The Broken Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  We all were. Samhain was a little more than a week away.

  “Thanks, Deacon. Her room is right through there.” She pointed to a hallway on the left. “First door. Good luck.”

  When I glanced over my shoulder to thank her, she was gone, like she’d vanished into— Oh. I kept forgetting about her gift. It was handy. Wherever the real Devon was, she’d sent a projection of herself to answer the door.

  I laughed and followed the hallway to the first door as she’d instructed. My nerves bounced around like a pinball machine. I had no idea why I was suddenly nervous to see her…but I was.

  The fact that she hadn’t come out when she felt my presence concerned me.

  I knocked on her door and waited.

  “Come in,” she said softly.

  I opened the door then shut it behind me. She didn’t look up. She didn’t acknowledge me at all. She sat on her bed, leaning against pillows in the corner with a book on her lap. It was thick, had to be at least six-hundred pages. I peeked at the front cover, but it was plain and there wasn’t any writing on it at all. Her hair was in a crazy knot on top of her head, and her golden eyes were bloodshot.

  I licked my lips and moved closer. The burning in my chest surged hotter. “Hello.”

  Her head snapped up and her golden eyes widened. A light blush hit her cheeks. “Deacon. Hello. What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.”

  She frowned and cocked her head to the side just like her mother had. “This is my room?”

  I nodded and took another step closer. “Yeah, and you haven’t left it for two days.”

  Her face paled. “It’s been two days?”

  I laughed in a short burst. “Um, yeah, Buttercup. It has. What’s going on?”

  She blinked up at me. “Nothing… Just been…thinking. Really, two days?”

  “Yes, really. Today is Saturday.” I sat down on the bed in front of her. “I want to believe you, but you’re not making that any easier right now.”

  “Nothing is going on, Deacon.” She closed the book and set it on her nightstand. “Samhain is next week, and we’re still clueless. And Tegan-less. I’m worried. I’m trying to figure out what she’s up to next, because it’s been way too quiet.”

  I nodded. Those were good points. Completely valid. Hell, we were all worried about those things. “Are you sure that’s all?”

  She frowned. “What else could there be?”

  I licked my lips and tried to choose my words carefully. “I couldn’t help but wonder if you were avoiding me… I mean, you’d wanted to be alone even before we found Tegan and Tenn together.”

  “Deacon…no. I mean, yes. But no.” She shook her head and chuckled. “I chose to go looking for him with you because I’m comfortable with you. Because you don’t treat me like I’m about to fall apart. You understand that I’m worried about Tegan, but you let me breathe. No one else does. I wanted to be alone, but…” She bit her bottom lip, and her cheeks flushed. “You don’t really count.”

  The way she said that made my heart soar with happiness. But my brain said, Pump the brakes, kid. I smiled and peeled my eyes off of her before I did something really stupid like try to kiss her. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment?”

  “You should.” She sighed and leaned back against her pillows. “I really hadn’t noticed so much time went by. I’m sorry.”

  “What is this book you’ve been reading that’s distracted you so much?”

  “Oh…just one of Tegan’s favorites.” She picked it up off the nightstand and flicked through the pages. “I was trying to get into her brain.”

  “Walk a mile in her shoes?”

  “Yeah, kinda like—”She stared down at a page near the end of the book. Her eyes widened and sparkled, like a light bulb had gone off in her head. She jumped off her bed, dropping the book to the floor. “Oh my God.”

  “What? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry, I have to go. I have to…to check something.” She ran to her closet. When she came out, she had on a pair of white sneakers.

  I shook my head. “Wait, Emersyn. Where are you going? What just happened?”

  She ran over to me and pressed her lips to my cheek. When she pulled back, she had a wild expression on her face that unnerved me. “It’s not you, I promise. Go home. Get some sleep. You look exhausted. I’ll call you later!”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but she was already out the door.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Emersyn

  Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

  In the back of my mind, I knew I’d acted unfairly to Deacon. I should’ve given him more of an answer. I should’ve been smoother about it. He’d been really great to me. I wanted him to continue liking me…because I wanted to let myself like him back. Ignoring him for two days then running out right when he was trying to talk to me was definitely not cool.

