Broken (The Immortal Coven Book 1)

by April Gutierrez

  Dmitri walked back into the room, knowing it was better to keep the talk simple, “Kyle and Valerie are on their way. It’s best we leave the explanation to a one time briefing.”

  “What does Kyle have to do with this?” Lisa looked from Dmitri, and back to me, asking a question that neither of us should answer.

  The doorbell rang, bringing the two of us to our feet. Our eyes affixed to the wooden door.

  “I’ll get it.” Dmitri offered. “It’s them.”

  It was incredible how quickly Lisa ran past us and into her mother’s embrace.

  “Oh, Mom!” she cried into Valerie’s shoulder, the sob quickly following.

  “I know sweetheart, you’re fine now. I’m here.” She soothed her. I could sense that Valerie was using magic to calm Lisa. Her essence was seeping into the room, stretching out towards me.

  Kyle walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. The oddness of the moment, left me stiff, wary of returning the gesture. When he pulled away, the awkwardness was written all over his face.

  “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it. I owe you at least that.”

  “You don’t owe me anything, Kyle.”

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong.” He started, turning to catch Valerie’s staring at us, with Lisa still in her arms.

  “He’s right, Celia.” She spoke clearly. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I was looking for Dmitri, and felt funny. Everyone seemed to disappear, the campus became empty, and then I felt this sensation I’ve never known before. It was almost like I needed to light a candle to keep from being stuck in the dark. When I turned around I panicked. That thing had Lisa and I flipped.”

  “Dmitri said you used a light spell.”

  “I don’t know how it happened, exactly. If that is what you call light shooting out of my hands, then yeah, I used a light spell.”

  “That means, whatever was holding Lisa was of ancient dark magic.” He paused, looked at Valerie for a moment before asking, “How did you know to use that spell, Celia?”

  Of course he would ask me something I couldn’t answer, didn’t comprehend, nor could explain.

  “I don’t know, Kyle. Before I realized it, I was saying a spell I didn’t understand, and Lisa was free.”

  The front door burst open and Olivia looked like a train wreck ready to demolish anything in her path.

  “This is just getting out of control.” She hissed under her breath closing the distance between her and myself, before pulling me into a hug.

  “Girl, you need to stop making my heart skip and dance like this.” She whispered into my ear.

  When I pulled away, I looked directly into her hazel colored eyes, “I’m sorry, and today wasn’t my fault.”

  Her lips pierced together and it was obvious she was holding back tears. Her head shook several times as she walked back into the kitchen to take out a drink from the fridge.

  Kyle pulled my attention back to the others in the room. “Dmitri, Valerie, she needs to know.” He stated clearly, looking at me to see my curiosity level.

  Dmitri didn’t say a word, he didn’t make eye contact with me, and he walked to the window and stared out into the yard.

  “Tell me what?” I asked Kyle, my question directed at Dmitri being that he was avoiding eye contact.

  “Augusta was not taken by Kalvati. She chose to be with him.” He admitted, his words slow, and his cold tone sent the shiver down my spine once more.

  My reaction mirrored a child’s who couldn’t relate to something. I squinted my eyes and raised an eyebrow. “Why would she choose to be with someone of such dark forces?”

  They didn’t have a response to my question, but how could they, the idea alone incomprehensible. Kalvati, the evil being of our generation, had done innumerable acts of cruelty to the witches of our world and she chose to stay in his company.

  “I don’t understand what is going on. Why would Augusta do this to us?” Lisa asked, filling in the pieces as she heard us speak. Her mother had revealed this world to her, only recently, and in the short time she’d come to know the truth of her heritage, she’d already been placed in a dangerous predicament.

  “No, she isn’t capable of using the shadows to travel like his demons can. She can appear but her powers have not been that strong in decades.” Kyle tried to help Lisa keep up.

  The more I thought about Kalvati and Augusta, the more I felt pity for her. “Maybe she didn’t choose him at all. Maybe he seduced her using a love spell.”

  My suggestion had Valerie sitting up off the back of the sofa. “Why would he chose her if he wanted to seduce a witch?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Because your coven is only as strong as your weakest link. If she hadn’t been in practice recently, her skills could have even taken a steeper dip, and if that is the case, she would be the most susceptible to simple spells against her.”

  “Aerok would have noticed, if she was being stalked by a warlock of dark magic.” Kyle defended his fellow protector.

  “Would he?” I threw back, “He’s been so busy keeping tabs on Perri that it might have slipped his care. Look at what happened today with Lisa. It’s not the first time a protector chooses to protect their future charge.”

  Dmitri turned swiftly in my direction, “It is a choice we must make when the mother Witch becomes barren,” he snapped, the nerve instantly struck.

  “Fine, it is a choice, but in times such as these, all things must be considered.” I argued back.

