by Alex Lux
I forced myself to frown and focused my eyes on my lap. "You're right. I'm never going to be able to keep this a secret!"
"You don't have to, you know. As I believe I mentioned before, you're an adult. You're allowed to date anyone you want." Ocean stuck her tongue out at me and I giggled, then covered my mouth.
Grandma Florence caught my eyes and smiled at me with a mouth full of dentures. I blushed, sure that she could read my mind and tell all my secrets. What would Grams think of what I was doing? Part of me wanted to confide in her, to have an ally other than my impetuous best friend, but if she didn't approve and she told Mother, I'd be busted.
Despite Ocean's assurance that I could do what I wanted, I still had to deal with Mother's outbursts, and my whole world revolved around this coven; without them I had nothing. No one. The risk of exposure was too great to bring anyone else in on my secret.
Time to focus back on the meeting, if I could get my head out of the clouds.
The room smelled of old things and stories long forgotten. Each member of our coven had left their mark in this well-used room over the years, and the collective energy settled into the wooden floors that creaked and the soft couches and cushions that didn't.
The room, though large, couldn't grow to meet the demands of our ever-growing coven, and large pillows had been added to accommodate comfortable seating on the floor, giving the whole affair the look of a confused sleepover.
Amber Carlisle, a talented witch of earth magic, held tightly to her wife Lauren's hand as she voiced concerns about taking on the Druids. "We're not as strong as you'd like for us to be, Rainbow. Going up against them like this could be dangerous, even deadly. Have you considered the risk to our coven? To our children?"
Aside from my sister, who was nearly an adult, there was only one child left in our group, a darling three-year-old, Mist. Karen and Darren Kurtis had joined us a few years ago and brought their healing skills and their adorable daughter with them. Any of us would have done anything to keep that little girl safe.
At that moment, Mist popped her head up off her mother's shoulder and looked at all the solemn faces in the room, then laid back down and fell asleep.
It would be nice to live once again with the innocence of a child, to not have to face adult decisions and adult consequences. Children couldn't appreciate the gift of that life until they'd grown past the point of enjoying it. That hardly seemed fair, but then, life was rarely fair in the fates it chose to hand out.
Everyone had come to this last-minute meeting, so the main house living room was packed. Ocean and I had scored prime spots on a love seat, so at least we could whisper without anyone else being too close to hear.
Nick, a single gay man with tremendous talent in acting and singing, sat in the chair nearest us and every once in a while glanced over and winked at our giggling. Richard and Elizabeth sat nearest Mother, as her right hand helpers. Half the time she yelled at them to divorce and make themselves happier, the other half she worked them hard on the kennel business. They seemed happy enough to me, but we weren't close.
Wolf Song and Wildflower, the artists in our group, sat on the floor wrapped in each other's arms and paying close attention to Mother.
My father, Rain, had slipped off to check on the kennel dogs and the new pups Sandy had recently given birth to. They'd been pretty upset since the wolf incident. I could relate to that.
Blake sat across the room, next to my sister, and spent far too much time staring at me for my comfort. His attentions had escalated recently and it made it harder to be sneaky. It also creeped me out a bit, the way he just stared at me and followed me. Perhaps I was being hard on him. We used to be pretty good friends until he started crushing on me. He had always been faithful to our coven and worked hard to take care of our property. Plus, he was definitely easy on the eyes. Still, I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable by his interest in me, especially now that I knew what it felt like to reciprocate that kind of attraction.
Being surrounded by family, my blood family and coven family, made me feel complete and a part of something bigger than myself. We weren't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but who was? Humans would be humans no matter where I went; at least here I had a solid foundation of love and support with people who understood me. I feared losing that more than anything else, which made this date with Derek all the more risky.
A blend of regret and fear and desire warred inside me. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't risk losing this. "Ocean, I can't go through with it. I'm going to call and cancel on him as soon as we're done here."
She turned her fierce eyes on me and shook her head. "You're going if I have to drag you there myself tied up and gagged."
"That's kinky, even for you."
Her laughter brought all eyes to us, and we both shut up and focused again.
"I understand you all are scared, but we can't define our lives by fear," Mother said. "We have to fight back, take a stand, otherwise they will never leave us alone. They will force us to leave our home and our life here, and quite honestly, we can't afford to do that. We'd never be able to sell this property for what we purchased it, and that would make it impossible for us to find another property where we could all live in community."
She paused and made eye contact with each of us, letting her words sink in. Mother was the queen of dramatic pauses.
"If we don't do something soon, we will lose our way of life, and our coven will be disbanded, leaving each of us to fend for ourselves in a world void of any magic or sympathy for magic users. Is that what you want? To be forced out on your own?"
Heads dropped as people considered what their lives would be like without our coven. My stomach twisted into a knot at the thought of losing anybody here, even Blake. We could lose if we went against the Druids, and we could lose if we didn't.
