Counter-Hex (Covencraft Book 2)

by Margarita Gakis

  "Yeah. But I've got magic on my side, don't I?" Jade smirked, feeling a little dangerous and coy.

  Henri smiled back. "That you do. Go try on your dress, Cinderella."

  Henri had been right, it didn't fit quite right. But, Jade thought turning around in the dressing room and craning her neck over her shoulder, she could take it to a tailor and get it fixed up a bit and it would still cost less than half the dresses Callie and Henri had picked out today. Plus, it wasn't obscenely short, it wasn't uncomfortably tight, it wasn't hideously low-cut and the sleeves came all the way down to her wrist bones. Being tall meant that wasn't always likely when she tried stuff on.

  There was a series of sharp, hard knocks on the dressing room door. "Come on out, let's see," called Henri.

  Jade was already shimmying out of the dress and back into her jeans. "I'm already done. I'm taking it."

  "You can't just take it without me seeing it!" Henri protested. Jade slipped her t-shirt over her head and pulled her ponytail tight as she stuffed her feet back into her shoes. She pulled open the dressing room door.

  "Trust me, it's fine."

  "Fine? Fine?" Henri said incredulously. "This is your first Coven Ball! You have to look great! You have to look spectacular, you have to look..." he fumbled for a word. "Better than fine."

  "Why?" Jade asked, slinging the dress over her arm and heading for the till. "Everyone's already seen me. It's not like half these people haven't seen me covered in sewer sludge or with the shit kicked out of me." She thought specifically of how she looked after she managed to escape from the demon that Matthew had used to try to kill her. "Kind of late to make a first impression." Jade looked around the store. "Where's Callie?"

  Henri waved a hand. "Meeting us at the restaurant." He fingered the material of the dress. "At least let me pick out the shoes?"

  Jade tossed the dress down on the counter to pay, looking at Henri's face. He looked so hopeful she couldn't say no. "Fine." As his face lit up, she shot out some hasty conditions. "No platforms. They are ridiculous and since I just got my cast off my arm, I'm not looking to put one on my foot if I trip. And none of those itty bitty heels. The little rubber things always come off and then you're like Bambi on the ice."

  "I will find you the best shoes. Shoes you have dreamed about. Shoes you will weep over."

  Jade handed over her credit card, wincing a bit as she did. She really needed to cancel her apartment and utilities. Sure she was getting paid by the Coven, but it was just ridiculous to hang onto her place if she wasn't going back. If she went and got the rest of her stuff, she'd probably already have a pair of shoes that would go with her new dress.

  "Just find me ones I can still walk in after a couple drinks."

  Henri's phone started chirping - a high-pitched grasshopper noise and he pulled it out as he nodded. "Oh! Dex is having lunch with us." He looked back up at her. "What's with the face?"

  "What face?" Jade replied back, taking her bag from the salesclerk. "There is no face.

  "Yeah, exactly. You look like you just got shot up with enough botox to kill a small child. You have zero expression, which on you? Means it's a 'face.'"

  She hesitated a moment and then blurted out. "Why does everyone like him?"

  "What are you talking about? Dex is great!"

  This time, she could feel the face she was making - all eyebrows and scowling lips. "He's creepy."

  "What?" exclaimed Henri, causing three people to turn and look at them as they walked to the restaurant. "He's such a nice guy! He, Paris, and Veronica are like the cool kids at a high school, you know? Good at magic, good looking." Henri seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I think people thought Paris and Veronica were going to make a long term go of it. They used to be a couple."

  Jade felt something thick and heavy in her stomach. She probably shouldn't have waited so long to eat after breakfast. "I just... I don't like Dex."

  "You hardly know him. You met him just the one time, right?"

  Jade shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

  "C'mon. Get to know him a bit better and you'll like him."

  She felt stubborn, like a child, wanting to stomp her foot in disagreement. "Maybe I don't want to get to know him better. It's not like he lives here or anything."

  "Well, no, but he's another Coven Leader and you are one of our most powerful witches. Odds are your paths will keep crossing. Nobody really means for it to happen, but people of a certain power level all tend to end up hanging out together and socializing. That's just the way it is."

  "Sounds elitist."

  "You say elitist, I say human nature. Like attracts like. I'm not saying it's bad, it's just the way it is." He shrugged. "But Dex is a nice guy. I'd trust him with my mother's china. If she had china. Hell, I'd trust him with her grimoire and she had spells in there that would make you blush."

