Mystic Coven: Winter Wiccan (Supernatural Academy Graduates Book 2)

by Jennifer Rose McMahon

With a gasp, I turned to Clayton.

  "It's her mirror," I choked, barely able to believe what I was seeing.

  Chloe had said she was able to see through to the other side that way.

  My heart raced uncontrollably as I watched her generate the looking glass.

  We gathered around her in silence, careful to not distract her.

  And then she stopped.

  Her hands lowered.

  "There," she said. "A glimpse into the past."

  I leaned forward, still unbelieving, and gazed into the shimmering silver facade.

  At first, all I saw was streaming metallic swirls, like liquid mercury. The blur mesmerized me, causing my vision to move in and out of focus. As my eyes strained to see clearly into the looking glass, I began to see shapes and motion, like within a television.

  Holding my breath, I pulled Hattie closer to be sure she could see.

  Asher strained to see as well, while Clayton kept guard on the woods around us.

  "It's home," Hattie blasted. "I see the chimney and the porch."

  My limbs trembled, threatening to crumble me to the ground, as I stared at what might be my home.

  Swallowing hard, I breathed, "Hattie, are you sure?"

  Her hand flew over her mouth with a gasp. "Mother!"

  As the word punched me in the face, I gaped into the fantastical mirror, wanting so desperately to believe.

  My heart pounded in my chest as I watched a woman move down the porch stairs. She walked as if in a daze, focused on nothing.

  "What's wrong with her?" I mumbled.

  A moment later, a man came out of the house. His limp and crooked posture showed his painful struggle.

  "Father!" Hattie screamed. "He's hurt."

  I reached for the shimmering silver swirls, and Chloe caught my hand.

  She circled her palms around the hovering portal and widened the view.

  As the silver broadened, it showed more of the homestead.

  "The barn," I whispered. "I remember the barn."

  "Our workshop is hidden in its root cellar," Hattie remarked. "It's a secret."

  I closed my eyes and smelled the damp earth and incense that lingered in the workshop. Its presence was buried somewhere in my memory.

  Then the scent of pumpkin spice hit me.

  I took a huge inhale.

  "That smell," I gasped. "It's the same as from the labyrinth."

  My head spun with the connection to home.

  They'd been trying to reach us. The smell of home had found its way through to our realm. But how?

  Then, as I zeroed in on the surrounding land, movement of several men filled my vision.

  "Who are they?" I murmured, focusing in harder.

  Two men left the group and grabbed hold of my father. They dragged him toward a pile of rocks as my mother stared in a catatonic state.

  "What are they doing?" I cried, attempting again to reach through the silver.

  Hattie inhaled sharply and choked on her spit. She struggled to speak through a squeaking voice.

  "Nooooo," she cried, dropping to her knees. "Don't let them, Daddy."

  The despair in her voice sent terror through my soul.

  "Hattie, what's happening?" My voice broke, knowing the truth before it was even spoken.

  "They crush them," she cried.

  "They what?" My head shook in frustration.

  "They crush the men. The man-witches. They crush them with stones."

  My air fell out of me, leaving me light-headed.

  "I need to help them," I screamed, jumping toward the mirror.

  As I launched forward, the silver liquid oozed all around me, and then in small, shiny droplets, it broke away, dissipating into the air.

  "No," I cried, attempting to capture the broken pieces.

  Then my attention moved toward the triangular hut. Without a second thought, I launched for it. Tearing at the ground beneath my feet, I raced at a speed that left no other option but to burst through.

  Just as I reached the opening, my muscles froze.

  Pushing with all my effort, I couldn't get my body to make the final leap. It was like being trapped in thick molasses while every movement resisted me.

  As my eyes darted all around, they landed on motion coming across the clearing.

  Five shadowy figures moved with sharp focus toward us.

  In my frozen state, I couldn't get a clear view of who they were, but their stealth pace made clear their purpose. They were coming to stop us.

