The Fallen Witch (The Coven: Academy Magic Book 2)

by Chandelle LaVaun

  My cheeks warmed. It sounded so much better when he said it.

  Harlan stood behind them frowning. “Dudette, you were just sleeping.”

  “No, she wasn’t,” Tegan said, her eyes sharp. “Tenn, can you put her back in the chair?”

  Tenn? I frowned and glanced over my shoulder…and then I was lifted off the ground. The pressure on my shoulders tightened. I glanced down just in time to see a flash of tanned skin and silver rings…and then I was back in my wooden seat.

  Tennessee stepped out from behind me. “Take a breath, then tell us what you saw.”

  I took a deep breath, then another. “I was listening to y’all talk, and then I was in this dark forest. Then there was this thick red fog, and it like wrapped around me. When I turned to run, I ran into Deacon.”

  Cooper cursed and shuddered. “Man, even I think it’s creepy when he does that.”

  “Wait, he’s done this before?” I frowned. “How?”

  “Devil magic.” Tegan shrugged. “That red fog is his magic. He slips into people’s dreams to talk to them. But that was way too much for a civilian—that’s why you woke so confused.”

  Well…shit. That’s creepy.

  “You got that right,” Royce said with a chuckle.

  Great, I said that out loud.

  “Excuse me a moment, but…” Jackson frowned and glanced around. “The Devil can talk to us through our dreams? Is that what I’m hearing?”

  “Yes.” Tegan narrowed her eyes. “Bettina, what did Deacon say?”

  A cold chill slid down my spine. I was really hoping that was a dream. “He said they’d been trying to call us for hours. There’s trouble in Eden. People are being kidnapped and snatched off the street, and we need to get home.”

  Tennessee cursed. “We have to leave. Now.”

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Bettina

  Tegan snapped her fingers, and a glowing white box appeared in the middle of the room. She pointed to it. “Through the portal. Now.”

  I turned and leapt toward it just as Harlan and Gen jumped through and disappeared. I was about to step through when the ground shook under our feet like an earthquake. The stone walls rumbled, and dust billowed into the air.

  “That was not me,” Tennessee said in a rush.

  “Or me,” Tegan whispered.

  Loud screams erupted from outside.

  “ATTACK!” Tennessee shouted and disappeared out the door, faster than my eyes could track him.

  Tegan was right behind him. Trey tried to jump through the portal, but the second Tegan slipped out the door, her portal vanished. Trey screamed in pain and dove backward, clutching his arm. I hopped over to him and pulled him to his feet. Blood gushed from a nasty wound that ran the length of his forearm.

  “I thought the portal would take me to the boat to get it ready,” he groaned.

  “Let’s go,” I yelled and sprinted through the door.

  As I crossed over the threshold and my bare feet hit the cold, hard dirt, bright golden light shined into my eyes. I hissed and threw my arm up to shield my eyes as I ran. The ground rumbled again, and in the distance, something roared. It sounded like a tiger mixed with a whale. But I could only barely hear it over the screaming. I dug my heels in harder and pushed my legs to move faster.

  A shadow passed over me, so I dropped my arm and opened my eyes—and gasped. Up ahead, right on the shoreline, some kind of monster jumped out from the ocean. It had the head of an octopus, but it was the size of a house. It was dark blue, but the setting sun made it look black when it touched it. The thing opened its mouth and roared again, and it had six rows of teeth that looked razor sharp. Something dark moved behind it then swooped down to the shore and— I choked on a scream.

  Not something…tentacles!

  A red-haired Crone in her long white dress was snatched up by one of the tentacles. She screamed and thrashed against its hold on her. Orange mist exploded around her as she attacked it with magic. Except the tentacle wasn’t being harmed. It kept waving her around. It coiled around her tighter, and she shrieked, her eyes bulging. My stomach turned.

  A bright orange ball of fire shot across the sky and slammed into the tentacle. Its blue body went up in flames. The monster hissed and dropped the Crone. I saw a flash of her red hair, and then she sank under the water. Three other Crones rushed into the ocean.

  “What the hell is that?” Trey groaned from somewhere behind me.

