Pledge (Witches of Coventry House Book 1)

by Christina Garner

  She’d been unable to get an appointment, but the receptionist said they accepted walk-ins until thirty minutes before closing. Eden watched the clock, and when her last class let out, she raced over to the clinic.

  Twenty minutes and three signed forms later, her weight and blood pressure had been checked, and Eden found herself in an exam room waiting for the doctor.

  “Miss Montgomery.” The doctor studied her clipboard as she entered. “What can I do for you today?”

  Why do they always make you write down why you’re here if the doctor’s just going to ask anyway?

  “I’m out of muscle relaxers. I need a new prescription.”

  “Hmm,” the doctor replied. “If it’s just a refill you need, you could probably have your G.P. back home call that in to a local pharmacy.”

  “I’m actually hoping you can switch the medication.” Eden knew full well that if she asked her doctor back home, he’d ask why she was still taking them so long after her accident. That’s how she’d gotten them in the first place—she claimed to have taken a bad fall off of her bike and pinched a nerve in her neck.

  “And why is that?” The doctor now studied Eden instead of her clipboard.

  “They stopped being as effective,” Eden replied, instantly regretting it.

  The doctor raised an eyebrow. “How long have you been taking them?”

  I should have said they upset my stomach.

  “Just a couple weeks,” she said. What was the likelihood this woman was going to call a clinic in Washington state over some stupid muscle relaxers and find out the truth?

  “And they’ve stopped working?” The doctor made a note in Eden’s file.

  “Yeah,” she said. “I mean, they also kind of make me queasy. I just thought it might be a good idea to try something else.”

  “And this was as a result of a spill off of your bike?”

  “Yes,” Eden replied. “I really tweaked something.”

  “How has physical therapy been going?”

  Eden sensed the trap. “Really well. I plan to keep it up here in Somerland. I just haven’t found a place yet and am in a lot of pain. It’s really affecting my sleep.”

  “It looks like you’ve been taking something for that too,” she said.

  “Never at the same time,” Eden said quickly. “I know not to combine them.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got quite a system.”

  You have no idea.

  “Here’s the thing.” The doctor closed Eden’s file and set it on the counter. “We don’t know each other yet, and while you seem like a responsible young woman, it’s my duty to protect both you and the clinic.”

  Eden did not like where this was going.

  “So before I’m willing to write a new scrip, I’m going to need to do a blood test, just to make sure your levels are where they should be.”

  Why was she being treated like a drug addict? She wasn’t trying to get high; she was just doing what she had to so she didn’t end up lighting things on fire in her sleep.

  “How long will that take?” Eden said, trying to keep her panic at bay.

  “We should have the results by Friday,” she said.

  Eden swallowed, knowing that any display of anxiety would confirm whatever suspicions this doctor had. “I understand completely. Can we do the test now?”

  “Absolutely,” she replied. “Wait here, and I’ll send the nurse in.”

  The second the doctor closed the door behind her, Eden sprang from her seat and began rifling through drawers.

  Come on, come on... She kept one eye on the doorknob as she searched. Am I seriously doing this?

  Even she had to admit this bordered on addict territory. But the answer was yes, she was doing this, because she’d been left with no other choice. Her heart beat wildly as she opened the last drawer. Stuffed in the back behind a roll of gauze, she found one—a forgotten sample pack. And it was for a sleeping pill she’d never tried, so it should be effective.

  She shoved it into her purse and slid back into the chair. She was catching her breath when the nurse arrived, carrying a plastic caddy filled with needles and empty vials.

  “Just a small pinch,” she said when she’d found a vein.

  Eden rested her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, wondering how much longer she had to wait for new Eden to finally show up.

  The minute she left the clinic and rounded a corner, Eden pulled out the sample pack she’d found.

  It’s not stealing if they were giving it away.

  She found a blister pack with three pills. When the doctor realized she wasn’t an addict, she’d give her a new prescription, so three pills was enough.

  The knot in her belly began to unwind as she made her way back to the main part of town. It was dusk, and Eden wanted the safety of well-lit streets. But a few minutes later she found herself on a street she didn’t recognize.

  Her heartbeat quickened, and she pulled up the GPS on her phone. Dark streets were dangerous. Eden knew firsthand that anywhere could be dangerous—even a bedroom—but dark, empty streets especially.

  She saw where she’d made a wrong turn and was about to put her phone away when her flesh pebbled and her hair stood on end.

  Not real, she told herself. There’s no one watching you.

  Not real had been her parents’ refrain after what happened. When she was six and told them about the boogeyman, they’d been sympathetic, her mother holding her when she would wake up screaming, saying, “You’re okay, honey. He’s not real. There’s no monster; you’re safe.”

  But knowing monsters didn’t exist didn’t keep her from peering into the shadows, scared of what might lay in wait.

  Heart pounding, she turned a complete circle, studying each shadow for—

  The buzz of her phone made Eden gasp and nearly drop it.

  Hey, kiddo! read her father’s text. How was your first day?

  She took a deep breath and typed back, Great! Talk soon! Then she added a thumbs-up and smiley face emoji and hit send.

  One day she hoped to live up to the life she told her parents she was having.

