The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 15
“Sh-she d-did?”
“Oh yes. Apparently she’d met little toddler Tegan at some point and absolutely adored her. As a matter of fact…” Myrtle chuckled and shook her head. “She told me that she was going to Hunter’s house the very next day, in Charleston, and that she’d been planning on bringing you and Hope with her so you all could play. But I told her she could not bring you.”
“What? Why?” I glanced over her shoulder to Tegan, but she’d gone inside already.
“How could I let her introduce two soulmates at such a young age only to know they’d be forced apart for twelve years? Think of how torturous that would have been for both of you.”
I opened my mouth then shut it. My chest flared with sharp pain at just the thought of it. “Yeah, that’s true. So…my mom knew all this? She met Tegan?”
Myrtle grinned. “She loved Tegan. She used to talk to me all the time about her those few years. She was always having Cassandra add things into the New Book of Shadows just for Tegan. When I told her that Tegan was yours…well, I think it gave her some peace to know.”
I tugged on my hair and started to pace. “It doesn’t make any sense, Myrtle. How could you know me and then just not know me? I mean, if you recognized Uriel’s power—"
“Your mother’s magic was potent—but that is a story for another day, though.” Myrtle grabbed my arm and gently led me toward the building where the girls went. Then she forced me down into a reclining chair right outside the door. “When I heard that your family had…perished, I, of course, knew you survived. I knew who you became…but when you showed up here with Tegan and the others in August…your mother’s magic had diluted my memories of Haven so much that I had to actively concentrate just to get little fragments of memory. It’s a painful thing to fight, so I didn’t. And you had a job to do. I knew we would be here one day, on the other side.”
“Do you know where Hope is?”
“I feel her. She is alive…but it’s stuck, right on the tip of my tongue.” Myrtle tipped my chin up, forcing me to look into her eyes. “Because I only knew Hope as Hope. I hadn’t met her in the past, as an adult, with her alias. It’s a tricky thing.”
“Okay, but—”
“But nothing.” She reached out and pressed her palm to my forehead. “I must get inside and help Tegan create the reversal potion so that we may find your sister. You, on the other hand, need to sit right here and get some rest until we’re done.”
“No, no, I need to h—”
“Rest.” She pushed me back down, and silvery magic billowed out from under her palm. “I am your grandmother, Haven, many times removed. Do as I say and sleep.”
I opened my mouth to argue with her—but darkness pulled me in.
“Babe?”
I jumped up and stumbled out of the lounge chair. Soft, warm hands caught me. Then I looked down and found pale green eyes sparkling up at me.
I sighed. “Hi.”
“Hi.” She grinned. “You okay?”
“My grandmother knocked me out.”
“You’re welcome,” Myrtle said with a chuckle from behind me.
I turned, ready to give her some attitude—then froze. Lennox and Henley were carrying a massive golden cauldron. It was full. I frowned and pointed.
Tegan slid her hand into mine and tangled our fingers. “It’s time to set Hope free.”
My pulse quickened. My body began to shake. Set Hope free. My sister. I was excited. Nervous. Terrified. I didn’t know what to do with all of these emotions at once. But Tegan held on tight, so I concentrated on that.
Myrtle walked over to the cauldron then bent over and sniffed. When she stood, she turned back to Tegan. “Brew this over a flame until the second moon rising. Then pour the contents over the Goddess’s glyph on your Holy Ground and recite the spell. This was not designed to be reversed by drinking. The earth will send the magic to reverse the effects.”
“Th-that’s it?” It seemed too easy. Too simple.
Lennox rolled her eyes. “Right, that was simple.”
Tegan snapped her fingers, and the portal opened up right behind Lennox and Henley. They said one last goodbye to Myrtle, then carried the cauldron through the portal. Tegan gave her a hug, then skipped over to the edge of her portal.
I gave Myrtle, my great-grandmother, a hug. But as I was pulling back, I thought about the words Myrtle had said about a mother worrying. “We removed Saffie’s curse.”
