The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 24
Tennessee stood there frozen solid, Michael’s sword still gripped in his hand and golden wings hanging at his back. His mother’s key necklace hung over his chest. I hadn’t realized until just this moment, what with the battle and all, but Tenn was wearing Timothy’s red and black flannel shirt. His favorite shirt.
Timothy slowly closed the distance between them and stopped about a foot in front of him. The two were about the same size and build, with Tim just slightly bigger. Neither of them spoke or made another move. They just stared at each other in tense silence.
Bettina gripped my hand and buried her face in my shoulder.
Tegan stood across from us with tears in her eyes while covering her mouth.
I looked back over to the two men—uncle and nephew—and realized they had the same eye shape and eyebrows. The same shoulder shape. Hell, they even had the same posture. I realized now that Ruth must’ve known how much that glamour spell was needed because there was no way people wouldn’t have figured it out. They looked related.
They looked shell-shocked and rattled to the core.
Timothy looked down at Tenn’s chest and smiled, his cheeks flushed. Then he reached forward and tugged on his shirt—his flannel shirt. Tears filled Tenn’s eyes. He smashed his mouth into a thin line…and then he dropped Michael’s sword and threw himself at his uncle.
Chapter Fifty-One
Bettina
Hours later, I’d finally stopped crying. Well, at least until I made eye contact with Uncle Timothy or my brother. Then it would start all over, but it was getting better. I was no longer sobbing. I just couldn’t believe it. Uncle Tim was alive. After everything he went through—pretending not to know us for twelve years—it killed me to think he’d died before getting to the other side. Now he was back, and I was going to make damn sure it stayed that way.
We still had a lot to talk about, the three of us, but we’d gotten started. It was an emotional morning. My eyes burned from all the crying and my throat was hoarse. Haven kept trying to give him his shirt back, but he wasn’t having it.
He’d gotten really emotional when he saw Haven’s Leader crown on him.
So had I.
And then I’d showed him my Mark. We cried. He’d told me then that as he was dying, he’d prayed and asked the Goddess to give me his Mark. Turned out the Goddess loved him, too, because she listened.
After, I’d called my parents on FaceTime to share the good news. Uncle Tim promised we’d come visit once this whole mess was resolved.
Now, we were in the Great Hall with everyone else. The shadows with the glowing runes on them had been marked by Timothy so we’d know who was good and who wasn’t. There were so, so many more good guys in here than I expected. Ellis hadn’t been lying. It gave me hope that this might be fixable. After all, Hope was my name.
For now, these victims needed a place to stay. And the Great Hall had already proven to be a good holding place. I honestly had no idea what had been going on in here since it all went down. But as Uncle Tim, Haven, and I walked through the doors, we were greeted by our smiling Coven-mates—along with Ellis, his mother, Rebecca, and his father, John.
“TIMOTHY!” Easton and Royce cheered and clapped.
Deacon shook his head. “I fear they’re gonna do that every time now.”
Uncle Tim chuckled. “Well, there are worse things from these two.”
As our friends circled around him, I stopped and took a deep breath. I had a lot to lose now. Too much. It wasn’t just Tegan anymore. It was Jackson. Haven. Uncle Tim…and everyone else. This battle with Joseph was only going to get worse, and I was terrified we wouldn’t all see the other side of it.
Warmth filled my chest, and then that Christmassy scent I loved so much washed over me.
His hand slid up my back then landed on my neck. He rubbed little circles with his thumb and kissed my temple. “How are you?”
I smiled and looked up into his eyes. “Happy. Too happy.”
He shook his head. “No such thing, love. Don’t let fear rain on your parade. Not today.”
“Not today, Satan.”
“That’s my girl.” He chuckled.
Kessler emerged from within the marked shadows and made a beeline for us. His face was tense and tight, and his love for my brother poured out of him. He really was one of the best people I’d ever met. I was glad Haven had him. Kessler wrapped his arm around my brother’s shoulders and held him. Haven sighed and leaned into him. Uncle Timothy glanced at them and smiled.