I hated no-win situations. "Mother, why do they want to destroy us so bad? They're more powerful. They're rich. They have everything they could want. What could be so important about our simple life? We've only lived here a few years, so no one even knows us. We have a bit of mortgaged-to-the-hilt land and some dogs. We don't have anything that could help them. So what's this about?"
Mother stretched her spine to full height until she looked like a queen commanding her throne room. "You take much for granted, young lady. We live in splendor here. I grew up poor, impoverished, living on food stamps and sleeping in an empty corner of our tiny apartment. What power I had then couldn't help me, it only served to make me an outcast. Look around at the opulence you have at your fingertips.
"What we enjoy here is coveted by many. This community, these teachings, this way of life and even our magic, so grounded in the elements. They want what they can't have. They are motivated by greed and restlessness of the soul, which is why we must stop them."
I didn't refute her or argue, as that wouldn't have served a point, but her explanation left a lot of questions in my mind.
My dad returned at that moment and sat a few seats away from Mother. "The pups have been fed and the kennel cleaned."
Mother nodded. "Did you wipe the floors the way I showed you?"
He hesitated. "Not exactly, but I did clean the floors thoroughly."
Her voice escalated. "Rain, we can't run a business if you don't adhere to the guidelines I set up. Your way of cleaning is not effective. You risk leaving contaminants on the floor, which could make the dogs sick. Go back and redo it correctly. And don't take shortcuts this time."
He looked so defeated as he got up and left again. My heart broke for him, but he also made me angry. Why didn't he defend himself? Or tell her to clean the damn floors if his way wasn't good enough? Their relationship perplexed me, and I knew for a fact that if I ever could have love and truly be with someone, it wouldn't be like that. But it worked for them, at least enough that neither of them wanted to end it. I just hoped they were both happy.
"We need to destroy their base of power, somehow," Mother said, pull
ing me from thoughts of marriage and love. "They have to have something that's making them so strong, so undefeatable. If we can find that and take it from them, then we can infuse our own coven with that power, and we will no longer be their victims."
Darren raised a hand and spoke. "How do we know they actually have something like that? What if they just have power in them, like us? And besides, Rose defeated one, so they aren't really undefeatable, are they?"
"Rose neutralized one, true, but they are many and will not likely come at us so unprotected again. I've been around a long time, and I've heard stories of them, of their power and where it comes from. They have something feeding them, and we need to find it. Their shifting abilities and magical strength is simply impossible without a base of power. I'm certain of this." She stood and paced the room. "I want to send Blake in to find out what they're hiding and what their weaknesses are. We will form a circle and feed him power to see what cannot be seen and to remain unseen as he does so. Since he is empty of his own magic, he will be able to carry the combined power of ours without damage or consequence."
Stunned silence filled the room. What Mother suggested had never been done before, and the risks were significant. That much power could kill him—or render him lifeless, like one of my victims. I may not have been Blake's biggest fan at the moment, but I certainly didn't want him dead.
"Mother, we can't do that." I avoided Blake's eyes as I defended his life. "He could die."
Blake spoke up before Mother had the chance. "I'm willing to risk it. We have to do this. I don't want anything to happen to any of you. You're my family, the only one I've ever known. I would do anything to protect this coven."
I could feel his eyes on me, but I refused to meet them. His intensity made me too nervous.
Mother stood. "We do this now. He'll leave late tonight, when it's safest. The power will sustain him."
Now? We were just going to blast him with our power right this minute? I was so not ready to do that—and neither were a lot of people by the looks of it. But once Mother decided something, it was impossible to dissuade her.
I slipped on my coat and scarf and followed behind Ocean as we made our way as a group to our circle outside. Our magic was bound to the earth, sky, water and air, to the elements that made up life. We were stronger outside, our power more focused and pure.
When we reached the pentagram that contained the coven magic, we each took a spot around the circle, and Blake stood in the middle with his eyes closed. Mother used sage to purify the sacred space and each one of us. When she got to me I bowed my head as she waved the sage around me, up and down my front and back. Then I lifted my feet so she could purify that area too. I never felt any different after this, but it served a function in the rituals we performed.
She then bound the circle as we held hands and focused our power on Blake.
Magic surged through me, fed by each member of our coven. Everyone had a unique flavor to their magic. Mother's felt unmovable, like a rock. Ocean's felt powerful and vast, like her name. Even Mist joined us, her power sweet and delicate, like a flower.
Mother chanted, and we focused. I didn't want to release my magic, didn't want to be responsible for harming another person again, but caught up in the flow of power I had no choice.
The magic poured out of me, mingled with other strands of energy in a rainbow of light, and then slammed into Blake, who screamed and fell to the ground.
I broke the circle first and ran to him, but with my fear of touching, I couldn't offer any help. Darren approached and I backed away, watching as the healer laid hands on him and searched his body.
When Darren finally looked up, he didn't look alarmed or worried. "He's just passed out, but he's fine. He'll awaken shortly and, I believe, not suffer any ill affects from our spell."
Murmurs of joy rippled through our small crowd, and my heart lightened knowing we hadn't caused any permanent damage.
