“Nora,” Morgan began.
“I’m staying.” Nora crossed her arms over her chest and planted her feet. “I agreed to help you, but I’m not a part of your coven. I don’t have to do what you say.”
Morgan’s lips twitched, almost as if she was going to smile but thought better of it. “I was going to ask you to fill Kennedy in on the situation. It’s only fair after all. Sister to sister. Besides, you understand the healing aspect of it better than I do.”
If Nora valued Morgan’s compliment, she didn’t show it. Instead, she stepped as close to the ward as she dared to look up at me through the blinking cerulean shield. “Kennedy. It doesn’t look good for you.”
“I gathered.” Nora frowned at my brusque reply, so I sighed and leveled my tone. “Fine. Tell me what happened. Why am I out here instead of in there protecting you?”
Nora chewed on her bottom lip, as if choosing her words carefully. “Earlier today, when we visited Alana, you connected with her somehow, didn’t you?”
I stiffened, my spine solidifying like an iron rod. The memory of being sucked into Alana’s immaterial, fiery world took over my mind. For a second, I was trapped there again. Alana’s fingernails dug into my skin as she held onto my arms with a vise grip, but was she intentionally trying to keep me in that terrible world with her or was she simply scared to let go?
My silence was enough of a confirmation to Nora. “It’s not a bad thing,” she assured me. “Actually, it’s kind of a relief. It indicates that Alana’s alive in there. She’s fighting against the curse as much as possible. Do you know what her ability is? Perseverance. Yvette and Yvonne told me she used to use her witchcraft to paint or sculpt for hours on end.”
“Seems like the short end of the stick compared to some other abilities,” I replied. Nora’s unusually proficient healing craft was proof enough of that.
“I guess that depends on your own personal opinion,” Nora said. “But for now, Alana’s ability is what’s keeping her heart beating. She wouldn’t have survived this long without it.”
“What’s your point, Nora?” The ward fizzled when I instinctively stepped toward my sister. I swallowed hard, cradling my side. The ward had already bruised a few of my ribs, and I didn’t need another injury to contend with. “What does any of it mean?”
Nora’s eyes honed in to where my palm rested against my torso. She could heal me in a matter of minutes if we weren’t separated. Wisely, the fact remained unspoken. To say it out loud would only emphasize our recent estrangement.
“I know the situation seems dark right now,” Nora said. “I never thought we would be working on this from opposite sides of a fortress, but you have to understand that we’re making progress. As soon as Morgan saw the effect you had on Alana, she realized what kind of curse we were dealing with.”
I stole a glance at the coven leader, who leaned casually against the trunk of a tree while she chipped blue polish from her thumbnail. Her nonchalance didn’t fool me. I knew she was listening in on our conversation.
“Is that true?” I called out to her.
“Call it an epiphany if you will,” Morgan replied, examining her nail beds. “There are records of curses like this in the history books. One dark witch to cast the spell, one catalyst to set the plan in motion, and one way for the victims to escape certain death.”
“Kill the catalyst,” I finished.
“Right you are.”
“And how do you figure that I’m the catalyst?” In Alana’s world of hellfire, she had already told me about the role that I played in the Summerses’ slow decline, but I wanted to hear it from Morgan herself.
Morgan finally looked up. “If you recall from a previous conversation, Alana was the first of our number to fall ill. Her descent into unconsciousness was sudden and unexpected. She bore no symptoms of the first stages of the curse, instead progressing straight to the last phase before death. That alone should have concerned me. It means that Alana is central to our problem.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“For months, we’ve been doing everything in our power to revive Alana,” Morgan answered. “To get through to her, to find some sign that she was going to push through this and make it to the other side. We found nothing. There was no indication that she would survive this. Even exposure to Nora’s healing abilities didn’t cause her to stir. But you—” Morgan pushed off from the tree and swaggered toward the ward. Her eyes scanned me from my head to my shoes, as though X-raying me for hidden secrets. “You march into her room, meet her for the first time ever, and she instantly responds to your presence. Quite violently, I’m told.”
I wasn’t likely to forget the encounter anytime soon. Alana’s convulsions were fresh in my mind, as was the pounding of her overactive heartbeat in my ears. Nora ducked her head. No doubt she had been the one to fill Morgan in on Alana’s condition.
“You have a connection with her,” Morgan continued.
“I don’t even know her.”
“It doesn’t matter,” she countered. “You are both integral elements of this curse. You each serve a purpose. It may seem grim to you now, Kennedy, but the more we know about this curse, the closer we are to thwarting it.”
I glared down at Morgan. On her side of the line, it began to drizzle. The droplets caught the light from the ward, shimmering like iridescent fairies as they pattered to the ground. “And you think that killing me is going to solve all of your problems.”
“I know it would.”
Nora released a barely audible squeak. This was not news to her. Chances were that my little sister knew more about Morgan’s plans than I did. She was privy to information that would never reach my ears.
“But—” Morgan continued, silencing Nora’s tiny protest, “I’m not so hasty to accept this as our first and only option. No longer do I wish to fight violence with violence. With Nora’s help, the coven can hold on a while longer. I hope to buy enough time until we find an alternate solution, one that doesn’t involve sacrificing a good witch to dark magic.”