  “Kraken,” I heard myself whisper. “It’s the Kraken!”

  I stared for a moment then leapt to my feet. We had to get this thing offshore. There were too many people there for the taking. The entire shoreline was filled with Crones, each of them holding weapons. They clearly had combat training, but that wasn’t what their job was. We had to save them from slaughter.

  Save them? How? We were all sprinting to the shore, but I didn’t know the plan for when we got there. I didn’t have my sword or even my clothes. I was still in the white gown from when we arrived. How are we supposed to fight the Kraken in this?

  Just as I thought that, four tentacles lined with teethed suction cups swooped down to the shore. The Crones tried to dive out of the way, but two of them were caught by the feet and lifted in the air upside down. Tegan cursed and flicked fire balls at the tentacles. They dropped the Crones, but the flames didn’t seem to hurt them, like the Kraken was immune to fire.

  The sand at the shore rumbled, and then thick green vines shot into the sky. I glanced to Royce. He twirled his hands in circles, and the vines wrapped around the tentacles.

  The Kraken hissed and thrashed. The tips of the tentacles opened like some Venus flytrap kind of horror. Royce’s vines weren’t going to hold it for long. A dark shadow shot toward the shoreline like a rocket.

  What is th— I gasped. It was Tennessee. He was back in his all-black uniform, with a dagger in one hand and a long black sword in the other. The rest of us were racing to catch up.

  “Get it offshore!” Tegan screamed.

  “Offshore? How do we fight it in the water?!” Trey shrieked behind me.

  “Get to the boat!” Tegan shouted and snapped her fingers. The bright white box of her portal opened up right in front of us. “NOW!”

  But I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay and help fight. I’d fought demons before. I could fight a Kraken. I was a Sword, after all.

  At the last second, I swerved around the portal and charged forward. Trey, Royce, Evaline, and Cooper disappeared through the portal.

  Way up ahead, Tennessee’s body lit up, glowing like a full moon. He jumped up into the air then slammed into the sand like a missile. The ground exploded in front of him. A wall of sand and water crashed into the Kraken like a tsunami. It wailed and flew backward a couple hundred yards into the ocean.

  “YES!” I shouted.

  “Bettina, Jackson, boat. NOW!” Tegan screamed.

  Jackson? I glanced over my shoulder to find him running beside me. A rebel, just like me. I grinned and faced forward.

  Tegan appeared in front of us out of thin air and a cloud of rainbow mist. Her green eyes were furious. She snapped her fingers, and the portal box opened again. I didn’t get a chance to resist this time. I felt something grab onto my body, like an invisible hand, and then I was flying forward…through the portal.

  I hit the hardwood floor of the boat with a thud and a groan, then rolled across the deck. Jackson cursed as he hit behind me, but by the time I stopped rolling, he was already on his feet with his sword in hand. I pushed off the floor and jumped to my feet, then looked around. Evaline was at the steering wheel looking grim. I gasped. She wasn’t in Crone white. I looked down at myself and grinned. I was back in my jeans, T-shirt, and leather jacket. My Converses were strapped nice and tight on my feet. But more importantly, my talisman sword hung from its holster on my hip. I pulled it out and gripped the hilt with both hands.

  “INCOMING!” Cooper shouted.

  “Oh shit,” Trey grumbled and pull
ed both of his daggers out. “Oh shit.”

  I frowned and looked around again. Gen and Harlan were nowhere in—

  Something slimy coiled around my ankle. I screamed and swung my sword down. The fire opal blade sliced through the tentacle like it was butter. Red blood splattered across my chest. I sliced through the tentacle three more times, chopping it to pieces.

  Royce flew over my head and into the water. But the wave caught him and flicked him back onto the boat. I spun just as he crashed to the deck…right at Tegan’s feet. I gasped as relief rocked through me. I hadn’t even seen her go through the portal, but then again, she might not have. She flicked her wrist, and Royce was back on his feet. He nodded at her then charged to the opposite end of the boat cursing the Kraken to a torturous death.

