The Rebel Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  Truthfully, I was torn when it came to Cooper. Him being my full biological brother made so much sense. In hindsight, his behavior was stupid obvious. I liked Cooper. Finding out he was my brother was actually kind of cool. I now had a big family. I tried to empathize with him. It couldn’t have been easy to keep that secret from me, from us. But he did. And it hurt. I didn’t want to forgive him yet. I didn’t want to just say it was okay because it wasn’t.

  “Tegan…”

  I held my hand up to stop him. It didn’t matter what he said—the deed was done. I looked over to Tennessee for assistance— Wait. That’s not Tennessee. It was Easton sitting behind Cooper with a black hat on. I frowned and scanned the group, but he wasn’t there. Where is he? He’d been in the parking lot before school when everyone yelled at us, so where was he now? My pulse quickened. My mind flashed a dozen horrible scenarios for his disappearance. Calm down, Tegan. You’re overreacting. Cooper wouldn’t be calm if something was wrong with Tennessee. So he had to be fine, wherever he was.

  I licked my lips and took a deep breath. “Where’s Tennessee?”

  Cooper frowned and shook his head, like my question came completely out of left field. “Um, he left school for the day. Why?”

  “He left school for the day?” Easton took his hat off and threw it in the grass. His blond head looked white in the sunlight. “Why does he get to leave?”

  I took a bite out of my pizza to hide my reaction to talking about him. I seriously needed to learn how to control my face, or more specifically, my blushing. It was going to get both our magic stripped if I didn’t figure something out. Tennessee made it look so easy.

  “I gave up asking those questions.” Cooper sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Why do you ask, Tegan?”

  Uh-oh. Um…think. Think. Think. I cleared my throat and shrugged. “I was going to talk about my Tarot reading last night, but he’s not here.”

  “No, but that guy is.” Larissa pointed toward the cafeteria behind us. Her skin looked like peanut butter fudge in the sunlight. Her hazel-green eyes sparkled. “Hel-lo.”

  Paulina spun around on the bench to look and whistled. “He better be coming over here.”

  Braison’s red eyebrows scrunched together. “We don’t invite Sapiens over here.”

  “No, we don’t,” Easton grumbled.

  “Fine, I’ll invite him over to my house later,” Paulina said with a wicked grin and a thick accent.

  My thoughts went immediately to Libby and Henley. They were our most outspoken girls when it came to boys, especially Libby. I heard her voice saying their words, and it made my heart hurt. I pictured the two of them sitting side by side on top of the table, whispering to each other. They’d use their magic to get the mystery boy’s attention, then flirt with him from across the lawn. They’d toy with him, leading him on only to forget he existed soon after they got their fill. We’d never get Libby back, but we still had a chance with Henley. If the visions I saw in the Tarot were legit, it was possible to save her.

  “Easton’s just mad there are other pretty blond boys,” Willow teased and threw a piece of food at him from an opposite table.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Easton rolled his beautiful sky-blue eyes. “Cooper is a pretty blond boy, too.”

  Cooper placed his palm to his chest. “Thank you, Easy E.”

  Lily groaned. “That nickname has to stop, or I’m going to hunt down every single one of his conquests and kill them. Choice is yours.”

  I threw my hand over my mouth to hide my laugh. She was serious, and I didn’t blame her. If all of our friends openly joked about the girls Tennessee hooked up with before me, I… Oh my God. Other girls? My stomach turned, and I had the sudden urge to vomit. I’d never even considered Tennessee might’ve been with other girls before we met. How many were there? Were any of them serious? Did I know any of them? Oh, God. What if he’s still hooking up with other girls?

  “Royce, Earth to Royce!” Chutney waved her hand in the air. “We’re objectifying a cute boy. We need you to weigh in.”

  I frowned and looked over at my friend. Royce was always quick to comment on attractive guys, yet he’d remained silent. He sighed and picked his head up. His eyes were tired, the bags under them growing darker every hour. He was thinking about Henley, too. Had our friends not noticed him suffering, or was this their way of distracting him? I looked around at their expectant eyes and warm smiles. Distracting, definitely.

