Coven Deception

by D. H. Davis

  “So your dad was there and loads of the coven?” he mutters, trying to figure out what it means.

  “Yeah, it was clearly a vision from the past, everyone was younger and I think that’s really how my dad got his scars. He got burnt by her flames.”

  “So what do you think it means?” Eve asks.

  “I think everything that’s going on is warning us that the past is going to repeat itself. How else do you explain me dreaming about that place and the fire? It has to be that woman coming back to try again.”

  They both nod in agreement with me.

  “What was it she was trying to achieve first time around?” Jessie asks.

  “The incantation was about amplifying power. I’m not totally sure what that means but it sure as hell didn’t look good,” Eve replies.

  “Maybe it’s in that book?” Jessie points to the Book of Veiled Alchemy, that’s still lay on the ground.

  We all rush towards it to look, realising it’s not a bad idea. The book contains incantations and rituals that are too dangerous for the general witch community to come across and that ritual seemed like the worst of them all.

  Suddenly, there is a flash of bright green and Jessie flies forward letting out a pained cry. Before I can rush to him, I realise we are surrounded. Dad, the Elders and other coven members have projected themselves into the Spinny and are standing tall and fierce. Dad’s right arm outstretched in front of him telling me the energy ball belonged to him. Jessie is now pinned against a tree four-foot in the air before us by an unseen force.

  “Dad! No, Stop!” I scream.

  He turns to me with rage-filled eyes.

  “Don’t you dare speak!” he bellows, closing his fist and inducing pain in Jessie, his face wincing as he tries not to let out a scream.

  “We have been searching for the threat and you were harbouring him all along. I can’t even look at you!” he scolds me in front of everyone.

  All I can think about is getting Jessie off that tree and back into my arms. I don’t care that it’s my dad I’ll have to disappoint. I move myself in between Dad and Jessie, immediately weakening his invisible grip as Jessie lets out a sigh of momentary relief.

  “Dad, you don’t know what you’re doing, you’ve got everything wrong, just let me explain,” I plead holding my hands up, showing I mean him no harm.

  To my surprise, he immediately strikes me with an energy ball straight to the chest, throwing me backwards, thudding into the trunk of the tree Jessie is being held on. I hear both Jessie and Eve scream but I’m struggling for breath so I can’t tell them I’m okay.

  I feel my chest get tighter and a sharp pain stab my ribs every time I breathe in. Everything around me is blurry and appears to be spinning, I clutch my chest with my left hand and try to push myself up with my right but I’m too weak and instantly crash back down to the ground. I feel myself slowly slipping to sleep, my mind begging my body to stay awake but it isn’t enough. My head hits the dirty ground and in that split second, before my eyes close, I catch sight of a terrified Sammy.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I am lying on dirty damp ground. Around me are overgrown brambles and vines draping down from the broken trees. I quickly recognise my location to be the Spinny and scramble to my feet. The air is tepid with a familiar crimson glow. I scan around for the source of the red light and in the blackened sky, I catch sight of it. A full red moon. Abruptly, blazing red flames combust from the ground beneath me. Encircling me, ensuring there is no escape. This time I do not panic. I stand tall in the centre of my fiery prison and take a long, deep breath.

  Chapter Sixteen

  I stir to find myself lying on a cold stone floor in the darkness. I try to sit myself up and wince as pain stabs across my chest, reminding me that Dad struck me. Events flood back to me and I’m filled with panic as I think of Jessie. I sharply look around trying to work out where I am so I can devise a plan of how to get to him. I notice the iron bars caging me in. I’m in one of the coven cells below the sanctum. As far as I’m aware we’ve never used them, yet here I am, trapped by my own father.

  “Brooke,” a soft voice calls out to me from the darkness and I recognise it straight away. It belongs to my mother. “Darling, are you okay?”

  I can’t contain my amusement, “Are you serious, Mum?” I snort with laughter at the preposterous question.

