Yeah, yeah, there is a time and place for questions. This was apparently not the time nor place. I still didn't like them controlling me.
“So, we are of an accord.” The old man said. “The girl here-”
I practically screamed the words. “My name is Elle.”
Jacob smiled, “Sorry, Elle will escort Bastion to Louisville, while Marta will take care of her sister. We will provide food and shelter. When Bastion returns with news and connections, we will decide how to proceed regarding the vampire threat.”
The comment spurred me on. I closed my eyes and pushed. My ears popped and the questions popped out with it. “The threat? Have more covens been attacked other than mine? What do you plan on doing? Where will Josie be staying. What kind of security do you have here? I can’t leave my sister.”
No one answered my deluge of questions. The younger old man helped his father stand. Bastion stood next to Marta, whispering. The last man ignored me.
“What, is no one going to answer me?” How rude.
The elder stood and pronounced. “No, we will not. If you want our help, then you will take Bastion here to Louisville.
“I can’t leave Jo-”
He cut me off. “You can and will.”
I knew that final tone. This was non-negotiable. That didn’t mean I liked it. The floor rocked. Most of the room’s occupants turned to stare at me as if they knew I was causing it
Calm down now, Ellie, drifted through my head. I could practically hear my mom’s voice urging me to control. I felt my hands fist but forced myself to breath. This was the best for me and Josie. She would be safe. Plus, I would find out more from Bastion on the trip.
I would make him talk. My thoughts instantly went into the gutter. I could strip him and-.
Oh my god, what is wrong with me?
I needed to know why the vampires were after us.
The room settled and my head cleared as the elders walked out the door. The hot guy remained behind with Marta. The silence when they left settled over the room.
“What now?” I asked.
5
“Now we plan.”
Marta stood and opened the doors to the porch. A breeze swept into the room and my head eased. She walked out afterward, leaving me alone with the hot guy.
Awkward was an understatement. I was never one to mince words, but for some reason this guy made me edgy. He was so damn pretty. I blew my breath out and glanced away as he came closer.
Bastion sat next to me at the table and held out his hand. “We never got properly introduced.”
Or at all.
“I am Bastion Faradeaux.”
I studied his hand before taking it. “Elle Tremayne.”
He turned his hand up so that he could kiss my fingers. His breath caused my fingers to curl. I met his eyes and he smiled.
Oh, hell no. He could tell what effect he was having on me. I pulled my hand back and scooted sideways.
He cleared his throat. “Can you really get me to Louisville?” He pronounced it like true Kentuckians did without the
“I spent most of my life in the garden or on the water.”
“And?” he raised an eyebrow.
My cheeks flushed. “That means I can do it.”
“This mission is important.”
“Why?” I leaned toward him and put my hand on his forearm. “Why is it important. I feel like things are going on around me that I need to know.”
“The vampires have been attacking all the covens. Most of the larger ones. Any of the ones trying to organize a resistance. The walled vampire cities are getting more insular and violent. It isn’t safe.”
I let my gaze fall. “When was it ever safe since the Madness?”
“As long as one avoided the harvests, it was safe. Most people focused on survival. There was enough order in the covens that it didn’t affect us too greatly.”
“But for everyone else, that wasn’t true.”
He shrugged. “Not our concern.”
I snorted. “I wish I could share your distaste, but those are our neighbors, our friends. I lost a lot when the Madness happened, and we continue to lose more. Soon there won’t be free people. Only vampires, cattle, and us. How are we any different?”
“Vampires can’t survive on our blood, you know this. Our blood is toxic to them. Apparently, we taste like shit. And we can’t be turned.”
“So, as long as we are safe, we abandon humans then?” I leaned back and crossed her arms.
He moved to face me. “We take care of the mages first.”
“That will never work.” I held up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “Hear me out. We talked about this a lot at home.”
“Mages and vampire are older races and we live longer, but we have low numbers. A lot of the wonders of our world are not from us but from the humans. Their shorter life seems to make them love it more. We lose them, we lose a lot of the things we have gotten, and we lose a buffer regardless of losing our friends and family. We need each other.”
Bastion snorted. “You sound like my uncle.”
“Good.”
He folded his own arms. “Are you willing to fight for them?”
“Humans, mages, vampires?”
“All of them. Fight as a whole for what you believe.”
Well, duh. “Of course, I have to, for Josie.”
He shrugged and sat back, his eyebrows raised.
Marta walked in and Josie followed her into the room. She ran and jumped into my arms. I smoothed my hand down her head and glanced at Bastion over her shoulder.
For Josie. I would.
“Why did you leave me, Elle?” Josie whispered, her voice rough like she’d been crying.
“Aww, bug, I didn't leave you. I just had to talk to the folks here. Did you sleep well?”
She nodded. Her eyes followed Bastion as he paced over to whisper to Marta again. She lowered her voice. “Who is that?”
“That is Bastion. He seems okay.”
