The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 27
Uncle Tim nodded. “I can tell you from my time with him, Joseph knows a ton of dark magic. Things he shouldn’t know. It’s not worth it.”
Hunter eyed his daughter. “I know you think you’re an adult, but I’m definitely gonna pull the parent card on this one. You’re not doing it.”
Devon nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. “Same.”
Tegan sighed. “FINE. But someone has to do it, so who’s going to volunteer? Not Henley. Not Tenn. Not Bettina.”
Emersyn shook her head. “Not me.”
Everyone looked at her then shuddered.
“Agreed. Not you.” Deacon put his elbow on Em’s shoulder and leaned into her. He grinned. “Y’all, I got this. Dark magic comes with my territory.”
Lennox stepped up. “Um, right, so not to spoil the Devil’s play time but I think for this spell we need a pentagram.”
Henley pointed to her. “One hundred percent yes. I will definitely be one of the five.”
Everyone turned to Haven.
He sighed and scrubbed his face. “Okay, Deacon and Henley. And Lennox, since she clearly knows her shit. But we need two more so…”
“I’ll do it,” Jackson said from behind me.
Everyone jumped and spun to face him. I turned and looked up at his face.
“From my understanding the whole point of the pentagram is to balance the darkness, right?” He shrugged. “Those three all walk the wild side, so we need someone like me in the mix.” Then he looked me in the eyes. “I want to do this.”
Uncle Tim reached out and squeezed his shoulder. “Me too. I’ll hold the last spot.”
Haven nodded and rubbed his hands together. “All right. Yeah, okay. You five do it.”
Warner cleared his throat and raised his hand like we were in class. “Um, excuse me, but are the rest of us safe to be here while ya do this? I’ve done enough playing with Joseph’s magic, kay thanks?”
Tegan chuckled. “B, dome us.”
I frowned. “What?”
She waved her hands in an arch over her head. “Make one of your domes around the rest of us so we’ll be protected.”
My eyes widened and I stood tall. “Oh. Right. Brilliant. Yes, okay. I can do that.”
Haven nodded. “But Hope and I are gonna stand outside the dome.”
“Umm, isn’t that dangerous?” Warner asked with a frown, like Haven was crazy for suggesting it.
Haven shook his head. “You saw.”
“Haven’s right. If that dark magic didn’t hurt us then, we should be fine now.” I pulled my sword out of its holster on my hip. “And if it’s not, Tegan will get us out.”
“Damn straight,” she mumbled.
Kessler pursed his lips. “And Deacon, you know how to do this dark spell?”
Deacon tapped on his temple. “Queen of Darkness has already told it to me. I got this.”
Emersyn cursed and fisted his shirt, then dragged his lips down to hers. A second later she shoved him back with a groan, then spun away and marched off without a word. Her long platinum blonde hair whipped around in the wind as she walked over to stand behind me.
Deacon chuckled and shook his head. His violet eyes sparkled with delight. “I love you, too, Buttercup.”
Constance smiled. “All right. Let’s get going on this. Everyone else behind Bettina.”
My stomach tightened into knots. No pressure, dudette. If my dome didn’t hold up, my friends could get hurt – or worse. And if that wasn’t bad enough, my own soulmate and my uncle were taking part in the spell. If something went wrong – no, stop that. Nothing is going to go wrong. Manifest positivity, Bettina.
I swallowed my nerves and pushed my shoulders back as my Coven-mates – and Warner – gathered behind me. Deacon, Henley, and Lennox were walking to the other side of the clearing, just to be on the safe side. Their backs were to me, but all three of them stood tall and confident. If they weren’t nervous, then I had no reason to be either. Right? Right. I think. Maybe. No, yes, right. UGH.
Uncle Timothy walked by me to follow them. I reached out and grabbed his wrist. When he glanced back at me my eyes started to water. “Be careful,” I whispered.
He smiled and gave me a wink, then squeezed my hand. “I will.”