I spread my arms wide to indicate the sky-high, glimmering shield. “Then why the hell am I out here, huh? I can help you figure this out. You said yourself that I have a connection with Alana. What if we could control my interactions with her? What if—?”
Morgan lifted a finger to cut off my desperate diatribe. “There are two reasons I cannot allow you to return to Yew Hollow. The first is that, quite obviously, you are a detriment to our health. In that sense, you are working in opposition to your sister. I know this is not intentional, as I’m aware of your loyalty to Nora. She has to work twice as hard to combat your effects, which weakens her in turn. Can we agree that this is not ideal?”
Over Morgan’s head, I caught sight of Nora again. Alana’s rescue had cost her. She looked exhausted and frail, as if one solid gust of wind might topple her. Nora was usually unflappable. No rainy day or family argument could hinder her positive energy, but her eyes had lost their luster, and it was partially my fault. She shivered in the rain.
“Agreed.” I jutted my chin toward Nora. “She needs a jacket though, or she’ll be even worse off.” Morgan shook off her overcoat and tossed it to my little sister, who gratefully threaded her arms through the sleeves. “What’s the second reason?”
“If I thought that you would be safe in Yew Hollow,” she replied, “I would consider allowing you to remain within the ward, albeit quarantined from the other witches to prevent further harm.”
“But? There’s always a but.”
Morgan braved the dismal weather in her heather gray T-shirt, tucking her arms around her midriff to ward off the cold. “But your incident with Alana spread like high school gossip through the coven. Your position in all of this is no secret. The same applies to this archaic solution. Every witch in Yew Hollow knows that you’re the catalyst.”
“So what?” I said. “You’re the leader of the coven. Why don’t you just tell them to leave me alone unti
l we figure something else out?”
“Oh, that I could.”
A gust of wind swept my auburn hair out of its messy bun. As it cascaded down the nape of my neck, I shivered. It was a reminder that, once again, I was without a home to return to. Once night fell, there would be no place to take shelter from the frigid air. “I don’t understand. They follow your command, don’t they?”
Morgan looked away, hugging herself tightly. “In theory, yes, but for some time now, we’ve been on the brink of a fracture. I don’t suppose you’ve had the pleasure of meeting my lovely cousin Camryn?”
The name sounded vaguely familiar, but I had yet to commit the many faces of the Summers coven to memory. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“She’s trouble,” Morgan said. “In short, she wants to take over as coven leader, and she doesn’t care if her methods of doing so are unsavory. My point is that, while I haven’t called for your capture or death, there are other witches in Yew Hollow that would not falter to kill you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they attempt to go over my head in order to accomplish their mission.”
This was why Nora had agreed to banishing me beyond the borders of town. She was protecting me. One look at her anxious expression caused me to melt. I should’ve been the one looking out for her, not the other way around.
“I am trying my best to ensure that no one here gets hurt,” Morgan went on. “Please, for your own benefit and for Nora’s, I need you to stay vigilant. The ward should discourage most of Camryn’s supporters from trying anything rash, but we can’t overlook their desperation. Protect yourself, Kennedy. If you encounter any of our witches that aren’t me, Gwenlyn, or my sisters, run. Don’t try to fight them. I’d like to keep Nora’s sister alive for as long as possible.”
The last four words of her statement did not go lost on me. As long as possible. Morgan could stall the coven and search for an alternate solution, but the truth of the matter found its way through the shimmering blue shield. Morgan didn’t expect to unearth another way to break the curse. She expected that she would have to kill me.
2
Gwenlyn
I could feel a headache coming on as I followed Malia, Karma, and Laurel back to the Summers house. We trudged along in silence, all too aware of the weight the coven collectively bore on its shoulders. Morgan’s sisters may have been thinking of ways to quell the rebellion that was sure to rise in reaction to our new revelation, but my own mind was otherwise occupied.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Kennedy McGrath. She’d marched into Yew Hollow at exactly the wrong time, greeted me with a punch to the face, and generally showered me with bad vibes like an acid wash. It didn’t help that the untrained witch with no knowledge of her own background had ended up as my responsibility. In addition to helping Morgan break the curse, it was my job to get Kennedy caught up on the ins and outs of witchcraft. It was no easy feat. She was cocky, impatient, and quick to fire. Literally. She was an elemental witch with the ability to harness an inner flame, or she would be once she finally learned to control herself.
The point was that Kennedy and I didn’t get along. We tended to butt heads, despite our efforts to work alongside each other. Nevertheless, dragging her over that line and dumping her outside of Yew Hollow’s perimeter didn’t bring me any kind of catharsis. On the contrary, it did the opposite. When the ward went up and I saw the look on Kennedy’s face when she realized that she had no control over her sister’s fate anymore, invisible ropes cinched tight around my heart. She was annoying, but she didn’t deserve to be separated from the one person that she loved with all of her might. Furthermore, I wasn’t so certain that leaving Kennedy outside the ward was the best idea. As we approached the Summers house, the air grew thick with the troubled auras of the coven. A storm was brewing, one that had nothing to do with the clouds overhead.
