Claire kneeled back down to Emily. “Let’s go inside until you feel a little better okay?”
Emily’s face was white with shock. “Okay," she said.
Claire looked at the driver. “We are going inside the house right there. If the police need to talk to us, that’s where we’ll be.”
The driver nodded and started talking to the operator.
“Obliviscatur,” Claire whispered at the man. She didn’t actually want to deal with the police. Emily was fine and she didn’t feel like answering any questions. The asshole driver could deal with the cops on his own.
Claire helped Emily stand up and walked with her inside the house. She felt shaken up, and she could tell that Emily was quite shaken as well. They got inside the house, and Claire removed Emily’s jacket and hung it up along with her own. They took off their boots, went into the living room, and sat down on the couch.
“Are you okay, Emily?” Claire asked.
Emily looked Claire in the eyes. “Did you do that?” she asked.
Claire bit her lower lip and shifted her gaze to the floor. “Yes," she said.
“You Edward Cullened me!?” Emily said.
Claire looked back at Emily and was surprised to see that she was smiling. “What?” Claire said.
“In Twilight. Edward saves Bella from a car that almost hit her. You just did like literally the same thing.”
“Uh, okay?” Claire said. “Should I have let the car hit you?”
Emily laughed. “No!” she said. “It’s just funny. I can’t believe you did that. How did you do that!?”
Claire started to loosen up, now that it seemed like Emily was okay. “I’m a witch, remember? I can do stuff.”
“I didn’t know you could do stuff like that ," she said.
“There is a lot you don’t know yet,” Claire said. She put her hand on Emily’s leg. “Are you okay, though? That was really intense.”
Emily nodded. “It was. But yeah I’m okay. I think I am more shocked that you did that. It all happened so fast. What is going to happen to that guy?”
“He’ll have to fix his car I guess?” Claire said. “I also, um sort of made him forget that he almost hit you.” Claire looked at Emily with a bit of playful guilt in her eyes. She wasn’t used to talking about magic with someone who wasn’t a witch. Mostly because it just wasn’t done. But Emily was pretty close to one at this point, and she was feeling more and more comfortable with her as time went on.
“You made him forget!?” Emily said. She playfully pushed Claire’s shoulder. She felt a burning spark in her gut the moment she touched Claire and she regretted it immediately.
Claire felt the same thing and swallowed. “Yeah," she said.
They looked each other in the eyes for a moment and didn’t speak. It took everything in Emily’s power to not lean in and kiss Claire. Claire reached up and lightly touched Emily’s face, wiping what must have been snow from her cheek. Emily closed her eyes to the touch and gently leaned into Claire’s hand.
“Thank you,” Emily said.
“It was just some snow, I think,” Claire said.
“No, I mean thank you for saving me from the car. I could be dead right now,” Emily said.
“Of course,” Claire said. “I couldn’t let you get demolished by some jerk.”
“Why is that?” Emily asked.
“Well you’re going to be in the coven, right?” Claire said. “You’ll be like family. Closer than family, really. We look out for each other.”
“I see,” Emily said. Claire heard the disappointment in Emily’s voice and sighed.
“Listen, Emily,” Claire said. “I’m sorry if I’m wrong, but I’ve sensed some attraction between you and someone in the coven. I am pretty sure that person is me.”
Emily straightened up, listening intently.
“I don’t want to make you feel awkward. Like I said, we’ll be like family. But I do want to tell you that we don’t really allow relationships within the coven," she paused. “I should clarify. I don’t allow it. Jeremy doesn’t seem to care, and I don’t really know how the other guys feel about it.”
“Oh. Okay,” Emily said. She was a loss for words. She wasn’t expecting Claire to say that. She felt like they were starting to connect. Like they were getting closer. She started to feel sick to her stomach with embarrassment. Claire picked up on the shift in Emily’s mood.
“I just want to be open and honest, okay?” Claire said. “It is important that we are all open and honest with each other.”
“Right,” Emily said.
“And if I am being perfectly honest,” Claire continued, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t confused about my feelings for you.”
“What do you mean?” Emily asked.
Claire bit her lip again. “I mean, I have felt a connection between us a handful of times. That is why I wanted to bring this up, really. Because I need to keep myself in check too. Long story short, this coven is everything to me and I can't jeopardize it. I am also just not really ready to be with anyone. I’m still trying to heal from my divorce, and I can’t open myself up to anyone right now. Not in that kind of way.”
Emily was confused. She went from feeling embarrassed and heartbroken to feeling excitement at the idea that Claire felt even a fraction of the same feelings Emily had for her. But she was telling her it couldn’t happen.
“Okay,” Emily said.
“We are going to end up being closer than sisters,” Claire said. “I think it’ll be much better that way.” Claire smiled at Emily, hoping for a positive reaction, but knowing that she wasn’t going to get one.
“I think I’m going to go home now,” Emily said. She didn’t want to look at Claire. Every moment she was with Claire she had to hold back the urge to kiss her. How was she supposed to be in the coven and not be with her?
