Nightmares (The Coven, Book 1)

by Erica Stevens

  “Go on, take it,” Reid encouraged. “We’re all here for you.”

  Lila’s hand trembled as she held the crystal out to Avery. “We’ll always be here for you,” she whispered.

  When Lila moved the crystal closer to her, it sparked, and Avery seized it before she could lose her courage. The power rushing up her arm warmed her palm and turned her bones to liquid. From out of nowhere, a whirlwind swept up to enclose her in its murky depths.

  She lost sight of everyone when the wind tearing at her hair and clothes swept her from the hall. The crystal became her only source of illumination in the vortex as she plummeted into oblivion.

  CHAPTER 34

  Avery stumbled and teetered before she lost her battle against gravity and fell on her hands and knees in the damp sand with the crystal in her fist. The ocean lapped against the shore on her right, and the salty air coated her skin and lips. A breeze blew strands of hair into her face, and she absently brushed them away from her eyes before lifting her head to take in her surroundings.

  She wasn’t surprised to find her friends weren’t on the beach with her. Looking to make this as difficult as possible, Regan wouldn’t allow her the support and strength their presence would provide her.

  Turning away from the beach, she studied the dunes rolling across the sand. Twinkling stars covered the tapestry of the night. A large house sat on the cliffs above the dunes, and a flickering flame lit its window.

  There was something familiar about her surroundings and the house…

  She gasped when she realized she was gazing at her mother’s house. Except this house was gray and not blue, and lamps instead of electricity lit the windows. Instead of Julie’s large porch, a set of steep stairs descended to the beach. The smoke lazily coiling from the chimney carried the scent of burning wood.

  She clutched her crystal tighter as her gaze followed the road to the other houses. There were fewer houses than she recalled on the street, and they were all slightly different, but she recognized Reid and Landon’s home, as well as Mario’s and Isla’s.

  Behind another set of dunes, she made out the glow of a fire flickering in the dark. The crystal in her hand vibrated when she focused on those flames; it was drawn to the fire, and she decided to trust it.

  Climbing to her feet, Avery made her way through the shifting sand. The blisters on her feet screamed in agony as she walked, but as she approached the fire, the crystal grew brighter until it illuminated the sand and shells before her.

  When voices drifted to her from behind a set of boulders, she paused, uncertain of what to do. This was Regan’s world after all; those voices could belong to anyone or anything, but the crystal drew her onward.

  Avery draped the crystal around her neck and placed her hands on the cool rocks to lift herself onto them. She picked her way carefully over the moss-covered, slippery boulders until she hoisted herself on top of them.

  Astonishment froze the breath in her lungs when she spotted the nine people below. They were all gathered around a fire swirling with colors from crystal dust. Though their clothes were outdated, she at first assumed they were her coven dressed up for Halloween or something, but when she looked closer, she realized they were different than her coven. Avery couldn’t keep her mouth closed as she started picking out differences between these people and the ones she knew.

  This Landon’s hair was a vibrant, deep red, and her eyes were a brilliant emerald green. Standing beside her, Reid’s hair was the same shade as Landon’s and his eyes were a vibrant blue. Standing near Landon and Reid, Rosie’s hair was a golden blonde that hung to her hips, and Alex’s was a shocking orange. Besides their eyes and hair color, there were also differences in their features, heights, and mannerisms. However, the similarities were striking enough for Avery to believe she was looking at the ancestors of her coven.

  Standing off to the side, what she took to be Sandra, Isla, Eric, Shawn, and Mario’s ancestors talked amongst themselves. An ache filled Avery as she watched them; she yearned for her friends and her coven. They would probably understand what was happening here.

  As Avery inched forward, she caught bits and pieces of their conversation. She stopped at the edge of the rocks and settled into the shadows to watch.

  “What are you doing here?” the one who resembled Landon demanded.