As he passed, Haven stopped him, too. I had a feeling the three of us were going to be overly cautious with each other for a long while. We’d only just gotten each other back. Hell, we thought Uncle Timothy had died. I’d seen him die. In my arms. I looked down at my hands and in my mind I still saw his blood on my fingers. I shuddered.
Jackson stopped in front of me and tipped my chin up with his finger. “You going to be okay while I do this?”
No. I nodded. I have to be. “Just be careful. If something doesn’t feel right then—”
“Then you’ll feel it.” He smiled and tapped my chest.
“Right,” I breathed.
He kissed my forehead, then turned and jogged to catch up with the others. My stomach turned and my pulse quickened. Bring your freak-out down a notch, woman. He can feel it, too. I took a deep breath then spun around. My Coven-mates were all huddled together, waiting on me.
“Ready?”
They all nodded.
I tightened my grip on my sword and summoned my magic. It sang through my veins instantly, like it’d been ready and waiting for me to call on it. I felt the energy roll through my body then down into my right arm. I’d never actually thought about this part before, usually I just did it. But I pictured my pink dome in my head, imagining it covering them…then I took a deep breath and swung my sword in an arch and buried the blade into the ground.
Just like I pictured in my head, a massive pale pink dome appeared out of thin air from where my sword was lodged into the ground. It went up and over their heads, then sank to the ground behind them. I sighed with relief. It worked. They all gave me a thumbs-up. I smiled and turned around.
And found Tegan standing next to Haven.
“TEGAN.” I pointed to my done. “Inside the bubble. NOW.”
“I’m just saying, what if you need me? Maybe I need to be out —”
Haven threw her over his shoulder and leapt…and landed inside my dome. He dropped her onto her ass on the ground. “Stay.” He winked, then leapt back out.
She jumped to her feet and charged to the wall – but Kessler caught her by the elbow.
I laughed and shook my head. “Bad dog.”
Jackson’s pulse fluttered – I gasped and spun around. But he looked fine. I must’ve freaked out because he glanced over to me and smiled. He’s fine, Bettina. Totally fine.
The five of them stood in the shape of a pentagram, each of them standing at one of the five points. Lennox and Henley were explaining something, but they were speaking too softly for me to actually hear the words. The three guys just kept nodding.
Then, Deacon looked over to us. “We ready?”
Haven nodded. “Good to go.”
“Yeah, let’s get this over with,” I mumbled to myself.
I glanced over my shoulder to my dome. My Coven-mates were all watching the five with sharp eyes. I wasn’t the only one worried about this. Tegan was chewing on her thumbnail and bouncing on her feet. Flowers were popping up all over the ground near Royce. Emersyn was twirling her hair around her fingers, the tips of which were covered in little flames. Smoke billowed out around her feet. I knew how she felt. My soulmate was over there, too. I was trying not to watch.
But then Deacon began chanting and my pulse went nuts.
No wait.
That’s not mine.
Sure, mine was beating faster than normal but that sharp flutter was Jackson. I spun around so fast I actually wobbled a step. He stood at the bottom right point of the pentagram, closest to me. Lennox was directly across from him, and Henley stood on his right side. That made me feel a little better. Those two girls were terrifyingly gifted. I may have been talented at creating my own spells, but they knew every existing spell.
I tried to find solace in that.
But Jackson’s hyper-speed pulse was making my stomach turn. He was nervous. With each word Deacon yelled out, Jackson got more and more tense. I felt his emotions like they were my own, but worse, his were amplifying mine. And I knew he felt that, too. But I couldn’t help it. He was nervous and now I was freaking out. Our pulses were pounding so loud in my ears I couldn’t even hear the spell Deacon was saying. I knew he was several lines in, so it couldn’t take too much longer.
Deacon’s eyes widened.
“DEACON,” Emersyn hissed from inside the dome.
Just then Jackson’s pulse went crazy. It was beating so fast they were blending into one. My hands were trembling from it. He was panicking.
“Jackson!” I shouted.
His face snapped toward me – and then he gasped. His eyes widened. Panic exploded inside of him, and rippled through my body. I glanced to the others and they were all making the same shocked face.
