by E. M. Moore
“Stop this!”
Jax glanced at me, his eyes hard. “I would’ve, but I just can’t. You guys keep saying I brought it on myself. That I was the one who made those poor decisions to get me stripped. Okay. What if I give you that? Let me ask you a question. If Norah did the same thing, would you have marked her?” He was silent for a beat. “I can see the truth in all of you. You love her. You’re more bound by the coven magic than we ever were. So yeah, maybe I am feeling petty. The truth is, you wouldn’t do the same to her and now that she’s here, you wouldn’t do the same to one another if one of you decided to turn evil. Case in point? When Liam had the familiar on him. None of you told the Order. None of you. You handled it as a coven.”
My gut sank faster than a drop on a massive roller coaster. He was right. I couldn’t imagine doing anything like that to Norah, or to Liam, Gabe, and Randy.
But we’d done it to him.
23
What everyone failed to realize in that blip of a heartbreaking second after Jax’s woe is me speech was that none of us would do what he did. We all understood the consequences. We knew what we could and could not do and none of us would put the others at risk to do something like that. Ever.
I nudged Randy with my hip. He looked down at me and I inclined my head toward Dean. We needed to get the familiar off him and take care of Jax. The superiors were coming and that was a good thing.
While Travis said something to Jax, I lowered my voice to Randy. “He said you can’t help me with your magic, but you guys can help Dean or…” I motioned toward Jax. “…take him out. Do something. Just do it with the intention of hurting Dean, not for saving me.”
None of this perpetual conversation with Jax was good for anyone. We were just spinning around in circles with no end in sight. Jax was upset at how he’d been treated but wasn’t willing to take responsibility for anything. The only person that would fall for that was Travis.
Before I could make sense of what was happening, Randy sent a blow to the ground at Jax’s feet. It knocked him on his ass. Then Randy yelled to Liam to get Dean. Travis just stood there. I could see it in his eyes that the world around him was imploding again, but there wasn’t time for any of us to dwell on it.
The air in the barn changed. Power crackled around us and Dean cried out as the familiar on his neck started to move violently, almost coming off his skin without fully making the jump. The hair stood on my arms at the familiar feeling of power. The superiors were here.
Jax sat up, shaking straw out of his hair as Walter and his coven descended on us.
Walter turned to take in the scene in front of him, looking unaffected when he noticed it was an old Order member. “Jax.”
Jax roared. He sprang to his feet and sent a dark magic blast at Walter’s chest. Walter blocked it, sending it flying into an unhinged plank of wood just barely hanging on the wall. The plank not only disintegrated, but there was now a huge hole in the side wall.
It didn’t faze Jax. He kept coming after them, sending magic after magic at Walter and his coven. My skin tingled at the epic fight revolving around us. Randy pushed me back into the corner, shielding me with his body. I wished I could get these damn magical cuffs off. I hated not doing anything, but worse, not being able to defend myself if I needed it.
Jax threw his hand out and Dean let out a roar of pain as the familiar jumped off him and right into Jax’s palm. It turned to ink on his arm and slithered up under his shirt.
Walter gasped. “He owns the demonic familiar.”
He and his coven took up a defensive stance during that short moment. Dean fell to his knees and Liam pulled back on him, bringing him over next to Randy and I, out of the way of the fight.
Walter and his coven closed their eyes. The surge of magic in the barn escalated by about a few hundred decibels and then energy crackled in their palms. Travis’s eyes widened. “No!”
The superiors let the whip of magic out. It went flying, straight toward Jax.
All of us saw it too late. We didn’t realize Travis would take a step forward. That he would turn that step into a run. That he would then throw himself into the path of that magic that made my eyes hurt.
It hit him in the shoulder and he immediately slumped to the barn floor.
“Travis!”
I shoved Randy out of the way and sprang forward. I ran and dropped to my knees in front of him. With my hands tied behind my back, all I could do was bend at the waist. His hair was standing on end and he was pale again. His face was unmoving. I dragged my attention down. His shirt was singed where the magic ball hit. I stared at his chest, waiting for it to move, but it didn’t. I leaned down, my heart in my throat, and placed my head on his chest, praying for any type of movement. I wasn’t sure what Walter and his coven had thrown but it wasn’t something to be messed with.
I stared up at the elder coven, my eyes wide with fear. “What did you do?”
They weren’t even looking at me. Their gazes darted around the barn. They shouted orders at one another and then dispersed. I only had to look inside myself to realize that Jax was gone. I could no longer feel him in my stomach like I had earlier. Travis had stepped in and allowed Jax to get away.
I stared down and nudged his body with my knee. “Travis? Come on, wake up. Please, wake up.” I stared up. Liam, Randy and Gabe stood over me. “Do something,” I pleaded.
Liam was the first to wake up. He fell to his knees right beside me and checked Travis’s pulse on his neck. A sickening few seconds went by until Liam’s eyes closed in relief. “He’s alive.”
