The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 14
I looked up into her royal blue eyes and sighed. “I love you.”
Her grin spread wide across her face. “I love you, too.”
She pressed her lips to mine just as a loud, shrill sound blared from my pocket.
I groaned and pulled my phone out. Warner’s face and name lit up my screen. My stomach tightened into knots. I slid the bar and held my phone to my ear. “Warner, you o—”
“JOSEPH IS COMING!”
My heart stopped. “What?”
Bettina’s eyes widened. She dove for my phone and hit speakerphone.
“He’s coming, mate. He is coming. For Eden!” Warner shouted. In the background, a car engine roared and a bunch of people screamed. “He’s coming right now!”
Bettina jumped off my lap, and then I leapt to my feet.
“Warner, what happened?”
Warner cursed. “Joseph and Trey showed up here! They used some black smoke and shit. Man, they’re looking for some locket? I don’t know. I was hiding so they wouldn’t see me, but I heard that prick Trey say they were going for Eden.”
“Oh my Goddess, they’re looking for her locket,” Bettina mumbled and tugged on her hair. “They know the box was a decoy.”
“Warner, did they say where? What exactly did you hear?”
“‘It’s got to be in Eden at her house.’ That’s what Trey said right before they vanished.”
“Shit.” I sprinted toward the house and threw the front door open. “Thanks, Warner. Got to go!”
I jumped over the threshold and slammed my hand on the quartz crystal embedded in the wall. Lights flashed and an alarm rang through the house. Instantly there were heavy sounds from upstairs. Footsteps came running without hesitation. Bettina and I stood in the foyer, and I felt her tense energy against my spine. The backdoor slammed shut, and then Kessler, Hunter, and Mona sprinted into the living room. The Coven rushed down the stairs like one giant stampede.
“What happened?”
“What’s going on?”
“Joseph?”
“Where?”
Kessler pushed to the front. His eyes were red and stone-cold serious. “Talk to us.”
“Warner called. Joseph and Trey showed up in Dallas looking for Ruth’s locket. Right before they left, Warner heard Trey say they were going to Ruth’s house in Eden.”
Kessler cursed violently. “CAR. NOW!”
“Wait, we can’t all leave!” Emersyn shouted from a few steps up. “What if it’s a trap?”
I shook my head. “Warner said he was hiding so they didn’t see him. I don’t think it’s a trap.”
Her golden eyes widened. “But what if it is?”
“I’ll stay here.”
I gasped and spun around to face her. My heart caught in my throat. “Bettina…”
She shook her head and held her ice-covered hands up. “I can hold my ground, trust me. But my gut tells me we can’t all go.”
Kessler cursed again. He gripped my shoulder. “She’s right. And the house isn’t far. We can get back in minutes if we have to.”
“I’m not leaving her here by herself—”
“I’ll stay with her,” Emersyn said.
Kessler nodded and pointed toward the door. “Everyone else, OUT! We gotta move!”
I stood still like a statue as my Coven-mates rushed by me. Bettina was a badass. I knew that. I’d seen that. But it wasn’t that. Leaving her went against every instinct in my body. I’d only just gotten her. I couldn’t lose her. Yet the look in her eyes told me I wasn’t going to win this one.
“Damn it, Butterberry.” Deacon dragged Em’s face to his and kissed her hard, then jumped away and ran for the door. “Burn it all if you must!”
Em chuckled and shook her head. “Love you, too.”
I looked to Em, then to Bettina, then to the open doorway. Everyone else had gone. I needed to hurry, but my feet didn’t seem to want to cooperate.
Bettina took my face between her hands. “They need you. Go. Fire and ice got this.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jackson
“THERE!” Kessler shouted and pointed to a small house on the left side of the road. “End of the cul-de-sac. That’s their house.”
“I don’t see him,” Constance growled from the back seat. I’d never heard her voice sound like that before. “But we can’t let them get inside. Goddess only knows what kind of spells and stuff Ruth left inside.”