Warm, hectic, wild energy rushed over me…and then Tegan appeared out of thin air. She bounced up to Haven and buried her face in his chest.
Uncle Tim cleared his throat. “So, what’s going on?”
“Well, to be honest, not much of anything.” Kessler frowned and shook his head. “We’re trying to figure out what our next step is—or should be.”
“Right.” Uncle Tim pursed his lips. “What did you find in the locket?”
I gasped and gripped it in my palm. “We didn’t open it yet.”
He arched an eyebrow at us. “Why not?”
“We were about to—”
“And then Joseph attacked,” I finished for my brother. “Let’s open it now.”
Haven slipped the cord off of his neck and held the key in his hand. I unclasped the chain from the back of my neck, then dropped the locket into my palm. This was it. The moment we’d been waiting for. The one thing that was somehow supposed to answer our questions.
I held the locket up for him. “Go ahead, do the honors.”
He bit his lip then slid the key into the lock on my locket. It clicked and then blue mist exploded in our hands. I gasped, then coughed up a few lungs before my vision cleared enough. As the blue mist was settling, I realized I was now holding a small leather-bound notebook.
My eyes widened.
“Oh my Goddess,” Haven whispered and leaned over my shoulder. “I remember this.”
I nodded and ran my fingers over the cover. It was soft, too soft for being so old and a locket. But it was entirely, one hundred percent familiar. I know this book.
“We used to draw in this.” I flipped the pages, and there were little kid doodles in crayon all over it. “See!”
Kessler chuckled. “That’s cute.”
“What else is in there?” Royce leaned over Uncle Tim’s shoulder.
I shrugged and scanned through some more pages as everyone else watched. I felt their eyes on me. About halfway through, I flipped the page, and then a stack of photos fell out. I cursed and scrambled to catch them all. Each one had little faces in them—our little faces. Baby photos! I handed the spell book to Uncle Tim, then turned my attention back to the stack of photographs in my hand. Once my hands were free, I held the pics up for Haven and me to both see.
It was a pretty big stack of photos, too. Some were of all four of us: me, Haven, Mom, and Dad. There were also quite a few pics of us as little kids hanging with The Coven. There were a ton with Kessler, and a bunch with Uncle Tim. And, of course, some with Ellis. But the ones that really shocked me were the ones with Tegan and me, and her dad, at her house in Charleston when we were toddlers.
“Tegan,” I whispered.
“I know. We can’t be more than two years old here.” She took one of the pictures and handed it across from her. “Dad, do you remember this?”
Hunter exhaled then chuckled. “Yes. I do. This is all so weird.”
“This!” Uncle Timothy said suddenly with a gruff voice. “This is the spell she originally came up with. She showed it to me, and I told her she couldn’t do it.”
I frowned and peeked at the page. “Why not?”
He scowled. “Because it required elemental magic, and she didn’t have that.”
Tegan moved around me, then popped up on her toes to read over his shoulder. “It might have worked if we did it.”
Haven frowned. “Why didn’t you ask The Coven?”
Uncle Tim sighed and shook his head. “The Coven only had, what, eight adults at the time? The rest of y’all were toddlers. I told my sister we could do it, but it would have to wait and she needed to be patient. Because we both knew Julian would never help her. He never got over her. So I told her when the twins rejoined us, when they learned their magic, they would do this spell. I thought she understood.”
Tegan frowned. “How much time was between then and—"
“Several weeks before that last day,” he grumbled. He flipped through the spell book even faster. “That day…she’d asked me to watch you two—"
Haven smiled. “We went to Home Depot.”
“And painted our door,” I said as that memory came crashing back.
Uncle Tim looked up at us and smiled so hard his jaw popped. “Yeah…yeah, we did. Well, anyway, after Julian and I killed those demons in Columbia, I called her because I had this gut feeling something was wrong. That’s when she told me. I tried to tell her not to do it, but she insisted this was going to work. That there was no way it would harm anyone. I asked her to tell me what the spell was, but she said she couldn’t because she was already there and it would mess things up… I panicked. I heard the two of you in the background giggling. So, I called Rebecca, asked her to go and stop Ruth— Oh my God, Rebecca. I’m so sorry I sent you there and—"
Rebecca held her hands up and smiled. “Trust me, I would’ve rather gone down with my family than think I had to live on without them.”
