Trial by Fire (Covencraft Book 1)

by Margarita Gakis

  He shook his head like he was trying to clear it. “I just meant that I’m uncomfortable leaving you on your own but at the same time, werewolves have a formal introduction process when meeting new people in a political setting and I don’t have the time to introduce you before bringing you.”

  “And that would be a problem because you’re kind of already on their shit list with the over-spillage of magic?” Jade asked, guessing the heart of it immediately.

  “Right.”

  She shrugged. “So don’t bring me. I can hang out with Callie in the dungeon. I’m sure Henri will be there too. Yeah ‘Bob,’” she said, making air-quotes around the pseudonym she was still using for Seth, not risking his name out loud, “showed up here the other day, but he can show up anytime from what I gather. And it doesn’t seem like he’s actively trying to hurt me. And Doug? Well, Doug apparently favors mirrors. I can avoid those.”

  “So far Doug favors mirrors. We don’t know what else could be coming. Portals out of the wall, out of thin air. Anything.”

  “Thank God you’re here. I feel so much better with you around,” she deadpanned.

  He pursed his lips at her. “I’m just saying that we’ve been lucky so far.”

  “Lucky?” she said incredulously as she waved her cast in front of him and pointed at her face. “Have you seen me lately? I haven’t been this beat up on a regular basis since I was twelve.”

  Jade immediately wanted to take the words, and their implication, back. Impulse control. She really had to get some for her mouth.

  “I meant that it could be worse,” Paris clarified.

  “Again, I’m feeling so much love,” she said sarcastically. “Just… Go to your little werewolf meeting and smooth some feathers. Or fur. Or whatever it is you have to do,” she paused. “Although if there is some kind of freaky ritual involved, I must admit, I’m curious and I want you to tell me later.” She shook herself, trying not to be distracted. “But, I will stay here, at the Covenstead with Callie and Henri. We can stay in the cafeteria or someplace really public and visible. It’ll be fine.”

  Paris appeared to be thinking about her proposal, tapping his fingers against his desk. “Why don’t the three of you use my office? While we can’t really ward any place in the Covenstead, I do feel as though there’s a certain amount of power associated with this room, this space. It’s been used by coven leaders for years.”

  “Okay. Works for me.” Jade shrugged. “We can eat in here, right? You won’t get freaked out if we get mustard on the carpet or something?”

  “You’re all adults. I’m sure you’ll do fine,” he said dryly.

  *

  Jade’s unease about squatting in the formal space lasted until Henri spilled his half-filled latte cup and stained the carpet.

  After that, it was like some kind of seal had been broken.

  Callie, Henri and Jade lounged on the floor, leaning up against the high-backed chairs and the front of Paris’ desk while they kept on in their research into demon magic. Jade liked to think of it as Demonology 101.

  Although frankly, she could do without all the sexual positions, depictions and graphic sketches in many of the books. She didn’t know if she was desensitized or just grossed out at that point. She didn’t really care anymore and she snapped the book she was reading shut.

  “I can’t look at any more dirty pictures!”

  Henri looked up with a smirk. “You know, when I was sixteen, I thought if I looked at enough porn, I’d eventually get to that stage.” He shrugged. “Never did.”

  Callie made one of her snort-laughs, hiding behind the long curtain of her hair.

  “I’m serious!” Jade continued. “I’m not even that much of a prude, I just want some actual knowledge to be in these books and not just whatever dirty fantasies or outrageous positions came across the writer’s mind. Half of these books don’t contain any real information. It’s all just second hand tales or urban legends or kinky stories.” She kicked at the book with a disgusted toe, nudging it further away from her. “I just want something that will help.”

  “Paris’ mom’s books are the best so far,” Callie said quietly, all tones of laughter gone from her voice.

