The Aether Witch (The Coven: Elemental Magic Book 6)

by Chandelle LaVaun

  I gasped and shot up straight. My stomach turned. I hit accept then held it up to my ear. “Constance? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, sorry to wake you, but—” She yelled something to someone on her end of the line, her voice muffled. “Sorry, um, I need your help.”

  “Eden isn’t under attack and civilians aren’t being slaughtered?”

  She sighed. “Not as of right now, no. That is not why I’m calling. Everyone here is safe and unharmed for the time being.”

  I tried to keep my voice low to not wake my soulmate. We needed him fully rested and recharged. “Okay, good. So what can I help you with?”

  “Walter flew down to Tampa a few hours ago, without realizing there was a tropical storm rolling through. He’s fine. Everyone is okay…but the plane is not.” She groaned. “I guess we’ve all been so focused on Salem— Well, anyway, he won’t be able to fly back out with your backup until this afternoon, maybe this evening.”

  “We need you here sooner,” I whispered and pushed my hair off my face.

  “Exactly. Can you portal here and get me?”

  “I’ll be there in a minute.” I hung up the phone and jumped out of bed.

  The hardwood floors were cold under my bare feet, but luckily I’d set my combat boots right next to the bed. This is why I slept in my clothes. I made quick work of my laces then rolled over onto my knees and leaned over my soulmate. His long black hair was wildly wavy and disheveled, hanging half in his face. He, too, had gone to bed in his jeans, though his shirt had been on when we went to sleep, and it was nowhere to be seen now. I smiled and shook my head. Boys.

  I brushed the hair off his face then cupped his jaw. “Tennessee.”

  His eyes flew open. He gasped and sat up so fast I fell backward. “What? What’s wrong? You’re dressed, why? Where are you going?”

  “You’re dressed, too, babe.” I leaned over and pressed my lips to his, just for a second. When I pulled back, I pushed him down to the pillow again. “Long story, but Constance needs me to portal to Eden and bring her back here. I’ll be right back.”

  He frowned so hard his eyebrows about covered his eyes. His glyph sparkled a vibrant rosy pink. “You’re just going to Eden, then right back here? No other stops?”

  “No other stops. Stay here. Sleep. I’ll let you know when I’m back.”

  He nodded, his eyes half closed already. He mumbled something, but I was fairly sure he’d fallen asleep in the middle. I laughed and kissed his forehead, then climbed off the bed. Everyone else was sleeping, so I summoned my magic and opened a portal right in the bedroom. It glistened like fresh fallen snow. I pictured the front hallway of Edenburg with the burgundy lockers and shiny hardwood floors. Then I stepped into the portal.

  Light flashed around me, and cold air trickled over my arms. I shivered and glanced down with a frown. Damn it, I forgot my jacket. Although I was technically dressed, I only had on a thin tank top with straps the size of spaghetti noodles. When I looked back up, I found at least fifty students about my age staring at me. I wasn’t sure which was wider—their eyes or their mouths.

  I was in the front building of the school, just like I’d planned. The lights reflected off the shiny hardwood floors. Burgundy lockers lined the hall on both sides, most of them open and surrounded by students. They all had on fancy-looking black cloaks that looked like something from the Renaissance. They were super witchy and made me even more jealous that I was robbed of my chance to attend Edenburg.

  “Um…hi?” I raised my left hand and waved. Smooth, Tegan.

  The students all gasped and started whispering to each other. I frowned. What is happening? I looked down at my arm expecting to see some huge gaping wound or a miniature demon clinging to me, but there was nothing. Just the Roman numeral II inked into my skin in black, bold digits.

  “Hi-hi-hi—” A girl with piercing yellow-green eyes jumped out in front of me. She was a piece of artwork. Her hair was cropped just above her shoulders, about the same length as Tennessee’s, and a radiant indigo color.

  As soon as this stupid Gap is closed, I’m re-dying my hair. I smiled and waved again, like she hadn’t seen the first one. “Hi, hi, hi to you, too.”

  “Hi-High Priestess!”

  Oh, that was stuttering, not a bunch of hellos. Right. Much more logical.

