The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 30
My pink mist flew out of me like a wave, rolling over people row by row. It was gradual and calm, not a tsunami dropping destruction without warned. Each time my pink magic hit someone new, they gasped and clutched their chests. Their eyes sparkled and smiles erupted.
And then they dropped like hail from the sky.
One by one, they collapsed to the floor with hollowed cheeks and pale skin. A few of them screamed out, but the rest groaned then sank to the floor. Katherine, Mona, and Dean charged into the crowd.
I leapt to my feet just as my Coven-mates rushed toward the shadows.
“No, GO!” Katherine spun around and held her arms out. “Go destroy Joseph, we’ve got this under control. Now, GO!”
“Go where? We don’t know where he is,” Easton whispered. “We have to find him!”
“Let’s lure him to The Gathering site.” I turned to Haven and Tegan. “This started there, it needs to end there.”
Chapter Sixty
Jackson
We stepped out of Tegan’s portal and into the clearing in the mountains where this all started.
Trey’s body was gone, but there was a patch of burned grass right where he fell.
“Deacon…” Tenn touched the gold bands on his arm and Michael’s sword appeared in his palm. His gaze was sharp and his aura menacing. “Razzle dazzle ‘em.”
Maybe add some dark magic in there with it.
Everyone turned to me with wide eyes.
“Right. Said that out loud, did I? Lovely.” I shrugged and adjusted my grip on my sword. “Just saying, sliding a little dark magic into your call might help.”
Deacon narrowed his eyes, then spun to Tenn. “Can I? I think he’s right.”
Tenn’s golden wings fluttered behind his back as stared at our Devil. After a moment, he nodded. “I trust you, if you think it’ll help then go for it.”
Deacon spun to face the edge of the tree line. He rubbed his palms together and crimson red smoke poured out of his hands, it shot across the clearing and slithered between the trees. Red lightning flashed all around him. His violet eyes sparkled with danger…and then he began whistling. The tune was instantly recognizable from the musical, but underneath it the tone was dark and cold. Sharp energy slithered down my spine and I shivered. My feet wanted to carry me toward him, closer to the sound. His magic was potent.
Instead, I forced myself to watch the horizon. Sunshine shined through the trees, casting everything in a warm golden glow. A matter of mere seconds went by, and then a heavy fog crept in from the distance. It moved toward us like a storm cloud - tall, dark, and furious. I tightened my grip on my swords and rolled to the balls of my feet so I’d be ready to move.
On my cue, B, Tegan whispered in our minds.
The fog shot up from the ground and swept toward us. It grew and changed until it started to take form. As it crossed into the clearing it broke apart into dozens of human-shaped forms. Joseph’s creepers. They glared at us with bloodlust in their glistening eyes. My pulse quickened.
Deacon’s red lightning zapped through some of their bodies a few times and then it vanished. His magic had called them here but now they were waiting on us, even if they hadn’t realized that yet. I looked straight back, over their shoulders…and spotted him.
Joseph.
NOW, B!
Bettina sliced her finger open then pressed the bloody wound to the ground. She moved her hand side-to-side, then up and down, tracing her own blood through the dirt and grass.
The air in the clearing thickened. Ice rushed up her arm and she hissed. Her arms shook. Smoke billowed out from the ground everywhere her blood touched. Yet she opened her mouth and chanted the words of the spell. I had no idea what they meant, but it felt good to hear them. Golden light sparkled all around her and her magic exploded. Her pink mist flew out of her like a wave, just like in the Great Hall.
Joseph shouted and his shadows charged for us.
But then Bettina’s pink mist slammed into them and they gasped. Their shadowy bodies solidified from the toes up, inch by inch, like a rising tide. One-by-one, their steps slowed. They tripped and stumbled, then dropped to their knees. They let out blood curdling screams and swatted at their own bodies. Their solid bodies. I looked up to Joseph and my stomach tightened. The spell was almost to him. Any second now. This is it.
And then, just as the pink mist slid over the grass in front of him — he was gone.
