“No!” Emersyn screamed and scurried backward.
“Block her strikes, Emersyn,” Uncle Kessler yelled. “Watch her shoulders. She’ll show you how she’s attacking.”
I didn’t have to. I’d seen Tennessee fight enough to know it. I simply didn’t know how to fight sneaky yet. This is only day one.
Emersyn snapped into action, countering my attacks exactly as we’d been taught. I grinned and jumped forward. Just before I got to Emersyn, I dropped to my knees and kicked my leg out, sweeping Emersyn’s feet out from under her. She shouted in alarm and slammed into the ground on her back.
I stood and leaned over her. “Are you all right?”
She opened her eyes but made no effort to move. “We did not learn that.”
“No, you certainly did not.” Uncle Kessler strolled up and glanced back and forth between us. “Tegan?”
I bit down on my bottom lip. “I may have seen Tennessee do that once.”
He shook his head and looked up to the sky. “Naturally. I love that boy, but he’s a bad influence sometimes. Tegan, nicely done. However, let’s try not to kill your sparring partner. Why don’t you go on home for today. I think Emersyn needs an opponent she’s not afraid of hurting.”
I grinned and walked over to my bag. When I pulled my phone out, I found a text on my screen from Tennessee. My heart stopped. My eyes widened. For reasons I didn’t want to inspect, my fingers trembled as I unlocked my phone. But when I opened it, the bar at the top of the phone read FIRST STRING. The name of the group chat for non-adult Coven members. I deflated like a popped balloon. Tennessee wasn’t texting me; he was texting the whole crew. My heart sank. It shouldn’t have hurt so much. It shouldn’t have wreaked so much havoc on my emotions. Still, it took me several tries before I read his words.
We need to brainstorm our next guess. Let’s meet in an hour.
Easton’s name popped up on the screen immediately. Can we at least do something fun while we brainstorm?
Oh, that little show at Atley’s yesterday wasn’t exciting enough for you? Tennessee responded.
Listen, Bossman. Us humans need to relax so our brains work better, Royce texted, followed immediately by another. Actually, I think YOU need to chillax more than anyone.
What my brother so delicately means is…we all need this, Henley added.
What if we take Tegan and Emersyn to HK, show them around…if you all promise to discuss the locket’s new ownership… Tennessee suggested.
Unable to stop myself, I replied, I pinky promise ;)
Chapter Eight
Tegan
“Guys, for the last time, we’re not blaming anyone for choosing Atley,” Tennessee said with a clipped, frustrated voice. “So stop. It won’t help.”
Everyone grumbled and shook their heads. I understood how they felt. I’d been blaming myself for not speaking up. We spent the morning on rides at Hidden Kingdom until Tennessee forced us to sit for lunch and brainstorm. Two hours later, we hadn’t gotten any closer to an idea. Silence filled our little nook of a bustling restaurant. Willow had created an illusion so the Sapiens would think all the tables around us were full so we’d have privacy. The rumbling from the crowd just beyond her magic mimicked the chaotic thoughts in my mind.
“He’s right,” Cooper said. He ran a hand over his short blond hair. “Who haven’t we considered?”
My father. I frowned. We hadn’t discussed my father or Devon as potential Hierophant candidates. In fact, no one had said much about either of Emersyn’s or my parents. I thought back to Wednesday night on the sailboat when we’d gotten a summary of the world we belonged in, but none of them had mentioned my father. Or Devon. I assumed my father was a witch, but what if he wasn’t? What if that was why the Goddess blinded me from my magic and Mark?
I waited until Easton stopped talking, then I raised my hand to get their attention. “Is my father a human? Is Devon?”
Emersyn’s head snapped up from where she’d been doodling on a napkin. Her eyes sparkled. “I’ve been wondering that too!”
Cooper frowned so hard his eyebrows blocked his eyes. “Why would you think that?”
I shrugged. “None of you have suggested my father or Devon as candidates, or even at all, so I thought maybe he was a human and that’s why the Goddess blinded my magic.”
“Hunter and Devon are already Cards,” Tennessee said in his soft, calm voice that did weird things to me. “They’re fully functioning members of The Coven and have been since they were teenagers.”
