by K. C. RILEY
“They, as in Alexei,” Josie teased. “She’s got it bad for him.”
“What? I do not.” Cassie blushed as she threw her pillow at Josie’s face.
“Hey,” Josie squealed.
“What I am trying to say, is that after everything that happened with my dad and everything they’re doing for him now, I’m not sure where I would be without The Society’s help.”
“Don’t get me wrong. The Society has got lots of perks too,” Josie said. “I mean who doesn’t love Fallen venom? Studying and acing tests are a no brainer. Not to mention the cars, the clothes, the exotic trips, and a big fat allowance to go with it all. One of which you should be...”
I watched almost hypnotized as Josie ran the vial of venom at her neck back and forth across her chain.
“Are you listening?” Josie asked, perturbed.
Only a couple of drops and maybe my powers would kick in too. “Sorry. What?”
Josie sighed. “Your allowance. It should be kicking in soon.”
“I don’t understand.”
Josie’s face brightened. “Every student in The Society gets a car and a hefty allowance to live off of.”
That explained where the girls were getting the cars and the money. I never forgot Mrs. Ellington’s personal stylist, Jean-Stephan Le Broc (real name James) telling me how he and Josie were neighbors in a trailer park an hour outside of Shadowick. How her parents tried to trade her for meth was just wrong.
“Oh, and the Witch’s Balls and the gowns are all to die for. It’s a whole new world. One better than the one I came from. You’ll see,” Josie continued.
My brain throbbed. I couldn’t process another thing. Especially, not another ball or gown. I also couldn’t stop eyeing the vial of Fallen venom Josie was still playing with around her neck.
“There’s a plethora of opportunity with The Society. But it comes with a cost.” Cassie pulled out an envelope with a broken red seal and handed it to me. “This was my first assignment. Normally, once you open and read them, they burst into flames and disintegrate. A security measure. I found a spell to hack the system and save it. I wasn’t quite sure why I felt like I needed to until meeting you. If I ever got caught—”
“Right. Memory swipe.” My first thought was why take the risk? Regardless, I opened Cassie’s letter.
The art of sisterhood is a dedicated one. Be a friend to a sister in need. You’ll know her when you see her. Trust your instincts, your cards, and spirit guides. They will save you both!
-The Secret Society of Souls
The letter then ignited as they usually do and I threw it in the air where it completely combusted.
“I’m still working on the hack,” Cassie said.
“The cards?” I asked.
“Yeah. My tarot deck.” Cassie reached for the lavender sachet that was on her blanket and pulled out her cards. “Using them along with my spirit guides is one of the gifts of the venom.”
There was no argument there. Cassie had saved my life back in Sir Isaac’s crypt.
“I wanted to tell you,” she said. “I swear.”
“Same,” Josie said. “I don’t have a hacked letter like Cassie. It’s gone. But my assignment was to pretend like I was interested in Zander and report anything strange or weird back to The Society. That meant, of course, snubbing the guy that I actually did like. Mason. The twerp grew on me. I wanted to tell you and I would have if I had known just how dangerous Zander was. I’m sorry. Really. I had no idea the guy was a Vamp.”
“None of us did,” Cassie added while shuffling the deck. “Mason and Boyd got letters too. That’s where Mason got that stupid ghost story about Sir Isaac and Boyd the map to that abandoned witch’s gravesite.”
“By the way,” Josie added. “You know those stupid blogs someone kept posting about you and Jake being all in love?”
“You mean the ones that put me on Meghan’s hit list?”
“Uh. Yeah.”
“Let me guess. Mason?” Those blogs had Mason’s tricksy fingerprints all over them.
“Yeah. He’s totally sorry. Another assignment from The Society.”
Of course it was.
“I swear none of it us knew what the other was up to until you joined,” Josie continued.
Hearing my suspicions about everyone coming to light was troubling. And not because of the girls or Mason’s stupid blog, or Boyd. It was The Society itself.