His creepers – the shadow army – screamed and hissed. They gripped their throats, their eyes were wide in panic.
“We don’t want to hurt you,” Tenn shouted. He stepped forward with one hand raised up. “We know this wasn’t your fault—”
“GET HIM!” One of the shadows – now human - in the back screamed and point at Tenn.
And then, like he’d flipped a switch, they jumped to their feet and rushed toward us. Their faces were gaunt and sucked in, their skin sickly shade of grayish white. They let out these strangled, pained battle cries and all I could see were skeletons in clothes with swords raised in the air. None of us moved. We didn’t want to hurt them, and now that they were regular witches with human bodies they wouldn’t be any match for us.
Tenn shook his head. “Stop. Please. We don’t want to hurt you.”
But the three creepers in the front weren’t slowing down. They lunged right for Tenn and swung their swords. He could’ve sliced right through their weapons with Michael’s, yet he didn’t. His dagger flew up into his palm but he still didn’t move.
“I really don’t want to —” he sighed and easily blocked all three attacks with one hand “—hurt you.”
He flicked his wrist and all of them landed on their asses.
“Seriously, just listen to us for a — really, dude?” He sighed and swung his dagger down, slicing a gash through both of the guy’s wrists. Then he ducked under the second guy’s blade and nicked his chins. He looked down at both of the now bleeding, screaming men. “I said, I don’t want to hurt —”
“DIE!” The third one dove forward and grabbed the long blade of Michael’s sword — and his entire body burst into golden white flames. There was an explosion of smoke and then he crumbled into a pile of ash on the ground.
Easton cursed. In my peripheral vision I saw him take a step away from Tenn.
“DAMN IT!” Tenn shouted. “Just stop and listen!”
The other shadow-men gasped and stared in horror at the pile of ashes that was their friend. There was a moment of silence and then they screamed. They should’ve been on the brink of literally starving to death, yet they charged for us like they had a chance of winning.
Bettina lifted her hands up and a three-foot wall shot up out of the ground straight across the clearing. The shadow-men crashed into it, but they just hurried back to their feet and jumped over it. Tegan shook her head and threw her palm out in front of her. Every single shadow-man froze in place, some mid-air.
“For the last time, we don’t want to hurt you,” Tenn yelled again.
Tegan dropped her hand and the shadow-men landed on their feet. “Now, listen—”
They roared and sprinted for us.
“No, c’mon,” Tegan groaned and threw her hand back up. The shadow-men froze in place. “We want to heal you and give you a life back. Now, don’t attack.”
She lowered her hand and they were already running before their feet hit the ground, like some children’s cartoon. Tennessee cursed. Tegan froze them mid-air again just as light flashed from straight back, between the trees. I looked up and rage exploded in my veins. A tall dark shadow stood between the pines with glowing gold eyes.
JOSEPH.
Black smoke shot up behind him then rushed toward us. He threw his shadowy head back and cackled. The smoke grew bigger and darker with every inch. It moved within itself, slithering across the grass like a sea of snakes.
Henley cursed violently. White lightning ripped through the clearing and slammed into the darkness creeping toward us. A huge spider demon hissed and flew up into the air then crashed into the — oh, bloody hell. It wasn’t dark magic, it was demons. And there were dozens of them.
The ground rumbled and the trees swayed. The air turned bitter cold. Time seemed to slow down while my pulse skyrocketed. Tenn raised Michael’s sword up at the ready. Bettina held her talisman opal sword in one hand, then held her left hand up in the air. A second later, the air fluttered and then Tenn’s long black sword landed in her palm. She gripped both hilts and twirled them around. Easton threw his arms out to the side and metal armor covered my body like a blanket.
I already had both of my swords out and ready.
Demons were flocking toward us from every direction. We were trapped, surrounded. My pulse quickened and my palms grew sweaty. I licked my lips and took a deep breath. This was no big deal, I’d fought many demons in my life already.
Tegan summoned a massive ball of magic into her left hand. THREE…TWO…ONE!
