

  without the express written permission of the Author

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Edited by Lawrence Maurice

  Cover and Formatting by RMGraphX

  table of contents

  also by ravin tija maurice

  1.

  2.

  3.

  4.

  5.

  6.

  7.

  8.

  9.

  10.

  11.

  12.

  13.

  14.

  15.

  18.

  19.

  20.

  22.

  23.

  From the world of Camille Bishop comes

  acknowledgments.

  about ravin tija maurice

  also by ravin tija maurice

  camille bishop

  prophecy girl

  believer

  rise

  the afflicted series

  rebirth

  ikon

  inheritance

  To Michael, with love.

  1.

  You don’t know me, but I know you.

  It only takes a second. One tiny moment for your entire life to change.

  All he ever did was tell me about how much he loves you. Why would he be with me if he loved you so much?

  My entire life changed. Multiple times. The universe continually flipped it on its head, then flat in its back like a goddamn turtle so I struggled to get back up. But this time…..

  Because somehow he loved us both.

  I got to my limit. Every time I thought I could not take on one more thing the universe would flip me off and say ‘Hey! Let’s test that theory’.

  When I found out I was pregnant I asked him to choose. Clearly you know what choice he made. Damien will be five in June.

  The urge to smash my phone hummed through me. But that would not erase the truth. The final fucking betrayal. The most horrible thing that Jesse did behind my back in a long list of shitty things you just don’t do to someone you ‘love’.

  I should email her back with the full compilation. See if she’s down to trade.

  I did not know he was dead until I bumped into Rollo last week. His son should have been at his funeral. His son should meet his grandparents and uncle. Munchie was such a nice kid. I hope Jesse’s death didn’t break him.

  Her familiarity with Jesse’s family unsettled me. His nickname for his younger brother was something I only heard maybe once or twice. She knew a lot.

  If I do email her back, I will pass on his parents contact info.

  No. I will email her back. It’s not her fault. My curiosity and deep self loathing wanted to know how he behaved when they were together. Perhaps the drug addicted narcissist was also exclusive to me.

  I’m sorry, Camille. I’m sorry to do this to you now. I’m sorry he did this to both of us. Only someone who experienced this can understand, so I thought we should speak.

  Gotta love when someone claims to feel bad for destroying another person, as long as they feel better. Like our pain is somehow comparable. Like our suffering is on par because we both made the dumb ass mistake of caring for that loser.

  What a joke.

  She wants to talk to me, we’ll talk. She may regret it after but hey, she wanted to talk. Knowing my luck she’s looking for money.

  I so wished I could wring his scrawny neck. Never ever in my life would I describe myself as a violent person, but this man brought out such anger in me it changed me. Focusing on his face, on wrapping my hands around his throat and squeezing, I screamed for him.

  “JESSE!” My yell felt like it ruptured the sound barrier. Picturing him in my mind, I thought of pulling him to me with some added force, like the magical equivalent of grabbing him by his collar.

  Dragging him from hell to answer for his sins didn’t sound like a bad idea.

  My eyes got milky and anger began to fill me. By the time he shimmered into existence it felt as if my rage bonded with my blood and became part of my being.

  “Hey babe,” his expression bright and cheerful until he saw my face. “What did I do now?”

  “Damien.” I could barely say the name as I choked back my emotions.

  “Who told you?”

  Completely shocked by his response, I only managed to say she emailed. How she got the address could be easily guessed but I did not know specifics.

  “I hate you.” The words spat like a curse from my lips, and a wave of calm washed over me. Like speaking the truth finally gave me some relief. Finally set me free. “You destroyed me. How am I ever supposed to trust another human being again? All these years and you played me for a fool. I made all these stupid plans for our future and you were fucking with me the whole damn time. Like I wasn’t even a person. How could I be so stupid?”

  He stared blankly at me; the silence hung around us like it was its own person. A separate form in the room with us.

  Hopefully it took my side and choked the shit out of the bastard.

  “The worst part is how she explained to me that you loved us both. And, AND! When she told you she was pregnant you wouldn’t leave me.”

  “Some people would be flattered I chose them.”

  “Flattered? Flattered that you abandoned your child so you could continue to treat me like garbage? You got a lot of fucking nerve. You chose me? Like you’re such a fucking prize.”

  He lowered his head.

  “Look at me!” My screams were glass shattering. His head shot right back up.

  “I hate you. Do you hear me? I hope you rot in hell. If I could banish you there myself, I would.” I stopped, thinking hard for a moment. “Scratch that. If I can’t find a way, I’ll make one. Now get out of my sight and don’t ever come back.”

  “Camille….”

  “No. Nothing you can say will fix what you have done. You've broken me.” No tears left to cry, I pushed at him with my power, using my otherworldly strength to hit him hard and fast like a bully in the school yard, and he disappeared.

  My fingers pushed Millie’s number in my phone without even thinking.

  “Hello?” she picked up on the third ring.