I stared at him for a long, hard moment. Everything I thought I knew about my father, about my life…was a lie. “They weren’t in the military, I take it?”
Tennessee smirked. “Not the Sapien one.”
“Why lie to us?” Emersyn whispered. “I don’t understand.”
“Because of Salem,” Chutney mumbled, and everyone else’s eyes snapped to her.
I frowned. “Salem?” I turned to Tennessee and raised my eyebrows.
He sighed. “Because of what happened in Salem, what really happened in Salem, many Coven members were stationed around the world. Forced to live among Sapiens. This includes both your father and Devon, among others. The children of these Cards were blinded for their own protection until they could be brought either to Eden or here with us.”
“Oh.” I leaned back and nodded. It made sense, actually. We had lived near lots of humans, or Sapiens, as witches called them. “So, my dad is a Card? Which one?”
“Hunter is the Temperance Card, number fourteen.” Tennessee licked his lips and glanced back and forth between us. “Devon is the Chariot, number seven.”
There was something else I’d been wanting to ask about, and I figured this was the perfect opportunity. “So, what really happened in Salem? Y’all keep mentioning this, but haven’t said what.”
Tennessee took a swig out of his water bottle then set it back down. “A couple of witches went dark, and for reasons no one is entirely sure of, they ripped open a gap in our dimension’s wall. This allowed for everything and anything to stroll right in.”
I leaned forward. “What happened? Did they close it?”
Tennessee shook his head. “The Coven couldn’t close it. They didn’t have enough power. The witches who went dark were Cards. Plus, as you know from Sapien history books, many witches died in Salem. However, they were able to place hundreds of charms and spells on the gap so nothing could come through to our world. The original gap was hidden. No one alive knows where it is.”
“That sounds like a good thing, but you don’t look happy.”
“Once there was one gap, it caused hundreds more to appear. Including the one here in the park. So our race has to spread out to each location to try and control the situation. In the meantime, Salem’s Prophecy tells us that we have to close the original gap before we can close any of the others.”
My pulse quickened. I glanced around the crew, and they all wore grave expressions. “What’s the time limit on closing it?”
“You’re quick.” Tennessee chuckled but then he sobered. “Samhain. Of this year.”
“This year?” Emersyn’s face paled. “What is Samhain?”
“Samhain is what we call Halloween. It is the time of year when the Veil between worlds is thinnest.” Tennessee held his hands up. “And before you ask, no, we weren’t aware of this time limit until the summer solstice that just passed. Cassandra received a prophecy. It’s been a bit of a panic since June.”
Cooper laughed in a short burst then covered his mouth. He tried to hold it in then completely lost it. Tennessee hung his head and chuckled. Next thing I knew we were all laughing hysterically. Henley used a napkin to dab at the water in her eyes before it smudged her black eyeliner.
“Why are we laughing?” Royce said between chuckles.
“Because we are so screwed.” Tennessee sighed and rubbed his face. “You know what, let’s get out of this restaurant. I can’t think anymore right now.”
; “Finally! What do you say, girls? A ride?” Easton threw his hands up and cheered. He stood, scooped up everyone’s trash, and threw it in the bin behind our table. “The boss has freed us. Let’s move, people, before he changes his mind.”
“STOP,” Paulina shouted. Her chocolate eyes were wide like saucers. She stared into nothing and raised her hand in the air to signal stop. The roman numeral XIII, the Mark of Death, was the same color as her long hair. “The spirits, they’re trying to talk to me. Willow, drop your illusion.”
Willow nodded and snapped her fingers. The sound of the other customers raised several octaves, like her magic had also blocked the noise. Bright light shimmered against the wall a few feet behind Paulina. It moved like a reflection off something metallic, but it looked like… I gasped. A spirit.
Paulina sat up straight and glanced over her shoulder at the beam of light. She waved her hand. “Come closer, please.”
Closer? What? A ghost just walked through a wall into a restaurant full of Sapiens and she wanted it to move closer to us? A gust of ice-cold air brushed over my bare shoulders and I shivered. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed everyone else had too.