  But I figured it out. Tegan’s message. I’d read that book front to back several times since she’d left it under my pillow without realizing. Now that I had, I had no idea how I’d missed it. It was one of my favorite books, too. Not just Tegan’s. That had to be why she wanted me to read it. I should’ve realized her message the second I opened it.

  Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

  So when it hit me, I lost control of myself. I had no idea where I was going. I’d just run out of my front door and headed down the street. All I knew was I had to get to her. Fast.

  Did you figure it out, twin? Tegan’s voice said into my mind.

  I froze in my tracks. My heart was pounding in my chest. I didn’t bother looking around. It wasn’t a coincidence she’d spoken to me right as I figured it out. She’d been watching.

  I licked my lips and nodded. “Yes,” I whispered.

  Finally. If you’re ready to join me, meet me at the pier.

  “I’m on my way.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Deacon

  I was halfway up the Bishop’s driveway when Hunter walked out the front door carrying two garbage bags. “Hey, Hunter.”

  “Howdy.” He glanced up with a smile, but the moment he saw me, his face fell. His eyes widened, and he looked around behind me.

  I frowned and spun in a circle, expecting to find a demon ready to pounce, but we were alone. “What’s wrong?” I continued up the driveway.

  His blond eyebrows scrunched low over his golden eyes. “Where’s Emersyn?”

  I froze mid step. My heart stopped. “She’s not here?”

  “She texted us hours ago saying she left with you.” He dropped the garbage bags.

  My pulse kicked into overdrive. “I haven’t seen her since I left here this afternoon.”

  Devon sprinted out the front door with a kitchen knife clutched in her hand. She looked around the street while running up to her husband. The crystal of her soulmate glyph pulsed with green light. She tapped her chest with the unarmed hand. “What’s wrong? I felt your pulse spike.”

  Why doesn’t my glyph change colors?

  Hunter ran a hand over his blond hair. “Deacon hasn’t seen Emersyn all night.”

  Devon’s face paled as she turned to me. “She said she was with you.”

  “She wasn’t.”

  The three of us stood there staring at each other. I could tell by their expressions that their minds were working a million miles per second.

  Why would Emersyn lie? Something was off.

  Behind them, Cooper leaned through the open front doorway and frowned. “Something wrong?”

  I turned and sprinted across the street to Kessler’s house. I might’ve been overreacting. I might’ve been panicking. But there was one person I knew would understand where I was coming from. I ran up to the front door and slammed my fist on the wood.

  A few seconds later, the door opened, and a knight in shining metal armor stood in front of me. The metal shimmered then melted away.

  Easton’s blue eyes were warm, but his smile was wa
rmer. “Hey, man. We were just texting you. Come on in.”

  “Hey— Wait, who’s we?” I said as I pushed past him and rushed through the house. When I got to the living room, I found the answer to that question. My eyes widened. “What’s going on here?”

  We included almost the entire Coven. Kessler and Timothy were drinking coffee on the couch surrounded by Braison, Willow, and Chutney. To my right in the kitchen, Constance and Larissa stood over a cauldron brewing on the stove. Paulina and Lily were chopping some kind of plant. Kenneth and Bentley sat at the counter with books spread out in front of them.

  Royce stepped out from the pantry with a jar in one hand and his phone in the other. “Oh good. You found us. I was just texting you to come over when you were done.”

  Kessler frowned. “Done with what?”

  “I went to the infirmary. What are you guys all doing here? Did I miss something?”

  Chutney shook her head. “Our families don’t always know how to handle us in times of stress, so we come here.”

  “And we’re super stressed,” Willow said with a sigh. “Samhain is next week.”

  Kessler stood. His amber eyes were narrowed on something behind me. “The four of you just ran over here. Why?”