She nodded her head solemnly. “He has pretty eyes.” We apparently had the same taste in boys.
“I have some news.” I cleared my throat. This was going to be harder than I thought. The words stuck in my mouth. I forced them out. “I am going to try and find Alex and escort-”
Josie bolted straight up. “No!”
Marta and Bastion twirled at her bellow.
I held my hand up. “Jo-”
Her voice dropped. “No.” Light flickered around her face, sparked along her skin. “You are not leaving me.”
This was not good. “Bug-”
“No.” Her voice got deeper every time she talked.
I glanced at Marta and widened my eyes.
She watched Josie like a hawk, gaze intense, dissecting. Bastion merely observed.
A picture fell off the wall and shattered on the floor. Uh, oh, I knew what that meant. I threw myself to the ground.
Josie arched back and opened her mouth. Light poured from it flowing outward. The couch flew up and outward, glass shattered.
Crap.
I covered my ears and still heard the clap of thunder when Josie’s power exploded outward then nothing…
When I peeked out I saw Marta stood in front of Josie. She had her hand on Josie’s forehead, and the light stopped like it had never been.
“No,” she said. Just no and the power stopped.
I’d never been able to control Josie that way. I just stopped, dropped, and rolled as if her power was a forest fire.
My heart eased. This was the best place for her. “Josie, you will stay here and learn control.”
Now that her power had been stopped, she seemed even smaller, her voice thinner and more girl-like and weak. “Elle, no.” She threw herself into my arms. “You are all I have left.”
I buried my face in her hair. “I will be just fine, you know that.”
I turned her so she faced me. “You know I will be fine. This was the plan.” I could feel eyes focus on
me. I needed to clarify before they knew something was up. “Find sanctuary and help with control.”
“But you never said anything about leaving me.”
“Only for a short time, bug, I promise.” I wiped a tear from her cheek. “We are going to find Alex, get supplies, and then we will be right back.”
Josie glanced at Marta and Bastion then back at me. In a timid voice, she whispered, “Can I go with you?”
“Not this time, you know you have control issues and when you get scared...” I threw my hands up in the air. “Ka-plow.”
She grinned and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, and I promise. I will be back quicker than you can sing the entire song, “Ninety-nine Bottles of Root Beer on the Wall.”
“Ninety-nine bottles of root-”
I put a finger on her mouth. “Jeez. Not yet. Let me get ready first.”
She laughed and put her arms around me tight. “You’ll be safe, right?”
“Oh course. Remember, I am a bad ass. Grr.”
She tightened her arms in response. “Just a short trip. Promise me.”
“I promise.” But I feared it wouldn’t be that simple.
6
“As interesting as this conversation has been, I need to get some supplies.” Marta turned to the hottie. “Bastion. Take the girls around so that Elle and Josie can see where everything is located and where Josie will be studying.”
He nodded his head and then bowed deeply, holding a hand out to Josie. “Milady.”
She giggled and twinkled up at him.
He held a hand out to me as well, but I just rolled my eyes at him. We walked outside into the center of town.
Bastion strode ahead of us and turned so he walked backward facing us on the sidewalk. “All covens are organized in pretty much the same manner. A wonder of urban development.”
“Really? I didn't know that.” I did of course. I glanced over at Josie and winked. I knew the structure intimately and the reason for why it was set up the way it was. Most people didn’t realize the roads themselves in the coven formed a spell to protect it and to accomplish other things.
“Yes, all covens center around the graveyards.”
Josie’s nose wrinkled. “Eww.”
I smiled and squeezed her hand.
He dodged a garden hose leading from the nearby house and moved to my side. “The graves are a suppository for information for the families. All the old spells are kept there, and the bones of ancestors carry power. It makes sense, little one.
“Surrounding the cemeteries, are the main buildings. City building, works building, schools, grocery, and a few other stores. Then after that are the homes and then the fields. Anything we can lose is placed the furthest from the center.
“There is a shield that each member of the coven contributes to that maintains privacy and security. No one can come into the coven without the elders being aware.”
That was why there was no wireless cable, and cell phones didn’t work. Not that there were cell phones around anymore. It took too much electricity and that in itself was scarce.
Still. “So, wait. Does that mean my elders knew the vampires were coming?”
“Yes, but given how fast the vampires travel, that would have only been a small window, perhaps minutes. A well-organized vampire horde can take a prepared coven. I’ve seen it happen.”
“Yours too?” If we’d had minutes, we would have been fine. Our coven had safeguards in place. They had to take us in seconds. This didn’t make sense. I said none of this to Bastion but, hm.
“No. My neighbors. There are a lot of covens in the south. The land is rich there.” He stopped and gestured to the red brick building in front of us. “Anyway. This is the school. This will be where Josie will be tested.” He walked up to the door and knocked.
A tall red-haired man with bright blue eyes and a ready smile opened the door. “Hey, Baz.”
“Hi, Aidan.”
