I was horrified.
"You all want to turn me over? You think that will fix everything?" The words were barely a whisper as I stared at them with narrowed eyes.
Not one of them met my eyes.
"We couldn't use our magic today. How can we keep our children safe? If we give them what they want, maybe they'll leave us alone," a small voice said. It was the voice of a woman I would have called my second mother.
Tears started to slip down my cheeks as I stared and watched Bess's mother Caroline stand and move toward us. Creases lined her forehead, but she had spoken with such confidence about her decision.
"Mrs. Abernathy? You want me to die?" I could barely get the words out.
She stopped, her eyes widening before a reply passed her lips. "Of course not, but Victor is right. They came for you. And we have to keep the coven and our children safe. I have to keep Bess safe." A toothy smile lined her face as she reached towards me. "You understand, don't you? I'm just trying to keep my baby safe."
I flinched away from her, which seemed to confuse her. Her eyes went to my father, who gave, whose features twisted with horror, although he still kept Victor from getting any closer.
"What?" she screeched. "You would do the same thing, Brantlee. Don't give me that look."
"You are weak, Caroline. Weak and feeble, and for some reason I am not surprised to see you here. Where is your husband? Does he agree with you too?" Becca asked, taking a sidestep to plant herself in Caroline's path.
Caroline grimaced before her stare met ours. "Colin went to the Stratan house to help Bess with research. I am being more proactive. I want this dealt with. Give her to us Brantlee. Then we can end this madness. Everything can go back to normal then." Caroline spoke as if trying to appease someone.
She thought it was perfectly reasonable. In her mind, everything would be right as rain if they gave me up.
"Nothing would be normal Caroline. My daughter would be dead, and the Great Divine would not be pleased with losing one of her new Elemental Royals." My father spit the words out. They all flinched at the reminder of the Great Divine’s words. "Or are you forgetting that little piece of the puzzle? Do you want to go up against the wrath that is the Divine?"
She gulped, refusing to meet the gaze of my father. "She would forgive us," she whispered. "She would forgive—"
"She would forgive us this transgression because we would be saving the coven." Victor shoved against my father.
"She would not forgive this Victor, and all of you delude yourself if you think otherwise," Becca hissed. “She said to take care of them and train them, and most of you were still there to hear that. So, don’t try to act as though you know nothing of what I’m talking about. You would be going against the Great Divine. Above and below, you’re going against her right now by even discussing this!”
"I wish I could just have a place to hold them all so we could do what we needed to. We're running out of time," Braxton said.
"Agreed," I answered him.
“I can hold them if you wish, my Elemental Royals,” a voice whispered. Everyone froze, their gazes darting around the room.
"The house again," Becca breathed.
"If you would be ever so kind to do so, I would be very grateful," I replied after gulping.
“So shall it be,” the voice replied “They will not be able to leave this room.”
The shrill sounds of panic were almost overwhelming.
"What in the Great Divine was that?" Caroline shrieked, looking wildly around the room.
"The demons are back! They've come to kill us!" Victor screamed, and with a burst of strength, he pushed past my father and reached for me. "I'll give you to them and everything will be okay."
The room was massive chaos. There was no better word for it. There must have been a back door to the room because the others that had been seated tried rushing to it, but they couldn't leave. Just as the house had said. They would not be leaving.
Victor managed to grab my forearm and there was a tug-o-war game between him and Braxton.
"Lemme go!" I screamed.
Victor's eyes were wild in his growing madness. I watched as Jordan fought his own father to get him away from me, and my heart broke a little at that. One should never have to fight with family, especially like this.
"Let her go, Dad. It's not demons. It's the house. Stop this madness!" Jordan managed to haul his father away, but not before a snap from my arm rang through the air.
I cried out, cradling my arm to my chest while Braxton shoved me behind him to protect me. Victor was still screaming at Jordan to let him go, yelling about demons and letting them have me. Caroline was huddling in the corner of the room in a fetal position, sobbing for it all to just be over.
Victor managed to get an arm free from Jordan’s grasp and he flung an undirected spell toward me. My breath caught. This is how my world ends. Dying by the hand of my ex-boyfriend’s father. But the blow never landed.
"Becca!" my father exclaimed as she started to fall to the floor.
Jordan and my father were holding a struggling Victor. Braxton raced forward and caught Becca before she hit the floor.
"I've killed her! I've killed her. We'll be safe now. I'll get my boy back!" Victor ranted, his eyes manic.
"Oh, Dad ..." Jordan sobbed as he held his father. "What have you done?"
Chapter Nine
I looked at my father. "Do you have him?" I asked. He nodded at me before his eyes focused on the man he held. Closing them, he murmured something I couldn’t understand, however I felt the magic in the room gain momentum before Victor fell silent.
"Just a suspended animation spell. One I haven't used in a while but it should hold him. Help me get him to the lounge," my father told Jordan, who swiped the tears that streaked his cheeks as he nodded at my father. They lifted him, spreading him on the lounge.
I rushed to Braxton, who was holding Becca in his lap on the floor. I didn't see any blood but that didn't mean anything. She had taken a magical blow. It was probably all internal and we couldn't see it.