Tennessee stood tall and confident, but his eyes were sharp. He flexed his left hand, and a black dagger flew out of his boot and slammed into his palm.
My pulse quickened. I licked my lips and summoned my magic. It tingled warmth into my fingers. If Tennessee pulled a weapon, we needed to be ready. I wasn’t an expert on spirits, but I didn’t think they were supposed to be out in the middle of the day.
As the spirit moved toward us, I was thankful I’d learned what Paulina’s abilities were before now. With every step closer, the glow of the ghost turned bluer and more human-like, with a double-breasted peacoat and top hat.
“It’s okay. I know you come in peace. They won’t hurt you,” Paulina whispered to the spirit in her glorious Puerto Rican accent. She glared at us over her shoulder in warning, then turned back to the ghost. “What do you need to tell me?”
The spirit’s lips moved like it was speaking, but not a sound left his mouth. Paulina nodded her head. If it wasn’t for the dagger still in Tennessee’s hand, I might’ve smiled at the sight of my friend conversing with a ghost. But then the ghost’s eyes grew wide, and his lips moved faster. He waved his arms around, pointing behind him. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and it was nothing like the one the ghost caused. Something was wrong.
“Slow down. I’m listening. Who told you to find us? Saffie?” Paulina said with a much firmer voice than before. A second later, she gasped and jumped to her feet. “Thank you. Go be safe now.”
The ghost disappeared instantly.
Paulina spun around to face us. “Saffie sent that spirit to come get us. She says the Fae spirits are attacking Sapiens near the fountain right now.”
Not a single person hesitated even a fraction of a second. All the joking and lightheartedness vanished, and they turned into the warriors they were. Tennessee sprinted out the door with his dagger gripped in his hand. The rest of us chased after him, only a few feet behind.
By the time we raced around the park to the giant fountain, the scene looked like something from a movie. The pool at the base was red with blood. Water sprayed out of the top like a fireman’s hose, blasting people right off their feet. Screams of pain and shrieks of terror echoed around the little French town of Hidden Kingdom. Humans scattered and ran in all directions while ducking and dodging the flying monsters. Fairies.
I remembered them vividly from the night Emersyn and I snuck into the park. They were an army of translucent figures with large angel-like wings. Their swords shouldn’t have been able to hurt anything living, except with each slice, human blood splattered on the cement.
“Easton!” Tennessee shouted. “Get your armor and get in there!”
“On it!” Easton ran up from behind the group. His entire body was covered in silver metal armor, almost like an old-school knight but less bulky. He raced toward the fighting and started defending the humans.
Tennessee spun around to face the rest of us. Despite the terror behind him, his voice was calm and his eyes were sharp. The sign of a true leader. “Willow, make an illusion of a thirty-foot wall around the courtyard. Don’t engage in fight. Just fix anything humans might see.”
“Got it!” Willow sped off with her hands spread out in front of her. A second later, the air around the courtyard shimmered like glass. I couldn’t see what the humans saw, but they instantly calmed and moved around the incident like nothing was happening.
“Lily, blind the Fae. You know they hate our sunshine.” Tennessee paused as a herd of ducks waddled through our feet. “Chutney, get all of the animals out of range. Larissa and Henley, we need damage control. Track every human that saw anything and replace their memories. Everyone else…leave only the living. If you see Saffie, don’t hurt her.”
The rest of the crew sprinted into action, leaving only Emersyn and me standing beside Tennessee. He threw his right arm into the air above his head. A dark object flew through the blue sky, heading right for us. But when I opened my mouth to shout, the object landed in Tennessee’s hand. His sword. The second his weapon was in his grip, he ran into battle.
“C’mon, Em.” I grabbed my stepsister’s hand and pulled her along with me. “You’re the Empress. Show them what you’re made of. Smoke ‘em.”
“Smoke ‘em?” She frowned but then her eyes widened. “Right!”
I turned and faced the fight. We didn’t have weapons. We were weapons. I raised my hands in the air and summoned my magic from deep within my gut. It answered immediately with a warm rush, like I’d busted open a dam. After days of being depleted and Witch’s Shock, my body sang with joy and strength. I aimed my energy at the top of the fountain where a ghost-fairy blasted innocent humans. I willed the water to coil around the fairy like a snake, trapping its arms and wings…and its face. A second later, the ghost-fairy dropped lifelessly into the pool at the base.
