The Empire Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  “He’s up there already.” Caroline pointed to her left, toward the ball drop. “We need to move up closer to 42nd street so we can be in the confetti when midnight hits. Trust me, it’s more fun up there. That’s why Deacon, Noah, Oliver, and Christian went ahead of us, to get a spot before the chaos begins.”

  Begins? THIS isn’t chaos? I thought chaos had started this morning. But I didn’t want to know what the real chaos looked like, so if that meant getting closer then I’d take the New Yorker’s word for it. Caroline gave me a thumbs-up before turning and walking to the front of our little group. I followed after her as I scooped up the very last bite of yogurt then put it in my mouth. I savored the final bits of flavor, then frowned. I wasn’t going to hold this cup all night.

  “Okay, hold on, imma throw this away,” I shouted to Caroline over my shoulder as I pushed my way through the crowd toward the garbage can at the edge of the sidewalk.

  Screaming echoed down the street and it was getting closer by the second. I frowned.

  And then I felt it.

  Magic.

  Strong magic.

  Familiar magic.

  Coven magic.

  Except I couldn’t tell who it was. But I knew this magic, which meant someone in The Coven was here and was in trouble. I hiked my dress up, then pushed through the crowd to the corner just as a girl in a long purple gown and bright red hair rounded the opposite corner from me.

  I frowned and stepped closer. “Saffie?” No, it couldn’t be.

  The girl glanced over her shoulder and I saw her face.

  “SAFFIE!”

  But she didn’t hear me. Her face was sheet white and her lavender eyes were full of fear. And then a small army of men dressed in gold metal armor rounded the same corner. Saffie screamed and sprinted even faster. The men chasing her picked up speed. They raised their swords in the air and something sparkled from their backs — I gasped.

  WINGS!

  THOSE ARE SEELIE KNIGHTS!

  OH SHIT!

  “SAFFIE!” I sprinted across the street, then slid to a stop and glanced behind me. “MARCY! CAROLINE!”

  But they didn’t hear me either, not amid this chaos and loudness. I cursed and chased after Saffie. I’d have to find my friends after because I was not abandoning Saffie while she was in trouble. I dug my heels in and sprinted as hard and as fast as I could. They were too far ahead of me for comfort. I had to catch up, but there were too many damn people in my way.

  I needed Deacon’s magic — Deacon! Without taking my eyes off those Fae knights backs, I dug into my jacket pocket and pulled out my cellphone. I held it up near my mouth and yelled, “Hey Siri, call Deacon on speakerphone!”

  “Calling Deacon smiling purple face with horns red lips black heart on speakerphone…”

  “MOVE,” I screamed and pushed a little of my magic into my words.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Emersyn

  By the grace of the Goddess, people actually jumped out of my way enough for me to zip up the middle of the sidewalk. My magic burned, wanting to come out but I had to hold it in and I hated that. I had fire at my fingertips. I could’ve lit these knights on fire without them seeing it coming but I couldn’t with all these damn humans.

  Something large slammed into the side of me. I stumbled sideways, throwing my arms wildly to try and catch my balance. I felt my phone slip out of my hand and then my shoulder hit a pole and I was spun in a circle. Large hands gripped my shoulders and steadied me.

  “You okay miss?”

  “THANK YOU!” I shouted then sprinted away.

  I made it to the next corner before I realized I’d dropped my phone. SHIT. I slid to a stop and looked back to where I’d been hit, but there had to be thirty people in between. My phone was nowhere in sight.

  “Shit, shit, shit!”

  It was too late. I couldn’t go back and look for it. Poor Deacon was probably screaming for me through it by now, worried about where I was. Especially since I’d ditched the girls at the yogurt shop. And thanks to our soulmate glyph finishing and the ceremony, I knew he was feeling the panicked pulse of my heart that felt like a runaway train on greased-up tracks. I knew he was feeling my fear, yet there was nothing I could do about that now.

  I had to focus on Saffie.

  And I was almost to her. Just a little bit farther. I could see her wild red hair flying maybe forty feet ahead. Except there were a dozen or more armored Seelie knights between me and her and far too many human eyes for me to do a damn thing yet.

