If I could draw some of the energy from the moon, it could help. I cursed. I didn’t know any of the spells that called upon things for energy. It was beyond my First Year status. If I tried one, I’d just be making it up— Wait. What’s wrong with that? Someone, somewhere along the line made every other spell up. Why can’t I?
I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.
With both of my hands pressed to the cold dirt, I stared up at the golden slice of moon. I summoned my magic from deep down and drew it into my breath. Words I’d never spoken formed on my lips and spilled out of my mouth. “I call upon divine moon’s power, to charge a soul this pressing hour. Waning, waxing, phase of full, seek the need for healing’s pull.”
The moon sparkled and sank lower in the sky like I’d reached up and yanked it down with my bare hands. The white crescent filled out into a complete full moon that shimmered with golden light. I gasped. My jaw dropped. It had worked. I had no idea where those words even came from; they just poured out of me. I glanced down to Henley, and her skin was absolutely effervescent. Her breathing eased a fraction. The death grip she had on her knees loosened. Still…I couldn’t leave her.
Then a crazy thought came to me.
I’d learned from my Coven History class about the Aether Witch and what that witch could do, and what they were made of. All of the other Cards had elemental magic, but she was elemental magic. She was connected deeply to the core of the Earth, to the very soul of our realm. From the gracious divinity to the seediest depravity, she was all of it. I couldn’t speak to her telepathically…but the Earth could.
I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed my forehead to the ground with my palms flattened against the dirt beside my head. My pink magic rushed out and billowed around me. I let myself feel the dampness in the soil and the softness of the grains. The smooth chill of each grass blade. I let the Earth invade my senses. Then I focused my thoughts on the one person I needed.
Tegan. Tegan. Tegan, I shouted with my mind over and over. Tegan. Tegan!
A rush of warm energy shot up through the ground like electricity.
BETTINA, HOLY SHIT, I FEEL YOU. DON’T MOVE. I’M COMING.
I gasped and jerked upright. Oh my Goddess, she HEARD me! Somehow, that had actually worked. A few seconds later, there was a flash of white behind me…and then the entire Coven was standing there. Tennessee stood at the front with a bluish-colored crystal pendulum hanging from his hand. The moment they appeared, their eyes widened and they glanced around.
“Bettina! How the hell did you do that?” Tegan marched toward me. “What’s wrong? What happened—" Her expression fell and her face paled, and I knew she’d spotted Henley.
Then they all saw her, lying in a ball on the ground. As one, they all rushed forward.
“HENLEY!” Royce cried and sprinted toward his sister.
Tennessee jumped and grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him back. “Hold on.”
“Deacon, put Henley to sleep,” Tegan yelled.
Our Devil Card threw his hands up, and red mist slithered out of his palms like snakes. It wrapped around Henley’s head. He lowered his hands and said in a soft voice, “Sleep.”
Tegan stepped up beside me. Her filthy, studded combat boots just about touched the ember circle line. She crouched and held her hands up. “Dad, when I remove the circle—"
“Ready.” Hunter nodded and cracked his knuckles.
Tegan narrowed her eyes on Henley. Her magic pushed at my protection barrier like an F5 tornado slamming into an old wooden home. The sheer strength of it sent me falling to my backside. The air around Henley shimmered for a second then vanished. Hunter stepped up and sent a wave of golden magic rolling over her petite form like a blanket.
Emersyn moved closer, her golden eyes wide with worry. “What’s wrong with her?”
“PTSD has kicked in,” Kessler said softly.
“From what?” I whispered.
“The possession,” Tennessee whispered back. He cursed. “Let’s get her out of here.”
“Can I get her now?” Royce jumped forward then paused and looked over his shoulder. “Kess, will you… Can you—”
“I’ve got her.” Kessler squeezed Royce’s shoulder then bent down and gently lifted Henley off the ground like she weighed no more than a feather.
I opened my mouth to ask a question—and then we were back in the living room of Coven Headquarters. I blinked and shook my head. I hadn’t even registered that portal happening at all.