  "Shaye Millicent Murphy." The sound of my full name shook me to the core. "Do not move a muscle."

  The commanding voice jolted me, as the words held power over every part of my body.

  As the figures came into my full view, I trembled in uncontrollable relief.

  Marching toward us were our three esteemed leaders.

  The Higher Order.

  Followed closely by the nervous shuffling of Piper and Noah.

  The whistle-blowers.

  Chapter 15

  Chancellor Kelly required very few words to get us moving out of the clearing. Her tense brow and rigid jaw spoke loud enough.

  We followed close behind like reprimanded children, and I couldn't shake the guilt that went along with it.

  But it wasn't our fault.

  I cringed at my own whining thoughts. They were more child-like than my slouched, guilty posture.

  I shook the notion from my mind, because, even though we'd blasted to Hell's` Gates without planning to and without warning, we were still guilty of following our curiosity straight to the portal.

  We'd stumbled into unknown territory without preparation.

  First, the wolf.

  Then, the ancient portal.

  And finally, an almost-launch through said portal.

  Not cool.

  I shuddered thinking of how close I'd come to jumping through.

  The portal probably wouldn't have been activated, but still, it was a risk I had taken. One that I didn't regret either.

  I had to save my parents.

  And now we were headed in the entirely opposite direction.

  I slowed my pace.

  "I can't leave here," I stated, stopping completely.

  We were already more than halfway along the trail, closing in on the gate, but I knew I could run back to the portal in no time.

  It was getting dark. That was the only hindrance. But if I could just get there before full darkness, I'd have no worries.

  "Shaye." Clayton's sharp tone clearly meant to snap me out of my insanity.

  But it wasn't enough to change my mind.

  But then the chancellor stopped, causing everyone else to hang on bated breath.

  "Time is skewed between the realms," she stated. "You must be aware that what you've seen may have already happened in a particular time."

  My throat tightened, choking me.

  She continued, "Or maybe it hasn't happened at all yet. That is what we must determine."

  I exhaled fully.

  "How will we know?"

  "The only way is to wait for the proper astral alignment. To open the correct portal at just the right moment." She glanced up at the rising moon.

  I lifted my shoulders in confusion.

  "When? I don't think we have much time to wait," I begged.

  "The longest night of the year. The ritual of the Drawing Down of the Moon," she said. "It is the exact right moment."

  I nodded in silence, absorbing her words.

  The festival was only days away.

  I glanced at Clayton in relief, and he reached his arms around me.

  Looking back at the others, my eyes landed on Noah and Piper.

  They'd led the Higher Order straight to us, and I was glad they did.

  "How did you find us?" I asked.

  Noah's eyes dropped to the ground and Piper smirked.

  "At first, the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg overwhelmed me while you were in the labyrinth," she said. "But
then it abruptly went away, and we realized something had shifted. When we called for you, there was no answer." She stumbled on a root and caught herself. "We found Ms. Harrison right away and she got the others."

  She looked at Noah again and smiled.

  Then she added, "He still picked up on the taste of pumpkin pie, though, and followed it, until it was obvious which direction you'd gone."

  I shook my head in disbelief.

  Noah's gift had come in handy yet again.

  As we reached the gate on the trail, Ms. Harrison moved to the edge and forced a hidden latch open. The gate swung on its squeaky hinge allowing us to walk through it. Asher climbed onto its first rung enjoying a ride as it moved like a swing.

  Clayton pushed the gate shut and it clunked as the latch fell back into place.

  Quickening our pace, we all moved through the trail as darkness threatened to shroud us completely.

  Just as we began stumbling and struggling to keep on the path, brightness of the trailhead opened up to us.

  Three cars were parked by the trail map area, and relief of established transportation washed over me.

  "That's strange," Ms. Harrison said. "We only brought two cars."

  Ms. Reed moved closer to the unknown vehicle—a black Mercedes sedan, and attempted to gaze through the highly tinted windows.