  Avery almost fell off the boulders before she realized Landon’s relative wasn’t speaking to her; she was gazing into the shadows across from her as another girl stepped into the circle. The girl’s raven hair tumbled to her hips and swayed with her steps. Her violet eyes reflected the colors of the fire as she smiled coldly at the group.

  Staring at the girl, Avery found herself touching her face; though there were differences between them, the girl looked enough like her to be a relative. Avery didn’t possess the hostility in that girl’s eyes, and the girl’s slightly larger nose tilted to the right. Her cheekbones were more pronounced, but the resemblance between them was unnerving.

  Avery’s gaze traveled lower, and she almost keeled over when she saw the sparkling blue crystal hanging at the girl’s throat. It was her crystal, she was sure of it. When her hand enclosed on the one dangling against her chest, the warmth blazing from it comforted her.

  “I’ve come to see you, Beatrix,” the girl replied. “You are my best friend, after all.”

  “You aren’t my friend anymore, Celia,” Beatrix said.

  Avery’s hand flew to her mouth when she realized she was related to the newest arrival; Celia was her great-great-great-aunt and the last member of Avery’s family to possess magic until her parents. At least now she knew why this woman had her crystal. If it was handed down through Avery’s family, then it must have belonged to Celia during her lifetime.

  Celia laughed and stepped closer to the fire.

  “You’re not welcome here,” the person who looked like Reid stated.

  Celia’s eyes flashed with amusement. “Is that any way to greet your old love, Adrian?”

  When Adrian’s hands clenched, Beatrix touched his arm. “Don’t remind me!” he spat.

  Celia threw her head back and emitted a bark of laughter. “You wound me!”

  “What do you want?” Rosie’s ancestor demanded.

  “I simply came to say hello to my friends, Adele,” Celia replied.

  Avery’s head bounced back and forth as she tried to follow the conversation while the hostility in the group mounted. An air of apprehension and melancholy hung over everyone but Celia as the coven grouped together and further away from Celia.

  Celia turned to the shadows, and a smile lit her face. “It’s so good to see you, Lover.”

  When a man emerged from the shadows and sauntered toward her, Avery recognized him as Regan. Except, unlike the others, this Regan was identical to the one she knew. He smiled at Celia and his hand entwined with hers as they faced the group together.

  What is going on here? Avery wondered.

  “You’re not welcome here,” Adrian stated.

  “But we should be,” Regan replied. “We were all meant to be together.”

  “We will never be with you, Regan!” Adele vowed.

  “But it’s so much fun!” Celia cried. “You can’t imagine the power you could possess!”

  “We don’t want that kind of power,” the one who looked like Alex replied.

  “Yes, you do, Archie,” Celia said to him. “You’re aching to possess the power Regan and I wield. Together, we can all rule the world. I’ve known you since you were born, and I know you’re not happy with the pathetic amount of power you have.”

  “I’m very happy with it,” Archie said.

  “Sure you are,” Celia sneered.

  “Leave now before we force you away from here!” Beatrix ordered.

  “Do you think you could?” Celia inquired. “My powers were stronger than yours before I joined Regan; you can’t begin to imagine what I’m capable of now.”

  “I don’t want to know what you
’re capable of,” Beatrix said. “What you’ve become saddens me.”

  “That’s jealousy, Beatrix, not sadness.”

  “We can make you leave. There are nine of us and only two of you,” Adrian snarled.

  “Are you sure there are only two of us?” Regan taunted.

  Alarm flashed across Adrian’s face as he surveyed the people surrounding him before gazing defiantly at Regan. “You’ll get no more of us!” he declared.

  “But I already have,” Regan replied, and his eyes landed on Sandra’s ancestor whose dark brown hair hung in thick waves to her knees. He extended his hand to her. “What do you think, Marjorie?”

  Marjorie smiled as she stepped away from the group and sauntered across the sand to join Celia and Regan. She slipped her hand into Regan’s and turned to face the coven she’d abandoned.