“Doesn’t that all seem a bit manipulative to you?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Cassie said. “That’s why we wanted to talk. That’s the way of The Society. Textbooks are traded for real-life training. Like what the crap do you do when you’re being held captive by the spirit of a deranged water conjurer and a water collar that could snap your neck in half? I was shitting bricks the whole time your aunt held me captive, wondering how the hell we would get out of it. But, we did.”
“Or kidnapped by a Vamp,” I said, completely irked. It was like we were all puppets and it was The Society that was pulling the strings.
“The truth is, despite all the great stuff The Society has done, it’s still dangerous and secretive,” Cassie said. “We’re always on edge. And honestly, I trust it about as much as you do.”
“The same. I think that’s the way they want it,” Josie said. “Us to be on edge and ready for anything.”
“Back at the cabin, it wasn’t my dad that I didn’t want you to tell anyone about. It’s the power that came through me and Josie we need to keep under wraps. You made the right call with Alexei. He can be trusted to know what to tell The Society and what not to. It’s the other students and teachers in the organization I’m not so sure about. Everyone is already on edge about you joining the group. There are some that believe you’re here to save magic. And others that believe you’re here to destroy it. And let’s just say the ones that think you’re here to destroy it aren’t happy about it.”
My throat knotted at finally hearing the truth. “And what do you think?”
Cassie set the deck of cards down. She then rubbed at the marks she used to cover with makeup at her wrist, the one’s she got from her father. But there were no marks.
“I don’t understand,” I said. “What happened to your scars?”
“They’re gone. Healed. Ever since the cabin. Josie and I have been talking about it, me channeling the element of air, and her, earth. It wasn’t natural. And the energy wasn’t coming from us. It was coming from you.”
“Me?”
“There’s way more to you than The Society is letting on,” Josie said.
My throat went dry as I thought back to the wall paintings of Eve, Adam, and Gadreel. My fingers curled tighter into the palms of my hands as Mr. Johnson’s words burned inside my head, Queen of Hell and Shadows.
“We all know you’re the reincarnation of Eve. We’ve all seen the fresco,” Cassie continued.
I’d gathered as much based on Sarah’s concern in identifying the binding spell my first day of witch school. It was like she was scared of me. Or something inside of me.
“We just didn’t quite believe it until now,” Josie added. “The conjuring of wind and earth at the cabin. It’s like you’re some kind of catalyst to magic.”
“Magic that hasn’t been seen in centuries,” Cassie added. “Maybe you really are here to save it.”
“Or maybe you’re here to completely destroy it,” Josie said bluntly. “The magic that came through felt dark. Cassie almost killed her dad out of fury. Which leads us to the elephant in the room. You being The Queen of Hell and Shadows. Lilith. The end of all life as we know it.”
And there it was. “That’s not true.” I snapped. “And you can’t blame me for Cassie’s anger.”
Cassie glanced at Josie. “She’s right. The anger was all me. But the power that inflamed it, I think it was you.” Cassie pulled a card from her deck and turned it over. “The Empress.”
“And what does that mean?”
“Watch the card
,” she said.
I glanced at the smiling Empress with a crown of stars at her head, a scepter in her hand, and the sun shining behind her.
“Look deeper,” Cassie stressed.
I had no idea where this was going until the pictures on the card animated. The sun behind the Empress darkened to night as the crown of stars at her head flickered in flames of black fire. The Empress’ eyes transformed to tar. And her once peaceful smile was now something beyond sinister. The royal garments she wore became clinging faces of shadows that literally moaned and wailed as though they were being tortured and held captive to her body.
“What the hell?” I said fully prepared to join Meghan in the psyche ward.
“Keep watching,” Josie said.
In the next second, the sun was back up. And I swear there were birds chirping from the card. The Empress was bathed in light. The crown of black fire returned to illuminating stars at her head. She was radiant, magical, and beautiful. But it didn’t last long. The card kept morphing in and out of darkness and light. Life and death, as though the seasons of both were out of whack.
