Six demon-hedges appeared out of nowhere, lunging straight for me. I cursed and scurried back to give myself some room to work. I smelled a wave of Christmassy scent, and then Jackson’s arm wrapped around my waist from behind. His fingers dug into my skin, and then my feet lifted off the ground. Tegan’s legs pressed into my back.
And then I was spinning. I opened my mouth to scream—and then I realized what he was doing.
Michael’s sword swung in a perfect circle, slicing through demon after demon until there was nothing left.
The world wobbled and spun in circles. My stomach turned, and bile rose up my throat. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed through my nose. And then the pressure around my waist vanished. My knees hit the pebbles and I winced. I threw my arms out to catch my fall, but they buckled and gave out. My face hit the ground, and then I rolled onto my back. My stomach turned again. I squeezed my eyes shut. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up.
“You okay, love?”
I opened my eyes and found him standing over me, one leg on either side of me, Tegan still draped over his left shoulder. His aquamarine eyes sparkled down at me and his golden bronze hair was all tangled around the crown. I sighed. He was too beautiful. It wasn’t fair.
Then he crouched down a little. “Bettina?”
“Did you…just…use me…”—I groaned and licked my lips—“to use…his sword?”
Jackson grinned. “Personally, I thought it was brilliant.”
I chuckled and wrapped my arms around my still rolling stomach. “Patting yourself on the back for that idea?”
“Maybe I’ve been hanging around this one too long, eh?” He chuckled and held his hand out for me. “Figured I couldn’t hold the sword, but I could hold you.”
I leaned down with my hands on my knees and just breathed. I was drained. “They all gone?”
“Yeah, but we need to get out of here before more come ‘round. You okay to walk?”
“In theory.” I nodded and stood up straight. “We need to get her to Holy Land. Do you know where that might be?”
“Yes.” He frowned. “Well, in theory.”
“Just try to warn me if you’re going to spin me again, ‘kay?” I groaned and picked Michael’s sword up off the ground, but I wasn’t quite ready for the weight and I stumbled.
Jackson threw his hand out and caught me by the elbow. He pulled me flush to his side then wrapped his arm around my waist. “Come on. We’ll hobble to the Holy Land together.”
Chapter Eight
Bettina
“Are you sure this is Holy Land?” I frowned and looked up at the little wooden building. “I mean, it’s a church, but does that mean it’s on Holy Land?”
“Yes and no.” Jackson sighed. Beads of sweat rolled down his neck and gathered on his forehead under the crown. “Not all religious buildings sit on actual Holy Land. That’s not something humans can recognize. However, I do know that this church does.”
“Oh.” I glanced over my shoulder toward the path we’d just taken. “We can’t be even a mile from the park.”
“Fun fact, demons are drawn to Holy Land.” Jackson tugged on my arm and pulled me down the sidewalk with him. “They can’t get on it, but they’re drawn to its power.”
“That…that actually makes sense.” I hurried to keep pace with him. “Where are we going?”
Jackson paused outside of a gate. “Through here, for some…privacy.”
I nodded and stepped up to the gate—and it swung open. My eyes widened.
“Guess having an angel’s sword is helpful,” Jackson said with a chuckle. He winked at me then stepped through the gate.
I followed him around a wooden terrace and into the middle of a colorful garden full of angel statues. We were on a patch of grass surrounded by a ring of tall plants. Jackson gently laid Tegan on her back. Her long black and purple hair fanned out around her head. Her skin was pale, but her pulse beat strong in the vein on her neck.
“Now what?” I whispered.
“No idea.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and hit a few buttons, then I heard ringing over his speakerphone.
“Are you on Holy Land?” Tennessee snapped into the phone.
“Yes,” we both yelled at the same time.
“Katherine,” he growled.
There was a beat of silence, and then Katherine’s sweet voice came through the line. “Okay, do you have me on speakerphone?”
“Yes,” we both said at the same time. Again.