  Just a little bit farther.

  I looked up ahead of Saffie and gasped. That was Central Park. She was headed straight for it. Yes, brilliant, Saffie! Go, go, go! The park would be empty and dark right now, and then I could light these winged jerks up. I dug my heels in and pushed my legs harder. My thighs burned and my feet were screaming, but I just pushed harder.

  I’m coming, Saffie.

  Almost there.

  It was New Year’s Eve, less than an hour from midnight, and not a single cop stopped or even blinked at the people sprinting up 7th Avenue. I also didn’t understand how these knights hadn’t caught up to her yet. Even back at full size, she was barely over five feet tall. They should have caught her by now. None of this made sense. They weren’t even trying to attack her.

  Unless it’s a trap.

  I glanced at the cops and my heart sank. There was Fae magic all around them. These damn Seelies were leading Saffie right where they wanted her. Oh shit. To Central Park! I bet there’s an opening to the Seelie tunnels! I opened my mouth to scream out for her, then stopped. The last thing I needed was for the knights to realize I was back there.

  Saffie ran straight across 59th Street and right through the center of Central Park. Hurry, EM. Catch her before they trap her! The Fae were hot on her heels, closer than they had been this whole time and it made my stomach tighten into knots. They had to be planning something.

  The second I crossed into the park, I summoned my magic – forcing smoke to fill the air behind me. I couldn’t risk blinding myself, but I could give us an extra layer of coverage. The humans would just assume it was fog. I glanced over my shoulder, there were still too many people near the entrance of the park and Saffie was running right up the paved road.

  Almost…there…I twirled my wrists and summoned my flames into my palms.

  The second the knights crossed into the grassy field, I threw my fire. Bright orange flames hit the knights backs, then exploded in the air.

  “SAFFIE!”

  She slid to a stop just as the knights spun on me. My stomach turned. There had to be two dozen of them at least. They drew their swords and their sparkling translucent wings flapped behind their backs.

  “Don’t touch her,” I growled and shot fire balls at them one after another.

  They shouted in pain and staggered back with each flame that hit them but they kept coming back. No matter how many times I hit them.

  “SAFFIE!” I screamed again.

  She frowned, then narrowed her eyes like she was trying to place my face. Then I remembered – her memory was gone. She had no idea who I was. SHIT. I was going to have to do this on my own, and focus on the knights.

  I planted my feet, then threw flame after flame, lighting the night sky up with my magic. I felt my heart flutter, except it wasn’t my heart at all. Deacon. He was probably seeing fire shooting from the treetops by now and panicking. I knew he was coming. I just had to stall. To hold my ground.

  One of the knights jumped up and swung his long sword down at me. I threw my hand up and he froze in the air. His arms and legs swung wildly but his body was stuck in place — I gasped. HIS ARMOR IS METAL.

  I swung my arm to the left and the guy flew through the air across the park.

  YES.

  I turned on the other knights and grinned. “Come and get me, boys.”

  They charged for me. I threw both hands out and let my magic grab ahold of their metal armor. They shouted and
squirmed against me, but my grip was strong. I curled my fingers in and they all flew toward me, their boots dragging through the snow. I lifted them up in the air then slammed them as hard as I could into the ground.

  Bright light lit up all around me. I gasped and glanced down only to find it was me. My body was glowing. Sometimes I forgot it did that. The knights were scrambling to get back up – or most of them were. Some were lying motionless on the ground.

  “SAFFIE!” I yelled over my shoulder.

  Some of the knights got to their feet, so I threw them face-first into the big boulders. When I turned back, I found the knights had gotten smart. They’d peeled off their metal armor so I couldn’t control it.

  One of them sprinted toward me, screaming.

  I flicked my wrist and bright orange flames swallowed him whole.

  But I was so distracted by my own rage that I hadn’t seen a few of the knights sneak around behind me until they tackled me to the ground. I curled my wrists and flames covered my body. And that was my second mistake. Their sharp gazes tracked my movements and then their eyes widened. They dove for my wrists, dodging my flames long enough to yank my bracelets off my wrists. Glittery magic flashed and my bracelets disintegrated into dust.