  “I need a spell.” I growled through clenched teeth.

  “Why? What for?”

  “To banish….”

  “Is the demon back?” she blurted out before I could continue. Bliss’s possession remained a secret.

  “No. I need to banish what’s left of my piece of shit ex-boyfriend to the lowest circle of hell.”

  She sighed. “What happened?”

  “Beyond his normal list of bullshit? He got another girl pregnant while we were together. And ABANDONED the kid so he could keep fucking with me. He doesn’t deserve any kind of peace or quiet or….fuck him! It's not fair! He needs to suffer like I’ve suffered. Like I’m suffering.”

  “I know. I agree. But all banishing him would do at this point is fuck with your karma. You want true vengeance? Never summon him again. Never even think of him again. Being alone in the in between for eternity is a pretty shitty existence and does not hurt you.”

  She was right but I still didn’t like it. My anger burned so hot I
only cared about hurting him like I hurt. Destroying him like he destroyed me.

  I took a calming breath in and out. “Ok. I hear what you’re saying. I’m upset….I mean, how can I not be? I never thought my heart could break any more than it did with all the other shit he did to me. But the fact that he loved her, got her pregnant than abandoned them to continue to fuck with me is horrifying.”

  She was silent for a few moments. The knowledge of how totally fucky the situation sounded wasn’t lost on me.

  “I don’t expect you to have all the answers. Or any of the answers.” I hoped she could hear me as my voice grew quiet.

  “Have you talked to Eric?” The mere mention of his name ground the broken pieces of my heart into the ground.

  “No. And I’m not sure I want to. It’s bloody embarrassing. I’m sure he is getting tired of the poor little prophecy girl crap.”

  “Camille, I highly doubt that. Eric is a kind man. And he cares for you. I’m so sorry I can’t do more.”

  “I know. Sorry I called you freaking out. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” I hung up before she could continue.

  My brain began to swirl with possibilities. Millie was right. I didn’t like it but I knew it.

  Although it didn’t mean I wasn’t going to make a plan to do exactly what I wanted, even if I never went through with it.

  “Lilly? Lilly, are you there?” Calling out a name into the dark still felt weird. My eyes grew milky and I blinked hard, shedding a single tear from each eye.

  “What’s up, buttercup?” Lilly Darling popped into existence sitting crossed legged on my desk.

  “Remember how you said you’d teach me all the things that Millie and Eric are too vanilla to teach me?” I perched on the edge of my bed across from her. “Well, I need a spell. And they’re too chicken shit to give it to me. Will you?”

  Lilly chuckled. “Well, look whose coming over to the dark side. What you need, Skywalker?”

  “I need something that can banish my dead ex-boyfriend to the lowest ring of hell that I can get him to. Ring, layer, level, you get the picture. As low as he can get.”

  She grinned at me like the goddamn Cheshire Cat. “Atta girl! I got just the thing.”

  “You’re not worried about my karma or some shit?”

  Lilly paused, examining my face. “Are you?”

  “Should I be?”

  She put the tip of her index finger to her lips like she was thinking, never taking her eyes off me.

  “What did he do?”

  “Got another girl pregnant while we were together and abandoned them so he could continue to be a drug addicted asshole and treat me like garbage.”

  Once the words were out of my mouth I dropped on my bedroom floor, like my body just said Fuck You World! I’m done! And bailed, causing me to hit the dirt like a sack of potatoes.

  Lilly watched me curiously from her now designated perch on my desk. It wasn’t a particularly sympathetic look either.

  “What the hell are you doing?” she asked.

  “I am so fucking done.” The words were monotonous and deadpan.

  “What the hell are you talking about? Seriously dude, you need to grow a pair. I figured blanchmains would be a bad ass. You’re like a fucking wet noodle.”

  “I know. I'm pathetic, right? Probably how I get fucked with so easy.”

  She sighed loudly. “Get up, man. This is ridiculous. It’s time to take your fucking power back. I don't think you really get how powerful you actually are. You can do shit people can't even dream of. What do you know about Nimue?”

  “Not a lot. She trapped Merlin in a cave, didn't she?”

  “Here is another problem. No one seems to have bothered to educate you on your family history.” She paused for a few minutes. “Could you summon Nimue?”

  “You want me to summon a thirteenth century sorceress?” Getting up, I mirrored her sitting on my bed. “Would we even understand each other? I know it’s all English but it's changed quite a lot since then.”

  “Because of who you are I believe you’ll understand each other, but I’ll look into it.” She groaned loudly, running her hands through her hair. “What do you know about blood magic?”

  “Not a goddamn thing.”

  She smiled. “Good.”

  2.

  Lilly delivered on what she said, explaining to me exactly how to do the banishment if I ever decided to go through with it. She briefly explained blood magic – which basically involved using your own blood to up the power of a spell – and I told her I would educate myself.