  With all eyes on me, I made one simple fact known. One I had realized just last night while looking through my mother’s book. My book!

  “The fact remains that any and all coven magic must be done with only coven witches. One can only be a coven witch after their predecessor has been taken to the hereafter. Death is the only succession.”

  “And your point is?” Valerie refuted.

  “My point is that the only spell strong enough to close the realm of shadows is a coven spell and without Augusta, we can’t cast the spell. The veil between our two realms stays susceptible to dark magic using the shadow demons as they wish.”

  Valerie’s body slowly sat back down on the sofa, never once leaving my glare.

  “So you’re saying we can’t cast any spell strong enough to keep them out?”

  “That is precisely what I’m saying. It was what I was going to tell the entire coven counsel; it’s what I’ve been researching since…” I paused, looking to Dmitri, “since I realized I shouldn’t do coven magic with Lisa.”

  Kyle and Dmitri both found a seat on one of the sofa’s to sit on.

  “Without Augusta, it doesn’t matter what Kalvati does. We are limited to the spells we can protect ourselves with, and to fight him with.”

  “You two are not going to school tomorrow. Anabel will have to stay back with Jezabel as well. We just have to get passed the next few days.” Dmitri said nothing more. He walked out of the house and I didn’t see him again that night.

  Kyle looked at Lisa, “I’m sorry about today.” He offered his sentiment obviously genuine.

  “I don’t know how you do what you do, so for that, I have nothing to complain about. There is nothing to forgive.” Her face softened and she directed to her attention to me, “besides, Celia was there.” She half heartedly smiled at me.

  “How did you know that you couldn’t do coven magic with Lisa?” Valerie asked, noticeably stuck on my previous statement.

  The events of today began to wear on me, I felt week in the knees so I found a seat on the opposite sofa next to Kyle.

  “Ciara warned me I shouldn’t do coven magic with anyone other than my witch sisters. I thought it would be fine with Lisa but the exhaustion I felt after we cast the spell on the Shadow demon at the farm made me realize there was something wrong.”

  “You never mentioned speaking with Ciara.” Kyle blurted out plainly.

  “I didn’t think I had to.” I raised my voice at him.

  Valerie
shook her head, “You don’t but interactions with the immortal spirit are very rare. I haven’t heard of any of our generation witches being in her presence.”

  My shoulders raised and fell with nothing to say. I don’t know why Ciara would choose me to communicate with. Maybe it’s because I’m of her blood line, maybe it’s because of Dmitri.

  “Kyle, I think it’s time to get home. Lisa needs to rest and we have last minute packing to do.”

  Her last statement caught my attention, “Packing?”

  “Yeah, packing. Due to the circumstances, the council meeting is being held on home ground, in Europe.”

  “Wait, Dmitri didn’t tell me all this.”

  “He has been a little busy, Celia.” Kyle sassed.

  “Sheesh, I guess I need to go pack too.” Turning on my heels, caring less how they made their way out.

  The council meeting is in two days and I had nothing ready. She said Europe too…Where in Europe? What’s the weather like where we are going? Too many factors that would make a difference in what I pack.

  Passing Olivia in the kitchen, on my way to my room, I asked, “Have you already packed for this thing?”

  “Sweetie, I’m not going with you. This is a trip for you and Dmitri to travel on alone.”

  “What? I can’t go by myself, with him, to another country.” I gasped, “That’s insane!”

  She chuckled at my response, which of course, is what all parent types would do when their teenager freaks out.

  “You will be just fine, Celia. Just think of this as practice. You turn 18 in just a few short months. You have your whole life ahead of you, and eventually deep pockets to travel the world, if you choose.” Her arms reached out and caressed my upper arms. “And besides, Dmitri will be there. Maybe this time away from everything will help you decide what direction you want to take your relationship.”

  I blinked at her, understanding everything she was saying, but more pleased that she was looking at me as a young adult and not a child.

  I pulled her into a hug and thanked her.

  Back in my room, I took my cell phone from my pocket and opened a text message to Dmitri:

  ‘Where in Europe is our gathering? I need info to pack.’

  Almost instantly, he shot me back a reply:

  ‘Oxfordshire. Pack for cold weather, the council meets late in the evening.’

  Great! Cold weather, my favorite! The sarcasm was filling me up completely.

  ‘Thanks’

  Mentally making a list of everything I needed to pack, and other things I needed to research, I found it harder to concentrate.

  You’re exhausted. Go Rest. Dmitri’s command made sense.

  Lying down was the easy part; the resting part didn’t work out so well. I lied there with my eyes wide opened, replaying the events at school. The cloaked figure haunting my thoughts.

  Who could have been attempting to kidnap Lisa? And why? The way it moved suggested that it was human, nothing like the shadow demon from the farm, but the glowing eyes made me wonder.