  Instead of putting her phone back in her bag, Eden dialed 9-1-1, her finger poised over send as she dashed back the way she came, toward well-lit streets and safety.

  She might be paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

  Chapter 9

  That night Eden made a point to practice with the other girls. Sarah was right; she’d been anti-social.

  It was warm, and they took full advantage, gathering outside.

  “What should we work on?” Jules asked.

  Eden looked around at the five other girls gathered in a tight circle. Carolyn had split the pledges into one group of six and another of other of seven. Hannah and Jules, she was happy to be teamed up with, Rebecca and Paige, less so.

  “I need some practice with illumino.” Hannah’s mouth twisted. Of the six girls present, she was the only one still struggling to make a sphere of light.

  “I want to do the one for finding objects,” Paige said. “I lost one half of a killer pair of earrings, and I’ve got a date on Friday.”

  “I’m interested in the levitation spell,” Eden said. It was only a feather, but levitating anything seemed cooler and like it would require more power than the other spells in the book.

  “I’m down for that one.” Sarah claimed to still be getting used to being a witch, but Eden could tell Sarah was becoming as eager to learn as she was.

  “How about we practice illumino and then levitate the spheres?” Jules said, playing peacemaker. Paige was about to pipe up, but Jules added, “And then we’ll help Paige find her earring.”

  Even Rebecca couldn’t find fault with that logic. Soon there were five spheres followed by five more, one in each girl’s hand—except for poor Hannah, who looked positively dejected.

  Jules leaned over and whispered something in Hannah’s ear. She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow, a tiny light
soon hovering above her palm.

  “I did it!” she said when she opened her eyes, which promptly made the light wink out.

  “You did,” Jules said. “Now try again.”

  Eden busied herself with making another sphere and then another. She was getting really good at multiples. Sarah grinned at what Eden was doing and joined her. Not to be outdone, Rebecca followed suit, which meant Paige did as well. Soon there were dozens of tiny spheres popping up in each of their palms. Hannah finally got another to bloom, and when she opened her eyes this time, it stayed.

  “Let’s try levitating them,” Eden said.

  Dozens of lights disappeared as each girl opened her spell book. The instructions said not to concentrate on making the object float but on allowing it to. Eden memorized the short spell and closed the book, eager to give it a try.

  She made a ball of light then whispered the levitation spell. At first nothing happened. But on her third try she connected with something much larger than herself, and the sphere in her hand floated up and away until it was twinkling five feet above them.

  She grinned, unable to contain her excitement. It wasn’t just that she’d levitated something; it was how she felt. The feeling of being one with everything, of being a part of something special, something magical, was almost too strong to contain. It was almost addictive. While she waited for the other girls to succeed, Eden worked on keeping multiple spheres alight at once. She was up to five by the time Hannah managed to make one rise a few inches from her palm.

  Rebecca and Paige juggled their spheres in dizzying patterns. Jules sent one circling around Hannah, who laughed appreciatively.

  “Ooh, I’ve got an idea.” Sarah stood and made a circle with her arms. “Illumino basketball.”

  “We’ve got the wunderkind.” Rebecca gestured to Eden. Paige blanched, but Rebecca jumped to her feet and added, “What? I want to win.”

  That left Sarah, Hannah, and Jules as a team. The girls took turns in a three-on-three game of H.O.R.S.E., trading off who was the hoop. Even when they missed, the girls laughed, especially when one of them got cute—trying a rim shot or a slam dunk. Soon it was the final round, and all Hannah had to do was sink her shot, and her team would win. Jules was surprisingly adept at the game, and Sarah was no slouch either—both making up for Hannah’s lack of skill.

  Hannah approached tentatively, first making the ball of light and then watching, her eyes tight, as she tried to get it into the makeshift basket. At the last second—just as the sphere was about to make contact—Eden could feel that Hannah was losing the connection; it wasn’t going to make it. Eden reached out with her mind and gave it the gentlest of nudges. It looked as though a breeze had come, carrying it the rest of the way and making the game winning point.

  Hannah and Sarah jumped up and down while Paige yelled, “Rematch!"

  “Don’t you want to find your earrings?” Jules asked.

  “Meh, they’ll turn up,” she said. “This is way more fun.”

  They shuffled teams for the next round, and Jules sidled up to Eden, whispering, “I know that was you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But Eden gave her a tiny smile.

  “Mmhmm,” Jules said. “Guess I’m not the only one who roots for the underdog."

  “We’re all an underdog at something, right?”

  Jules nodded, seeming to take Eden’s words more seriously than she’d meant them.

  “Hey, by the way,” Eden said. “What did you tell her that finally got the light spell to work?”

  “Don’t tell her I told you,” Jules said. “But she’s got a crush on a guy named Jacob.”

  Eden was well aware but pretended not to be. She wondered if Jules knew Jacob was a professor with at least ten years on them.

  “Anyway, when she talks about him, her face gets all flushed. So I told her to think about him but channel the energy into her palm.”

  Later, as they were settling into bed, Sarah said, “See? Not so bad to practice with the riff raff.”

  “No,” Eden said with a yawn. “Not bad at all.”