  "Looking for anyone in particular?" A voice called from the darkness of the trees.

  We turned simultaneously, following the woman's voice into the shadows.

  A moment later, she stepped into view, surveying us all with a sneer, like we were beneath her.

  "I had a feeling someone was traipsing where they didn't belong." She slowly glanced my way and landed her unnerving glare on me. "A close-call, no? You almost took the leap."

  I swallowed hard, taken aback by her unexplained knowledge of what we'd been up to.

  As she stepped closer, her features came into view.

  Her perfectly set blonde hair framed a chiseled face that some might find beautiful, while others would find it severe. Her polished navy blue suit shouted high-power-executive.

  And then I recognized her.

  Before I could say a word, Piper whispered, "Isn't that the woman from the Town Administrator's office? The one from the Fire Festival who conspired with Josie?"

  My spine straightened.

  I knew it.

  Laney Rosco.

  Chancellor Kelly went rigid as her shoulders squared against Laney. She stepped closer with her neck outstretched, as if she were about to discipline a child.

  The funny part was, Laney cowered slightly at first, before gathering herself together.

  "Laney Rosco," Chancellor Kelly breathed. "I suppose since you've been banished from Hazeldene grounds, you needed to find another way to attempt to harass us."

  Laney huffed. "Oh, Ms. Kelly, how things have shifted." She shook her head degradingly. "Maybe I once wanted your approval. Maybe I would have liked to have been included in your little advisory group at Lakefield High School. But you always acted like I wasn't good enough."

  Chancellor Kelly shook her head in denial of her words.

  "That's not true, Laney." The chancellor moved closer. "You made that choice. The choice to use your gifts for manipulation, darkness, and ill will. You needed time to grow, to better understand how to use your privilege." She lowered her eyes in disappointment. "But I'm afraid you've made little progress."

  It was like Laney had been punched in the face.

  She took a moment to shake it off, then turned her attention to me.

  "I won't have the likes of you attempting to exile the Dark Witch from this realm," she sneered. "You have no idea what you're up against."

  My eyes widened from her accusation. She thought we were trying to end the Dark Witch and remove her from existence. Her simple interpretation of our actions misguided her, causing her to miss our higher purpose.

  She continued. "The coven before you had attempted the same thing—ridding her from these woods. But as you can see, though they were initially successful, it didn't take much to conjure her back."

  "Laney!" Ms. Harrison gasped.

  Laney rolled her eyes.

  "What? Am I supposed to just sit around and cry in my soup. Your kind sent the Dark Witch into limbo, leaving me with nothing. I was stripped of my connection to my gifted lineage." She sucked in a huge breath. "It wasn't hard seducing one of your own to help me get her back, though. Josie was more than willing to assist in your demise."

  She smirked directly at me, confirming I was her primary target.

  "Why me?" I shook my head, hoping for answers that had eluded me for so long.

  "Because you're the one who snuck through our portal. You violated something that was meant to be used by my family alone!" She panted as her face reddened. "When you arrived through the gateway all those years ago, I knew you had corrupted its power, leaving me barren of my gifts forever."

  I knew she'd always had something against me. Any time she visited Hazeldene, she'd glare at me and snigger with Josie and her squad.

  As Laney continued her rant, the women of the Higher Order closed ranks. Standing shoulder to shoulder, they moved closer to Laney as if creating a barrier between her and me.

  My confusion from Laney's words kept me riveted, though, and I moved to keep my eye on her.

  "My father sent me through the portal," I stated. "I didn't steal my way through it." My head shook in confusion, trying to understand her comments of me violating and corrupting the portal.

  "That's a lie," she sneered.

  Hattie lept forward. "Shaye is not a liar," she blurted. "Our daddy built the portal. It's ours."

  Laney's face turned crimson as her temper made her hands shake.

