That’s his silent way of warning Tarj—and The Council in general—that if anything happens to me, he’s watching.
If I don’t make it back, he’ll be the only one to notice.
“Did she say why she wanted to meet me?” I finally ask, dragging my feet to lengthen the time it’ll take to get to there. It should’ve been the first question I asked him, but I’m scared of the answer.
“You’re big news, don’t you know?” He grins and glances down at his feet to carefully pick his steps through the thicket.
I bite my lip. “I didn’t know actually.” The landscape of the Grove isn’t very kind to me, and I wonder how much longer the trip will be as I study the horizon to see a long path of plants ahead. The phantom ache in my leg begins to throb again, and I wish Fern would’ve had an extra chew to lend me.
“We haven’t seen powers like yours since well…you know…” he trails off, cocking his head to the side.
I narrow my eyes, wondering if he’s thinking of Willow. Even though bringing up a taboo subject to a member of The Council makes my anxiety spin out of control, it seems like too perfect of an opportunity to pass up. “Willow?” I prompt.
His eyes stretch wider as he sweeps his silvery hair aside and looks at me. “You know about her?”
“Fern told me,” I say, running my tongue along my teeth. “She was like me, b-but it didn’t end well for her. Why was she executed?”
Tarj opens his mouth to speak when a voice interrupts him. I turn to see the large girl that arrested Iris making her way through the thicket. She holds up her arm, once again showing off her ugly gold bracelet, the same one she had worn at the Arcane Ceremony. I wonder if she is going to pull me into a hug and pray she doesn’t. Instead, she places her hands on both of my shoulders and looks me in the eyes. She has a full, warm face exaggerated by how tightly she had tied her brown hair into a ponytail. I’m uncomfortable with our proximity but manage a small smile despite it.
“Hello, Lilith. My name is Rayna. I never got the proper chance to thank you for your help the other day,” she informs me, dropping her hands off of me.
I dip my head, taking the opportunity to shuffle backward a bit. “It was no trouble really.”
“Well, come on. Myrna really wants to see you,” she chimes, her tone light and airy.
“Myrna?” I echo.
“The Sage’s real name. We’re not supposed to say it out loud, but Rayna forgets,” Tarj whispers in my ear.
Before I have a chance to say another word, she grasps my hand to pull me through the woods. I glance at Tarj over my shoulder and he gives me an apologetic look as he watches us go. I make a mental note to bring up the topic of Willow again before I notice that Rayna’s speed is starting to slow. Being a heavy-set girl means that the long trek is as hard on her as it is to me. For a moment, I’m relieved…until I notice the large building in the distance.
It’s beautiful with plenty of glass panes and gothic steeples. A grand layout of foliage surrounds the building. Shrubs have been perfectly groomed to form beautiful walkways down stone-lined paths bordered with flowers. I press my lips together, glancing around with the expectation to see a grand fountain—it would fit the theme of the rest of the ethereal garden. After straining my ears, I pick up a faint burbling sound, and I chuckle to myself as I realize they do have one—it’s just deeper in than I can see at the moment.
They live like Gods, no wonder they have no problem carrying out the terrible things that they do. Everyone has a price. My face twitches at that thought, but Rayna doesn’t notice.
We walk through a grand archway into a comfortable-looking living space. Five or six chairs that look like thrones are spread in a circle around a huge circular red rug. A bookshelf lines half of one of the walls and a desk with ritual and alchemy supplies lies in the other. It’s empty, and I know that’s because the rest of The Council are finishing up the Dedication Ceremony. I wonder how many others there are. In my head, I try to run through the faces I had seen at both Ceremonies but the only two that stand out are Tarj and Rayna.
Without conscious thought, I reach up to tap my ear, feeling the skin beneath my fingers. Will I still be able to get a piercing or did missing the Dedication Ceremony mean I’ll be considered an UnEquipped once again? I purse my lips. I’m fine with the idea of being put back into Helena’s category of Ignis…if I’m allowed to go back. We stop beside a small set of wooden doors as Rayna looks at me.