  Sarah turned out the light, and Eden rolled over, already sleepy.

  New pills always pulled her under the quickest.

  Eden woke up groggy, but she wasn’t screaming or tangled in her sheets, so that was worth celebrating. Groggy could be fixed with coffee; she couldn’t say the same for where her nightmares led.

  She recorded the medication as effective and dragged herself in the direction of coffee.

  When Hannah’s Creative Writing class ended, she found herself wanting to stay after and talk with Jacob.

  “Wanna grab lunch?” Eden asked as she put away her laptop. “I’ve actually got a little time before my next class.”

  “I can’t,” Hannah said. I’ve got some flirting to do. “But I’ll see you later.”

  Eden took the hint and made her exit.

  Hannah was stalling, packing her things up slowly and trying to come up with a valid question to ask about the assignment.

  “Hannah,” Jacob said when she was about to give up. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”

  “Sure.” She turned back.

  He came out from behind his desk. “I was very impressed with what you wrote about the most important moment of your life.”

  “You were?” Hannah loved to write, but her father called it a waste of her intellect.

  “I was. It showed real maturity about what I’m sure is a painful subject.”

  She’d written about watching her father pack his things the day he left.

  “Yeah,” Hannah said. “I mean, it was a long time ago—back when I was just a kid.”

  “Like I said, it showed real maturity. I can tell you’re wise beyond your years.”

  Her pulse quickened under his intense gaze.

  “I try.” Her heart fluttered. “I had to grow up pretty fast.”

  “I know how hard that can be,” Jacob said. The way he looked at her made her feel like he was really seeing her. “But you can use it in your writing.”

  “I will.” A feeling of warmth spread through Hannah’s body.

  She rested her hand on his desk just inches from where his lay.

  “I’m glad to hear it,” Jacob said. “I’m looking forward to reading your next assignment.”

  Was it her imagination, or did he move his hand a fraction closer?

  “I’ll try to make you proud,” she said. It was all Hannah could do not to brush her fingers against his.

  “Don’t make me proud,” he said. “Make yourself proud.”

  They stood there, eyes locked in a moment of suspended animation, until he smiled and took a step back.

  “I’m just some college professor you’ll forget about in a few years.” He made his way back around his desk. “In the end you’re the only person you need to impress.”

  Hannah replayed the conversation over and over in her head as she walked to her next class. The moment had passed, but there had definitely been a moment.

  She was tossing away the wrapper to her power bar when she spotted Lexi.

  “Hey!” Hannah made her way over. “I’m so glad to see you.”

  “You are?” Lexi’s eyes narrowed.

  “Yeah,” Hannah said. “I was so bummed when I realized you weren’t pledging. I don’t know why Carolyn didn’t let us say goodbye or exchange numbers or anything.”

  “Let me say goodbye?” Lexi said. “Please, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough.”

  “Really?” Hannah said. “I thought you wanted to join.”

  “Maybe at first, but then things got weird.”

  “Yeah, the tests were pretty weird.”

  “What tests? I’m talking about how bitchy everyone was.”

  Hannah was taken aback. “Well, yeah, there are a few...”

  “Look, I’m sorry.” Lexi backed up. “Maybe you’re the exception, but I kind of just want to leave that place behind, okay?”
>
  She turned and walked away, leaving Hannah with her mouth agape.

  After being on time for the entire day—a small miracle in Eden’s world—she now found herself running to make it to the animal shelter in time for the orientation lecture.

  Her full-on sprint took a toll; a minute later she was breathless and slowing to a jog. She was halfway there when an older model car pulled over.

  “Eden!” came a male voice.

  Eden’s face brightened when she saw that it was Quinn driving.

  “Hey,” he said. “You look like you’re in a hurry. Need a ride?”

  “You’re a lifesaver.” She opened the car door and slid onto the seat. “I’m headed to the animal shelter on Clifton.”

  He smelled clean—a mix of soap and aftershave—and Eden fought the urge to inhale a little too deeply.

  “Animal shelter? You adopting?” He eased the car back onto the road.

  “I wish,” Eden said. “But I’m pretty sure Carolyn would have a fit if I brought one back to the house. I’m just volunteering.”

  “Is Carolyn your roommate?”

  The weight of Eden’s secrecy vow pressed down on her.

  “She’s the house mother at Coventry House.”

  “You’re a member of Coventry House?” Quinn’s eyes flashed with surprise. “Really?”

  “Pledge, actually. Why? What’s wrong with it?”

  “Nothing,” he said quickly. “I don’t really know much about it, other than its reputation.”

  “What kind of reputation?” Eden asked.

  Witches, magic, glowing orbs of light...

  “Let’s just say the girls who leave don’t have nice things to say.”

  “Oh,” Eden said. “I guess I can’t blame them. If I left I might be bitter too.”

  Especially now that I know what it really is.

  “Fair enough,” Quinn said. “And I should know better than to trust gossip. It’s funny, though, I didn’t have you pegged for the sorority type.”

  “It’s not—” She almost blurted out that it wasn’t a real sorority, but her mouth wouldn’t let her. Carolyn was not messing around with that vow. She settled on, “It’s not as lame as I thought it would be.”