“What does it mean? And since when do your cards do this?”
“Since the cabin. I don’t know what it means, exactly. But every time I ask if you’re the beginning or the end of magic, this is what I get. The Empress in both her light and shadow.”
“Cool, huh? The whole animation thing,” Josie said.
I glared at her.
“There’s more,” Cassie said shuffling the deck again. “It doesn’t matter how many times I shuffle, I pull the same cards.” She picked a card from the middle of the deck and flipped it over. “Ten of Swords. Betrayal. You need to be careful with who you trust in The Society. We all do.”
A man was happily walking and whistling through a field of green pastures, when out of nowhere ten daggers flew into the flesh of his back killing him dead to the ground.
“Jesus. Do they have to be so graphic?”
Cassie shrugged. “Like I said, I think you’re here to save magic, not destroy it. But, for everyone’s safety, I think its best we keep what happened at the cabin between us. That means from here on out, we need to tell each other everything. No more secrets. Even if it means getting our memories swiped.” Cassie glanced between me and Josie. She then made a fist with her hand and stuck it at the center of us. “Truce,” she said.
Sure, I was deliriously in denial, beyond spooked, paranoid, and agitated, and not at all keen on a memory swipe, but Cassie and her cards were more than convincing. If she and Josie were just as concerned about who they could trust in The Society, then I was all in.
“No more secrets,” I said, placing my hand on top of her fist.
We both stared at Josie hesitating to join in.
“Kidding. You guys are so sensitive. I’m in. I mean, who cares if my mind goes to complete mush or if it’s the end of the world, life, and all magic as we know it? Besides, I’ve got the perfect outfit for both occasions.” Josie placed her hand on ours. “No more secrets.”
I took my pillow and threw it at her head. And that turned into one mega pillow fight. Even though we laughed until I thought I was going to die, the idea of being Eve or Lilith, or both, weighed on my shoulders. I wasn’t evil. At least, that was my hope.
The bouts of giggles quieted. There were still some things I wanted to know. “So, can you guys still conjure?”
“Not a thing,” Cassie said. “I mean, other than the moving picture cards. Like I said, that’s never happened.”
“Nada,” Josie offered.
“At least you’ve both still got Fallen venom. Just curious, why isn’t The Society stricter in supervising how much you guys can take?”
“Easy,” Cassie said. “One too many drops and you end up like Meghan in an institution. The Society is big on the whole you’re old enough to govern yourselves kind of thing. They pride themselves on the honor system.”
“Noted,” I said, still curious. “But, what would happen if I took it? Not that I’m saying I would. I’m just asking.”
“Honestly,” Cassie said. “I don’t know. I mean, you’re a conjurer.”
“Yeah. But you guys showed conjuring powers and you’re both on the venom.”
“Yeah, but we’re not conjurers, let alone natural witches,” Josie stressed. “It’s like we’ve been saying, we think those powers came from you.”
“There’s still too many variables we don’t understand,” Cassie said. “I almost killed my dad, and it turns out he was innocent the entire time. Whatever power took over, it consumed me in rage and darkness. If you’re thinking about taking the venom, don’t. Not until we know more.”
I sighed. After seeing what Cassie almost did to her dad I nodded. Maybe they were right about the venom.
It was late. The clock read 3:23 a.m.
Cassie yawned. “It’s way past my bedtime.”
I felt the same, but there was so much more I wanted to know. “Just one more question. How on earth are you guys doing it? Keeping your grades up for school, studying magic, staying up late, and waking up looking like goddesses?”
They both looked at each other and smiled. “Fallen venom.”
“Right. Of course.” I tried not to sound disappointed in already knowing that that was exactly how everyone in The Society was doing it. Everyone, but me. “I don’t know, I just feel helpless,” I continued.
