Clash Of The Covens

by Martha Woods

  Calla knew Flora wasn’t going to respond to it. She didn’t really blame her, Calla had no idea how she would react if the tables were turned. If they were human, it would be the equivalent of being forcibly adopted into another family and moving across country—never able to return home. The Firehaven clan would never accept her again. Tears started to fall from Calla’s olive eyes, but she did her best to keep her crying from bleeding into her voice, “Yes… The Calder actually is closing in on Tessa, and the vampires don’t have enough people to match their numbers. We need help.”

  “Well, you’re in luck,” Flora sighed. “We’re already on our way to you.”

  “What? How… How do you know where I am?”

  “I managed to poke around your thoughts when you were dreaming the other night, and found out you were in New York. I figured once we were close enough, I could try and reach out to you again to get an exact location. There are five others with me. Honest to God, I was preparing for the worse… But all this…”

  Calla’s brow knitted together, sitting straight up. “Wait, where are you heading from?”

  “We were at the compound in Minnesota. Why?”

  Calla was going to be sick. Was it possible that the Calder had known about Calla somehow, and were following her sister to get to Calla, to get to Tessa? “The Calder was first spotted in Minnesota… Just hours after that dream, Flora. You need to be careful, but try and act like nothing is wrong. I don’t think they will attack you guys since they need you to lead them to us. Can you contact the others and try and get as many witches as you can?”

  “We’ll keep our eyes out for them. If I spot them, I’ll let you know. And I’ll call Mama and see if she can rally some witches. If they really are following us, I can try and buy us some time.”

  “Thank you, Flora… I love you.”

  “I love you too. I gotta go.”

  Calla put his phone to the side and finally let out a sob she had been holding back for most of the phone call. Jared pulled her to lay down, holding her tightly as she cried it out.

  * * *

  Tensions were high in the apartment. Needless to say, Kristian wasn’t taking it well that the Calder had possibly been following Flora to eventually get to Tessa. He blamed it on Calla, saying she should have known better than to think her family wouldn’t try and find her. With the Calder and Firehaven being mortal enemies, it was far too likely that they managed to figure out Calla was with Tessa. Calla couldn’t argue with his logic. She should have thought about it logically and for the safety of Tessa, rather than letting her emotions get in the way. At least the Firehaven were willing to help, it appeared to have calmed Kristian a bit.

  Calla and Tessa stayed up through the morning and into the early hours of the afternoon, focusing on controlling Tessa’s mind-reading abilities. It was very likely that the witches would try and get inside her head to weaken her, so Tessa needed to learn how to block out thoughts. The first step was the same as firebending—meditation. It was becoming easier for Tessa to do so since they had practiced it so much in prior days. The challenging part was actually learning to put a wall up between herself and the flow of thoughts around her.

  Borrowing Jared’s phone, Calla used the internet to play white noise sounds, hoping that it would help Tessa tune the thoughts out. “I’m sure you’ve tried all your life just to ignore thoughts. It’s hard to master how to do it all the time without having to put effort into it, but I’m hoping we can get you to the point where you can forcefully block them out. So if a Calder witch gets near you, you can protect yourself mentally as well,” Calla explained. “You actually probably already know how, to an extent. It’s kind of like the equivalent of being so focused on something that you tune it out. Just more extreme to where you don’t hear it at all. So, listen to the white noise while you focus on everything but the guys’ thoughts.”

  “It’s a little hard, Kristian,” Tessa called over to her boyfriend, her eyes still closed. He was distracting her with his thoughts. Calla could tell when Kristian’s thought pattern changed by the look on Tessa’s face. She inhaled several deep breaths as she tried to obey Calla’s instructions.

  There was total silence for a solid hour while Tessa attempted it. As the minutes ticked by, Tessa was growing more and more frustrated. “This just isn’t going to work,” Tessa grumbled. “I’m starting to think I don’t have the capability of blocking out thoughts. I feel like I’ve tried everything over the years, and I’m getting nowhere with this.”