  Jade nodded. “Yeah. Almost too good. It’s like I don’t know enough to follow along quite yet. Her stuff is like, advanced mathematics and I’m still learning how to count. There are one or two spells I think I could try, but the rest,” she shrugged, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know how to attempt them without breaking something or blowing shit up. It’s like I can’t even figure out how she structured them.”

  “She was quite the witch,” Callie said. “And coven leader.”

  “And you guys never got any hinky vibes off her?” Jade asked, looking at each of them. “Paris was shocked when I found those grimoires. He had no clue.”

  They both shook their head. “No,” Henri replied, checking with Callie to see if she agreed and she wore a similar expression. “Nothing. She was the perfect coven leader. I mean, really, she was!” He continued at the face Jade made. “She was kind most of the time, but stern when she needed to be. She knew everyone in the Coven, knew their magic. She would remember stuff about you and ask. She was at all the public events, did all the ceremonies for the solstices and equinoxes. I didn’t know her personally, but I would have never guessed.”

  “I knew her,” Callie said. “I mean, like a child knows an adult, you know? Paris and I’ve been friends for years, so I was always at their house or she was picking us up from something. Or my mom and her were sitting together at some event. She was just… Paris’ mom. And our coven leader.”

  Jade pursed her lips and stared at one of Sakkara’s grimoires that she was still studying in fits and starts. It gave her a headache if she worked on it for too long and she wasn’t sure if that meant something, or if it was just because of the scrawled handwriting.

  Paris’ desk phone ringing startled her and she jerked upright. She then poked her head out toward the small desk where his assistant should be sitting. Her plan was to accompany Paris to the start of the werewolf meeting and then come back, but it didn’t look like she’d returned yet. With a shrug, Jade picked up Paris’ phone.

  “Uh, yeah. Paris’ office,” she said, sticking her tongue out at Callie who was smirking at her.

  “This is Suki, Paris’ assistant. I just got an email that the personnel files you requested are ready but you’ll have to go to HR to pick them up. We can’t transmit that kind of information over external email.”

  “Uh, sure. HR. Where is that?” Jade asked, grabbing a sticky note and pen.

  Suki gave her directions to the HR department in the Covenstead and Jade jotted down the bare minimum.

  “How’s the wolf meeting going?” Jade asked, curious.

  Suki made a disgusted sound. “Ugh, if I see one more preening and posturing wolf that tries to sniff me, I’m getting a silver cane and I’m going to start using it as a bat.”

  Jade had never met Suki, but she liked her already. “Sounds like you’re having fun.”

  “I can’t wait for this day to be over. All I can smell is wet dog.” Suki added. “By the way, Paris wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. All okay?”

  “Yep. Just hanging out at his office, wrecking the joint.” Jade stuck her tongue out at Henri this time who was still trying to move one of the chairs to cover his latte stain. He gave her the finger and she laughed.

  “I’ll let him know,” Suki replied, sounding amused.

  They said their goodbyes and Jade hung up, plucking the sticky note off the pad and fastening it to the back of her hand.

  “My files are ready. I’m going to pop down to HR and get them. Who wants coffee while I’m up?”

  Callie and Henri both raised their arms high and straight immediately and Jade huffed in amusement.

  “Can there be pastries too?” Henri asked, batting his eyelashes at Jade.

  “Moment on the lips, lifetim
e on the hips, Henri.”

  “I hate you for being right.” He slumped dejectedly.

  “Hate the game, not the player,” Jade said smartly as she left the office like a dervish.

  She read her haphazardly scrawled directions on the post-it note and figured she could either try to get to HR, on the second floor, by navigating down to it from the third, or she could head to the second floor and go from there. She wanted to get a good look at some other witches and the entire third floor appeared to be offices so she decided to start there.

  She became one of those obnoxious people who walked down hallways and peered into every open door. Everyone looked up at her as she did. Some said hello and asked if she was lost, some offered to help her find what she was looking for, some appeared really annoyed and didn’t say anything. She just stared at each of them thoughtfully, trying to figure out if she could sense any demon magic around them, on them, in their vicinity.