Uncle Tim cringed, and ice-cold energy shot out of him. Haven and I both reached out to him at the same time, and each of us grabbed one of his arms and squeezed.
He shook his head and flipped to another page—then gasped. “This is it.”
Everyone moved closer to try and see.
His eyes moved back and forth across the page, and then his brow furrowed deep. “This should have worked… I-I don’t… I don’t understand.”
Tegan scowled. She reached around him and snagged the book, then held it up to her face as she read the page. “This definitely should have worked. It’s brilliant and absolutely would’ve worked. Ruth was right. There’s no way this would’ve hurt anyone. Something isn’t right here.”
Haven leaned over her and read. “Maybe this isn’t the one, then? Though it sure sounds like it. I recognize these runes.”
My heart fluttered. “Runes?” I grabbed the book to read for myself, but it wasn’t written in English or the ancient language. “I can’t read it, but they look similar to the runes we found in me.”
Uncle Tim nodded. “Angelic runes.”
Jackson cleared his throat. “So, what is the spell?”
I glanced down at the words, but I didn’t have the first clue how to say them out loud.
Uncle Tim took the book from me then sighed. “I can’t say it.”
“Why not?” Jackson frowned and glanced between the group.
“Because it’s written in the angel’s tongue.” Tegan pointed to the page with her black-painted fingernail. “Only a descendant of a heavenly angel could read these words out loud. Anyone else, their mouths and throats would burn with every word.”
Easton scratched his head and turned to Uncle Tim. “But your sister spoke it?”
“We did not share the same father. I have no angel blood.”
Tegan turned to the side. “Rebecca, how close were you when Ruth read this spell?”
Rebecca shuddered. “Two feet behind her, at most.”
“Perfect. Listen to this carefully…” Tegan then took my mother’s book and read the spell. Out loud.
Rebecca gasped then nodded wildly. “That’s it. That’s exactly what I heard Ruth say. Trust me, that memory is engrained in my mind.”
Royce held his hand up in the air. “Um, wait, how did Tegan read that? Aether Witch thing?”
Tegan made a funny face. “Yes and no. Elizabeth Bishop, whom I met in Salem, had a child with the angel Gabriel. Every blood-bred Bishop since then has been a descendant of Gabriel.”
Em gasped and snapped her fingers excitedly. “That’s why we could pick up Michael’s sword! Because we have angel blood!”
Tegan nodded. “Exactly. Ruth was the daughter of Michael, and the Proctors have come from Uriel since the One Hundred Years’ War with Lilith. That’s why they felt so sure this spell would work.”
Jackson rubbed his jaw. “Except it didn’t, so maybe there’s something in the spell we’re missing?”
“No, you don’t understand.” Tegan pulled her hair up on top of her head and tied it away. “This spell could never, ever, EVER have harmed anyone. It has angel power. This isn’t arcana magic. This is straight from Heaven. It’s literally impossible for this spell alone to have turned them into these shadows. It’s impossible. No, Royce, do not argue with me on this. Just trust me.”
I snatched the book back, then looked down at it and started flipping pages to look for any kind of clue. Anything at all.
Haven sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She’s right. This doesn’t make sense.”
Jackson narrowed his aquamarine eyes. “We’re not actually suggesting Tegan is wrong. We know better. But something happened, so if it wasn’t the spell, then…”
“Then…” Tegan bit her bottom lip.
Henley closed her eyes. “Then it was tampered with. That’s what you’re trying not to say right now, right?”
Tegan nodded. “I don’t like to throw out accusations I can’t back up. But yes.”
