I rolled my eyes at how casually he was discussing my death. “Can I choose?”
His eyebrows flew up and he slowly nodded. “It is only fair, I suppose.”
I wet my lips and put my hands on the wooden platform behind me. “Wizard duel.”
He threw his hands in the air. “Now, we are back to killing you with magic.”
I shrugged. “Then be more creative. If I’m going to die, I want a fighting chance. Call off the Black Dog and we’ll do this the right way.”
Folding his arms, he sighed. “Fine, but remember that you chose this. You have no way of defending yourself. Getting creative means that it will be painful and messy. On second thought, let’s do this.” He nodded to the Black Dog, who hesitated for a second. “Just go, she can’t harm me with her lip gloss and chewing gum. I’ll be fine. Secure the kids and I’ll follow with Noah.”
“Yes, sir.” The guardian headed back to the tent.
Gulping, I pulled myself up onto the platform and went to the far end. Westerbrook hopped up and swung his wand, knocking the chairs and podium off the platform to give us a clear area.
I planted my feet to keep from shaking. I had to figure out how to defeat a crazy wizard without dying. No big deal, right? I had read plenty of stories about witches beating the odds and winning in the history books. I could do this.
I calmed my nerves and put on the most serious face I had. “Any final words, Lord Westerbrook?”
He laughed. “You have guts, I’ll give you that. It’s a shame that you’re broken, Celeste. You would have done well in our new coven.”
“No. I wouldn’t. I don’t believe in enslaving people to get what I want.” I squared my shoulders and held my breath as I ran through every option I could come up with.
“Oh!” Westerbrook put his hands up to stop my next thought. “I forgot. We need a judge.” He made a circular motion with his wand and flicked it back and forth. I didn’t know why he was using a summoning spell, until I saw Benjamin and Carson walking towards the stage.
“Leave them out of this.” I balled up my fists, wishing that I could punch him in the face.
“Do you want to rethink your plan? Are you going to bargain or barter for your guys over there? Surrendering would be much easier. If you just jump in the river it would save me a lot of time.” Westerbrook smiled and shrugged as if I would simply comply.
“I’m going to make my death as hard as possible for you. Clearly, you have a problem with killing unarmed witches; otherwise, you would have done it by now.”
“True. I am cold and calculating, but I have a soft spot for children. Truth be told, you remind me of my daughter. Regardless, I have ways of pressuring you into doing what I want. I’ll bet that river is looking pretty good right about now. Or maybe I should have one of them take a dip in the river?” His bright smile burned my insides until I couldn’t see straight.
“You will not harm them. Stop messing around and finish this.” I bent my knees slightly and shifted my heel. Raising my arms, I prepared myself for whatever he might throw at me.
Sighing, he shrugged. “It’s your funeral, smart girl. To make your death appear natural or at the very least accidental, this will be complicated and painful. You wanted creative, so here it is. “Invoca apa din aer și umple-i plămânii”!
My brain watched Westerbrook’s wand moving in slow-motion. His spell was indeed complicated. He was going to drown me without the river, but it required gathering water from the air. It would take time for him to pull enough water together to choke me.
Looking down at the vacant eyes of Benjamin and Carson, my hands started to shake. This wasn’t about me. This was about them. Without me, they would remain Westerbrook’s pawns. God knows what would happen to them or the other kids in the YWWA if Westerbrook wasn’t stopped.
Poor Noah would have to continue serving a coven that would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. If Noah fought back, Westerbrook and the Black Dog would hurt him. I had to do something. I had to save my family and my coven.
Water gathered drop by drop in front of Westerbrook as his wand rolled back and forth through the air. He was right about one thing. I was brave.
Closing my eyes, I thought about my mother, my father, Benjamin, Carson, Noah, Hana, Anika, Andrew, Maria, Candice and even Tamara. I let the fear of losing them settle into every part of my body. I had to protect them. I had to stop Westerbrook. To do that, I had to become the person I wanted to be.