Black smoke poured into the clearing from within the trees like a tsunami. It swept through in the blink of an eye. I looked down and it was coiled around my legs and feet.
A deep, dark laughter echoed from behind the trees…and then Trey emerged from the shadows.
I cursed and tried to charge at him – but my feet wouldn’t move. I pushed and pulled, yet nothing. I couldn’t move my legs. “TREY!”
He threw his head back and laughed, then waved his hands in the air and the black smoke shot up to my neck.
I gasped and my spine straightened. My heart was pounding. My pulse felt like an earthquake ripped through my body. I tried to move my arms, but couldn’t. I was paralyzed from the neck down. I looked to Haven. His big golden wings were out except he seemed to be struggling as much as I was.
My body gave out and my knees hit the cold, hard ground. I tried to scream but no sound came out.
Trey laughed and clapped his hands.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Warner
“NO!” We all screamed.
“TEGAN, NO!” Hunter yelled and dove for his daughter as she charged the dome wall. He tackled her to the ground but she was fighting him. Gold magic shot out of him and filled the entire dome. “TEGAN, STOP!”
Tegan vanished into thin air then reappeared a foot away. She threw her hands out and they passed through the dome. Her soulmate glyph on the back of her hand was bright red and pulsing. Rainbow magic exploded from her palms and some of the black smoke was pushed away. She was about to jump all the way out when Kessler slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“You go out there and you go down with them!” Devon shouted as she created a wall made out of her astral clones around the inside of the dome. “We need a plan!”
“Go ahead, burn me but you’re not going out there!” Paulina shouted behind me.
I spun around and found her and Chutney pinning Emersyn face-down in the grass. She was wiggling and writhing. Flames danced along her body. Cooper cursed and dove on top of her.
Royce cried out and charged for the edge of the dome. SHIT! I lunged and snagged him by the knees. We crashed to the ground. I cursed and winced, but held on tight.
“I got him!” Easton yelled and then suddenly there was shimmering silver body armor pinning Royce to the dirt.
Bright light filled the dome. I looked up expecting it to be Tegan but instead found Lily up by the edge blasting the clearing with pure sunshine.
“What do we do?” Braison cried out and tugged on his hair. “We have to help them!”
Trey threw his head back and laughed, then waved his hands in the air and the black smoke shot up to Bettina’s neck. She gasped and her spine straightened. Tenn’s wings were out but somehow he couldn’t move. What the hell is stronger than Tennessee?!
Bettina’s knees hit the ground. She opened her mouth but no sound came out.
Trey laughed and clapped his hands.
You son of a bitch.
Trey strolled through the middle of the pentagram with that stupid sickening grin on his face. He paused in front of Lennox and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. My stomach turned and before I could stop myself, I leapt to my feet…and Royce jumped up. I cursed. I was holding him down. I tried to catch him but it was too late. He sprinted to the dome wall and threw himself at it, but he bounced off of it and flew over our heads to the back.
Tegan screamed and the ground rumbled. I threw my hands up to cover my ears.
“Shit, EMERSYN!”
Everything was happening so fast I didn’t have time to react.
Emersyn slammed into the dome wall then crumbled to the ground. She shrieked and pounded her fists on the wall. “DEACON!”
Trey skipped forward. He freaking skipped. My blood boiled in my veins. I didn’t understand who this person was. How my friend of a decade could do this. None of it made sense. He was practically freaking singing as he danced like Fred freaking Astaire over to where Bettina was on her knees trembling.
Tegan’s screaming grew louder and sharper. It was vibrating my bones. Kessler was on his knees in front of her, using his massive body as a wall to keep her inside. He had his arms wrapped around her waist. But his muscles were flexed and sweat dripped down the side of his face, like he was struggling against her.
I looked over to Tennessee and my heart sank. He wasn’t moving, even though he was pushing. My stomach rolled. “What the hell is happening?!”
Red light poured out of Tegan’s hand. Tenn was in trouble. We all were.
