by Jayne Faith
My heart nearly ripped in two. Any satisfaction I’d felt dissolved into grief for my best friend. She blamed herself for giving her loyalty to her stupid, loser ex-husband and this manipulative witch.
“It’s not you, Deb,” Becky said. “Trust me, it’s not you. Lynnette’s spent a lifetime learning how to control people. We all got sucked in, otherwise we wouldn’t have ended up here.”
I cast Becky a grateful look, hoping the words would have an impact on Deb.
“Not everyone got sucked in,” Deb said. She turned around, her eyes finding mine. “You didn’t. You knew. You tried to tell me, but I wouldn’t listen.”
I opened my mouth to respond but didn’t get the chance.
“Ladies,” Lynnette cut in. She’d put on a placating expression and a tone to match. Words began sliding smoothly from her lips. I knew even without feeling it that she was on the verge of trying to pull power to employ her verbal magic. “You’re all being a bit dramatic, don’t you think? It was a mistake. A stupid one. Don’t get carried away. Come on, we can work this out, you guys.”
I saw Deb’s face harden a split second before she whirled on Lynnette. “Sit down and shut up,” Deb roared.
Lynnette blinked and jumped as if she’d been struck. Everyone else in the room stiffened, too, me included.
Deb pointed to the nearest easy chair. She put on her take-no-nonsense teacher face. “Don’t make me ask again. And if you reach for your magic, I will have Ella fry your brain and cut you off from your magic forever. She’s a Level III now, in case you forgot. She can do it.”
I had no idea if my newfound power included the ability to fry a human brain, but in that moment, I kind of believed Deb. Lynnette must have, too, because she obediently went to the chair and perched on the edge of it with her fingers woven together in her lap.
Deb turned to the rest of us. “Now. Becky and Ella will go through the ballots and—hey!”
I followed Deb’s gaze to Elena, who had stood and started edging toward the door while we were all distracted by Deb’s showdown with Lynnette.
Pulling earth power, I formed a wall of green that blocked the front door and then turned to Deb and lifted my hand. “You were saying?”
She gave me a sharp nod. “Yes. Thank you. I was saying that Becky and Ella will go through the real ballots. Then we’ll talk about who actually won and what we’re going to do about Lynnette, Marta, Elena, and Jen.”
On the last name, Deb’s voice and face fell as it seemed to hit home that Jen had been in on Lynnette’s schemes. Deb had considered Jen a close friend. At times I’d wondered whether Jen might be an ally, but I wouldn’t have guessed that the vampire witch was so deeply involved in the coven leader’s nefarious activities. My heart gripped again for Deb and the hurt she was surely feeling. This was a hell of a lot of disappointment to deal with.
I released Elena from the web of earth magic, and then Becky and I took the box and all the papers over to the kitchen island and began going through the ballots. We discovered Deb had been elected Keeper of Ritual, according to the true vote.
“Hey,” I said to Becky in a low voice. “Lynnette and her minions didn’t elect anyone for Keeper of Means. Don’t you think that’s weird?”
She frowned at the ballots and then looked up at me. “Yeah . . . except in the fake ballots, you won. I edged you out by one vote in the real ballots.”
“Huh?”
“Even though you withdrew, they wrote in your name on the fake ballots. You also got write-in votes on the real ballots.”
I blinked. “That doesn’t make sense.”
She gave me a wry smile. “What, you’re not used to being one of the popular girls?”
I barked a laugh. “Um, no. But I don’t think that’s what’s going on here.”
“The witches like you,” she said. “I think even Lynnette’s do, too. You saved them. You may not want to be here, but you’re well-regarded.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t buying it. Lynnette wouldn’t want me to be the Keeper of Means. Why would she make me the winner on the fake ballots? She probably hadn’t wanted Becky to take the position, either, but why was she okay with me winning? An idea occurred to me. “After we’re done, can I take all the ballots? Just for a while.”