  “No!” Beatrix cried. Adrian pulled her back when she stepped forward.

  Marjorie tossed back her hair, and her brown eyes flashed as she gazed at the coven. “I’m sorry, but I’m tired of parlor tricks. I want real power.”

  “How could you?” the one Mario looked like yelled.

  “It’s only a matter of time before you all join me, why fight the inevitable?” Regan inquired.

  “Get out of here,” Adrian growled.

  When Regan threw his head back, his laughter rang across the beach. “With pleasure. Come, my love.” He lifted Celia’s hand to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of it. She beamed at him as they turned and strolled into the shadows.

  “We’ll see you soon!” Celia called back.

  The flash of power that shot out of Celia was similar to the one Avery released earlier. Only the light Celia released was pitch black instead of blue, and it radiated evil as it smashed into the fire and sent sparks and flames shooting everywhere. Their laughter trailed through the air until the three of them vanished into the night.

  Avery turned back to the remaining group; she was grateful for the distraction they provided as she tried not to think about the implications of what she’d seen.

  “We have to do something,” Mario’s ancestor said.

  “We will, Wallace,” Adrian assured him, but sorrow etched his handsome face.

  “I’m sorry,” Beatrix said to Adrian. “I know how much you love her.”

  “Loved her,” Adrian corrected before turning to Shawn’s ancestor. “Did you know that Marjorie joined him, Clarence?”

  Clarence tossed back his shaggy blond hair. “No,” he replied gruffly.

  “Kate?” Adrian asked the one who resembled Isla only her hair was a light red and her eyes blue.

  Kate’s mouth pursed as she gazed at the beach. “No, I didn’t know.”

  “Elmer?”

  There were many differences between Elmer and Eric, but there were enough similarities that Avery could tell he was Eric’s ancestor. “No,” Elmer said.

  Adrian turned, and his gaze landed on Avery. She worried he could see her, but he showed no reaction to her. “Come on, let’s go home,” he said, and she heard the defeat in his voice.

  CHAPTER 35

  Avery waited until they vanished before rising and wiping away the wet sand clinging to her shorts and legs. When she finished, she looked helplessly around. What was she supposed to do now?

  “Enjoying the show?” Regan asked from behind her.

  When Avery whirled around, her feet skidded out from under her, and she toppled backward. Regan’s hand snaked out to grab her arm before she plummeted off the rocks. Quickly righting herself, Avery’s breath came in rapid pants as her gaze landed on him. She tried not to let her fear of him show, but he smiled smugly, and knowledge danced in his eyes.

  Avery scowled at him and ripped her arm free of his grasp. “I am not Celia!”

  Leaning against the rocks, Regan sprawled out like an indolent cat as he clasped his hands on his chest. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  He lifted a black eyebrow as his eyes traveled leisurely over her. Though she didn’t want to give him any indication he unnerved her, she couldn’t stop herself from taking a step down the rocks.

  “You’re wrong,” he purred. “Celia is a big part of you, and the rest of your miserable group is also a part of them.” He waved a hand elegantly at the empty beach, but his eyes never left hers.

  “I am not evil,” Avery retorted.

  “There is such a fine line between good and evil, and nothing is as clear as it seems.”

  When Regan rose from the rocks in one fluid motion, Avery clamped her mouth shut to keep from gawking at him. She knew he wasn’t human, but seeing him move like that only hammered home the point. This creature held her life in his hands. She wanted to bolt, but he wouldn’t let her get far, and she had to face this if she were going to win this game.

  “Are you sure there isn’t some evil in you?” he inquired.

  “Yes!”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you.”

  His voice became that lulling, hypnotic tone she despised as it worked its way into her mind. She struggled to fight it, but it dug in deeper until it brushed against her soul.

  “Celia was a formidable witch before she joined me. Embracing what I offered her more than tripled her power, and you possess more power than she ever did. The strength of your powers does not belong to someone who is good but rather someone who is evil.”

