by Cassandra
“That’s all right. I don’t mind.”
“No, you’re a guest here.” Jessica pulled the chair away from him.
He shrugged. “Well, if you insist. I guess I can’t argue with you in your grandma’s house.”
She smiled. “Right.”
Once she’d placed the folding chair at the table, everyone got themselves settled. Grandma Ethel and Pastor Norman positioned themselves at either end of the table while Chad and Todd sat on one side. Jessica sat across from them.
Ethel had whipped up a pot roast with green beans, macaroni and cheese, bread, and lemonade. As delicious as it all smelled Jessica could hardly focus on the meal. She filled a plate with food that she didn’t have an appetite for. She had eaten her fair share of cookies at her parents’ house. Everyone chatted around her, but all she could hear were the questions that floated through her mind.
“Jessica, are you all right? You look a little distracted,” Pastor Norman observed.
“That’s because she’s bursting with all the questions she wants to ask.” Ethel smiled knowingly at her.
He set his fork down. “Oh? Is that right?”
She stared at her plate, aware that her cheeks felt a little too warm.
Chad spoke around a mouthful of roast. “Since we’re all here, now’s the time to ask them, right?”
Jessica looked at her grandmother. “I don’t want to hijack the conversation or anything.”
Ethel waved her hand. “Girl, shoot. The more people to answer your questions, the merrier. It’ll save me some time later, I’m sure.”
“All right.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin although she had hardly eaten anything. Suddenly, she laughed and shook her head. “I don’t even know where to start now.”
“Well, what’s something you and your mom talked about?” her grandmother prodded.
She thought about the earlier conversation. “Well, she asked me if I knew what coven I wanted to be in, but I feel like I don’t really know much about that. Can you guys tell me about the covens? Like, what are they and what do they do, exactly?”
Ethel nodded approvingly. “That’s a good place to start.” She turned to Chad. “You’re the teacher and mentor. Do you want to do the honors?”
“Sure.” He cleared his throat dramatically and straightened in his chair. “There are thirteen covens in total, and each one has a certain specialty. Witches are typically born into one coven or another. In some cases, certain abilities develop over time. If that happens, a witch can request to join a certain coven based on whatever skills have manifested. Do you follow me so far?”
Jessica nodded. “Yeah. It sounds simple enough. What are the specialties of each coven?”
“Coven One is the nature coven. Coven Two is the earth coven. There are the air, water, ice, smoke, and fire covens. Eight is the lava coven, which is different from the fire, of course. Nine is the infernal coven. Ten, death. Eleven, life. Twelve, spirit.”
Her jaw dropped as she listened to him recite all the covens in one breath. “Will I have to have to memorize all of that?”
“In time but don’t worry. One day, you’ll be able to recite them in your sleep.”
Jessica wasn’t sure how true that was. She could barely remember what he’d said. The only one she could readily remember was Coven Ten. That was death, the one her mother had belonged to.
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “Wait a minute. Didn’t you say there were thirteen covens? You only named twelve.”
“Did you think you would get away with that?” Ethel chuckled and shook her head. “My granddaughter is too sharp.”
Chad grinned somewhat sheepishly. “Yeah. I meant to say twelve covens. I had sort of hoped you didn’t catch that.”
“So, are their twelve or thirteen? Which is it?” Jessica watched curiously as Chad and Todd exchanged glances.
“There are thirteen,” Ethel admitted.
Chad, Todd, and Pastor Norman all turned their gazes toward her grandmother.
“What? According to her mother, she can be informed about everything. There’s no point in hiding anything.”
“All right. What’s with Coven Thirteen? Is it evil or something?” Jessica asked.
“No.” Pastor Norman shook his head. “Coven Thirteen is the acid coven. And the truth is, no one really knows what happened to it. It disappeared many years ago without a trace. It’s become somewhat infamous, especially considering the number thirteen has always been unlucky. No one ever speaks about the thirteenth coven.”
Jessica blinked and wondered if he was serious. What could have possibly happened to the coven? “What happens to witches who develop the power of—what was it? Acid? What does that even mean?”
“It’s really not even worth mentioning,” Todd assured her. “And anybody with the power of acid? Well, they would likely keep it to themselves and train hard to develop another ability so they can join another coven. I suppose that’s their only choice unless they want to remain coven-less.”
She sat quietly and waited for more elaboration. When it was evident that no explanation would be forthcoming, she found herself simply praying that she did not have the power of acid. Whatever that meant.
“It’s all simple, really,” Chad continued and essentially ignored the mystery of Coven Thirteen. “A witch’s gifts align fairly neatly with their covens. For example, people from Coven One, the nature coven, can talk to animals.”
“Like talking to Grace?”
“No, that’s different. Grace is a familiar. All witches can talk to familiars. If you’re in the nature coven, you can talk to any animal, familiar or not.”
“So…like a princess in a Disney movie?” She chuckled, her inner child awakening. Talking to animals was an ability she certainly wouldn’t mind having.
Todd and Pastor Norman laughed.
“Yeah, something like that,” Chad agreed and grinned. “And so it goes. Earth coven witches have the ability to grow things like plants, vegetables, and fruit. The air coven witches can manipulate the wind and air. The water coven controls water, the seas and oceans. And so on.”
