Henrik, the old man, waved his hand through the air. As if on perfect cue, the robed people began to chant and sway. They moved in a slow circle around me, joining hands and moving rhythmically back and forth as they sang in a low, dull tone that filled me with dread.
My mind slipped away and soon, it was a struggle to stay standing with my eyes open. Ligeia’s blue eyes flashed and she stepped forward, handing me an earthenware mug filled with a potent-smelling brew.
“Drink, child. Drink until the mug is emptied.”
I swallowed nervously as Ligeia held the cup to my lips. At first, I couldn’t taste anything. Then a bitter, unpleasant shock exploded in my mouth and I shuddered. I choked on the liquid but Ligeia pinched my nose with two fingers and tilted my head back, forcing the liquid into my mouth and down my throat. When it was done, I felt like my whole digestive system was on fire. Tears filled my eyes and I coughed, choking hard when Ligeia took the mug away.
“Sleep, now,” Ligeia said. She waved her hand over my face. Like magic, I dropped to the ground and curled up in the soft grass. My vision grew hazy and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. The robed people still chanted and sung, and it seemed like the sounds blurred together as I curled my arms around my legs.
That was the last thing I remember before I fell asleep.
---
When I woke, my head ached and my limbs felt swollen and sore. Everything hurt. My nose, my cheeks, my lips—even my eyelashes seemed to ache with every throb of my heartbeat. I lay in bed, in the hut, but this time it was dark. The hut was filled with a warm, smoky, almost sweet smell.
“Child, you’ve awakened,” Ligeia said.
I stared at her. “I feel awful,” I mumbled. “God, I think I’m gonna throw up.”
Ligeia nodded. “It’s a side effect,” she said.
“Of what?” Trying to think back was like wading through a fog. “What did… was that drink drugged?”
Ligeia smiled faintly, but she didn’t reply.
“What the hell?” I said.
“You did promise your loyalty.”
Fuck.
I nodded. “Right,” I said. “Look, is Monica here? I want to talk to her.”
Ligeia didn’t reply. “How are you feeling?”
“I told you, I feel fucking terrible,” I said in exasperation. “What’s going on? What did you do to me?”
“We initiated you,” Ligeia said. She raised an eyebrow and for a second, I had the oddest feeling that she was judging me.
“Obviously,” I snapped.
“Soon you’ll return to your world; you’ve been gone a long time,” Ligeia said.
“And then what?” I narrowed my eyes. “Look… I wanted to join because I thought I could help, you know, with Jaffrey,” I said. “How am I supposed to do anything if I’m not even here?”
“We’ll summon you when you’re needed,” Ligeia said.
“But I won’t be able to come back on my own?”
Ligeia shook her head. “No,” she said. “You’ll only be able to find the coven on your own after you become much more powerful.”
“But how am I supposed to become more powerful if you send me away?”
Ligeia gave me an odd look. “What is it with you children now?” she said. “So argumentative. Are you no longer instructed to obey your elders?”
I blushed.
“Just trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “Henrik and I are much older, and much wiser. We know that what we’re doing is for the best of everyone involved.”
I blinked. “Things are so… bad at home,” I said softly. “I can’t go back there. What if something happens to me and I can’t get back? Or what if something happens to Monica?”
“Trust me, child,” Ligeia said. “I won’t allow anything to go wrong.”
But things are already going wrong. I thought back to the terror that had suddenly become my hometown. Things are much worse than I ever could have imagined.
“I know, you don’t believe me,” Ligeia said.
“Stop reading my mind,” I snapped.
Ligeia tutted. Just as I was about to say something else, she clapped her hands three times. The room was filled with an inky, dark smoke that filled my senses and made me cough.
“Ligeia,” I cried loudly. “I can’t breathe! Help!”
The smoke only grew more intense and soon, all I could see were swirls of black in front of my eyes. I felt strange, like my stomach was about to drop out of my body, and when I reached out to steady myself, my hands only groped air.
The smoke faded but the weird sensation in my belly grew stronger and stronger. I cried out for help, desperately trying to anchor myself to the ground but then I realized I was falling.
When the smoke finally cleared, I landed hard on something soft and firm.
I gasped.
I was no longer in the woods.
I was in my bed.
Chapter Two
It took me a moment to realize that Ligeia had somehow transported me instantly from the coven to my bedroom. How had she done that? And furthermore, why the heck hadn’t Monica told me that things would be so… weird?
I wasn’t sure what I’d been expecting, honestly. My knowledge of witches and witchcraft was pretty limited. Mom and Dad didn’t like me watching scary movies—I’d loved them when I was a kid, but after I started having nightmares, Mom said no more. It felt a little ridiculous… after all, I wasn’t a kid anymore.
But I couldn’t lie—the whole initiation process had spooked the hell out of me.
I hadn’t been in my room for more than five seconds when the door opened. Mom stepped inside, glancing around.
“Oh, you’re back,” she said.
I frowned. “Uh…”
Mom shook her head. “Don’t worry about making excuses,” she said in a strangely toneless voice. “I don’t need to know, Elizabeth.”