It was then and there that I finally told the girls about the demon in my dreams that was holding Jake captive. How he had been beaten close to death. And how I was sure he was running out of time.
“Don’t worry,” Josie yawned. “We believe you.”
“And we’ll get him back,” Cassie added.
Minutes later, both girls had conked out and I still couldn’t stop staring at the vial of venom around Josie’s neck. As exhausted as I was, who could sleep knowing that the answer to possibly helping Jake was only a few feet away?
Fallen venom.
8
I sat comfortably on a lime-green gothic sofa with my legs crossed Indian style. The velvet-like fibers shuffled back and forth underneath my fingertips. A large book with symbols, spells, and incantations was open on my lap. There were others of the same nature scattered across the old coffee table in front of me. I was looking for something. What? I wasn’t sure. More than that, I wasn’t alone.
A man’s fingers interlaced with mine as my heart pounded with guilt because it wasn’t Jake. Unable to wake myself from the dream, I couldn’t stop the sensations of something raw and untamed coursing through my blood.
Soulful gray eyes and dark wavy hair moved warm currents of electricity down my arms and out of my fingertips. The stranger was...Kai.
Before I could stop him, his beautiful lips had already warmly pressed against my own. Everything about the kiss was wrong. Dangerous. I tried to break away from his lips, but couldn’t. He was that delicious.
I pushed the book of magic out of my lap and curled up closer to Kai as he kissed me deeper. The heat of his hand inched up my thigh and stirred a hunger that should have stayed buried to the darkest corner of my being.
Kai sweetly parted his lips from mine. His dimpled smile was pure, innocent, and thoughtful. I wanted more of it, more of Kai, and pulled him back into me for another kiss, one that was wildly stronger and deeper, if that was possible.
I was so...hungry.
There was no end to it, the black hole inside of my heart that craved to be fed and filled.
Kai moaned like he couldn’t breathe. I tried to stop myself from sucking what felt like the life force from out of him, but I wasn’t strong enough. By the time I was done, Kai’s beautiful body was nothing more than a brittle corpse.
My eyes blackened over as the darkness inside of me took full control of my body, laughing at me insanely like Meghan had in the psyche ward.
I woke up hollering in a sweat in my room. It was just one awful horrible dream.
The girls, I rememb
ered. Embarrassed, I glanced over at the floor to see if Cassie and Josie were up. Thank God, they had already gone. There was no way I wanted to explain to anyone what had just happened.
I looked at my phone. 7:38 am. Twenty minutes left to get to class. I couldn’t keep going like this. The dreams, the stress, the lack of powers. There had to be another way.
The thought of draining Kai dry until he was nothing more than bone and ash hovered over me like a vulture waiting to swoop down.
“It was just a dream,” I said over and over. “Just a dream. You’re nothing like Norah.”
My mental breakdown over sucking Kai’s soul from his body was cut short when my phone beeped. Aunt Vye.
Hey sweetheart, I know you’re busy.
And I hate to ask.
But I could really use your help this weekend.
Can you work?
The truth was, no. I needed every minute I had to find a spell to unbind my powers and get Jake back. Sure, The Society and the other students were helping, but why not step in to move things along?
I tried to focus on the text when kissing Kai’s full lips flashed across my mind.
I was nuts.
“And this is wrong,” I said out loud.
I hated myself for even thinking about it. I mean, Jake was who I wanted to be with.
Whore, harlot. Queen of Hell and Shadows. Mr. Johnson’s words bounced off the walls inside my head. What if he was right? While Jake was fighting for his life and being tortured by God only knew what, I was having sex dreams about someone I was never attracted to in the first place. Then again, maybe I was.
“Pull it together.” It was only a stupid dream. Just a whole bunch of crap from the days and weeks past mashed up into one big ball of mess sitting in my subconscious. Nothing more. If it was good enough for Freud, it was good enough for me.
The more I thought about it, the more there had to be a way to do it all. Help Jake, help myself, and help Aunt Vye.