  Jade couldn't say anything more without sounding completely ridiculous and petulant. While she couldn't put her finger on it exactly, even after only meeting Dex the once, something about him set her off. The fact that everyone else seemed to think he was fantastic only made her want to dislike him more.

  Walking into the restaurant, Jade spotted Callie and Dex at a table. Callie was sipping on a soda while Dex was talking animatedly with his hands. Callie snorted in laughter and Dex continued whatever story he was relating, even as Callie flapped her hands at him, trying to swallow the mouthful of soda she had in her mouth. She just managed to get it down the hatch by the time Jade and Henri made it to the table.

  "Jade!" Dex exclaimed. "So good to see you again."

  Jade smiled tightly. "Yeah."

  "Shopping for the Coven Ball?" he asked, craning his neck to see her bag.

  "Yep," she answered, feeling the need to clutch her bag close. Henri poked her in the back with a finger and she realized she'd been standing still, blocking his way into either of the booth's seats. She slid in next to Callie, even though it meant slightly less room with both of their shopping bags and purses on one side.

  "Here, allow me," Dex said, holding his hand out for her things, motioning like he would put them on his seat.

  "I got it," Jade said, clutching her stuff tight. She ignored the pointed look Henri gave her, flicking up her menu and reading it. Even though the dress she bought was two sizes too big, the idea of the Coven Ball coming up had her choosing a salad off the menu. Dressing on the side. Yuck.

  "Live a little," Dex prodded. "I'm sure you can afford to go a little crazy," he said when she ordered.

  The skin on the back of her neck tingled as she met his gaze. He was so obviously fake to her. She looked at Callie and Henri, feeling as though she were caught on some kind of strange reality show - Spot the Creeper! Both of them were looking at her quizzically.

  "Just the salad," she said, folding the menu closed and handing it back to the server.

  "Don't be one of those women who orders a salad and then eats food off other people's plates," Dex teased.

  Her jaw made a squeaking sound when she ground her teeth. She'd always meant to see a dentist about it in case it was the early signs of TMJ. From the sounds it was making now as she eyeballed Dex, she should make that dental appointment sooner rather than later.

  "I won't," she said coldly. He smiled at her, completely unfazed by her attitude. The rest of the group put in their orders and the server hurried away. Jade sat back in the booth, her spine right up against the cheap pleather fabric. "How's your magic, Dex?" she asked abruptly.

  He paused, taking a sip of his iced tea. "Honestly? I'm out of sorts. I don't know that I've ever had any problems with my magic. None that I can remember. And being cut off from my Coven as well... It's been tough."

  "Hmm. I bet." Jade crossed her arms over her chest, head tilted sideways. "So you must have been affected as soon as you showed up. Or was it that you showed up and then the Coven became affected?"

  He licked his lips a little and smiled, setting his glass down on the table.

  "Y
our Coven is still unaffected, correct?" asked Callie. Dex turned to her and nodded.

  "Thankfully, yes. They're not showing any signs of... infection for lack of a better word."

  "That's great," Jade deadpanned. "But back to my question. Timeline. You show up. Coven magic goes wonky. Then your magic. Or was it your magic then the Coven's?"

  "Jade!" Callie exclaimed. "You sound like you're accusing him."

  Jade shrugged. "I just like to know how things happen."

  "Yeah, but..." Callie trailed off a bit and eyed her meaningfully. "Dex is another Coven Leader. He's like family."

  "Cain and Abel were family. Look how that turned out." Callie's jaw dropped at Jade's words. "What? It's just a question. If he's family, like you say," Jade repeated, forcing the words out slow and careful as she looked at Dex, "then I'm sure he's more than happy to help me figure it all out. I'm only doing it for the good of the Coven."

  Okay, so Jade laid the last bit on a little thick - a few extra wide-eyed blinks back toward Callie; a sympathetic eyebrow raise at Henri, and then she pinned Dex with her grey eyes. She knew that if she tilted her head and let them catch the light just right, they always looked a little too pale against her pupils. It tended to make people nervous.

