The Secret Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 5), page 8
“Oh, shit!” Dean grinned and clapped. “Soulmates? Hot damn. Congrats, y’all. I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, Dean.” I smiled, but then I remembered the last time I’d talked to Dean and my heart sank. I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry about Natasa.”
His face fell. His eyes grew hard. He looked over to Jackson. “Just make sure Trey gets his, okay?”
A wave of furious energy rolled off of my soulmate. Jackson growled, “You have my word. He will pay.”
“Good.” Dean nodded then turned back to Tenn. “So, what did you come here for? How can I help?”
Tenn glanced over to me, then back to Dean. “We need to use your Ouija board.”
Dean’s eyes widened. “Uh…that did not go so well last time—”
“That was different. She didn’t know she was a witch and how sensitive Ouija boards are to us.” Tegan looked to me and smirked. “She knows now, and she’s a thug. So her power will be in control.”
Dean narrowed his eyes. “Suuuure.”
Tegan shrugged. “Plus, we’re here.”
Tenn cleared his throat. “We understand your concern, but this is a necessary risk we must take tonight.”
“All right. You’re the boss. I don’t mean to question you.” Dean walked backward and gestured for us to follow him. “Let’s get you up there, then.”
Tenn nodded to us then followed Dean through the living room and towards the kitchen. Tegan and her father went after him without pause, yet I couldn’t get my feet to move. My life had just come full circle. This place, this house, was where it all started for me, and now I was back. To repeat my past mistakes.
Well, actually, The Gathering was where it started technically. Kind of.
“Moonshine?”
I jumped, only to find Jackson standing right in front of me.
He ducked down and met my eyes, and tugged on my fingers. “Talk to me.”
“Last time…”
“This is not going to be like last time—”
“How do you know that?”
He smiled and pulled me closer. “Because you’re not doing it with three sapiens whose fear is going to catapult your own. We are not going to abandon you to the board. We are not afraid. And your powers haven’t just been awakened by a magical punch. You’re incredible and in control of yourself. Remember that.”
My heart swelled. I smiled, pushed up on my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his. Not long, just a little peck. “I love you.”
He grinned. “I love you, too. Now c’mon. We don’t want Tenn coming to find us.”
I chuckled and let him pull me through the living room and into the kitchen. Our feet slowed. There were a handful of adults in the kitchen cooking and preparing a ton of food. A few of the younger kids were stacking plates, silverware, and cups. In the back of the room, there were at least a dozen teenagers I recognized from Edenburg. They seemed to be arranging tables and chairs for a large group to sit at.
Except no one was moving. I wasn’t even sure they were breathing.
And they were looking at Tennessee.
They hadn’t even noticed Jackson and I had walked in.
I smiled, glanced over at our Coven Leader, and found him standing at the base of the back staircase glaring up through the doorway. Michael’s six-foot-tall glowing sword stood in front of him, gripped tightly in his hands.
Jackson chuckled and shook his head. “Goddess, he’s going to give everyone a heart attack. Come on.”
He pulled me across the kitchen and over to the staircase. Tenn nodded at us but otherwise didn’t move. I paused on the bottom step. I felt the need to say…something to him. But I had nothing. That comment he’d made outside wasn’t sitting right. He’d said he was just kidding, but I saw something in his eyes that made me question that.
He arched one eyebrow. “Bettina?”
I opened my mouth then shut it.
He shook his head. “Go upstairs, Bettina.”
“But outside—”
“I’m fine, Bettina.” He smirked. “Go find us a spirit.”
“But—”
“Bettina?”
I jumped and spun around at the sound of Jackson’s voice. He was all the way at the top of the stairs watching me. I flushed. “Oh. Right. Coming. Sorry.”
As I hurried up to the top of the stairs and looked inside the open doorway, I was hit with a tsunami of déjà vu. It was that same square room made entirely of windows. I recognized the pointed ceiling with the vintage lantern hanging from it. I strolled inside and spun in a circle. There were still no chairs or furniture, just the trunk by the door and the wooden shelf that wrapped around the room at the base of the windows. Those white candles were still everywhere. Covering every inch of that shelf, and lining the baseboards on the floor.