All fight left me. I careened on top of him, my head laying on his chest where I blissfully felt it move underneath me. Maybe I’d just been too scared before to feel it or maybe he was just now breathing, I wasn’t sure. Whatever the case, it didn’t matter. Travis was okay. He was stupid, even brave, but okay.
Walter stuck his head back in the barn. “You three with me,” he said, pointing at Gabe, Liam, and Randy. “You, stay with her,” he instructed Dean.
Randy tensed, but he did as he was told. The rest of them followed, looking back at me and then at Travis. Walter ground out instructions at the mouth of the barn as Dean crawled over to me. “Is he going to be okay?”
“I think so. Are you?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Norah. I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t mention it,” I said. “It was the familiar. We all know that.”
I tugged on my restraints again, but it was no use, they weren’t coming off without magic, of which I, and other people, could not do without hurting me.
Dean noticed my struggle and frowned. The djinn walked forward. I hadn’t even seen where he went in the midst of everything, but he must have hidden somewhere. Dean stood, his gaze narrowing at the djinn as he appraised him. He looked down at me afterward. “I think he’s back to normal.”
“Jax must’ve gotten to him.”
Dean stared at the djinn and lifted his chin. “I wish for you to remove the restraints from Norah’s wrist. …. without hurting her.”
The djinn looked at me, his eyes widening as he stared. Suddenly, the wrist restraints fell off me as if they were mere pieces of yarn that got caught and unraveled. I pulled my hands in front of me and stared down. My bracelet was gone and there was an epic ring of red around my wrist, but at least I had my mobility back.
I looked up at the djinn. “Thank you.”
He didn’t look half so frightening now. His features were subdued and even though he still had every bit the appearance of a monster, he didn’t scare me. Not in the least.
“You better send him away,” I told Dean. “I don’t know what Walter and the others will do if they see him.”
Dean nodded, then turned to his family’s secret weapon. “I wish for you to go home. Tell Father that I’m okay and that I’ll be home shortly.”
The djinn disappeared.
I placed my hands on Travis’s chest. Feeling the life underneath me stir. I closed my eyes and
wished for him to recover. I may not have access to a djinn, but I had access to the love growing inside me and Granny always said that love and compassion could do more things for people if they learned to lead with those first. My palms tingled and burned. Before I realized it, the healing powers I’d felt before flowed out of me and into Travis.
He woke up.
Coughing, he struggled to sit, but Dean and I were right there. I pushed his shoulders down and told him not to move.
He stared up at me and I just stared down, shocked. I couldn’t believe he’d risked himself to save Jax. Why would he do that? He got himself hurt for someone that didn’t care about us at all. He must’ve known what was on my mind because he said, “Forgive me.”
I rubbed his arms, not knowing how to respond. There wasn’t anything to forgive, I just didn’t understand. “He’s not the friend you had, Travis.”
He looked away, staring at the ceiling. “I couldn’t let them hurt him.”
This was a conversation for another day when he wasn’t lying on the ground of a barn in the middle of nowhere and my wrists weren’t bruised and throbbing.
Liam walked in. Travis sat up, staring at him. Liam shook his head. “He got away.”
Travis looked relieved. Walter and the rest of his Order joined us right after. Dean stood, pulling himself up to his full height with that same Reid attitude that said he was above others.
Walter didn’t even look at him though. He strode forward. Gabe and Randy parted for him as he made his way to Travis. I looked from Walter to Travis, sure he was coming to see that he was alright. That whatever shit ton of magic they’d thrown at him hadn’t killed him or even injured him permanently.
He reached for his forehead and I still didn’t think anything of it. How many times had Granny put her hand to my forehead to see if I wasn’t feeling well?
Instead, though, Walter stood over him, his hand on his forehead, his lips moving. A moment passed, and I still didn’t understand the gravity of it all until his words filtered through my brain.
“By the power of the Order of the Akasha, a trial has been set to prove your worthiness. If you be true, let light live within you. If you be false, may the light flush out any darkness. To thine own self be true.”
“What the fuck?” I lunged toward Walter, but Randy held back on my arm.
Walter took his hand away from Travis’s forehead. He glared at me, then looked down at Travis. “You know better than to interfere in Order business, Travis Shaw. We have to test you now.”
“Test his worth? Are you insane?”
Travis reached back, grabbing my fingers in his, careful not to touch my hurt wrists. “It’s okay, Norah.”
I looked up, incredulous. Liam shook his head at me, and the others, too, were silent. Did they know this was going to happen? Did Travis know that as soon as he threw himself in front of Jax this would be the outcome, and yet, he still did it?
“I understand,” Travis said, staring up at Walter and then at the other four members of the elder coven. “I’m confident in what the trial will prove.”
My stomach twisted, but Walter and his coven just turned away. When they hit the exit of the barn, Walter looked over his shoulder. “Meet you at headquarters.”
Stomach rolling, I wanted to stand up and scream obscenities at their backs. What were they thinking? Travis was—
Travis squeezed my fingers again. “I’m okay. It’s just a precaution.”
“It’s bullshit is what it is.”