Becky’s manicured brows shot up. “Sure, I guess. As long as you bring them back. We should probably keep them in our records.”
“I’m happy you won Keeper of Means,” I said. “You’re obviously better suited to digging up the dirt in the financials, and I’m going to be a little preoccupied for a while anyway.”
Her hands stilled, and her eyes met mine. “Oh, damn. Lynnette had an idea about something we could do for you at the conflux. We should have waited to out her.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I had my doubts about her intentions. I think odds are pretty low she was actually going to help.”
“Maybe,” Becky said. “But you can’t go in there alone. I’m sure the others will be willing to help. You can count me in. Just tell us what you want us to do.”
I gave her a grateful look, but there was one problem. I hadn’t figured out how I could utilize anyone else.
“Thanks,” I said. “Let’s just get through this.”
We rejoined the group, where Deb had Marta, Jen, and Elena on the floor next to Lynnette’s chair. They were sitting cross-legged with nearly identical unhappy expressions, like grade-schoolers who’d been caught bullying a kid at recess.
“Deb was legitimately elected Keeper of Ritual,” Becky said without preamble.
Everyone except Lynnette and her buddies let out a cheer.
“I was legitimately elected Keeper of Means, by only one vote in the real ballots. I lost to Ella in the fake ballots,” Becky continued. “And Jen was the sole nominee for Keeper of Records, so she won.”
“Clearly Jen’s position isn’t going to stand,” Adriana said. “In fact, I move that those four get kicked out of the coven as soon as possible.”
Everyone started talking at once, and then Lynnette shouted above the din.
“That’s not possible,” she said. “As founder, I can’t be removed.”
“Then we’ll have to dissolve the organization,” Adriana said.
Deb held a hand high, silencing the arguments. “What we’ll do is look into all options, think about it, and then decide. For now, we need a formal vote to take Lynnette out of decision-making capacity. And you should know that as long as she has no authority, by the charter rules as Keeper of Ritual I’ll be filling in for her. We also need a vote to suspend all four of them until we can decide what to do.”
“I move to do that,” Adriana said, her anger still clear.
“Second,” several of us chimed in at once.
We voted, and as expected there were only four dissenters.
“They shouldn’t have even been allowed to vote,” someone muttered not-so-subtly.
“That may be true, but at least we know the decision was legitimately arrived at,” Deb said firmly.
I watched her with admiration. Even while still reeling from the emotional gut-punches of learning her leader and friends were frauds, she’d immediately stepped in to fill the leadership void. It was obvious the women respected her. Well, the ones whose respect actually meant anything. Deb was going to be an amazing mom. And a hell of a leader.
“What are we going to do about them?” Becky asked, tipping her head at Lynnette and the others.
“No one leaves here until Lynnette gives the new officers full access to all of the coven’s records,” Deb said.
“But Jen was elected Keeper of Records,” I pointed out. “We can’t let that stand.”
Deb sighed. “You’re right. She’s officially suspended. Can I get a volunteer to fill in?”
Adriana’s hand shot up, and Deb nodded at her.
Becky had gone to the kitchen for her bag. She returned holding a tablet in one hand and crooking the index finger of her other
hand at Lynnette. “I need all accounts and passwords.”
Lynnette looked like she was ready to vomit as she shakily stood, smoothed her hands down the front of her off-the-shoulder t-shirt, and then trudged toward the new Keeper of Means as if going to her own execution.
Jen was the only one who had actually looked remorseful. Silent tears had started spilling down her round cheeks while Deb was talking, and then the vampire witch held her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
I couldn’t help a small stab of sympathy. Her life hadn’t been easy, but she’d finally found some peace in the vampire community, where she lived in her little bachelorette pad, and with the coven, which had given her a place to belong among people who didn’t care that she was a vamp. She’d come to my aid a number of times, and I’d genuinely liked her.