“I’m sorry I brought that up,” Claire said. “I just thought it was important to get it out of the way. Everything on the table, right?”
Emily looked at Claire. Her face was stern, and she appeared as though she was holding back tears. “You want to be honest right now?” Emily said.
Claire didn’t expect this shift in Emily. “Yes. Always,” Claire said.
“I am really embarrassed right now,” Emily said. “I hope I’ve never done anything to make you uncomfortable, I would feel horrible if I did." She stood up. “I'm going to go. I don’t think I’m going to spend any more time with the coven." She turned and started walking towards the door.
Claire rushed to stand in front of her. “No, please don’t let this change anything. You're supposed to be with us.” Claire believed that. She trusted Jeremy and she had felt the connection that comes with a new coven mate.
Emily agreed with Claire. She knew in her heart that she was supposed to be with these people. But more than that, she knew that Claire and her were supposed to be together as well. But she didn’t say anything. She couldn't think of how to tell Claire that without scaring her away. She didn’t know what to say.
“This coven has gotten over a crush before, we can do it again,” Claire said, trying desperately to fix what she had done.
“A crush?” Emily said. She wanted to laugh. Emily felt her phone vibrate in her pocket at the same time that they both heard Claire’s phone go off from the couch. Emily looked at the screen. “Oh no," she said. “Jeremy." She looked up at Claire with worry and watched as Claire’s face went cold. Claire grabbed Emily’s phone from her hand and read the text.
“We have to go see him,” Claire said. She didn’t want to drive alone. She didn’t want to drive at all. “Can you drive me?” Her hands were shaking as she handed her phone back to Emily.
“Of course,” Emily said. They put their coats back on and walked outside. Two police cars with flashing lights surrounded the driver and the car that almost hit her. The man looked like he was in shock as he struggled to explain the accident to the police. Emily’s car was blocked in by the three cars, wit
hout a scratch on it.
“We can take my car,” Claire said. She unlocked her car and grabbed the snow brush from the back seat.
Emily felt like she was on autopilot as she got into the car and started the ignition. She stared at the steering wheel and replayed the events of the last thirty minutes in her head. Snow cleared from the windshield in front of her seat and she was snapped out of here daze. She opened the door.
“Do you have another brush? Should I go get mine?” she asked.
“It’s fine, I’m almost done,” Claire said, grunting as she pushed the snow off of the hood of the car. “I just have to do the back window and we can go.”
Emily sat back down and closed the door. Claire plopped into the passenger seat. Claire didn’t have to tell her where to go. The text from Tanner was brief but it had all the information they needed.
Jeremy was attacked in the alley outside the shop.
He is alive but not conscious.
ICU at the U of M East Bank.
Come as soon as you can.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TANNER SAT ON a chair in the hospital waiting room. He was leaning forward in the chair, with his chin in his hands. His index fingers were pointed up to his mouth and his eyes were closed.
“What happened?” Claire asked.
Tanner stood up and walked over to Claire to hug her. “He's in surgery right now. He was stabbed in the alley when he left to take out the trash.”
“By the murderers?” Emily asked.
“I would assume so,” Tanner said.
“When can we see him? How long will he be in there?” Claire asked.
“I don’t know,” Tanner said. “The doctor will come out and update us. But he’s alive, and that’s what matters.”
One by one, the rest of the coven members arrived and Tanner updated them. The five of them sat in the waiting room in silence. Nobody knew what to say, and the energy in the room was heavy with fear and anger. On the opposite side of the waiting room, an older man stood up and left. The five of them were now alone. Claire glanced around the room and got up to close the door. She turned to face the rest of them.
“We are clearly still in danger,” she said. “We got too relaxed, and we let our guard down. We can’t let that happen again.”
“I think we need to initiate her,” Allison said. “If Jeremy thinks her dreams might help, we can’t risk not doing it.”
“We’re vulnerable,” Tanner said. “And she said she wanted to join.”
“We can’t just jump into a decision like this,” Olivia said. “Claire what do you think?
Claire looked at Emily. “What do you think?”
“Oh I’m sorry, Emily. I should have asked you, but the final decision comes to Claire and I was just getting lost in the moment and-”
“It’s okay,” Emily interrupted her. “If it will help, I will do it right away. For sure.”
“You should think about it,” Tanner said. “It isn’t a decision to be made lightly.”
“I understand, but I already decided I would. I didn’t really want to have to wait as long as Jeremy said I would have to wait.”
“Emily,” Allison teased. “Are you the one who stabbed Jeremy? Just to get initiated sooner?”
Claire glared at Allison. “Not now, Allison.”
“Sorry,” she said. She walked back to a chair and sat down.
After some discussion, they decide that Claire will stay at the hospital to be with Jeremy. Allison, Olivia, Tanner and Emily will stay at the covenstead. With the spell hiding the house from harm, they should have all been staying there anyway. And they would need to implement some kind of buddy system again. The only way they would get through this alive was to go through it together.
Jeremy opened his eyes and Claire was sitting next to his hospital bed.
“Hey you!” she said, smiling.
“Hey,” he whispered.