“Elle, Josie, meet Aidan. He is one of the guards for the coven assigned to the school.”
Aidan inclined his head at both of us. “Welcome.”
He stepped back and motioned us into the room. A small entryway led to a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a bright open classroom.
My heart clenched. It was like the school hadn’t been touched with time. Kids of all ages sat at desks, well-groomed with books in front of them. One dude sent a crayon flying at his buddy and got scolded. I held in my laughter and my tears as I looked down at Josie’s delighted expression.
She would fit in well here. My heart eased.
I could leave her now. Not that I would leave her, leave her. But I couldn’t go without knowing she was safe. This was closer to home than our real home had been. I had to keep telling myself that or the guilt would kill me. This really was the best place for her for right now.
“How many kids are here?”
Aidan answered before Bastion could. “About thirty or forty. We are a fairly big coven near a major city.”
“My coven was about the same size at this one, but we didn't have half as many kids. Josie was the youngest one there. Most of the people were preppers like my dad and liked living near the water.”
“Preppers?” Bastion asked.
“He thought the end of the world was coming all the time. Said my grandmother predicted it years ago. He has plans upon plans at home.”
“Guess he was right?” Bastion leaned toward me, eyes sharp. “Where are those plans now?”
“At home I presume. I never saw them.” A small lie. I cleared my throat. “But my aunt did and my brother. That is part of why Alex started the river trade. Until we reestablish some sort of population, trade for electricity, gas— this is all we will have, isolated covens and towns and no real government or safety.”
Aidan nodded. “Smart. Wish we all had that foresight at times.”
I held my tongue. Up until the Madness, my dad’s views were not thought of so positively. Now that he was right, everyone got on board.
Bastion placed his hand on my shoulder. “Do you think you can find them?”
“Maybe. I don’t know what my home looks like anymore, what damage was done.”
Josie curled into my side. I put a hand on her head.
“So what else are you going to show us, Bastion?”
“Given your power has to do with crops, I thought you might like to see the farms we have established.”
Crops. Little did he know. My job went far beyond crops. Our whole family was more than we seemed. Especially Josie. Josie’s footsteps slowed as we began to exit the building. She kept turning to look back at the other children.
I took pity on her. “Can Josie stay and play with the kids?”
Aidan nodded. “That would be fine. Josie, do you want to come and meet everyone?”
Her blue eyes lit up like sparklers. “Yes, please.”
He walked her back inside the building.
Bastion escorted me outside. “You really care about your sister.”
“Of course, she’s my responsibility, but it’s more than that. I love her. And my brother. We are a family.”
Baz’s brows were drawn. “I wonder what that is like.”
“You don’t have family?”
“I do.” He shrugged. “We are not close. At least, my immediate family.” He bumped into my side. “Enough about that though, what do you like to do?”
I snorted. “What do I like to do, or have to do? It is not like there is a lot of leisure time anymore.”
“Oh, there is always time for leisure time.”
I rolled my eyes up at him. He darted in front of me. “Yes, doing our jobs and keeping our promises and responsibilities, but we should always remember to take time to play. Like now.”
He stepped in front of me, facing me, holding out a hand. “Dance with me.”
I stared at his fingers, afraid they were about to turn into snakes. “What?”
My heart beat fast and I felt the heat from my cheeks. “Um.”
He took my left hand and held it in his right and placed a hand on my hip. He started swaying and humming the tune to some music in his head, the waltz maybe.
He didn't push me into the steps, we more swayed and relaxed into our own rhythm.
My eyes started to water. This reminded me of all I had missed. The prom and pageantry. The dancing. The romance. He was right. I needed to do something other than planning, work, herding, and manipulating events into the path I wanted.
I let my forehead rest on his chest and hummed with him. Our bodies brushed, each step slowing so we could spend more time sliding against each other. Until we pretty much stood still.
He looked intent. Eyes focused on me.
Was he? Was this? My heart sputtered then started to race.
Oh.
Bastion’s lips brushed mine softly. Once, twice. I tasted coffee on his breath. I saw the darkness of his eyelashes over his perfect green eyes.
“El!”
I heard Josie shouting my name and blinked. Moment over.
Damn it.
I twirled and greeted her as she barreled into my side. “Hi, bug.”
“I didn’t want to leave you.”
Aww.
My cheeks heated as I glanced at Bastion. He grinned and brushed a strand of her hair off her forehead, but his eyes were still on me. “Let’s do the rest of the tour then shall we?”
7
Today was the day. We would be heading to my home first then on to the river. My stomach churned. I wondered what we would find. I didn't get to look around before we left since we were, well, fleeing. I didn’t even know if my neighbor survived. I didn't know what the coven looked like now. I didn’t know anything, and I would be going there with Baz. I’d dreamed about him last night. I barely knew him, and he was all I could think about. I couldn’t afford the distraction, but I just couldn’t seem to help myself. My first kiss…
What a Witch Page 3