  “Every witch can, Tessa. Don’t get so disheartened. It took me five years of practice when I was a kid to master it. You have to remember what you’re accomplishing is no easy feat. Learning what you already have with firebending is more than impressive, believe me when I say that. Let’s try a couple of more things, and if it doesn’t work, then I can make you a charm that blocks thoughts.”

  “Wait, you can just make a charm?” Tessa questioned. “Why in the hell didn’t we just do that forever ago?”

  “Because they don’t last forever. Thought charms are only good for a few hours at a time before they wear off. You don’t want to become dependent on them because of that. It’s better for you to try and master the technique,” Calla explained.

  Tessa let out a dramatic sigh, “I understand… This is all just giving me a headache.”

  “Okay, okay. Let me try just one more thing, and then I’ll show you how to make a thought charm.”

  She nodded, “Alright. What do I need to do?”

  “Lay back,” Calla instructed. Once Tessa laid flat, Calla perched on the edge of the couch. “I’m going to try a spell. There’s no guarantee it will work, and there’s also the possibility that you won’t be able to read thoughts at all until I undo it. Are you willing to try it?” Tessa nodded at her. “Okay. Close your eyes and meditate. It won’t work if you don’t.”

  When she could visibly see Tessa relax, Calla began the spell. It was an old spell, to the point where it wasn’t in English, but a dead language unique to their clan. She muttered the words of it quietly, gently tracing shapes into Tessa’s forehead as the spell required. Once she was done, Calla thought: Can you hear me, Tessa? Calla waited a moment, noticing Tessa wasn’t replying.

  “Did you hear that?” Calla asked.

  “Hear what?”

  Her brows shot up, surprised that it had worked so easily. “Really? You didn’t hear my thought?”

  Tessa’s eyes popped open, staring up at Calla with a bewildered look. She then gazed around the room. Kristian was sat on the other couch, slumped over as he dozed; Jared was in his usual spot in the corner, his head leaned to the side as he slept as well. Must have been boring watching them meditate for hours on end. Tessa looked back to Calla, “Think more,” she said excitedly, wanting to test it more to be sure it worked.

  Calla then started an inner monologue, rambling mentally about nothing particularly important.

  “Are you actually thinking out loud? Are you sure you don’t still have your mental block up?” Tessa asked in a whisper, apparently shocked and in disbelief that she didn't hear anything.

  “I swear I’m thinking out loud. If you can’t hear it, then it’s definitely working,” Calla smiled to her.

  “This… this is unreal,” Tessa breathed, sitting up. “I’ve tried everything I can think of to block out thoughts. Just with one spell… it’s gone?”

  “You had to be open to it for the spell to work. Thankfully, witches can’t just use it against you. I’m surprised it only took one attempt too, though. Normally the mind has some reservations about having all thoughts blocked out. You must have seriously wanted them gone.”

  “Definitely. I didn’t want to hear Jared’s stupid chanting anymore,” Tessa grumbled.

  Calla couldn’t help but laugh, “I understand that entirely. He’s pretty adamant about his mind not being read.”

  “Very,” Tessa sighed.

  “Just know that this is the equivalent of
a band-aid. This is by no means the way you should stay. Reading minds is extremely helpful and almost vital for the survival of witches. You need to just continuously practice the exercise we were doing, and hopefully in time, you’ll start to get the hang of it. Over time, it’ll be so easy that you’ll do it without thinking. Then you’ll have to actively try to read someone’s thoughts,” Calla explained as simply as she could. She felt as though she were just reciting things she had heard in class. “Also keep in mind that it can also wear off. Magic can be very arbitrary and finicky at times. Let me know if it does, and we will do it again. I’ll also make you a charm before the Calder get here, just to be on the safe side.”

  Then, unexpectedly, Tessa threw her arms around Calla and pulled her into a tight hug. “Thank you so much, Calla. You don’t know what this means to me,” she whispered.

  A sweet, genuine smile curled Calla’s lips, “You’re welcome. I’m happy to help.” She hugged Tessa back, patting her back in a comforting manner.