  Cooper was at the very front, in a one-on-one battle with a nasty tentacle. Something moved in my peripheral vision. When I looked up, I found Jackson on the crossbeam connected to the mast, like he was Peter Pan or something. He danced from left to right, slicing his weapons through the tentacles.

  Tenn, bring it to us! Tegan shouted in my head.

  She was at the side of the boat by the railing with her hands raised high. Rainbow magic shot out of her palms like water from a fireman’s hose. The air around her pulsed. Her long black hair whipped around her body. I ran to the edge of the boat beside her and looked out. My jaw dropped. A rainbow-colored dome had dropped around Crone Island. I felt her magic brush over me. It sang with power and protection.

  In the distance, the Crones watched us. Myrtle stood in the front with her palm raised to the sky and a burst of white magic shining bright.

  My heart skipped a beat. She’s protecting them. This magic she’s sending out is a barrier, just like the one in Eden. My best friend was incredible. Her soulmate was out in the middle of the ocean fighting the Kraken, yet she was keeping the Crones safe.

  Not that Tennessee was in trouble. The dude slid across the ocean surface like it was solid ground. He looked like bolts of lightning shooting across the horizon. He moved so fast, I only saw him by the glow of his body and sword.

  And he was moving the monster toward us.

  “TEGAN!” Someone yelled over the chaos.

  I looked up just as a thick tentacle came swooping through the air, headed right toward her.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Bettina

  NO! I leapt in front of her and swung my sword right through the center of the tentacle. It sliced right in half, and the bottom part writhed and dropped into the water. Red blood dripped into my eyes. I wiped it off with the sleeve of my jacket just as three more tentacles came for us.

  It reminded me of that alligator game at the arcade that said, “Now I’m angry.”

  Tegan cursed and started to lower her hands.

  “NO! I got this!” I screamed. “Protect them!”

  I gritted my teeth and shut the rest of my brain off. All I needed to focus on was the fight. I’d been trained for this, and there was no way in hell I was going to let my best friend get hurt. For the next few minutes—or maybe hours, or seconds—everything was a blur of blood and water. The ocean rained down on us like a monsoon. Waves crashed over the railings. Yet Tegan and I remained upright. I knew it was her magic doing it. But I couldn’t think about it.

  We stood back-to-back, with her holding the protection spell and me slicing anything that moved near us. My arms ached and my fingers burned from how hard I gripped my sword, but somehow I wasn’t tired. For the first time ever, my magic sang with excitement and eagerness. I let it fly out of me, fogging the air around us with pink mist. Then the weirdest thing happened—whenever a tentacle hit my magic, it hissed and fled before I could slice it. Then again, I was new at magic, so maybe that was normal.

  I didn’t worry about the why of that. Instead, I stayed alert and watched my crew in battle. Evaline and Trey were to my right, at the back of the boat fighting. Cooper and Royce were to my left, at the front, attacking the tentacles without mercy or hesitation. Tennessee was everywhere all at once. He moved around as just a black blur and bloodshed. He didn’t stay in one place for more than a second, like he wanted to keep the Kraken guessing. He was as incredible as his soulmate. They all were. It was an honor to watch them in action.

  But it was Jackson who took my breath away. His speed wasn’t inhuman like Tenn’s, but I’d never seen him move like that. He spun and sliced around the deck, dropping tentacle chunks in his wake.

  Except the fight wasn’t ending.

  “These tentacles just keep coming,” I groaned. “Do they regenerate?”

  Tegan cursed behind me. “They might,” she growled.

  TENN, TAKE THE HEAD! she screamed into our minds.

  Jackson’s head snapped toward us. His eyes widened. “Tenn, go under! I’ll hold the fort!”

  Tennessee cursed violently then disappeared.

  Then everything broke into absolute chaos. The boat rocked back and forth. The ground trembled and creaked. The mast groaned and snapped in half, then crashed to the floor. Tenn must’ve pissed the Kraken off something fierce because at least a dozen tentacles shot into the sky then slammed down on top of us. Tegan and I were knocked to the side. We rolled over the edge, but a gentle wave caught us and carried us back to the boat.

  Jackson was a monster killing machine.