  "Impossible. That portal belonged to my great great grandmother." Her eyes went glassy from her rising angst. "And although her condition in limbo is vile and vengeful, I still plan to remain connected to her. So, I summoned her to return to this realm."

  Chancellor Kelly turned and stared at me. It was as if she were anxiously waiting for something to click within me.

  And then, like a slow motion fall of a massive domino maze, each tile knocking down the next, my mind collapsed into one singular realization.

  Laney Rosco was directly connected to the Dark Witch through ancestry.

  Which meant she was directly connected to me.

  She was of my lineage.

  My eyes latched onto Chancellor Kelly's as I pleaded with her.

  "Is it true?" My voice stuck in my throat and I begged with my eyes.

  Dizzying with nausea, I bent over, ready to vomit.

  It couldn't be true.

  But judging from the somber stares of each of the Higher Order, I knew it to be.

  Digging deep within my soul, I gathered enough energy to confront Laney. And with a deep inhale, I found the courage.

  "How could you do that?" I cried. "How could you conjure her back in that condition of suffering? The coven before us made sure she made it home safe. Made sure she wasn't executed so brutally. Burned at the stake. How could you keep her trapped in that state?" My voice cracked as emotion overwhelmed me.

  "It's in that state that my gifts were robbed from me," she blasted.

  "You have no idea what you have done," I cried.

  "I know. I know," she teased. "It's no fun having a witch like that haunting you. But there was no other way to stop you from using the portal again. There's great power and deterrence in a wailing banshee." She huffed. "Josie and I did have a good bit of fun with that."

  As the irrational, crass explanation of her actions hit my ears, I launched at her to rip out her throat.

  But just as my adrenalin shot fierce venom through my veins, a massive dark form burst out of the trees and knocked me back.

  Gasps of terror shot all around me as the black wolf surprised us in its attack. Its deep growls vibrated past its long, sharp fangs as it pounced between Laney and me
.

  I turned to grab Hattie, but the Higher Order already had her and Asher in their shelter. As I shot toward Clayton, I reeled back as my eyes met his. The blazing red that shot from his pupils sent me stumbling. His breath heaved in and out of him as his shoulders swelled in size.

  "Clayton," I screamed.

  But it was too late.

  In an explosive flash, his body increased in size with muscles bursting in every location. His face contorted to that of a wild beast as he huffed with aggression. His focus shot straight at the wolf with clear intent to remove the threat.

  As he launched toward the massive animal, Clayton hesitated just before tackling the wolf. He hovered, shuddering with energy on the verge of detonation. The wolf turned an inquisitive eye on him and something moved between the two, causing Clayton to refocus.

  His beastly red eyes moved to Laney instead.

  Now, with the wolf and Clayton focused on Laney, the power shifted, strengthening us all.

  "Get out of here, Laney," I shouted. "Before you're ripped apart!"

  Her eyes flew wide as she stepped back, trembling. She swatted at the wolf and the beast, attempting to keep them back, but they continued to advance, ready to defend their coven.

  My heart stopped for a moment as my thoughts ran clear.

  The wolf was protecting our coven.

  Somehow, it was a part of us.

  Laney took small steps, backing away from the aggressive stance of the wolf and the beast. Without taking her eyes off them, she called out to the rest of us.

  "You'll regret this," she spat. "Your interference is short-sighted. You have no idea what you're dabbling in."

  She moved closer to her car without blinking.

  My head shook in disbelief as I realized she had no idea of our connection. She was clueless to the fact that the Dark Witch was my mother. And the fact that it made Laney and me of the same bloodline.

  Her desire for revenge blinded her from seeing that she was part of us. Her hate and desire for power had misguided her, sending her on a fool's mission.

  As she reached her car, holding her hand out to keep the wolf and the beast away, she snarled one more time.

  "I'll have Hazeldene shut down," she threatened. "I'm inches away from convincing the town that it's a house of lunatics."

  She jumped in the car and sped away, kicking up gravel behind her.