by Wendy Knight
“What happened?”
Luca joined her at the window, but he was as baffled as she was. “I—I think the warlocks are gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THERE SEEMED TO BE A CLASH of wills in the hallway outside Cass’s room. Quin, who had been watching out the window, trying to figure out what had happened, left his post to follow his mom out of the room. “They’ve left us alone. We don’t chase the war, Destiny. We fight for peace.”
“They’re gathering their strength so they can return stronger. I don’t know how, but they understood what happened here. They understood that they would lose this battle and they ran. If we let them flee, we will lose this war.” Destiny stood, with Fate at her side, in front of what had to be every witch who had been outside fighting. She held vials in her hand, pink and sparking.
He didn’t have to be a genius to know it was her infamous love potion.
His eyes were drawn to it and he wondered, against his will, if love potions affected witches the same way they affected those non-magical. If he gave it to Destiny, would she feel about him the way he felt about her? Would she finally look at him the way he’d been staring at her since she walked into his chemistry class?
Angry voices roused him from his stupor, and he raised his eyes to find her staring at him over the heads of the witches in front of her. They were unreadable and he was suddenly very aware of her power to catch glimpses into his mind.
You can see it, can’t you?
She didn’t blink, but her gaze dropped away from him.
He closed his eyes, sucking in a breath. Awesome.
“You can chase the warlocks, but you will be alone.”
Quin’s eyes flew open. The witch at the front was bold in her words, but others backed her. Destiny looked across the crowd, and Fate’s face fell. “Fine. We’ve fought them alone before.”
“You will not fight them alone.”
Goosebumps rose along Quin’s arms as his mother stepped up, chin held high. She didn’t look like she’d spent the last many days in bed, fighting for her life. She looked like she was in ready for war — albeit in a bathrobe.
“No. You won’t.” From the other side of the gathered group, Alina entered the hallway. She, too, looked ready for war — more so than Cass, even, because she was dressed and ready to fight.
“Nope.” Damien leaned against the wall, and winked at Fate.
Luca stood next to him. He nodded.
“I’ll be there, too. As long as you need me.” Quin stepped next to his mom. His dad put his hands on Cass’s shoulders.
Tears filled Destiny’s eyes, but Fate beamed at them. “That’s all we need.”
Ancient and Eldest appeared out of nowhere to stand next to Destiny. “You have us, as well.”
“Eldest, no!” the witch in the front gasped. Quin scanned the crowd, noticing Winnie was conspicuously absent. Maybe she was hiding from them, ashamed. Maybe she’d died in battle.
“You stopped us before and we almost lost them. The one thing to stop the warlocks, and they were almost killed before they started. We will not listen to your foolishness again.”
The witch in front of her dropped her head to her chest and stumbled backward. “Yes, Eldest.”
“Eldest,” Destiny put a hand on her arm. “This coven needs you.”
“You need us, too,” Ancient said, placing a hand on Destiny’s cheek. A vision flashed across Quin’s mind — one of Fate with her hand against Destiny’s cheek just like that, and he felt like he was looking at Fate’s image in, like, 300 years.
Destiny smiled, her hand reaching for Fate’s. Quin was pretty sure Destiny saw the same thing he did.
“If—” the witch at the front scrambled for attention, hands waving. “—if you will stay, we will fight in your place.”
Eldest grinned. Her eyes were lost in the folds of her wrinkles.
That had been her plan all along.
“Find where they are. Get these girls broomsticks.” Eldest snapped out orders. “And for heaven’s sake, teach them how to fly comfortably over long distances.”
“Thank you,” Fate said, glancing at Destiny. “We’ll take the brooms, but we don’t need the lesson.”
“We’ve got our own mode of transportation.”
****
DESTINY LED THE WAY DOWN I15, pushing the big black truck to over 100 miles per hour. Fate’s white truck roared in the lane next to her, and behind them, a caravan. They’d stopped to pick up more vehicles, so they could fit more witches. Damien’s Range Rover, Luca’s lifted 1958 Apache, and Quin’s jeep. There were a lot of big wheels and horse power in that one line of vehicles. Anything in front of them moved quickly to the shoulder, either frightened by the sheer number of lift kits coming at them, or understanding the urgency driving the caravan.
“I don’t understand why we couldn’t take broomsticks,” Hilda grumbled from the passenger seat, clinging to her seatbelt like a lifeline.
“This is faster and less conspicuous,” Destiny said.
“Yeah. That’s really inconspicuous,” a woman from the back said. Destiny glanced in the rearview mirror. Five monster vehicles filled with witches.
Yeah. Probably not inconspicuous at all.
It didn’t matter, though. Their government handlers had cleared their path. The police had been notified. They were there to lead the way through the cities where traffic might slow the witches’ progress. They’d already led them through Boise and Twin Falls. Now they would lead them through Salt Lake. The warlocks were only a few hours ahead, but she had no way of knowing where they were going. All she could do was follow, and pray that nerves wouldn’t get the better of her.
She pushed harder on the gas pedal. Time was not her friend. The longer she had to think on it, the more terrified she got. What potion witch chased down a battle?
“We do.”