Tegan sucked in a ragged breath and her rainbow magic coiled around her hands. Then she growled like a tiger and thrust her arms forward. Thick beams of rainbow magic shot out of her palms – one aimed at Tennessee and the other at Bettina. As her magic moved through the dome it vanished.
It must’ve still been working because a second later, Tennessee moved several feet forward. But Trey shook his head and more black smoke wrapped around our Emperor, locking him in place.
I cursed. “Just keep going, Tegan! You’re stronger than this punk.”
Bettina groaned. Her entire body was shaking and I knew she was trying to fight him off.
Trey freaking chuckled and turned to face Bettina. He stood in front of her, towering over her. He reached out and tipped her chin up so her eyes met his. Then he grinned. “Lilith sends her regards.”
“LILITH?!” Everyone screamed.
At that, all caution was thrown to the wind and we all charged the edge of the dome. Everyone was yelling and shouting. We slammed our fists and bodies against the dome but we were trapped. Stuck. Completely helpless.
“Tegan, MORE!” Bentley whisper-shouted.
I looked back at her and my heart jumped up my throat. Her pale green eyes were radiating light like a laser show. Her entire body was glowing. She was downright pulsing with energy. Her lips were pulled back in a nasty snarl. She screamed and magic rushed out of her so strong it threw half of us back.
Trey chuckled and strolled in front of the dome, looking at us like he’d already won. He shook his head. He pointed to Tenn. “Don’t worry, with him gone the rest of you will be much easier to take out. It won’t be like this for you.”
Bettina’s eyes went so wide I saw the white surrounding her mismatched irises. She looked to Tegan and I saw the fear pouring out of her.
Trey whistled a cheery tune and turned toward Tennessee.
“Give Tegan your power!” Bentley shouted and pressed his palms to her back. “NOW!”
We all dove for her instantly, without a beat of hesitation. In the blink of an eye we all had our hands on her, pushing our own power into her. I still didn’t understand how this worked, this wasn’t my strength as a witch, but I wasn’t about to question it. I would do whatever I had to to save my friends.
Tegan’s body levitated off the ground, but with all of us holding her down she only lifted an inch or so. The power coming off of her felt like I was holding on to a tornado. She threw an insane amount of magic at Bettina, relentlessly slamming her with energy.
Bettina grit her teeth. Her arm shook like she was trying to move it.
And then her hand popped out from the black smoke.
YES!
Trey pulled a glowing orb out of his pocket and giggled. He tossed it up into the air then caught it. “Grandson of an archangel. Michael’s finest. Lilith was so excited. She gave me this trick—” he gestured around the clearing “—isn’t it neat?”
Tennessee growled and his wings fluttered.
“But you know what’s cooler?” He skipped closer to Tenn, still tossing that orb into the air like it was a baseball. He nodded his head toward Bettina. “Lilith also gave me a special spell just to kill you two. It’ll only take about a minute or so, and it’ll be ridiculously painful. No big deal."
Behind him, Bettina threw her hand out beside her. The air pulsed through the dark magic like a wave in the ocean. She kept her eyes on Trey and lifted her hand higher. Her fingers flexed and the black smoke moved. I bit my lip and glanced back and forth between her and Tenn. What is she doing? What is her plan?
The air pulsed…and then Tennessee’s long black sword flew through the clearing and landed right in Bettina’s open palm.
“OHHHHHH!” Everyone in the dome went absolutely freaking nuts.
We all jumped to our feet and threw our hands up.
Bettina lunged to her feet and charged for Trey.
But Trey hadn’t noticed any of this. He was too busy mocking Tennessee and playing with his prey to see Bettina gunning for him with a weapon.
“Well, can’t keep Lilith waiting too long.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out another orb, this one was smaller and blood red. “Buh-bye, angel babies.”
Tegan screamed, except this time she said something in that angelic language, and her hair turned snow white.
Then Trey slammed the blood-red orb on the ground. Red smoke slithered toward Tenn and Bettina. Trey laughed and dropped the glowing orb to the ground. Light flashed and fizzled, yet nothing happened. Lilith’s magic slammed into a rainbow-colored wall and golden light swallowed it up.
