Hunter frowned and scratched the back of his neck. “Are we sure they’re missing? It hasn’t been that long.”
Emersyn went to the fridge and opened it. “Constance said they were kidnapped, didn’t she?” When she stepped back, she had two sodas in her hand.
“She did.” Deacon took one soda from Em. “But we didn’t hear any eyewitnesses support that.”
“Because Constance made that conclusion herself.” Tegan vanished then reappeared at the pantry door. “And I think she was right.”
I nodded. “I do, too. That boy saw them headed toward the gate. They easily could’ve been snatched by Joseph.”
Emersyn took a sip of her drink then pulled her phone out. “Chutney said she’d never seen pink rabbits, but she went to check it out. Hasn’t responded again.”
“So, who is missing?” Henley closed the book in her lap. “Or kidnapped.”
Tegan strolled over with a bag of chips and sat beside her. “A woman named Rebecca, her daughter Emary, and an unknown little blonde girl.”
Tenn flicked his wrist, and the bag of chips floated through the air and into his outstretched hand. He reached in and grabbed a handful, then shot the bag back over to Tegan.
He pointed one chip at his father, and said, “I asked Daniel to give me a list of young blonde girls enrolled in Edenburg. But do you think you could help me figure out if any of the residents of Eden fit that description?”
Kessler nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. Might take me a bit, but I’ll get it.”
Tenn swallowed a chip and nodded. “Okay. Let’s do some investigative work first, see if this isn’t a simple situation. We’ll look into this blonde girl and see if we get a ping on her identity. In the meantime, let’s just carry on with the plan we had.”
Where’s Warner? I wanted to make sure he hadn’t been kidnapped. I was feeling oddly possessive since joining The Coven. Or maybe it was just that I felt so much more of the world around us that it made me nervous. I needed to check on all my friends. I’d grab Warner first, then together, we’d go check on Erin in the infirmary, then Gen, Harlan, and Trey.
Bettina’s face flashed in my mind, but I shook that thought away. I cared about her more than I should, but I needed to try and get over her. For both our sakes. Besides, Tegan probably had some kind of magic radar to her location at all times. I needed to get her out of my system…but I couldn’t do that if she was always bloody nearby. I needed a Bettina detox, and I needed it now.
Chapter Eighteen
BETTINA
If I thought concentrating in Swords training was hard…it was nothing compared to sitting in my— Wait, which class am I in? I frowned and looked around. Oh right. Magic Wheel.
My heart sank. This was one of my favorite classes. It was the one that First Years learned about other magic used in the other Suits. I narrowed my eyes and looked up at the board.
Tarot Cards.
Well, that explained why I’d zoned out. Tegan had always been obsessed with Tarot Cards. As little girls in second grade, we used to play with them at recess. I knew about them, not all of the info, but more than this entry-level lecture was teaching us.
I glanced around the room to see if I was the only one not paying attention when I realized the desk next to me was empty. Brandon sat there. He was a Cups student and a mega nerd. The rest of our class, which was entirely First Years, were younger than me. Except for Brandon. He was my age. I frowned and stared at his empty seat. Brandon was even more studious than I was. He had OCD and literally couldn’t handle missing a single class. Just the idea of it made him twitch and have an anxiety attack.
A cold chill slid down my spine as my spidey senses tingled.
Calm down, Bettina. Don’t jump to conclusions yet. Maybe he’s sick.
Or maybe he and Molly went home for the holiday? Her desk is empty, too.
Molly was fourteen and Brandon’s girlfriend. They met during the sorting ceremony and learned they were both from Seattle. They were two sweet, nerdy, adorable kids. There had to be another explanation.
Just then, the classroom door opened, and Molly walked in. She returned the bathroom hall pass then strolled across the room to her seat.
Well...shit.
That tingling spidey sense grew stronger.
“Molly,” I whispered as quietly as possible.
She looked over with raised eyebrows.
I pointed to the empty seat between us. “Where’s Brandon?”