Jessica nodded along but was mildly disappointed when he didn’t continue down the list. She had held out hope that he would go all the way to the Thirteenth Coven but realized she should have known better.
“I’m from the Eleventh Coven, the life coven,” Grandma Ethel informed her. “So obviously, we concentrate on the living. The person-to-person stuff. Or witch-to-witch, rather.”
“Your grandma helps keep the magical world in check,” Chad explained. “There’s a reason she’s so revered.”
“Oh, stop it.” The old woman waved him off but Jessica couldn’t help noticing the serene look on her grandma’s face. She was reminded of how much Grandma Ethel loved belonging to her coven before she gave it up for her daughter’s sake. Still, Jessica had the distinct impression that her grandma knew she was still curious about Coven Thirteen and tried to steer her attention away from the subject.
“By any chance, did your mother tell you which coven she was meant to be in?” Ethel asked.
“Yes. Coven Ten. Death.”
A heavy silence settled over the table.
“Now you know why she gave up being a witch,” Ethel said gravely. “Her ability to see the dead was exceptionally strong. The Tenth Coven would have requested her sooner or later, regardless of how hard she tried to develop other skills and abilities.”
“I could tell she was uncomfortable talking about it, so I didn’t want to pry but what exactly does someone do in the Tenth Coven? I understand that they see the dead, but what’s expected of them?”
“They’re called to help with unruly souls. Lost souls. You know, to figure out what keeps them in this realm and prevents them from moving on. To assist them with unfinished business so that they can move on.” Ethel sighed. “It’s heavy work, but someone has to do it. That’s why anyone who possesses that kind of ability is pursued relentlessly by
the Tenth Coven. They need to build up their numbers. They need all the help they can get. You can’t imagine how many lost souls wander about the world. It’s overwhelming. Imagine the pressure your mother was under.”
Jessica frowned. On one hand, she understood the pressure her mother had been under. The mere thought of seeing the dead was disturbing to her. She didn’t blame her mom for not wanting any part of it. On the other hand, she wondered if she would have been capable of turning the tenth coven down if she had been in her mother’s position. On some level, she suspected she would have felt obligated to help if the coven needed her that badly.
“Your mother had a very tough decision to make.” Grandma Ethel’s brow furrowed as she stared at Jessica, likely sensing her thoughts. “Understand that an ability that powerful can be draining. A witch has to be in the right frame of mind to handle it. Otherwise, it will drive you insane. Your mother had to choose between loyalty to a coven that needed her but would likely have worked her to no end, or her own peace of mind. Her own sanity. I, for one, am glad that she chose herself. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
Her conflicted feelings were instantly resolved. If that’s what it came down to, she was glad that her mom chose to look out for herself. No one could be expected to help if they lost themselves in the process.
Chad cleared his throat. “Um. You don’t…uh, see dead people, do you, Jess?”
“No,” she answered quickly. She glanced around the table and realized that perhaps her curiosity about the Tenth Coven had been misinterpreted. “I don’t see dead people. Honestly, I don’t know what my ability is.” She stared at her plate of uneaten food—a little mangled now as she had held her fork and played with her macaroni without realizing it. “Should I be worried about not knowing yet? How long does it usually take for a new witch to discover their ability?”
“You don’t have to worry about that yet. You have time.” Ethel’s nonchalant voice made her feel better.
“Right. Not knowing immediately is perfectly fine,” Pastor Norman added. “You need time to think things through. It’s always best to see how your skills blossom before you choose or are assigned to a coven.”
“What coven are you in, Pastor?” Jessica asked when she remembered his offer to join the church as a demon hunter. She thought about the covens and tried to determine which of them seemed best suited to hunt demons.
“Coven Twelve. Spirit.”
She thought it over. “How is that different from death? Aren’t spirits and souls the same thing?”
Pastor Norman shook his head. “No, not quite. The Tenth Coven deals with dead people. Spirit refers to the otherworldly type, so to speak. The denizens of heaven and hell. The entities related to those realms are different from the souls that once belonged to humans. People tend to use the terms ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’ interchangeably, but there’s a difference.”
Jessica nodded. “Okay. That makes sense…sort of.”
“I get my strength from…you know.” The pastor pointed to the ceiling. “He guides me to fight the more problematic spirits that roam the earth.”
“I guess that gives me a whole new perspective on what it means to have a God-given talent.” She grinned. “That’s pretty cool.”
Pastor Norman chuckled. “Thanks. And yes, it is.”
Jessica shifted her gaze to Chad and Todd. “And what about you guys?”
“We’re in Coven Seven,” said Chad. “Roger too.”
Seventh Coven was the one Jessica had heard most about. The name had been tossed around ever since Chad and Roger came into her life and revealed the magical world to her. She looked at the ceiling and wracked her brain in an attempt to remember what the specialization for Seventh Coven was.
“Fire,” Todd told her before she could remember on her own.
Jessica sighed. “Fire. Right.” She looked at Chad. “I’ve seen the way your hands light up when you cast spells. Is that fire?”