“Good. Lay the phone down by Tegan’s ear. Then both of you put both of your hands on the ground next to her—”
“I only have one.”
“You only have one what?”
“Arm.” Jackson glared at his right arm. “The other got paralyzed by a snail in France.”
Katherine gasped. “Lou Carcolh?”
Jackson’s face paled. “Yes. You’ve heard of it? Can you heal me?”
“Not over the phone, and not pleasantly, but yes.” Katherine cursed. “Okay, do you still have Michael’s sword?”
“Yeah,” we both said together.
“All right. Place the sword next to her left arm, but don’t let it touch her. The energy coming off of it should help balance out Jackson’s one arm.”
We jumped to our feet and switched sides so he was on her left side, with the sword in between. Then we pressed our palms to the cold grass.
I looked up at Jackson and nodded. “We’re ready.”
“I’m going to recite the spell. I need you both to push your magic into the earth until I finish the spell. Got it? That’s all you have to do.”
“Got it,” we both said. It was really getting annoying now.
I stared down at Tegan, and my heart sank. My body turned colder. Her skin was too pale, too white. Her breathing too slow.
Katherine cleared her throat. Then she chanted that same spell Myrtle had said the last time. I pushed my magic into the grass as hard as I could. It was dangerous. Tegan had said I was nearing Witch’s Shock, but I would risk that for her. She would do it for me. Blue flames coiled around Jackson’s hand. I looked down and grinned at the ice spreading out from under my palm.
I wished, not for the first time, that I knew the ancient language so I knew what they were saying. I wanted to be able to do this for my best friend if it happened again. It needs to not happen again.
Déjà vu slammed into me as Tegan’s body shot off the ground and hovered a foot in the air. It was exactly like last time, but scarier since we were here alone with her. Her back arched and her arms flailed out to the side. Bright white light exploded out of her. I hissed and shielded my eyes. The light went out, and I looked back at her just as she dropped. Her back hit the ground, and she gasped for air. I braced myself for the next part. I knew it was coming. Yet still, when she opened her eyes and those white and gold eyes stared back at me, my breath left me in a rush.
Light shimmered around her head and then slid across her hair…turning the dark black strands to icy white. In the beat of a second, her hair went from midnight to fresh snow. Not again. What does this mean?
I leaned over her and smiled. “Tegan?”
Nothing. She just stared at the sky.
“Tegan, can you hear me?”
Jackson leaned over, too, and frowned. “Tegan, we’re here.”
“Is she breathing?” Katherine asked.
“Yes,” we both said together.
I shook my head. “Tegan, can you hear us?”
“TEGAN!” Tennessee shouted through the phone right next to her ear.
Her whole body jerked. She blinked and looked around, but her eyes had a fogged look to them. “Haven?” she whispered.
“What?” Tennessee breathed into the phone. “What does that mean? Why does she keep saying that? TEGAN, WAKE UP.”
She gasped and jumped up. Suddenly she was all the way across the lawn, crouched like a cat on a fence. She blinked and looked around.
I crawled clo
ser. “Tegan?”
Her white and gold eyes met mine in an instant. “Tennessee.”
“I’m here,” he said with a sigh. “In the phone.”
Jackson picked it up and ran over to her, then he crouched down and held it out. “Here.”
She grabbed it and held it up by her mouth. “I’m okay.”
“Liar,” he growled. “I can feel that you’re not. And I hear it.”
She rolled her white and gold eyes, and it was the creepiest thing I’d ever seen. “I said I’m okay, not totally normal, babe.”
“Get. Home. Now.”
She closed her eyes then flopped back down onto the grass. “Not gonna happen, babe. Imma need a minute.”
“Jackson?” Katherine said through the phone.
He arched his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“She needs to sleep it off. Do you know somewhere safe you can go?”
Jackson opened his mouth then shut it. He frowned. Then he cursed and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. It’s nearby.”
Tennessee sighed. “Call me when you get there.”
Tegan smirked. “Breathe, babe. I’m gonna be fine,” she said, but her voice was fading.