  She was pretty sure she came off like a creeper. But it was collateral damage and she didn’t care if they thought she was socially maladjusted or some kind of misfit. She only cared if she got a sense off them or not.

  She did get a vibe from most people - a kind of generic, non-specific air. If she had to categorize it, it was vaguely cattle-ish. They were all sort of the same - she got a vague impression of magic but it was mostly superficial and bland. Nothing that really pinged her radar.

  There were several folk she couldn’t quite get a handle on, and she made a note of where their offices were located. She was better with numbers and spaces than names so she’d have to look up who they were later based on their location but that was okay. She could do that easily once she had the files.

  Human Resources must have been the forgotten step-child of the Covenstead because their office was at the far end of one of the second floor wings, tucked into the last office down the hallway.

  Although, as she stepped in, maybe it wasn’t so neglected. A large window wrapped around the corner, flanked by massive drapes and liberally allowing streaming sunlight into the office space. Filing cabinets and shelves dominated the inner walls, and the soft whirr of computer or server fans carried into the room from an open door. It was a quiet, cluttered space with a large desk set off to the side of one of the windows, covered in papers and files.

  “Hey?” she called out. “I’m here to get the personnel files?”

  A bookish guy came out from behind one of the shelves, pushing up his glasses on his face as he came toward her. He had messy brownish hair which kind of matched the nondescript brown of his eyes. He was so very ordinary that she shouldn’t have noticed him at all.

  Except she did. Every fiber of her senses were tingling but she didn’t get any magic off him at all.

  Nothing.

  Magically speaking, it was like he wasn’t even there.

  “I have them arranged in a trolley for you,” the bookish guy said, indicating to the side of the desk. He came closer to her and she instinctively took a step back as he moved. He looked up at her questioningly as he went behind the desk and shuffled a few things until he found a key and handed it out to her.

  “That’s a lot of files,” she said, taking the key and trying for casual conversation while she stared at him.

  “Well, yes. We’ve a lot of people working in the coven. If you tell me what you’re looking for, I can perhaps narrow it down.”

  She looked him up and down, trying to find something about him that she could pinpoint, other than his general blankness, that was making her want to spit fireballs from her hands. Casual slacks, casual shoes, casual shirt - all of it was just so bland and normal.

  And then she saw it. A golden chain flashed from around his neck and hanging from it, a small obelisk - the same obelisk she spotted in the scrying mirror. Her eyes darted down to the desk where a nameplate sat. Matthew Caulder.

  She thought about the shape that had been trying to form in the mirror, right before it cleared. An ‘M.’

  “You,” she practically hissed.

  After all the buildup, this was her nemesis it seemed. She was a little put out as a matter of fact. He was so boring, so innocuous, she could have passed him by three or four times since she’d gotten to the Coven and never even noticed until she started looking for magic.

  He didn’t seem surprised or concerned. In fact, he appeared sort of annoyed and unperturbed by her accusation. He sighed a bit, like he’d been expecting this.

  “I really didn’t want to do this here. It’s going to be a mess to clean up this office.”

  This would be another classic example of when her impulse control failed her. She could have just left, could have just dodged back and run out into the hallway, but she was so livid that she didn’t even register what she was doing until she was already up and over the desk, feet sliding on papers and files, tackling him like a linebacker.

  She knocked him over and they slammed into the unyielding floor. She immediately kneed him in the groin and punched him with her cast.

  “You son of a bitch!” she shouted even has he managed to get a foot up between them and push it against her chest, kicking her off. She hit the desk sideways, wincing with the blow, feeling the sharp edges digging into her hip and shoulder as she collided with the solid wood.

  He shouted some curse and she felt it brush by her, cloying and sickly sweet - demon magic - and hear the door slam shut behind her, heard the snick of the lock engaging and the demon hex locking the door.