"Why? Why would you do that?" I asked her.
She gave me a pain-filled smile, as she reached up to touch my cheek. "Because it was the right thing to do. You will save the coven, of this I have no doubt." Hope lit her features.
Tears streamed down my face. "But you are the leader of this coven. You need to be here. I'm nobody," I whispered to her, and she lifted her hand to my cheek.
She coughed, and it sounded horribly painful. "That's where you are wrong, my dear. You are the new generation of witches. You are a weather witch and you and your beau are the new Elemental Royals, so says the Great Divine. Who are we to gainsay that?"
You can save her ... I heard Regan's voice in my head. You're an Elemental Witch and have your balance. You can heal with your combined touch. Close your eyes and search out the injury. Save her! Show these old curmudgeons the true power of a Weather Witch.
I nodded as her knowledge flooded into me. I looked to Braxton's searching face.
"We're going to heal her. We're elemental royals, and by the Great Divine, we will not let her die," I vowed. Braxton nodded back. “Maybe I can fix my own arm at the same time. I think he broke it.” I grimaced.
"What do we do?" he asked.
Becca passed out. My father and Jordan came closer.
"We focus on what's causing her the most issues first, and we move on from there. Anything that shouldn't be part of her system will be eradicated. Air and water elements are the main part of our living being, so we'll use those two elements the most," I said.
"Two of my favorite elements." Braxton grinned at me.
"Good, you can guide them best. Mine has always been fire, so I'll use that to eradicate the spell."
"How do you start?" Jordan asked, kneeling on the floor beside us and helping Braxton lay Becca down more gently. My father put a pillow under her head.
"Dad, make sure none of these idiots interfere, wo
uld you?" I glanced up at him.
"They wouldn't dare," he growled, standing sentry over us. Between my father and the house, I had no doubt there would be no more magical attacks against us.
"She took the spell in the stomach, so focus there," I uttered. It was then everything went into hyper-focus, as if I was diving into the being that was Becca. Right into the cells of her being.
Now to find the spell and heal her.
We found the black spell that was turning her insides to rot, and I attacked it with fire while Braxton used air and water to heal her. As it were, we were storming the castle and we took no prisoners. What seemed like hours later, we came back to ourselves, doing a triple check of Becca’s wounds to ensure we’d gotten everything.
Both Braxton and I were rather faint after, but I managed a weak smile.
"We did it," he spoke softly.
"We did."
“How’s your arm?” he asked, concern clearly written on his face as he moved closer to me.
“Not broken. Sore still, but not broken anymore.” I moved my arm to show him as I leaned into him for support.
"Only true Elemental Royals have been known to heal like that," Mason Wilcox said, reverence and awe plain in his tone. He was an older man and had been part of the coven his entire life. "We were wrong. This was all wrong. We are stubborn and stuck in our ways. We're just afraid and wanted this to go away. Can you please forgive us?"
I glanced at Braxton, who shrugged, before my gaze fell on Mason, who shot an earnest look back at me. He really wanted my forgiveness and right now I wasn't sure I could give it to him. Not yet at least.
"I honestly don't know. I truly don't. This has gone too far. Becca almost died. We were coming here to get something to help us in the fight against Willow and her father, and you've taken up more of our precious time. The time we need to save Nick and get the great book of the coven back," I said, notes of disappointment strong in my voice.
He had the grace to look ashamed as he glanced back at the others, who were at his back, and nodded at them. It was as if they had a silent conversation in one glance. I was stunned when they all got on their knees before us.
"We bow to the will and power of the Elemental Royals that the Great Divine has graced us with." His voice was powerful and commanding.
I know I sputtered as I stared at him and the others. Braxton did the same, though he managed to move closer to me and pick up my hand in his.
"We graciously accept at this time, but this will have to be dealt with later. Right now, we have demons to kill and people to save," Braxton said, and the authority in his voice was stunning. I was blown away by the power behind it. I loved it. I couldn't have said anything better than what he had.
"Of course. Of course," Mason said.
"How much time has passed?" I asked, anxiously glancing at my father.
"We only have about ten hours left," he muttered.
"So much time has passed," I said in a whisper.
"But so worth it to save Becca and to heal your arm," Braxton said while he squeezed my hand in his.
"Absolutely." I managed to give him a weak smile. "Let's get to the vault, shall we?"
"You all go through that archway there. The house will guide you anyway. I'll stay here and take care of Becca," my father said to us.
Braxton, Jordan, and I stood and followed my father's directions. The house was indeed showing us the way. Lights lit up and went out to guide us, leading us straight to huge, intricately-carved doors.
"Let's do this shall we?" I looked at Braxton.
We both reached for the door that had no handles at the same time. Our hands glowed as they touched the wood, the magic radiating out and up through the door. The house let out a chime and the doors opened.
Chapter Ten
"Now what?" Jordan asked.
I actually giggled. "We go in and find the pickaxe. Then we head home and hope to the Divine that the others have figured out where and how we can defeat Willow and her father."
Jordan looked to Braxton, who shrugged. "What she said."
Jordan shook his head. "You're whipped, boy."
Braxton laughed. "Happily so. The answer is still the same. We go in."