Her face fell and her eyes got watery. She shook her head once, then pulled her wand out of her pocket. She held it in her hand like a pencil...then wrote on her desk. When she stopped, she looked to me and pointed to her desk then to mine.
I frowned and looked down, then inhaled sharply. She’d somehow written on my desk.
IDK!!! He went to get us breakfast before class and never came back. No one has seen him. I’ve checked everywhere! I’m freaking out.
Then more words appeared.
Can you ask the Coven?? You’re friends with them right??
My pulse skipped. I turned back to her and nodded. She sighed and sat back in her seat.
I bit my lip, pushed my magic down into my feet, and thought, Tegan.
I heard her chuckle in my head. You forgot I got your phone working, didn’t you?
Oh shit. I had forgotten. Texting was better since Tegan couldn’t actually hear anything when I called her with my magic. I reached into my bookbag and pulled out my phone, the one I hadn’t used since August. I held it under my desktop then shot a text to Tegan. Kid in my class is missing. Gf hasn’t seen him since breakfast, he never came back. No one can find him.
Her response was instant. Name? What’s he look like?
Brandon Peters. My height. Strawberry blond hair about Bentley’s length. Brown glasses. Brown eyes. Lots of freckles. Wears Star Wars shirts.
Silence.
Three bubbles popped up, then, DAMN IT.
I gasped. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
He’s already been reported as taken. Joseph is scheming. Brandon makes three taken.
Tegan what’s going on??
Idk yet. I’ll be outside your classroom when it ends.
Chapter Nineteen
WARNER
My life used to be perfect.
I had everything I wanted. Two loving arcana parents who were still happily married and uber proud of me. Three older sisters who lived on the beach in Miami and were anxiously awaiting my graduation so I could go live with them. I had magic. I went to an academy for witches. I had great friends who were fun to hang out with. I had an awesome best friend who always had my back. My future was looking ideal.
Guess I should’ve known it was too good to be true.
The weird part was I still had all those things. None of that had changed, but I had.
I’d never felt so disconnected before.
And it didn’t make sense because nothing that bad had happened to me. I’d gotten stuck in the balefire which was scary as hell, but nothing had hurt me. Nothing had attacked me. It was just a terrifying mind game. Then again, maybe that was why it was so bad. I just didn’t want to feel this way. I wanted to celebrate my rescue and go back to enjoying my life. Except I couldn’t even manage to jump into a single conversation.
The world kept happening around me.
It was like I was in a fog.
It was like being in the balefire hearing all those screams and cries for help but not being able to see them or get to them. It felt like there was a hollowed-out hole in my chest. A rain cloud hanging over my head. I saw the sunshine, yet it never touched me.
I’d been living in Coven Headquarters for days, in one of their spare bedrooms. Jackson and Kessler had insisted upon it. Which I was super grateful for. However, this morning I’d thought perhaps it wasn’t the right idea. Sure, there were like two dozen powerful witches living there who were all super friendly and completely understanding of what I was going through…but I wasn’t a Card
. I wasn’t one of them. I felt isolated and alone even while sitting at the dinner table with all of them. Even when they included me in conversations.
I’d decided maybe I needed to try living in the hotel with the other rescues, so I’d gone over there to feel it out. Thirty minutes later, I’d known it wasn’t going to work. They might have understood what I’d gone through, but they were literally all dealing with time travel and learning to adjust. So then I’d gone to my dorm. I’d thought maybe I needed to be alone, to stop trying to force connection.
I’d been here for a few hours now, and I was about to crawl out of my skin. It was too quiet. I heard the echoes and muffled voices of students in the hall and rooms nearby, but no one checked on me. No one spoke to me. Each and every single voice brought me right back to the balefire. At least in Coven Headquarters, they made efforts to include me and make sure I was okay.
I sighed and shook my head. Go figure. The Coven understands trauma.
I got up off my bed and walked over to the balcony, then slid the door open. Cool, late November air brushed over me. The bitter cold was sometimes the only thing to help me know I wasn’t still in the balefire.