Unexpected sadness gripped me as all that had just gone down really began to sink in. We’d obliterated the coven and in the process also shattered the future, security, sisterhood, and family it had represented for most of the women in it. No one knew exactly how the pieces would fall, but nothing would ever be the same. Most likely, the coven would have to be dissolved. It was going to be hard on everyone, emotionally and financially.
I sidled over to Deb while the others moved away from the three pariahs still sitting on the floor. Whispered conversations started up among the women who were still in good standing.
“What are we going to do with the four of them?” I whispered.
“Nothing,” she said. “It’s not like we can lock them up. The best we can do is make sure they can’t steal from the coffers, lock us out of any accounts, or delete anything important. But we’re not jailers. We’ll have to let them go. I suspect that may be the last we see of Marta and Elena. Lynnette might still try to get something out of us, though.”
“And what about Jen?”
Deb heaved a weighty sigh and looked over at the vampire witch, who was still sobbing into her hands.
“I don’t want to make too many assumptions,” she said carefully. “But Jen may be . . . salvageable. I don’t think all of this was really her. Maybe Lynnette even used verbal magic to coerce her.”
“You mean you’d pull for letting Jen stay?” I asked incredulously.
She gave a tiny shrug. “That depends on her, how badly she wants it, and what she’s willing to do to show it. And what everyone else thinks, of course. But we’ll worry about that later. Who knows if we’ll even have a coven anymore, after it’s all said and done.”
After another fifteen minutes or so, Becky seemed satisfied she’d gotten enough information out of Lynnette. She carried her tablet over to me and Deb.
“We might as well dismiss them,” Becky said. “If the others are willing to stay, we can talk about what’s next.”
Deb nodded. She went over and sat in the chair Lynnette had vacated and touched Jen’s shoulder. The vampire witch lifted her tearstained face. Deb spoke quietly to her, and a fresh wave of tears filled Jen’s eyes. She made a brief reply and then stood up and went to gather her things.
Deb rose with her hands pressed into her lower back. This was a lot more stress and strain than I wanted her to experience at this point in her pregnancy, and I could tell she was physically exhausted and mentally drained. But the others seemed expectant, and Becky was right—we needed to at least start talking about how we were going to move forward.
“Before we let the four of you go,” Deb said. “I’d like to hear what Lynnette wanted to do at the conflux.” She turned to the former leader of the coven. “If you want any hope of getting back in our good graces and avoiding criminal charges, it’d be a good idea to tell us in detail how you planned to help Ella.”
Criminal charges? Maybe Detective Lagatuda’s influence was rubbing off more than I’d realized. Or perhaps Deb was just bluffing.
Lynnette folded her arms, and her dark red lips pressed together in the faintest of grim smiles. “In exchange for what, specifically?” she asked. “I’ve done nothing of a criminal nature, so your threat isn’t very compelling.”
I shook my head in disbelief. After everything, she thought she was still in a position to bargain? Or maybe I’d been right, and she’d never intended to help in the first place.
“You just lost your chance,” Deb said. She swung her arm out and pointed at the front door. “Leave now.”
Lynnette blinked twice, dropped her arms to her sides, stormed across the room, and left.
Deb faced the other three outcasts. “Did Lynnette tell any of you about her grand scheme?” she asked.
Marta and Elena sat there with stony stares. After a long pause, Jen shook her head.
“Fine,” Deb said. “You three go, too.”
We all watched in silence as they gathered up their things and walked out.
The nine of us who were left seemed mostly stunned and drained.
“Are we going to lose everything?” asked Latrice, one of the youngest of the group, in a small voice.
“Not if I can help it,” Deb said. She sank to a chair and looked around at us. “What do we want? Do we want to try to salvage the coven?”
“I do,” Latrice said.
Several more added their agreement.
Deb took a deep breath. “Okay, I’ll look into whether we could make that happen. I don’t think there’s much more we can do tonight, though, in the way of decisions. Whatever we do, it’s going to take some time. I know it’s going to be hard to go back home and try to pick up the pieces, but we have each other. If you need to talk, call somebody. Okay? You’re not alone in this.”