  Tessa pulled back and sat back. “I guess that’s about it for the night, huh?”

  Calla’s gaze shifted to Jared sleeping in his chair, “I suppose so.” She started to stand, “Have a good—”

  Catching Calla by the hand, Tessa whispered, “Could… could I actually ask you about something?”

  She hedged, wondering what exactly it could be that Tessa wanted to know. Calla hoped it wasn’t about her and Jared. That wasn’t a conversation she was willing to have, especially when Kristian was sleeping just a few feet away. Reluctantly, Calla sat back down and said, “Sure. What is it you want to know?”

  Tessa nibbled nervously on her lip. Calla could sense her anxiety over whatever it was she was trying to say. “Earlier, when we were in the basement, you said my mother would have been proud… Did you know my parents?”

  Calla frowned. She should have guessed that would be what Tessa wanted to talk about. “Well, I’m just a few years older than you. I was three when you were born. So I don’t recall a whole lot of first-hand knowledge, but I know stories. Our mothers were best friends. One of the only memories I have of your mom was her bringing you over right after you were born.”

  “Really?” Tessa breathed.

  She nodded, “It wasn’t exactly a joyous occasion. My mom sent me to my room to play, not wanting me to overhear what they were saying… Your mother, Esmeralda, was terrified of the Calder being able to find you. My parents were the ones your mom asked to place you in a human family.”

  “Esmeralda…” Tessa repeated, as though to see how it felt in her mouth. She shook her head, refocusing. “What else can you tell me? Did you know my father?”

  Calla paused to find the words to explain it, knowing that if she didn’t explain it properly, it would just confuse the poor woman. The last thing Calla wanted to do was confuse Tessa about her own past. “Like the prophecy said, you were born of two clans. Firehaven and Calder. Your mother was being formally courted by a man from another clan, the Wyrde. As I’m sure you know, there are no male witches. However, sons of witches are married off to other witches daughters to keep them full-blooded.

  “Anyways, the only reason Esmeralda was letting the man from Wyrde court her, was because she was secretly seeing the son of a Calder witch. Your dad’s name was Cedric, I believe, and the other man was Julian. She knew it was dangerous, but I suppose love is a crazy thing. When she got pregnant, she made it appear as though Julian was your father. Your birth was basically fulfilling that prophecy, and she didn’t want people to know that the Calder was the other half of your lineage. Our own clan could have potentially turned against you.”

  “I see…” Tessa breathed, having a hard time to process everything Calla had just told her. She was quiet for a while. Calla couldn’t even imagine what all must have been running through Tessa’s mind. “How… how did my parents die?”

  “The Calder caught them together. Our clan thinks your mother was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was killed because of it.”

  “And your family has kept this secret, all these years after she died? Why?” Tessa asked, her eyes lifting to look at Calla.

  She shrugged, “We loved your mother, and we would never want any harm to come to her daughter. It isn’t your fault you were born with Calder blood, so you shouldn’t be criminalized for it. We want you safe.”

  Calla could tell Tessa was becoming overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions tumbling around in her head. She could feel Tessa’s gratitude, sorrow, longing, and feelings that didn’t even make sense to Calla. Putting herself in Tessa’s shoes was impossible. She couldn’t begin to understand how Tessa hadn’t actually lost her mind yet. Growing up being told she was crazy for being able to read minds, then within a few short weeks finding out that she’s not only the witch, but the child of a High Priestess and her mortal enemy… Calla would have been in a padded cell for sure.

  Tessa stood slowly, a somber look coming over her, “Thank you for telling me all that. I… I think I’m going to go to bed.”

  “Good night,” Calla called to her softly.

  Tessa walked over to Kristian and nudged him awake. After he woke up, he stood from the couch, put an arm around Tessa and stumbled his way to bed. Calla sighed softly, slouching in her spot. That had been exhausting, but at least they had figured out a solution to her mind-reading dilemma. She was sure that they would continue to work on honing her ability to block thoughts, but for the time being, they could move onto other things that could help her when the Calder arrived.