  NO! Damn it. TEGAN! Why can’t I be a telepath too, damn it?

  I pushed back on my shoulders then swung my legs, kicking two of them in the face. I rolled to my side, grabbed one of their fallen swords and jumped up. They charged for me but I was no damsel in distress.

  This was not my first rodeo.

  I rolled to the balls of my feet then sprinted right at them. I ducked and sliced the Fae sword through one of their knees. He screamed and dropped to the ground, but I kept moving. I leapt into the air and spun like a figure skater, sliding right over another knight’s back. When my feet hit the ground, I dropped down and slammed my blade into his gut. Blood splashed all over me but that also wasn’t the first time.

  As he dropped, I peeled his sword from his dead fingers. But I’d never excelled with two swords. An idea popped into my head, it was something straight out of Star Wars but I was going to roll with it. I slammed the two hilts together end-to-end and pushed with my magic. The metal melted and merged together, giving me a double-sided sword.

  I twirled it in my hands, then grinned. “Not too shabby for a cheerleader, eh?”

  The knights yelled and raced toward me. They thought they had me since they took my fire from me, but I was more than just that. I charged forward, ducking and dodging as I went. I dropped to one knee and swung my weapon through the air, slicing two of the knights in half.

  Oh shit, what kind of swords are these?

  I jumped up and looked down at my mega-weapon and gasped. Fire covered every inch of both blades. But my bracelets were gone. I held one hand up and pushed with my magic. A bright orange fireball formed in my palm. I frowned and tossed it at the knight closest to me. Then I summoned another and another. My fire billowed from my hand. I switched my weapon to my left hand, then summoned fire to my right. It answered immediately.

  I grinned. “Well now, would you look at that?”

  I thought I needed the bracelets to create fire. Apparently, that was wrong. Tegan had lied to me. I was going to have words with my twin later, but I didn’t have time to contemplate it now. There were still at least a dozen Fae gunning for me.

  “Wanna stop and talk this out?” I tossed a fireball up in the air like a baseball. “Or do you wanna die?”

  They charged for me.

  “Okay, death it is.”

  I leapt forward and swung my fiery sword while throwing flames all around me. For a few moments, I was lost to it. Consumed by the rage burning through my veins. I lit the sky orange.

  “NO!” Saffie screamed behind me.

  Golden, glittery mist filled the air around me – and a knight dropped dead at my feet behind me. I gasped and spun around and met Saffie’s wide gaze. I lit up a wall of fire behind me then leapt toward her just as a dark hole opened up in the middle of the tree trunk right behind her. I tried to scream for her but it happened too fast. A knight jumped out of the hole and wrapped his arm around Saffie’s waist then yanked her back. Saffie screamed.

  “NO!” I grabbed the dead knight’s sword and threw it as hard as I could, pushing with every ounce of my magic.

  The long sword shot like a rocket through the air with fire coiling around the blade. It flew strong and straight and zipped right through the tunnel opening just as it snapped shut.

  “NO. SAFFIE!”

  I spun and saw only fire. Flames danced down my arms and from the tips of my hair. Embers floated all around me. My blades were molten hot and ready to leave no mercy. I wanted to take these knights down one by one, but I held back. The Seelies had taken Saffie and I needed to know why. I needed to know where and how to get her back.

  I needed answers and these knights were going to give them to me.

  But they had to be alive for that.

  I threw my hand out in front of me and all of the fire in this snowy courtyard flew toward me. I narrowed my eyes and pictured a rope. The flames bunched together, melding into a thin narrow strip of fire. I gripped the end and whipped it around over my head like a cowboy in the rodeo and lassoed them with my fire-rope. They hissed and screamed and tried to budge.

  Red smoke wrapped around them and they all froze. Their eyes glossed over.

  Deacon.

  I looked up and found him on the other side of the snow-covered field watching me with wide eyes. His shoulders rose and fell rapidly. His face was sheet white. He stumbled a few steps then fell into an easy jog. When he got to me, he was a little winded.