  "It's fine, Callie," Dex soothed, reaching out and patting Callie on the hand patronizingly. Jade wanted to rap his knuckles with her butter knife. "I totally understand where Jade is coming from. She doesn't know me like you do." He looked back at Jade. "I don't know for certain when it started. I don't actively practice magic non-stop. I could have been affected for several hours before I noticed, or only several minutes. I also don't know if we can even tell who the first person was that was affected here at the Coven or if several areas were affected at once. It's quite the mystery."

  Jade was already wondering if she could pull Counter-Magic's log from yesterday and see if there was any kind of formula or pattern that could be extracted. If there were, she could extrapolate it backward and see if that supported what Dex was saying. "Tough break for the Coven. A lot of unknowns."

  Dex nodded sagely. "Yes. Your magic is still unaffected though, correct?" He took a sip of his drink, giving her the same wide-eyed innocent look that she'd given him.

  Touché, asshole. Jade smiled, brittle and sharp. "Yep. What is it witches like to say? Touch wood." She knocked on the table once.

  "I hear you've also quite the affinity with demon magic."

  Jade raised an eyebrow. "Really? Who told you that?"

  Dex shrugged. "Word travels. Especially when it's about something so unique and strange. I admit, I'm curious about it. I hear you have some demon grimoires, two of the three."

  "Sounds like you know all there is to know already."

  "Come now, don't be modest. It's quite a feat. Demon magic can be so... tricky. Generally anathema to the Coven in general."

  "I guess I'm just a special snowflake," Jade said, taking a sip of her water and biting down hard on an ice cube.

  "It must be difficult to be different from everyone else in the Coven." His tone was sympathetic and out of the corner of her eye, Jade could see Callie's face already morphing into one of empathy and feeling for Jade. Dex's eyes in contrast were sharp and cutting. Jade chanced a quick glance at Henri and Callie - both of them were looking at her sympathetically, almost oblivious to Dex. It had to be magic, didn't it? Jade couldn't be the only one that got a creeper vibe off Dex while everyone else thought he was fantastic. She started pushing her magic out, seeing if she could feel anything around the table that would indicate it was some kind of spell work.

  Jade was getting used to keeping her magic mostly coiled up inside her. In some ways, letting it go just now was like taking a bra off after a long day. It was only once the clasp released that she realized how tight the garment had been. Her magic uncurled carefully, stiffly. In her mind, she saw it like long branches of green wood - stiff but bendable. Unhappy at having been folded up for so long. She pushed it out, feeling for other magic at the table, magic coming off Dex.

  There was none.

  But Dex... his eyes narrowed slightly and he shifted a millimeter back, away from Jade. Away from her magic. Neither Callie nor Henri moved. Was it because they were familiar with Jade's magic? Or could they not feel it because there was something wrong with their own powers?

  Dex felt it. He was trying to act like he hadn't, but Jade was sure the way he moved meant he had.

  "Jade's part of our family," Callie was saying. Her hand came to rest upon Jade's and Jade pulled her magic back tightly, like the snap of a yo-yo coming home to its owner. "She's not separate from us."

  "Of course not," said Dex lowly. His eyes slid away from Jade's and rested on Callie - warm and soft. "I'm sure you've made her feel quite at home. Veronica tells me you always did have a fondness for strays."

  Ouch. Jade almost wanted to salute him for that one because Callie just smiled even warmer and Henri started in on how Callie once found a bird with a broken wing and made Gellar x-ray it at the Coven when the local vet couldn't be reached. Both Callie and Henri seemed oblivious to the way Dex said it - as though Jade were some mangy cat that had been found wandering alone and wailing on the side of a road.

  Jade was glad she decided on only salad for lunch since the rest of the meal was like the Dex Appreciation Hour. If she'd ordered something heavier, it would be sitting harder than the rock the salad was turning into in her stomach. Dex, Henri and Callie talked about people they knew at the Coven, people who were so happy Dex was back visiting and could he come by a little more often? Would he happen to have his grimoire with him? Oh he just happened to have a spell for stuffy noses and scratchy throats and flu season was coming and he'd be so happy to share it. Did he know that the apple tree outside his old house had the best apples in town? Moira would only use those apples when she made her turnovers. Dex confessed to trying a spell on the tree when he was in his teens and it was just too bad that he hadn't written it down. God, it was like watching a bad soap opera where you knew who the villain was and everyone else was blindly wandering around.