The women nodded, looking weary and sad. I felt shades of the emotions I saw around me, but mostly I was incredibly proud of Deb. I knew she was amazing, but it was as if, in the middle of a crisis, she’d come alive. And right then, I knew she was meant to lead a coven. Whatever happened next, she’d be at the helm, and it would be awesome.
But for the moment, the air was heavy with devastation. And my own problems began descending once again upon me, weighing me down and filling me with equal parts determination and dread.
As the women made movements to depart and exchanged last hugs and encouraging words, I tried to take inspiration from my best friend. I had only a couple more days until the conflux.
“I know it’s late,” I said to Deb in a low voice. “But I need to have Roxanne look at the ballots. I want to see if she can read anything on them, any intention or anything. It just doesn’t make any sense that Lynnette set me up to be the write-in winner for Keeper of Means.”
Deb frowned. “You’re right. That doesn’t make sense at all. You’re the last person Lynnette would want holding an office in the coven.”
“Gee, you don’t have to rub it in,” I said wryly.
She gave me a faint, tired smile. “I’m just concerned.”
“Me too,” I said. “Lynnette doesn’t do these things without a motive. Even though she’s all but ousted, I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Roxanne has tomorrow off from school, so I bet she’s still up,” Deb said. “Meet me back home?”
I gave her the stack of ballots. “See you there,” I said.
I called Loki and went over to the sink. I filled a bowl with water, faded into the in-between, and ghosted to my apartment.
Chapter 22
ROXANNE HAD A special skill that I’d never even heard of before I’d met her. She could “read” objects and know who had handled or manipulated them. She’d learned the same with spells—she seemed to be able to sense who had cast magic on an object. The skill seemed to be strongest when someone she knew had touched or magicked something. If it were a stranger, she could sometimes give a bit of description.
In the months I’d known her, she’d been working hard to expand the talent. Intent was one aspect she’d been trying to hone. I hoped that her familiarity with the women in the coven would make it easier to read such information on the ballots.
I popped
into the apartment’s tiny kitchen. Roxanne was on the sofa watching TV. She straightened when I walked in but didn’t look alarmed.
“Deb said someone would be showing up suddenly,” she said. “I figured it was you, even though she didn’t say.”
She extracted herself from a pile of blankets and pillows and trotted across the room to give me a hug.
“That’s pure crap they’re saying about you,” she said when she pulled back. She flipped her middle finger at the TV. “Evil media overlords.”
I gave her a tired grin. “Your loyalty means a lot. But if anyone finds out you saw me, you’d get in a load of trouble, and I don’t want any of this, uh, crap to affect you.”
“No one will ever know.” She mimed zipping her lips closed, locking them, and tossing the key over her shoulder.
“Wait, I’m not saying you should lie,” I said.
“I know,” she said. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll just make sure I’m not in a position to get asked about you in the first place. And even if by some chance I fail at that, it’ll be fine. Trust me.”
I gave her a shrewd look, and she raised her brows innocently. I cracked a grin. Roxanne was still a child, but she was probably right about not worrying about her. She knew how to take care of herself.
Loki appeared in the spot where I’d arrived, and Roxanne let out a delighted little shriek. The hellhound-doodle bounded to her, and they made an adorable display of greeting each other.
She was taller than I remembered but still looked like she was drowning in one of her signature oversized hoodies. I hated to think of how the coven drama would affect her. The witches had become a second family to Roxanne, and she’d been apprenticing with several of them to learn new magic skills. Deb was Roxanne’s mentor, so the girl wouldn’t lose that relationship, at least.
A few minutes later, Deb arrived home. She looked absolutely wiped out.
I took the stack of ballots from her.
“Deb, what’s wrong?” Roxanne asked with alarm.
“It’s a long story,” she said. Her eyes flicked to mine. “We’ll have to talk about it tomorrow.”