I grabbed the phone and turned off speaker, then held it up to my ear. “We’ll call you as soon as we get to safety.”
Then I hung up and turned to Jackson. “Where is this place we can go?”
“The Lancaster estate.” He pulled King Henry’s crown off of his head, then stared down at it. “I have to go home.”
Chapter Nine
Jackson
“You sure this is the right place, kid?” the taxi driver grumbled. He leaned forward and looked through his windshield. “This don’t look like a place for teenagers.”
I chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. If only he knew I held a six-hundred-year-old crown of a king in my hand. “This is it. Just pull up to the gate, and we’ll get out there.”
“All right…” He whistled and shook his head as he slowly drove up the winding path up to the front of the property.
The Lancaster estate wasn’t exactly somewhere you could walk up to. No one came here on accident. You didn’t just stumble upon it. Well, unless you were a tourist determined to see every single castle in England. Then you’d find our place.
I leaned against the door and looked out my window. It was surreal to be back here. It felt like it’d been a lifetime, yet also a blink of an eye at the same time. I’d never forget the cab driver’s face when I told him where to bring us. I glanced over at the girls, and anxiety rippled through me. Tegan was mostly asleep against the opposite window. Bettina was chewing on her fingernails and staring straight ahead. I wasn’t sure who I was more nervous to bring home.
Me. It’s me I’m most nervous about.
The car rolled to a stop, and the driver turned in his seat. “Want me to wait around for a few minutes?”
I smiled and opened my door. “That won’t be necessary, but thank you.”
“Tegan, we’re here,” Bettina whispered and nudged her best friend. “Wake up.”
Tegan gasped and sat upright. She blinked and threw her door open. “I’m going.”
As they climbed out of the car, I handed the driver some cash that I’d gotten from an ATM right before we got in. “Thank you.”
He grinned. “Good luck, kid.”
I smiled then slid out of the car and slammed the door shut. Outside, the air was cold and a little damp. I took a deep breath and inhaled that clean, open-air scent. The smell…the smell definitely felt like home.
Home.
This technically was my home. I was born here. I grew up here. My entire family lived here. But…it just didn’t feel like home. It used to, back before my parents shipped me off to Eden. Guess I understood that now. I wished coming back here made me feel happy. Excited. Instead, all I felt was nervous and anxious.
“This can’t be the right place,” Bettina mumbled.
“It is,” I said with a sigh and looked up at the family estate. “This is home.”
“Wow.” Bettina’s jaw hung open as she spun in circles.
It was wow. That was true. Even I had forgotten just how beautiful it was here. Everything around us was a vibrant shade of green, red, and orange as autumn was still clinging on. The trees were tall and lush. The grass and plants were thriving and full of life. There were no streetlights, no cars rushing by, no loud noises. It was just us for miles.
In front of us, there was a red brick wall that wrapped around the property. I cleared my throat and led the girls up the road to where the brick wall opened up into tall pointed archways with a black wrought-iron gate between.
“Uh, Jackson, incoming,” Bettina whispered and tugged on my sleeve.
“Excuse me!” a man shouted a second later from off to our left. “Stop right there!”
I turned and plastered a smile on my face. The man running toward us was the security guard. He raced over with a phone pressed to his ear and a clipboard in hand. Somehow I’d forgotten about the security hut out here. Probably because as a resident, we never stopped here.
“Excuse me, children, but this is private property,” the guard said in a rush.
“I know that.”
He shook his head. “Get back in your cab and leave.”
“No. We’re going inside, thanks.” I smiled and nodded then strolled toward the gate.
“That’s not how this works! I have to check you out first,” he shouted and chased after us. “What is your name?”
I stepped up to the gate, and it flew open in an instant. I glanced over my shoulder to the guard, then slid King Henry’s crown back onto my head. “Jackson Lancaster.”
The guard’s jaw dropped. “Ja-Jackson L-Lanc-caster?”