I opened my eyes to see the ball of water rushing towards me. Tensing my entire body, I yelled with every emotion that was buried inside me. I let go of my anger, my frustration, my sadness and embraced the love I felt for my family, my friends and my men. I would not let them be destroyed by a madman!
“Arde!” A wave of energy raced through my body while I swirled my hands in concentric circles to gather the energy pouring out of me. Pulling my hands apart in opposite directions, I added air to the energy, breathing life into it. Flames burst forth from my hands quickly evaporating the water before it hit me.
Before Westerbrook could react, I spun around, clawing at the air as I turned. “Strânge!” Creating an invisible barrier, I threw it at Westerbrook to bind him. Twisting my hands in the air and smacking them together, I locked the constricting spell around his body.
“How?” The confusion in his voice almost made me laugh.
“You underestimated me.”
He looked up at me in disbelief when he realized that he couldn’t lift his arms to move his wand.
Making a tearing motion, I funneled my desire to protect Benjamin and Carson into my spell, “Dezarma”. Stripping his wand from his hand, I threw out my foot and stomped on the platform as I dropped my other knee into the wood. “Urmați-mă!” Unleashing a follow me spell, Westerbrook’s leg buckled slowly until he was forced down on his knee.
“Let me go!” He tried to move, but his motions were tied to me.
Seeing him struggle against my puppet spell, I twisted my wrists, locking the spell. I quickly threw my hands against the stage and dragged my fingers along the wood, making the shape of a box. “Nu intră nimeni.” With my boundary spell cast, I created the corners of the imaginary box until a glow appeared around the stage and the area where the guys were standing. Flattening my palms against the wood, I secured the spell that would keep the other Shadow Masters out of the immediate area.
I lifted my shaking hands to my hair and pulled it away from my face to tie it in a bun. Pushing up my sleeves, I got to my feet.
“Stop this!” Through his locked teeth, Westerbrook struggled to make his words clear enough to be understood.
“No. Not until you release my friends. All of them.”
“No.” His response sounded like a child’s whine.
“I’ve learned a few things by working with Carson. First, to make a spell work properly, you need to say it clearly and precisely or you end up with mush. Second, you need to use precise wand and body motions to cast a spell. Right now, you can’t do either. No one can enter this space without my permission. If any of your other Shadow Masters tries to harm my family, I will do the same to you. You’re vain and overconfident, which leads me to believe that you’re a crier. I suggest you do as I say, and release everyone.” I held my arms up in front of me as a surgeon would before surgery, readying myself to take action.
“You don’t have it in you.” He tried to laugh but it came out like a strangled gurgle.
I smiled sarcastically. “I did my homework, Lord Westerbrook. Benjamin found an account of my great great great grandmother. Did you know that Pearl Payton was a late bloomer? She was almost twenty when her powers came in. She was disrespected and disregarded by her coven. It wasn’t until one of the last of the dragon shifters targeted her coven that her powers bloomed. The dragon had destroyed much of the village and the casters who defended the village were dead or badly injured. She was one of the few left standing. The dragon flew straight at her, breathing fir
e. Her younger brother and sister were in the path of the flames. Her fear and her courage saved them that day. In the face of danger, she found an inner strength she didn’t know she had. She grabbed a wand from one of the fallen witches and cast spell after spell to defeat the dragon. She, too, had listened and learned all kinds of spells so that she could be of use to the coven when her power emerged. The history books speak of the leader she became, but only one text told the whole story. So, tell me. Do you think the great great great granddaughter of one of the greatest casters in our history, who defeated a dragon, isn’t capable of doing whatever it takes to save the people she loves?”
Seeing the fear in his eyes as he gulped gave me hope that my bluff was working.
He made a slight frowning motion. “Nope. I’m not buying it. You’re too sweet. You would never torture me.”
Annoyed that he saw through my lie, I glanced over at Benjamin, Carson and Noah. “Then I guess I need to do this the hard way.” I raised my elbows and searched for the right words.