  She giggled and it made her eyes twinkle. Her lips were painted a bright red that really looked smashing with the honey tone of her skin. Despite the chill in the air, she only had on a cropped tank top and leggings, and combat boots with paint splattered on them. She had intricate tattoos covering her left arm and shoulder, and more down both sides of her rib cage. There was a piercing in her belly button, and a silver hoop hanging from her septum.

  “I like your style. What’s your name? Because we’re gonna be friends,” I said before I could stop myself.

  The girl stuttered and closed her mouth. It was only then that I realized she’d been talking to me while I was enjoying her style.

  I sighed and shook my head. “Sorry. I’m a weirdo. Continue.”

  “I’m Lennox. Thank you. We can totes be friends, High Priestess.” She blushed and tucked her blue hair behind her ears. “I was just asking if I could help you? I’m assuming you left Salem for a reason…”

  I frowned and scratched my forehead. “Oh, right. Yes. Sorry, I’m sleep-deprived.”

  “And a weirdo.” Lennox grinned.

  “Such a weirdo.” I laughed and shook my head. The other students around us stared in shock. “Right. I’m here for Constance.”

  “Oh, that’s convenient! She’s right in here!” Lennox bounced over to the door to my left and yanked it open. She leaned inside with a big smile on her face and waved her tattooed hand. “Constance, the High Priestess is here for you.”

  A second later, Constance stepped out into the hall. Her sandy blonde hair was pulled tight into a high ponytail. The navy blue turtleneck really made her blue eyes pop, but worry and fear lurked in them.

  She stormed up to me then pulled me in a hug. When she stepped back, her face was grim. “I’m so glad you made it back. I heard what happened. How’s Deacon?”

  I smiled and remembered him standing behind my sister on the roof slaying demons. “Good as new, and ready to play.”

  “That’s wonderful news. Thanks for coming. Just follow me. I need to give Daniel something.” She turned and gestured for me to follow her down the main hallway. “I didn’t realize you were that fast.”

  “No worries,” I said and followed after her.

  “Bye, new weirdo friend!” Lennox yelled down the hall after me.

  I glanced over my shoulder and smiled. “Bye, Lenny!” Wait. Did I just call her Lenny? I did. I gave a stranger a nickname. Is that weird? Why am I the way I am?

  I glanced at the students as we walked, and they still watched me with wide expressions. Like I was a ghost or something. I’d probably lost all my cool points in those few moments.

  Constance laughed and it brought my eyes back up to her. She shook her head. “I say, you and Tennessee are quite the pair.”

  I frowned and rounded the corner after her. “What does that mean?”

  She stepped into a room and waved me in. “Oh, just that you’re two of the most intimidating people I’ve ever met, and you’re completely oblivious to it. The entire campus is terrified of your boyfriend, and I suspect now you, too.”

  “Oh. Well…crap, I don’t know.” I groaned and sat down in the chair next to her desk.

  “That soulmate glyph is almost full-grown now, I see.” She pointed to my arm then dug into a drawer. “I’m glad you don’t have to hide it anymore. Ah-ha, here it is. All right, let me hand this to him, and we can go.”

  I jumped to my feet and followed her back out into the hall. “I’m glad too. What is that?”

  “This?” She held her hand up to show me a little red box sitting in her palm. “This is what we call the last stand. Usually only Coven Leaders have access to i
t, but in this case, I’m leaving it to Daniel. One, because he’s my soulmate and I trust him. Two, because he’s the headmaster, so people will listen to him.”

  We walked down a quieter hall with only a handful of students in black cloaks, but even they scurried out of my way. It was flattering, but mostly strange. My Coven-mates were afraid of me from time to time, but this was on a whole new level.

  I cleared my throat and refocused on Constance. “So what does the last resort do exactly?”

  “Basically, it locks down Eden. No one gets in, and no one gets out. Like a protective shield. Takes an intense amount of magic to release.” She stopped outside a pair of double doors and frowned. “If those six Swords don’t find Lonan and get back, Daniel might have to actually use this.”

  “This is probably a dumb question, but what is a Sword, precisely?”