Destiny smiled, glancing out the side window at her sister, who waved cheerfully. Fate wasn’t terrified. She was fearless. There was no way Destiny would never have been able to do this without Fate’s courage. Had she been alone, she would have been lost. Everything would have been lost.
“I thought I was just a tag along.”
Destiny frowned over at her. “I never said that.”
“I know. You’ve just always been the powerful one. I’m the smart aleck.”
“We’re the same. I’m night, you’re day. You have to have both to have life.”
“You can hide in the shadows.”
“And you can shine like the sun. This prophecy is about both of us.”
There was a long pause. Before Destiny could check on her sister, though, Fate responded.
“Thank you.”
Destiny raised an eyebrow, fully aware that Fate couldn’t see her, but she did it anyway. “For what?”
“For believing in me. Even when I don’t.”
Destiny looked over, wondering how on earth Fate could ever think she’d doubted her.
“Always.”
Fate winked at her and then the big truck jumped ahead.
“Oh no you don’t,” Destiny muttered. She heard Fate’s laughter echo in her head as she pushed her truck faster.
Next to her, the witches squealed and grabbed at their seat belts like they were lifelines to this earth Destiny was threatening to fly off of. Welcome to the real world.
“So… Winnie was not the one making those potions? Ever?” This was the first time she’d heard this witch speak. She was small, with long dark hair and glasses. She was soft spoken with big brown eyes.
“No. Winnie isn’t a potions witch.”
“She’s not a warrior, either.”
Destiny nearly wrecked the truck.
“What?”
“She said she’s a potions witch. She was the last of her kind. And that was why she couldn’t fight in our battles.”
Destiny met her eyes in the rearview mirror and then looked around to the witches in the truck with her. They
all nodded.
“She said we couldn’t tell anyone. Eldest didn’t know.”
Destiny snorted. “Please. You honestly think Eldest doesn’t know everything that goes on in this coven? I’ve met her once and I know that.”
“She never said anything.”
“So the rest of you went out to fight all these battles and no one ever cared that she sat at home?” Destiny asked incredulously.
“She brought us these amazing potions. She kept us alive with them.”
“Potions you made.”
“Potions are riding in the back. In case our plan goes south. Just… you know…” Destiny shrugged. “They’ll give you enough time to escape.”
Silence fell for several long miles.
“Has anyone seen Winnie?” Destiny finally asked.
“Not since you sat on her.” The little witch in the back smirked.
“Interesting.” Winnie had disappeared. She hadn’t died in battle because she hadn’t gone into battle. Not if she was pretending to be a potions witch. What baffled Destiny most is how everyone just believed her. Were these witches really so clueless?
“I knew your mother,” the small witch said. “And Luca’s mother. He lost them both within a year of each other. He’s had an air of sadness ever since.”
“Until now,” said Hilda. “You chased the sadness away.”
“We adopted him at the coven. He had nowhere to go. We raised him as one of our own. Sent him to medical school. Taught him everything we could from the spell books. I know men aren’t allowed to have the gift, but sometimes I wonder about him.” The witches around them all nodded in agreement.
“Cass’s son, too. You seem to draw magic to you, Night Twin.”
Night Twin. That’s what they were calling her now? What was wrong with Destiny? Destiny was a perfectly acceptable name for a witch.
Or just a regular girl. Unless one’s sister’s name was Fate. Then, probably only suitable for a witch.
Her phone rang. Quin’s name flashed across her screen and her heart jumped with it. He was driving two cars behind her and every time she looked in her rearview mirror, she searched for his face. She couldn’t see it, of course, because Luca’s truck was between them. But still.
Every time.
What was wrong with her? They were trying to save the world, for heaven’s sake. If warlocks won this war, they’d kill everything. Without witches to distract them, their bloodlust would know no bounds.
But there were so many what-ifs. What if they did get the potion somehow into the warlocks, how would it work if they had no heart? And if it did work, what would happen when the potion wore off? Did they have to round up the warlocks and re-potion them every six months or so? Yeah, this potion was more powerful than anything she’d ever made. But still— she’d give it a year, tops. Then it would wear off.
And yet, despite all those worries, she kept thinking about Quin. And searching for Quin and wondering what Quin was thinking. She knew he liked her. She wasn’t stupid. What she was couldn’t figure out was why he was so stuck in her head.
She didn’t believe in love.
Even if it existed, it didn’t happen over a week.
Before her sister could get a word in, Destiny scowled. “Stay out of my head, Fate.”
“I didn’t say anything. I would, however—”
“Fate.”
“—Just like to point out that under such tense circumstances when lives are at stake, emotions run stronger. It is possible to fall in—”
“Fate.”
“—Love in such a short time.”
“I don’t believe in love.”
“Oh yeah? So what was Luca’s problem for all these years? Indigestion?”
Destiny had no answer to that. Luca had never given up on Alina. He’d searched for her all these years and Alina had never met anyone new, either. What was that, if not love? And not a potion in the world could last that long.
“Uh… are you going to answer your phone?” Hilda asked, motioning toward the sparkly, singing and vibrating, still-flashing-Quin’s-name cell in the cup holder.