My stomach turned and my mouth tasted like metal. It was nice to hear that maybe my parents weren’t monsters, but until we could prove it, then they were still guilty. I opened my mother’s little spell book to the middle, then shoved the stack of family photos still in my hand inside. As I was closing it, my gaze latched on to the word holy written several times.
Deacon tapped his fingers on his chin. “Um, Tegan? Can you do that little trick you did by the river again?”
Haven’s eyes widened.
Uncle Tim frowned. “What trick?”
Tegan grinned. “D, you are brilliant. Let’s go there and find out.”
I shuddered as the images came rushing back. Stop that. Mom needs me to fix this. Focus! I looked back down at the book, and a spell I hadn’t seen a minute ago jumped out at me. Like it was begging for my attention.
“Obviously I’m in support of this idea,” Kessler said in his deep voice. “but that means we have to go to The Gathering site. This is problematic.”
Easton frowned. “Why?”
Jackson sighed. “Because Joseph is going to be even crazier now. It’s not safe to separate.”
Easton shivered. “Okay, why can’t we all go? Eden is evacuated of civilians.”
Haven pointed to Ellis, Rebecca, and John.
Ellis shook his head. “We’ll just come with you.”
Haven frowned. “No, absolutely not. You all will stay here.”
Royce fidgeted with a vine wrapped around his wrist. “Sorry, boss, but if they stay here, then some of us have to stay to guard them which means we have to separate.”
Everyone jumped into a debate on how to best handle this. I heard the theories in the back of my mind. But my concentration was stuck on a few lines written in the middle of this book. It was a spell that would require a ton of magic, but we had a ton of it.
I cleared my throat. “Actually…we might not need to.”
Tegan gasped and leaned down in front of me. “I know that face. I love that face. TELL ME.”
I held my mom’s book out for her to see. “My mom has a spell in here that will turn any piece of land into Holy Land. I think we should turn Eden into Holy Land.”
Tegan nodded. “Then nothing dark or demonic could ever get in. Eden would be a truly safe place.”
Rebecca smiled. “Joseph can’t get on Holy Land. He’s tried. Only Trey could, and I doubt he’d try at this point.”
Ellis gave a crooked, evil smirk. “We can take Trey. He ain’t shit.”
Warner cursed. “I almost hope he’ll try.” He cracked his knuckles.
Everyone turned to Haven.
Uncle Tim smiled. “Well, boss, what’s your verdict?”
Chapter Fifty-Two
Jackson
“Let’s make Eden Holy Land, for sure. It’s brilliant.” Tenn pointed toward the doors. “Everyone outside.”
Easton and Willow cheered and led everyone out the front doors.
Timothy wrapped his arm around Paulina’s shoulders. “I’m sorry to hear about your Mark.”
She smiled up at him as they walked. “Thanks. It’s weird, but I’m just happy to be alive. You know?”
He chuckled. “I know exactly what you mean, kiddo.” He glanced over at me as they passed by and gave me a wink.
I turned toward Bettina and found her walking in between Tegan and Lennox. The three of them had their heads together with their noses buried in Ruth’s spell book as they headed for the door. Bettina glanced up and gave me a quick smile as they passed.
A wave of intense power slammed into my side as Tennessee strolled up next to me and stopped. He sighed and shook his head, his eyes latched on the girls’ backs. “We’re gonna have to find some good hobbies, Lancaster.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
He grinned and shrugged one shoulder. “We’re gonna get ditched. A lot. Which means it is in our best interest to find some hobbies to entertain us…for the rest of our lives.”
“Bloody hell, you’re right.” I laughed. “Guess it’s a good thing we like each other.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” He clapped my shoulder and nodded to the doors. “Let’s go watch them do some crazy shit.”
I followed him outside and into the courtyard. It was only then as we approached the group that I realized all of the good shadows had gone out there, too. Not that I blamed them. I wanted to see this, too. Although, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around this plan. It seemed like we shouldn’t be capable of creating Holy Land. Then again, Bettina was the granddaughter of archangel Michael, so I supposed it wasn’t too far-fetched. And I’d seen what she could do already, so even though it was hard to believe, I knew she’d do it.