  “Where’s Tennessee?” I asked, ignoring his question.

  Hunter stepped up beside me. “Have any of you spoken to Emersyn tonight?”

  “She texted us hours ago that she was with Deacon,” Devon said from behind me.

  “But Deacon was at the infirmary,” Royce whispered. His sapphire eyes were wide.

  Cooper’s head snapped toward me. “Why were you at the infirmary?”

  “Where is Tennessee?” I repeated. None of this other stuff mattered. Emersyn had lied about where she was, and no one else had spoken to her. We needed to find her, and there was only one person with the ability. “Or is he missing, too?”

  I knew he wasn’t. No one in this house would be so calm if he was. We’d already seen that panic. It was worse than when Tegan had disappeared. Tegan going MIA was unnerving, but something about Tennessee missing was damn right terrifying.

  Kessler handed his coffee to Braison then walked toward the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. That’s not an answer though. I followed after him without hesitation. Leather rustled and metal clanked against granite as everyone else followed behind me.

  Kessler walked to the middle of the backyard…and whistled.

  The tall trees in the back of the yard swayed. A black object shot across the dark, navy blue sky and landed right beside Kessler. Tennessee straightened out of his landing crouch. He narrowed his mismatched eyes and looked around at the group. His black hair was wild and sticking out in every direction. The crystal of his soulmate glyph was on full display in his wrinkled, V-neck T-shirt. It was pink, like it always seemed to be. I frowned and glanced back to the Bishops. Theirs were both a golden yellow color, yet Devon’s had been green when she ran outside to us.

  “Where the hell was he?” Timothy grumbled.

  “He has hiding spots,” Cooper answered.

  “Today, in the tree.” Royce shook his head. “Like humans usually do.”

  Tennessee’s scowl deepened. “What happened?” His voice was low and rough.

  I moved closer to Tennessee and pointed to his chest. “How does this work? Why do Devon and Hunter’s change colors but yours is always pink?”

  “Is that really important right now?” Cooper snapped. “Emersyn is missing.”

  “Yes, it’s important! Your mother’s glyph changed colors just from Hunter’s pulse suddenly rising. Yet his and Tegan’s are always pink.” I yanked the collar of my shirt down to expose my own. “And mine is always blue. Why?”

  Everyone gasped. They stared at me with wide eyes and slack jaws.

  “Soulmate glyphs do not change colors or signal disturbances until they are fully grown.” Constance held her right hand out and wiggled her vine-covered fingers. “They only burn until then. The colors at the beginning indicate the emotional state of the pairing. Most soulmates’ glyphs are blue at the start, and very, very rarely are they pink.”

  “Why? What does pink mean?” Cooper grumbled.

  “Profound mutual love,” his father answered. When Cooper gasped, Hunter shook his head. “I told you to ease up on him for a reason, son.”

  Tennessee blushed then pushed his hair out of his face. He looked over to me. “Emersyn?”

  I nodded.

  “Emersyn what?” Cooper looked back and forth between us. Then his face paled. “Wait. Wait, hold up. Are you telling me that you and Emersyn are—”

  “Soulmates? Yes.” I looked back to Tennessee. “Now, I know—”

  “Are you shitting me right now?” Cooper interrupted. He threw his hands in the air.

  “Oh, give it a rest, Cooper,” I snapped. I’d had it. My emotions and anxiety were worn out. “Yes, Goddess forbid two of your Coven-mates are your sisters’ soulmates. How horrendous they’re slated for monogamous relationships. Simply dreadful. I have no idea how you’ll sleep at night knowing someone cares about their wellbeing more than you do. By the way, if not for these two glyphs, your sisters would’ve both been lost to the balefire. So, you’re welcome. Now grow up.”

  The group fell into awkward, tense silence.

  “Deacon, when was the last time you saw her?” Tennessee asked.

