The Chosen Witch

by Chandelle LaVaun

  The Chosen Witch

  The Coven: Elemental Magic Prequel Novella

  Chandelle Lavaun

  Wanderlost Publishing

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  THE LOST WITCH: CHAPTER ONE

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Every time I looked back, the darkness swallowed me. The shadows moved, like they were trying to reach out and grab me. All I heard were footsteps and branches breaking. Daddy said he’d follow us, except it sounded too big to be him.

  I reached out for my mother’s hands and called to her, “Momma, wait for me!”

  She slid her fingers through mine and squeezed real hard. “I’m right here, baby.”

  Momma held my hand tight the whole time we ran through the bushes. I wanted her to carry me, but she had to hold my little sister instead. When we stopped at the edge of the water, she let go of my hand and crouched down. I reached out and gripped the sleeve of her soft white dress, not wanting her to get too far away. Her dress was wet and sticky, but I held on anyway. “Momma, can we stop running now?”

  “I’m sorry, baby, no. We don’t have much time.” She held her palm out, closed her eyes, and began humming. Her yellow hair flew all around her and brushed over my face.

  A light flashed. When I looked down, a small wooden boat sat in the dirt at Momma’s bare feet. This didn’t scare me though. I was used to Momma and Daddy creating things that weren’t there before.

  Momma raised my sister’s little sleeping face to her own and kissed her forehead. She gasped and held Hope’s face to hers. Momma’s eyes squeezed shut real tight, but her tears slipped out anyway. Her whole body shook, so I held on tighter so she wouldn’t fall over.

  She hugged Hope close and whispered against her cheek, “I love you more than a thousand stars, Hope. Please forgive me. May the Goddess bless you.”

  My heart burned and sounded like thunder in my ears. I stepped close and put my hand on Momma’s shoulder, blinking away my tears. “Momma?” I said, but my voice cracked.

  She carefully placed Hope down into the little boat. A second later, a blanket that hadn’t been there before was tucked around Hope, snuggling her in like her bed at home. Momma mumbled under her breath, but no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn’t understand them. She reached into her satchel, pulled out flower petals and small crystals, and placed them into the boat, covering Hope’s body.

  I gripped her dress a little tighter. Where was my boat? I wanted to go with my sister. How could we follow her if we didn’t have boats too? “Momma, where is Hope going? Are we going too?”

  She didn’t answer me. Her eyes were full of tears and her lips trembled. She reached up behind her neck and pulled off her favorite locket. The one she never, ever took off. My heart pounded in my chest even harder. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. My throat was tight, like there was something stuck in it. Momma leaned forward and wrapped the necklace around Hope’s neck. Her fingers shook as she tucked the locket under the blankets.

  “Stay here, love.” Momma said to me before carrying the raft into the river.

  “Momma?” I shouted. “Momma!”

  With one hand on the raft and the other raised up to the moon, she called out to the Goddess and prayed. After a few seconds, she pushed the raft into the water…and let go.

  “NO! Hope!” I screamed and ran into the river.

  The ice cold water splashed all the way up to my knees. Momma caught me and wrapped her arms around my body, holding me in place while I screamed.

  My nose burned, and tears filled my eyes so much I couldn’t see. I opened my mouth and strained to breathe. I cried and wiggled, trying to get free to catch my sister. “Momma! Hope! Get her, get her! Hurry!”

  Momma picked me up and carried me back to the dirt. She dropped to her knees so my feet touched and our green eyes were at the same level. Hers were full of tears and kept spilling onto her cheeks like rivers. She slid her hands down to squeeze my fingers. Her hands were warm and soft. “Baby, look at me.”

  “Momma, I don’t understand.”

  “I know, baby.” She smiled but it looked a little wobbly since her lips were shaking. “You are so strong, so brave. Hope is not lost. You will find her again one day.”