I pulled up to the house and threw my truck in park. The street was dark and quiet. All of Eden had been evacuated, not just the school. So this quaint residential street was empty of everyone but us. I frowned and opened my door, then climbed out. My Coven-mates jumped out of the bed of my truck and my back seat. Willow slammed the door, and the sound echoed down the empty street.
Cooper scowled and glanced around. “I don’t see him.”
“I’m giving him sixty seconds to show, and I’m going back to Em.” Deacon cracked his knuckles.
Royce bounced on the balls of his feet. “Maybe we all better get b—”
“He’s coming!” Chutney pointed to the forest at the edge of the cul-de-sac then charged forward. A bushy brown squirrel sat on her shoulder, and two cardinals hovered over her head. “Now, now, now!”
I yanked my swords from their slot on my truck door then sprinted after Chutney. The others chased after us, hot on our heels. We made it five feet down when Joseph and Trey emerged from within the trees.
Rage exploded inside me. I knew Joseph was our main target, that his son was just a tool, but my vision tunneled on the guy I used to call a best friend. I dug my heels in and pushed my legs harder, faster.
Trey and his father exchanged a glance, and then they charged toward the house.
“Easton, the house!” I pointed ahead as I ran.
I felt a rush of energy slide over my shoulder, and then Ruth’s old house was covered in shimmering silver body armor. I jumped forward and landed on the front sidewalk. I looked up at Trey, and our eyes met.
The smug bastard had the audacity to smile. As if we were still friends. As if he hadn’t gotten innocent people killed. As if he hadn’t tried to kill me.
I clenched my teeth and charged for him with my swords drawn and ready. His eyes widened, and he slid to a stop. We both knew he couldn’t beat me in a fight. Kessler and Hunter flew up beside me and went for Joseph. Trey took a few steps back, but I was on him in a flash. I swung my swords as fast as I could without stopping. Each time he blocked me, I went for the next shot.
There was a roar, and then two dozen shadow-creepers leapt out from the forest. Joseph shouted and his shadows dashed toward us. Joseph cackled then vanished into smoke. Trey spun and fled back to the tree line. I started to follow then stopped. My Coven-mates were more important than my need for vengeance. With a curse, I pushed off my feet and charged headfirst into the fray.
These shadows were next to impossible to fight since they could vanish in a split second. Even still, my Coven-mates were doing a damn good job. Easton and Willow were up at the front door of the house, throwing up their magic if anything moved too close. Paulina, Braison, and Devon were off to the left showing no mercy. Cooper was fighting off three shadows on his own. Lily and Chutney were to the right being absolutely incredible. Lily was shining her sunlight into the shadow’s eyes, and then a flock of cardinals dive-bombed them.
Red lightning flashed across the sky in front of me. I slid to a stop. Two shadows popped up in front of me. I swung my sword, but they vanished and reappeared a few feet back. Thick green vines shot up from the ground. I raised my swords to keep their eyes on me. Royce’s vines coiled around their ankles and yanked them off their feet. Red lightning lit up their smoky forms as Royce dragged them away.
I spun in a circle. Where are you, Joseph? Trey? I know you’re still— I gasped.
MONA? DANIEL?
They were off to the side, closest to the truck, with daggers in their hands. A few shadows circled them like vultures.
“KESSLER!” I screamed and pointed to where his soulmate was quickly losing her ground. Kessler was closer than I was.
He spun at the sound of his name then followed my point. His eyes widened and his face went sheet white. Without a second pause, he charged right for her. Hunter cursed and lunged in the opposite direction. I spun and watched him jump in beside Cooper. But there were still too many shadows.
I growled and barreled across the lawn, slicing my blades through shadow after shadow. Each one exploded into the smoke then reformed nearby.
But that didn’t matter. I wasn’t looking for them. Where is he? I know he’s here. “TREY!”
I stomped through the grass toward the tree line. “TREY! Show yourself!”
Something ice cold slithered over my feet and wrapped around my ankles. I froze and looked down. It was black smoke, rolling toward the house like waves. It turned colder and rushed by faster and faster. The river of smoke rushed toward the house, slipping over everyone’s feet unnoticed. I cursed and leapt for the house. I had no idea what this smoke was, but we needed to stop it.