“The Sage is in here.”
I lick my bottom lip and study the wood in the door. “What’s she like?” I ask quietly. Why am I stalling?
A gentle smile spreads across Rayna’s face. “She’s very kind and fair,” she assures me, bobbing her head up and down. I go to take a step inside when her fingers grab my upper arm, freezing me in place. “Remember, she’s the most powerful witch of all our Covens. You are to address her with the utmost respect,” she says before she lets go of me.
That depends on what she has to say to me. I nod and push open the door. A long stone-lined corridor separates me from the dim room I see up ahead. I walk the distance through the shadows, my fingers to the wall as I peer cautiously ahead. In my head, I assume I’m walking into some kind of trap, and I wonder what it’ll be. I peer over my shoulder to the door behind me, but I can’t go back.
When I reach the room, I can’t help but glance around. There’s a row of shelves stacked with things for alchemy. Books are scattered across the floor and a scent of herbs fills the air mixed with some type of flower—lavender? A candle sits in a small end table in the middle of the room, the tiny flickering flame oddly capable of lighting the entire room.
“Ah, Lilith, nice to see you, young lady,” a voice calls.
I jump and it’s then that I notice an elderly woman sitting in a red-cushioned chair beside the window. She’s bent over a small black cauldron on the table before her. She clutches a small white-handled knife in her hand that I recognize as a Boline—a special curved blade used during rituals and Healer practices. As I approach her, the smell of herbs only grows stronger.
“Uh…hello, Sage,” I reply, fiddling my fingers as I try my best to be polite as Rayna had noted.
“Call me, Myrna. Take a seat, we have much to discuss,” she says, gesturing to the empty chair across from her table.
I’m quick to obey, thinking how odd it is to actually see her. She’s in her years, evident by the pile of wispy white hair on her head and wrinkles dotted across her face. She smiles at me, crinkling her face more as she studies me through eyes carrying more wisdom than I’ll ever have in my life.
Though the Sage is well-known—and feared—actually seeing her is rare. From what we learned in class, she never leaves her place in Headquarters, especially as she ages, to make sure he has protection at all times. It’s an honor to be in the same room as her, so the fact she asked for me personally should’ve been a boost to my ego.
Instead, I’m wary.
I disobeyed The Council’s wishes by speaking to Iris. I’m owed a punishment of some kind, and I wonder if she’ll be the one to tell me my fate. She studies me for a moment longer, abandoning focus on the potion she had been so intent on before.
“How’s your leg?” she wonders, clasping her hands together on her table.
“You know about my injury?” I inquire, feeling the unease melt away as my hands grip into the arms of the chair. With her infinite knowledge, could she possibly know the truth of my accident?
She nods. “As I imagine, many people both inside and outside of Ignis do. Especially after the Ceremony.”
“Oh.” I feel my shoulders droop as my hope leaves. She may know of my accident but not why. I close my eyes for a long moment, raising my hand to press at a pain growing in between my eyes.
“I sense your disappointment,” she says, eyes intently studying my face.
“It’s been a hard few days,” I admit, tapping my fingers on the arm of my chair in the same way Clio had done
the night before.
“I can imagine.”
“So…uh…what did you want to see me about?” I ask, reaching up to swipe the hair from my eyes. “You know, Tarj pulled me from my Dedication Ceremony.” I move my fingers to my earlobe to flash the unpierced skin for emphasis.
“That’s alright, my dear,” she says, her tone just as calm as when she greeted me despite the irritation that had been obvious in my own. “You’re not here for anything bad, so you can relax.”
I let out a sigh of relief and hold my hand over my heart.
“I actually called you here to offer you a better deal than staying in Ignis as an UnEquipped.” She picks up her boline and uses the blade to stir the liquid in the cauldron once.
I watch her before I mutter, “How did you know what I chose?”
