The Council

by BooksGoSocial Fantasy

  It seems easy to panic with my world crumbling around me.

  But what good would that do?

  Quinn presses his lips together tight. “You know what people used to tell me when I was growing up in the shadow of Rayna’s gift?”

  I tilt my head to the side, slightly irritated with the idea of a story but grateful at the same time for a distraction. “What’s that?”

  “They told me it didn’t matter. I’m my own person, and in that I’m unique. Pain, anguish, those are all just part of the experience. The more you go through, the stronger you become.”

  I let out a dry, wild laugh. “Then I must be the strongest person in the world!”

  “And by the sounds of it, your strength will only grow.”

  “Heh,” I reply, pushing my hair out of my face, unsure of why I’m wearing a crooked grin. “How long has Lavina been a Healer?”

  “Quite a few years,” he says, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “Why do you ask?”

  “She looks so young,” I mutter, staring down at my hands.

  Quinn studies my face for a moment before he replies, “That’s not it. You want to know if she’s wrong, don’t you?”

  “Well, of course I do!” I stomp my foot before I wince at the jolt of pain that runs up my leg. “What she told me…that could change everything.”

  “It doesn’t have to change anything.”

  I bite my lip to hold in the ironic chuckle that wants to fall out. This conversation reminds me of the one I had had with Crowe about Katrina—except I’m not on the composed side of it this time.

  My breathing feels suddenly shallow, and I realize I’m having an existential crisis with no idea how to solve it. I wish I was back in Ignis with Helena and Clio. Quinn seems nice enough, but he’s a stranger. I can’t be expected to empty out my heart and mind to someone who can’t understand.

  No, Helena and Clio are the only ones that can appreciate it…and they’re too far away to do a thing to help.

  “I’m not crazy…I mean she was hinting that I wasn’t from Ignis, right?”

  “That’s what I would guess…it’s definitely strange,” Quinn replies, running a finger along his chin thoughtfully. “You really had no idea?”

  I sigh, closing my eyes as thoughts of Iris’ words run through my mind. “I knew something about my accident never added up, but it didn’t occur to me someone did this on purpose.”

  Quinn looks at me with a saddened expression as if he senses the pain in me but is unsure how to help. I laugh to myself—at least he knows his place.

  “If I were you, I’d talk to my parents about it,” he says finally. “If anything, they might know who did it.”

  I laugh out loud this time. “I mean…if they even are my parents. How do I know I can trust them? My entire life they’ve forced the idea down my throat that I caused my own accident…that I used pyro kinesis when I was little. They never gave any reason to believe otherwise until Iris…” I trail off for a long moment and reach up to my eyes, surprised to feel twin tears free themselves from my eyes before I force myself to continue. “I’ve tried asking them, and they all but have a meltdown at the question.”

  “I’m sorry to hear it,” Quinn says. “That might be your answer then.”

  Of course I had already considered that but hearing it from someone else’s mouth is strange.

  “I’m sure you’ll get the answers you’re after eventually,” Quinn tacks on after a quiet, awkward moment. “Something this big has to come to light sooner or later. Eventually, all secrets do.”

  “Hopefully sooner.” Once again, I think of my parents. The thought that they may not be my real parents, and Ignis may not be my real home, leaves me with an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. I want to grab my hair and scream out my frustrations like an angry toddler.

  I manage to push away the feeling.

  When we reach Quinn’s house, he holds the door open for me. Crowe is inside, sitting at the table, and reading a book, hair disheveled from sleep.

  At the sound of the door, he glances up at us through eyes a mixture of annoyance and concern. “Where’d you two go?” he asks, standing to his feet.

  “I took Lilith for a tour around the Coven,” Quinn answers.

  “Oh?” Crowe turns to look at me with interest. “Did you learn anything important?”