  She grabs the bars and presses her face up against them, revealing to me the torment in her eyes.

  “Dad freaking struck me then stuck me in jail! What do you think?”

  “I can’t condone your father’s actions. He should never have hurt you, whatever he thinks you’ve done.”

  “I haven’t done anything Mum, Dad has got everything wrong. He and the Elders are so blinded by hatred that they’re missing the real danger that is present. If he’d given me the chance to explain I could have told him we’ve figured out what’s coming.” I can’t fight back tears this time as I explain myself.

  “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, love, Eve has filled me in. Your father let her go so she showed me everything. I am truly proud of you, my brave, strong girl.” She reaches her hands through the bars to hold mine.

  I’m totally thrown by the loyalty my mother is showing me. For as long as I have known her, she has been a dutiful wife to Dad, never questioning his rule; yet here she is, aware I have been having a relationship with our perceived enemy and still, all she has is love and understanding. She really is a remarkable woman.

  “They are about to commence a trial for Jessie. They have closed it to the coven, it’s only your dad and the Elders. You know as well as I do that this is not our way and I fear your dad is losing his.”

  Mum’s words snap me out of my depression and wake me up to the immense danger that Jessie is in.

  “That’s why he let Eve go, isn’t it? They don’t want to be shown the truth and they can hardly dispute an Empath. They’re going to kill him regardless of guilt!” A sensation of terror sweeps my entire body. I can’t lose him. I won’t. Mum solemnly nods. She shares in my disappointment of Dad. “Quick, let me out Mum, I have to stop them!” I cry.

  “No, Brooke,” she holds my hands firm with force, intently staring at me. “You are going to project there, right in front of their eyes and show them just how powerful you really are. You give them no choice but to heed your words.”

  I look at my mum in sheer wonderment. Has she known all this time that I’d been practicing magic on my own? As if she’s reading my mind, she smiles and nods. “Call it a drawback to being the wife of a powerful man. Always knowing more than you can let on. But know that I have never underestimated your ability. You will be the most powerful leader we have ever had. Now go!” she commands, releasing her grip on my hands and returning hers to the other side of the iron bars.

  I contemplate for a moment what a wise woman my mother is and the newfound respect I have for her. She’s right. They are about to cross a line there is no going back from and it’s up to me to stop them. Our law is sacred and we are bound to protect people, not just witches but everyone and killing has never been our mandate. Even when a crime has been committed, we always find another way. I ready myself in the middle of the cell, prepare to summon all my power, as a thought occurs to me.

  “How did you find out about Jessie? How did you know we were in the Spinny?”

  “Your brother followed you. He saw Jessie bite his wrist and fled back to get your father. Don’t be mad at him. He didn’t understand what he was seeing, he thought you were in danger.”

  I shake my head. Bloody Sammy and his spying, I should have known. I can’t dwell on it though, I need to clear my mind and steady my breathing; a task difficult with the residual pain in my chest. I close my eyes and envisage the sanctum above me. That’s where they will be, hiding from the rest of the coven. If I picture it clearly, I should be able to project myself there.

  It’s not a skill all witches can master and our custom is that
you don’t attempt it until adulthood but considering I’m going to be the leader, I decided to get a head start. I hadn’t anticipated what a natural I would be.

  Chapter Seventeen

  I open my eyes to find myself exactly where I want to be, right in the centre of the sanctum where the unlawful trial is taking place. Jessie is silent and slumped on the floor on top of a black prison circle. Much like a ritual circle, it is marked out on the floor to aid magic. It prevents any being inside of it from stepping outside the lines and induces excruciating pain should they try. The circle also demands silence, rendering its inhabitant speechless. Surrounding Jessie are my father, Peter, Albert and Lucile.

  They all gasp when they realise I have suddenly appeared next to Jessie. I want to reach to him, to give him comfort but the barrier around him is too strong.

  “How are you here?” Dad stutters.