A playful smile tugs at the corners of her lips. “Lucky guess, my dear.”
I raise an eyebrow and stare at her—mysterious is a character trait for her apparently. For a moment, I’m afraid to speak because I don’t how much of a challenge will be in my tone. “What’s the offer?”
“After seeing the way you protected Tarj, and rushed to heal him despite not having the proper know-how, you’ve shown your courage…condition and all. That’s why I would like you to be a member of The Council,” she states, hands once again folded together as she looks at me with her chin raised.
My jaw drops instantly, the wind knocked from my sails. What she’s offering me is monumental, an opportunity that many of the witches in my Coven would’ve leapt at the second they got the opportunity. The witches of The Council are known for their intelligence and their strength. They have the best powers of all those in their Covens like an arsenal of misfits. There’s a reason for The Council’s choice of members—they have to be unbeatable to keep the truce between the Covens in place.
It makes it a Hell of a lot harder to beat your opponent when you don’t know what to expect. The duel I had with Clio the night of the last day of school stands as a perfect example.
“I mean no disrespect by this, but do you really think me, of all people, can handle this?” I ask, turning my wrists to gesture to myself.
“I would not offer it if I didn’t think you were capable,” she answers, tone once again even.
I dip my head. “I’m sorry to question your judgement,” I state and resist the urge to hold my hand to my mouth with my shock still crippling me.
“It’s a question I hear often. Have you met Crowe yet?”
I shake my head and once again try to display all The Council members’ faces I had seen in my mind.
“He’s the newest to The Council before you. He’s a shapeshifter and a lot harder to handle than you are. When I brought him here, he reacted very poorly and asked a lot bolder questions than have, my dear. You do not need to fear me; I promise your questions will not be considered rude or out of place. I understand that things may seem to be just a bit confusing for you and that can manifest in many different ways.”
I manage a small smile, but I’m still unsure of what to say. I can’t handle a place in The Council—I can barely even regulate normal witch powers.
“He’ll be your mentor,” she says, picking up her boline to cut a leaf she had on her desk. “You’ll be expected to listen to him until you get adjusted to your life around here.”
“Not Tarj?” I ask, surprising both of us with the question. Since he’s the representation of Ignis in The Council and had been the one in which I shared the most contact, I would’ve assumed he’d be put in charge of me.
“I considered it, but I feel as if the incident at the Ceremony would make the trainer/trainee relationship a bit strained,” she explains, scooping up the plant bits to dump into her potion.
“I understand.” My arm slips off the rest as some of the tension in my shoulders disappears. Despite Tarj being the most familiar, I have the feeling that his personality and mine would make life unbearable—the past few days have proved that much. “When will I meet Crowe?”
“He’s at the Dedication Ceremony still,” she replies as she glances at her cauldron. “I’ll have Rayna take you to meet him.”
“I have one more question before you dismiss me, if I may.” I clench my hands together in my lap in my best attempt to seem passive.
“Anything, my dear,” she says, picking up a flower from the desk to twirl in her fingers.
“If I take on this role in The Council, are you going to assign me to a Coven or am I still allowed to make that choice?” I ask.
“You’ll live here in the Grove with the rest of us, of course.”
I stare at her without seeing. This is their way of getting what they wanted, to make me leave Ignis. I see the expression on my parents’ faces, on Helena’s, and on Clio’s as well. I thought I had made it clear that I hadn’t wanted to leave.
“What is it?” she wonders, narrowing her eyes at me slightly when she catches the flash of emotions on my face.
“I don’t want to leave Ignis,” I admit, not afraid of looking her in the eyes for the first time during our talk.
The Sage purses her lips for a long moment, appearing deep in thought. “That’s what you may think you want at the moment, but you’re young. The problem with youth is that it usually comes paired with stubbornness. I’m here to show you all your options. Change can be scary and almost everyone is unwelcome to the idea of it. That’s why sometimes it takes help.”
I swallow heavily and bite my lip as my eyes dart to her cauldron. That’s her way of politely saying, “Too bad.”