Myrtle gasped and stepped back. Her eyes went wide. “Y-you wh-wh-what?”
“We removed her curse.” I nodded. “But when we did the spell, it sent her to Salem. Keltie was there, and she went to Salem to find her.”
Myrtle’s eyes teared up, and her bottom lip trembled. “When you find her…bring her to me?”
I pressed my palm to my chest. “I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Bettina
“How are you sitting there so calm right now?”
Emersyn looked over and frowned. “You mean because they’re all over there fighting and we’re not?”
“Because Deacon is over there fighting and you’re here.”
“You get a crash course at getting used to it.” Her face softened. She looked down at her hands and shook her head. “He died in my arms in October. Tegan brought him back, but it was the longest sixty seconds of my life. And, I don’t know, after that…you’d think I’d be even more scared. And I was at first. It’s just…I think I’ve grown a little numb to it. We’ve lost so many people now.”
Jackson’s face flashed in my mind. “You’re not afraid?”
“I’m terrified,” she whispered, then shook herself. “But fear brings me to a dark place where bad things happen…so I have to shut that door and not look inside. It’s hard, but I’m working on it.”
I nodded, but I didn’t know what to say to that so I let silence fall around us. Her words made sense, but I couldn’t stop the runaway freight train of fear in my mind. Jackson was fighting Joseph and Trey as we spoke, and I had no idea if he was okay.
We’ve lost so many people now.
I shuddered as images I didn’t want to see flashed through my mind. Timothy. I looked down at my hands and groaned. “Sometimes I can still see Timothy’s blood on my hands.”
Emersyn sighed and it was full of pain. “I used to only wear my nails in a French manicure…but now I have to paint them dark colors, or otherwise I just see Deacon’s blood caked in there.”
“Do you think we made a mistake staying here?” I blurted before I could stop myself. It was the one question I’d been asking myself since the others left.
“You know as well as I do that that locket is not at Ruth’s house.” She shook her head and gripped the wooden balcony rail on the front porch. “You were at the river. You saw. That locket is with Hope. And when Joseph discovers it’s not at that house, he’s going to come looking here next.”
“Because Timothy was here, and Joseph will suspect he had it the whole time.”
“Exactly!”
Em and I both jumped and spun around at the sound of a familiar male voice.
Trey stood by the corner of Coven Headquarters, leaning against the wall. He grinned and wagged his eyebrows. “Ladies.”
“TREY,” I growled.
He gave me a weak salute. “So nice of your Coven to leave you two Barbie dolls here alone. I’m just gonna go have a look around inside. Tell me, did Tegan by chance leave the Book of Shadows open again? I never would’ve learned how to transform myself without her.” He snapped his fingers…and then that little blonde girl in the pink frilly dress stood in his place.
I gasped.
Trey winked then looked up at the open window right beside him.
NO. I threw my hand out and pushed my magic. Ice filled the open window just as Trey tried to jump for it. He slammed his little-girl palms against it, then cursed—which sounded crass in a little girl’s voice. I inched toward the edge of the porch, holding my dagger behind my leg so he wouldn’t see it. My phone vibrated in my back pocket, but I didn’t dare look away. Besides, I knew who was calling. But I also knew Jackson and the others would be on their way here already. We just had to stall.
Or kill Trey.
I wanted to do the latter. I just didn’t know if I could.
Trey turned and sprinted around the corner of the house, his little blonde curls bouncing in the breeze. I leapt over the rail and raced after him. He giggled as he ran.
Don’t let him inside! I pushed my magic out to the side of the house, covering every inch of it in solid ice. That locket wasn’t in there, but I wasn’t going to let him get inside one more time. I threw my magic at the ground in front of his feet, and the grass turned to ice.
But he was a trained Sword. As his feet slid, he sliced his dagger through the ice on the wall to swing him around the next corner.
Damn it!