That sea of black crashed down around us. Everything fell into absolute chaos. There was too much going on for me to see much of anything. We were surrounded by darkness. But I’d prepared for this my whole life here at Edenburg. Rainbow magic exploded all around. I swung and sliced my weapons, black demon blood splashing into my face.
I turned to my left and found Warner fighting two oozer demons. I dropped and spun, swinging my swords through the center of three demons. I spun at the scent of human blood but Timothy was beside me, facing off with a bleeding friend of Joseph. The three of us worked our way through the demons effortlessly, but we’d trained for this for so long. I knew how they both fought. I knew how they’d move, I knew how they’d attack. It was like any of our training sessions.
Wait, where’s Bettina? Without stopping fighting, I scanned the clearing for her. I saw a dark object shooting across with a glow. Rainbow mist exploded like fireworks left and right. Tennegan. I didn’t need to see them to know they were there. Red lightning ripped through the clearing. Orange flames roared up to the sky. Okay, there’s Em and Deacon. Where’s Bettina?
“POISON ROYCY!”
Thick green vines with little flowers pierced through demons like shish-ka-bobs.
“STOP TELLING THEM WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO DO!” Henley screamed.
“HEY! Sibling fight later,” Cooper growled and tossed a flailing demon into Royce’s arms. “Demon fight, now.
Damn it, Bettina, where are you? I turned back and sliced the heads off three demons in a line. Over Warner’s shoulder I saw Lennox shooting wild magic out of her wand. Balls of ice flew — balls of ice! Then I spotted her…surrounded by demons. She moved like a veteran Knight with a sword in each hand. Ice shot out of her in every direction and covered the ground under her feet.
Demons were dropping left and right. The shadow-men fell beside them. We were The Coven. This was what we trained for. This was the kind of magic we had. There were only a few of them left, he was going to need a new tactic.
Then Joseph threw his left hand in the air and a whole new stream of venom-dripping demons came pouring in from the forest. But before we could even register what was left to kill, the world rocked and then two massive snake-like demons the size of school buses slid in.
My jaw dropped and my steps faltered. “What in the bloody hell—”
Timothy cursed. “MORPHERS!”
Chapter Sixty-One
Bettina
Morpher demons?
NOW?
You’ve got to be bloody killing me! I looked up and my heart sank. These demons were giant dinosaur-snakes, like something straight out of an Avengers movie. If only one of the Avengers had ice magic then I’d know how to take one of these down. Think, Bettina. Everything has a weak spot! I gripped my swords tighter. Haven’s black sword pulsed with energy and power, shooting hot tingles up my arm. It was a little uncomfortable, but this was an emergency, so I had to suck it up.
The two morpher demons were on opposite sides of the clearing. I charged for the one closest to me just as it twitched and changed into a giant wolf-like beast. Shit. I had no idea what my plan of attack was, I just knew I had to do something.
It shrieked and flew up into the air. Its body pulsed and twitched – and then it was a dragon, spitting green fire from its mouth. I hissed as venom splashed onto my arms, burning through my clothes to my skin. Both morphers hovered over our heads. And then they began to spin in circles. I frowned and looked to my left – and found Tegan standing between them with both arms raised to the sky.
Tegan screamed a vicious battle cry then slammed her palms together.
The morphers shot to the middle of the clearing then crashed into each other. They shrieked and wiggled, and then their two bodies melded into one massive blob.
GO! Tegan screamed into my mind. YOU TWO, GO! TO JOSEPH!
I jumped and glanced down at her, but she was watching the morpher.
Magic poured out of her into the demon above us. I GOT THIS! FINISH HIM!
I looked across the clearing and found my brother watching her, too. And then his eyes met mine. He nodded once. Butterflies exploded in my stomach, but I nodded back. I slammed my foot into the ground and focused my thoughts on Haven. Let’s end this. Together.
Red and white lightning flashed over my head.
Haven twirled Michael’s sword then raised it up — I turned and sprinted toward the trees, to where Joseph was lurking just outside the fight like the coward he was.