  She reached up and pulled off her other favorite necklace, an old key on a leather cord, and looped it over my head. I gasped and stepped back to look at it. The gold metal looked almost black without lights, and it stung like ice against my stomach, even through my shirt.

  Momma cleared her throat. “One day you will find her, and this key will help. Until then, the Goddess will keep her safe. Where they can’t find her.”

  “Who? Who’s gonna find her, Momma? Where’s Daddy?” I had so many questions. I wanted to talk about Hope and Daddy more.

  My head was light and fuzzy. Thunder rumbled over my head, and the sky lit up the brightest white I’d ever seen. The ground shook under my feet. I cried out and grabbed onto Momma’s dress. She pulled me up and squeezed me so tight I could barely breathe. Her fingers dug into my skin.

  Water filled my eyes, and I tried to blink it away but it wouldn’t stop. “Momma? I’m scared.”

  “Oh, baby.” She sat me back down and cupped my face in her warm, soft hands. “Don’t be. You are so strong. The Goddess will protect you. It’s time we say goodbye now.”

  I gasped. “Goodbye? No! I don’t want to leave you.”

  “But you must. My time here is done. Before sunrise I will be with your father.” Her eyebrows scrunched down and her face twisted. She turned away and cried.

  Tears poured down my face. Now my lips were shaking too. “But then I’ll be alone.”

  She wiped her wet face on her sleeve before turning to look at me. “No, baby. You will never be alone. You must run now and not look back. The Tennessee wilds will protect you. Run through there until you get to Eden. The Goddess will send you guidance.”

  “No, Momma, please. Stay with me,” I whispered through the burn in my throat.

  Her face twisted. “It’s time now, my love.” She pulled me to her chest and squeezed. Her body was soft and warm and smelled like pine trees. Her chest shook, but I cuddled up closer. “Just know, my love, I will always love you.”

  “Momma…” I held her tighter. I wanted her to hold me forever, until Daddy and Hope came back and the darkness stopped following us. But then she stepped away, and I turned cold from the inside out. She placed her right hand over my heart. “If you ever need me, this is where I’ll be. Right here, real close. I will be in your heart forever. All you have to do is look.”

  I nodded and gripped her hand with both of mine. My tears wouldn’t stop pouring.

  She held her left hand up, and purple smoke swirled around her fingers. Then she pressed it to my cheek. Warmth filled me like I sat in front of a fireplace. The purple smoke circled around my face a few times before disappearing. When I looked back to Momma, her green eyes were red and puffy and full of tears. “Now, my love. Do you remember your name?”

  My name? Of course I remembered my name. It was…it was… My heart raced. “No, I don’t. Momma?”

  “Then you’re going to be just fine. I will always be proud of you. Now run, and remember, Hope is not lost.” Her voice cracked. “I love you to the moon…”

  “And back,” I whispered.

  “Now run.”

  I spun around and ran
in the direction she pointed, toward the Tennessee wilds. I ran, like Momma told me to. I ran until the ground slanted upward and trees covered the sky. I ran until the silence was so loud it buzzed in my ears like bumblebees.

  My foot caught on something, and I crashed to the ground. I got to my knees and coughed until I could breathe normally. I crawled over and leaned back against a tree to hide for a little while. I pulled my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arms around myself. I wanted Momma. I wanted Daddy. I wanted to go home. But it was all gone now. I was alone. I just wanted someone to hold me and make me feel better. Someone to make me stop crying. Someone to protect me from the darkness. I rubbed my chest over my heart. Momma said she’d always be in there, but I wanted her out here with me.

  I sat in the dark, under the trees, saying the words Momma said to me over and over so I wouldn’t forget. Tennessee wilds will protect me, go to Eden, the Goddess will send guidance, and Hope was not lost.

  The sky around me had just turned a yellow color when something bit my arm. I screamed in pain and looked down. Halfway between my wrist and my elbow, a trail of fire burned into my skin. The pain got stronger and stronger until I couldn’t stop screaming.

  “Hey! What’s wrong?”