“I’m sorry, I was—”
Mom held up her hand. I noticed that her eyes looked strangely glassy.
“Really, Elizabeth, it’s fine. Just don’t fall behind in school.” Mom yawned. “You feel like having dinner with us downstairs?”
My stomach was still weak and aching from whatever poison Ligeia had fed me, but I didn’t want to make any waves. I couldn’t believe my mom was acting so casually—normally she was the type to freak if I was gone for more than a few hours.
“Um, Mom,” I said, sliding off my bed and stretching. “How long was I gone?”
My mom turned to me and cocked her head to the side. “I… I don’t know,” she said. “A few weeks?” She shrugged. “I figured you and Monica were off, doing something fun. Anything would be better than hanging around here,” she added. “So, it’s not really like I can be mad, huh?”
I stared. Am I dreaming, I wondered as I looked around my room. But the clock on the wall seemed to be correct, and my computer screen looked normal. Appliances don’t work in dreams. So this must be real. But why is she acting so strangely?
“Are you okay, honey?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
Mom nodded. “Okay, honey,” she said. “You look a little pale.”
You think, I thought sarcastically. I’ve been stranded in the woods for weeks with a bunch of weirdo witches who literally poisoned me.
Mom gave me a tentative smile, then walked out of my room, leaving the door open. As soon as she was down the hall, I quickly shut my door and lifted my shirt.
There was no trace of Ligeia’s pentagram, or the red paint.
Weird.
I went down to dinner, half-expecting it to be a set-up where my mom unleashed anger at me for being gone so long. But if anything, it was one of the most normal dinners we’d ever had. Dad had his nose stuck in a paper, and my younger brother, Aidan, spent the whole time complaining.
When Mom mentioned something about a militia, the hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“What’s going on?�
� I tried to keep my voice as casual as possible. “Did something else happen?”
Mom sighed. “Oh, honey—jeez, I’m glad you were gone for so long. You weren’t around to see all of this.”
I narrowed my eyes. “All of… what?”
Mom bit her lip. “The neighbors went missing,” she said. “At least… that’s what your father and I thought.”
I stared at her. There were so many inconsistencies that I had no idea where I should even begin. For one thing, why did my mom care more about the neighbors vanishing than her own daughter? And had it occurred to her that they could have kidnapped me? Something very unusual is going on. I bit my lip, squirming in my seat.
“Did they come home?” I asked quietly.
Mom shook her head. “Linda died,” she said.
“What?” My jaw dropped. “She was so young! They’d only been married for what, like five years?”
Mom nodded. “Yes,” she said. “There was a coroner’s hearse at the house with a plain coffin. No funeral.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “It wasn’t allowed,” she added.
A chill ran down my spine. “What?”
“Yes,” Mom said hesitantly. She glanced at Aidan, but he was too concerned poking his food. “She… well, honey, she was accused of witchcraft. Her body was burned.”
I swallowed. The food in my mouth turned to ash as I stared at my mother in disbelief.
“You’re kidding,” I said softly.
“No,” Mom said. She sighed. “It was terrible.”
I licked my lips and forced myself to swallow. “I should really start to get caught up on homework,” I said. “I probably missed a lot.”
Mom nodded. She still had that faraway, dreamy look in her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “That’s a good idea.”
I shivered as I climbed the stairs and locked myself in my room. I had no intention of doing my homework. Instead, I grabbed my phone and dialed Monica.
Come on, I prayed as the phone rang and rang. Come on, pick up! I need to talk to you!
Monica’s voicemail came on and I sighed in disgust, hanging up before the chance to leave a message. Just as I was about to pull on my jacket and start the walk over to her house, my phone buzzed.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” Monica said quickly. “What’s up?”
“Are you home right now?”
“Not exactly.”
“Are you with David?”
“Elizabeth, what’s up?” Monica said. She sounded weary. “Did you just get back?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Look, I really need to talk to you. What the fuck is going on with my parents?”
Monica sighed. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I can’t meet up right now. I’m working.”
“On what?”
There was a pause and I swallowed hard.
“Oh,” I said quietly.
“Yeah,” Monica said. “I’m sorry—I’m working with Henrik right now, and I can’t really take time off. We have to figure things out.”
“I see. How did you know I called then? You can’t possibly have a phone in the co—the you know,” I said quickly.
“I sensed it.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You must be getting stronger.”
“Yes.”
I sighed. “Okay. I’m sorry… I just… it feels really weird to be back here. My parents are acting like zombies and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do in order to help them.”
“It’s because of Henrik,” Monica said quietly. “It’s… something he does. Remember when you went to see Jamie and Brian last fall?”
“Oh.” I felt like an idiot. Why didn’t I realize they were being manipulated, I thought angrily.
“Yeah. Look, Elizabeth—I’ve got to go. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay.” A lump formed in my throat. I’d so been looking forward to seeing my best friend again that I felt a sudden wave of intense sadness.
“Bye.”
“Bye,” I echoed.