Then a thought occurred to me. There was one thing I hadn’t tried yet, one Jackson had encouraged a week ago…to talk to Henley. She was suffering from PTSD after being possessed by a demon. If there was anyone who might understand what I was feeling, it would be her, and I honestly had no idea why I’d been putting off talking to her.
I spun and stomped back into my dorm, closing the balcony door behind me. Then I grabbed my cell phone off the nightstand, threw on my lined hoodie, and charged out of my room. I didn’t want to see anyone else, so I turned left and flew down the stairs. When I got to the bottom, I pushed the door open and stepped outside while dialing the number Jackson had stored in my phone. While it rang, I started walking toward Headquarters.
It rang twice before a soft, feminine voice purred, “Is this Warner?”
I opened my mouth then shut it. “Um, yes?”
She chuckled softly. “Jackson asked my permission to give you my number. I’ve been expecting this call.”
“Oh. Right.” I cleared my throat and glanced around.
There were too many people on the sidewalk who could overhear this conversation. I was suddenly questioning my decision to call her at all. It would’ve been better to talk to her in person, in private. Class must’ve just gotten out, and people were switching. I ducked between two buildings and walked around the back.
“Warner?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry.” I sighed and scrubbed my face with my free hand. “I was wondering if I could talk to you… I’m…struggling…and…and—”
“Of course,” she said in a soft, kind voice. “Where are you now?”
“I just left my dorm, was gonna go back to Headquarters.”
“I’m here, so come on back and let’s chat—”
“Excuse me, sir?”
I jumped at the sound of a little voice. When I turned, I found a little girl standing behind me with tears running down her cheeks. She couldn’t have been more than eight years old. Her light blonde hair fell in perfect ringlets down to her shoulders. She looked like she was dressed for a family portrait with her fluffy white dress and matching socks, complete with a big pink bow in her hair.
“Hi, sweetheart. Are you okay?”
“I’m gonna assume you’re not talking to me,” Henley said in my ear.
The little girl shook her head, and tears dripped onto the grass. “I can’t find my mom.”
“Oh no, that’s not good.” I glanced around but didn’t see anyone old enough to be a mother. “Do you remember where you last saw her?”
“Warner?” Henley said in my ear.
The little girl sniffled then nodded.
“All right, well, why don’t you show me, and we can see if your mom is nearby?”
She held her hand up, and I took it. Then she turned and started pulling me in the opposite direction I’d been going.
“Warner, who are you talking to?” Henley said in a rush.
“This little girl. She’s lost.” I smiled down at her as she led me around the corner of a building. “We’re gonna go look for her mom.”
“What does she look like?”
I frowned. Weird question. “Little blonde thing in a pretty dress. Listen, I’m gonna go help her, then I’ll be back at Headquarters. Can we talk—”
“GET AWAY FROM HER NOW!”
I froze in my tracks. “What? Why? She’s lost. I have to help her—”
“She’s with Joseph!” Henley screamed in my ear.
“Mister?” The little girl tugged on my hand.
“Joseph?” My stomach turned. I dropped her hand and stepped back.
The little girl grinned, and all of the sweet innocence was gone. A cold chill slithered down my spine. I took another step back and she giggled.
“Too late. Father is already here,” she said in her high-pitched voice.
Father? My pulse quickened, thundering through my body and in my ears. I spun and sprinted in the opposite direction, back toward the main sidewalk.
When I looked up, I found Braison racing toward me, his red hair glowing like flames in the sunlight. He screamed, but I couldn’t hear him over my own pounding heart. He was too far away. I wasn’t making enough progress. It was like in a dream, where no matter how hard I pumped my legs, I was barely moving.
The little girl giggled behind me, but I didn’t look back. I just had to make it away. Braison would help me. I only had to make it another twenty feet. Braison already had his daggers out. Dark green magic coiled around his arms.