Stop it?
I ducked down and sliced my swords through the backs of two shadows, but they vanished.
Wait, what am I saying?
We can’t stop smoke.
I slid to a stop. I needed to cut it off at the source. Three more shadows popped up. A cluster of golf ball-sized quartz crystals ripped through their chests, and they exploded into dust. I looked up and spotted Constance in a wide stance by the front door of the house with both arms out to her sides. Crystals of every color flew around the house like an asteroid belt. Light flashed from behind her. I leaned to the side and found Bentley sitting on the ground doing…something. I had no idea what—it was well beyond my paygrade.
I spun around, and my gaze landed on Trey cowering behind his father by the trees. His eyes widened, and he took a step back. I growled and sprinted for him as fast as I could. His face paled. Joseph snarled something under his breath, but they were too far away for me to hear. Trey narrowed his eyes and jumped out in front of his father with his own weapons raised. He shouted, but again I couldn’t hear it.
Shadows appeared out of thin air, blocking my path to Trey.
I tightened my grip on my swords and charged forward. Up ahead, hiding like the true coward he was, Trey threw his head back and laughed. I sliced and diced a straight line toward him. With every shadow I smoked and every foot I gained, Trey stopped laughing and grew more flustered. Sweat was already beading across his brow. I was coming for him, and we both knew he was no match for me. I saw revenge. I heard the choir singing of vengeance in my mind. He was going to pay for his crimes, and I was going to deliver that to him.
I ducked and spun, swinging my sword right through a shadow’s knees. It vanished into thin air, but I didn’t look back to see where it reappeared. I made that final lunge for Trey. Our blades crashed, and the sound of metal on metal echoed through the cul-de-sac. I unleashed every ounce of fury I had on him. My blades sliced into his skin, leaving streaks of blood across his chest and arms.
Behind Trey, Joseph let out a loud roar. “It’s not here. KILL THEM!”
And then he vanished into the shadows and out of sight. I glanced over my shoulder to the house. The black smoke river was gone, but his shadow army was still there.
“Hey, Jackson?”
I spun around and met Trey’s eyes.
He looked down at my chest then back up to my face. He arched one eyebrow. “Where’s Bettina?”
My eyes widened.
Trey grinned…and then vanished.
Oh no. No, no, no. I turned back to the house and found the shadows had all left.
My heart plummeted. My stomach turned. A cold chill slid down my spine. “He’s going for Bettina.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tennessee
I stepped out of Tegan’s portal and froze. “This is not Crone Island.”
“What gave it away?” Tegan purred in my ear.
I looked down to give her a smart-ass response when I spotted Henley right beside her. Grinning. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled in a way I hadn’t seen since…well, since shit went down.
Henley sighed and looked around. “This is Bourbon Street. In New Orleans.”
“N’orlens, darlin’. That’s how they say it here.” Lennox giggled and stepped out from behind a pole. “And let me tell ya’, once we get all this shit settled, I’m gonna come down here and have myself a party.”
“Hey, Lenny.” Tegan stepped forward and gave her a high five. “Sorry for being vague, but we need your assistance and I didn’t want to explain over the phone.”
She pushed away from the pole and tied her indigo hair up on top of her head. Those yellow-green eyes narrowed on the three of us. “It have something to do with that princess sippy cup you’re clutching?”
Tegan held it tight to her body. “Yes.”
Lennox nodded. “Then why don’t you explain when we get there?”
Tegan glanced around the dark alley we were in then snapped her fingers. Her white portal opened up right beside me. “After y’all.”
I stepped through the portal first. The second the salty ocean air swept over me, I felt the tension in my body ease slightly. The gentle wind rushed through my hair, pushing it back off my face. I sighed. The mountains were beautiful and the change of seasons was gorgeous, but there was something about being near the ocean.
“Whoaaaa!”