Monica hung up and I flopped down on my bed, closing my eyes. This is so fucked up. I can’t even talk to the only other person in town who knows what’s going on… and it’s Henrik’s fault. Damn that old man, I added silently, snuggling into the blankets and resting my head on the pillows.
Damn him.
---
The next morning, I got dressed and decided that I’d set out in search of the coven. Ligeia had told me that I wouldn’t be able to find it on my own, but I wondered if she’d been lying.
But hours later, after walking in literal circles, I felt discouraged. The sun sunk low in the sky by the time I got back home. Just as I was about to cross my yard and go into the garage, I heard a car pull up behind me. Great. This is seriously just what I need. I held my hands in the air, prepared to be dragged to jail once again.
“Elizabeth?”
That didn’t sound like a cop.
Turning around, I saw Steven standing there with a big, goofy grin on his face. “I thought that was you,” he added. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “How are you?”
Steven stepped closer. His eyes sparkled with something… strange, something I’d only seen once before. A chill ran down my spine when I recognized the intense look—Steven had looked the exact same way, right before we’d had sex for the first (and only) time.
“I’m great now that you’re here,” Steven said. He grinned. “I missed you. Where did you go, anyway?”
“I stayed with a cousin,” I lied. “My, uh, my mom thought it would be good for me to get out town for a few days.”
Steven laughed. “More like a few weeks,” he said. He stepped closer and reached for my hand. When our fingers touched, a shock crossed from his touch to mine. “You really know how to drive a guy wild,” he added. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I blushed. This is new. Why is being like this? He’s normally so… standoffish!
“Come on,” Steven said. He glanced mournfully into my eyes. “Don’t tell me—you didn’t miss me, too?”
I bit my lip. “Of course I did,” I said quietly. “I really missed being home.”
Steven fell silent for a minute. When he leaned in to kiss me, I closed my eyes and wrapped my arms around his neck. His nose was cold against my cheek, but his lips were warm and dry and safe somehow, almost like I’d found a refuge from the storm raging in my mind.
“Mn,” Steven purred into my mouth. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me closer. Just as I started to relax, the sound of a police siren made me leap backwards. Steven groaned as we both put our hands into the air.
“It’s barely dark,” I grumbled under my breath. “When is this stupid curfew going to end?”
The air was filled with blueberry and cherry lights, flashing on and off in a frantic pattern that made me want to vomit. As the car slowed to a stop, a portly cop got out and cocked his head to the side.
“Elizabeth Hartsell?”
“Yeah,” I said miserably. “I know. I broke curfew.”
“Don’t you live right there?”
I frowned. “Yeah,” I said. “Do you want me to get my mom?”
“No. That’s fine, you go on inside.”
I snuck a glance at Steven. His jaw hung open—he was clearly as surprised as I felt.
“What about Steven?”
“You leave Mr. D’Amico to me,” the cop said, speaking harshly to him for the first time.
“He was just leaving,” I said quickly. “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”
“Elizabeth, I told you to go in the house,” the cop said.
I blinked. He’s not even looking at me. What the hell is going on?
“Elizabeth, go,” Steven said in a low voice. He didn’t tear his eyes away from the uniformed officer. “I’ll deal with this, okay? Just go inside.”
Reluctantly, I wrapped my arms around my torso and walked quickly into my house. The downstairs was dark and silent, and I snuck i
nto the living room and peeped out the front blinds, waiting to see what would happen.
I couldn’t hear the cop’s voice—or Steven’s—but judging from their body language, I knew something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, after a minute or two of arguing back and forth, the cop tied Steven’s hands with zip ties and herded him into the back of his car. As they pulled away, the sounds of the siren made me shiver.
“Elizabeth?”
I jumped a foot into the air, gasping and clutching my chest.
“Oh, honey, I didn’t mean to startle you,” Mom said. She was frowning. “What are you doing all by yourself in the dark?”
I bit my lip. Then I remembered what Monica had told me. Might as well tell her the truth. It’s not like she’s going to be mad.
“I was out walking and I ran into Steven,” I said slowly. “A cop pulled up but he just told me to go inside, even though I broke curfew. But he took Steven,” I added. “His car is still out there.”
Mom frowned. “Maybe the officer figured you’d learned your lesson?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I guess,” I mumbled. “I’m gonna go to bed.”
“Okay, honey,” Mom chirped. I wondered if she knew it was only seven-thirty. “Sleep well. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”
I nodded and climbed the stairs. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep, but I wanted to be away from everything that was going on. My life was turning into some kind of weird fantasy movie, and I couldn’t wait for the credits to start rolling.
The next morning, I was shocked when Steven’s name flashed across my cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey, Elizabeth,” Steven said. He sounded warm and happy. “You want to take a walk?”
I frowned. “What happened last night?”
“Oh, yeah, that wasn’t so bad…” Steven trailed off. “I wasn’t held for very long. Andrea came downtown and they let me go.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course she did.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them—Steven would probably snap at me and tell me I didn’t know what I was talking about.
The Coven Series: Books 1-5 Page 29