Kessler laid her on the couch and draped a wool blanket over her. The Coven rushed to Henley’s side. They dropped into crouches and pressed their palms to her bare skin.
“I’ll call Mona,” Kessler said with a sigh. “Busy night for her and Katherine.”
I shouldn’t be here right now. This is Coven business. This is their friend. I stood and moved on shaky legs across the living room. This moment was for them and Henley. I was an outsider.
Tennessee stepped in front of me with narrowed eyes. “How did you call Tegan like that?”
I opened my mouth then shut it again. “I don’t know.”
“She’s brilliant, that’s how,” Tegan said softly and winked. Then she looked back to Henley and frowned. “I can feel your spells on top of hers. Nicely done, B.”
My cheeks warmed. I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly self-conscious with their attention on me. “Thanks. I hope I helped. I just looked out my window and spotted her lying there like that. I didn’t have a phone, so I just kinda panicked.”
Devon walked up beside me with a strange expression. She was Tegan’s mother—her real, biological mother. They looked practically identical, too. It was weird and yet comforting at the same time. “That was your reaction to panic?”
I bit my bottom lip and shrugged. “I didn’t know what else to do.”
She chuckled and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, squeezing me tight. “And that is why you’re a Sword, my dear. Just in case you had doubts,” she whispered.
“She’s right,” Hunter said softly. He walked by and patted the top of my head like he’d been doing since I was five. “I’m proud of you.”
Heat filled my cheeks, and I knew I was blushing. I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ears. “Thanks, Papa bear.”
“Tenn, I’m not… I can’t go to the Old Lands.” Royce groaned and buried his face in the couch. “I can’t leave her. Look what happened.”
“Of course not. Stay with her.” Tennessee turned to me. “There’s an empty room down the hall. Go get some sleep. You’ll need it.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Jackson
Trey frowned and scratched his head. “But why aren’t we taking more people with us?”
I sighed and rolled my eyes. “Bloody hell, Trey. We literally went over this last time. It’s dangerous.”
The last thing we needed was more people going into the Old Lands and getting hurt, or worse. If we hadn’t taken so many of us the first time, I wondered if Warner and Erin would’ve come out just fine. And if Warner hadn’t gone, then he wouldn’t have gotten lost, and Timothy would never have gone to that damn gate. A tidal wave of regret surged inside me, and I was helpless to stop it.
We were sitting next to the creepy gate that led to the Old Lands. It was just after sunrise, so the sun was soft and warm. My mind was a total mess. I was frustrated and anxious. The closer we got to going in, the more I just wanted to go. Warner was in there. We needed to get him back.
Tennessee narrowed his eyes at my friend. “We’re only taking what we need to get in and out safely…and those who played some part in what went down.”
Gen chuckled and lightly punched Trey’s arm. “Yeah, man. Watch your tongue, or they might leave you in there to die.”
“We would never do that.” Chutney scoffed without taking her eyes off the wild bunny she was petting. “Left alive, you could come back for vengeance. We’d just feed you to the Chime
ras.”
Tennessee grinned at her and nodded. “Tegan’s been a bad influence on you.”
I chuckled and covered my mouth. The rest of The Coven chuckled and teased Chutney, but I saw the tension in their eyes. In the short time I’d known them, I’d learned humor was their defense mechanism. I wasn’t used to it…but no one saw more rough times than they did, so I was going with it.
Tennessee jolted upright. The pink crystal glyph on his hand sparkled with golden light then went back to pink. His mismatched eyes got a little brighter.
I winced. I wished I had that reaction to my soulmate.
Tegan appeared out of thin air and held something dark in her hands. She tried to speak, but everyone was too loud to hear her. With an eye roll, she glanced to Deacon.
Deacon whistled so loud I flinched. Some of the others covered their ears.
“TAXI!” Deacon yelled with a grin.
“Damn, dude. I think they heard you all the way up in New York,” Cooper said with a laugh and a wince.
“You are so teaching me how to do that,” Emersyn whispered then tried to do her lips like he had.
“Girl, he’ll teach you all kinds of things to do with your mouth.” Easton wagged his eyebrows.