  “Lavina says things are suspicious,” I say, leaving out the part about my fainting spell. Maybe when the time’s right, I’ll confide in him—since he had done so back in Alchemy—but for now, I’m not ready to open that closet full of skeletons; some of them might still bite. “They think maybe we should have Hyacinth scope them out.”

  “We must be sure to inform the Sage of this,” Crowe says.

  Already done, Hyacinth replies, and I dip my head. Thank you.

  “Hyacinth says she’s taken care of it.”

  “Well, that was fast, but expected,” Crowe replies with a quick chuckle.

  “I suppose so.” I turn my gaze to the floor.

  I feel Crowe staring at me a moment before he asks, “Are you okay? You seem distant. Did something happen?”

  I don’t answer him so he prompts Quinn with the same question. I don’t hear a response from Rayna’s brother, but I assume he sends a nod Crowe’s way a second before I hear him take in a sharp intake of breath.

  “Lilith, would you mind leaving me and Quinn alone for a moment? I need to talk to him.”

  “Of course,” I say, moving to head out of the bliss of the air conditioning to the nightmare of the heat outside. I wonder if they’re going to discuss the information Lavina had told us, and if they’re going to decide what to do with me because of it.

  I’m tempted to eavesdrop but that wouldn’t do me much good. Any more information might be too much and short-circuit my already overloaded brain.

  I breathe in the humid air and take a few steps along the beach, trying to calm my frazzled nerves. It takes some time to convince myself that everything will be okay. I’ve lived through everything so far…this will be just another one of those times. No matter how I try to feed myself that line, I can’t get myself to believe it. There are just too many ways that things could go wrong.

  Be on your guard, Hyacinth warns a moment before I hear the sound of movement from nearby.

  I pause in my pacing and look up to see the girl with red hair watching me again. She slowly approaches. The only part of me that moves is my heart. It begins to pound again, welling with a surge of adrenaline that only serves to further rattle me.

  I keep the fear from my voice as I storm toward her, closing the gap between us so I can jab my finger at her. “Why are you following me?” I demand, feeling wary of her even though I’m taller than her by at least half a foot.

  “Your resemblance to Ivy is uncanny,” she murmurs, glancing up at me through beautiful ocean-blue eyes.

  I purse my lips as I stare at her determined not to fail like I had done with the witch who poisoned Callista. “You Mentis people are like a broken record with your creeping and nonsense! Who the Hell is Ivy?”

  “My idol,” she says, trailing off as she continues to study me with an inspired look on her face.

  I feel as uncomfortable with her as I did with Larc. “I must inform you that you’re in the presence of an active Council member…I can arrest you!”

  She smiles at me, seeing right through the ruse. “Fleur was right about you…you have a very strong presence. Very confident and in charge. More witches need to be like you are and Ivy was. What would it take to influence you?”

  “Influence me to what?” I ask, folding my arms across my chest.

  “To join us, the Elementals. You’re one of us, you know—Iris said so. I don’t know why you fight so hard.”

  My lip quivers as I try to think of a way to prove her wrong before I stammer, “B-but I’m not.”

  “She was meant to capture you that day, but none of us thought you’d be so in charge of
yourself so soon. It’s such a shame you chose to protect him—to protect them after all they’ve done to you.”

  My mouth hangs open like a dead fish as I process her words. Capture me? Hadn’t Iris promised no such thing? My head swims with information, and my breathing quickens as if I’ve literally been submerged beneath the surface of water.

  One thing is painfully clear—I can’t trust anyone.

  “Stay away from me,” I growl finally, taking a step back as I try to decide what to do. My brain finally relays the message that this witch—the Elementals in general—are dangerous.

  Especially since they seem to have more of an eye on me than I realized.

  I can immediately feel the calming presence of her trying to take over my mind like Rayna had done at the Dedication Ceremony. I jump backward a few feet, concerned that maybe her powers are like the girl I had let go. I blink to clear the sensation in my head and lift my hand to pump an invisible blast of power through the air that sends her flying to the ground a few feet away. As soon as eye contact is broken, her hold on my mind is instantly relieved, but it won’t last long.