  Trying to keep a little pep in my step, I forced myself to smile when I came down to breakfast. My uncle was a good man, sometimes too good, and I knew if I told him that Jesse fathered this ‘child’ that he would want to look into it and I so wasn’t ready for that.

  To my surprise, a girl that I didn’t know sat next to Cuddy at the breakfast table. They both turned and smiled at me, showing lots of teeth, and when she lifted her hand to wave in greeting the white glyph tattoo on her wrist glowed. My forced smile got even bigger, a wave of hot rage made my face flush.

  “Morning Cas.” Cuddy could be nothing but his consistently chipper self. “This is my friend Maritza. Maritza, this is my cousin Camille that I told you about. She’s a P.I, she works with my Dad.”

  Had this girl spent the night and I didn’t know it? “Nice to meet you, Maritza. I didn’t hear you come in.”

  “Oh, I only got here like fifteen minutes ago,” she replied. “Christian wanted me to meet you all and figured breakfast was the best time. And I think it’s so cool that you all are P.I’s!”

  “Did you hear that, Camille? It’s so cool.” Uncle Ted laughed. “Sorry to burst your bubble, Maritza, but it’s not like the movies or TV shows. Which reminds me, I have to go print something out. I’ll be right back. Hurry up and eat, Cas.”

  “Shit! So do I!” Cuddy leaned a little closer to Maritza. “Don’t worry, my cousin doesn’t bite. I’ll be right back.”

  Both men quickly left the room and I closed the distance between me and the girl, making sure I sat as close to her as I could.

  “Nice tat you’ve got on your wrist.” I lifted my hand just slightly above my head and a knife came shooting out of the butcher block and straight into my grip, my fingers wrapping tightly around the handle. Slamming it hard into the table top, it stood on its tip just mere centimetres from Maritza’s outstretched hand. “Wanna tell me what the fuck you are doing with my cousin?”

  “My queen sent me. She wants me to keep an eye on you while we figure out exactly what you did to Bliss Fiori.” The mention of my former friend’s name made a line of white begin to spread from my fingertip and up my arm. “Your cousin being a great guy is an added bonus.”

  I twisted the knife handle a bit. “If you so much as cough in his direction in a way that I don’t like I swear....”

  “Oh, I have no intentions of hurting him,” she said with a grin. “But if we can’t fix what you did to my hermana bruja I am under orders to take you to my Queen for punishment.”

  Leaning back, I pulled the knife from the table and sent it to its place. Laughter began to bubble up from deep inside me, she watched me in complete shock. Girlie caught me on the wrong morning.

  “You know your girl is a snake, right? Fucked me over royally. Tell your Queen. I would not have done what I did if she hadn’t betrayed me to the Kinkaid's and almost killed my friend.” Her eyes grew wide as I spoke. “Oh, did you not know that part? She kidnapped one of my techs and burned down her University of Toronto lab. For Tobias fucking Kinkaid. Kind of makes you want to vomit, doesn’t it? And just so you know,” I put my hand up beside my mouth and whispered, “You don’t scare me, little girl.”

  My laughter grew louder as Cuddy came back into the kitchen.

  “Everything good?”
He asked, his eager little face reminding me of our childhood. My urge to immediately eliminate her to protect him started to itch at the back of my brain; it took a lot of energy to suppress it. Making sure my hands were in the pockets of my sweater, I smiled back at him.

  “All good. Is Maritza taking you to school today?” I asked.

  “Yep, which reminds me, we have to go.” He kissed the top of my head, keeping his hand on my shoulder as Maritza left the table. They both gathered their things, saying bye to Ted when he returned to the kitchen before heading out. Part of me wanted to run after him, to slaughter that girl before she could ever even think about hurting him.

  Ted eyed me suspiciously. “She seems nice.”

  I snorted. “Says you.”

  “What? What did I miss?”

  “Are you vetting her when we get to work or am I?” I got up from the table and began to gather my things.

  He stopped me. “He is going to have a girlfriend at some point, Cas. I am just happy he is bringing them home. It was only the first meeting, she was probably very nervous. Finding out your new boyfriend’s family can watch your every move undetected is a little intimidating. Not to mention that we can dig up secrets.”

  Mulling over what he said, I smiled to myself. “Good point.”

  Not seeing any evidence that Eric arrived yet, I went straight to my office when we arrived at L&B. With a little work I found a few websites about blood magic that didn’t sound like an udder crock. A quarter of the way through the first site Ramona paged me to let me know a client was waiting to see me. Closing my laptop I stood so I could shake the person’s hand, surprised by the man who walked through my doorway.

  To call him good looking would be a gross understatement. Tall with short wavy dark hair cropped close to his head, just long enough to curl slightly, and dark brown eyes that gave him an amazing smoulder walked into my office.

  Good lord. I have never seen a dude who smoulders like this guy.

  “Hi I'm Camille.” Hopefully my grin wasn’t too ridiculous.

  “Hey Camille. I'm Lorcan Fitzpatrick.” He shook my hand before sitting down, a strong grip with soft hands.