“That’s right. I’m here to see my parents.” I gave him a thumbs-up, and his gaze latched on to my red rose tattoo. “Have a great day, sir.”
With that, I turned and led the girls through the gate.
“Who opened the gate?” Bettina said as she hobbled next to me, half holding Tegan up and dragging Michael’s sword.
I shrugged. “I did.”
“How?”
“Magic?”
She frowned. “I thought your family lost their magic six hundred years ago?”
“Old, old, old magic here. So old. Very old,” Tegan mumbled.
“The Lancaster line has owned this estate for four thousand years. When it was built, it served as Coven Headquarters. When Eden relocated, as it often does, this was their vacation spot.” I shrugged. “Then when the Romans took over two thousand years ago, my family retreated here.”
“Bloody hell,” Bettina whispered.
“You don’t say.” I chuckled. “The property was destroyed a few times then rebuilt. I’ve lost track. This was a vacation spot again in the Middle Ages when a Lancaster became Coven Leader again and they moved back to London to Buckingham Palace. Then when Henry lost our magic, what was left of our line moved here. They’ve been here ever since.”
She blinked and shook her head. “Wait, how many Lancasters live here?” Her voice was strained from trying to carry the sword.
“That’s a really good question. I know my parents and my father’s parents are here. Some aunts, uncles, and cousins, as well.” I pursed my lips and tried to recall. “I guess we’ll find out. My father is the head of the family, though.”
“That’s…cool.” She just stared up ahead.
I didn’t blame her. I knew how all of this sounded. I knew what this place looked like. The estate sat back on the property a bit, but it stood out among everything. Between us and it was a winding path about half a mile long that went up the side of the estate, then over the lake.
Bettina cursed and laughed. “This place looks like the house from Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Darcy’s house.”
“The story says that Jane Austen wrote the book here.”
“What?” Bettina froze and the sword clanked against the road. “No. No, I thought
rumor was she was inspired by that estate Chatsworth or something.”
That made me smile. “Just like Buckingham Palace was built in the nineteenth century.”
Her jaw dropped. I laughed and continued up the road.
There was a soft beeping noise, and then someone yelled, “Mr. Lancaster! Mr. Lancaster!”
I stopped and turned in time to see a fancy-ass-looking golf cart pull up next to us. The security guard fumbled and stumbled out. I arched one eyebrow and he squirmed. His face was pale.
“Um…uh…my sincerest apologies, Mr. Lancaster.” He cleared his throat and gestured toward the golf cart. “We were not expecting you. We thought… Well…we thought you were still on your quest—”
I frowned. “What do you know about that?”
He chuckled nervously and fidgeted with his shirt. “I’m Louis, your cousin, about seven times removed, I’d say. It’s an honor to meet you, especially today. Please, I am sorry for before. It’s been the craziest day. Allow me to drive you up to the house? You all must be tired.”
“Oh, yay!” Tegan giggled and slid onto the third row of the golf cart.
“Thank you.”
Louis grinned and ran back over to the driver’s seat.
Once Bettina and I were sitting securely in the second row, he drove off down the road. Bettina was silent the entire drive, but I just let her be. I couldn’t imagine seeing this place as a stranger.
“Wait a second,” I said and leaned forward. “What do you mean, especially today?”
He grinned over his shoulder. “Today, the day you found the sword and gave us our magic back, of course! It’s been wild. We all woke up at dawn sprouting magic from our fingertips. Your father told the family you must’ve gotten called on by Michael. Congratulations, by the way. The whole family is proud of you.”
The whole family.
My stomach dropped.
They woke up at dawn. With magic.
Holy shit.
Holy bloody mother of comets.
The golf cart slowed to a stop just as my mind was exploding. Bettina was mumbling about the house, and Tegan was just being Tegan. But I couldn’t think straight. I’d always been told by my parents that if I succeeded and passed Michael’s test that the family would get their magic back. I only realized just in that moment that I hadn’t given much thought to it. I hadn’t realized it would come back as soon as I found the sword.
The Frozen Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 4) Page 4