  I’m not sure what to do in this situation. Being a member of The Council means I have the authority to arrest her, of course, but what if she isn’t working alone? What if the minute I have my hands full with her another Elemental appears to grab me?

  Even Hyacinth seems stumped at my situation.

  I take a step away and feel myself wobble on my bad leg as it threatens to give out on me. Please, Gods, not now!

  Desperation begins to claw at me like a panicked animal, and I growl at her before sending a blast of fire to light the front of her robes. She rushes to put it out as a hear a voice ring out in the silence behind me.

  “Lilith! What are you doing?” Crowe calls.

  My eyes stay on the girl as she stands slowly to her feet, brushing off her dark robe as if she had merely tumbled to the ground. As her gaze returns to me, it’s once again filled with the spark of admiration—the use of both telekinetic and pyrokinetic powers in the span of five minutes are the cause of that.

  “S-she’s one of them!” I blurt out with a desperate glance at the shapeshifter.

  Crowe isn’t hesitant to jump into action. He rushes across the sand and grabs her shoulders to sling a heavy pair of binds on her wrists before she can move. Only when I hear the click do my shoulders sag in relief. The cuffs are designed to hold in all powers—mind control included.

  Quinn watches with wide-eyes before he turns to look at me. “Well, that was a close one. I feel like I’ve asked you this a hundred times already this past hour, but are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” I say, reaching across my body to clutch my elbow. I stare at the girl, wondering just how out of hand the situation could’ve gotten if it weren’t for Crowe. I make a note to thank him later for stepping in. “We need to get her to Headquarters,” I bark out. I won’t say how badly the encounter has shaken me, but I don’t think I have to—it’s clear in my every movement, and Quinn sees through my façade.

  I know it.

  “We’ll order her a swift execution, just like Iris,” Crowe says to me, tightening his grip on the girl before he turns his attention back to her. “You. What’s your name?”

  “Chastity,” she replies, batting her eyelashes as she tries to look at him over her shoulder. It’s unsettling to watch her attempt to flirt while in handcuffs, especially after hearing her fate.

  She has no fear. They have no fear.

  Then she turns her gaze back to me, her eyes hardened sapphires as if she had heard my thoughts. For all I know, she might’ve. “This doesn’t end with me. There will be others.”

  “What do you mean?” I demand as both Crowe and myself stare at her with the same determination to find out.

  “You can run, Lilith, but you can’t hide!” Chastity says in a sing-song tone. She’s toying with me.

  Crowe’s face tells me he’s had enough. “You are to remain silent,” he says, pulling the handcuffs tighter behind her back.

  She opens her mouth, but thankfully, the handcuffs also bind her to silence.

  ***

  IT’S A LONG walk back to Headquarters with Crowe leading Chastity ahead of me. Her last words before the magic silenced her are haunting, playing inside my mind over and over as if it’s on a loop. I don’t dare go too close to her. Even bound, I find myself frightened by the idea of what she might be capable of.

  I watch her for the longest time, wondering how and why someone so young would get herself involved with the Elementals. I try to pick her brain—literally—for anything that might help answer those questions…or my own.

  Why do they want me? Her and Iris had insisted I’m one of them…what does that mean? Do my “parents” know something about the Elementals that I don’t? And the biggest question of them all—why had Iris lied about her intent that day?

  Are you really baffled as to why the bad guy would lie to you? Hyacinth’s sardonic thought bites me at my most vulnerable moment.

  Oh, Hyacinth, good to hear you have advice for my private reflections but not when my life is in danger.

  I have other responsibilities beside watching your back, you know.

  Then get out of my head.

  Try quieting your thoughts every now and then and I might be able to pull it off.

  I frown but don’t respond as I put up my cloak inside my mind to keep her out for the rest of my reflection. I don’t need to hear her now…I don’t need to hear anyone right now while I’m trying to keep my brain from bursting, my hope along with it.