I rolled my eyes. "Both of you are idiots. Let's go. We're running out of time here. We need to figure out how to use the charm, too. Forgotten magics are the hardest to figure out. "
Braxton turned somber. "Let's go."
We stepped into the room. It was like going on a treasure hunt and we had just stepped into a great adventurer's wet dream. The room was filled with artifacts, gems, coins, books, and statues—everything one's imagination could think of.
"Oh, sweet goddess. Where do we even start to look for it?" I breathed, eyeing the room.
"I have no idea. Is there a way to track it at all?" Braxton asked as he too still eyed the room of artifacts warily.
"Good question. As Elemental Royals can we just ask the house to show us where it is?" I asked.
“What do you seek?” the house asked.
"Guess that answers that question." Jordan chuckled.
"Go ahead," Braxton said to me.
"Can we please have the pickaxe of Regan Fall, please?" I asked. I felt stupid talking out loud and not to anyone in particular.
“But of course. One moment, Mistress.”
Jordan scoffed. "Mistress? That is a riot."
I giggled myself but slugged him in the arm all the same. "Shut up," I hissed. "Play nice with the house or it might eat you up!"
"It could do that?" Jordan turned wide eyes at me.
I shrugged, still trying not to laugh at the look on his face. "Why not? It's keeping the other coven members stuck here. Why couldn't it hide a body or two?"
Jordan looked like a fish out of water. Braxton was trying not to belly laugh, his entire body shaking as he tried to hold it back. I snorted, trying not to laugh myself, but it came spilling out anyway.
"Y'all are jerks. You know that right?" Jordan frowned at us.
"Well, yeah. But you love me anyway." I smirked at him.
He sighed, arms folding over his chest as he tried to give me a stern look. "I guess so."
I was going to say something else when there was the sound of movement. We all faced the other end of the long room. It was like watching a wave rolling in, but it was a wave of magic and took the shape of a form who held the pickaxe as it came to an abrupt halt in front of us.
“The pickaxe of Regan Fall,” the house said and gently dropped it into my outstretched hands. Braxton touched it too, and the axe split into two pieces.
I cried out in dismay, then watched in fascination as the pickaxe pieces turned into swirling pieces of silver and wound their way down and around our fingers, turning them into rings upon our index fingers on our left hands.
“How do we use them?” Braxton asked, spinning the ring to look at the ever-changing magical symbols that swirled upon its silver surface.
“I have no idea,” I replied as I too gazed at the ring on my finger.
Without asking, a rush of magic swept through the room and the house produced a book, placing it in Jordan’s hands this time.
“The history of the charms and how to use them. There is even a quick spell to learn how to use them in an emergency.” The house was starting to sound more and more like an older male voice, and a completely sentient being at that.
I cocked my head to the side at that thought. “How should we address you? I feel silly calling you house.”
Braxton and Jordan both gave me a questioning look.
“It has been many a year since anyone has even bothered to ask or even talk to me. Thank you, Mistress. You may call me Bridges.”
“Are you a witch integrated within the house, or are you actually the house?” I truly was curious.
What sounded like laughter rumbled through the house.
“Never you mind what I am. Just know I am here for you and your consort. You have things
to get done. Come back and we shall talk then.”
I’m sure I gaped. I had just been put in my place by a house!
“You’re a consort! That is a riot, Brax!” Jordan belly laughed. “Consort ... is that like a paid gigolo?”
“I’m going to kill him. Yup, later …” Braxton muttered under his breath.
I giggled as I took his hand, tugging until I had his attention.
“You will always be mine,” I brought his hand up—the one that had the ring on it—and kissed it.
Magic again ran through the house.
My, how quickly things can change, I thought. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Eleven
When we left, Victor was still fast asleep on the lounge, the other members working themselves around the room. The being of the house assured me that they would not be able to leave, but also that they wouldn’t starve or anything like that. This house was amazingly self-sufficient.
Bess’s mother stopped us before we left. My father gave her a disgusted look as he carried Becca out of the room. Caroline touched my arm to stop me.
“Sky, wait!” She flinched away, removing her hand when she saw my face. She had some dignity and grace to look remorseful.
She refused to meet my eyes as she spoke. “What are you going to tell Bess?”
I floundered. I really wasn’t sure what I would say to my best friend. Did she think her mother was here helping me? Was that what Caroline had told her daughter? It broke my heart on a whole-nother level that Bess would find out that her mother was willing to make a deal with demons for her best friend in hopes that the demons would leave the coven in peace. Peace was not in the demons’ vocabulary.
“I honestly don’t know, Mrs. Abernathy,” I answered.
Her head snapped up at my formal use of her name. I hadn’t called her Mrs. Abernathy since I was little. No, she had been Caroline or Mom number two for a long time.
“I am heartbroken to think that someone I would call my second mom would even consider for a second that it would be a good idea to give me up to demons. To deal with demons.” I shuddered, holding up a hand when she started to protest, which made her close her mouth. “I don’t know this woman in front of me anymore. The woman before me is a stranger, and I have more important things to do than stand here and debate things with a stranger.”
Magic Underground: The Complete Collection (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 4) Page 203