  “Royce, tell them no guy should wear white pants that tight or rolled up above his ankles.” Easton leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Tell them.”

  “Damn it, now I have to look,” Royce mumbled, though I wasn’t sure if anyone else had heard him. He glanced over his shoulder and blanched. “DEACON?”

  Wait, he knows him? I spun around to look, and my eyes widened. I totally understood the girls’ reactions. This guy, Deacon as Royce called him, was a walking movie poster. He was tall and lean, but with muscles like maybe he was a runner. His hair was a soft, sandy blond that reminded me of the beach back in South Carolina. It was short on the sides and long on the top, swept back in an effortlessly sexy way. Actually, the hairstyle reminded me of Royce’s.

  “Deacon, what…what are you doing here?” Royce stepped away from the table toward the incomer.

  Deacon smiled and it sent a shiver down my spine. This one is wild. I didn’t know how I knew—I just knew. I couldn’t see his eyes behind his blue aviator sunglasses, but I felt his magic from ten feet away. He was a witch. He was definitely hot. And he was the exact opposite of Tennessee. Where Tenn wore black, Deacon wore pristine white. Like head-to-toe. White crew-neck T-shirt. Long white cardigan unbuttoned and pushed almost up to his elbows. White slim-fitting jeans rolled three inches above his ankles. White Adidas sneakers…with the laces tucked inside, like all the cool kids wore.

  Deacon chuckled. “Here to make trouble, like always.”

  “Royce, you know him?” I asked the question I knew everyone was thinking.

  Royce sighed and nodded. “This is my cousin, Deacon English.” He stepped forward and greeted him in that standard guy way of shaking hands and slapping each other on the back.

  “Deacon English? It’s been a long time. I didn’t recognize you,” Cooper said from behind me.

  “Yet you look exactly the same, except twice the size,” Deacon said with a grin. His voice was smooth like silk. He moved through the group to greet my brother the same way he had Royce. “What’s it been, a decade?”

  “At least,” Cooper said with a chuckle. He leaned back against the picnic table and gestured toward the rest of us. “I don’t think you got to meet most of The Coven back then, did you?”

  “My parents shipped him back home before he got the chance, if I remember correctly.” Royce leaned against the table beside me. His voice was light and teasing, but his eyes were sharp and wary. “How’d you convince your mother to let you return?”

  “I’m eighteen. I do what I want now.” He slid his sunglasses to the top of his head, revealing a dashing pair of violet eyes. He winked at his cousin then turned to the rest of us. “Hey, everyone, I’m Deacon. I’m a witch. I’m from Manhattan, and I like tacos.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Wait, is that a euphemism?”

  He grinned and turned toward me. His eyes widened and his smile got a little warmer. “Hey, I saw you in the parking lot this morning.”

  “You saw me? That’s random.” I frowned. There were dozens of students in the parking lot that morning, including the whole Coven…yet he saw me.

  He shrugged. “So are hot chicks with purple hair.”

  I blushed. “Um…thanks?” My thoughts immediately went to Tennessee. I was both glad he wasn’t there to hear that, and mad that he couldn’t be there to mark his territory.

  “You’re definitely welcome, beautiful.” Deacon stepped toward me with his palm out. “What’s your name?”

  I took his hand and shook it. “Teg
an.”

  “Tegan? That’s fun. I feel like I’ve heard it before.”

  “Dude, no hitting on my sister,” Cooper muttered.

  “Deacon, stop flirting with our High Priestess,” Royce said before Deacon could respond. “Tell us what you’re doing here. I know there’s a reason.”

  Deacon’s blond eyebrows rose. He looked back and forth between Cooper and me. “I only see it in the eyes. Well, it is an honor to meet you, High Priestess.”

  “I said no flirting,” Royce said.

  “Royce, baby cousin, I’m not flirting. It is an honor to meet our High Priestess after all this time.” He frowned and looked around the group with sharp eyes. “Wait, where’s Henley?”

  Silence.

  Deacon’s frown deepened. “Guys…where is Henley? Royce?”

  But Royce’s face was blank and as white as Deacon’s outfit.