  Her eyebrows raised. “Oh. Well, I guess you wouldn’t know about Edenburg, would you? Okay so, the school is sectioned into four groups, which we call Suits. The Pentacles, The Cups, The Wands, and The Swords. Just like in a tarot deck. They represent four different types of magic. The Swords are the warriors, our fighters to help us with the demons and such.”

  “Ohhh. That makes sense. Which is why Timothy sent the best six to find Lonan.”

  “Exactly. I’ll be right back.” She smiled and slipped inside the door.

  I didn’t follow her. She was delivering to her soulmate and leaving for easily the biggest battle of her life. I’d want a moment of privacy before leaving too. I couldn’t imagine how she felt leaving Daniel behind. In this war, I wouldn’t have been able to leave Tennessee. Just being away from him for these few moments was making my skin crawl. The doors flew open, and Constance stepped back out into the hall. Her eyes were watery and her cheeks flushed.

  She smoothed her shirt down and nodded. “Okay, let’s get back to Salem.”

  I wiggled my fingers and pushed with my magic. Rainbow mist swirled through the air. A few students froze in the middle of the hallway. That white box appeared in front of us, shimmering and waiting for our call. I pictured the living room in Headquarters, with the cozy brown sofas and sprawling fireplace. Then I hooked my arm around Constance’s and pulled her through the portal.

  Fire scorched through my chest and I smiled.

  “Finally,” Tennessee whispered the second we landed in the living room. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me to his chest. “That took too long.”

  “I was only gone a few minutes.”

  “Yeah, well a lot has happened in those few minutes,” Royce grumbled from over by the fireplace. “I was just getting into some good dreams.”

  “Hey, Constance.” Timothy nodded in her direction. “Did you give Daniel the—”

  “Yes,” she said with a dark tone in her voice.

  I frowned and looked around. The entire Coven was huddled in the living room, looking like someone just died. I counted all the heads. We were all here. Even Deacon, who was standing behind the sofa with his arm wrapped around my sister.

  I took a deep breath and tried to brace myself for the unknown. “What happened?”

  “Nothing we didn’t already know,” Tennessee said with a sigh.

  Uncle Kessler shrugged and held up Bentley’s arm. “Salem’s Prophecy.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  TEGAN

  “From the swords new twins are born, a single choice thy Goddess warns. When Powers of Light and Dark combine, beware the time will entwine. Once Samhain’s sunset finds thee well, invoke thy magic to unlock the spell. By midnight they must make the call, For Coven or demons to rule them all.” Easton leaned away from my brother’s arm then turned to me with expectant eyes.

  Everyone stared at me, like I was going to solve the riddle in the beat of a second. Truth was, I’d already been thinking about it for weeks, and I was no closer to figuring it out. Some of the words made more sense, but nothing was clearer.

  “Gotta admit, I was expecting more of a reaction than a blank stare.” Easton pointed to the prophecy written on Bentley’s arm. “Do I need to read it again?”

  Bentley shook his head and met my stare over Easton’s blond head. “Tegan already knew the prophecy.”

  “What? How?” Timothy crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve never even seen it written down.”

  “You don’t have the Book of Shadows,” I said with a smile and sat down on the sofa next to my twin. “Though, I’ll admit, I was secretly hoping it would come back with more information.”

  I squeezed my quartz crystal necklace in my hand, and my magic swirled around it. There was a flash of light, like always, and then the ancient text of The Coven sat in my hands. I leaned forward and placed it on the coffee table, then pressed my palm to the first page. Salem’s Prophecy. The pages flipped in rapid succession then stopped on a page I’d read hundreds of times. I pointed to it, and the others peered over my shoulder.

  “See, it’s the same. Unfortunately.” I sighed and leaned back so the others could look. “Obviously we know Emersyn and I are going to choose to close the Gap, but that’s about the only thing we know now that they didn’t know then.”

  “So let me see if I got this…” Deacon scrubbed his face with his hands. “We can’t even remove the cloaking spell from the Gap until sunset on Samhain?”

  “It means we have to be ready to close the Gap by then.” Tennessee strolled closer with his arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head. “It doesn’t leave us much room for error.”