I couldn’t even be happy that we had all escaped the clutches of Jay, most of us unharmed, once again. What about Travis? What if—? No, I wouldn’t even let myself think that what happened to Jax could happen to Travis.
Randy helped Travis and I up and we made our way to the Jeep. We were a bit squished with Dean in the backseat, too, but I sat on Gabe’s lap to help accommodate him.
Travis blew out a breath. Through the rearview mirror, I could see the Order of the Akasha sign on his forehead and it made me want to vomit. Maybe I was just fiercely overprotective, but there wasn’t any need for this.
“Where do you think Jax went?” Travis asked to no one in particular. His question hung over us all like a dark cloud.
I locked my jaw shut tight. I wanted to say, ‘Who gives a fuck?’
Travis should be worrying about himself right now, but his mind was still on his old friend who wasn’t even a friend anymore.
He found my gaze and his green eyes seared into mine. “I know you don’t understand. Just trust me.”
I looked away. I didn’t know how to respond to his hope-filled gaze when I’d just seen that someone he had all the hope for try to hurt us, Travis defend him, and then ultimately, Travis being the one in trouble now instead of the one who deserved it.
Travis’s reaction cut into me. Maybe this was why I’d never had many friends. Maybe I didn’t care enough.
Or maybe I didn’t understand what Travis was going through because I’d never had a childhood friend like Jax. Was that bond truly that special? Something you’d risk your own life for? Even after they’d turned on you?
Chapter 24
Walter handled the trial. It was different from the few others I’d seen Travis do. For one, now he was the one standing before the coven of masters, being judged.
I knew who Travis was. I just hoped the Akasha did too.
We were at the bigger Order of the Akasha headquarters by the wharf. The walls were still singed in black from the epic showdown with Dupre. My coven sat on the side while Walter and his coven stood in front. Walter moved forward while Travis had bowed to his knees before him. He looked up, not dropping his gaze once. The superiors closed their eyes and my heart constricted. Liam grabbed my hand and then Gabe grabbed the other. There was nothing we could do. We were helpless, just standing back. Is this what they felt like when they’d done this to Jax?
I shook my head at the onslaught of thoughts. No. They would never strip Travis. He was good.
As if the Akasha heard my inner thoughts, the pentagram around them all started to glow. It flickered, sending my body rigid, but then it focused. The room lit with Travis’s pure self. All around, the walls bounced back the same white light until it was crystal clear. Then, Travis himself started to glow like he had an aura, and that aura was pure and dazzling white. I stared at him in awe. I’d never seen him look more perfect than on his knees, glowing like a star.
Walter pulled his hand away and the glowing stopped immediately. The mark on Travis’s forehead faded just as I’d seen it happen on the witches Travis marked before. They’d been proven good, and now, so had Travis.
Liam squeezed my fingers and I let out a sigh.
My gaze moved up to Walter. I still wasn’t happy with what had just occurred. They’d been burned before, but this was Travis we were talking about here. Surely Walter didn’t need the Akasha to tell him that Travis was a pure witch. That he was everything a good witch was and then some. His thoughts were purer than mine despite the insane level of positive magic Granny had pushed on me ever since I was little.
Travis stood. He looked the other Order members in the eye and saved Walter for last. “Are we done? I’d love to get back to my coven now.”
That sounded like a good idea to me. I stood.
“We are,” Walter said. “For now. Your coven is still on probation and will continue to be if you keep making mistakes like throwing yourself in front of a known bad witch. Jax is gone again. Because of you, he’s still a threat. I hope you remember that, Travis Shaw, when the next bad thing happens. If someone else gets hurt because of him, I hope you remember that it’s your fault. The Akasha has shown you didn’t do it out of malice, but that doesn’t mean saving Jax was a wise decision. He’s out there again, and from what we know about the past, he will be back, and he will be coming after you all again, not caring who gets caught up in the process.”
Travis paled. His shoulders slumped forward.
“As
for the rest of you,” Walter said, staring over at us. His gaze landed on all of us but stopped on me. “Help one another. Care for one another, but do not let it consume you. Our relationships are only there to strengthen our love and strive toward light. We’ve learned from the past that things that fill us can also be our downfall.” He motioned toward Travis and his message sank in quick.
Travis hadn’t been thinking with his Enforcer brain, he’d been thinking with his heart.
I understood what Walter was trying to say, but I still found it hard to believe that if you led with your heart, that it would somehow lead you in the wrong direction. Love was everything. Now that I had it, it was the thing that kept me alive, kept me going, even when everything seemed like it was too much. If I didn’t have love, the world might break me. Thankfully, I didn’t have to feel that way.
I searched out my guys, even Travis who’d looked like he’d been punched in the gut and smiled. Love was everything. And if Travis did make the wrong decision again, we’d help him overcome it because that’s what you did when you loved one another. You lifted each other up. You overcame. But most importantly, you stood by one another no matter what.
The End
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by E. M. Moore. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact E. M. Moore at [email protected].
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition November 2018
Book Cover by Olivia Pro Design
Special thanks to my beta readers—Kala and Danni.
Prologue