I jumped and spun around…
“Look at my white dress!” Lennox squealed. “Magic is so damn cool. Where did our clothes even go?”
Henley chuckled and tucked her black hair behind her ears. “Part of the magic of the island. When we cross the border, we get changed into this. When we cross back, our clothes return as they were.”
Tegan clutched the sippy cup in one hand and her crystal necklace in the other. “I’m just glad it doesn’t take my jewelry with it.”
Lennox glanced over at me and nodded. “Damn, Tenn, you look good in a dress.”
My cheeks warmed. “Um, thanks?”
Tegan’s gaze slid down my body then back up slowly. She bit her bottom lip.
I cleared my throat. I couldn’t concentrate when she looked at me like that. “So…um…babe…why are we here?”
“Hey, you portaled us right into the middle…” Henley pursed her lips and nodded. “Cool.”
Tegan grinned. “Thanks. I’m getting good at coming here— Oh, Myrtle!” She waved then skipped away.
Henley and Lennox hurried after her. I spun around with every intention of following after them, but then my gaze landed on Myrtle and my body froze in place. Memories crashed back into my mind. It was so surreal to have my memories back now. To know what my life was like before Kessler found me. Before I was the Emperor.
I saw Myrtle talking with the three girls a few feet in front of me, except I was seeing something else entirely. I saw me…and Hope. Mom and Dad were talking with Myrtle while Hope and I giggled and chased each other around. They’d only interrupted when we started flinging magic at each other—
“Haven?”
I jumped…and found Myrtle standing right in front of me. Over her shoulder, I saw Henley and Lennox disappear into Myrtle’s workspace. Tegan leaned against the doorway, watching me with a smile. She winked then blew me a kiss.
“Haven?”
I jumped again. I groaned and scrubbed my face. When I pulled my hands away, I looked down at the woman I thought I’d only just met a few months ago. It was weird. My brain couldn’t figure out how to line up all my memories with this one woman. She stood before me, over three hundred years old, yet I vividly recalled the younger version I’d met in Salem.
A warm, soft hand pressed against my cheek, and all the wild, raging thoughts subsided. “There. That better?”
I sighed and nodded. “Yes.”
She pulled her hand back. “Oh, my little Haven. I can’t tell you how nice it is to finally see you again.” Her silver eyes brimmed with tears.
My chest tightened, but I saw Tegan still standing in the doorway and it helped me keep breathing. “Did you know? This whole time?”
“Yes…and no.” Myrtle frowned. “When we first met, in my house in Salem 1692, the moment I saw you, I thought to myself ‘he’s a Proctor’ because you carried Uriel’s aura on you, and it called to that same aura inside me. But then you said your name, Tennessee Wildes, and it confused me. Three hundred years later, on this very island, I met a young Haven Proctor. Goddess, you were only just a year old. But in that moment, I knew. I knew just who you were, because we had already met.”
My breath left me in a rush. I ran my hand through my hair. “So then— How did—"
“I didn’t understand, either, but I knew it wasn’t my place to ask… But then one day she asked me…” She wrung her hands together and shook her head. “She said she’d been watching me with you, and she knew there was something I wasn’t telling her…so…I told her.”
I gasped. “You told her…about our time travel?”
She closed her eyes and nodded. “I almost didn’t. At first, I simply said that I’d met you a long time ago. But your mother was smart, and she wanted to know more. Then she told me that she knew she wasn’t going to live to see you grow up and she just wanted to know…what your future held.”
She knew she wasn’t going to see me grow up? How did she know that? “W-what did you tell her? I thought that wasn’t allowed?”
“I know what it’s like to fear for your child’s future.” Myrtle sighed and her eyes filled with pain. “So, I told her everything. I told her about the young man I met named Tennessee Wildes with the Emperor’s Mark on his arm. She was happy to hear that you named yourself that. You should know that.”
My heart did a weird flip. “She was?”
Myrtle smiled softly. “And then I told her that you had a soulmate named Tegan Bishop, the High Priestess and Aether Witch, and let me tell you…she was so happy she cried.”