  Cooper and Royce watched him for a second, then glanced at each other…then charged toward him. They followed after him, finishing off the tentacles after his initial strike. It was the perfect combo. They were already halfway around the boat without a single snag.

  Tegan ran to the railing on the other side of the boat and roared like a tiger. The force of her magic leaving her body threw me backwards. She lifted her hands, and a wall of water rose from beneath us…carrying Tennessee and the Kraken with it.

  The Kraken thrashed and struggled against Tegan’s hold—but not Tennessee. He ran across the wave like it was nothing. He leapt into the air with his sword raised high, then dropped down and sank that black blade right between the Kraken’s eyes.

  The ocean exploded. Water crashed down on us. I gripped the rail and held on for dear life. My ears rang. My heart pounded in my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut and waited with my heart in my throat as the world thrashed around me. The water hitting my back stung like hail. I hissed as each slap bit into my skin through my jacket.

  And then it was gone. The world settled.

  I opened my eyes and blinked through the bloody water pouring down my face. I coughed and pushed myself up. Tegan stood right in the center of the boat with a wild sparkle in her eyes and a sinister-looking smile that sent a shiver down my spine. Just as I sat up, Tennessee hopped over the railing and walked toward his soulmate. He dropped his dagger and grabbed her by the jaw, then dragged her lips to his.

  My cheeks flushed, and I looked away. I didn’t begrudge them their happiness, but it was hard to watch it when the one I wanted refused to be with me. I cleared my throat and crawled over to the railing, then looked over the edge. The Kraken was nowhere in sight. The ocean was calm and flat and crystal clear just like the Caribbean was supposed to be.

  I bit my lip and stared at the ocean floor beneath us. “So, is it dead?”

  “At least for now.” Cooper strolled up beside me. “Monsters have a way of coming back, so we’re not quite sure how that works.”

  I sighed. “I’ll take for now, thanks.”

  Cooper turned and made some kind of joke about Tennegan and their smooching, but I didn’t listen. A strong, sweet relief was washing through me. I licked my lips and cringed at the taste of blood and salt.

  “Uhhh…is that…a cruise ship?” Trey said with a timid chuckle. “Or is that a glowing Kraken?”

  I frowned and followed his gaze. Sure enough, way out on the horizon, a massive dark object sliced through the sunset with little glowing squares. “Yeah, that’s definitely a cruise ship.”

  “Okay. But those aren’t.” Royce c
huckled and pointed to the left.

  We all followed his point just as a group of five sailboats went by us. Country music blared so loud I heard every single lyric. Each boat was full of college-aged-looking people in skimpy bikinis and lathered in tanning oil. I could smell the coconut from where I stood. These people were definitely all together. The humans tossed beer cans and pool floats from boat to boat. They yelled over the waves to each other. They all passed by so close to us that I could even tell which ones of the girls needed to reapply their sunblock because they had wicked bad tan lines already.

  As the third boat passed, a group of five girls in bikinis—which left nothing to the imagination—waved up at the boys beside me. They giggled and blew kisses, winking at them.

  Royce sighed. “Maybe I need to look more obviously gay, ya’ know? Might save me some hassle.”

  “Do you think they have any idea we’re teenagers?” Cooper chuckled.

  Trey scoffed. “Who cares? Do you think we can get them to come back?”

  “How is it that none of them saw what just happened?” Jackson shook his head. “Is the human mind that simple?”

  “That’s my doing.” Tennessee glared out at the humans passing by in their boats, his blood-soaked black sword still gripped in his hand. “I used a cloaking spell, so they saw whatever their minds could handle.”

  “Oh. Huh. Interesting.” I hadn’t realized that was a thing we could do.

  “Lancaster,” Tennessee grumbled and spun toward us. He raised his bloodied sword and pointed it at him. He narrowed his mismatched eyes. “Now that was some fighting. You’ve got serious skill. Nicely done.”

  Jackson’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth then shut it. His cheeks flushed. “Thanks.”

  Trey shook his head and smiled. “Man, I’ve seen you fight, but I never realized you’d been holding out on us.”

  Cooper rolled his shoulder as he wiped his dagger off on his jeans. He looked to Tennessee. “Easton was right. We should keep him.”