  My bedroom door crept open, my heart jolting for fear that it, the ‘would be kidnapper’, was about to get me. My eyes widened and I flinched before I realized that it was just Dmitri.

  “I’m sorry, did I scare you?” he asked, coming straight to the side of my bed, kneeling on the floor next to where I lay.

  “I’m a bit jumpy, I suppose.”

  “It’s no wonder with what you went through today. Is there anything I can do?” he asked, his voice soft and sweet. It was a nice change from the stressed out version of him from before.

  “You can hold me, maybe then I will be able to rest.” I suggested. The request not something I would typically think of, but in this case, I’m sure his embrace would soothe the nerves that hadn’t gotten back to normal.

  “I think I can do that.” He sat on my bed and waited for me to mold into his body. It was incredible how strong I felt when he was near. It wasn’t just courage, it was a trust I had never felt before.

  “How’s that,” he asked, rubbing my upper arm?

  “It’s nice.”

  “Can I ask you something without you getting upset?” he started, his voice a little shaky.

  “I suppose I could try.” I offered in return, curious why he began the conversation like that.

  “Today, when you noticed I wasn’t waiting for you, how did you feel?”

  I didn’t have to think about the question, I knew exactly how I felt, “I felt lost, like I had the first day of school, alone, and with no one on my side.”

  “That’s how I feel when you bring up your mother’s accident.” He admitted his voice deep with emotion.

  My head tilted towards him, “I don’t mean to bring it up, Dmitri. I needed to make a point to Valerie. She was baiting me and the only way for them to get what I’m saying is by stating the facts.”

  “The facts to whom, Celia,” he said calmly. “It’s not the facts; it’s how you perceive a situation, a decision that was made under difficult circumstances.”

  “You know what I mean, Dmitri. I have to explain the importance of weighing out those choices made under ‘difficult circumstances’ how you say.” I put my head back on his chest and inwardly begged that he change the subject.

  “Where did you go when you left earlier?”

  “I went to see Trisha and Wanda. The cloaked figure must have cast a spell on them to send the message to each of us separately. Neither of them remembers a thing.”

  “So we are back to square one.”

  “Not necessarily. You know what our weakness is. That is a big deal when going into a battle, especially if they don’t know that we know.”

  “Is it true that Ciara doesn’t call on just anyone, that no one from our generation has been summoned by her?”

  “Who told you that?” his voice a little louder.

  “Valerie and Kyle were asking how I figured it out, so I told them that I had spoken to Ciara.”

  “It’s true, she hasn’t seen anyone in a great while, but not true about your generation. Ciara called on your mother several times in her lifespan.”

  “What did they talk about?”

  “Kalvati.”

  His name stirred up an unsettled feeling in my stomach. “His name makes me feel sick.” I admitted.

  “He has done a lot of harm to witches, and I suspect even to your mother.”

  “He sent the monster to cause the car accident, didn’t he?”

  His hand moved in a more vigorous manner, “Yes, and we should talk about something less depressing.”

  “How about the dance?” it was the most random happy thought I could conjure.

  “Really?” his eyes rolled, causing a giggle to erupt from my throat.

  “Yes, really, you know you are taking me.” I informed him of his boyfriend duty.

  Shaking his head, “What are we going as?”

  My shoulders shrugged, “I don’t know, Princess and Prince sounds good to me.”

  “No, zombie and vampire like the rest of your age group?”

  “Well for starters, I never was into that new aged unrealistic vampire rave, and second of all, the undead is not a group I’m really interested in resembling.”

  “So sophisticated,” he teased.

  “What other way is there to look at it? All things supernatural are completely different from everything humanity has been told to be.”

  “Comes with the territory, my love,” he sassed back.

  His choice of words halted me in my tracks however. I didn’t bring it up, but I’m sure he realized the tension using the L word created.

  “Fine, prince and princess, it shall be. Should I rent a special type tuxedo, like the kind I use to wear when there were such things as royalty?”

  Funny, but I could imagine him playing a prince in a far away land, living up in a castle with his guards and his court vying on his every word.

  “If you can find one, it would be great. I
know exactly the dress I’m going to wear. I’m just not sure it’s going to fit.”

  “What dress are you talking about?”

  “Mom’s vintage lace gown, the one she said she wore to a masquerade ball the night she met my father.”

  In one sentence, I included my dead mother and presumed dead father, it pushed me into a preverbal dark hole. Immediately I felt a sadness I hadn’t experienced.

  “I know that dress, but you are about your mom’s size, why wouldn’t it fit?” he asked, unaware that I was fighting back tears. I’d taken to holding my breath to avoid the worry. My attempt was futile, however. Eventually, I had to take a deeper breath to compensate.