I’m on the verge of some kind of outburst, and I have to remind myself how dangerous of a move that would be in the presence of The Sage. The Council has final say in everything, I remind myself bitterly, though for the life of me, I can’t imagine how I’ll break the news of leaving my Coven to those that mean the most to me—if of course I’m given the opportunity.
By the sound of it, she’s already arranged to have me in the Grove for a long time.
In the back of my mind lies that nagging suspicion that their plans for me are similar to the ones they had for Willow. I can see this plan working to lure someone like me away from those that love them. The problem with their idea now is that I know how Willow’s story ended, and I quietly vow not to end up like her. It’s odd to me that they want to separate me from my Coven before I have the chance to get my piercing…almost as if they’re saying I’m not gonna need one.
I can only think of one reason for that—death.
Where’s your trust? my conscious scolds. The train of thought is so unexpected I bite harder into my lip to resist the urge to smile. Out the window when my parents decided it was okay to lie to me for fifteen plus years.
“Right,” I mutter finally, flicking my eyes up to meet her gaze as I accidentally draw a bead of blood from my lip. I lick it away before I force myself to add, “Thank you.” There’s nothing else I can say as I stand to my feet, eyeing her with the odd sensation that the meeting isn’t truly over yet.
“This is for you,” she says, handing me the tiny purple flower she had twirled in her fingers a few minutes prior.
I reach for it, clutching it with trembling fingers. The smell of the petals drifts up my nose, relaxing me just a little despite the hurricane of anxiety in my mind, and I lift my eyebrow as I stare at it.
“It’s for luck,” The Sage explains. “It seems like you need it.”
I nod. That’s an understatement. I tuck the flower into my pocket and head back down the long, dark corridor not sure what to do with myself. I decide to seek out Rayna. Being the only face I know—beside Tarj—I have a feeling I’ll have to stick to her side like glue until I’m introduced to my soon-to-be-mentor, Crowe. I find Rayna in the Common Area, and she leads me back out into the woods of the Grove toward the Ceremony Grounds. The ache in my bad leg starts up again at the thought of trekking that amount of distance back through the thick foliage.
If they want me here, th
ey have to fix their landscaping. I scoff.
I want to say something but think better of it. They’ll think I’m weak if I start out with a complaint—that’s the last thing I want. Part of me is glad they had seen what I was capable of at the Ceremony. They know I have strength. A frown finds its way to my face at the thought. Had Willow made it a point to show off her strength as well? Or had she blindly obeyed the orders of The Council up until her death?
Am I following the same path she had?
I glance around for Tarj. He had been on the verge of telling me Willow’s story, and I want to make sure he follows through. After a minute of searching, I don’t see him, and my shoulders slump in defeat. Part of me wonders if The Sage is making an effort to keep me away from him because she doesn’t want me to know the truth.
Chapter Thirteen
Crowe
IT DOESN’T TAKE long for me to discover that Rayna is a chatterbox. The entire trip to the Ceremony Grounds is filled with details of her life—things I never would’ve cared to know otherwise. I nod along patiently, wondering if her ramblings will end anytime soon. I stay silent, watching my footing as we travel, missing the silence that the walk with Tarj had provided…or at least the chance to get a word in edgewise.
“That’s when I first realized I had mind control powers,” she says, waving her chunky arms. “I didn’t even mean to make him do it. I got so mad it just kind of happened…but that’s what my brother deserved!”
“Your family must have been surprised,” I mutter, suppressing the sigh I wanted to add to it. I hope all The Council members won’t want to unload their life stories on me when I meet them.
Rayna tilts her head from side to side. “It’s not too far from telekinesis, but if caught them off guard, that’s for sure. What about you? Multiple powers must be exciting! You’re kinda like a superwitch!”
I shrug, wishing I can summon up even a fraction of her excitement. “I think the Arcane Ceremony lied. I’ve only been able to use telekinesis.”
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