It was exactly the same, and it sent a chill down my spine. It was a damn good thing it was daytime so it didn’t look exactly the same. I remembered first walking in here last time, when I thought the salty scent in the air smelled like the ocean. And I’d found it relaxing. It’d felt light and airy, and I’d thought it was the coolest thing. Then everything had changed. I hated how much that night affected me still to this day.
“Dean, you better get back down there before Tennessee gives all of our refugees PTSD,” Jackson said with a laugh. “I’m pretty sure those little kids aren’t gonna be sleeping tonight.”
“Ah, man,” Dean grumbled. “They’re already freaked out.”
I shook myself and refocused on the people in the room with me. Tegan and Hunter were on their knees in the middle of the room, with the Ouija board open on the floor. Beneath it was that same pentagram drawn in salt like before. I sighed and sank to my knees next to Hunter. I knew the rules. We had to sit boy-girl-boy-girl. Balance and all that shit. In my peripheral vision, I saw Jackson shake Dean’s hand then shut the door after he left. I felt the heat of Jackson’s body as he dropped to his knees beside me.
Bettina, Tegan whispered into my mind. Just breathe. This is not going to be like last time. We’re in control. You’re not alone. Pull that energy back in for me, ‘kay? Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and woosah.
I closed my eyes as she’d said and nodded. She was right. Jackson had said the same thing to me. We were four powerful witches, with another standing just down the stairs—one who could be up here in the blink of an eye. Not to mention Dean, his father the Major of Charleston, and all of the witches downstairs who we’d evacuated from Edenburg. We had our own mini army here if things went bad. These thoughts helped bring my pulse down to a normal level.
When I opened my eyes, I found Tegan waving her hands over the board, and salt hovered in the air above it like a cloud. It floated up by our faces, little pieces of snow falling from the sky. I glanced to Jackson and Hunter, but they both just shrugged. Tegan being Tegan.
“For what we seek is deep and dire, We see thy words burned in fire,” she chanted softly.
My eyes widened. That was definitely new. We hadn’t done that last time.
Tegan smiled calmly. “Paulina told me this trick to ease the communication with the spirits. It’s a trick only for The Coven. It allows the spirit to speak to us quicker, without having to hover over each of the letters. We want him or her to tell us as much as possible.”
“Oh. Wow.” I blinked and looked at the salt floating in front of me. “Cool.”
Jackson cleared his throat. “All right, Tegan. You going to lead us?”
She shook her head. “No, Bettina has to. We need her to try and connect with that same spirit. The rest of us need to stay quiet until we do.”
“Lovely,” I grumbled. I’d been hoping to take a back seat for this adventure.
“We still all have to touch—and hold—the planchette, though. So grab on.” Tegan leaned forward and put both of her middle and pointer fingers on the triangular object. “Just these fingers.”
The three of us put our fingers on the planchette, and every single candle in the room lit up. Tiny orange flames flickered all around us. My pulse skipped. My stomach dropped.
Relax, y’all. That’s normal for our kind of power. Stay calm. Dad, that’s your cue.
A golden mist filled the room, surrounding us in a comfy fog. All of the tension in my body lifted. My breaths came easier. I stopped clenching my teeth. Jackson rolled his shoulders and nodded.
Thanks, Dad, Tegan said in our minds. Now, B. You remember how to do this?
I met her stare and nodded. Even though I wished I didn’t. It was at times like this that I wished I was a bit of a coward, because then someone else would have to do it. But I wasn’t, so I had to buckle up and go for it. I licked my lips then pushed the planchette around the board in a circle shape, the others helping me move it along.
“I call upon the spirits around us,” I chanted slowly and steadily. “I seek a familiar soul I met here before.”
A gust of air rushed over our heads. The windows were closed.
“Spirit, are you here?”
The planchette moved to hover over the word YES.