  “You’re so kind to her,” Jared spoke suddenly.

  Calla glanced over to him, “How long have you been awake?”

  “Long enough,” he replied. Standing from the couch, Calla paced over to him. Jared pulled her down onto his lap, “It amazes me how patient you are with her.”

  “I wish I had more patience. I’m not a great tutor,” Calla mumbled.

  “Don’t sell yourself short. You’re doing a great job for the amount of time you have,” Jared assured her.

  She gave him a small smile, her fingers fidgeting with the top button of his shirt. “Well, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he purred, “Let’s get to bed.” In a swift motion, Jared stood with Calla bridal style in his arms.

  “My legs work, you know,” Calla joked, though she laid her head on his shoulder.

  “I don’t need you blacking out again from exhaustion,” Jared defended even though the slight smile on his face told a different story.

  * * *

  There was a knock on the bedroom door, just a couple of hours after Calla and Jared fell asleep. “Guys, you need to get up,” Tessa called through the door.

  Jared lifted his tired head and glanced over at the window, “It isn’t even dark out,” he grumbled, noticing the sunlight illuminating the thick curtains slightly. He then glanced down to Calla, who hadn’t budged at all. His cold fingers glided down her arm, “Calla, you need to wake up,” he purred to her.

  A groan escaped from the back of her throat. Exhaustion was like an elephant sitting on her chest. She still hadn’t caught up on her sleep from days ago, and she had a sinking feeling she wasn’t going to until the fight with the Calder was over. That’s if she even walked away from the fight. Before her dark, woeful thoughts could continue, two chilly arms wrapped around her and pulled her from the bed. Calla giggled lightly as he swung her around before placing her feet on the floor. His lips brushed across the side of her neck, a chill running through Calla as it brought flashbacks of him feeding from her just a couple hours ago in their throes of passion. They couldn’t keep their hands off one another for long it seemed.

  “I'll sleep one day,” She peeled away from him and dressed in an emerald green skater skirt and a long sleeve black blouse. Calla pulled her hair up in a pony tail and slid on her shoes before walking to the door with Jared.

  They walked into the living room to find Ally and three other vampires with her. Before any introduct
ions could be made, Calla felt something shift in the air around them. She looked up to Jared to find his eyes narrowed as he glared straight ahead. Following his line of sight, she noticed the guy with chocolate brown hair and dark brown eyes staring right back at Jared. Calla could feel anger and bitterness radiating from both men, but Jared had some pain as well. Whatever the two fell out over, Jared was not the victor.

  “So what exactly is going on?” Kristian asked.

  Ally cleared her throat, gesturing to the blonde man, “This is Gabriel,” then pointed to one with olive skin and wavy raven hair, “Antonio,” and finally the brunette who was staring down Jared, “And Nolan. “These guys need a place to stay. My place is filled to the rafters with vampires. I'm assuming it would be okay for them to stay here?”

  “Of course. We’ll make it work somehow,” Kristian nodded.

  “Is there any sort of exchange policy?” Jared asked Ally, though his eyes never left Nolan.

  “Play nice, Jared,” Ally tutted at him. “I’m sure the two of you can put your differences aside for a couple of days, can’t you?”

  He sneered, which made Nolan smirk. “I’m willing if you are,” Nolan cooed, his voice laced with condescension.

  Jared finally ripped his eyes away, “Fine,” he stifled through gritted teeth.

  Calla wondered what all that was about, getting the idea that perhaps Nolan wasn’t to be trusted. There had to be a valid reason why Jared was angry with him. “Now that’s settled, I need to get going. My connections are saying they’re still two days away. We’ll head to the house outside of the city the night before they are meant to arrive.”

  “Thank you, Ally,” Kristian nodded.

  Ally nodded and headed to the door. As soon as the door closed, Jared moved away from Calla and sat in his usual spot in the corner. Calla figured it best to leave him alone, knowing there was no way he was going to open up about what was going on between Nolan in front of everyone. Clearing her throat, Calla spoke to Tessa, “Is the spell still working?”