“No! What are you doing? Without knowing the spell I used, you can’t reverse my curse. It’s too complicated.” Some of his words got lost but I understood enough of his warning.
Taking a cleansing breath, I pushed it out. “True, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get the spell out of you.”
His eyes widened. “Wait! You don’t know how to do that!”
I laughed. “I have spent years in the library researching every kind of spell you can imagine. That’s why I know how to cast and conjure. I had no idea what kind of witch I would be, so I prepared for either outcome. I remember a spell from my father’s collection. It reversed every spell that a caster had performed, though it looked painful for the caster as thousands of his spells unraveled. I think I’ll give that one a try.”
“No!” He wiggled his body and tried to shake his head. “Wait! I’ll release them.”
I didn’t trust him, but I didn’t have much choice since I wasn’t sure if I had all the words to the spell since I had also made a complicated, but tasty, blueberry pie that day.
I nodded and slowly changed my stance. I held my palms down and wiggled my fingers in time with each other. “Oglindă-ne durerea!”
“What are you doing?” Westerbrook shimmied around in protest under my mirror spell.
“Making sure you don’t double cross me. We’re now linked. Hurt me, and you will feel the pain. If I hurt myself, you will also feel pain. This will give you an out because no one else can harm you without harming me. Call it insurance.”
He glared at me and huffed through his nose. I took that as an acceptance of my terms.
“Eliberează-mi ținuta!” Releasing the binding spell, Westerbrook slowly stretched his body and stood. With the barrier spell up, he had nowhere to go.
“You’re a crafty little one. I’ll give you that. Too much time at the library. Next time, I’ll pick someone who’s never heard of the Silver Springs Public Library.” He dusted off his suit and cracked his neck. “Fine. You win, for now, but this isn’t over. There are too many of us to stop. You’re just delaying the inevitable.” He jumped off the stage and picked up his wand. Moving his wand around in front of zombie Benjamin and Carson, he released them from his hold. He then turned to Noah, who let out a low growl before stretching and popping to his feet.
Noah threw up his hands. “We’re done, Westerbrook. I don’t care what you say or do. I will not serve the coven anymore. Celeste is my mate, so my loyalty is with her. Nothing you do can change that.”
Westerbrook winked at him. “She can still die, Noah. Remember that. Be careful with your loyalties. Things change all the time. You may still need me.”
Noah scowled, but didn’t reply.
Carson blinked a few times and immediately pointed his wand at Westerbrook. Benjamin woke a second later and raised his hands, ready to fight anyone who needed to be fought.
I held up my hands. “You can’t hurt Lord Westerbrook without hurting me. I saw to that. He is free to go, for now. We know who he is and who he’s working for, so it’s only a matter of time before he has nowhere to escape to.” I crossed my arms and nodded to the guys to lower their defenses.
Carson glanced up at me and slowly put his wand at his side. Benjamin frowned, refusing to lower his hands.
Westerbrook sighed. “The rest of your supposed friends are back to normal, at least normal for teenagers.” He raised his eyebrow at me. “Trust me, you won’t see me again but I won’t be far away.”
I shrugged at his warning, though I wondered what he meant. “I’ll drop the barrier, but don’t bother trying to come at me. I’ll hold onto the mirror spell for a while longer.”
He nodded and lowered his wand.
Clapping my hands together and hitting the platform with my knuckles, I released the barrier.
Westerbrook slowly walked backwards until he disappeared behind the tent.
Letting out a long breath, I allowed all the stress and tension to fall through my body to my toes. All three guys immediately jumped onto the stage to hug me and make sure I was okay.
“You scared me, Celeste. I thought you were a goner.” Noah kissed my forehead.
Carson pulled back to look at me. “I’m really confused, so you’re going to have to explain everything that happened tonight.”
I smiled and kissed his cheek. “We won. That’s what happened.”
Benjamin shook his head and stepped back. “No, Celeste. You won. You did exactly what I hoped you would do. You’re the hero.”