  “Right, because we— I mean they”—Deacon gestured between Emersyn and me—“have to then close the Gap by midnight.”

  “Six hours is not a lot of time, it’s true,” Uncle Kessler said with a heavy sigh. “We’ll have to have a plan in place.”

  Tennessee cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes, like he was thinking unpleasant thoughts. “Actually, that’s what concerns me. We may not be able to plan for something we don’t know. What it means is everyone will have to be ready to do whatever Tegan and Emersyn ask of them at the drop of a hat.”

  “Obviously that’s not a problem.” Braison held a pack of ice to his forehead. “I’m more worried they won’t know what to tell us.”

  “I think everyone just needs to focus on protecting each other. If you can help us, I won’t hesitate to ask.” I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes to think. There was something I was forgetting, something right there on the tip of my tongue. C’mon, brain, I know you’re sleep-deprived but work with me.

  “Um, guys…” Lily raised her hand, and her XIX Mark poked out from her long sleeve. “You’re getting ahead of yourselves a bit, right? Or does someone know what this spell in the prophecy is? Did I miss something?”

  Tennessee rolled his neck. “No, we don’t know the spell.”

  Willow turned in her seat and looked to me with big, dark brown eyes. “Tegan?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve been through the Book of Shadows over and over since I got it. I mean, there are thousands of spells in here, but none of them scream they’re for this.”

  “That’s what I don’t understand.” Cooper leaned over the book and frowned. “Why aren’t there more notes in here? I mean, this is Salem’s Prophecy. You met Elizabeth Bishop, our ancestor, so how did she not leave us more than this?”

  “Because Gabriel confiscated the Book. She had just enough time to leave me a note to—” I gasped. That’s it! Of course! I’m such an idiot. I spun in my seat and looked up at my little brother’s face. “The New Book! Bentley, I need the New Book!”

  Bentley frowned and shook his head. “The New Book? I…I don’t know what that is.”

  “Right before Gabriel took the Book of Shadows, Elizabeth Bishop left me a note telling me they started a New Book and that I was to ask you about it when I got back.” I pointed to the Book of Shadows behind me. “That’s why there’s nothing else in there about it.”

  Tennessee snapped his fingers a
nd cursed. “Yes, of course. Why didn’t I think of that? Cassandra was always making notes in a book. I had assumed it was a diary, which I suppose it kind of was.”

  “There must be a note in the locket, then.” Bentley pulled the locket out from under his Iron Man shirt then cupped it in both palms.

  He squeezed his eyes shut. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He shook his head and frowned. An orange glowing light radiated out of the locket and seeped through his fingers. It wrapped up his arms and slithered a trail up to his head. His shoulders rose and fell, like he was breathing heavier. I bit my lip. Butterflies danced around in my stomach as I waited at the edge of a cliff.

  Bentley’s eyes flew open. The gold irises sparkled like fresh champagne. “It’s here, in the library. It has the triple moon symbol on the binding.”

  Tennessee cursed and took off down the hall in the back. I sprinted after him with Bentley’s footsteps echoing down the hall after me. Part of me was mad no one had told me there was a library in the house, but the bigger part of me knew I wouldn’t have had time to play in it. I had no idea where I was going, so I followed the burn in my chest. When the pain intensified enough to make me hiss, I stopped and turned into that room.

  Inside, I found Tennessee scanning every book on the wall. His mismatched gaze bounced around. I ran to his side and searched the books at his hip level and lower. There were so many, it was hard to go in a steady, methodical path.

  Bentley grabbed us both by the arm and pulled us into the middle of the room. “It’ll have magic, so you’ll be able to feel where it’s coming from.”

  I pushed my magic out and felt Tennessee’s pulsing with power alongside mine. Our magic shot across to the far right wall then stopped. I ran over and started searching again, making sure to look at one book at a time. The triple moon symbol should stand out among the others.

  “There!” Tennessee reached over my head and plucked a red leather-bound book off the shelf. He showed me the binding with the triple moon symbol burned into it. “I can’t believe it. That whole time, she had this. I saw her writing in this, and I never thought anything of it.”