“Yep. See, you’re getting the hang of it already.”
Her eyes darted from him to Todd. “Can you guys look at stuff and randomly set it on fire?”
Todd opened his mouth to answer, but Chad nudged him with his elbow.
“What? I’m not asking if you’re a pyromaniac or anything. I’m merely curious.”
“It doesn’t matter. We still won’t answer that.” He folded his arms while Todd obviously held in a chuckle.
“Oh, sure. That’ll get rid of her curiosity.” Ethel rolled her eyes, which spurred everyone to have a good laugh.
“Do you have any other questions?” Pastor Norman asked once the amusement died.
Jessica leaned back in her seat. “No, not right now. You’ve given me plenty to think about.” She grinned sheepishly at Chad. “Do you think you can write the covens down for me? I think I’ll need a cheat-sheet for a while.”
He laughed. “No problem.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Thank you for the meal, Ethel.” Pastor Norman took her hand and smiled warmly.
“Yes, thanks, Ms. Ethel,” the two younger men chorused.
The old woman winked. “No worries. It’s always a pleasure to have you fellas over for a meal. I’ll take any chance I can get to prove that I still know my way around the kitchen.”
Jessica could have sworn she saw a slight blush come over Pastor Norman’s face. She hoped she had only imagined it. He cleared his throat. “We’ll try this again tomorrow, then? Meeting with the rogue witches, I mean.”
“Okay. But don’t forget about me.” Jessica made eye contact with each of them in turn.
“We won’t,” Chad assured her.
“You know what?” Ethel suddenly looked at her granddaughter.
She blinked and hoped her grandmother wasn’t about to abruptly forbid her from going with them the following day.
“I might as well head out myself before it gets too late. I still need to get some items.”
Jessica was confused but then it dawned on her that Frank was still hanging out in her room, waiting to be healed.
“You should come with me, actually,” Ethel added.
Jessica nodded hastily, not wanting her grandma to elaborate while the others were present. She wanted to reveal her familiar to them, but the time still didn’t seem right. At first, she had worried that Frank might show up at an inopportune moment, but it now occurred to her that he probably wouldn’t want to be seen in his current condition. Maybe I’ll make the introductions after we take care of his bald spot.
With a wave of her hand, Grandma Ethel’s purse soared down from upstairs. She snatched it out of the air with ease.
“Where are we going, exactly?” Jessica asked. She was worried they would end up with the ladies from the knitting circle. Not that she had anything against the old ladies, but she wasn’t in the mood to be stuck sitting with them all night. She doubted they would be able to get the supplies they needed and leave without the ladies trapping her grandma with an hour’s worth of gossip. Plus, they would undoubtedly want to know what they needed the supplies for. She would be faced with the uncomfortable prospect of telling all the women about Frank the imp.
“We’re going to a magic supply shop.”
“A what?” That wasn’t the answer she had expected.
“A magic supply shop,” Ethel repeated.
“There are magic supply shops around here?”
“Of course. We may be witches, but we don’t produce things out of thin air, you know. Everything comes from somewhere. You can’t make something from nothing.”
Jessica had never quite thought of things that way before. “Still, couldn’t you have simply magicked the supplies to your house?”
Ethel raised an eyebrow. “If you become a witch, will that be your solution to everything?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. It seems convenient, that’s all. It’s not like you don’t do it.” She smirked. “I know that you steal—I mean, use magical catering—for dinner some
times.”
The old lady laughed. “Magical catering. Nice save. Anyway, when in the company of a witch-in-training like yourself, sometimes, it’s best to take the more traditional route. You’ll learn more that way. Plus, it’ll be your first time in a magical shop. I think you’ll find it an interesting experience.”
“Where is this shop? I’ve never seen it before.”
“How could you see it if you never knew it was there?”
“It’s hidden? Like, with a cloaking spell or something?”
“No. More like hidden in plain sight. Mundanes usually walk right past it and never think twice.”
Jessica looked out the passenger window. The sun was setting and only the faint lighting of dusk illuminated the streets. Plenty of buildings and shops had already closed for the evening and she wondered how many of them contained magical supplies. How much of the magical world had she been exposed to without realizing it? How could she be so ignorant of so much, especially when she had magical blood flowing through her veins?
Grandma Ethel stopped her car in front of what looked like an abandoned building.
“This is it?” she asked. She had expected Hogwarts or at least a big supermarket filled with witches waving wands around until their shopping carts were filled to their satisfaction. But this? She could only hope the place didn’t sell food because it certainly didn’t look like it could pass any health inspections.
Her grandmother smiled. “Sure is. Come on.”
Jessica glanced at the shabby building again and hoped fervently that there was more to it than what she saw. With a sigh, she got out of the car and jogged to catch up. She reached the door and Grandma Ethel held it open for her. A bell chimed above them.
She gasped. While the outside of the building couldn’t have looked more rundown, the inside was the exact opposite. She gaped at the high ceilings, which were lined with floating aromatic candles. The whole place smelled like a combination of pine and cinnamon. Intricate designs were carved into dark, mahogany walls. They looked like hieroglyphics or runes of some sort.