  Matthew was already murmuring something under his breath and she had this quick flash in her mind of ‘oh shit,’ and she knew, she knew she had to keep him from finishing that spell or hex - whatever it was, it wouldn’t end well for her. She pushed off from the desk, using her good arm and made another lunge for him, scrabbling at his feet. He kicked out, easily avoiding her grabbing hands and finished his spell, spitting out the last words.

  She heard an unnatural sound. A horrible, keening sound from off to the side, behind one of the curtains and she was afraid to look, afraid to turn her head and see what it was. It was like glass grinding or metal twisting - shrill and harsh. She locked eyes with Matthew and he smiled.

  “I may not have a lot of power, but I can call someone, something that does. And he’ll get me your power. Power meant for a coven born witch and not some,” his face twisted a bit in disgust as he said, “some mundane who can’t even wield it properly.”

  “Fuck you,” she said as she conjured a fireball and tossed it at him, feeling a little bit gleeful as it set his shirt on fire. He started screaming, rolling on the ground to put himself out.

  She had a moment to enjoy her petty victory before two strong arms seized her from behind, lifted her towards the ceiling and tossed her hard against a line of bookshelves. She landed with a sick crunch and felt the impact travel up every single one of her bones. She shook her head, looked up and didn’t know how to process what she saw.

  From behind the curtain, she could see part of a mirror and it was missing a section, a shape in the form of a man, a shape that was lumbering toward her, fluid and sinewy - sliver and slick - like he’d crawled out of the mirror and taken part of it with him. It moved with a foreign, abstract grace that made her brain stutter to watch.

  As it slid toward her, flowing through the air, she started shuffling backward on her feet, trying to think of something, a spell, a hex anything she’d read in the grimoires. She remembered the one she’d used on Seth and she worked the incantation and spat it out, pushing it at the quick-silver shape.

  It rolled off him, like water off an oily surface, sliding to the ground and pooling at his feet.

  “Definitely ‘A’ for effort.”

  She yelped at the voice in her ear and scrabbled away, turning to find Seth staring at her, crouched low, watching her with gleeful eyes.

  “I didn’t call for you,” Jade said quickly.

  “No, but I’m pretty hopeful you will,” he said, tipping his head toward the doo
r. “Door locked by demon magic, so unless someone in your coven can work the hex, you’re on your own.” Seth then looked at the looming silver shape. “Lesser demon coming after you, partially trapped on the other side but still, pretty strong.” He finally looked over at Matthew. “And the demon is bent to his will. I reckon, since you just gave him third degree burns on his chest and arms, if he did harbor any misgivings or second thoughts - you just burned them out of him.”

  The silver shape was on her, reaching out with massive paws for hands. Jade flipped over onto her stomach and tried to slither way from it, around the corner of the bookshelf. Everything hurt. In the movies, people got tossed around all the time and still got up to fight but in reality, even with her adrenaline, it fucking hurt and she didn’t know if she could trust her legs to hold her.

  It grabbed her by the ankle and started pulling her toward the mirror. Her shirt rucked up and the floor burned her skin, scraping along it painfully. She kicked, she wiggled, she struggled but couldn’t break her foot free. She looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon. There was nothing. Jade managed to grab a shelf on her way by and felt an awful pop in some of her joints as the demon kept his relentless tow, dragging her towards the mirror.

  “Once he gets you on the other side, he’ll try to extract your magic,” Seth said conversationally, hunkering down next to her. “I’m doubtful it will even work. Old witch legend at best. Take the heart of a witch, take their power. Unfortunately, it does mean he’s going to carve it out while you’re still alive.”

  Jade kicked again, trying to yank herself back and away from the silver demon. It was faceless, expressionless - like fighting an automaton. Her arms, hands and fingers were exploding in agony from the strain she was exerting to keep herself anchored to the bookshelf.

  “Still not willing to deal?” Seth asked, his bottomless eyes hopeful.

  “No,” she said, jaw clenched.