I swallowed and nodded. “Hello. I’m Bettina. Have we spoken before?”
YES.
The others exchanged glances.
“Who are you?”
The planchette moved over to the rows of letters, except instead of spelling the words out by individual letters, the words appeared in the air between us…in thin, burning lines.
MAX MILLER.
I gasped. Tegan’s eyes widened. Jackson frowned. Hunter closed his eyes.
“Max… Max, why are you here still?” I knew this wasn’t on our agenda, but I couldn’t stop myself from asking. This boy had died almost a year ago, yet his spirit was still here. “Max?”
Again, his words appeared in flames.
I DON’T KNOW.
STUCK.
CAN YOU HELP ME?
My heart sank. This poor soul. I didn’t understand how this had happened. How souls got stuck in the in-between, not passing on. I didn’t know what to say to him, how to help him. I looked across from me to Tegan.
You’ve got this, Tegan whispered into my mind.
“Max, I think I can help you, but I have to do some research first, okay?”
OKAY. THANK YOU.
“But…Max, before I can do that…I am trying to contact another spirit—”
THE ONE WHO INTERRUPTED LAST TIME?
I gasped. “Yes. Yes, exactly. Max, is that spirit nearby?”
YES. SHE’S THE ONE WHO TOLD ME TO COME HERE FOR HELP.
Tegan’s eyes lit up, and I felt her excitement.
I licked my lips and tried to keep my voice steady, despite my racing pulse. “Do you know where she is now?”
DOWNSTAIRS.
Hunter and Jackson sat up straight, but they didn’t let go of the planchette.
I’LL GO GET HER.
There was another gust of wind, and then the room fell silent.
“No one move,” Tegan whispered. “And we have to save Max’s soul when this is all over, okay?”
All three of us nodded.
I sighed and my breath came out in a white cloud. The windows frosted over until they were solid ice. The hardwood floor vibrated. Salt rose in the air, hovering around our bodies. My whole body trembled. OH SHIT. This is it. It’s happening again. I gasped and my teeth chattered together.
Tegan grinned and nodded.
“Spirit, are you here with us?”
The planchette moved to the word YES.
“Are you Max?”
It moved to NO.
“Are you the spirit I spoke to before? The one who warned me that they weren’t dead?”
YES.
To my surprise, excitement rushed through my body.
“Can you tell us your name?”
NO.
“Okay. That’s okay. Thank you for warning me about Joseph.”
The air in the room pulsed with electricity. Ice-cold wind slammed into my face then whipped around the room like a tornado.
DID YOU SEEK MYRTLE?
My stomach flipped. “Y-yes. Yes, I did.”
JACKSON IS HERE.
His eyes widened. He nodded.
YOU FOUND MICHAEL’S SWORD?
Jackson’s face paled. “Yes, ma’am.”
All at once, the candle flames turned a bright, vivid blue. The walls rattled and groaned, like someone was pounding on them from the outside.
GOOD. HIS TIME HAS COME.
“Michael’s time?” Jackson asked with a wild expression. “He didn’t take his sword back yet. Tennessee has it.”
Silence. But we weren’t alone. I still felt her presence all around us.
I MUST GO.
“PLEASE, don’t go!” Tegan shouted and closed her eyes. Her rainbow mist spilled out from under her fingers on the planchette. Golden light spilled out from under her knees. There was a flash of light around her head, and then her black hair turned white as snow. She opened her eyes, and my heart sank. They were white and gold again. Except this time, she didn’t pass out. “Spirit, stay. Please.”
The blue flames on the candles turned a metallic, shimmering gold and grew a few inches taller.
TRICKY, TRICKY, AETHER WITCH.
Tegan smiled but it looked creepy with those eyes. “Please, we are desperate. Joseph is winning. Lives have been lost. We don’t know how to beat him.”
ASK TIMOTHY.
My heart screamed in agony. “Timothy is dead. Joseph killed him.”
NO.
YOU LIE.
NO.
“I wish I was lying,” I whispered.
