Burning: A Paranormal Novella

By Joan De La Haye

She thought she could summon a lover but got a demon instead.

Experience a sizzling collision of magic and desire in the captivating paranormal novella, “Burning,” written by the renowned author Joan De La Haye. When the lonely witch, Marcie Grove, grows weary of her dismal love life, she dares to summon a lover through a transformative full moon ritual. Little does she know that her desperate attempt to find romance will ignite a perilous encounter with a malevolent demon, threatening not only her existence but also the lives of her coven members. As the chilling consequences unravel with explosive intensity, “Burning” immerses readers in a scorching tale of dark desires and mystical mayhem.

Step into the twisted world of Joan De La Haye, acclaimed author of the psychological horror masterpiece “Shadows”, the pulse-pounding serial killer thriller “Requiem in E Sharp”, and the enthralling post-apocalyptic novella “Oasis”. Prepare to be ensnared in an inferno of suspense and supernatural intrigue that will leave you spellbound.

Praise for “Burning”:

“Verdict: A horror story that uses its eroticism to chilling effect. 8/10” – Sci-Fi Bulletin

“Worth every minute and great for a commute, lunch break or time for yourself.” – Horror Blog.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Joan De La Haye
• Release date: Jan 26, 2019

Joan De La Haye

Joan De La Haye writes horror, dark fantasy and some very twisted thrillers. She invariably wakes up in the middle of the night because she's figured out yet another freaky way to mess with her already screwed-up characters. You can stalk Joan on her website: www.joandelahaye.com

Book preview

Burning

A Paranormal Novella

By

Joan De La Haye

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Copyright © 2016 by Joan De La Haye

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise).

www. joandelahaye. com

Cover art by Tallulah Lucy

2nd Edition September 2016

Also by Joan De La Haye

Stand-Alone Books:

Requiem in E Sharp

Fury

Oasis

The Diabolical Series

Shadows

The Veil

The Race Series:

The Race

Training Days

Besieged

Retribution

Consequence

The Patron

Short Story Collections:

Sliced and Diced

Sliced and Diced 2

Table of contents

Title Page

Also by Joan De La Haye

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Shadows

Requiem in E Sharp

Fury

Oasis

The Race

Sliced and Diced

Sliced and Diced 2

1

The rite was ended.

The moon hung on a black blanket of sky, peppered by hundreds of bright stars that were not visible in the city. The air felt electric against their skin as the naked coven filed out of the sacred circle and congregated inside the warm farmhouse situated north of Pretoria. The coven was always more energised and more connected after a ritual. They believed these rituals made them more psychically connected and in tune with each other’s minds and bodies. The sound of beating drums drifted across the fields from the shantytown located two farms away. Once they’d put their clothes back on, they would add the sounds of their own drumming circle to those of the townships’.

The full moon ritual had been conducted to attract wealth. They’d each empowered a two Rand coin and tied a green piece of ribbon around it. The coin would be stored in their purses with all their other coins, but would never be given as legal tender. It was a relatively simple ritual, although one they’d never done before and like most of their spells was unlikely to actually work. They’d each held the coin in their hands and chanted. The chant getting louder and louder until they were shouting it out, and their voices were hoarse. Their shouting had probably been heard by the inhabitants of the informal settlement.

They were thirteen women – a full coven. They were, what some would call, a Dianic coven. But they were, in truth, a bunch of kitchen witches who practised most of their spell-craft on the stovetop. They had been practising together for close on three years now, and there wasn’t anything they didn’t know about each other. They were so in-tune with one another that their periods had synchronised. Over the years they’d seen each other through breakups, marriages, childbirth, extra-marital affairs, and even a divorce or two. They were a close-knit family that would do anything for each other, even kill or dispose of a body. But that particular bond had never actually been tested.

As Marcie put the coin in her purse, she couldn’t help but wonder if these small rituals were all there was to being a witch. There had to be more than just sympathetic magic. Tarot readings, candle spells, their monthly rituals, it all seemed so mundane. Dabbling had gotten tiresome. She wanted to feel the presence of great power. She wanted to experience the real thing.

She’d had glimpses of it over the years.

You couldn’t have a dinner party with a coven of witches without a ghost or two showing up and having their translucent figures floating around the room, trying to communicate. At first, they’d used an Ouija board, but then after a rather strange event involving a previous tenant of the farmhouse, they’d discovered they no longer needed the board.

Sandra was a medium – the real deal. She’d been talking to what she’d always thought of as imaginary friends since her sixth birthday, soon after her grandmother died. Shortly after Sandra joined the coven, Raven - the High Priestess, informed her somewhat ceremoniously that she had the gift. Raven also told Marcie that she had the gift of prophecy and healing. Marcie wasn’t entirely sure how accurate Raven’s declarations were because, if she was totally honest, she’d never felt prophetic. Even her tarot readings were a little iffy at the best of times. She had difficulty telling when her own relationships were ending, and she’d had a lot of relationships come to very surprising, at least to her, endings. She could never see the warning signs that everybody else could long before the inevitable breakup scene.

Most women were supposed to have some form of intuition, that’s why they called it feminine intuition, but Marcie didn’t even have that. All she had were weird dreams, which she didn’t remember the next morning. The healing thing, on the other hand, was something she could buy into. She was an ER nurse at Steve Biko hospital, after all. Having Raven tell her that she had gifts,