  “This afternoon. In her room, we were talking, then she ran off saying she had to check something.” And then I’d just let her go. Without chasing after her. Without pressing for more information. I’d just watched her leave. “I didn’t feel her presence on my drive from the infirmary to here.”

  He nodded. The wheels were turning in his head. I saw it in the sharpness in his eyes and the set of his jaw. “Has anyone tried to call her recently?”

  “I called her an hour ago,” Willow said. “No answer though.”

  “I just called her now.” Royce pulled his phone away from his ear. “Voice mail.”

  I turned to Tennessee. “What about George? I’ve heard what you’ve been able to do with your pendulum. Maybe we can use it to lead us to her?”

  “I tried that when Tegan went missing, several times.” He reached into his front pocket and pulled out the small blue crystal. “Although I suspect she put a blocking spell on herself. But it’s worth a shot with Emersyn.”

  My confidence wavered. If Tegan had blocked herself from being tracked, then there was a good chance she’d blocked Emersyn as well. Assuming they were together. Which I was. I bit my lip to stop myself from voicing all the thoughts in my head. There was a chance she was perfectly fine. I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest. Please let this work.

  The crystal pendulum bounced on its silver chain. Purple mist swirled around it. I glanced around, but no one seemed concerned or confused by what was happening.

  “Do you know where Emersyn is?” Tennessee asked the pendulum.

  It swung toward him then away from him, then repeated in a wide arc.

  “That means yes,” Royce whispered to me.

  My pulse skipped a beat then kicked into overdrive. Okay, that’s a good start.

  Tennessee licked his lips and glanced at me then back to the crystal. “Is she alive?”

  This time I knew what the swing meant. YES. And it was all I needed to know. Relief filled my lungs with new oxygen. She was alive.

  “George, can you lead us to Emersyn?”

  Purple mist coiled around the stone. It swung in the same direction a couple more times before it stopped to hang straight down. I thought it wasn’t going to move again. I waited with my heart in my throat until it swung diagonally.

  “All right.” Tennessee held his right hand out. The air pulsed with energy, and then his sword slammed into his palm. He twirled it around by the hilt, then slid it into the holster on his hip. “Let’s go find our Empress.”

  Chapter Fifty

  Deacon

  Thirty minutes lat
er, George took a sharp right turn, leading us directly to the front gates of Gulf Shores High School. My heart sank. I didn’t like the sound of this. At all. The last time Emersyn had gone out by herself, she’d gone to our school to look for clues…and she’d gotten herself arrested. After almost killing a few innocent Sapien cops. Why would she come back?

  “George, are you saying she’s inside the school?”

  Yes.

  “I’m not following.” Timothy walked up to the chain-link fence. “Why come here?”

  “Because she thinks that demon inside my sister got to Tegan here,” Royce whispered. When everyone looked back at him, he just shrugged. His eyes were sad. “Something happened at that dance, and if you haven’t considered that, you’re lying to yourselves.”

  “Deacon…” Devon walked up and peered into campus. “When you were at our house today, did she say anything?”

  “She said she was trying to get into Tegan’s mind, to try and predict her next move. Then she suddenly jumped up and said she had to check something.”

  “Didn’t you guys come here one night to look for clues?” Tennessee looked over at me with narrowed eyes. “Do you remember anything she might’ve wanted to double-check?”

  I opened my mouth then shut it. When I’d told them about that night, I only did it so Em wouldn’t go back there herself. She hadn’t even known what to look for. I sighed. Admitting to my cover-up had never been part of the plan, but I had to come clean in case it helped us in any way. “I wasn’t actually with her that night.”

  Kessler spun toward me with his eyebrows raised. “You were with her when you brought her to my house and told us.”

  I groaned. “Yeah, after she almost killed some cops and got arrested. I bailed her out then drove to you because I didn’t want her going looking for clues she didn’t know how to spot.”

  Tennessee held his free hand out toward his father. Kessler cursed and put a ten-dollar bill in his palm. Tennessee chuckled and shook his head. “Told ya’ he was covering.”