Blake's chest rose and fell steadily, and he had a peaceful look on his handsome face. I left him to those who could better assist him and made my way to my own cottage to get some work done on Master Kyoung's website and sort through everything that had happened that day so far.
Ocean followed close on my heels, grabbing my arm to walk together. "You're not getting away that easily. We're going to talk about this date, but our talk will not involve whether or not you're going. No, it will involve which outfit of mine you're going to borrow so you don't look like an old schoolmarm who's never been kissed."
I laughed. "But I haven't ever been kissed. Well, except that time with Blake, but that hardly qualified as a kiss." I cringed at the memory.
"He doesn't need to know that! Let's go pick out something suitable and get you ready. We only have a few more hours before he'll be here to whisk you away."
Only a few hours? What kind of torture was my best friend planning for me?
SIX
Talk of Peace
DEREK
Peace? I hate the word
— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
I TWISTED MY tie in a loop and tried to straighten it, but it still looked like a blind child had put it on. Who invented this torture anyways? I'd have been much happier in my leather jacket and a t-shirt, but Rose deserved my A-game, such as it was.
"What are you getting all dolled up for, Bro?"
Tammy's voice startled me from my misery. I spun around to face my sister, who leaned against my doorframe, smiling.
"I have a date."
"With a girl?" She raised her voice in mock astonishment. At least I hoped it was mock.
"No, a penguin. Yes, a girl." Another twist and my tie fell apart in my hands. I sighed and threw it on the bed.
"You've been home a day and you've already met a girl? Figures. But I thought your bar dates usually preferred a more casual look?" She walked into my bedroom and picked up the tie, then stood at my back and reached around me to tie it. "You're doing it all wrong. Let me help."
I bent lower so she could reach my neck, and even still she had to get up on her tiptoes to finish it.
One look in the mirror told me she had more skills than I did. "Thanks, Sis."
I slipped on my suit jacket and hoped I wasn't overdressed. Perhaps I should have told her where we were going so she'd know what to wear. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable on our first date.
Oh, God. Now I sounded like a girl. I needed to get this chick out of my head. Maybe sleeping with her would do the trick. But even as I thought it I knew I couldn't use her in that way.
The clock in the hall chimed six times. I still had over an hour before I needed to leave to pick up Rose.
I turned to Tammy and presented myself. "Do I look okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know you do. You have women eating out of your hands. I'm glad I'm your sister, because I'd hate to be one of your conquests!"
"That's just wrong, Tam. I can't think of you that way."
"Why are you so nervous about this girl? Is she special?"
I considered her question carefully before answering. "Yeah, you know, I think she might be. Which is really bad."
Tammy flopped on my bed and made herself comfortable. "Why, because it means you might have to stick around awhile?"
"That's exactly why. I'm not ready to give up my life just yet." I slipped my watch on and checked to make sure I had cash in my wallet.
"Is our life here so bad that you just can't imagine being a part of this family?" She tried to keep her words light, but I heard the hurt behind them.
"It's not you guys, it's me. I'm just not cut out to follow in Dad's footsteps."
"Then don't. Stay, but live your own life. He's not an ogre, you know." She stood and crossed her arms over her chest. "He's not going to force you to be something you don't want to be."
I thought back to when I first left home. "That's not what it felt like last time we talked about it."
"You're like an old man with a grudge, you
know that?" Her eyes brightened as her anger took over. "You get in one fight with him and decide nothing here is worth keeping. He's human. He made a mistake. Don't you think it's time to give him a chance to do better? Or are you so perfect that you've never said something you regretted later?" Now her eyes had a feral quality to them, and I could feel her power surface as she channeled her inner animal.
"Are you going to shift and challenge me for successor rights?" I meant it to come out as a joke, but it sounded more like a plea.
Her face fell. "Dean would have, if you'd really wanted him to."
I pulled her into my arms. "How is he?"
"The same. It's like he has nothing left in him, but every now and then I feel something, like a shadow of who he was." She frowned. "It's almost worse when I feel that, because it gives me hope, and I don't think there's any hope in his recovery."
"They should pay for what they did to him. Those witches are out of control." I let Tammy go and stormed downstairs and into my dad's library.
"Dad, we need to talk."
He looked up from his book and stood. "Of course, son, what is it?"
"Why aren't we getting everyone together to go after the witches and destroy them for what they did to Dean? Why are we just sitting here on our asses doing nothing? I want their address. Where do they live? We have to do something!"
My wolf roared inside of me, and I fought off the desire to shift and then to hunt.
"Derek, you know that's not our way, and I think it’s best you don't have that information right now. We are guardians of vast power, and with that comes—"
"—immense responsibility," I finished. I'd heard this bullshit too many times growing up. "But they're dangerous. Don't we have a responsibility to protect ourselves and other innocents from their misuse of power? Someone in that coven is powerful enough to strip Dean, a powerful Druid and shifter, of his life, while leaving his body functional. Doesn't that scare the crap out of you?"