I dug my heels in and pushed my legs faster. My power sang through my veins, waiting to be unleashed. I rounded the corner a few steps after him. He might have gotten a head start, but I had long legs and a ton of speed.
As soon as his shaggy brown head came back into view, I hurled my magic at his back. Baseball-sized chunks of ice struck his shoulder in rapid succession. He flew forward then flipped over his head and landed on his back. But he scrambled back to his feet immediately. I fired my hail at him again and again. He cursed and threw his arms back, and a black cloud slammed into my face.
I coughed and stumbled back, swatting at the smoke.
Trey laughed then spun around and sprinted ahead. I coughed and raised my hands to shoot him down again when the back door flew open and slammed him right in the face. He yelped and stumbled back.
Emersyn stepped around the door with an evil grin. Bright orange flames danced along her body. “Going somewhere, assface?”
He cursed and sprinted back in my direction.
I narrowed my eyes and threw my hands up. A wall of ice shot up from the ground right in front of him. He crashed into it at full speed and bounced off. Yes! I ran over then shot icicles to pin his clothes to the ground. I stood over him with my palms up and facing him. Ice covered my hands and forearms. Pink mist swirled between my fingers. I had him here, right where I needed him. He was down. This was my chance. All I had to do was finish him. A long, sharp icicle grew out of my palm. All I had to do was drop it straight down, and it would pierce his body, stake him like a vampire.
So why can’t I do it?
He deserved it. He’d killed people. Innocent people. He’d tried to kill all of us. And if I didn’t kill him now, he’d try to hurt us again.
Except I couldn’t do it.
My hand trembled.
Trey eyed my shaking hand then looked up at my face and cackled. “What’s wrong, Barbie? Don’t have the guts to do it?”
I let out a scream and pushed, but my magic didn’t budge. C’mon! You can do this! He deserves it!
“Weak,” Trey snarled. He grumbled something, and then black smoke shot out of his palms and slammed into my chest.
It threw me backwards, and I rolled head over feet before sliding across the grass. I pushed up on my hands and knees just as another black smoke-missile fired right at me. I gasped and threw up a little wall of ice, and the smoke crashed into it. A cold chill slithered down my spine. This wasn’t just any smoke. This was dark magic. I felt it like fingers scratching along my skin.
Trey somehow broke free of my icicle prison and jumped to his feet. “You don’t have what it takes to play with darkness, Barbie.”
He lunged for me, but bright orange flames shot up from the ground right in front of me. They swirled and swayed—and then Emersyn stood in their place. Little flames covered her entire body, and the tips of her hair were fire.
She summoned a ball of fire in her palms from thin air. “You want darkness? Have a taste.” She threw her flames right at his chest.
Trey screamed and swatted at the flames, but Em just kept firing.
“What’s wrong, assface? Don’t like spicy food?” Thick, fog-like smoke billowed out from under her feet and coiled around her legs.
Trey threw his black smoke at her, but she flicked it away. Her body hovered above the ground, buried in flames and smoke. She stomped toward him, throwing balls of black magic right into his chest. He cursed and stumbled back with each hit. Sweat dripped down his face. Blood spilled out of his mouth.
“What’s wrong, Trey? Don’t like it?” Emersyn screamed, her voice smoky and raspy. “C’mon, princess, is that all you’ve got?!”
Trey screamed and shot more dark magic at her, but when it hit her, it just made her fire blaze brighter and hotter. I winced and held up my hand to block the heat. My stomach tightened into knots. This wasn’t good.
Fear brings me to a dark place where bad things happen.
I had to stop her.
We had to kill Trey, but not at risk to her.
I scrambled to my feet and raced for her.
Trey shouted something in another language then spit blood. “You don’t have it in you to kill me!”
Emersyn snarled. “Watch. Me.”
She threw both hands up and pushed with her magic. The force was so strong it sucked me in like a magnet. My feet dragged over the grass until I crashed to the ground. The air pulsed around her left hand, and then three daggers flew off of Trey’s body and hit her palm. The tips of his black boots exploded, and the silver metal tips flew toward her. Spare change in his pockets, his studded belt, and the earring in his ear all shot right to her open left hand.