  I wanted to look up at the sound of a man’s voice, but the pain was too strong. The man kept talking to me, but I couldn’t hear the words.

  It took me a few tries before I finally yelled, “My arm!”

  Large, warm hands grabbed ahold of the arm I clutched. “Okay, let me see.”

  “It hurts!”

  “I know.” His voice was soft and friendly, but firm. It reminded me of Daddy’s, and it helped calm me down. “Let me see.”

  I coughed and let the man pull my arm away from my body to look. “Please, make it stop,” I cried.

  “I’ll see what I can do.” The man gasped. “Goddess, almighty.”

  Goddess? Momma said the Goddess would send help. I looked up. The man had yellow eyes and yellow hair the same color as Momma’s. That made me a little warm inside. “Can you make it stop?”

  The man smiled like I was his favorite person. Momma used to look at me like that. He wrapped both hands around my arm. The pain got a little better. “Just breathe through it. It’s almost over.”

  “It still hurts,” I cried.

  “I know it does. Count to ten with me, okay?” He squeezed my arm tighter, and it made it hurt a little less. “One…”

  “Two…”

  “Three…”

  We counted together up to ten. By the time we were done, the pain had completely vanished. The man pulled his hands back. I took a deep breath then peeked down at my arm and gasped. The letters I and V were written on my skin in black and took up my whole arm.

  “What…what is that?” I looked up to the man with yellow eyes. “What is it?”

  The man smiled so wide it crinkled his eyes. “It means the Goddess has chosen you.”

  “Chosen…me? For what?”

  “To be an important and powerful witch.” The man held his left arm out and pushed up his long sleeve to reveal the letters V and III. “Look. I have one too.”

  I felt my eyes go wide. I glanced back and forth between our arms. “The Goddess chose you too?”

  “Yes. She chooses a group of us who are special to her. This means you and I are a team. We’re family now.”

  “We’re family now?” I looked at him. He had huge shoulders, bigger than Daddy’s, and his arms had lots of muscles. He might’ve been scary, but he smiled so much it made me feel safe. If he was my family, he’d be able to protect me.

  “We sure are,” he said with a big smile. “What is your name, son?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

  The man frowned but then he shrugged and smiled again. I liked when he smiled. It made me want to do it too. “Well, what would you like it to be?”

  How do I pick a name? Then I remembered Momma’s words. Tennessee wilds will protect you. “Tennessee Wilds.”

  “Well, hello, Tennessee. It’s nice to meet you. My name is Kessler Bishop.” Kessler smiled real wide. “Do you know how old you are?”

  I frowned and thought real hard. I couldn’t remember much, but for a second I pictured a cake with five candles on it. “I think I’m five.”

  “Five? Well, Tennessee, you are very brave.”

  I didn’t feel brave. What did brave feel like? “I’m scared and all alone.”

  Kessler’s smile widened until his cheeks were pink. He put his big hand on my shoulder and squeezed. It felt nice, like Momma’s hugs. “You’re not alone anymore, son.”

  Chapter One

  Twelve years later…

  I stopped next to the base of a tree and crouched. The rough bark under my fingertips calmed my racing mind, anchoring me in the darkness. After thirty nonstop minutes of fighting, my chest should’ve burned and my breathing should’ve been ragged, but my body buzzed with power. I only paused to rein my energy in and focus.

  Thunder rolled over my head like waves crashing on the shore. Rain had yet to fall, but the heavy blanket of clouds blocked the moon from providing me any kind of assistance. My only source of light came from the glowing sword gripped in my right hand, and it lit up a three-foot radius. So basically, I had a dashing view of some shrubbery and tree trunks surrounded by a wall of blackness. Despite spending most of my life in this exact part of the theme park, having my sight restricted suffocated me. I cursed and closed my eyes, letting my other senses fill in what my eyes missed.