Lily elbowed him in the ribs. “Maybe he can teach you, too.”
“OH!” Everyone yelled at the same time, and more laughs broke out.
Tegan held her hand up and everyone froze. My jaw was locked. My body glued in place.
“Got your attention now?” She winked then waved her hand, and my jaw fell open. “My nine quest-mates, please raise your left hands in the air.”
We all did as she’d asked. She snapped her fingers, and a thick black band wrapped around my wrist. I jumped and held my hand up to my face to get a closer look. I couldn’t tell what kind of material it was or how it fastened.
“Curious. How do you—” I hissed. Sharp, hot pain shot through my arm like I’d been stabbed. But when I looked down, there was nothing. I pressed my other hand to the spot and squeezed. “Sorry, how do you know where these— Bloody hell.”
The pain in my arm intensified. It felt like someone had stabbed me with a serrated knife and was twisting it. Or maybe it felt more like a hot branding iron was stuck to my skin. I winced and yanked my hand away. Okay, it feels like both. Still, all I saw was my long-sleeved shirt. I clenched my teeth through the pain and tried not to make any noises, but bloody hell, it hurt like a bitch. Hurt more than my soulmate mark had—which was something I never thought I’d think.
There was a ton of movement in my peripheral vision and whispered voices, but none of it registered. The pain shooting through my arm was rewiring my brain. I shook my arm out and rolled my shoulder.
Tennessee suddenly appeared on his knee right in front of me. He grabbed my wrist and yanked it down. With his other hand, he pulled the sleeve of my shirt up to my elbow.
Everyone gasped. My heart stopped. My eyes widened.
Is that… What is… No, it can’t. My brain struggled to accept what I saw. It just couldn’t be. Narrow blood-red lines appeared on my skin. Little blue flames the same color as my eyes danced above them. They wiggled and burned into my skin.
“Holy shit,” Easton screamed from somewhere nearby, closer than he had been before. “We get to keep him!”
A flowery scent washed over me, and then I heard Bettina say, “What’s happening?”
I had a strong suspicion of what this was…but it couldn’t have been right. It couldn’t have been that. It didn’t make any sense. There must have been another explanation. Maybe a hex. Or maybe this was Michael’s way of coming for me.
But then Tennessee held my arm up a little higher. He looked up at me and smirked. “He’s being Marked.”
My breath left me in a rush. I felt my body sway to the side, but then a strong, warm hand gripped my shoulder and held me upright. I glanced up and found Kessler crouched beside me. In fact, the entire Coven was crowded around me. Watching. Waiting. They all wore wide smiles on their faces and mischievous twinkles in their eyes.
I’m being Marked? No. No, it can’t be. I can’t be Marked…for The Coven? I wanted to feel excited. I wanted to smile back at the rest of them, but the pain dug deeper and hotter. I gritted my teeth.
“Keep breathing,” Kessler said in a strong, sturdy voice. “It’s almost over…in five…four…three…two…one.”
Right on time, the pain vanished, like it’d never been there at all. Not even a residual flare. The red lines had darkened to black, and the blue flames disappeared. But there was a cloud of thick white smoke around my arm, blocking my view.
Tegan leaned over her soulmate’s arm and blew on mine…and the smoke faded away.
My jaw hit the ground. Bloody hell.
There in the center of my forearm, in thick black lines, were the letters XXI.
“Oh shit,” Tegan whispered and jumped to her feet.
Tennessee’s eyes widened, and his face paled. He stared at my arm like it was a demon.
There was a beat of silence while The Coven just stared at my arm in horror. I looked at my arm, at my Mark, and frowned. They were clearly upset about something…but not until they saw my Mark. Before that, they’d been happy. It didn’t make sense. XXI was the Mark of the World Card—
OH NO.
Bettina gasped at that exact moment, like she, too, just had the same epiphany. “Evaline!”
“What’s going o—”
But we were all on our feet and running toward Coven Headquarters before Trey could finish his question. Whatever shock had glued us in place vanished. My heart was pounding in my ears. A Card had to die in order for their Mark to move on to someone else. That was how it worked. Except Evaline had been alive and healthy a few minutes ago. I’d seen her myself.