Black smoke shot through the crowd, wrapping around one ghost-fairy at a time. Paulina cackled and threw a thumbs-up in Emersyn’s direction. She followed Emersyn’s smoke, slicing through the fairy once Em blinded it.
I willed the water spraying out the top of the fountain to harden into little slivers of ice, then shot them through the air at the flying monsters. Five of them dropped, one after another. The others flew to the ground, but I wasn’t letting them get away that easy. I fired my ice right at their pointy ears.
Cooper shouted in pain as his blood arched into the air. He grimaced and plucked one of my icicles out of his bicep.
“Oh, God. Cooper!” I cursed. I’d hit my own Coven-mate. What if I’d hit something more vital? I willed all my ice bullets back to liquid form. I couldn’t risk it. I’m such an idiot. What was I thinking?
My pulse quickened, and panic threatened to settle in. I needed another way to fight them without endangering my own. With every ghost-fairy someone killed, it seemed like three more appeared. They were like the Hydras of fairies.
Tennessee sliced one right in half then moved on to the next. The two pieces dropped to the ground, shimmering with red light. After a second, the pieces snapped back together, and the fairy jumped to its feet. I cursed. How were we supposed to kill them?
A fairy with fiery red hair and translucent pink wings flew right in front of me. The same one Emersyn and I saw the first night. She held her hands up in surrender. “Don’t hurt. I’m Saffie. I’m friend.”
“You’re Saffie?” I blinked at her in confusion. A million questions raced through my mind, but none of them were relevant to the fight. I shook my head to focus. This fairy was alive and breathing, unlike the ones in battle. “Saffie, why won’t they die?”
“Dark. Dark. Dark. Evil. Changes.” Saffie wrapped her frail arms around her body and shivered. Her big eyes were lavender and bouncing around like pinballs. “Use dirt. Use it.”
I dropped my hands and stepped closer to he
r. She trembled and hid behind the lamppost next to me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Emersyn still shooting her smoke into the fight.
I moved next to Saffie and placed my palm on her petite shoulder. “Hey, Saffie. I’m Tegan. It’s okay. I’ll protect you. If you know how I can kill them, please tell me?”
Saffie turned her big eyes toward me. She blinked. “You’re nice, like Tennessee?”
I smiled. I had no idea how Tennessee had befriended this little fairy. “Yes, I am.”
Saffie smiled back. “Bad demon spell. Use dirt to kill them. Dirt will choke the spell, and they will die. Use the dirt.”
“Thank you, Saffie!” I grinned and turned back toward the battle. “Tennessee!”
“He won’t hear you. That witch’s spell blocks the sound,” Saffie whispered behind me.
I frowned. If Tennessee couldn’t hear me, then how would he use his earth powers to summon the dirt? And where would he even get dirt? He was in the middle of a cement courtyard with only a few little trees. I spun in a circle, searching for enough dirt to use when I spotted a manmade canal running under a bridge just to my right. Beside it was fresh green grass. Dirt! If I could get into the fight to Tennessee, I could tell him. But there had to be two dozen or more ghost fairies with swords between him and me…and I didn’t have a weapon.
I eyed the dirt beneath the grass. And then a memory hit me. I heard Myrtle’s voice, the lead Crone, in my mind saying the Aether witch is elemental magic. Then I heard Tennessee’s voice saying I think it means you can control any element you want to. I blinked and eyed the grass with suspicion. Could I do it? Was he right? The Aether Witch could’ve meant something else. Tennessee had said he needed to ask the Elders first, and if he had, he’d never told me what they said.
But what if he was right? What if I can control any element I want?
I looked back to the fight. My friends were covered in blood and sweat. Fighting an enemy that couldn’t die wasn’t going to end in our favor. Tennessee spun and swirled around the battle, slicing with both sword and dagger. Royce always joked he wasn’t human, but I doubted that meant he wouldn’t get tired. Someone had to do something. I had to do something. I at least had to try.
The Brave Witch Page 6