“Crap.” Destiny snatched it before Quin could hang up. “Hey.” Her voice was too high pitched. What was wrong with her voice?
“Eldest says they’re at Goblin Valley. They’re making their stand there.”
“At Goblin Valley? Why?”
“Apparently it’s a source of great power.”
Awesome.
“Okay. Taking the next exit then. I didn’t realize we were so close.” She swallowed hard, fear making her hands clammy. This stupid drive had given her way too much time to think and now terror practically controlled her. Like the bars in her head, but not as powerful. Although when she went to get out of the truck and failed, maybe she wouldn’t think so.
“Hey.” Quin’s voice was soft. “It will be fine. It’s just one little potion. You’ve done this at least three times before.”
Destiny smiled, despite herself. “One little potion is all it takes.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
QUIN COULD HEAR THE FEAR IN Destiny’s voice. He didn’t have to be able to get into her head to know she was terrified. She tried to hide it but not very well. Lying wasn’t one of her strengths. He hung up and glanced around the jeep, but the witches who rode with him were silent, except for the random chanting or singing. His mother reached over and squeezed his hand. His dad, in the back, looked like he was going to throw up, but he hadn’t complained once.
“It’s fine. We just distract them while Destiny and Fate get them with the potion. No big deal.”
“It’s not going to work.”
Quin’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”
The witch had purple hair that fell to her chin and gray eyes. Her face was severe, all angles and jutting lines. “It’s a love spell. You can’t make a love spell work if they have no heart. This is the most ridiculous plan I’ve ever heard and we are all going to die. Warlocks will overrun the earth and life as we know it will end. But it won’t matter because we’ll all be dead. For following a potions witch into a battle she thinks to win with a love potion.”
Quin looked around at the others in his jeep. “You all feel this way?”
“Yes,” the purple haired witch said. Several others nodded.
“No.” One voice. One single voice. Cass strained around in her seatbelt to see. Quin didn’t recognize her, but by the way Cass’s eyes widened, he’d guess his mother did.
“One voice is all it takes,” Cass said, reaching back to squeeze her friend’s hand.
Quin nodded.
He followed Destiny’s caravan down the two-lane road. It was paved but nearly empty. Apparently not a lot of people were heading to Goblin Valley in October during the middle of the week.
“The rangers have cleared the park,” Cass said quietly.
Or that.
He’d never been so far south. The rocks were interesting, but not what he’d imagined from the pictures. It was beautiful, but he saw no hoodoos. No space-looking formations. And no warlocks.
The big black truck drove past the ranger shack without pausing. The rest of them merged into single file behind her. For several miles, they watched the scenery flash by without a word. The massive black cloud appeared, low to the ground, as Destiny slowed and turned into a parking lot. There was a veranda, but it wasn’t until he pulled into the parking lot that he saw it.
Suddenly, he understood why it was called Goblin Valley.
Everything he’d ever read about and all the pictures he’d ever seen suddenly made sense. The valley below them was full of hoodoos that looked like fat little goblins. It was an amazingly beautiful site, more so because Destiny, with her long black hair blowing in the wind, stalked along its rim, broomstick in one hand, wand in another. Potions in the bag across her shoulder. She looked like a warrior.
And dear sweet heavens, she was taunting the warlocks.
“She’s starting the battle
without us.” Cass jumped from the jeep and leapt aside her broomstick. Behind her, the witches fell into formation, wands out.
The smell was overwhelming. He’d worked in an onion field one day for a service project. The smell of the bad ones rotting in the sun was something he’d never forgotten. This was much, much worse.
“Do not get these potions on your person,” Fate yelled, handing out vials. “Use this on the warlocks. One drop is all it takes. If you touch this, you will die. Slowly and painfully.”
Several witches paled, but no one hesitated to take one.
Spells sprang from the hoodoos. The warlocks were attacking, trying to hit Destiny, desperate for her power, but they missed. Every time.
“Come on!” She screamed at them, throwing up her arms.
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” Quin muttered, bouncing on his toes.
“What do we do?” Damien asked when Fate had passed out all the red, fiery potions she had. Luca stopped next to her as Alina arrived on her other side.
“You…” Fate reached up, laid a hand on Damien’s cheek as a tear escaped from the corner of her eye. “You three protect us while we’re trying to make the warlocks fall in love. And please don’t die.”
Damien shrugged with a shaky laugh. “No problem, baby.”
“I have no idea how we’ll get the warlocks to take the potion, though,” Fate said in a small voice.
“Use your magic, Fate.” Alina raised her hand, twirled it in a small cyclone. A vial lifted into her hand and she popped the lid off.
“Okay so we’ll just guide each little droplet into the hundreds upon hundreds of warlocks’ mouths. No problem. I’ll just let Destiny know.” Fate laughed shakily.
Quin reached for his bat and turned toward Destiny.
Who was hurling herself over the fence and down the steep slope into the valley of hoodoos.
Into the thick of warlocks.
“Destiny!” he roared, snatching up the bat and racing after her. He slammed into the gate and nearly flew head over heels across it, but she was gone. Destiny had launched herself into battle while all the warriors flew in relative safety from their broomsticks, using wand and potion to fight the warlocks back.