  To my right, the air was thick and smelled clean, the classic warning signs of a typical Florida summer rainstorm. The wind blowing my hair across my face was damp and cool. I figured we had about twenty minutes tops before the clouds unleashed a monsoon right on top of me.

  I turned to the left and took a deep breath. A sickening sweet scent tickled my nose from nearby. I slid my hand down the tree trunk until I found the familiar wet and sticky patch. I brought my fingers up to my face and sniffed. No matter how many times I inhaled the stuff, the maple syrup-like scent always burned a path down my airways.

  Demon blood.

  We’d been chasing this particular creature through the park for half an hour to no avail. It somehow kept eluding our efforts. This thing led us into the darkest part of the park, where overgrown black olive trees lined one paved stretch of road. How I managed to be outsmarted by a demon in my home territory I’d never know. My pride didn’t appreciate it.

  Focus, Tennessee.

  Even with the moonlight, the branches overhead created a tunnel effect. Fortunately, I knew this park ground-up by memory. Unfortunately, this meant I knew the demon was a mere hundred feet away from the Gap back to its realm. We needed to act fast.

  The bushes behind me rustled and twigs snapped. Deja-vu had me spinning on my toes and pouncing before I’d consciously told myself to do so. However, I knew the second my fingers touched something soft that it wasn’t a demon. This didn’t stop me from pinning the person to the ground and holding my sword up to their throat.

  “Whoa, it’s me!”

  I sighed and gripped the front of my friend’s silky shirt, using the glow from my sword to light up his face. Wide, deep sapphire eyes stared at me. His high, sharp cheekbones looked worthy of a magazine cover.

  “Damn it, Royce. I thought you were smarter than this.” Royce was one of my best friends, one of the guys who fought by my side the most. He should’ve known better. I could’ve killed him.

  “And I thought you were partially human.” Royce cracked a crooked, dimpled grin and shrugged, completely at ease despite the glowing sword at his throat or the warrior perched above him. “Appears we’re both wrong.”

  I rolled my eyes and moved off him. “I am no less human than you, my friend.”

  Royce scoffed. “Humans, even partial humans like me, don’t move like that. If you want me to believe you’re human at all, I’m gonna need a blood test.”

  Desp
ite the situation, I chuckled and shook my head while resuming my crouched position beside the tree. “Guess I know what to get you for Christmas.”

  “Fine, but it better be gift-wrapped in cashmere.”

  I opened my mouth to respond when a gust of wind whipped through the trees, carrying the thick stench of maple syrup. “Royce, your cologne is calling.”

  Without waiting, I leapt to my feet and ran toward the smell. I held my left hand up and summoned a gust of wind, directing it through the trees and down the tunneled path. The sickening smell enclosed around me from every direction.

  Royce coughed and mumbled something unintelligible. I slid to a stop and stared up at the intertwined branches. Without taking my eyes off the trees, I crouched and pulled my dagger out of my left boot. After a second of silence, leaves rustled like drops of rain were hitting them, moving farther away from us down the middle of the path.

  There you are. I adjusted the hilt of my dagger in my fingers and threw the weapon into the trees in an arching movement.

  A high-pitched shriek shot through the forest about ten feet in front of us. A large dark shadow dropped to the ground with a thud, followed by the clink of something metal. Gotcha.

  “There!” Royce shouted and sprinted past me in the dark.

  He should know better.

  I narrowed my eyes and willed my dagger to illuminate. A soft yellow glow lit up like a firework a foot in front of Royce. He cheered and dove to tackle the spider-like demon off course, desperation making him reckless. The force of his hit sent them sliding down the pavement and rolling. I cursed as I followed them, then jumped onto the demon’s back, riding his hard shell like a surfboard.

  This demon was seven feet long, with eight legs full of razor-edged spikes. And Royce was pinned underneath it. Instinct made me aim my sword down but I paused. If I stabbed the demon in the wrong spot, my blade would impale Royce. If I hurt my friend… No, I couldn’t even consider the possibility.