  “No.” Avery’s throat clogged as his voice danced in her head. “No.”

  He moved closer until he blocked out the full moon and became all she could see. “Like me, you relish the strength of your ability and all it enables you to do. Your soul soars when you draw from the elements and the power swells within you. I alone know how you feel when you release it, and the temptation you feel to use it until it becomes so strong no one can stop you. Think about how much power you’ll have when you join me and everything we will do together and everything you will have.”

  Entranced by his voice and the lure of his words, she didn’t pull away when he stroked her hair. His elegant fingers stroking the black strands mesmerized her. Her mind briefly recalled all his promises in the blue room, and excitement shot through her. Then she remembered her vows to herself and the coven.

  Shaking her head, Avery broke free of his spell. “I am not her!”

  “Then why do you have her crystal and her birthmarks?”

  Avery blinked in surprise; she hadn’t expected such a strange question. “That crystal belongs to my family and birthmarks are just that… birthmarks.”

  “It may have been handed down through your family for centuries, but Celia is the only other witch who ever claimed and controlled the crystal of rarity as hers. She’s also the only other witch who was ever double marked, though hers were on her right side. Those two marks are a sign of how powerful you are compared to any other witch.”

  “How do you know that?” Avery demanded.

  He smiled as his hand enclosed on her hair, and he gave it a small tug to draw her closer to him. Avery contemplated ripping her hair away from him, but she didn’t dare touch him.

  “I know many, many things, Avery, and your family has been special to me for thousands of years.”

  Thousands of years! How old was this monster, and how could they possibly fight something so ancient and seemingly omnipotent?

  Avery almost wept as a crushing sense of defeat descended over her, but she refused to give in to it. They could beat him, and if it were the last thing she did, she would find a way to destroy him. She just had to escape this first.

  “Why is my family so special to you?” she asked.

  “From the very start your line has always been the strongest, and you’ve always had ancestors who embraced the power black magic brings them. Over the centuries, they’ve passed that strength and craving for more power throughout their line. You may not be Celia’s direct descendant, but there is darkness in your lineage, and you inherited so much of it.”

  “That’s not tru
e,” she said. “The coven would have told me if that were true. They would have been scared of me and stayed away.”

  “Who says they knew about it?”

  Was he right? Was there something inherently evil about her line and had it been kept from the coven? She recalled the missing pages in the coven’s Books; there was something on those pages no one wanted them to see. Whether their parents or some other generation tore them out, she didn’t know, but they’d been removed on purpose.

  She didn’t want to be evil; she honestly didn’t think she was evil, but if what he said was true…?

  That was it though; she didn’t know if what he said was true or not. She didn’t doubt he would lie to her to get what he wanted. Many mysteries surrounded their Books and their parents, but if she allowed herself to fall into that rabbit hole, she’d never get out of this.

  “I am not Celia!” she hissed through her teeth.

  He released a husky laugh and let go of her hair. “You’re right; you are so much more than Celia. I’ve been waiting for you for millennia, Avery, and I will have you. Come now, there is more for you to see.”

  The world shifted suddenly, and the rocks under her feet melted into a black void.

  • • •

  When Avery landed on her hands and knees, her fingers dug reflexively into the cold, wet sand. She lifted her head to gaze at the beach and sea spread out before her. Regan, Celia, and Marjorie stood ten feet away from her, near the ocean rolling onto the shore.

  “That was great!” Marjorie threw her arms wide as she spun in circles. “Did you see the looks on their faces?”

  Celia laughed as she stroked Regan’s cheek. “Truly delightful, my love,” she said to him, and Avery rolled her eyes when Regan pulled her into his embrace to kiss her.

  “What do we do now?” Marjorie asked.

  “You are going home,” Regan said.

  “But I feel too alive and powerful; we have to do something,” Marjorie whined.

  “Not tonight,” Regan replied. “Our time will come, and until then, you are to lay low.”