Tennessee was first to the door of Headquarters. He threw it open and shouted, “Evaline?”
“EVALINE!” Tegan screamed right behind him.
“Where is she?”
“Evaline!”
“Eva?!”
They all shouted for her as we sprinted through the house. Tennessee led the group around the corner and then slid to a stop. We crashed and bumped into each other as we tried to stop behind him. Kessler reached out, grabbed Easton by the collar, and yanked him back before he accidentally tackled a few of the girls.
Evaline sat in the middle of a massive bay window. Her brown wavy hair was pulled to one side and braided, and for the first time since I’d met her, it made her look a little bit younger. She wore a white flowy dress with sunflowers on it and strappy sandals. From a distance, she was the picture of ease.
We all just stared at her, waiting for her to speak. Relief washed through me, but it was immediately followed by confusion. She was alive, yet her Mark was now on my arm.
“Your Mark. What happened?” Tennessee asked in a flat voice.
She glanced at each of us with raised eyebrows. “You know?”
“Show us,” Tegan whispered.
Evaline held her left hand out, and my confusion doubled. Her Mark was gone, but there was a faint shadow of it still on her skin. Of the same letters on my arm.
“Eva—” Constance cried. “How is this possible?”
She smiled and ran her fingers along her faded Mark. “Has my replacement been found already?”
I stepped forward and held my arm out for her to see. “It’s me.”
Her eyes widened…and then a grin spread across her face. She sighed and the tension left her shoulders. “Wonderful. That makes this easier.”
“Evaline, what is going on?” Devon moved closer. “How?”
“I…I…I…I…” I had no words. My mind was utterly blank.
Deacon cursed and leaned against the wall. “Okay, you’re not dead. Thanks for that panic attack.”
Tennessee scrubbed his face. “What the hell just happened, Eva? Talk to us. Please.”
She smiled up at us then took a deep breath. “I am sorry fo
r you finding out like that. Especially so soon. I promise I had no idea it was going to be that instantaneous, or that it was going to be him. I thought I’d have time to explain before the new Card came forward.”
I looked down at my arm. The new Card. That’s ME.
“Evaline—”
“I retired,” she said in a soft but strong voice, interrupting Constance. “I only just found out it was even possible earlier this year… I am joining the Crones.”
“But why?”
“You’re gonna be a Crone?”
“I don’t understand—”
“I wanted this.” Evaline raised her palms to stop the heavy stream of questions. “I was Marked twenty-five years ago. The Coven Leaders at the time shipped me off to Salem. They said they wanted my gift to be there, so I could ask around and know who was lying to me. Ever since then, it has been my job to guard Salem, and it was one I took much pride in. But the thing is…that was my whole life. It was all I did. I didn’t date, get married, and have kids like my Coven-mates. I didn’t even travel the world and help civilians, or hunt demons. I was just there, doing my job. And…I’m tired.”
“But you won’t get to rest as a Crone!” Chutney whined.
“No one even tells us we can retire, which is crazy. Death is not the only option. But I just couldn’t wrap my head around retiring and going back to normal, civilian life. I don’t know how to do it. I’ve always felt a tad…disconnected with everyone around me, and the Crones get that.” She chuckled and shook her head. “I was ninety percent sure I wanted to retire, and then we went to Crone Island and it sealed the deal. Myrtle taught me how to retire officially so that my Mark would pass along.”
Tegan sighed. “Wow. So you’re going to be a Crone now. That is…really awesome.”
There was a bunch of conversation and overlapping voices, but I didn’t hear any of it. All I could do was stare at my arm, at the Mark. The three letters that meant I was now in The Coven. It made no sense. Why me? What did I do to deserve this? The red rose tattoo on my thumb had been a choice. I’d wanted it to remind myself all day long of what I was doing here, of what I was fighting for. The Lancaster red rose was a symbol of my penance. But this Mark was unsolicited, and I couldn’t decide how to feel about it. I was honored and proud. Yet terrified of what it would require of me at the same time.
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 47