  Doubt niggled at her stomach, though. Maybe it was that she truly wasn't a part of the Coven yet, or never really would be. Maybe she was too cynical, too different to ever be a part of their cozy remembrances and fond tales. Like a foreigner in a strange land, maybe she would always have a heavy accent, no matter how well she spoke the language.

  Her phone started vibrating in her pocket and she couldn't reach for it fast enough, glad for the distraction from Dex's overbearing presence. She barely registered Paris' name on the caller-ID before she answered.

  "Jade speaking."

  "Hello, Jade," he said, and after an hour of listening to Dex's overly warm and friendly voice, Jade had never been so happy to hear Paris' clipped tone and British accent. "I was wondering if you were free this afternoon?"

  "Yes." Even to her own ears, her tone was sharp and quick. Her eyes darted over to Callie and Henri and she felt a little bad. "I mean, um... Hang on." She mouthed Paris' name and pointed to a quiet corner where she was going to take the call. She slid out of the booth and once she was sure she was out of earshot, she put the phone back to her ear.

  "Sorry, what's up?"

  "Is this a bad time?"

  "Fuck no," she said emphatically. "I'm just... whatever," she waved her hand, sort of forgetting that he couldn't see her. "I'm free. Totally free. Unless you need someone to go back into the sewers in which case, oh wow, look at the time, gotta go."

  "Hardly," he said. From his tone she could picture his expression perfectly - slightly amused. "I know there's a lot going on with the Coven right now and unfortunately that hasn't left me a lot of time to work with you on your magic."

  "Oh, you know, it's been okay. The guys in Counter-Magic are fine and Josef has me reading books and going into sewers," she said wryly. "Fun times."

  "I'm sure. Still, I've been somewhat remiss in your teachings. Although the Coven mag
ic is affected, yours is not and you shouldn't be penalized for it."

  "Uh, thanks," she said for lack of anything else. She picked at a loose piece of ugly wallpaper in the corner, scratching at the dried up glue and ripping a corner off. She glanced around making sure no one saw her and then went back to picking.

  "If you're free," Paris continued, "I thought we could work on some circle casting. Of course, I won't be practicing any magic myself, but circle casting is a way to get in touch with your own magic and requires more of a... focused mind. I think I can help you work on that without any magic."

  "Um, okay. Where do you want to meet?"

  "Where are you right now?"

  "The mall." She immediately felt about fourteen years old and rolled her eyes. Jesus. No wonder Dex compared her to a stray. She straightened her spine. "I can grab a cab or take the bus." Fuck, she was never leaving her car when she went anywhere again. She hated being without it.

  "No need, I can pick you up. Are you sure you're free? You're not in the middle of something?"

  Jade glanced over at the table where Dex was in the middle of gesticulating wildly with a huge grin on his face while Callie and Henri laughed. She felt bad for leaving Callie and Henri. She liked hanging out with them. But ditching Dex totally made up for it.

  "Nope. All done."

  She arranged to meet Paris at one of the entrances in twenty minutes. Back at the table, Callie quirked her eyebrows when Jade grabbed her purse.

  "Paris wants to go over some magic stuff, so..." she trailed off, fishing in her wallet for her portion of the bill. Callie waved her off.

  "I can get your part. You can catch me next time."

  Jade fingered the bills in her wallet awkwardly. "Thanks. I better head to the exit so I'm not late. See you guys." Standing, she nodded and smiled at Callie and Henri, pausing before she looked at Dex.

  "I'll be seeing you around, Jade," he said, smiling with his perfect teeth.

  "I'm sure you will," she said, giving him her brightest smile back.

  #

  Parked outside of one of the mall entrances, Paris read through the latest report from the Coven Department heads on his Smartphone and frowned. He was going to have to ban magic use. He didn't see a way around it. He hated the small keyboard on his phone and instead switched over to voice memo, detailing that all spells and magic use were banned unless approved by a senior Coven member until further notice. He then had to draft a second voice memo for Suki to send out indicating which Coven members would be suitable for approving any attempts at magic. The list was short. Himself, Hannah, Josef from Counter Magic, Marcus from Supernatural Defense and Claire from Research and Development. He was in the middle of memos to Josef, Marcus and Claire when the passenger door of his car opened. He didn't pause in his dictation and Jade immediately seemed to get what he was doing, sliding in quietly and tossing some bags in the back.