A thick steady stream of fire shot from her right hand and engulfed his feet. Trey screamed and panicked. His cries were sharp and horrible. He swatted at the flames, hopped around, and shot magic at them. But Emersyn kept at it. She was burning him to an invisible stake.
“Emersyn, STOP!” I shouted. But she wasn’t listening. I scrambled over and tugged on her arms, but still got no reaction. “EMERSYN!”
Her golden eyes were locked on Trey with sharp, bitter-cold focus. That was when I saw it. The darkness. Up until now, I hadn’t believed it possible for Emersyn to have a dark side. But it had clawed its way up from the place she locked it away, and it wanted to play. I tugged on her arms, waved my hands in front of her face, and all the while, Trey screamed and flailed around.
I shot ice over my shoulder to try and help. I knew Trey deserved no mercy, but I couldn’t let Emersyn lose herself in the process. “Emersyn, please, just stop. There’s other ways!”
She growled. Her long golden hair flew in the breeze with fiery tips.
I cursed and did the only thing I could think of. I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her. The darkness caressed my skin, luring me to come and play. “Not today, Satan.”
Instead, I pushed my magic into her. I thought about happy things, loving things. I saw Jackson’s face and focused on that. I would not lose Emersyn to Trey. I refused. Something told me once she went dark, we might not ever get her back.
Something moved in my peripheral vision. I flinched and looked over—and my heart stopped. Joseph’s shadow-creepers were running right for us from the Old Lands. They held long swords, their blades glistening in the moonlight. There were a couple dozen of them, if not more. I shot up walls of ice, but I couldn’t let go of Emersyn. She was too close to that edge. My walls only slowed some of them down but didn’t stop anyone.
Heat filled my chest so hot and sharp I clenched my teeth and waited for her flames to consume me.
Bright blue flames shot through the air and slammed into a few of the shadows.
I gasped.
Jackson.
He flew around the corner of the house then darted across like a rocket. Shadow-creepers charged for him, but Jackson was too skilled for them. He fought them off like slicing through melted butter.
Red lightning flashed across the sky, and then Deacon was running for me. For us. His violet eyes widened. Behind him, I saw my Coven-mates come rushing to our aid. They leapt into battle without hesitation.
Deacon slid to a stop then reached out and squeezed Em’s shoulders right over my head. “Emersyn!”
I dropped my arms and moved away. But Em was still raining fire on Trey who was summoning dark magic to keep himself from burning to death. Red smoke billowed from the ground and slithered up Emersyn’s body.
Deacon wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pressed his lips to her ear. His eyes sparkled bright purple. Red lightning flashed all around him. “Come back to me, Butterberry.”
Emersyn gasped. The dark veil over her golden eyes vanished. She blinked and looked down at her hands—then cried out. She yanked her hands back and they trembled. Tears filled her eyes.
“Not again,” she whispered, then turned and buried her face in Deacon’s chest.
He caught her and stumbled back.
Hunter ran up behind them, his golden magic already spilling from his hands. I spun back toward Trey. He was bent over and coughing, still swatting at the remaining flames. I glanced around for help, but everyone else was caught up in fighting the shadow-army.
My stomach tightened. Ice filled my palms. You can do this. Just finish him!
“TREY!”
I looked behind him and spotted Joseph standing right on the edge of the Old Lands. He was screaming words in a language I didn’t understand. But it didn’t matter. We needed to end this once and for all. I jumped up and lifted my hands to drop a house-sized chunk of ice on him when Joseph’s words cut off.
His eyes widened. He snapped his fingers then vanished.
Trey looked over my shoulder and cursed, and then he was gone.
The shadow-army disappeared all at once.
“What the hell just happened?” I frowned and spun around. “OH.”
Tennessee stood just outside the back door with his golden wings fluttering behind him and Michael’s glowing sword in his hand.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