  The awkward silence wasn’t going to help anyone. I cleared my throat. How do I say this? I considered a variety of sugarcoated statements, but they felt like an insult to Henley. The truth was always the best option, in my opinion.

  “Deacon, Henley was possessed by a demon last week, and a few days ago, she was taken through the Gap into another realm,” I said.

  Deacon’s face fell. His skin paled, and gone were any hints of humor. He walked over to Royce and gripped him in a tight hug. Then he held on a little longer. “Royce, I’m so sorry. I had no idea. I would’ve come sooner.” He pulled back and squeezed Royce’s shoulder.

  “There was nothing you could’ve done,” Royce mumbled and sank onto the bench.

  Deacon’s eyes watered, but he blinked the emotions away. He turned to face the rest of us. “Is there…any hope of getting her back?”

  “Yes,” I answered immediately.

  Everyone’s eyes widened, and they spun to face me.

  I held my hand in the air to stop them from asking questions. “I read the Tarot last night, in the very spot she was possessed. I was waiting to tell the whole Coven together. I might not be able to tell it twice.” I wasn’t sure I could tell it once, the images were too scarring.

  Cooper cursed. “That’s why you asked where Tennessee was.”

  No, it really wasn’t but okay. I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “The infamous Tennessee Wildes. I had noticed his absence,” Deacon said. “Who else is missing?”

  “Emersyn is in a meeting with a teacher.” I picked up my pizza and took a bite. I didn’t want to talk about my visions yet. Not without Tennessee. Not without Bentley.

  “Libby,” Willow whispered.

  Deacon nodded. “I’m sorry for your loss. I always heard great things about her.”

  “You knew she passed?” Cooper frowned and scratched the back of his head. “The Coven hasn’t announced it yet.”

  Deacon shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I was…notified…” He pushed his left cardigan sleeve up to his elbow.

  Everyone gasped and leaned forward, like we needed a closer look despite the fact it was visible from across a football field. XV was Marked in black into his left forearm. The Mark of the Devil.

  “Oh my Goddess,” Royce mumbled and leaned back.

  Deacon shrugged. “I was as shocked as you are, trust me. But when it showed, I knew I had to come here, to take my place in The Coven. I imagine this will be hard for you guys, and I really am sorry about Libby. I didn’t choose to replace her.”

  The Devil in white.

  Interesting. That wildness in his smile made so much more sense now. He was the living, breathing embodiment of temptation and desire.

  I looked around at my crew, and I saw their pain in their eyes. They’d had to replace two of their dearest friends within days of each other. At least with Bentley, we had a sense of relief when we found him after the Hierophant’s quests. Plus, he was a little boy. He was nothing like Cassandra, and it would be a long, long time before we had a similar relationship with him because he was so young. But Deacon was our age. I understood how they’d feel territorial and hurt by his arrival.

  I also understood what it was like to be the new fish in the pond. They’d been warm and welcoming for Emersyn and me. Henley and Royce in particular. Deacon was their cousin. I owed it to them to show him the same comfort they gave me. Don’t I?

  “It’s okay, Deacon,” I said. “We all know how it works, and it wasn’t your fault. Welcome to The Coven. It’s bat shit crazy here.”

  He chuckled and scrubbed his face. “Thanks, Tegan.”

  “Want a slice?” I patted the empty bench seat beside me. “Come on, I’ll share for the newbie.”

  “Well, I can’t say no to that.” He grinned and took the seat I pointed to, then plucked a slice of pizza off my tray and took a bite. “Not bad. Six slices?”

  “Half are for my sister.”

  “Hey, does Kessler know you’re here?” Cooper asked as he pulled out his phone.

  “Yeah, Kessler knows. He told me I’d find you out here during lunch.” He pointed his half-eaten slice at my brother. “Though you would’ve been easy to find, I felt like I was following the yellow brick road of magic.”

  Cooper nodded and typed something on his phone. A few seconds later, a round of beeps and vibrations echoed through the group chat. I pulled my phone out of my boot and found a text from Cooper.

  Deacon is here with us.

  Three little bubbles popped up immediately, then Kessler’s response appeared. Great. We have to initiate him tonight at midnight, so everyone meet at the beach at eleven thirty. Ceremonial white.