  “She projected in,” Lucile whispers in astonishment. They have clearly underestimated my abilities and are realising it was a mistake.

  “Whatever you think you’re here to do, Brooke, there is a trial taking place. Whatever your misguided intentions, you have to leave!” Albert bellows, pointing at the stairs.

  “This is no trial, it’s an execution and you know it!” I scream in response, altering my stare between them. “Our law states, trials are in front of the whole coven and the accused has the right to a defence, yet here you are, the four people charged with upholding our laws, completing it in secret with the prisoner unable to utter a single word in their defence.”

  I’m seething as I speak. “Scared that he might have something to say in front of the coven that you don’t want us to know?”

  They all stare back at me, clearly not knowing how to respond. Jessie however, looks up at me with pride, motivating me all the more.

  Lucile is the first to break the silence, “There is still so much you don’t understand.”

  “And whose fault is that?” I scold, infuriated by the revolving nature of this familiar conversation. “Are you so afraid of your secret that you’re willing to become murderers? Of an innocent no less?”

  Dad opens his mouth to protest but I won’t let him speak.

  “If you had taken just a moment to listen to me, not as your daughter, but as your future leader then you would know what threat we have unveiled to Arcane Grove. But instead you chose to strike me. Well, Dad, now it’s my turn,” I say boldly, producing a green energy ball in my right hand.

  I fling it forward at my father. Unlike him, I aim for his arm, my desire is not to hurt him but to simply break his hold on Jessie and disrupt the prison circle. It works; the black markings vanish and before I can blink, Jessie is on his feet embracing me.

  “Are you okay?” He worries touching my cheek.

  I notice my dad wince as Jessie touches me but I don’t care. I’m overcome with relief that he’s okay. I nod to Jessie, letting him know I’ve got this. I notice all three of the Elders readying energy balls in the palm of their hands, fear flashing across their faces. It has dawned on them that they no longer have the upper hand.

  “No!” I scream waving my right hand in a semi-circle motion in front of me. Instantly, the green balls in their hands disappear, their eyes widening as they begin to comprehend my power – a power even I didn’t know I possess. “You will know the truth, even if I have to force you,” I inform them and this time with a vicious point to the ritual table as an unseen force draws them to take their seats.

  “Brooke, how are you doing this?” Dad whispers in awe, intently awaiting my response.

  I choose to let him stew without an answer and continue commanding their bodies to move. I make their hands lie flat on the surface of the table, they aren’t quite frozen, but can only move at my will.

  I glance down at the table and see several ritual knives but to make a point, I put my hand to Jessie’s mouth instead. He knows what I’m asking and plunges his fangs into the palm of my hand, reopening my pervious cut, producing the blood I need to show them how wrong they really are. I make a fist, squeezing my cut so that the blood drips down on to the centre of the table.

  Once enough is spilled, it turns purple and begins to flow, this time in the opposite direction. It runs from the centre of the table out to each of the circles where they are sat, oozing over their hands. I’m going to show them exactly what’s been going on. Their eyes become all white and their bodies sat stiff and still, just like Jessie said Eve and I had been.

  Jessie grabs me and quickly kisses me on the lips. “I dunno how the hell you just did all that but it was pretty bad ass. I thought you had to say words to cast something.”

  “Usually yeah, I don’t know, something happened when I saw you trapped in that circle, it’s like I could feel my anger making me more powerful. I didn’t know I could do that, instinct took over I guess,” I reply, not understanding it myself either.

  “What are they seeing?” he asks.

  “How we met. The fact that you saved ordinaries, that you helped me save Eve. How you’ve treated me, how you’ve helped our kind. Even Eve’s reading of you and your clan. My dreams, our ritual, what I saw, everything.” I smile at him.

  “When you say everything, you don’t literally mean everything do you? I mean, as much of an arse he is, he’s still your dad and there’s been some pretty steamy moments.” I hit him on the shoulder and giggle. He’s been spending too much time with Eve, he’s learnt how to deviate from a bad situation with something awkward.