“Thank you for believing in me, Benjamin.”
“Can someone tell me what is going on?” Melody’s voice broke through the silence of the fairgrounds.
Laughing, I let go of Carson. “I guess we should make sure everyone else is okay.”
Carson shrugged. “One last hug first.” He took me into his arms and held me for a second. Breathing in his cologne, I smiled. I had never felt safer in all my life.
Chapter 11
Standing on the stage in my shimmery silver and blue dress, I looked out at Benjamin and Carson standing in the crowd underneath the glittery stars and white streamers. They looked more nervous than I was, which was funny. They weren’t wearing three-inch heels in a ball gown on a polished wood stage with five steps.
Lady Tallersall politely clapped for Anika, who was the 3rd runner up, and cleared her throat to announce the winner.
Next to me, Hana was shaking in her beaded electric blue gown. I smiled at her and grabbed her hand. She giggled and squeezed my hand so tightly that I tried not to make a face.
“The first runner up is…Pearl Dreger, which means the winner of the Miss Winter Solstice 2019 Pageant is…Hana Dodson.” Lady Tallersall did her best to say Hana’s name with a bit of excitement.
Hana screamed and pulled me into a crushing hug. I laughed as Lady Tallersall tried to put the crown on Hana’s head as she bounced around.
“Congratulations, Hana!” I gave her a quick high five before I stepped next to Anika and proudly accepted my second place bouquet of flowers.
I breathed a sigh of relief that Hana had won, especially since I had secretly campaigned for her. It was time for her to have a win. Personally, I didn’t need some title to make me feel like I belonged. For the first time in my life, I felt like everything would be okay, or at least, mostly okay.
Leaving the stage, I carefully balanced on the steps and held my dress. I looked up to find Noah waiting for me at the bottom. He gave me a dazzling smile and held out his arm to me. Grabbing him for support, he guided me towards the dance floor for our ceremonial dance.
The crowd parted and formed a circle for all the contestants to dance with their escorts.
“Are you sure you don’t want to dance with Carson or Benjamin? I know we practiced, but I’m still not sure about the steps to the dance.” He looked around to make sure he was standing like the other boys and holding me the correct way.
“Yes, I want you. This is a c
elebration. You’re free and I’m no longer the town pariah.” I looked over at my mother who was beaming at me with pride.
He took a deep breath, and settled into the starting position for the dance. The music started and he looked down at me with the sexiest smile ever. He made me feel like the most important person in the room, or maybe the world. I relaxed into his arms and enjoyed the moment.
We took a turn around the room, staring at each other, forgetting that anyone else was watching.
“You really are handsome.” I couldn’t help but giggle.
“You are beautiful in this dress. You look like a fairytale princess come to life off the pages. I can’t believe that I get to keep you.” He moved his thumb back and forth over my lower back.
“I’m glad that the coven believes you’re innocent. I don’t know what I would do if they charged you with conspiring to aid Westerbrook.” The thought of Noah locked away made my throat tighten and brought tears to my eyes.
“They understand the complexities of being a familiar. It helped that I was finally able to talk about Westerbrook and his associates with the silencing spell broken. You have no idea how wonderful it feels to be able to speak freely. I hope the information I know, as little as it is, helps bring all the Shadow Masters to justice.” He swirled me around, pulled me close and held me against his chest.
“It was kind of Lord Cornish to take you in temporarily, rather than send you to the orphanage.”
“I’m grateful for all he has done to help. He’s a kind man. I know things are still in flux with the search for Westerbrook and the investigation the coven has launched, but I’m hoping that they will allow me to officially be your familiar.” He sighed deeply and gave me a hopeful expression.
“My parents are still trying to piece together what happened. While they are thrilled about my powers coming in, they are very upset about Westerbrook’s betrayal. You don’t want to know what my mother said about Mrs. Hazelton. Right now, they don’t know who to trust in the coven or the community, so it will take some time for things to go back to something close to normal.”
Pearl (Jewels Cafe Book 8) Page 11