  More bubbles popped up, then a text from a 212 phone number that wasn’t saved in my phone appeared. Am I supposed to have ceremonial white?

  Kessler responded immediately. No, ceremonial white is not common among civilian witches outside of Eden. Come over tonight and you can borrow.

  Royce’s name popped up with a text. It’s okay, Kess. I’ve got an extra, we’re about the same size.

  “Who the hell is Deacon?”

  Everyone jumped at the sound of Emersyn’s voice. We’d all been so focused on the group chat we’d missed her arrival. We were a special breed of witch, apparently.

  “That would be me,” Deacon answered while turning to face her. When his eyes found her, they widened and lit up like fireworks. It was a look of recognition, like he already knew her. He blinked a few times, just staring at her. After a second, he shook himself and stood to greet her, sticking his hand out. “Hi. I’m Deacon English.”

  Her cheeks were a pinkish color, though that could’ve been from the sun. She stared at his hand for several awkward seconds before shaking it. “I’m Emersyn.”

  “Our new Devil. He just arrived today.” I frowned and glanced back and forth between them. What is happening here? “Do y’all know each other?”

  Emersyn shook her head and narrowed her eyes. “No.”

  Deacon smiled but it was a little wobbly. “Nice to meet you, Empress.”

  Emersyn glared at him. “Likewise.” She took her hand back then moved to sit on the other side of me.

  I turned toward her to ask what her problem was when my phone vibrated again. This time it was a text from Bentley just to Emersyn and me. Will you guys take me to HK after school, before dark? I left something in lookout tower I need for Deacon’s initiation tonight.

  I shot back my answer. Of course, B.

  Emersyn’s response came in right after mine. We’ll pick you up right after school, so be ready. Tell Mom and Dad, though.

  Awesome. I’ll tell them. Can we do rides too, though?

  I chuckled. Absolutely.

  When I looked up from my phone, I found everyone in their own little bubbles. Lily and Easton were seconds away from a make-out session I didn’t want to see. Cooper texted on his phone, probably to Uncle Kessler or Tennessee. The others were just having little side conversations. Except Deacon. He sat beside me, staring at the wooden table and eating the slice I’d given him.

  I felt bad fo
r the circumstances of his arrival. Replacing a beloved friend who’d just died was a rough break. But at the same time, his arrival and initiation were easy compared to mine and Em’s. I would’ve loved to meet the crew in the middle of the day and do my initiation ritual in a calm manner…not in a panic on a boat headed for a dangerous quest.

  “Hey, Deacon?”

  He looked over to me with a smile. “Yes, gorgeous?”

  “Em and I are taking our little brother, Bentley, to Hidden Kingdom after school. Would you like to join us?” I opened my bag of Doritos to try and look casual. The last thing I needed was for this guy to think I was flirting with him. “Figure you might want to see it in the daylight first? Em and I didn’t get that opportunity.”

  “Bentley, as in the new Hierophant?” When I nodded, he whistled. “Scary powerful family, man. But yes, I’d love to join you. Thanks for asking.”

  Chapter Five

  Tennessee

  I never needed much reason to ditch school. If I thought of an excuse, I used it. My father stopped giving me a hard time once I got my license. We both knew as Emperor, I’d never have a regular Sapien job. He only asked I try to keep good grades and be a good role model for my peers. I did that, and my report cards were worthy of approval…even if my absentee tally wasn’t.

  When I first learned Tegan went to Hidden Kingdom at night by herself, I about had a panic attack. I figured it was typical reckless, stubborn behavior we saw in new witches when they thought their magic was invincible. I thought she was overconfident in her abilities. Not that I’d blame her. Tegan was the Aether Witch. That meant she could create and control any element she wanted right from her fingertips. Once she learned practical magic, she’d be terrifying.

  But this morning, I learned she’d gone to the park looking for clues to save Henley…and, well, it was exactly something I would’ve done. I’d already planned to do that exact thing after school, but I’d decided to ditch school and get an early start. So, being mad at her was hypocritical to say the least. But she was my soulmate. I had the right to worry, especially after losing Cassandra and Libby.