A dark shadow dropped right in front of me like a wall, blocking my vision from anything else. I tried to stop, but my momentum was too fast. I slid forward, and then everything went black.
Chapter Twenty
JACKSON
“Warner, where are you? It’s not like you to skip all of your classes in a day,” I said the second his voicemail beeped. “I know you’re struggling, mate, but don’t hide. Call me back.”
As I walked up the steps to Headquarters, I shoved my phone in my back pocket and tried to rein in the panic bubbling inside me. All I could do was hope Warner was inside hanging out.
And that Bettina wasn’t.
I’d done a fairly decent job avoiding her the last few days, and I had every intention of keeping that up. She invaded my every thought when she was nearby, and even more when she wasn’t. She was intelligent, funny, beautiful, and completely intoxicating, like moonshine. Whenever she spoke, I hung on her every word, just like a siren’s call. I needed time away from her. I needed space.
I opened the front door and strolled inside. The second my feet hit the foyer, I knew something had gone down. There was quite the commotion of raised voices and tense energy. I hurried into the living room and spotted most of my Coven-mates standing around the dining room table.
“…I was yelling for him even before she led him around the building, but he didn’t hear me,” Braison finished saying.
Henley paced by the kitchen. “Yeah, he was on the phone with me. I told him not to go with her…”
Braison shook his head. His face was pale and his emerald eyes were wide and panicked. He cursed and tugged on his hair. “I tried. I threw my daggers. I hit it with my magic. But I couldn’t stop him from snatching Warner—”
“WHAT?” I froze.
Everyone jumped and spun toward me. Tegan dropped her cell phone. No one moved or made a sound…like they were afraid to spook me.
“What did you just say?” I said between clenched teeth.
Kessler took a step toward me with his palms raised. “Joseph took Warner—”
I spun and bolted for the door. Kessler was still speaking to me, but I didn’t hear it. I didn’t care. I had to get to Warner. He was my best friend, and Joseph was a killer. I’d already left him in that damned balefire for too long. I wasn�
��t about to sit back a second time. That blue shining rune on Kessler’s chin told me all I needed to know.
The front door flew open, and Easton and Cooper strolled inside.
“STOP HIM!” Kessler shouted from not far behind me.
Cooper lunged for me, and I went into battle mode. Everything else slipped away. I ducked and flipped him over my shoulder. Easton leapt in front of me, covered head to toe in metal body armor. I jumped to the side, slid under his arm, then swept his legs out from under him.
“Jackson, wait!” Kessler shouted and grabbed my wrist. He yanked me back. “Just wait!”
I gripped the doorframe and pulled against his hold, but he was too strong. In the back of my mind, I knew this was Kessler, a good man who was trying to help me…but I was beyond that now. My mind wasn’t working clear. I just kept thinking Warner, Warner, Warner.
My magic rushed out of me, and neon blue flames hit Kessler’s hand. He cursed and dropped me. I sprinted over the porch and down the steps. Thick green vines shot up out of the ground and wrapped around my ankles and legs. They slowed me down but didn’t stop me. I shot my magic at them, and they crumbled off of me.
I looked up and found Tennessee standing a few feet in front me.
He’d been at the table with Kessler.
I cursed. They canNOT expect me to sit back and let Warner get killed. In the back of my mind, I knew this was a terrible, terrible idea—my worst one yet—but that part of my brain seemed separate from me now. I charged right for Tennessee with my magic coiling in my palms. Rage filled my veins, pushing me forward.
Tennessee arched one eyebrow then flicked his hands toward me. A wall of energy slammed into me. I flew back a few feet. A growl-like yell left my lips, and I sprinted forward and threw my shoulder into his energy wall. I summoned my magic to my hands then shot little blue balls of fire at him. He flicked them away with a nod of his head.
“That all you got? HIT ME!” Tenn screamed and threw balls of magic at my face. He glanced over my shoulder. “Stay back!”
The Coven - Academy Magic Complete Series Page 59