  What lengths will the Elementals go to in order to capture me? And of all the members of The Council, why do they want me?

  And the circle goes right back to the start.

  I shake my head to break the constant loop of thoughts and try to poke Chastity’s mind, but she is successful in keeping me out—she knew I would try.

  Once we reach Headquarters, Crowe passes her off to Rayna without so much as a goodbye as we head into The Sage’s office. The elderly witch looks up at us from her usual place at her desk, a pleasant smile on her face to hide the concern in her eyes.

  “You’re back…and with a prisoner by the sounds of it,” she says, clasping her hands together on her lap.

  “She attacked Lilith in Mentis,” Crowe informs. “Tried to capture her.”

  “Lavina thinks quite a few of them might be involved with the Elementals. Dawn does too. They think Hyacinth should go and scope out everyone’s minds,” I tack on.

  “I will send her immediately, but first, how were the other Covens?”

  “Aens was nearly abandoned. Aquais was fully committed to The Council, and Alchemy seems as if they could go either way,” Crowe reports, counting off each Coven on his fingers as he passes along the information.

  I look up at him, and he shoots me a panicked glance as if he’s afraid I’ll say something to The Sage. He’s thinking of Katrina and the information he told me in Alchemy.

  It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one with trust issues.

  “And Ignis?” The Sage prompts.

  “We haven’t had a chance to go yet,” I reply wistfully. Of all the places I could’ve gotten attacked, it had to be the one right before home.

  “Well, don’t be too down. You’ll be sent to resume your job directly after Chastity’s execution.”

  I raise my eyebrows in surprise. “You’ve already decided her fate?”

  “But of course. What she did, rather intended to do, is unforgivable. It’s treason.”

  But she’s so young. I’m ready to say the words when I bite it back, wondering if Hyacinth and The Sage will read it anyway. This isn’t my battle to fight.

  I had already protested Iris’ execution and let the girl go that had poisoned Callista. With the Elementals’ fascination with me, is it really be a good idea to speak up? What will they think of me if I decide to stand on the Elemental’s side for a third time?
r />   If they knew what Chastity had told me, would they want to execute me as well?

  Chapter Thirty

  Everyone Has Secrets

  FROM THE CORNER of my eye, I see Crowe staring at me in disbelief. It seems that lately it’s the only expression he can muster while looking at me. This time, it’s easy to see why he’s baffled. He doesn’t understand my concern for the girl. Hell, I barely even understand it, but something in me knows enough to speak out when something’s wrong. If The Council is willing to execute young people, is anyone safe?

  Or will we face another literal witch hunt like in the old days just to smooth the ruffled feathers of the Land of Five?

  A sickening feeling washes over me at the thought. I can easily imagine myself being the next on the chopping block.

  “Crowe, you’re excused. I need to speak with Lilith alone,” The Sage says.

  I jump at the sound of her voice, a blush lining my cheeks as I realize I forgot to veil those thoughts. By the gleam in her eye, I already know she read them.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll let Hyacinth know of her mission,” Crowe informs. His eyes dart between me and The Sage before coming to rest on me, the pleading look once again in his eyes.

  I frown at his unease. He needs to relax already. “If she doesn’t already,” I murmur, subtly reminding him to keep his mind under lock and key.

  The gleam in his eyes changes to gratitude. He nods and passes me to travel down the dark corridor. I watch him go. As soon as the sound of the door can be heard, I turn back toward the desk, and The Sage looks at me for a long moment.

  “You disagree with the girl’s execution?” she asks. Her tone is even, no way to be able to judge her thoughts based on it.

  “Y-yes,” I say, stunning myself with the honesty. “She had to have been brainwashed to do what she did. I mean, she’s too young to be so evil on her own.”

  “Lilith, you’d be surprised what people are capable of. Age doesn’t matter in the face of evil. Even youngsters such as yourself may have malice in their hearts.”