  They simultaneously snap out of the vision and are rendered speechless, simply looking at one another, hoping someone else will have something to say. To all of our surprise it’s Jessie that speaks first.

  “We don’t know what crap went on in the past. Far as we’re concerned, both sides have been wrong. But sins of my ancestors are not mine, I came to this town to observe you witches, try to work out why it has to be this way and now I’ve fallen in love with one of you, I’m sorry, but I’m not leaving.” My heart explodes in my chest. He just said the L word. Not the way or the setting I ever thought I’d hear it, but it feels incredible nonetheless.

  “This red-headed bitch is coming for us all, so it’s time we worked together before it’s too late.” I look at Jessie in awe. For someone who can rarely be serious, he just delivered a prize worthy speech and to my amazement it works.

  “Her name is Cecile,” Dad begins. “Twenty years ago she was one of us, one of our best and brightest. But she grew greedy and lusted after more power, gradually beginning to practice dark magic.” He looks down at the ground as though he’s ashamed of what’s coming next. “She stole my personal incantation book, the one that is only meant to be read by leaders. It contains the rituals too powerful to be performed, much like the Book of Veiled Alchemy, but containing dark magic. It was my job to protect it as it cannot be destroyed, it’s cursed to exist forever and I failed.” His words become quieter as though he’s struggling to recount his tale, that’s when Peter steps in.

  “She attempted a ritual to amplify her power to a cosmic level. The kind of power no one person should ever possess and the kind that requires an ordinary sacrifice. But as you saw in your vision, she did not succeed, she had interpreted the ritual wrong. Unfortunately, in the fall out, she still took the poor, innocent man’s life. We could not abide this.”

  I snort at the irony of his words and he appreciates it too.

  “We stripped her of her powers and banished her from the coven. We implanted false memories in her head, enough to send her insane and get her sectioned. She has spent the last twenty years in a mental institution where she can be of no harm to anyone. Or so we thought.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  After some deliberation with Dad and the Elders, we came to an agreement that they would project themselves to the hospital where they left Cecile and attempt to locate her. It will take all four of them, if she has found a way to regain her powers, she is stronger than any witch singularly. They leave
me in charge of protecting the town and the coven while they are gone, instructing us to be on high alert. They took what Jessie said on board and have agreed to let him stay by my side and help. I know there’s a lot more that needs to be discussed and lots more revelations to come but for now we have to put that aside and stop Cecile.

  Mum, Eve, Jessie and I are all sat around the dining table in my kitchen. Mum wanted to cook us all a meal during the calm before the storm. She’s convinced you shouldn’t got to battle on an empty stomach. I think she’s forgetting the fact that Jessie doesn’t eat but he’s just so thrilled to be invited that he says nothing and forces down the carbonara in front of him, trying not to heave.

  Sammy appears in the doorway with his arms behind his back. He’s looking at me sheepishly. We haven’t spoken following his betrayal that resulted in Dad going crazy.

  Jessie notices him too, “I’m not gonna hurt you man,” he reassures him.

  “It’s not you he’s scared of,” Eve smirks, nodding in my direction.

  “Don’t worry, Sammy, I’m not going to curse you,” I remark, putting down my fork and looking directly at him. “Not today, anyway.”

  “Brooke, I’m so sorry. I got it wrong, I know that now.”

  He looks genuinely upset, his piercing blue eyes filling up with tears. “I never thought for a second that Dad would hurt you.”

  “Of course you didn’t, Sammy,” Mum interrupts, not liking to see her baby upset. “Your sister knows that, she just needs some time.”

  “Well, I thought this might help you forgive me a bit,” he says, walking over to the table and revealing what’s behind his back.

  With a thud he drops onto the table a big black book that has nothing on the cover. We all alternate stares from the book and to Sammy.

  “Is that what I think it is?” I ask, running my hand over the cover.