The windows in the room shattered. The candle flames turned dark, dark purple. The walls swayed and the floor trembled. Drops of water dripped down the walls.
Oh, she’s strong, Tegan said into our minds.
Golden light erupted from Hunter and filled the room. It took a few moments, but the shaking finally stopped. The air grew thick and dense, and it weighed down on my shoulders.
“Please help us,” I heard myself beg.
FIND LOCKET.
“Who are you?” Jackson whispered.
FIND LOCKET.
“Please tell us who you are?” Jackson asked again.
There was a moment of silence, and then she spoke again.
FIND LOCKET.
We all sighed. This spirit had just shut down on us.
I exhaled and shook my head. “Do you know how to defeat Joseph?”
FIND LOCKET.
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “Please, tell us something else. We don’t know where the locket is.”
KESSLER FOUND.
I gasped and sat up straight. “Kessler found the locket??”
NO.
“We don’t understand,” Jackson groaned.
FIND LOCKET.
“Where is it?” I begged again.
I’M SORRY.
“For what?”
FORGIVE ME.
Jackson cursed. “We forgive you, but tell us where to find the locket.”
I sighed and pushed my magic into my hands. I didn’t know why—it just felt like the right thing to do. “Help us.”
FIND LOCKET.
PUT TOGETHER.
FIND LOCKET. PUT TOGE—
The door to the room flew open and slammed against the wall.
Tenn stormed in wearing a menacing face and gripping Michael’s sword. The glyph on his chest was emerald green. He pointed to it with his free hand. “What’s wrong?”
The lantern over our head flashed bright white light. The candles turned back to golden flames, and they were about as bright as the sun and as impossible to look at. The ground rumbled, and electricity pulsed through the air. It cracked like lightning. Red flames appeared in front of us again.
TENNESSEE.
We all gasped. Tenn’s eyes widened. He gripped Michael’s sword tighter.
Tegan cleared her throat. “Spirit, is there something you’d like to say to Tennessee?”
There was a long minute of silence, so long that I started to worry she’d left us.
“Spirit? Are you still there?” I asked. “Did you want to talk to Tenn?”
Last time she’d had a message for me and for Jackson, and they turned out to be quite fortuitous. I wanted to know what she had to say to Tennessee.
The planchette moved to the word YES.
Tegan nodded. “What do you want to say to Tennessee?”
The planchette moved back to the letters, and then flaming words appeared.
I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK.
Tennessee turned sheet-white. “Mom?” he whispered.
YES.
Tennessee made a strangled kind of gasping noise, one I’d never heard come out of him. He stumbled back and crashed into the wall. Candles fell over. “Mom?”
YES.
I glanced over to Tegan and found her eyes tearing up. The glyph on her chest was a dark purple. She stared up at her soulmate, and I knew she wanted to run to him. My heart was pounding. Oh my God. This spirit…is Tennessee’s mother??
The fiery words appeared again. HOPE IS NOT LOST.
“MOM?” Tennessee said with a strangled voice.
I’M SORRY.
Tenn’s eyes widened. “Don’t go,” he whispered, staying by the wall.
I MUST.
“Please.”
I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON—
“And back,” Tenn whispered and sank to the floor. His eyes looked haunted and broken.
TEGAN.
“Yes?” she asked with a shaky voice.
TAKE CARE OF HIM FOR ME.
Then, before we could speak again, the planchette moved to GOODBYE.
Tegan leapt to her feet and rushed over to Tenn, her hair already back to black. She dropped to her knees then pulled him into her chest. Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed. His body seemed to be shaking. Tegan had tears running down her cheeks.
I sat there. Frozen. Numb.
I wanted to go to him. To help comfort him. I couldn’t imagine what he was feeling. But I was no one to him. I wasn’t someone who could offer him support like this. He had Tegan, I knew that. Yet, it didn’t feel like enough. I reached out and grabbed ahold of Jackson, then held on tight.
Hunter stepped in front of us with sad eyes. “Leave him,” he whispered and ushered us out the door.