“Gwenlyn!”
Nora’s voice echoed across the front lawn, and I fell behind the Summers sisters, grateful for an excuse to postpone my entrance into the hectic household. Nora caught up to me, wearing Morgan’s coat.
“How’s your sister?” I asked.
“She’s mad at me.”
“I suppose that’s to be expected. And Morgan?”
“Not far behind.”
I stopped short of the porch. Through the windows, I could see that the whole coven had gathered. The dining room teemed with bodies, and the sound of their arguing wafted outside. All I wanted was to bypass the chaos, hide in my bedroom, and cast a silencing spell to ignore the bickering. This was coven politics at its finest. The witches would argue for hours on end about how best to separate themselves from the curse, but no resolution would follow the debate.
I jumped when Nora’s fingers made contact with the palm of my hand, but she only meant to lend me a small burst of positive energy. “Sheesh. Warn me before you do that.”
“Sorry,” she said. “Habit. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. You should save your strength. You’re going to need it.”
“Hmm. If you’re fine, why aren’t we going in?”
The kid had a point, but I wasn’t going to admit that to her. Instead, we stood outside in silence. Nora leaned against my shoulder. In Kennedy’s absence, she had already taken to me as her surrogate big sister. I wasn’t sure whether or not I was okay with that, but I would rather hang out with Nora on the front porch for the next few hours than spend it inside with the rest of the coven’s heated tempers. Unfortunately, the universe had other plans for me.
Morgan returned, her T-shirt and hair damp with rain. She clapped me on the shoulder, her frigid fingers grazing the back of my neck, and contemplated the turbulent scene inside the house. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
We had no choice but to follow her inside. As soon as Morgan pushed open the front door, the witches boxed us into the entryway, each one trying to be heard over her neighbor. Kennedy’s name was thrown around like a nasty swear word. I moved in front of Nora, putting my body between her and the rest of the witches in case someone made the poor decision to try to use her as leverage. She was shaking like a leaf, frightened by the threats and angry yells from the group of women that she had spent so much of her time protecting.
Morgan was in no mood to debate. I recognized the set of her shoulders and threw a ward up around me and Nora in the split second before Morgan released a huge blast of power. Her craft mushroomed through the room, forcing the witches back to clear a space in the entryway. In addition, each and every one of them found herself without a voice. Morgan had momentarily relieved them of the use of their vocal chords, and the silence that fell afterward was a welcome respite to my ears.
Morgan cleared her throat, kicking the door shut behind her. “Now that everyone’s calm, I’d like you all to move into the living room to discuss our options. Gently.”
The coven may have been upset, but none of the witches were audacious enough to ignore Morgan’s request. They shuffled into the dining room, which magically elongated to accommodate the number of bodies, and sat at the table. Nora almost followed them, but I took her by the arm and shook my head. We sat on the steps to the second floor instead, where we had an open escape route through the front door if things went sideways.
As the coven settled down, Morgan took her time in addressing them. She fetched a spare coat from the closet first and draped it over her damp shoulders. The starched collar stood at attention around the back of her neck, making the black jacket look like a cape. The effect gave Morgan the rare appearance of a typical twentieth-century witch, if you could look past the shredded band T-shirt that she sported underneath.
She pushed aside the chair at the head of the table and surveyed the women of her family. By now, the vocal enchantment would have worn off, but the witches knew better than to raise their voices again.
“First of all,” Morgan began. “We will not conduct our meetings like this. It is far from productive. I want open communication between all of us, so long
as it does not devolve into insanity. Understood?” A murmur of consent stole through the coven before Morgan went on. “Good. On that note, let’s begin.”
Yvette, one of the witches responsible for taking care of Alana, raised her hand before Morgan could go on. Morgan gestured for her to speak freely.
“Is it true?” she asked. “Is Kennedy the catalyst?”
“Yes,” Morgan confirmed. Her answer was met by rumbling conversation around the room. Beside me, Nora grasped my knee like she needed something solid to hold on to. “But that does not mean we follow the script when it comes to this curse. As of right now, I have no plans to kill Kennedy McGrath.”
Were it not for Morgan’s warning, the room would’ve erupted into chaos once again. Instead, half of the witches looked relieved, as though they were glad not to have to consider homicide in order to survive, while others looked upset or angry, casting vicious sidelong glares at Morgan.
“I want to make one thing very clear,” Morgan said, raising her voice a notch. “Kennedy McGrath did not cast this curse over Yew Hollow. She has been as affected by it as we have, which means that she is also a victim. However, it is obvious that her presence in Yew Hollow was detrimental to our health. She has been cast out, and the ward solidified to specifically protect us against her damaging effects.”
An indignant scoff rose from the back of the room. The witches parted to reveal Morgan’s cousin Camryn. It was impossible to ignore her. She was a voluptuous woman in every sense of the word, from her appearance to her personality. She lounged in her chair, kicking her booted feet up on the dining table as she stole the coven’s attention from Morgan.
“That’s just like you,” she said. Her voice was low and husky, as though she meant to lure a small animal from safety only to devour it whole. “We finally discover the secret to breaking this curse, and you toss it over the county line. Excellent job.”
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