Bright golden sunshine shot across the clearing but I didn’t look. I had to focus. Black objects moved all through my peripheral vision. I heard metal clashing with metal and the metallic scent of human blood. Magic of every color exploded around me. I wanted to look for Jackson, to make sure he was okay, but I had to keep my eyes on my target. Besides, I felt Jackson’s strong, heavy pulse pounding through my right arm.
There was a loud shriek then warm, thick liquid splashed the side of my body. The smell of maple syrup invaded my senses. It was so hard not to stop and help my Coven-mates, except I had no choice. The demons were just a distraction. Joseph was our enemy.
The man who killed my parents.
Vengeance was ours.
Golden light flashed in my peripheral vision and then the air pulsed with raw power. I pushed off my feet and jumped straight up. Haven plucked me out of the air by the back of my shirt – just like we’d done a thousand times as little kids.
Joseph’s eyes widened as we flew over the battle straight toward him. For a brief moment, I saw fear fill his beady eyes and it made me grin like a movie villain.
“Now,” Haven whispered in my ear.
I nodded and tightened my grip on my swords.
He dove for the ground. Adrenaline rushed through my veins. And then he dropped me from ten feet up. I dropped like a torpedo. My feet slammed into the grass and ice exploded out from under me. It shot across the clearing in a twenty-foot radius. I immediately flicked my wrists, shooting ice right at him. Joseph cursed and tried to vanish – but I was faster. My ice wrapped around his ankles then covered his feet, freezing him to the ground.
Hurricane-force winds blasted him in the face. Haven hovered a few feet away from me, his golden wings flapping behind his back. He held Michael’s glowing sword in one hand and held the other straight out in front of him. The gusts of wind leaving his palm were so thick they were actually white.
Joseph shouted in rage and pushed against our power. Dark magic burst out of him in dense black smoke. It crashed into me, pushing me back a foot yet Haven was unaffected. I cursed and slammed my opal blade into the ground. Shield me! A shimmering pink dome popped up, blocking the dark magic from hitting me. I just had to get the spell out, then this man would be nothing against us. He’d be absolutely nothing against my brother. I just had to get it out.
But Joseph was stronger than I anticipated. His feet were frozen in place, yet he kept turning the rest of him to shadow. He pushed and pulled against our magic, trying to break free.
“Not today, Satan,” I growled between clenched teeth.
I reached over and sliced my finger on Haven’s black sword blade. Blood rushed to the surface — Joseph screamed and one of his feet broke free, the ice shattered. I cursed and dropped Haven’s sword, then thrust both palms out to Joseph. We couldn’t mess around. This wasn’t the time for mercy. This man deserved none. He was a murderer and he had to pay.
My ice shot up his body all the way up to his hips. But I had to keep pushing. He was a damn shadow, and a resilient one. If I pulled back even a smidge he started to break free. My arms trembled as I held on to my power, forcing it around him. Haven pummeled him with wind and rain relentlessly.
C’mon, Bettina. Just draw the rune, I yelled at myself. Blood was already dripping from my finger, I just needed a second to draw the rune into the ground. I pulled my right hand back, but the second I released my connection Joseph thrashed against the ice.
“Damn it.” I clenched my teeth and doubled down on him. “Haven! You have to —”
A gust of Christmassy scented air rushed over my face.
And then Jackson slid between Haven and I on his knees. He sliced his finger open on his sword, then slammed his bloodied finger to the ground. He drew that awful demonic rune into the dirt in his own blood, then looked up to Joseph and shouted the spell.
Joseph screamed and thrashed harder with every word Jackson chanted.
YES!
Joseph’s shadowy form changed to a human body in the blink of an eye. Haven dropped to the ground and his magic vanished. My brother’s black sword flew into my palm. Haven swung Michael’s sword through the air. Joseph’s eyes widened in surprise but even then, I saw no remorse in them.
Haven slammed Michael’s glowing sword into Joseph’s stomach. He let out a blood curdling scream as his now human body went up in golden flames. Heaven’s power was consuming him. I lunged forward with my weapon raised.