  He gripped the side of my face with one hand and forced my eyes up to his. “What…the…hell….”

  I grimaced. “Sorry. I saw Saffie.”

  His jaw dropped. “Saffie?”

  “You saw her?”

  I gasped and spun around at the sound of my sister’s voice. “TEGAN!”

  She looked to me and her green eyes widened. “Emersyn.” She vanished then reappeared at my side.

  “I’m fine—”

  “You’re covered in blood, twin.”

  “You also have a dozen Seelie knights tied together,” Tenn said from right behind her. He strolled over and stopped in front of my victims. “I don’t disapprove…but curious, ya know?”

  “I was standing on 7th Avenue when suddenly Saffie goes running by — with these guys chasing her.” I tugged on my fire-rope and they hissed. “Then while I was defending myself and Saffie, one of them popped out of the Seelie tunnel and snatched her. They have Saffie and I want answers.”

  All of a sudden, the ground opened up under the knights and they fell into a black hole.

  We gasped and leapt back as the hole sealed shut.

  “DAMN IT.” Tenn scrubbed his face with his hands.

  Tegan cursed. “I felt Saffie come out. I felt her presence. But we were surrounded by humans down in New Orleans. I couldn’t portal or anything, had to fight our way through the madness to where I could. THEN I felt you calling for me—”

  I jumped. “You felt that?”

  Tegan nodded. “No words or anything, I just felt you.”

  Deacon groaned and bent over and leaned on his knees. “I’m going to vomit.”

  Tenn cocked his head to the side. “You okay?”

  “No, I’m not okay!” Deacon coughed. “I just ate a ton of McDonald’s and then this one disappears. And then I get a phone call she’s not on the other end of and I just hear screaming and then I see pillars of fire coming from the park. Goddess, I just ran twenty blocks.”

  Tenn nodded. “Yeah, being able to feel each other’s pulse and shit is not as much fun as it sounds.”

  I walked over to my soulmate and rubbed his back. “I’m sorry, I saw Saffie and I panicked. I dropped my phone while I was calling you.”

  “It’s okay, I would’ve done the same, but damn that food is about to co
me back out.”

  Tegan rubbed her hands together. “So the Seelie were chasing her…and then they got her. I need to talk to Keltie. I need more information than she gave us on Christmas Eve.”

  “Is there nothing else we can do here?” I pointed to the tree that she’d been sucked through. “I mean, she was just here.”

  Tegan shook her head. “We all almost died last time we went into the Seelie tunnels, especially me. We can’t go in there.”

  “Besides, time and space work differently for the Fae. Even if we went in where she did, we could still never find her.” Tenn sighed and put his hands on his hips. “I wish it were that easy — what are you holding?”

  I frowned and looked down. “Oh, I made a weapon in a pinch.” I held it up.

  Tenn’s eyebrows shot up. “Is that a double-sided long sword with fire wrapping around it? Is that what I’m seeing? Tell me that’s what I’m seeing.”

  I chuckled. “Yeah. That’s what you’re seeing. I kinda panicked because the knights broke my bracelets and so I had to forge a weapon from their scrap. But turns out my sister is a dirty rotten liar, and I never needed the bracelets at all.”

  Tegan grinned. “You were freaked out by your magic back then, twin. So I took the fear out of it by giving you those bracelets. They let you channel your magic without anxiety.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, I guess. Wish I would’ve figured this out sooner.”

  Tenn ruffled my hair. “That’s a dangerous game you shouldn’t play. You know now.”

  “Yeah. Yeah, true.” I held my weapon up and smiled. “I’d really like to keep this.”

  Tegan stepped in front of me and met my eyes. “Picture in your mind a necklace you’d like to turn this into.”

  My stomach tightened into knots. “Oh, God, no pressure.”

  Tegan rolled her eyes. “You can change it any time. Okay, just picture the one I’m wearing to start.”

  “Okay…” I looked down at her clear quartz crystal hanging from her neck.

  “Now repeat after me…Take this image in my mind, transform my sword forever in kind. Hold until my choice is reassigned, for the magic inside is mine to bind.”