Counter-Hex (Covencraft Book 2)

by Margarita Gakis

  Paris could see in Jade's eyes she was contemplating saying, 'no' and not budging from where she was. He saw the moment Jade caught sight of Callie and Henri making enthusiastic 'come on up here' motions with their hands - faces wide with smiles. Jade looked sideways at Paris and kind of jerked her head at him in a resigned 'shall we go?' gesture and she led the way over to Hannah.

  Hannah had to tilt her head to look up at Jade, who stood quite tall in her heels. She came forward to grab one of Jade's hands and clasp it between her own. Jade slouched a bit as though adjusting her height to compensate for Hannah's stature.

  "Jade," said Hannah. "I hope you know how welcome you are to the Coven, though I fear you do not yet believe it." Hannah searched Jade's eyes for a moment, seemingly looking for something and patted Jade's hand. "Being part of the Coven means you will have the protection of our number and the affection of our hearts. I hope that you continue to remember this as you remain with us. Being part of a family means that you won't always like everyone and they won't always like you." Jade snorted a bit at that, a wry smile curling her lips. "But," Hannah continued, her voice firm, "you always have a place here. We are all separate and yet we are one. Now, I believe Paris has something for you."

  Hannah raised one eyebrow at Paris as if daring him to contradict her and he was bloody grateful that even in the chaos of the past week, he'd not forgotten Jade's talisman. He reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out the long silver chain with the charm at the end. He stepped forward and spoke lowly, knowing however that the entire Coven would be craning their ears to hear what he'd chosen and why.

  "I've chosen a salamander for your talisman, Jade. The salamander is traditionally associated with fire, which you've shown to wield spectacularly. It's also a symbol of courage, enduring faith and loyalty, which I hope will all be synonymous with your time at the Coven."

  Jade's eyes had zeroed in on the small, curved lizard at the bottom of the chain and she reached out and pinched it between her fingers, turning it over and examining it. He had a rush of nerves that she wouldn't like it, but she smiled a bit and said, "It kinda looks like Bruce."

  Paris felt his nerves dissipate at her fond look. "That too." He handed the necklace over to Hannah who clasped it in her hands. Paris felt a rush of magic as Hannah's power poked at the talisman checking Paris magic. Hannah gave a satisfied nod and Paris was man enough to admit he breathed a small sigh of relief.

  "I bind this talisman to the one we call Jade, for her security and guidance. May it be a source of power and protection for as long as she wears it." Hannah spoke loud enough for the Coven to hear her, her voice ringing out in the room with surprising volume for a woman so slight.

  In her heels, Jade had to bend down quite far for Hannah to be able to place the necklace over her head and around her neck. Before Jade could straighten back up fully, Hannah clasped her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "Welcome to the Coven, Jade," said Hannah. Their embrace was made all the more awkward by the difference in their heights. Hannah kissed her on the cheek in a motherly fashion and Jade stumbled slightly to balance in her heels. Hannah finally released her and Jade wobbled back upright. Paris had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the look of surprise on Jade's face. He looked a little closer at her.

  "Are you blushing?" he asked incredulously.

  "Shut up. I am not," Jade said back. She was indeed blushing slightly, tugging a bit at the hem of her dress with one hand as if she could make it longer. He resolved not to tease her about it further and instead turned to the last thing he had left to do for tonight. He began in a clear voice that could be heard at least by those in the front row. He was sure with Coven gossip being what it was, his words would make it to the back row by the time they sat down to eat.

  "I apologize, Jade."

  Jade looked a little confused, glancing sideways at the crowd watching them and then back to him. "Uh, for what?"

  "You tried to warn me, warn the Coven about Dex and I didn't listen to you. It's another reason I chose the salamander for your charm. As I mentioned, it's a symbol of loyalty and courage, both of which you showed when you defended our Coven from an outside influence that meant us harm."

  She swallowed and looked a little like a deer in headlights, her eyes darting again to the crowd and back to him, like she thought she might be the only one that realized they were in front of a crowd of people. Paris meant to apologize to Jade the day she stopped Dex, and he meant to do it every day since, but then realized that in order to make it as meaningful as possible, he really should do it in front of the Coven. He'd come to the realization that he hadn't made Jade's transition to Coven life as easy as he could have and hoped this would start to make amends.

  "On behalf of the Coven, I thank you. For myself, I apologize for not treating your suspicions and accusations with the care and attention they deserved."

  "Uh, well, you were kind of under a spell. All of you. But, um, apology accepted. And you're welcome," she finished, her voice halting and somewhat stilted.

  On a whim, he leaned over in a parody of Hannah, to kiss her on the cheek. He told himself that if Jade moved away, he would respect her distance but instead, she froze, as still as a field rabbit seeing movement on the plain. He kept his kiss polite and perfunctory - nearly indistinguishable from Hannah's, but as he pulled back, he saw she was blushing even more, watching him carefully. She looked like she wanted to ask him a question, but instead, she pulled back, putting distance between them again.

  Paris offered her a small smile and then turned to the rest of the coven at large. "And now if you will all take your seats, dinner will be served."

  #

  As predicted, Jade needed several bandages on her feet. She waved goodbye at Callie and Henri, both of them hanging out opposite sides of the back of Nick's car, with Callie blowing Jade one last kiss before Nick pulled away. Back in her little cottage, Jade took off her Cinderella shoes and surveyed the damage to her feet. Bruce padded down the stairs and flicked his tongue at her.

  "The price of beauty, Bruce. High and painful," Jade said, as she wiggled her toes into the rug at the front door.