“You’re alive,” she said.
“It appears that I am.”
“Are you in any pain?” she asked.
He thought for a moment, blinking slowly. “No I don’t think so.” He tried to move and let out a painful cry. “Not unless I move.”
“They said you’re going to be okay,” she said. “I need to go tell the doctor you’re awake. But I wanted to tell you first that we decided that you were right, and we need to initiate Emily. As soon as you get your strength back, we can get it done.”
He closed his eyes and smiled. “Sounds good,” he said. “All I had to do was get stabbed.”
Claire shook her head and chuckled. “Idiot,” she said. “Did you get a look at them?”
“Not really, no.”
“Well I’m sure the police are going to want to talk to you.”
“Wonderful,” he said.
Claire pushed the call light button and leaned forward and kissed Jeremy on the forehead. “Thank you for not dying on me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
“YOU FINALLY ANSWERED the phone!” Karen said.
“What’s up?” Emily asked impatiently.
Karen was silent for a moment, as if she was choosing her words carefully. “I wanted to ask you if the dreams have gotten any worse since we talked about them last.”
“Actually they seem to be getting better,” Emily said.
“Really? That is so good to hear.” Karen sounded relieved.
“Yeah. It is weird.” Emily wasn’t sure how much she should get into with her mother about it. She always regretted the times she told her mom more than she meant to. Somehow it always ended up blowing up in her face.
“Why do you think it's weird?” she asked.
“I don’t know. A lot of weird stuff has been happening to me lately,” Emily said. “Things that aren’t easy to believe. I don’t know if you've heard about the couple people that were murdered in Minneapolis?”
“I have heard about a murder there, yes," she said. “I was going to ask you about it. A tarot card reader?” The news of June’s death had spread quickly among people in the magical community. It set everyone on edge, and Karen was no exception.
“Yeah, and now a bookshop owner too. They think they’re related.” Emily said. “They were friends with some new acquaintances of mine. It's pretty scary right now. And I'm not even sure if that is the weirdest thing that has been going on.”
“A bookshop owner? Of what bookshop?” Karen asked. She had tried to brush off the idea that the tarot reader's murder had any connection to who she really was. If they were related, that meant Emily would be in danger.
“A shop here called The Cottage. I went there to find out about dream interpretation, like you said, actually. And I talked with a guy who worked there. I sort of became friends with him." She was getting sidetracked and far too comfortable with this conversation. “Anyway. The owner of that shop was found murdered, and they think it’s the same people that killed the other woman."
The hair on Karen's body stood on end.
“Mom?” Emily said. “Hello? Are you still there?”
Her voice cracked. “Y-Yes," she said. “I’m here.”
“What’s wrong?” Her mom was losing it again and she wasn’t surprised at all.
“Emily, I have to tell you something," she said.
“Okay,” Emily felt the conversation shift and she felt her stomach sink a little. “Dad said you were going to talk to me about something. What's going on?”
“Okay. Here is what I have been trying to talk to you about.” Karen took a deep breath. "Your father asked me about what had been going on with you, and told me he was concerned about the dreams you had been having,” she said.
“Yeah?” Emily replied. “You already told me that.”
“I know,” Karen said. “Well I don’t know if you remember ever hearing about any of the things your father and I used to fight about before we split up?”
Now she was talking about something from decades ago. Emily was lost. “Uh, no. I
don’t know. What are you talking about Mom?”
Karen took a deep breath again. “Emily, I practice witchcraft. I'm a witch.”
Emily felt like she stopped breathing. “Wait wait wait wait wait," she mumbled. “What the hell are you talking about?” Her broken and dysfunctional world with her mother was suddenly merging with her new life that had felt so full of purpose. She had to sit down.
“I know that you’re now finding your way into witchcraft too,” she said. “And I just need to be honest with you about something.”
“What. What are you talking about?” Emily asked. This was a new level for her mother. She had never dropped a bomb quite like this before.
“So I have told you that I’ve been worried about you. And I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure what I could do to help you.”
“Can you get to the fucking point, Mother?” Emily said flatly.
Karen continued. "I did two spells,” she explained. “I wanted to help you find your path. And I wanted you to find a true love."
Emily rubbed her forehead with her index finger and thumb, and she kept her mouth shut.
“Your father thinks that those spells are why you started having these dreams," she said. “I don’t know if I agree with him, but he thought it was important that I at least tell you.”
It just kept getting worse. “So you’re telling me that you put a spell- two spells on me!?” Emily asked. She started to laugh. She felt herself slipping into a kind of hysteria she hadn’t felt before.
“No,” Karen said. “I didn't put spells on you. I just did a couple of spells, for you. There is a difference.”
“What exactly is the difference?” Emily asked. Her voice was getting louder and she was only getting more upset.
“I didn’t feel like I was interfering with you so much as the universe itself,” Karen said. She sounded unsure of the thought as it was coming out of her mouth.
“What does that even mean!?” Emily cried.
“I. I don’t know,” Karen said. “Emily, I am sorry you are upset. But I was just trying to do what was best for you.”
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