  Washing off her makeup and brushing her teeth were always tiresome chores she wished she could skip, but with the amount of extra makeup she was wearing tonight, it wasn't optional. She wobbled a bit as she continued her nighttime routine. Damn Canadian whiskey. She'd had two more after the first one and she wasn't even sure why. It tasted awful, but there was definitely something about it.

  Back in her bedroom, she paused, seeing Bruce's tail poking out from under the bed. "Is that your spot tonight, buddy?" she asked, crouching down low and peeking at him under the bed. He was curled around something, his reflective eyes blinking at her. It took Jade a moment to realize it was her shoebox, the one she lugged with her everywhere she went. "Be careful with that," she said, only half teasing. "It's got all my important things."

  Bruce shifted a bit, like he was getting comfortable, curling closer around the box. Relatively certain he meant it no harm, Jade crawled into bed, hoping that by tomorrow the two glasses of water she downed while washing her face would stave off any hangovers.

  She woke in the closet again, Bruce pressed up against her, his tail curled underneath one of her armpits. She fought with the blankets until her arms were free, pushing up against the wall, the dim light coming from underneath the door crack enough for her to see Bruce on the other side of the closet, staring at her. Her back was killing her and part of her left foot was asleep and waking up, sending pins and needles through her nerve endings.

  "This has got to stop," she said, running a hand through her sleep-tangled hair. "Maybe I should lock the closet door. Maybe handcuff myself to the bed." Jade sighed. It wasn't so much the sleeping in the closet that bothered her. What bothered her was not remembering going in. All her blankets were with her and pillows too. She obviously woke up enough to grab things, but not enough to remember. She didn't
like it.

  With a sigh, Jade pushed open the closet door, squinting at the change of light. Though it still wasn't too bright outside, the winter morning not yet bursting forth, it was still brighter than in the closet. She groaned as she got to her feet, feeling every joint protest the movement. Something on the bed caught her eye and she stilled, staring dumbly.

  On top of her bed was her shoebox, the one Bruce had been curled around, the one she kept underneath the bed. All of her things had been taken out, sorted into neat little piles in a semi-circle, like someone had been sitting on the bed, spreading them out to view them.

  Jade felt sick seeing the pristine arrangement. It wasn't the haphazard format of someone half-asleep, someone with their eyes partially closed and still on the verge of dreaming. It was the careful organization of someone looking through items and sorting them. There was the small collection of rocks she kept, some writing instruments, a deck of well worn playing cards, some odd bits - a shoelace, a report card, a broken necklace. And then photographs. Jade moved toward the bed slowly, seeing the photographs fanned out, like a hand of cards in a poker game. She touched them, pushing them farther apart from each other, seeing them sorted neatly in chronological order. Bruce pressed against her leg and she looked down at him briefly before gathering all the things on the bed and putting them back in the shoebox, methodically placing them back in the same order in which they were always kept. She closed the lid firmly and shoved the box back under the bed.

  Jade walked slowly, carefully to the bathroom, keeping her eyes downcast as she went. She turned on the light and then placed her hands on the vanity, staring at her white knuckles and red fingertips as she pressed against the cool tile. Bruce came in beside her and she flicked her eyes over to him, seeing his own eyes solemn and dark. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

  "Lily," she said quietly, her voice low and even. "Are you there?"

  She raised her eyes to the mirror, meeting her own gaze and watching carefully. She waited for the calm, collected feeling she'd felt in the clearing when she was trying to bind Dex. She waited for her world to get a little muted and fuzzy at the edges, like it did before Lily would show up. Staring at her grey irises, she didn't know if she was relieved or devastated. Her eyes were a little bloodshot and Jade pretended it was from drinking last night and not because she thought she might cry.

  "If you're there, I need you to show me."

  Jade felt something then; a tickle at the corner of her brain. It felt like someone was behind her, just over her shoulder, hiding in her blind spot. If she moved too quickly, or looked too fast, she would lose them. She took another deep breath and exhaled through her mouth, her lips pursing slightly as she breathed. Then, she saw it. One of her irises, the left one, turned green at the edges, the color bleeding inward until it touched the pupil, spreading out like osmosis, turning the entire torus green. It took less than a second before she blinked and it was grey again. Jade leaned in closer and turned her head slightly to get a better look. Her own eye blinked back at her - only grey. But for a moment it had been there. Green. The bright apple green of Lily's eyes. Jade laughed shakily and backed away from the mirror until her back hit the wall, one of her hands coming up to cover her mouth. Bruce pressed against her leg and she crouched down.

  "Bruce, I think she's back."

  AUTHOR BIO

  Margarita loves the art, creativity and romanticism of storytelling. Sometimes, however, the act of putting pen to paper proves challenging. She works to develop genuine, relatable characters which grow in the hearts of her readers. From that foundation, the stories flourish into a warm friend.

  She enjoys pursuits which blur the lines between the analytical and creative sides of her brain. This includes her day job in electronic data management, where she uses her creativity to solve logical problems, and also her lessons learning to play the cello, where she finds beauty in the structure of music and the instrument. She believes there is a place for both logic and imagination to work together. When they do, the results are magical.

  The 'label' she identifies most with is 'storyteller.' According to Wikipedia, storytelling is the conveying of events in words, and images, often by improvisation or embellishment. It seems to fit pretty well with how she feels about her work.

  Get Books 1 and 3 of Covencraft, Counter-Hex and Double-Sided Witch online.

  Get the free short story (Book 2.5 of Covencraft), Carnival Moon, online at Amazon, Smashwords, Apple and Kobo

  At www.margaritagakis.com, you can sign up for her newsletter to get updates on her current work and upcoming releases.